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Foundations of Agile Methodology

Discover how to apply Agile methodologies to management of cost, time and scope of a project.

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8-Week Course
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8 Continuing Education Units
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80 Military Clock Hours

About the Course

The first course of the Certificate in Agile program, Foundations of Agile Methodology introduces you to the key doctrines, roles and terminology of the Agile methodology and Scrum framework during an eight-week online course. Foundations of Agile Methodology is also available as a standalone course, though you may find you’ll bring the greatest value to your organization and career by completing the full three-course certificate.

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Villanova students will earn a digital badge when they successfully complete an individual course or full certificate program. These badges help to emphasize their skills and commitment to professional development and enables them to easily share and display the badge on a resume and/or social media.
Curriculum
8 Week Course
Week 1
Agile Principles and Mindset
  • Explain the importance of integrating Agile principles with an Agile mindset
  • Explore a step-by-step approach to visualization
  • Develop teams to become self-directed by creating an atmosphere of personal safety
  • Determine how to use continuous improvement to support an environment of creativity
  • Create effective knowledge sharing during Agile development
  • Discover the importance of being a servant leader
Week 2
The Scrum Framework
  • Determine how each of the Scrum values relate to the Scrum team roles and the Scrum process
  • Illustrate examples of defined and empirical processes
  • Determine when Scrum is applicable and when it is not applicable
  • Discuss the Scrum events at a high level
  • Explain the differences between iterative and incremental processes
  • Defend why a sprint is timeboxed
  • Defend why a sprint is protected
  • Explain why teams must determine the definition of done
Week 3
Scrum Team Roles
  • Describe the three Scrum roles
  • Identify the team members required for a cross-functional team
  • Illustrate the characteristics needed for a successful development team
  • Detail the role a ScrumMaster might perform on a team
  • Detail the role a Product Owner might perform on a team
  • Identify the project stakeholders
  • Describe the concerns of the stakeholders
  • Discern the authority needed for each of the three Scrum roles
Week 4
Scrum Meetings
  • Describe the importance of each of the Scrum meetings
  • The Sprint Planning meeting
  • The Daily Scrum or Daily Stand-up meeting
  • The Sprint Review meeting
  • The Sprint Retrospective meeting
  • The Release Planning meeting
  • Discuss the roles each team member plays during each type of meeting
  • Describe some techniques for good planning that will set the foundations for success in all your Scrum meetings
Week 5
Value Driven Delivery
  • Align project objectives to the minimal marketable features (MMFs)
  • Construct a customer value logic network
  • Define project deliverables
  • Implement backlogs and user stories to help define deliverables
  • Create value-centric alignment between the team and customer expectations
  • Use frequent feedback from customers and users to improve results
  • Apply continuous process improvement practices to increase the quality and value of deliverables
Week 6
Scrum Artifacts
  • Explain the significance of each Scrum artifact to the success of project deliverables:
    • The product backlog
    • The sprint backlog
    • The definition of done
    • Burndown charts
    • Burn-up charts
    • The product increment
Week 7
Agile Estimating and Planning
  • Apply various Agile tools when estimating and planning your project deliverables
    • Expert opinion estimating
    • Affinity estimating
    • Disaggregation estimating
    • Planning Poker
    • Story points
  • Use velocity to create a release plan
Week 8
Stakeholder Engagement
  • Define your project stakeholders
  • Establish a clear vision for your project that can be shared with all stakeholders
  • Discuss Agile practices and tools that support building and maintaining stakeholder engagement
  • Implement these Agile practices to create the structure for enduring stakeholder relationships
    • Product roadmaps
    • Team working agreements
    • Backlog grooming
    • Review meetings
    • Colocation
    • Personal safety
    • Visual controls
    • Information radiators
Learning Objectives
Skills Learned
Agile Scrum Process Improvement Project Management Team Leadership
What You’ll Study
  • The Importance of Integrating Agile Principles with an Agile Mind-Set
  • How the Agile Manifesto Can Be Applied to Non-Software Projects
  • The Importance of Being a Servant Leader
  • The Roles and Responsibilities of Each Member of The Scrum Team
  • The Objectives and Goals for Each Scrum Event
    • Defining What It Means When a Project is “Done”
    • Planning for Sprint Success
    • Tracking Project Progress
    • Applying Various Estimation Methods for Planning and Executing Your Project Deliverables
    • How to Establish a Clear Vision for Your Project That Can Be Shared With All Stakeholders
Related Certificate Programs

Agile Certificate

24 Weeks
3 Courses
$6,059+

Learn to create quality deliverables faster and more efficiently while preparing for Agile and Scrum certification.

Certification Prep
Skills Learned
Agile, Scrum, Lean, Process Improvement, Project Management, Team Leadership
Program Details

Who Should Register?

If you’re a professional working in any level of government or in healthcare, finance or other business sectors, you can benefit from earning a Certificate in Agile and the Villanova Professional Certification in Agile designation. The program also helps you prepare for certifications including PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® from PMI and Professional Scrum Master™ (PSM) from Scrum.org. Any organization aiming to increase teamwork and improve overall results is also encouraged to consider this process improvement training for its workforce.

PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) and PMI-ACP are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Tuition & Payment

Total Course Cost

$2,095

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Course offerings and associated prices are subject to change without prior notice. Pricing for multi-course certificate programs varies depending on course selection. View the Professional Education Catalog for more information on the courses and programs.

Payment Options

There are multiple ways to pay for your certificate program. Just let your enrollment representative know the choice that works best for you.

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