Learning Objectives:

Learn about Scrum life cycle by taking part in the “coin game”. The participants will be linking ceremonies to create effective sprint goals. This module will focus on the common challenges in sprint execution and enable team members to improvise.

At the end of this activity, you will be able to:

• Explain the difference between resolution meetings and daily standups.
• Explain the benefits of collaborations with product owners.
• List 3 demerits of over collaboration of the product owners.
• Demonstrate 3 ways to break the barriers and collaborate
• Demonstrate creation of sprint burndown chart
• Explain 3 approaches to increase efficiency in the team

Topics Covered:

• Sprint Execution Planning
• Flow management
• Resolution meetings
• Communication (Taskboard, Sprint burndown chart using story points, hours effort)

Learning Objectives:

Play the “Marshmellow Tower” game and learn more about daily scrum and sprint retrospective in real scrum projects. The tallest tower built with the minimum raw materials and in the shortest time frame will win. Acceptance criteria will be defined by the instructor.

At the end of this activity, you will be able to:

• Explain the importance of 15-minute timebox for daily scrum meetings.
• List 3 differences between traditional meetings and daily stand-ups.
• Describe 2 roles played by the Scrum Master, Product Owner, and the Development team in daily scrum.
• List the 3 critical questions pertaining to the daily scrum agenda.
• List 2 responsibilities of the Scrum Master, Product Owner, and the Development team during the sprint retrospective.

Topics Covered:

• Activities in daily scrum
• Activities in sprint retrospective

Learning Objectives:

Familiarize yourself with Definition of Done (DoD) and Acceptance Criteria with the “Crazy Juggler” game wherein you need to pass a fixed number of balls to non-adjacent team members within a certain time frame and collect them in a paper bag once marked as “Done”.

At the end of this activity, you will be able to:

• Explain Definition of Done at three levels ― user story (e.g. writing code), sprint, and release (e.g. preparing release notes).
• List 3 benefits of Definition of Done and explain why it can evolve over a certain period of time.
• Prepare a checklist (with a minimum of 7 entries) of an ideal DoD.
• Mention 3 risks associated with an ill-formed DoD.
• List 5 characteristics of good acceptance criteria.
• Understand who all should be involved in drafting the acceptance criteria.
• List 3 negative impacts of not following the acceptance criteria.

Topics Covered:

• Definition of Done for a feature (user story or product backlog item)
• Definition of Done for a sprint
• Definition of Done for a release
• Definition of Done vs. Acceptance criteria
• Done vs. Done-Done.

Learning Objectives:

Acquaint yourself with the Definition of Ready with our Lego blocks game wherein the attendees will be asked to build a city out of Lego building blocks. The “definition of ready” checklist for the final deliverable will be determined by the instructor.

At the end of this activity, you will be able to:

• Create an ultimate checklist of Definition of Done.
• List 3 negative impacts of an ill-formed Definition of Done.
• Identify at least 3 benefits of a shared Definition of Done for multiple teams working on the same product backlog.
• List 2 ways to improve Definition of Done.
• Clearly understand the differences between “done” and “done done”.

Topics Covered:

• Definition of Ready for user story
• Definition of Ready for sprint

Learning Objectives:

Play the self-organization game “Human Knots” by forming teams of 5-6. Groups where team members can untie themselves first win. The time frame for this activity will be decided by your instructor. Each team will have a Scrum Master and Product Owner chosen by group members.

At the end of this activity, you will be able to:

• Define and understand the steps involved in release planning.
• List 3 benefits of a well-organized release planning.
• List 3 outputs of release planning.

Topics Covered:

• Definition of release planning
• Who takes part in release planning
• Steps in Release planning
• Output of Release Planning

Learning Objectives:

Acquaint yourself with the Sprint Burndown Chart concepts by taking part in the ball point game. There will be 5 iterations and the number of points being expected at the end of the release will be communicated to the team.

At the end of this activity, you will be able to:

• Define and understand sprint burndown chart.
• List 3 primary reasons to use a burndown chart.
• Learn how to create and calculate a burndown chart.
• Explain how to adjust upcoming sprints based on the burndown.
• List 3 critical information obtained from a burndown chart.
• List 5 merits and 2 demerits of using a burndown chart.
• Understand 5 common errors that lead to misleading information in burndown charts.

Topics Covered:

• Definition
• Why and when to use a sprint burndown chart
• Information obtained from sprint burndown chart

Learning Objectives:

Take part in the ball point game and understand the in-depth concepts of release burn-up charts and why Scrum teams use them. There will be 5 iterations and once the sprint is completed, the team will put a mark on the release burn-up as to how many points are completed.

At the end of this activity, you will be able to:

• Understand the importance of having a release goal (based on historical data and agreement).
• Demonstrate the importance of release burn-up in understanding the current status.
• List 2 differences between burndown and burn-up charts.
• Explain how to adjust release planning (if needed) based on the burn down.
• Tell one primary advantage of a burnup chart over a burndown chart.

Topics Covered:

• Definition
• Features
• How to create a release burn-up chart (steps)

Learning Objetives:

Explore the fundamentals of product planning, including understanding stakeholders and prioritizing features aligned with organizational goals. Delve into crafting a clear and inspiring product vision statement that guides decision-making throughout the development process. Learn practical techniques for creating and managing a product backlog effectively, ensuring continuous alignment with customer needs. Finally, understand the concepts of product roadmap, minimum releasable features, and minimum viable products to drive value-driven development in Agile environments.

Topics Covered:

• What is product planning
• What is product vision
• How to create a product backlog
• Product Roadmap
• Minimum Releasable features (or) Minimum Marketable Features
• Minimum Viable Products

Learning Objectives:

Be a part of the Lego Building Blocks game wherein participants will be asked to write user stories for every activity involved. The game will entail 3 iterations and attendees will prepare user stories that will cover the features and functionalities along with acceptance criteria.

At the end of this activity, you will be able to:

• Define and explain user stories and understand the importance of user stories in real-time projects.
• Explain the 3 Cs in user stories.
• Discuss the importance of acceptance criteria and list 3 scenarios that might arise when the acceptance criteria are not met.

Topics Covered:

• What are user stories?
• Structure/format of user stories
• INVEST criteria

Learning Objectives:

Learn more about the “what” and “how” of Agile estimation with our in-class Agile board game “Scrumble”. In an interactive setting, this game will let you analyze the common challenges faced by Scrum team members during implementing different estimation techniques in Agile.

At the end of this activity, you will be able to:

• List and demonstrate 5 benefits of Agile estimation.
• Understand the 7 popular Agile estimation techniques and decide which one is the best for your project.
• Discuss 3 benefits of Relative Estimation and Planning Poker.
• List and explain 3 common mistakes made while using Relative Estimation and their negative impacts.
• Discuss in detail the 5 critical steps in Planning Poker.

Topics Covered:

• Definition
• Benefits of Agile Estimation
• Agile estimation techniques

Learning Objectives:

Know everything about planning poker from our popular poker card estimation game. Team members/estimators have to privately select one card and the value on each card would represent the story point. Once all cards are revealed, the values need to be discussed.

At the end of this activity, you will be able to:

• List 5 benefits of planning poker estimation technique.
• Decide the best sequence for the values (story points) on cards for your real-time projects.
• Discuss in detail the 5 critical steps in Planning Poker.
• List 3 points to heed for employing planning poker for distributed teams.

Topics Covered:

• Definition
• Benefits
• Participants
• How to play planning poker
• Planning Poker rules