COURSE 5000 | 2-DAY SESSION
Agile Essentials (formerly Agile Software Development Fundamentals)

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Course Outline

I. Introduction

1. Agile processes embody iterative / incremental development
   
2. Tackling uncertainty
   
3. Early availability
   
   

II. Key Aspects of Agile Development

1. Iterative / Incremental Development
   
2. Self-organizing, empowered teams
   
3. Emergent project
   
4. User / Customer Involvement
   
5. Time boxing
   
6. Continuous integration
   
7. Vision / mission
   
   Exercise #1: Self-organizing teams
   
   

III. Agile Versus Plan-Driven Development

1. Environment
   
2. Management
   
3. People
   
4. Customer
   
   Exercise #2: Simulation Introduction -- Create a vision and a set of requirements
   
   

IV. Management of Agile

1. Coaches and facilitators
   
2. Customer interaction
   
3. Planning
   
   

V. Agile Requirements

1. Use cases
   
2. User stories
   
3. Formalized requirements
   
   

VI. Agile Planning

1. Planning is the major difference between agile and plan-driven development.
   
2. Requirement backlog
   
3. Prioritize Requirements
   
4. Estimation
   
5. Release planning
   
   Exercise #3: Simulation — Release Planning -- Prioritize the requirements and create initial release plan
   
   

VII. Phases and Activities

1. Planning
   
2. Staging
   
3. Initiating
   
4. Developing
   
5. Releasing
   
6. Review
   
7. Scaling
   
   

VIII. Agile Testing

1. Testing versus debugging
   
2. Unit tests
   
3. Acceptance tests
   
   Exercise #4: Simulation - First Iteration Beginning -- Develop tests for the requirements, then develop implementation for the requirements
   
   

IX. End of iteration activities

1. Demonstrate functionality
   
2. Evaluate functionality
   
3. Retrospectives
   
   Exercise #5: Simulation — First Iteration Ending -- Demonstrate functionality and performa retrospective
   
   

X. Aspects

1. People factors and project staffing
   
2. Communication skills
   
3. Process improvement
   
4. Small and large projects
   
5. Slipping in features
   
6. Tracking and visibility charts
   
   

XI. "Up Front" Activities

1. Prototyping
   
2. Risk Management
   
3. Agile Modeling
   
   Exercise #6: Simulation — Second Iteration -- Develop implementation for second set of requirements
   
   

XII. Examination of Agile Processes

1. Scrum
   
2. Extreme Programming
   
3. Crystal
   
4. Feature Driven Development
   
5. Lean Development
   
6. Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
   
7. Agile Modeling
   
   Exercise #7: Simulation — Process Change -- Decide how you want to alter your process
   
   

XIII. Technical Management

1. Configuration
   
2. Testing and Quality Assurance
   
3. Risk Management
   
4. Estimating and time-boxing
   
   

XIV. Team

1. Structure and roles
   
2. Responsibilities
   
3. Customer
   
4. Project Sponsor
   
5. Collective ownership
   
   Exercise #8: Simulation — Third Iteration -- Develop third set of requirements using your new process changes
   
   

XV. Agile Tools

1. Testing - Unit and Acceptance
   
2. Refactoring
   
3. Coding standards
   
4. Continuous integration , daily builds
   
5. Source code control systems
   
6. Code reviews and pair programming
   
   

XVI. Agile Project Management

1. Success Factors
   
2. Achieving consistency, repeatability
   
3. Validation and verification
   
   

XVII. Agile and Practices

1. Agile and RUP
   
2. Agile and the Capability Maturity Model
   
   

XVIII. Agile Manifesto

1. Individuals and interactions; processes and tools
   
2. Working software; comprehensive documentation
   
3. Customer collaboration; contract negotiation
   
4. Responding to change; following a plan
   
   

XIX. Agile Principles

1. Early continuous delivery of software
   
2. Working software is measure of progress
   
3. Welcome change for customer's advantage
   
4. Business people and developers work together
   
5. Motivated teams
   
6. Sustainable pace
   
7. Face-to-face communication
   
8. Retrospectives
   
9. Attention to technical excellence
   
10. Minimize unessential work
    

ASPE has been reviewed and approved as a CPE training provider for the National Assoication of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). 12 CPEs are awarded upon full completion of Agile Essentials.