Abrachan Pudussery BE,MS,PMP,PRINCE2,CSM,CSP

Mindmap export for project planning

2011-12-14T09:46:00.001-08:00

Embedded Notes: Create wbs: Decompose scope 8-80 rule Work packages...lowest level Estimate work packages: Delphi Three point Playing poker Activities: Decompose work packages to activities Estimate activities Bottom up estimation Analogous, parametric and three point estimates Sequence: Aoa, aon, fs,ff,sf,ss, Mandatory and discretionary dependencies Dummies Hammock Aon more popular than aoa Prepare schedule: Float Slack Critical path Fast tracking Crashing Lead Lag

Scrumjam

2011-12-13T10:04:00.001-08:00

I.T Project management - 2 day workshop

2011-12-07T17:16:00.001-08:00

I.TProject Management – 2 days workshop

Thegoal of this program is to impart the right knowledge and skills tothe participants to leverage globally acknowledged project managementpractices in software development project. The knowledge istransferred through lectures and exercises. In order to ensureindividual attention, the maximum number of participants are limitedto a maximum of 12. Please bear in mind that, this workshop is notfocused on any certification program.

Introduction by trainer and participants
Brainstorming – 'Why projects fail, and when?' - The objective of this brainstorming session is to have a common understanding on the root causes of project failure. It will be helpful if participants can come prepared with a list (individually) from their projects. The key concepts discussed during the workshop will be mapped to these root causes, as the course progresses.
Exercise to understand what great managers do differently.
Understanding the roles and responsibilities of a project manager, and other key stakeholders.
Who is a stakeholder? - discussion, followed by identification of the stakeholders and developing a stakeholder management strategy for the case under consideration.
Create a work breakdown structure – lecture + exercise
Estimating a project using a WBS
1. Three point estimate
2. Delphi
Developing schedule (lecture + exercise)
1. Decomposing the work packages into activities
2. Sequencing the activities based on dependencies (AOA,AON)
3. Deriving the critical path
Checking the schedule for completeness (lecture + exercise)
1. Risk management activities
2. Quality management activities
3. Human resource related activities
4. Communication related activities
5. Time, Cost and Scope management activities
6. Integration management activities
Effective execution,tracking and closure of a phase / project
1. Theory 'X' and Theory 'Ý' management styles demonstration
2. Work allocation Vs Work volunteering
3. Goal setting and performance appraisals
4. Understanding earned value management
5. Tracking a project using EVM ratios (exercise)
6. Understanding burn down charts
7. Tracking a project using burn down charts
8. Project tracking board
9. Useful metrics
10. Closing a phase / project
High level introduction to the global standards in project management
1. PMI's project management body of knowledge
2. PRINCE2 – Projects in controlled environment
3. Agile family

PMI-ACP Online training structure

2011-11-24T01:23:00.001-08:00

The course strategy

Since agile project management is value based, it has to be experienced to really understand and appreciate the power of agile. It is not an incrementally different model from the conventional project management, but a radically different approach. So, listening to some prerecorded lessons and doing some test practice alone will not assure you success in the agile world. After gaining around eight years experience in agile project management, and after transitioning several teams into agile, I have designed this program, which is a combination of theory, practice and testing. Along with the course, participants are required to do a mini project at their work place, following and experiencing all the key concepts of agile. Without real hands on experience in agile, it is very difficult to pass the PMI-ACP test, and for a real agile practitioner, the journey is not difficult.

During this course, the participants are quickly introduced to the heart of agile project management, the kanban, and then the focus shifts to the key components of agile project management, and then to exam preparation. There will be two online classes / week, and the participants are required to complete the assignments and tests provided within the agreed upon time. Upon successful completion of all the six modules successfully, participants are provided with 22 contact hours certificate by the Project Management Research Institute, which they can use while applying for the PMI-ACP certification.

Module-1 Go agile and experience the difference (week1)

Understanding Kanban tailored to agile (theory)
The planning meeting (theory)
Estimating work (theory)

Size estimation using Delphi
Effort estimation
Balancing the load

Plan your work, and your team's work for a week, using Kanban (Practice)
Conduct daily stand up meetings (Practice)
Discussion on the challenges faced

Module-2 Understanding the agile manifesto and principles (week1)

Understanding the agile manifesto
Understanding the agile principles
Manager as a servant leader
Self organizing teams
Knowledge assessment (test)

Module-3 Understanding Scrum, the most popular agile framework (Week 2)

Origins of Scrum
Scrum framework overview

Product backlog
Sprint backlog
Sprint planning meeting
Sprint board (kanban)
Work volunteering
Daily scrum
Burn down charts
Sprint review
Retrospectives
Velocity

Roles and responsibilities

Scrum master
Product owner
Team members

Scrum guide - Knowledge assessment (test)

Module-4 Knowledge useful for effective scrumming (Week 2)

User stories
Story points
Planning poker
Release planning
Scaling scrum

Module-5 Additional concepts (Week 3)

Return on investment (ROI)
Net present value (NPV)
Internal rate of return (IRR)
Compliance
Customer valued prioritization
Minimally marketable feature (MMF)
Relative prioritization / ranking
Business case development
Knowledge assessment (test)

Module-6 Additional concepts (Week 3)

Agile tooling
Osmotic communications for co-located and distributed teams
WIP limits
Cumulative flow diagram
Process tailoring
Affinity estimating
Product roadmap
Story maps
Wire frames
Chartering
Frequent verification and validation
Test driven development / test first development
Contimuous integration
Project charter for an agile project
Participatory decision models
Knowledge assessment (test)

Practice tests

PMI-ACP certification, Where does it fit in among the galaxy of agile certifications?

2011-11-23T00:53:00.001-08:00

About Agile project management

Agile project managementconsists of the family of iterative development frameworks like XP,SCRUM, RUP, TDD. Agile project management is ideal for projects,where requirements are higly volatile (evolving), or technology isvery new to the team, or both. While it is a right fit for productdevelopment, it is not limited to that alone. It is beneficial forany creative work like web based application development,architecting phase of a civil, mechanical, electrical, plumbingproject, research projects etc. Even world bank sponsored programshave successfully deployed agile project management, resulting inbetter results.Personally I have trained a group of lawyers from India, who analyses the cases on behalf of a U.K based law firm. If I have to use the software jargon to explain Agile, then I would say, Agile is the class and Scrum, XP, TDD, FDD, RUP, Crystal etc are Objects. I think that makes it very clear.

About PMI-ACP Certification

Project Management Institute (PMI), launched their Agile Certified Professional (ACP) certification during the last quarter of year 2011. This is a true model independent certification. That means, it does not go in-depth into any particular framework like Scrum or XP or any particular agile framework. In the agile world, everyone agrees to the fact that agile is easy to understand, and at the same time difficult to implement. This is true for anything value based, and effective agile implementations revolve around set of principles and values, which is easy to understand, but difficult to imbibe at the work place, because of several conflicting forces and interests. The frameworks like XP and SCRUM do not speak about the skills required by the practitioner to be successful at the work place, and the PMI-ACP course content fills this gap.

Prerequisites

Graduation (Bachelor's degree or equivalent)
2,000 hours (12 months of non overlapping project experience) of working on project teams. These hours must be earned within the last 5 years.
For those holding a PMP® credential, PMI has already verified that the candidate has exceeded these requirements. Thus, a PMP will be accepted to fulfill these requirements.
Agile project experience of 1,500 hours (8 months of non overlapping) working on agile project teams. These hours are in addition to the 2,000 hours required in general project management experience. These hours must be earned within the last 2 years. Need not be in the capacity of the agile project manager or Scrum master. Experience as a agile project team member or product owner will also hold good.
Agile project management training of 21 contact hours; hours must be earned in agile project management topics. Classroom training and Online instructor led trainings are valid. It is not mandatory that these trainings are provided by registered education providers (REP) of PMI. Any individual or organization can deliver these trainings, and it is valid as long as it covers the prescribed syllabus. It is always advisable to get the training from an instructor who has in depth hands on experience in agile project management, and who has already undergone the PMI-ACP exam.
Application submission process is both online and manual. Online is advisable. Application processing time for the online application is 5 business days, and that for the manual application is 10 business days.
The exam fees is USD 435 for PMI members and USD 495 for non members of PMI.
Pass in the examination, testing the agile fundamentals knowledge
In the event of deciding not to write the exam within the eligibility period, you are eligible for for a refund of USD 200/-. This is applicable for those candidates who failed in the application audit as well.

About the exam

120 multiple choice questions (100 scored questions and 20 pretest questions)
Duration 3 hours, inclusive of all breaks

The Syllabus

#	Theme
1	Overview of agile project management
	The origins of agile When to go agile, and when not to go agile Agile manifesto Popular agile methodologies Agile principles and practices Quick overview of the agile practices Exercise Test
2	Understanding the key roles, ceremonies and artifacts of SCRUM (One of the leading agile project management methodology)
	Scrum master (Agile project manager) Product owner Team members Product backlog Sprint planning meeting Sprint backlog Tracking board Sprint demo Retrospectives Test
3	Understanding user stories
	The anatomy of a user story User story development techniques Story points Ideal time Wide band delphi Playing poker Exercise
4	Sprint planning meeting
	The sprint planning meeting time box Feature prioritization The tracking board Definition of done Load balancing Exercise
5	Sprinting
	Self organized teams Work volunteering Daily stand up meetings Burn down chart updation Sprint demo meetings Continuous improvement process Velocity Sprint retrospectives Scaling scrum Co-located and distributed teams Test
6	Dummy project following SCRUM
7	Best practices and concepts
	Agile tooling Osmotic communications for co-located and distributed teams WIP limits Cumulative flow diagram Process tailoring Affinity estimating Product roadmap Story maps Wire frames Chartering Frequent verification and validation Test driven development / test first development Contimuous integration Project charter for an agile project Participatory decision models Process analysis techniques Self assessment Value based assessment
8	Soft skills
	Negotiation Emotional intelligence Collaboration Adaptive leadership Conflict resolution Servant leadership Building high performance teams
9	Value based prioritization – tools and techniques
	Return on investment (ROI) Net present value (NPV) Internal rate of return (IRR) Compliance Customer valued prioritization Minimally marketable feature (MMF) Relative prioritization / ranking Business case development
10	Agile implementation
	Agile contracting methods Agile project accounting principles Applying new agile practices Compliance (Organization) Control limits for agile projects Failure modes and alternatives Globalization, Culture and team diversity Innovation games Principles of systems thinking (complex, adaptive, chaos) Regulatory compliance Variance and trend analysis Vendor management

Useful links

Download PMI-ACP Content Outline

Download PMI-ACP hand book