New PMI-ACP Classes Announced

I am happy to report that LeadingAgile is ramping up its Public Training Program.  We will now offer regularly scheduled public training classes in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.  Early bird registration (30 days or more before class start date) will be heavily rewarded, by way of a $300 discount.  The first class to be announced is the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner. For those unfamiliar with LeadingAgile, though all of us offer training, we're all actually Agile practitioners by trade, with years of real-world experience.  We come from a variety of backgrounds, allowing us to offer relevant training specific to the needs of the individual student. Both our public and private classes move at a steady but relaxing pace, delivering the right combination of applicable information, Q&A, and interactive exercises.

When it’s time for your respective exam, you will pass because you understand the concepts, not because you memorized questions and answers. When you go back to your organizations, you will have the confidence of knowing that you understand the fundamentals and how to apply then.

Why Us?

There are a lot of companies out there who offer training but do so from an ivory tower.  The trainers aren't actual practitioners so they aren't going to be able to answer your questions based on their experiences.  When it comes to knowledge about the PMI-ACP content, no company comes close to LeadingAgile.  Both Mike and Dennis were on the ACP Steering Committee and I was an Independent Reviewer.  After the exam pilot phase concluded, I transitioned to a new role as Co-Lead of the PMI-ACP Support Team at the PMI Agile Community of Practice.

Contact Hours/PDUs:

 21

CEUs:

 2.1

Public or Private:

 Both

Duration:

 3 Days - 9:00 am to 4:30 pm

DATE

LOCATION

 EARLY BIRD

PRICE

August 20-22

Tampa, FL

$1395.00

$1695.00

Register

September 10-12

Reston, VA

$1395.00

$1695.00

Register

October

Atlanta, GA

$1395.00

$1695.00

Register

Who Should Attend

Certainly, if you're interested in getting the PMI-ACP certification, you should take this class. But, it doesn't matter if you're an executive, traditional project manager, or a member of a team.  This class is going to give you a lot of value.  In a typical workshop, I've seen anyone from a CTO to an Extreme Programmer to a Tester.  Come with an open mind and you'll see how we're on the bleeding edge of Agile thought leadership.

Class Materials

Attendees will receive a complementary copy of the class training material, ACP practice exam, and ACP flashcards.

Course Content

Though this course was originally designed to be an exam prep course, it was enhanced to be an introduction into the principles, values, and practices of Scrum, Lean, Kanban, and Extreme Programming. Our course is developed around a fun 3-day exercise, simulation, and game driven curriculum that encourages signifiant interaction amongst everyone participating in the course. Topics include:

• Understand the Agile Manifesto Values and Principles

• Have an end-to-end understanding of Scrum, its key roles, artifacts, and meetings

• Understand what are and why we use big visible charts or information radiators

• Understand Scrum from a ScrumMaster, Product Owner, and empowered Team perspectives

• Know and understand the XP (Extreme Programming) roles and who does what

• Understand Test Driven Development. Know how it works and why it’s valuable

• Understand Continuous Integration. Know how it works and why it’s valuable

• Understand the Lean Software Development Principles

• Know what Lean Portfolio Management is and how your organization could benefit from it

• Understand what Value Stream Mapping is and how to do it

• Understand the basics of Kanban, WIP, and why it works

• Know how to write and identify good User Stories

• Know what Personas are and how to use them

• Understand what makes a Servant Leader and what they do

• Understand Velocity and its usefulness

• Know Agile Estimation techniques

• Know facilitation methods

• Understand how Agile deals with risks

• Understand the Definition of "Ready" and “Done”

• ...much more...

Private Training

If you are interested in private training for your organization or team, please contact us for more information.

Coke Freestyle VMS

coke_freestyle_menu

coke_freestyle_screen

My family and I went into a California Tortilla the other night to grab a quick dinner. Off to the side I notice a long line of people waiting to fill their soda cups.  It used to be, when you went out for fast food, the people behind the counter would ask you what you wanted and they would hand it to you.  Now, at this location, it appeared it could take as long to get our drinks (in a separate line) as it would to get our food.  Though I appreciate this California Tortilla location wanting to empower the consumer by giving us 100+ choices of our favorite mixture of soda-pop, most people in line appeared paralyzed by the amount of combinations and permutations.  When I went into a different California Tortilla, I noticed an old-school fountain machine.  There was no line and I saw two people filling their soda cups at the same time.  It made me question the value the additional choices offered, especially when all I want is water.

So, I guess my question is, should there be fewer options or a better feedback tool for consumers to respond to?  When doing a little research on this post, I found a poster of a freestyle "menu" at Taco Mac.  I believe the use of this VMS (Visual Management System) could keep the lines short at the California Tortilla location.  But, I don't know.  Are there shorter (or no) lines at the Atlanta Taco Macs?  To shorten the lines at California Tortilla, I would propose they get the menus and hang a poster near the machine.  I think people would be more apt to decide what they wanted before they stand in front of this machine with 100+ choice presented to them.  I think it would cut down on people browsing the menu, while there is a line behind them.  My goal?  I want the cut down lead time and cycle time as much as possible.  Not sure what those are?  I found a great definition by Corey Ladas.

Lead time clock starts when the request is made and ends at delivery. Cycle time clock starts when work begins on the request and ends when the item is ready for delivery. Cycle time is a more mechanical measure of process capability. Lead time is what the customer sees.

Lead time depends on cycle time, but also depends on your willingness to keep a backlog, the customer’s patience, and the customer’s readiness for delivery.

Another way to think about it is: cycle time measures the completion rate, lead time measures the arrival rate. A producer has limited strategies to influence lead time. One is pricing (managing the arrival rate), another is managing cycle time (completing work faster/slower than the arrival rate).

I know you usually don't think of Agile or Lean when talking about fish tacos, burritos and soda-pop, but I had to get this off my chest.