This week I debuted my PMI-ACP class to the Washington DC/Baltimore area. Being this was the first time I was offering this class, I had a little trepidation. Would my students take to my teaching methods? As I walked into the training center, I passed another classroom. It was a 5-day PMP exam prep class. It was a 5-day PMP exam boot camp. Knowing how boot camps are presented, I knew I did not want the same for my class.
I was looking to do more that teach people how to pass a test. I really wanted them to walk away with an understanding of concepts like self-organization, adaptive planning, continuous improvement, or delivering value. I was looking to spend a lot less time lecturing and a lot more time engaging my students with discussions, simulations, and games.
Over the course of the next three days, we held lengthy discussions on real-world topics. I would introduce a concept and ask questions like now that I've talked about Concept A, how could you apply it at your organization? The class would then compare and contrast different scenarios from each of their respective perspectives. But, I have to admit, some of the best moments of the class came when we played games. Activities ranged from building paper airplanes, to playing the "ball point" game and building a town out of Lego's. I can't express the satisfaction I got, when I saw "lightbulb" moments for each of the students.
One of the attendees just wrote me an email, saying:
The class was excellent! This has been the most valuable class I have had relative to understanding Agile and applying it to my organization.
We had 6 early-adopters at the first class and I got some excellent feedback. I know the next class will be even better. Anyone have some Lego's for sale?