Agile Release Planning Workshop

This workshop is also the third day of our CSM (Certified ScrumMaster) or CSPO (Certified Scrum Product Owner) courses. We do this workshop after every CSM or CSPO. Our goal is to make the courses much more useful by immediately following them with a practical workshop using real work.

This is key: We are using your real work to do Agile Release Planning.

The workshop is based on Joe Little’s book on Agile Release Planning.

The Workshop covers three main topics:

Agile Release Planning (occupies most of the time)
Release Plan Refactoring (a.k.a. Product Backlog grooming and Product Backlog refinement)
Rolling into the first Sprint and the impact on the meetings in the first Sprint (as time permits)

The Agile Release Planning topic (#1) includes the following with a real project (or product work):

Agree on the Vision
Develop the Product Backlog
Estimate Business Value
Estimate Effort
Discuss Risks, Dependencies, Learning, Minimum Marketable Feature Set and Other Factors
Order the Work
‘Complete’ the Release Plan
Discuss Communication

We form a team at each table (typically four to five people), and each team works on a different set of real work. It is even better if you can bring a full real team to the workshop.

Benefits:

Working with a real team on real work is an excellent way to start using Scrum.
Attendees gain confidence that ‘I can really do this.’
The workshop brings out each person’s real issues and concerns.
The participants find that some concerns turn out to be insubstantial, those concerns dissipate, and then we address the other concerns.
You are prepared to really start Scrum “on Monday.” For example, you now have a decent Product Backlog.

Other Benefits:

You earn 7 SEUs toward the requirements of the CSP (Certified Scrum Professional) certification.
You earn 7 PDUs toward your PMI requirements.
You will receive a free copy of Joe’s book, “Agile Release Planning.”

The Trainer:

Joe Little, an experienced Agile coach and Scrum Trainer (CST), will lead this workshop.
Joe has given this workshop over 100 times.
Joe has co-trained eight times with Jeff Sutherland (one of the co-creators of Scrum), and we believe you get more ‘real Scrum’ because of this co-training.
Joe has an MBA and 20+ years of senior level Big 6 and related consulting experience.
Joe has in-depth practical experience in helping teams become very productive with Scrum and Agile.
He often co-teaches with other great Scrum trainers. Take a look at Joe’s blog, Agile & Business.
Joe is a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST) associated with Scrum Alliance.

You may want to ask about our Referral Program and about our Refresher Program.

Who Should Attend:

Anyone may attend
The best: The whole Scrum Team and the related Business Stakeholders
Others interested in Agile estimating and planning should attend

If you take the workshop standalone, we recommend that at least one person from your group has taken either our CSM or CSPO course.

Prerequisites:

You should have taken a CSM course or CSPO course with Joe Little
Or, have read most of Joe Little’s book on Agile Release Planning
Or, discuss with a colleague who has attended our course, and come with that colleague.

Registration and Fees:

Price for the workshop is $400.
You may receive better pricing if you take the workshop in conjunction with a CSM or CSPO course.
There is a $25 early bird discount.
In addition, there is a 3% discount off the net due if you pay with cash (e.g., at the beginning of the course). To secure this discount, you must pay a non-refundable $100 deposit in advance. Normally this is just a partial prepayment.

The fee covers food and beverage (typically, a continental breakfast, AM break, lunch and a PM break).

Please register using the ‘Register Now’ button (above right). If you register multiple people, please send us an email with their names and email addresses.

You may also contact our office and we can discuss other payment methods, receipts, invoices, etc. Payment methods include USD check, money transfer, credit card, PayPal, over-the-phone (CC), cash, etc. All payments should be received before the workshop starts. Once we receive payment you will be registered.

The workshop date may be changed up until 16 days prior to the start date. We will advise you.

Policy for Changes and Refunds

If for any reason you cannot make a course, you may send another person in your place for free (no additional fee). You must identify that person before the course starts.

There are other options and other situations. Some involve notable fees or deductions. These rules are discussed at this webpage. You are responsible for reading these rules carefully. In general, fees or extra costs are more likely if you are within 16 days of the course start.

Please contact Cassandra if you have questions (Cassandra.Wagner@LeanAgileTraining.com).