Agile - Slides

Understand Agile principles and values.

​​Objective 1

Learn core Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, etc.).

​​​​Objective 2

Explore Agile roles, ceremonies, and artifacts.

​​Objective 3

Apply Agile in real-world project scenarios.

​​Objective 4

​By the end of this session you will be able to design and manage projects using Agile methodology, develop an Agile mindset, and effectively apply Agile practices and tools in real-world scenarios.

Goal:

What do you remember from the last session?

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Discussion Questions

1. What makes Agile unique from the Waterfall project management?

2. How outcome is being developed in Agile?

3. How Agile projects plan, compared to Waterfall?

4. When should we use Agile methodology?

Open Ended

You are managing a project for Mercy Corps in Afghanistan to develop a mobile-based agricultural advisory platform that provides real-time weather updates, pest control guidance, and best farming practices for local farmers. Due to fluctuating climate conditions, varying literacy levels, and inconsistent internet access, your team decides to follow an agile approach. The platform will be developed iteratively, incorporating feedback from farmers and adapting features to suit their needs.

Question: Using PMP Agile principles, how would you structure the project to ensure the platform effectively serves the farmers? Describe the steps you would take to apply agile methodologies, engage stakeholders, and incorporate feedback in iterative releases to maximize value.

Answer - Mercy Corps Project

To apply an agile approach, begin by defining a product backlog that outlines the key features of the agricultural advisory platform, such as real-time weather updates, voice-based guidance, and offline functionality for remote farmers. Organize development into short sprints, typically two to four weeks long, with each sprint focusing on building and testing a specific feature. At the start of each sprint, conduct a planning session with stakeholders, including local farmers and agricultural experts, to prioritize features based on their most pressing needs. Throughout the sprint, hold daily stand-up meetings with the development team to track progress and address any roadblocks. At the end of each sprint, conduct a review session where farmers test the new features and provide feedback, ensuring the platform evolves based on real-world use. Use retrospective meetings to evaluate team performance, identify improvements, and refine the development process for future sprints. Continuously update the product backlog and adjust the project roadmap to reflect changing requirements, new insights, and emerging needs. This iterative approach ensures the platform remains user-centric, continuously improves in functionality, and delivers tangible value to farmers in Afghanistan.

​Video

Discussion Questions

1. Why did the Waterfall method failed in software development sector?

2. How can rigid processes and tools hinder project success?

3. Why agile hinders over-dependence on rigid processes and tools?

4. What issues can occur when too much focus is placed on extensive documentation?

5. What risks do projects face when contract terms take precedence?

6. How can strict adherence to a fixed plan limit a project's ability?

Multiple Choice

You are managing a USAID project in Afghanistan to introduce a new agricultural technology aimed at improving crop yield for local female farmers. The project initially planned for a series of in-person training sessions in rural areas. However, partway through the project, government restrictions and feedback from farmers indicate that they prefer mobile-based learning options due to time constraints and restrictions. Adapting the project plan would involve reallocating budget and resources to create mobile training modules, which were not originally part of the scope. What should you do in this situation in alignment with Agile values?

• Collaborate with stakeholders to explore reallocating resources to develop mobile-based training modules, addressing the farmers' needs despite the deviation from the initial plan.

• Request formal approval for additional budget and time before making any changes, as this will allow the team to follow the approved project plan without risking over-expenditure.

• Stick to the original plan, as it was agreed upon by stakeholders and budgeted accordingly, and advise farmers to attend the in-person sessions when they can.

• Document the farmers’ preference for mobile training and recommend it as a future phase after completing the current in-person training sessions as initially planned.

Multiple Choice

Alokozay Company is using Agile to develop a new beverage tailored for the Afghan market. As the project manager, you’re overseeing product development, which includes creating an initial batch for testing and gathering feedback. Midway through the development, the compliance team requests detailed documentation of every ingredient's sourcing, testing, and production process, citing future Ministry of Health (MoH) regulatory requirements. However, focusing on this documentation could delay the launch of the initial batch and gathering valuable customer feedback.

How should you respond to this request in alignment with Agile values?

• Prioritize creating the documentation immediately, as it is essential for regulatory compliance, even if it delays the initial product launch.

• Balance both efforts by partially fulfilling the documentation request while simultaneously working to complete the initial batch to ensure timely customer feedback.

• Emphasize delivering a functional initial batch to get customer feedback, explaining to the marketing team that detailed documentation can be completed after verifying the product's success in the market.

• Delay product testing until full documentation is completed, ensuring all aspects of the product are comprehensively documented before launch.

Multiple Choice

You are managing a project to design a new digital system for MTN Afghanistan to improve customer service and engagement. The project team is using Agile to accommodate evolving user requirements in Afghanistan's fast-changing telecom environment. Midway through the project, MTN requests changes to the system’s user interface based on recent customer feedback. The contract outlines specific interface features, but these changes fall outside the agreed scope and could impact the project timeline and budget.

How should you handle MTN's request in alignment with Agile values?

• Refer MTN to the original contract terms, explaining that additional requests will require formal negotiation and potential adjustments to the budget and schedule.

• Ask MTN to document all their requested changes and submit them formally. After reviewing, proceed with only the features outlined in the contract to avoid scope creep.

• Complete the project as originally specified in the contract, then address MTN’s additional requests as part of a separate project phase after formal contract amendments.

• Collaborate closely with MTN to understand the reasons behind the requested changes and prioritize delivering a product that meets their evolving needs, even if it requires adapting project deliverables.

Multiple Choice

You are the project manager for an NGO implementing a disaster relief project using Agile principles. The team includes both local community members and international experts working together to deliver critical supplies and support to affected areas. During a recent sprint, a team member suggests implementing a new software tool to track supply distribution, which would reduce the time spent on manual updates. However, the community members have limited experience with digital tools, and their primary feedback channel is through face-to-face meetings and phone calls.

What should you do to ensure the team adheres to Agile values in this situation?

• Encourage the team to adopt the new tool immediately, as it will streamline the tracking process and ultimately save time, even if it means delaying the next sprint to provide training.

• Introduce the tool gradually, requiring all team members to use it while providing mandatory training sessions to ensure everyone understands how to use it properly.

• Focus on fostering direct communication between team members, supporting the current methods of feedback and collaboration that community members are comfortable with, rather than prioritizing the new tool.

• Create a set of documented guidelines for using the new tool and require that team members follow them, making the tool the primary method for communication and updates.

Discussion Questions

• Summarize each principle in 1-3 words.

• How Agile projects:

• Reduce risk?

• Increase quality?

• Manage the team and communication?

• Increase customer satisfaction?
  
  

Quiz:
Agile Principles

Discussion Questions

How to manage a project using scrum?

Describe the Following Roles

• What are the responsibilities of the Product Owner?

• What are the responsibilities of the Scrum Master?

• What are the responsibilities of the Development Team?

Multiple Choice

Hybrid Learning Institute of Educa is developing a mobile learning platform for students in rural Afghanistan using Agile. The Product Owner, Mariam, receives feedback from educators that some modules are too advanced for students. Some stakeholders want to remove these modules, while others prefer simplifying them. The team is mid-sprint and worries that making changes now will disrupt progress.

What should Mariam do?

• Halt the sprint and have the team revise the modules based on feedback.

• Add the changes to the product backlog, prioritize them, and discuss in the next sprint planning.

• Adjust sprint goals and have the team modify the modules in the current sprint.

• Inform stakeholders that feedback will be reviewed after the project to avoid disruption.

Multiple Choice

ActionAid is working on a project to develop a community feedback app in Afghanistan to help locals share concerns about community health and safety. The team is following an Agile approach, with Sayed as the Scrum Master. Midway through a sprint, Sayed notices that several team members are frequently interrupted by requests from stakeholders outside the sprint review process. This is affecting the team’s focus and progress.

What should Sayed, as the Scrum Master, do to ensure the team can work effectively?

• Ask the team to accommodate the stakeholder requests as they are important for the project’s success.

• Remind the team and stakeholders that external requests should wait until the sprint review and coach stakeholders on Agile processes.

• Cancel the current sprint to address the stakeholder requests immediately.

• Ignore the issue and allow the team to manage their work independently, as Scrum encourages self-organization.

Multiple Choice

UN Habitat is developing a digital platform to track housing development progress in rural Afghanistan. The Agile team is working on building a feature that allows field officers to upload real-time updates. During a sprint, one team member identifies a more efficient way to code this feature, which would improve performance but would take additional time and wasn’t initially planned.

As members of the Development Team, what should they do next?

• Inform the Product Owner about the improvement and discuss reprioritizing other tasks in the sprint to accommodate the new approach.

• Implement the new approach immediately, as it will improve the product's performance.

• Continue with the original approach, as making changes mid-sprint could impact the sprint goals.

• Pause the sprint and conduct a team meeting to decide if the new approach should be adopted.

Agile Artifacts-Video Questions

1. Why they call them artifact?

2. What are the benefits of having a Product Backlog?

3. How should we develop and manage the Product Backlog?

4. What is included in a Sprint Backlog?

5. What can we do with an Increment?

Multiple Choice

Baheer Publishing Company is working on a project to design a new, cost-effective type of paper to compete with imported papers. The Scrum team is using a Product Backlog to manage the various requirements and features needed for the new paper product. During a sprint, the Product Owner receives feedback from the market research team suggesting additional features that could make the product more competitive.

What should the Product Owner do with this new feedback?

• Direct the Development Team to start working on the new features immediately to ensure competitiveness.

• Place the feedback on hold until the project is near completion to avoid disrupting the sprint flow.

• Add the feedback as new items to the Product Backlog, prioritize them, and review with the team in the next sprint planning session.

• Immediately incorporate the feedback into the current sprint to stay responsive to market needs.

Multiple Choice

The Job.af team is developing a new employment services application specifically for professionals seeking jobs in NGOs. The team is following Scrum, and they have set up a Sprint Backlog for their current sprint, focusing on core features like job listings and profile management. Mid-sprint, one of the developers discovers a minor bug in a previously completed feature that isn’t related to the current sprint goals.

How should the team handle this bug?

• Ignore the bug for now, as it’s not part of the current sprint’s scope and isn’t critical.

• Inform the Product Owner and add the bug to the Product Backlog, then consider it for a future sprint.

• Stop the current sprint to fix the bug to ensure the application’s quality.

• Add the bug fix to the Sprint Backlog and address it immediately to prevent any issues.

Multiple Choice

An Afghan software company is developing a new hospital management system to streamline patient records, billing, and scheduling for a network of hospitals. The team is using Scrum and aims to deliver a functional increment at the end of each sprint that can be demonstrated to stakeholders for feedback. At the end of the latest sprint, the team realizes that although most of the features planned for the increment are working, a critical billing feature isn’t fully tested and may not be stable.

What should the team do regarding this increment?

• Release the increment as is to meet the sprint deadline, with a note that the billing feature will be fully tested in the next sprint.

• Exclude the billing feature from the increment and present only the fully tested features to stakeholders.

• Extend the sprint to complete testing of the billing feature so the increment is fully functional.

• Mark the sprint as incomplete and redo it entirely to include a fully tested increment.

Scrum Events -Video Questions

1. What is Sprint and how it should be managed?

2. What is the purpose of Spring Planning and what should we do in SP?

3. What benefits does Daily Scrum have?

4. What are the outcomes of Sprint Review?

5. What is Sprint Retrospective and what are its objectives?

Open Ended

An NGO in Afghanistan is implementing an innovative project to deploy solar-powered mobile health clinics in remote areas, providing basic medical care and health education. The organization has chosen Scrum methodology to manage this project, emphasizing adaptability and community feedback. How would you manage this project?

What is Sprint?

What happens in Spring Planning?

Multiple Choice

An Afghan solar company is starting the first sprint in their project to develop a new type of solar panel that adapts to Afghanistan’s unique weather conditions. During Sprint Planning, the Product Owner has outlined high-priority stories focused on initial design features, including durability and temperature adaptation. The Scrum Team is excited but uncertain about how many of these stories they can realistically complete in the first sprint.

As the Scrum Master, how should you guide the team through this initial Sprint Planning session to set them up for success?

• Encourage the team to estimate each story, prioritize the most critical tasks, and commit only to the work they feel confident they can complete within the sprint.

• Advise the team to take on all stories presented by the Product Owner to show early progress on the project.

• Suggest the team focus only on the easiest tasks to ensure they complete all stories without risking any delays in the first sprint.

• Allow the Product Owner to assign the stories to the team to ensure all high-priority features are addressed from the beginning.

What happens in Daily Scrum?

Multiple Choice

The Afghan solar company’s Scrum Team is in the middle of their first sprint to develop adaptive solar panels designed for Afghanistan’s weather. As part of their daily routine, the team gathers each morning for the Daily Scrum. However, some team members have started to use this time to dive into detailed technical discussions about issues they’re facing, causing the meetings to run longer than expected and delaying the start of their workday.

As the Scrum Master, how should you guide the team to improve the effectiveness of their daily scrum.

• Allow the team to continue with their detailed discussions in the Daily Scrum, as it shows they are engaged in solving project issues.

• Shorten the Daily Scrum to five minutes to prevent any lengthy conversations from occurring.

• Cancel the Daily Scrum for a few days to allow the team more uninterrupted work time.

• Remind the team that the Daily Scrum should be a quick check-in focused on progress, plans, and blockers, and suggest scheduling a separate meeting for detailed discussions.

What scrum team does in Sprint Review?

Multiple Choice

A solar energy company in Afghanistan is developing a new type of solar panel specifically designed to adapt to Afghanistan’s unique weather conditions. The Scrum team has just completed a sprint, and they are preparing for the Sprint Review. The Product Owner wants to demonstrate several new features, including enhanced durability and temperature adaptation, to key stakeholders, including potential investors. However, some of these features are functional but not fully refined, and a few minor issues remain.

As the Scrum Master, how should you guide the team in managing this Sprint Review?

A.

• Advise the team to only demonstrate the fully refined features to avoid showing incomplete work to stakeholders.

• Present all completed work, including the features with minor issues, and use the review to gather feedback that could help improve the next sprint.

• Postpone the Sprint Review until all features are completely refined and free of issues to make a positive impression on stakeholders.

• Cancel the Sprint Review for this sprint and focus on completing all features before holding a review.

What happens in Sprint Retrospective?

Multiple Choice

Following the Sprint Review for a solar company’s project in Afghanistan to design weather-adaptive solar panels, the team received valuable feedback from stakeholders, particularly around the features with minor issues related to durability and temperature adaptation. During the Sprint Review, stakeholders expressed concerns about the number of minor issues in the demonstration and suggested that the team improve their quality control.

Now, as they gather for the Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Master wants to ensure that the team addresses these concerns, as well as any internal challenges, to improve for the next sprint.

As the Scrum Master, how should you manage this Sprint Retrospective to address the stakeholders' concerns and support the team’s improvement?

• Encourage the team to discuss what led to the minor issues in the demonstration, identify specific areas for process improvement, and create actionable steps to improve quality control in the next sprint.

• Focus solely on the positive aspects of the sprint to maintain morale, acknowledging the stakeholders' concerns briefly without delving into the issues.

• Allow the Product Owner to lead the retrospective to directly address quality concerns raised by stakeholders and set specific improvement goals.

• Skip the retrospective for this sprint and instead focus on improving quality control directly in the next sprint without discussing past challenges.

Multiple Choice

You are managing a Save the Children Agile project in Kabul, Afghanistan, aimed at developing a series of interactive educational modules for local schools. During sprint planning, your team discusses the Definition of Done (DoD) to ensure that each module is ready for use in classrooms upon completion.

Which of the following statements best describes how the Definition of Done should be applied in this project to support quality and usability?

• The DoD should define the process steps for creating and releasing all modules at the project’s end, helping the team meet deadlines for final deployment

• The DoD should list high-level requirements from the project charter, ensuring that each increment aligns with Save the Children’s organizational goals.

• The DoD should include specific quality criteria that each module must satisfy, such as language accuracy, ease of comprehension for teachers, and alignment with local educational standards, ensuring each module is ready for immediate use by the end of each sprint.

• The DoD should outline the general project objectives and be used only during sprint retrospectives to confirm the project's progress toward those objectives.