August 2021: I published the 7th edition of An Introduction to Project Management, which has a lot of agile info. I will keep the old info here as well.
July 30, 2020: Several instructors and students have asked me to provide more information on agile and additional exercises and cases for online classes. Below are instructions and links for several exercises, two quizzes, and one case study. Anyone can use the information below, but please cite the source. Copyright 2020, Schwalbe Publishing. Please provide feedback and suggestion to schwalbe@augsburg.edu. Thanks. Kathy Schwalbe
Exercises: Exploring Agile and Agile Project Management
Students can work on these exercises individually or in small groups. Instead of a paper (rough page estimates are listed after each exercise), your instructor might give you the option of creating a podcast, video, or presentation with your responses. Links to all of the references are included in the instructions.
- Read the Agile Manifesto and 12 Principles of Agile Software. Also read Agile 101 from the Agile Alliance site. Why do you think the manifesto and principles were created? Search for answers to this question and/or ask someone who has worked in the IT field for a long time for their response. Summarize your findings and opinions. (1-2 pages).
- Many people discuss an “agile mindset” based on certain beliefs, values, and principles. Read “Understanding the Agile Mindset” and one additional article of your choice on this topic. Summarize your findings and opinions. (1-2 pages).
- Agile today is used in many industries and on many types of projects (not just software development). Entire organizations are striving to be agile. Read two articles by McKinsey & Company: “The Journey to an Agile Organization and “An operating model for the next normal: Lessons from agile organizations in the crisis.” Summarize your findings and opinions. (2-4 pages)
- Research types of projects in areas other than software development that benefit from agile, such as education, manufacturing, healthcare, finance, sales, etc. What are the main reasons that an agile or hybrid approach is used versus a more traditional or waterfall approach? Summarize your findings and opinions. (2-4 pages).
- There are many agile approaches, frameworks, and methods, such as Scrum, XP, Crystal, FDD, DSDM, AUP, and ScrumBan. (These particular frameworks and methods as well as Kanban are actually subsets of lean, according to PMI’s 2017 Agile Practice Guide, p. 11). Henny Portman has a great summary of what he calls the agile forest, summarizing over 50 different agile approaches, frameworks, or methods that can be applied at the team, program, and portfolio level. Summarize the main differences between three of them, citing your references. (2-4 pages).
- Scrum is a very popular agile framework. Read “What is Scrum – International Scrum Institute” and watch the short video called “Scrum in 10 Minutes” created by Axosoft. Summarize what you learned and at least two key questions you still have after watching the video. Find and cite references to answer your own questions. Summarize your findings and opinions. You might also want to read the 13-page long 2020 document called The Scrum Guide 2020. (2-4 pages).
- Take the short quiz on agile project management basics. Take it again until you get 100%. Share your results with your instructor as directed.
- Take another quiz based on PMI’s Agile Practice Guide.
Case Study
Case 1 Agile resources for university instructors teaching online-Schwalbe Aug 11 2020
Consider using a free tool to create backlogs, sprints, etc. like Jira.
Link to additional agile info.
Please send me feedback at schwalbe@augsburg.edu. Thanks! Kathy
An Introduction to Project Management 