LACE Foundations: Agility

What is Agile? What are the foundational principles? Learn about Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe, as well as how the core principles of Agile are applied to digital product development.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

• Agile Values and Principles 
• Social Contracts – The Glue of Agile 
• Key Agile Roles 
• Scrum Overview 
• Agile Requirements 
• Visualizing Work 
• Writing User Stories 
• Estimation and Planning

Who should attend:

Anyone who is interested in the learning about the history and basics of Agility.

• Duration: 2 Days, 10 AM - 4 PM

• Level: Introductory 
• Catalog Number: F-100

Learning Path(s): Foundational Learning Path,  Agility Generalist

LACE Foundations: Product Ownership

While the role and responsibilities of the Product Owner can be described simply enough, very little is said about the day-to-day practice of those fulfilling the role. If you are a new Product Owner, you may be wrestling with competing demands for time and information from your team and stakeholders. Or perhaps you have been a Product Owner for a while. If so, are you working long hours trying to keep up with the work? Either way, join us to learn the tools to help maximize your potential.

This workshop will teach you how to handle the complex responsibilities of a great Product Owner including: how to manage and prioritize product backlogs utilizing business value and other industry prioritization methods, plan releases, track progress, estimate business value, drive a Sprint Review, effectively prepare and participate in Sprint Planning and learn how to scale Scrum projects.  Leave with the skills and renewed excitement to generate business value and fully leverage your Scrum team.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

• Why Agile?​
• What is Agile?​
• Social Contracts – The “Force” of Agile​
• Scrum ​
• Key Agile Roles​
• Product Owners and SAFe​
• Agile Requirements​
• Backlog Management​
• Leading the conversation​
• Transparency and Reporting​

Who should attend:

The Foundations of Product Ownership course is suitable for existing Product Owners, Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, Team Leaders, Portfolio Managers, Program Managers and those working with Products.

• Duration: 2 Days, 10 AM - 4 PM
• Level: Introductory 
• Suggested Prerequisites: Foundations of Agility
• Catalog Number: P-100

Learning Path(s): Product Management

LACE Foundations: Scrum Mastery

No matter how long you have been practicing Scrum, Foundations of Scrum Mastery is the next few pieces of the puzzle. It is a true immersion into the world of a Scrum Master in a SAFe environment. We will explore facilitation, teaching, modeling, and coaching to drive measurable results. We take the time to utilize techniques that help the Delivery Team, Product Owner, and the organization succeed.

The class is full of real-world examples from the participants’ experiences and coaches through practical tools and techniques that can be implemented immediately at your workplace. The course is a deep dive with hands-on activities and exercises to demonstrate key concepts.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

• Why we do Agile​
• Agile Principles​
• Agile Social Contracts​
• Key Roles of Scrum ​
• Scrum Ceremonies​
• Agile Estimation​
• Key Agile Metrics​

Who should attend:

The Foundations of Scrum Mastery course is suitable for existing Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, Team Leaders, Project Managers, and others assuming the role of an Agile Team facilitator.

• Duration: 2 Days, 10 AM - 4 PM
• Level: Introductory 
• Suggested Prerequisites:  Foundations of Agility
• Catalog Number: C-100

Learning Path(s): Agile Facilitation and Coaching

LACE Explained: Agile for Non-Technical Teams

What is Business Agility? How can a business be Agile? In this foundational course we will explore concepts from the world of Agile software development and examine how they are being applied to a multitude of disciples, and learners will work together to identify processes issues that Agile methodologies and practices can mitigate.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

1. Business Agility Best Practices
2. The benefits of adopting Business Agility
3. Applying Agile Practices for Business Teams
4. Business Agility implementation within CMS

Who should attend:

Anyone who is interested in the Business Agility buzzword. Business teams who are interested in the adoption of agility practices.

• Duration: 2 Hours
• Level: Introductory 
• Suggested Prerequisites:  Foundations of Agility
• Catalog Number: B-102

Learning Path(s): Business/Leadership

LACE Explained: CCSQ LACE Dashboards

Understanding Agility Metrics:

The CCSQ LACE dashboard is available for all Scrum and Kanban teams within CCSQ. For those unfamiliar with Agility Metrics, this short session will include a walkthrough of the team dashboard, an overview of each dashboard element, and how to set up the dashboards.

This session will also help learners interpret and understand the stories the dashboard elements tell, and how to leverage the dashboards to ask the right questions to help accelerate the maturity, health, and speed of delivery of your programs.

Who should attend:

Program Leaders, Product Managers, Scrum Masters, and anyone else with a vested interest in elevating team performance.

• Duration: 1 Hour
• Level: Introductory 
• Catalog Number: F-107

Learning Path(s): Agility Generalist

View the Dashboard   

Does your program use Jira Portfolio?

View the Portfolio Dashboard

LACE Explained: DevOps

Have you ever wondered what people are talking about when DevOps comes up? You know the buzzwords: Continuous integration, CI/CD pipeline, automated deployments, etc. The DevOps explained session is an overview of attributes, benefits, and practices of the culture of DevOps, and will help you understand participate in conversations with teams and stakeholders about DevOps.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

• What is DevOps​
• Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)​
• The DevOps Process​
• DevOps Practices and Technologies​
• The Evolution of IT Services​
• Leveraging DevOps for Organizational Improvement​

Who should attend:

The DevOps Explained session is appropriate for anyone who wants to know what DevOps actually is, understand the practices and its impact on software quality, and how it is one of the critical skill sets of software agility.

• Duration: 2 hours
• Level: Introductory 
• Catalog Number: C-104

Learning Path(s): Agility Generalist, Technical Agility

LACE Explained: Work Estimation

What is a large? What is a 5?

You may have heard, or experienced, these types of estimates given to backlog items. What do they mean? Who decides what the result is? What does estimating work mean? Who estimates?

All of these questions, and more, will be answered when you attend the LACE Explained: Estimating Work training.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

• The science of estimation​
• Imprecise estimation​
• How estimates drive delivery plans

Who should attend:

Team Members, Product Owners, Scrum Masters, Product Managers, and just about everyone that is involved with creating products and services in CCSQ.

• Duration: 2 hours
• Level: Introductory
• Catalog Number: C-101

Learning Path(s): Agility Generalist, Scrum Master/Coaching, Technical Agility, Business Agility

LACE Explained: Kanban

What is Kanban? What are the rules? Where did it come from? What is the difference between an agile team being a Kanban team and an agile team using a Kanban? Unravel these mysteries and more in the LACE Kanban Explained 2 hour session.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

• The Fundamental Rules of the Kanban Board​
• How can Kanban identify and reduce waste​
• How Kanban teams operate​
• Design and Implement a Kanban board​
• Kanban Metrics​

Who Should Attend:

Scrum Masters, Program Leaders, or anyone using a Kanban for personal or professional use who wants to use a Kanban board to increase throughput and tune their process.

• Duration: 2 hours
• Level: Introductory 
• Catalog Number: C-102

Learning Path(s): Agility Generalist, Scrum Master/Coaching, Technical Agility, Business Agility

LACE Explained: Inspect and Adapt 

Agile Teams highly regard the scrum Retrospective meeting, understanding it's the key to continuous improvement. How do we realize the Agile Continuous Improvement Principle at the program and organizational level? Attend this class to dive into the details, roles and responsibilities, and activities of the Inspect and Adapt Workshop.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

1. The value and purpose of the I&A Workshop
2. The core modules of the workshop
3. Identifying and refining systemic issues that impeding ART performance
4. Simulate a problem-solving workshop

Who should attend:

Any member of the ART or that wants to see their program embrace continuous improvement.

• Duration: 2 hours
• Level: Intermediate 
• Catalog Number: C-200

Learning Path(s): Agility Generalist, Scrum Master/Coaching

LACE Explained: Objectives and Key Results

What are OKRs?

Writing clear objectives has been a program level challenge since the dawn of SAFe. In SAFe 5.0, Objectives and Key Results have become the preferred way of expressing the business goals at both the program and team levels, and how to measure them. Learn how to write effective OKRs in this short format learning session.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

1. What OKRs are
2. OKR benefits and why companies are using them today
3. Best practices for writing OKRs
4. Experience writing OKRs through exercises and examples
5. Common OKR mistakes to avoid
6. How to strengthen the key results

Who should attend:

Program Leaders, Product Managers, Product Owners, and anyone else with a vested interest in empowering teams and programs to support value driven business goals.

• Duration: 2 hours
• Level: Intermediate 
• Catalog Number: B-200

Learning Path(s): Business Agility, Product Management, Agile Facilitation/Coaching

LACE Explained: Organizational Quality Practices

Product Quality is an organization effort from the time an idea is formed until we receive feedback from end users. Join us for this session to see the whole picture on quality and how the entire program owns and creates quality.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

1. The impact and cost of software defects
2. What “Built-in Quality” means
3. The 5 areas of quality practices in the Software Development Life Cycle
4. Ways to measure quality

Who should attend:

Anyone interested in improving product quality.

• Duration: 90 Minutes
• Level: Introductory 
• Catalog Number: F-105

Learning Path(s): Agility Generalist, Scrum Master/Coaching, Technical Agility

LACE Explained: PI Planning

In this two hour learning session, we deep dive into the ceremony of PI Planning. We will demystify the agenda, expectations of participants, the intended outcomes, and what to do after it is completed. The value of PI Planning cannot be overstated, and skimping on, or skipping, any part of it is detrimental to the success of the ART.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

• Business Value
• PI Objectives
• Committed vs. Uncommitted objectives

Who should attend:

Anyone working with an Agile Release Train (ART) 

• Duration: 2 hours
• Level: Introductory 
• Catalog Number: F-102

Learning Path(s): Product Management, Agile Facilitation/Coaching Path

LACE Explained: Program Backlog Management

This two hour learning session, the art and technique of managing program backlogs will be demystified. Learners will see how to understand the program backlog in the context of the larger product vision, what preparation is needed for and the mechanics of the program backlog refinement meeting, Feature refinement, the program Kanban, and the PI Roadmap.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

• The purpose, procedures and techniques used at the Program Backlog Refinement​​
• The inputs, outputs, and success measure of Program Backlog Refinement​​
• What a well-refined feature looks like​
• Processes and tools to manage work at the Program Level

Who should attend:

Solutions Management Teams, Product Management, Product Owners, RTE

• Duration: 2 hours
• Level: Introductory 
• Catalog Number: P-101

Learning Path(s): Product Management, Agile Facilitation/Coaching Path

LACE Explained: Product Innovation Thinking

How do product managers brainstorm? When in the HCD cycle should we ideate on our user research? This course traces the history of two products that have existed throughout history and gives the participants the opportunity to ideate and find ways to improve the product in the future.

Who Should Attend:

Product Managers, Product Owners, and anyone else with a vested interest in product development.

• Duration: 4 hours
• Level: Intermediate 
• Catalog Number: B-202

Learning Path(s): Product Management 

LACE Explained: Roadmaps

An overview of the value, importance, and mechanics of Roadmaps at the Solution, Program, and PI levels.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

1. The value of Roadmaps
2. The 3 key components of Roadmaps
3. The scope and characteristics of different Roadmaps
4. The responsibilities of Stakeholders, Leadership, and Delivery Teams

Who should attend:

Program and Product Managers

• Duration: 1 hour
• Level: Intermediate 
• Catalog Number: P-201

Learning Path(s): Product Management, Business Agility

LACE Explained: Social Contracts

Understand the necessity and power of team and program level Social Contracts in agile product delivery organizations.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

1. The value of team level social contracts
2. How to use Social Contracts for change management
3. Differentiate the various program Social Contracts
4. How Social Contracts work for Business Agility
5. How Social Contracts create organizational accountability

Who should attend:

All program members

• Duration: 2 hours
• Level: Introductory 
• Catalog Number: C-103

Learning Path(s): Agility Generalist, Scrum Master/Coaching, Business Agility

LACE Explained: Technical Agility

Ever wonder what the engineers are talking about? Interested in following the conversation and asking better questions? Attend this two hour session to demystify concepts such as Test Driven Development, the benefits of continuous integration, how automated tests work, and what are the techniques and practices that enable rapid, high quality, and successful agile software development.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

• The Importance of Agility Technical Practices​
• Collaboration and Technical Practices​
• What is Clean Code​
• Continuous integration and agility technical practices​
• Define Test First, Design Last​
• How to manage technical debt​
• Ways to measure software development

Who Should Attend:

Scrum Masters, Stakeholders on technical teams and anyone else that wants to increase their understanding of what makes agile software development successful.

• Duration: 2 hours
• Level: Introductory 
• Catalog Number: F-106

Learning Path(s): Scrum Master/Coaching

LACE Explained: Value Stream Mapping

This is a two-hour course designed to provide participants with a basic understanding of the principles and concepts behind this powerful process improvement tool.

Participants will learn how to identify and analyze value streams, map current and future states, and develop implementation plans. The course will cover the basics of value stream mapping, including how to use this process maps to identify waste, how to analyze data to identify opportunities for improvement, and how to develop an implementation plan to optimize the value stream.

This course will also cover some of the common challenges that organizations face when implementing value stream mapping, such as resistance to change, and difficulties in data collection and analysis.

Participants will learn strategies for overcoming these challenges and ensuring successful implementation.

In this course, you will gain an understanding of:

• The benefits of organizing around value
• How to recognize different types of value streams
• The steps to map a value stream
• Methods to improve the flow of value
• Manage, maintain, and improve a value stream

Who should attend:

Anyone who wants to gain a basic understanding of value stream mapping, including process improvement professionals or anyone involved in optimizing business processes.

• Duration: 2 hours
• Level: Advanced 
• Catalog Number: B-300

Learning Path(s): Business Agility