SCRUM (Agile Project Management) PMBP_SCR
Schedule Core Results & Update Management
SCRUM is a smart way to manage project deliverables using Agile SCRUM or Kanban-like approaches to planning and tracking. This course explains how you can apply the SCRUM functionality to almost any project despite the seemingly unconventional approach to how the information that is presented. To do this we went back to the TPS roots: a Toyota Production System that tracks the deliverables for tangible results (motor vehicles). There are many steps in producing a car, yet ultimately each car represents a single bundle of results. How we track the details of producing that car (as a single output or as many consolidated components) depends on the level of control that is relevant for a particular application. Using our Excel™-VBA software (included) we provide you with examples of how you can tweak the process to better manage a project. There are no prerequisites for this course. SCRUM fully integrates with our other project management software.
Increasingly companies want to focus on Agile techniques that promise to deliver more for less effort, a focus that sometimes undermines formal project management. With SCRUM we can drive execution in a “pure” Agile manner and take away the big picture so that the development team can focus on specific Sprint deliverables. The production of results from the Sprint is synchronized with a traditional project to provide the overarching control expected by client corporations, while the Scrum Master can focus on the effectiveness of their team in completing Sprints to produce those results. What makes our SCRUM implementation different is that it is based on an Excel™ workbook with VBA code.
The key to a SCRUM with Kanban approach to work planning and tracking is simplicity – based on the Toyota Production System origins for tracking assembly line work effort. SCRUM is more a philosophy than a methodology for managing collaboration at the execution level, and it does not do justice to call it a project management technique, even though we introduced some key standards to facilitate its integration with work packages coordinated in an overarching system that define WHAT must be delivered rather than HOW it will be delivered. While the individual rows on the worksheet do not itemize cars to be produced, we can maintain the spirit of TPS even as we add some basic controls for management reporting.
The focus of SCRUM is on HOW the work will be performed, using a “gates” approach at a more detailed level. Typically SCRUM is focused on the execution gate of an overarching project, but without restrictions: the gates represent all major (potential) work activities that the team can engage in. Instead of using index cards to track progress, each column in the SCRUM schedule can define a unique part of the work that may have to be performed. We can identify the work in progress by using colours as the work progresses so that the status of work in progress is visible if you customize the column arrangements to reflect the work activities.
The fact that SCRUM is implemented in Excel™ means that you have the ability to customize many calculations. Because SCRUM is not totally structured this is the easiest way to deliver management information for estimates and budgets, for example.
With an emphasis on execution the major financial focus is on actual cost accumulation. Traditional Kanban boards are generally “shop floor” focused and not ideal for communicating work in progress status so that stakeholders can be kept informed, but our SCRUM model provides the explicit priority and sequencing of work activity that takes it out of what used to be a TPS production paradigm to enable a flexible development paradigm for project execution in a modular work breakdown. Kanban was also the key to Just-In-Time materials management: in SCRUM we have incorporated a comprehensive materials management capability to keep track of when materials must be delivered on-site (based on a BOM – Bill Of Materials subsystem). This capability includes a payables tracker to monitor vendor invoices and remittances.
What may be surprising (and appear inconsistent in a SCRUM model) is that we even have a scheduling capability. SCRUM lets you perform a work breakdown by type of work package, so that you can derive which gates should be executed and (accordingly) what gate costs are incurred to establish a work package budget (based on standard costs). Scheduler logic arranges the work packages in a priority order, and within a given work package it will determine when specific gates will be entered and which gates may be skipped. Although this may not be super accurate it will identify if and where there may be resource availability conflicts that can delay the completion of work in progress. By contrast, SCRUM can also be “schedule free” to accommodate an “ASAP” model that may be used in an Infrastructure environment to upgrade equipment, where we want to keep track of progress to make sure key deadlines are achieved, but where the work is performed whenever the opportunity arises.
Kaizen (Japanese for “improvement”) is a process review to improve production and eliminate waste. While you can establish a separate set of activities for the “PDCA” (Plan, Do, Check, Act) process you can apply steps in the Kanban process to incorporate the Kaizen spirit in the work flow. When exceptions are encountered you can then initiate the extra effort to perform a cause-and-effect (fishbone or Ishikawa) analysis that establishes the root cause for the exception so that it can be remedied.
Learning Formats PMAP_SCR
This course is currently available in a classroom setting (public or company private) with approximately 6 contact hours (1 day).
PDF – Certificate Of Completion
Each course offers a certificate of completion that identifies the course, the student, and a brief description of the course. To receive a certificate the student must have attended at least 80% of the course sessions. This personalized certificate is forwarded to the student by Email.
PDF – Course Notebook
Each course includes a notebook in PDF format that provides the minimum knowledge the student must master in order to obtain the certificate. In the notebook you will find references to other study materials. Students receive the notebook by Email when their registration is confirmed.
PDF – Program Overview
An overview of this study program can be downloaded from the website by right-clicking on the program link on the enquiry page.
PDF – Current Training Schedule
A list of upcoming training sessions can be downloaded from the website by right-clicking on the schedule link on the enquiry page.
Registration – Service Providers
To register for any training course please look on the enquiry link page of your service provider (from where you accessed this website). On the page you will find a registration request form where you can order the course that you are interested in. The availability dates will be provided to you, along with payment instructions if you decide to go ahead.
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