Agile methods are results and people-focused producing fast and flexible approaches to developing software or hardware that use self-organization, adaptive planning, and quick turnaround times at their core. Teams closely collaborate to make decisions in a cyclical, iterative process called sprints to produce software, typically over one to four-week periods. Team members make continuous quality improvements using the specific method that’s right for their organization and project, like Scrum, Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), or Lean-Agile. Learn more about these handy methods and the agile certifications that are available for each.
Usually with a Scrum board, team members group work tasks into columns based on their progress. With “time scoping”, the Scrum method helps to structure work tasks and estimate their completion time. The team gets work done in small, independent time frames called sprints that typically last from one to four weeks, and tasks are allocated based on the team’s estimate of what it can accomplish per sprint.The Scrum framework is simple and is the favored method of 84% of Agile teams, but it does require closely following specific guidelines from three pillars of the process control theory: transparency, inspection, and adaptation.According to the Scrum Alliance’s State of Scrum 2017-2018 report, based on survey responses from almost 2,000 Scrum and Agile professionals:
Scrum
About Scrum
Scrum is a guideline for collaboratively solving a variety of problems on many different projects, such as hardware or software development, Scrum uses communication and creativity to productively achieve goals with less waste.The Scrum method bases decision-making on learnings from the experience of conducting tasks and controlling risks using an iterative process. Every workflow repetition incrementally improves an outcome’s predictability, reducing risk and optimizing the team’s productivity.
Usually with a Scrum board, team members group work tasks into columns based on their progress. With “time scoping”, the Scrum method helps to structure work tasks and estimate their completion time. The team gets work done in small, independent time frames called sprints that typically last from one to four weeks, and tasks are allocated based on the team’s estimate of what it can accomplish per sprint.The Scrum framework is simple and is the favored method of 84% of Agile teams, but it does require closely following specific guidelines from three pillars of the process control theory: transparency, inspection, and adaptation.According to the Scrum Alliance’s State of Scrum 2017-2018 report, based on survey responses from almost 2,000 Scrum and Agile professionals:- 94% use Scrum along with other Agile frameworks and of that, 16% exclusively use Scrum.
- 85% feel that Scrum improves their team’s quality of time at work.
- 97% planned to continue using Scrum in the future.
- 63% reported that projects delivered with Scrum were completed successfully.
Jell
If you’re not already using a tool to streamline and manage your daily standup Scrum process, Jell can help your team in different ways. Daily standups, no matter what form they’re in, keep everyone informed and up to date on project progress, to-dos, and challenges. They allow team members to focus on their most important tasks while knowing the overall project status and what others are contributing, too. As well, with Jell’s daily Scrum standups, managers can easily find out who’s working on what so they can resource or redistribute work, if needed, and assign work that still needs to be done.Jell can bring the following benefits to your team:- Real-time and historic views. You’re able to easily check your team’s current work and what got done when.
- Progress and accountability. Jell reports on how your team is doing with their sprints and quarterly goals.
- Asynchronous meetings. Make your daily Scrum meetings asynchronous so that you get the insight and knowledge you need without unneeded interruptions.
- Tool integration. With Jell’s integration, you don’t need to remove or replace the existing collaboration and tracking tools your team already knows and loves.
- Identify and remove impediments that get in the way of your teams’ work.
- Gain visibility into all teams and departments without extra meetings.
Scrum Agile Certifications
There are a variety of Scrum agile certifications available. According to Scrum Alliance’s survey, 81% of respondents believe that Agile certification improves their Scrum usage and practice, and some type of Scrum training is offered by 91% of organizations.The top Scrum certification is ScrumMaster, for which almost 85% of respondents are certified because of the financial benefits it brings. Of these certificate holders, 40% of them have Product Owner Certification and 24% are Scrum Coaches.The following professional agile certifications are offered by Scrum.org:- Professional Scrum Master™
- Professional Scrum Product Owner™
- Professional Scrum Developer™
- Scaled Professional Scrum™
- Professional Agile Leadership™
- The Professional Agile Leadership™
- Professional Scrum™ with Kanban
- Professional Scrum™ with User Experience
Kanban
About Kanban
Kanban is a framework that implements Agile software development using total transparency and real-time communication about team-member capacity. A Kanban board is used to visually depict tasks, which lets all team members see, at a glance, any work item and its status. Kanban’s goal is to support teams in their quest to create and prioritize every aspect of a project or product with the right amount of attention throughout.The history of Kanban is interesting. It originated when two Japanese business owners with shops on crowded streets used sign (“Kan”) boards (“Ban”) for advertising their products, effectively differentiating themselves from the competition. In the 1960s, this system was modernized at Toyota to indicate and track factory demand and incorporated in the company’s production system.Since then, Kanban has been successfully used in other commercial sectors like software development. The simplest Kanban board contains three columns: “To Do (or Requested)”, “Doing (or In Progress)”, and “Done”. The board acts as a real-time information hub and alerts teams to system bottlenecks or any other potential impediments to the workflow.Today, Kanban generally includes:- Visualizing work by splitting it up into segments with each task recorded on a card in a column indicating its place within the whole workflow.
- Limiting work-in-process tasks or items within each segment.
- Measuring and tracking the average time required to complete a task or item (lead time) to predict future lead times and optimize the process.
Kanban Agile Certifications
There are various professional Agile certifications for Kanban out there. Some of the most common of these are described below.Team Kanban Practitioner (TKP) certification. This certification is ideal for team leaders looking to utilize Kanban with their team members while achieving better efficiency and collaboration. It teaches you Kanban framework fundamentals and offers the following benefits:- Easier, more effective, and efficient workflow process management
- Improved goal visioning
- More effective team communication about how to best approach and use Kanban
- Learn the methods and benefits of team collaboration to become more Agile
- Develop skills to better manage calculated risks and unforeseen events for more effective management
Extreme Programming (XP)
About Extreme Programming (XP)
Extreme Programming (XP), another Agile software development framework, is a specific method for engineering practices to create higher quality software along with a better quality of life for the teams who create it.Focused on teamwork and client satisfaction, XP uses the five principles of communication, simplicity, feedback, respect, and courage, and follows simple rules around planning, managing, designing, coding, and testing to achieve business goals and get results.XP is ideal to use when you’re facing:- Software requirements that dynamically change,
- A small extended and colocated development team,
- Risks due to fixed-time projects that use new technology, or
- Technology that allows for automated unit and functional tests.
Extreme Programming Agile Certifications
Extreme Programming Foundation – XPF. The XPF entry-level certification offers basic knowledge and understanding of XP that can later be built on. It teaches students key XP concepts and validates their existing understanding of the method.Extreme Programming Practitioner Level 1 – XPP I. If you’re wanting to comprehensively evaluate and verify your knowledge of XP, this XPP Level 1 certification is for you. You’ll fully demonstrate your understanding of XP concepts through a consistent XP approach and terminology. Extreme Programming Practitioner Level 2 XPP – II. A level up from XPP I, this certification allows you to further showcase your advanced skills and understanding of the XP method. This level focuses on a clear understanding of the root XP principles, practices, and values, along with successfully applying this understanding to dynamic, real-life Agile situations.Lean-Agile
About Lean-Agile
Lean-Agile is a group of principles and processes that maximize value while reducing waste, by making quality a top priority in their products or services. Lean-Agile combines the assumptions, beliefs, attitudes, and actions of those who use Agile and Lean thinking independently of each other. These include:- Focusing on providing value to clients
- Empowering team members to manage the process
- Continuous improvement
Lean-Agile Certifications
Scaled Agile, Inc., the certifying body of the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®), offers a Professional Certification Program that globally recognizes the ability of certified SAFe professionals to support organizations’ successful transformation into a Lean-Agile enterprise. The following Certified SAFe® programs are available:- Certified SAFe® Agile Product Manager
- Lean Portfolio Manager
- Architect
- Agile Software Engineer
- Government Practitioner
- DevOps Practitioner
- Program Consultant
- Release Train Engineer
- Product Owner / Product Manager
- Advanced Scrum Master
- Scrum Master
- Practitioner
- Agilist
Choosing an Agile Certification and Method
There are a variety of Agile certifications and methods that can help you and your team work better, faster, and more efficiently together, ultimately boosting morale and overall productivity. The specific needs of your organization, project, and team will help you determine which Agile method is right for you.Scrum
With communication and creativity, Scrum can help you solve many problems on different development projects by reaching your goals with less waste. This method based decisions on the team’s experience of completing tasks through an iterative process and small time frames, called sprints, of one to four weeks.Usually with a Scrum board, team members group work items into columns based on their progress. “Time scoping” helps to structure tasks and estimate their completion time. Work is allocated based on the team’s estimate of what it can accomplish per sprint.Jell
The Scrum method requires a daily standup process to stay on track. If you’re not already using a tool to streamline and manage this, Jell can help your team in different ways. Daily standups inform and update team members on a project’s progress, work items left to do, and challenges that might come up.Jell can help you plan and manage these asynchronous meetings, which allow team members to focus on their most important tasks with the assurance of knowing the project’s status and what others are contributing. Plus, Jell’s daily Scrum standups let managers quickly find out who’s working on what so they can resource or redistribute work, or assign tasks that still need to get done.IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH JELL
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Kanban
Kanban supports teams as they create and prioritize every aspect of a project or product throughout the whole process. The method uses Agile software development with transparency and real-time communication about team-member availability.A Kanban board visually displays tasks that each team member can see, at a glance, along with their status. The simplest board uses three columns: “Requested”, “In Progress” and “Done”, acting as a real-time information hub, and alerting teams to system bottlenecks or any other potential workflow impediments.Extreme Programming (XP)
XP is a specific method used in engineering higher-quality software. It focuses on teamwork and client satisfaction using five principles: communication, simplicity, feedback, respect, and courage. XP follows simple rules around planning, managing, designing, coding and testing to achieve goals and get results.XP is ideal for:- Changing software requirements,
- Small, extended and colocated development teams,
- Risks from fixed-time projects using new technology, or
- Technology allowing for automated unit and functional tests.
Lean-Agile
Lean-Agile principles and processes maximize value and reduce waste by prioritizing the quality of products or services. This method combines the assumptions, beliefs, attitudes, and actions of those who use Agile and Lean thinking separately from one another. These include:- Focusing on providing value to clients
- Empowering team members to manage the process
- Continuous improvement
