4.7
stars
1,258 ratings

Alex Cowan

58,518 already enrolled

Offered By

University of Virginia

About this Course

31,146 recent views

While agile has become the de facto standard for managing digital innovation teams, many wonder if they’re doing it ‘right’. Twitter is full of jokes about how teams say they do agile but don’t ‘really’ do it. The reality is that getting the most out of agile is less about observing specific procedures and more about how a team focuses and measures their progress. 
Rather than just boring you with an accounting of agile methodologies, this course focuses on helping you better charter your team’s focus, definition of success, and practice of agile. While learning about agile mainstays like Scrum, XP, and kanban, you’ll also learn to help your team ask the right questions about how they’re working and facilitate good answers on how agile can help.    

This course is supported by the Batten Institute at UVA’s Darden School of Business. The Batten Institute’s mission is to improve the world through entrepreneurship and innovation: www.batteninstitute.org.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

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Approx. 10 hours to complete

English

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What you will learn

How to select and test agile practices to adaptively improve your team’s practice of agile
How to create an agile team charter that aligns your team’s focus with company strategy while leaving it free to work creatively
How to facilitate retrospectives with your team to iteratively, collaboratively improve your practice of agile
How to support your team’s transition to agile

Skills you will gain

agile product management
Agile Software Development
backlog management
Kanban
XP

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Approx. 10 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.68/5 (210 Ratings)

Alex Cowan

Faculty & Batten Fellow

Darden School of Business

426,356 Learners

21 Courses

Offered by

University of Virginia

A premier institution of higher education, The University of Virginia offers outstanding academics, world-class faculty, and an inspiring, supportive environment. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University is guided by his vision of discovery, innovation, and development of the full potential of students from all walks of life. Through these courses, global learners have an opportunity to study with renowned scholars and thought leaders.

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating94%(3,774 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

3 hours to complete

The Agile Team

This week we’ll introduce the four fundamental jobs of software development to help you define what’s important to your team and, hence, which of the many agile practices might make the most sense for you to try out. Then we’ll talk about achieving alignment with your company while maintaining autonomy through an agile team charter. We’ll close by stepping through the leading agile methodologies--Scrum, XP, and kanban. You’ll finish the week with an understanding of how to pair what’s important to your team with the best of what agile has to offer.

3 hours to complete

22 videos (Total 107 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz

22 videos

About the Agile Specialization4mDrive to Value with Agile Methods2mManaging with Agile6mThe Business of Software5mThe Job of Software Development5mDavid Bland on Agile & Lean Startup5mAgile at Spotify: Part 16mAgile at Spotify: Part 25mFacilitating Alignment5mThe Business Model Canvas - Proposition Design & Revenue Drivers3mThe Business Model Canvas - Customer Experience6mThe Business Model Canvas - Business Model Type & Cost Drivers6mAchieving Alignment1mIntroducing the Corporate Innovation Canvas2mUsing the Google Slides Templates1mYour Agile Team Charter2mScrum Fundamentals: Roles3mScrum Fundamentals: Phases7mScrum Fundamentals: Burndown3mXP Fundamentals: Learning and Deciding4mXP Fundamentals: Building and Managing7mKanban Fundamentals7m

2 readings

Course Overview & Requirements10mMake Discussion Forums Work for You10m

1 practice exercise

Week 1 Quiz: The Agile Team15m

Week2

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Learning and Deciding

One of the most critical focal points for any team is facilitating a focus on outcomes over output. Without this, you’ll never graduate from responding to requests about your to-do list of output to driving better user outcomes that move the needle for your company. This week, you’ll learn how to define and prioritize what’s important to your team in the areas of learning and deciding, and to pair those with relevant agile practices from Scrum, XP, and kanban.

2 hours to complete

20 videos (Total 117 min)

20 videos

Your ATM: The Learning Machine5mGood Inputs7mGood Collaboration5mDavid Chait on Learning What’s Valuable6mAgile Methodologies and the Job of Learning4mSkit: Grooming the Story Map4mThe Limits of Good Inputs5mBill Wake on Acceptance Testing11mValuable Decisions4mSlicing the Lasagna6mManaging Work in Progress: Part 15mManaging Work in Progress: Part 27mThe Quagmire of Estimation, the Power of Flow8mDemo: Using Trello for Agile2mBill Wake on Estimates and Prioritization3mGreg Cohen on User Stories10mBill Wake on Burndown2mGreg Cohen on Prioritization4mAgile Methodologies and the Job of Deciding6mSkit: Iteration Planning4m

1 practice exercise

Week 2 Quiz: Learning and Deciding15m

Week3

Week 3

2 hours to complete

Building and Managing

This week we’ll dive into the jobs of building software and the core management jobs in running an agile team. Agile--and XP in particular--offers a rich body of work on specific coding practices. We’ll step through a few of the most prominent and discuss key linkages with the other concepts and practices you’ve learned. On the job of managing, we’ll dive deeper into what that means and what works in an agile context.

2 hours to complete

19 videos (Total 113 min)

19 videos

Building Software with Agile4mXP on Writing Software: Part 19mXP on Writing Software: Part 23mBill Wake on YAGNI6mBill Wake on Integrated QA3mThe Agile Manager6mCreating an Agile-Friendly Environment6mSkit: A Developer at Work3mBill Wake on Self-Organization3mBill Wake on Support Escalations4mInternational and Distributed Teams9mSkit: Retrospective #64mAgile Teams Meet Waterfall Processes10mGreg Cohen on Software Development10mAgile Product Teams Meet Big Customer5mWorking with Big Customers: Keeping the Initiative5mWorking with Big Customers: Accommodating Customer Variations6mSkit: Big Meeting with Marla2mDavid Chait on Using Data with Clients7m

1 practice exercise

Week 3 Quiz: Building and Managing15m

Week4

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Practicing Agile

4 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 35 min)

Reviews

4.7

321 reviews

5 stars
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4 stars
18.16%
3 stars
2.93%
2 stars
0.79%
1 star
0.87%

TOP REVIEWS FROM MANAGING AN AGILE TEAM

by JMMay 25, 2020

Alex was very practical while explaining Agile concepts and practices. Real industry experience was shared during the course, which for me was a effective thing.

by SFSep 22, 2019

Excellent material & experiences shared throughout the course. highly recommended for people planning to transition from traditional methodologies to agile methodologies.

by SBApr 1, 2021

Excellent Course covering the Basics of Agile Technology with practical examples on Business and related Models. A thorough analysis of ground-level challenges and potential solutions.

by AAMay 3, 2017

I did a couple of other courses on other websites about the same subject and they really pale in comparison. Very Informative and I feel like I am ready for the next step.

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
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The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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Managing an Agile Team

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Skills you will gain