Overview
QA Total Learning™ is our newest and most effective way to learn.
Combining the best of digital and live learning, with access to world-class industry experts, we focus on ensuring you can apply your learning to help you drive impactful results in your workplace. What's more, our digital platform gives you the tools to track your progress and manage your own learning.
This Total Learning course is for anyone who is looking to grasp the fundamentals of Agile. It provides an overview of the Agile framework and insights that can be highly beneficial, whether you are in a business or a technical role.
Learners will be experienced team members or managers transitioning into Agile ways of working. Alternatively, they could be in junior technical roles working within existing Agile teams seeking to gain a bigger picture view of Agile.
In this Total Learning course, learners will access the best of both digital and live learning to achieve the ICAgile fundamentals certificate, while discovering how to implement key principles of Agile at work. This includes the Digital stage, designed to explore what it means to be Agile, which includes quizzes and a combination of video and written content.
The two-day virtual Live event focuses on bringing the Agile mindset to life though practical activities, where learners can experiment with Agile tools and techniques in an innovative learning environment.
Prerequisites
This course is suitable for anyone with no prior knowledge of Agile who is considering, evaluating, or is involved in a move towards working in (or with) an Agile team.
At the end of this course, the learner will be able to:
- apply tools and techniques to create a common, shared understanding of Agile within a team.
- build a product backlog and identify what it should contain and why.
- demonstrate techniques for identifying and categorising users and customers and how to engage with them.
- demonstrate progressive elaboration through user stories and kanban boards, and show how estimation can be used to eliminate uncertainty.
- conduct a retrospective and relate the use of retrospective techniques in your own workplace.
Outline
This Total Learning course consists of three key stages, all explained during a 1-hour virtual kick off session, which includes a Q&A session:
- Digital stage – up to 10 hours completed over a minimum of 2 weeks
- Live event – 2 days
- Apply stage – 3 hours over a 3 month period
Digital stage
The Digital Learning is valid for 3 months from the date of the kick off session
- Module 1: Introduction
- Course and Apply introduction
- Digital introduction and welcome
- Module 2: What is Agile?
- Agile outside Software Domain: Vistaprint case study
- What is Agile?
- Why is Agile critical in the 21st century?
- Why is your organisation adopting Agile/why should your organisation adopt Agile?
- The Agile Manifesto
- Reflecting on The Agile Manifesto
- Critical Success Factors
- Reflection: Critical Success Factors
- What is Agile? Knowledge check
- Module 3: Agile Culture, mindset, and frameworks
- Culture and mindset
- Understanding the Agile mindset
- Agile frameworks
- Agile in context (as a journey)
- The Vistaprint Agile mindset
- Understanding communication barriers
- Barriers to communication at your workplace
- Physical work environments
- Techniques for shared understanding
- The Vista case study - how did they overcome communication barriers and utilise shared understanding techniques?
- Scenario: The non-Agile workplace
- Module 4: Self-organising teams
- Self-organising teams
- Reflection: Has your team embraced self-organisation?
- Why are self-organising teams so vital to Agile?
- VUCA and Stacey
- Module 5: Value-driven development
- Value-driven development
- Before we begin - what is quality and value?
- Value and quality
- Retaining quality
- What is flow?
- Context switching and cross-functional dependencies
- Cross-functional teams at Vistaprint - case study
- Value-driven development knowledge check
- Module 6: Customers and Stakeholders
- Stakeholders and customers
- What is a stakeholder?
- Pre-learning knowledge check
- Who are your stakeholders?
- Vistaprint case study - engaging their stakeholders
- Your customers
- Requirements
- Explaining user stories
- INVEST model
- Creating your own user stories
- User involvement
- User feedback
- Stakeholders and users knowledge check
- Module 7: Planning and adapting
- Planning and adapting
- Pre-learning knowledge check
- Planning - progressive elaboration
- Estimating
- Planning Poker
- Estimating - Planning Poker
- Module 8: Conclusion
-
Live event
During the 2-day virtual Live event, learners will work individually and in teams to produce tangible outputs using Miro to provide a collaborative and interactive workspace.
- Introduction
- The Agile Manifesto
- Critical Success Factors
- Agility-Agility-Agility
- Creating shared understanding
- Shifts in roles
- Incremental development
- Continuous integration
- Continuous delivery
- Levels of Agile planning
- Planning and adapting
- Process and product adaptation
Apply at work
At the Apply stage, learners will translate the skills gained during Digital and Live stages into their place of work, implementing Agile practices, tools, or techniques proving their ability to ‘be Agile while doing Agile’. The Apply stage will include:
- Workplace Application Plan aligned to business objectives and context, confirmed by line managers.
- Plan, set, and action your set of personal objectives, based on four key Agile Fundamentals skills, the four skills are:
- Skill 1: Clearly distinguish the practices, values, principles, and Agile mindset and how to apply them in their current environment.
- Skill 2: Improve interaction with other team members, enhancing self-organisation and collaboration.
- Skill 3: Promote iterative and incremental work and recognise the importance of value and quality in what is delivered.
- Skill 4: Identify opportunities in your environment to incorporate Agile practices.
- Showcase newfound Agile skills and Agile mindset at work
Frequently asked questions
See all of our FAQsHow can I create an account on myQA.com?
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Find more answers to frequently asked questions in our FAQs: Bookings & Cancellations page.
How do QA’s virtual classroom courses work?
Our virtual classroom courses allow you to access award-winning classroom training, without leaving your home or office. Our learning professionals are specially trained on how to interact with remote attendees and our remote labs ensure all participants can take part in hands-on exercises wherever they are.
We use the WebEx video conferencing platform by Cisco. Before you book, check that you meet the WebEx system requirements and run a test meeting (more details in the link below) to ensure the software is compatible with your firewall settings. If it doesn’t work, try adjusting your settings or contact your IT department about permitting the website.
Learn more about our Virtual Classrooms.
How do QA’s online courses work?
QA online courses, also commonly known as distance learning courses or elearning courses, take the form of interactive software designed for individual learning, but you will also have access to full support from our subject-matter experts for the duration of your course. When you book a QA online learning course you will receive immediate access to it through our e-learning platform and you can start to learn straight away, from any compatible device. Access to the online learning platform is valid for one year from the booking date.
All courses are built around case studies and presented in an engaging format, which includes storytelling elements, video, audio and humour. Every case study is supported by sample documents and a collection of Knowledge Nuggets that provide more in-depth detail on the wider processes.
Learn more about QA’s online courses.
When will I receive my joining instructions?
Joining instructions for QA courses are sent two weeks prior to the course start date, or immediately if the booking is confirmed within this timeframe. For course bookings made via QA but delivered by a third-party supplier, joining instructions are sent to attendees prior to the training course, but timescales vary depending on each supplier’s terms. Read more FAQs.
When will I receive my certificate?
Certificates of Achievement are issued at the end the course, either as a hard copy or via email. Read more here.