Applying Professional Scrum

In this 16-hour class, students learn to apply Professional Scrum. They experience new, agile ways of working that enable teams to deliver more value, satisfy stakeholders, and work better together. Students work together as a team in a series of Sprints to solve complex problems, facing similar challenges that they face outside of class and learning how to use Scrum to address them. These Sprints enable students to see the practical application of Scrum and to understand the value of an Agile mindset. Additionally, these Sprints expose common missteps and misunderstandings often seen while using Scrum, allowing students to develop an awareness of the associated symptoms and how to correct them. Students not only learn Scrum; they also learn how to use Scrum well. This class is taught both publicly and privately. In a public setting, individual students or multiple colleagues from the same company will join other students and benefit from diverse experiences. Organizations can also contact Professional Scrum Trainers to hold a private class just for their organization.

Course Learning Objectives

Learn about Agility and how Scrum differs from traditional plan-driven work models
• Develop an Agile mindset by focusing on professionalism, experimentation, and outcomes
• Learn (or relearn) the fundamentals of Scrum and how to apply them correctly
• Develop an understanding of what it is like to use Scrum and if it is right for your team
• Learn how to be a great Scrum Team member or how to support a great Scrum Team
• Leave the class with ways to identify common pitfalls and how to avoid them
• Students use a set of proven practices throughout the class that can be used to enhance their application of Scrum
• Leave with tools that help identify the first steps in applying Professional Scrum with your team

Who Should Attend

The Applying Professional Scrum course is the perfect introduction, reboot or refresher to Scrum. It is excellent training for organizations, teams, and individuals wanting to experience Scrum's benefits or those interested in continuing their learning with more advanced training.
• Professionals who are part of a team that currently uses Scrum but desire a refresher so that they can get the most out of it.
• Professionals who are joining a team that currently uses Scrum.
• Professionals who don’t use Scrum directly but want to learn how to collaborate with colleagues who do.
• Professionals who are investigating to see if Scrum makes sense for them and their colleagues.
• Professionals who are part of an organization that intends to use Scrum in the near future.
• Teams who are learning to use Scrum together in their organizations

The course also provides the foundational Scrum knowledge needed for those wishing to continue their education with role-focused (Scrum Master, Product Owner, Developer, Leader) training classes. APS is not recommended for advanced Scrum professionals.

This course is designed to be domain-agnostic; it conveys the use of Scrum in any domain or industry with complex problems. Trainers typically have experience in multiple industries and may be able to tailor the course to your team's needs. Students and teams building software products may want to consider our domain-specific course, Applying Professional Scrum for Software Development.

Assessment

All participants completing the Applying Professional Scrum course will receive a password to attempt the Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) assessment. Certification requires a minimum passing score.

About the trainer

• Active agility chef, executive agility guide, and product manager
• #2 Agile Thinkers360
• Leadershum Top 50 Agile Leaders 2022
• Leadershum Power List of the Top 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership in 2023
• Flight Levels Coach, Certified Agile Kata Trainer, ProKanban Professional Kanban Trainer, Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer including Nexus, LeSS Friendly Scrum Trainer
• Creator of Kanplexity™ & Xagility™ & Executive Success Through Agility Guide
• Co-author of Kanban Guide
• Host of Xagility™ & Agility Island podcasts
• See linktr.ee/johncolemanxagility for social and podcast links
• See https://linkpop.com/orderlydisruption for John’s other classes
• InfoQ article June 2022 – why you might need an island of agility
• InfoQ article August 2022 – talking about sizing & forecasting in Scrum
• Non-software or software exercises, depending on the audience, sp that no one gets left behind

What John Coleman’s Students Say

• Google reviews
• TrustPilot reviews 
• VocalReferences reviews

* This course is generally delivered over two business days when offered in-person. When offered as a Live Virtual Class, the course may be broken up into more, shorter days, sometimes consecutive, sometimes one week apart.

It’s not just about reviews & ratings 

Reviews & ratings are limited by nature. John needs to understand if the learning made a real difference back in the office. So, John likes to check in 12-18 months later. He sees a pattern of improvement and regularly gets pleasant vibes from successful agility inspired by ideas from the training. For example, see this experience report.

John is grateful to be part of Marshall Goldsmith’s #payitforward campaign and, in so doing, offers free coaching/mentoring/co-training to a selection of potential agility chefs. Marshall Goldsmith taught John in Salt Lake City in February 2018. All of John’s workshops #payitforward Marshall Goldsmith content, including Marshall’s advice to John himself.

Clients

John’s client list (directly or indirectly) includes Japanese Tobacco International, TUI, Lilbit, digital2DNA, Shell, BP, Barclaycard, Vocalink Mastercard, Centrica, the Musgrave Group, RR Donnelley, DELL, Nordic Aviation Services, 84.51, Intralinks, PaySafe, Vodafone, Ericsson, NASA, and Sky.

Free assessment readiness call(s) 

Assessment preparation tends not to be covered in the workshop. The workshop focuses on attendees getting ready to apply new skills back at work immediately after the workshop. There is an expectation that attendees will attend some free post-workshop Zoom calls and watch recordings of their own group (or previous groups) doing tough practice tests, sometimes including John Coleman’s own practice tests, which address the same learning outcomes, albeit from a different angle. John expects attendees to attend the calls, as assessment preparation does not scale on a 1:1 basis. Signing up for this workshop is effectively signing up to attend these calls.

Co-trainers

Sometimes, John Coleman will have a trusted co-trainer who can help, someone already qualified or building experience.

Terms & conditions

If Live Virtual

• Each segment is 60-75 minutes long with 15-30 min breaks.
• No recording of the workshop to improve openness. The workshop size is limited to 20 attendees.
• Workshop attendees will use Zoom/Teams, Mural, Miro, and John’s physical flipcharts.

 Rules to follow:

• cameras on
• mics on – let’s avoid delayed interventions
• be on time for every segment
• no meetings/phone calls/emails during the active segments
• be self-aware and conscious of the needs of others to have their say
• no hijacking of the agenda; there is time after the official end of each session for additional questions.

If in-person

Classes are usually small, and even if not, John Coleman uses techniques that make a large class run very well, to a limit. John Coleman does not train class sizes over his operational limit, so attendees can rightly get the full benefit of his classes.

If you have specific requirements, e.g., a free place for an assistant, wheelchair-accessible venue/room set-up, etc., please inform John Coleman via john@orderlydisruption.com.

The delivery content combines slides, flip charts, and exercises, with a focus on flip charts and exercises. The approach combines experiential training and Training From The Back of The Room, regardless of the training course, while sticking to the Scrum.org learning objectives. 

Some topics could be completely outside the scope of the training class, so they may need to be “parked.”  Best efforts are made to address “parked” topics during the workshop and/or subsequent video conference calls.

Location

The location is not 100% confirmed; it is an approximate location. The location cannot be finally booked until the final numbers are known.

Let’s err on the side of caution to cover all eventualities. Please only book travel one week in advance and use low-commitment accommodation bookings that allow cancellation 24 hours in advance without charges. Most accommodation booking websites allow 24-hour cancellation in advance; please select that option. Please book travel at the last responsible moment (one week to go, confirming with John Coleman at john@orderlydisruption.com). 

Payment, fees & cancellation

• Payment in advance is required; there are no exceptions. For example, all documentation requirements for invoice payment by the training date must be declared at the outset.
• No responsibility is taken for costs resulting from cancellation/postponement.
• Normally a minimum quorum is recommended for this class to proceed, but we always proceed once people book. We find ways to make it work well.
• It’s highly unusual for courses to get canceled. Some classes require a minimum number of attendees. No responsibility is taken for costs resulting from cancellation/postponement.
• You may cancel up to the specified online ticketing deadline. If so, depending on the payment engine/approach, the refund could include deductions for bank transfer fees.
• You may postpone your ticket with a minimum of three business days’ notice; thereafter, your lack of attendance at the booked date will be treated as a cancellation with zero refund (due to planning & venue costs for class numbers). Best efforts will be made to fit you into a later workshop. A postponement rescinds your notice period for a refund.
• Electronic manuals and Scrum.org assessment fees are included. Physical manuals are not provided.

Data protection, data privacy

• Attendees may be asked to optionally consent to receive communications, e.g., follow-up email newsletters.
• A booking is not a guarantee of attendance.
• The trainer must submit your name and email address to Scrum.org in order to get an assessment code.
• As John is a LeSS-Friendly Scrum Trainer, by signing up for this training, you are signing up for the submission of your details to LeSS.works, the home of Large Scale Scrum.
• Attendees will be invited to a community for continued learning.
• It’s possible that permission to photograph or video will be requested in class for follow-up marketing purposes and social media.
• Reviews, testimonials, and feedback for improvement will be requested. Attendees may also be asked to provide feedback to Scrum.org.
• See the privacy statement at orderlydisruption.com.