Agile Estimating, Planning and Forecasting Workshop

Learn effective ways to collaboratively and progressively elaborate and communicate your Agile estimates, plans, and forecasts.

This is an advanced continuing education course that is a complementary addition to the Scrum Master or Product Owner role.

Even Agile teams and organizations need to be accountable for what they will be delivering and when it will be available. The difference is that Agile teams use different techniques to estimate, plan, forecast, and communicate given the best information they have available at the time.

Through exercises and lecture, this workshop will provide practical experience and exposure to different Agile estimation, planning, and forecasting techniques, and the relative benefits and caveats of each.

Note: This course is available to be completed in two half-days or one full day.

WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?

This course is designed for Agile team members and leaders, Scrum Masters, Project Managers, and Product Owners that are interested in:

• Improving their predictability.
• Gaining confidence in planning and committing to work at a sustainable pace.
• Aligning and improving their delivery practices to be more Agile.
• Learning how to use empiricism and Agility to plan, monitor, forecast, review, and communicate initiative status.
• Providing customers and stakeholders with confidence in the team through effective communication and updates.

By successfully completing this course, you will:

• Know some of the more common Agile estimation, planning, and forecasting techniques.
• Be more confident in the work a team commits to and the timeframe for delivery.
• Provide updates to forecasts “in real time” so data driven decisions may be made.
• Become more predictable in delivery and in delivering on commitments.
• Better understand your capacity constraints, including how to measure them and make commitments around them.

No prerequisite formal training required, however it is recommended that an attendee be either a practicing Scrum Master or Project Manager, Product Owner, or team member with at least 6 months experience, or that they have successfully achieved a globally recognized Scrum Master certification such as the Registered Scrum Master® (RSM) or Registered Product Owner® (RPO).

Here are some recommended learning suggestions for before the class:

• “Agile Estimating and Planning” by Mike Cohn

Welcome, Logistics & Expectations

Part 1 – The Ask

When and How Much?

Risk Management

Estimates Are Not a Commitment!

Traditional (Waterfall) vs. Agile Estimation

Part 2 – Agile Planning

Planning is a Lie! (tongue in cheek!)

The Cone of Certainty

Whole Team Engagement

Part 3 – Agile Estimation Techniques

Relative vs. Time Estimation

The Fibonacci Sequence

Agile Estimation Techniques

• Eyeball and Guestimation
• Aggregation Techniques
• Point Based Systems
• Financial Modelling
• Capacity and Demand Analysis (#noestimates)

Part 4 – Agile Forecasting

Frequent Inspection and Adaptation

Using New Knowledge to Re Plan

Case Study of Forecasting and Reporting