Submissions for the 13th annual Collabnet State of Agile report closed a week ago. It is expected to take around three to four months for the report to become available. All the received data must be collated, reviewed and understood, conclusions and summaries written, charts drawn and the report published. To collect data for the report, Collabnet asked a series of questions of Project Management professionals.
Organisations, especially those involved in training and tool development, can use the report to tailor their efforts for the next year.
Agile is a disciplined project management process that encourages frequent inspection and adaptation. It is also a leadership philosophy that encourages teamwork, self-organization and accountability. Companies large and small are increasingly realising that Agile makes organisations more efficient, leading to financial benefits.
Every year, the State of Agile report has shown increasing Agile adoption. The 12th annual report showed a higher percentage of respondents reported they had adopted Agile than a year before. Based on the number of people taking Agile courses and talking about Agile now, there should be another measurable increase this year.
Productivity Increase
IT major Yahoo! found that teams with an Agile coach who completed Project Management Institute – Agile Certified Practitioner training increased productivity by 300% compared to teams without an Agile coach.
Speaking about Agile and Scrum training, Madarapu Nagaraju, KnowledgeHut Co-founder said “In essence, the Agile coach is a team mentor, key to team management. The coach implements Agile thinking practices, ensuring team performance both as a team and as individuals. The coach increases awareness of team collaboration and communication, encourages Agile thinking, and is responsible for team achievement of goals. The most happening and adopted framework for enterprises today is Scrum, but it is the Agile tools that make it work. This is what our coaches pass on to coaching students.”
Here are the outcomes PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner training aims for:
- Fostering Agile-lean thinking culture in the enterprise for positive changes and redefinition to Agile attitudes and work tenets.
- Imbibing core competencies to prove successful as Agile coaches.
- Proficiency in tools, skills, and practices for in transition, aspiring and existing coaches.
- Handling issues and conflicts better.
- Empowering through team practice sessions the achieving of goals set.
Agile Coach
No formal qualification is required for the PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner training though an understanding and some work experience in Agile help. The Agile coach is an all-in-one person who teaches, learns by doing, solves problems, teaches and guides for goal attainment and is, in reality, the team’s best friend for being Agile. The PMI-ACP course can provide aspiring coaches with focused guidance and support to developing their coaching skills in Agile.
Agile thinking is both lean and continuous. The PMI-ACP course provides two options for continued learning. The certifications permit coaches to execute and learn by being in the role of an Agile coach. The focus of the Knowledgehut PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner training is on practically simulating scenarios relevant to team management to inculcate the necessary skills through immersive mentoring.
To learn about Scrum framework and Agile Suite certifications, register with the PMI-ACP course.
PMI-ACP Course Contents
Some of the topics comprehensively and practically covered are:
- How to develop the Agile mindset and thinking.
- The responsibilities and roles of a coach.
- To promote and motivate team dynamics through self-awareness.
- Mentoring Agile transitions and roles.
- Resolving team dysfunctions and conflicts.
- Communication, building teams, and team collaboration essentials.
- Identifying issues, handling resistance, impediments and addressing them.
- Maintaining neutrality and defining the limits and contract of coaching.
- Coaching and mentoring practices for performance in teams.
- Understanding systemic and organisational challenges and agility.
- Creating personal backlogs to record improvements in performance.
Aspiring Agile coaches can register in the Professional Scrum Master Course.
Look for the release of the annual Collabnet State of Agile report in April or May.
