Software Project Lead to Advanced Scrum Master E-Learning

Every organization is looking to reinvent how work is done and optimize their processes, as they move towards a more Agile mindset. As a result, there is an increasing demand for Senior Software Project Managers who have the relevant training and experience in Agile methodologies relating to software development. In this Skillsoft Aspire journey, you will explore how to go from a Software Project Analyst to Senior Software Project Manager.

This LearningKit with more than 28 hours of learning is divided into three tracks:

PM Track 1: Software Project Analyst
PM Track 2: Software Project Lead
PM Track 3: Software Project Manager
PM Track 4: Senior Software Project Manager

Course content

Track 1: Software Project Analyst

In this track, the focus will be on Agile for software development, project management tools and communication skills, and software requirements planning, and software development concepts.
Courses (5 hours +):

Agile for Software Development: Lean, Agile, & Scrum Methodologies

Course: 44 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Lean Overview
• Agile Overview
• Agile Manifesto
• Agile vs. Lean
• Scrum Overview
• Lean Benefits
• Agile Benefits
• Scrum Benefits
• Waterfall vs. Agile
• Transition Best Practice
• Select the Best Approach
• Exercise: Lean, Agile, and Scrum

Project Management Tools: Understanding PM Tools

Course: 1 Hour, 3 Minutes

• Course Overview
• PM Tools Overview
• Why Use PM Tools
• Select the Best PM Tools
• Key Features of PM Tools
• Project Management Software
• Collaboration Tools
• Personal Productivity
• TeamGantt: Gantt Charts
• Trello: Kanban Boards
• Basecamp: Real-Time Messaging
• Wrike: Knowledge Base
• File Sharing: Dropbox
• Asana: List View
• Freedom: Productivity App
• Exercise: Project Management Tools

Project Management Tools: Understanding the Collaboration Tools

Course: 50 Minutes

• Course Overview
• The Requirement for Collaboration Tools
• Considerations for Agile Teams
• Considerations for Virtual Teams
• Benefits and Challenges of Video Conferencing Tools
• Benefits and Challenges of Messaging Tools
• Benefits and Challenges of Knowledge Sharing Tools
• Benefits and Challenges of Resource Sharing Tools
• Benefits and Challenges of Work Management Tools
• Realizing the Benefits of Video Conferencing Tools
• Realizing the Benefits of Knowledge Sharing Tools
• Realizing the Benefits of Messaging Tools
• Realizing the Benefits of Resource Sharing Tools
• Realizing the Benefits of Work Management Tools
• Exercise: Choosing a Collaboration Tool

Software PM Communication: Software Project Management Communication Skills

Course: 56 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Overview Project Communication
• Effective Communication Skills
• Barriers to Effective Communication
• Overcoming Communication Challenges
• Communication for Diverse Teams
• Software Project Communication
• Agile Project Communication
• Agile vs. Traditional Project Communication
• Effective Agile Project Communication
• Communication Best Practices for Software PMs
• Create a Project Communication Plan
• Exercise: Software Project Communication

Software Requirements Planning

Course: 1 Hour, 3 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Software Requirements Overview
• Functional and Non-functional Requirements
• Requirements Management Processes
• Requirements Planning and Development
• Requirements Gathering and Elicitation
• Requirements Definition
• Software Requirements Specification
• From Requirements to Product Vision
• From Requirements to User Stories
• From Requirements to Processes
• Work with Software Requirements Specification
• Exercise: Fundamentals of Software Requirements

Software Development Concepts: Software Development Glossary

Course: 43 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Software Development Life Cycle
• Key Concepts in Project Management
• Key Concepts in Agile Project Management
• Key Terms in Agile Development
• Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery
• Software Testing
• SDLC Deliverables
• Software Team Roles and Responsibilities
• Agile Software Team Roles
• Sources to Keep Current
• Materials on the Web for Staying Current
• Frequently Encountered Software Concepts

Assessment:

• Software Project Analyst

Track 2: Software Project Lead

In this track, the focus will be on defining success metrics, negotiation skills, stakeholder needs, business analysis, and project risk assessment.
Courses (5 hours +)

Project Evaluation: Defining Success Metrics

Course: 41 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Role of Project Analyst
• Overview of Metrics
• Essentials for Project Metrics
• Types of Agile Metrics
• Using Agile Metrics
• Deciding the Right Metric
• Framing a Metric
• Setting a Benchmark for the Metric
• Evaluating Project using Metrics
• Reporting Information from Metrics
• Reviewing and Improving Metrics
• Course Summary

Skills for Project Analysts: Negotiation Skills

Course: 56 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Overview of Negotiation Skills
• Benefits of Negotiations
• Negotiating to Resolve Conflicts
• Stages of Negotiation
• Negotiation Techniques
• Negotiator Styles
• Collaborative Negotiation
• Negotiation Steps
• Negotiating Effectively
• Handling Obstacles in Negotiations
• Avoiding Common Mistakes in Negotiations
• Course Summary

Interpreting Stakeholder Needs: Managing and Engaging Stakeholders

Course: 1 Hour, 13 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Defining Stakeholders
• Process to Manage Stakeholders
• Types of Stakeholders
• Stakeholder Analysis
• Identifying Needs
• Collecting Stakeholder Requirements
• Probing to Understand Requirements
• Tools for Documenting Requirements
• Communicating with Stakeholders
• Dealing with Difficult Stakeholders
• Avoiding Common Mistakes in Stakeholder Engagement
• Course Summary

Business Analysis for Project Management: Practices for Early Project Stages

Course: 55 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Business Analysis Defined
• Project Analyst as Business Analyst
• Analyzing Business Needs
• Engaging Key Stakeholders
• Analyzing Competitors
• Generating Ideas
• Analyzing Cost versus Benefit
• Studying Feasibility
• Creating a Business Case
• The Empathy Map
• Defining the Product
• Course Summary

Business Analysis for Project Management: Practices for Later Project Stages

Course: 48 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Creating the Scope Statement
• Framing the Business Analysis Plan
• Creating Process Flow Diagrams
• Establishing Responsibilities
• Tracking Defects through Reviews
• Failure Mode Effect Analysis
• Cause and Effect Analysis
• User Acceptance Testing
• Quality Assurance versus Quality Control
• Data Analysis
• Reporting on Business Analysis
• Business Analysis with Continuous Improvement
• Course Summary

Risk Management: Project Risk Assessment

Course: 51 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Risk Assessment Defined
• Project Analyst Role in Risk Assessment
• Risk Assessment in Software Projects
• Key Terms in Risk Assessment
• Types of Risk
• Techniques for Identifying Risks
• Risk Classification
• Quantitative and Qualitative Risk Analysis
• Risk Register for Managing Risks
• Strategies for Managing Risk
• Risk Mitigation Best Practices
• Evaluating Efficiency of Risk Analysis
• Course Summary

Assessment:

• Software Project Lead

Track 3: Software Project Manager

In this track, the focus will be on using Agile and SCRUM for software development, decision making and project data analysis for software project managers, software project meetings, stakeholder communication, and project needs vs. expectations.
Courses (10 hours +)

Agile Software Development: Agile Development Life Cycle

Course: 1 Hour, 26 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Agile Project Management
• Agile Development Process
• Agile Manager Roles and Responsibilities
• Agile Member Roles and Responsibilities
• Agile Best Practices
• Agile Teams
• Agile Collaboration
• Agile Artifacts
• Agile Management Tools
• Agile Life Cycle
• Continuous Integration in Agile
• Agile Assessment
• Exercise: Agile Project Management

Agile Software Development: Agile Project Management Techniques

Course: 1 Hour, 6 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Agile Project Management Techniques
• Feature-Driven Development and Agile Modeling
• Self Organizing Teams
• Agile Project Management Frameworks
• Scrum Framework
• Kanban and Lean
• Extreme Programming (XP)
• Agile Project Management Tools
• Source Controls Tools
• Continuous Integration Tools
• Team Management Tools
• Agile Project Management Benefits
• Exercise: Agile Tools and Techniques

Project Management: Scrum Framework for Software Development

Course: 48 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Understanding Scrum and Agile
• Roles in Scrum
• Scrum Activities
• Scrum Artifacts
• Sprint Planning
• Scrum Backlogs
• Definition of Done
• Scrum Architecture and Design
• Collaboration in Scrum
• Scrum Test Driven Development
• Scrum Refactoring
• Scrum Continuous Integration
• Course Summary

Decision Making for Software Project Managers

Course: 54 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Principles of Decision-Making
• Requirements for Fast Decision-Making
• Accelerating Decision-Making
• Obtaining the Right Information
• Determining What's Relevant
• How to Obtain Current Information
• Looking Forward to Make Decisions
• Adopting a Fail-Fast Approach
• Tweaking the Decision Hierarchy
• Decision-Making in Agile
• Why We Make Poor Decisions
• Traps to Avoid
• Course Summary

Software Data Analysis: Project Management Metrics

Course: 1 Hour, 15 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Traditional Versus Agile Project Management
• Software Project Management Metrics
• Agile Project Management Metrics
• Agile Team Metrics
• Project Management Decision Making Metrics
• Useful Software Project Metrics
• Software Metrics Benefits
• Software Metrics Pitfalls
• Agile Project Success Metrics
• Continuous Development Metrics
• Software Project Management Tools
• JIRA Dashboard
• Course Summary

Project Meetings: Agile Project Meetings

Course: 1 Hour, 2 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Running an Effective Meeting
• Meeting Best Practices
• Traditional Meetings
• Agile Team Meetings
• Sprint Planning Meeting
• Daily Stand-up Meeting
• Sprint Reviews
• Running a Virtual Meeting
• Virtual Meeting Best Practices
• Managing Meeting Action Items
• Conference Software
• GoToMeeting Conference Software
• Exercise: Conducting Effective Team Meetings

Stakeholder Communication: Software Projects & Stakeholder Communication

Course: 44 Minutes

• Course Overview
• The Importance of Communication
• Identifying Stakeholders
• Stakeholder Roles
• Stakeholder Rights and Responsibilities
• Accessing Stakeholders
• Stakeholder Challenges
• Agile and Stakeholder Communication
• Stakeholder Communication Planning
• Active Listening and Customer Feedback
• Strategies for Working Together
• Stakeholder Communication Best Practices
• Course Summary

Project Management Needs vs. Expectations

Course: 45 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Understanding Needs
• Collecting Requirements
• Balancing Expectations and Requirements
• Defining Priorities
• The Challenge of Balance
• The Role of the PM in Expectation Setting
• Avoiding the Noise and the Buzz
• Identifying Business Needs
• Using Agile to Understand Needs
• Strategies for Needs and Expectations
• Setting Needs and Managing Expectations
• Resetting Stakeholder Expectations
• Course Summary

Advanced Agile: Software Project Management

Course: 1 Hour, 34 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Agile Philosophy at Organizational Level
• Comparison of Agile Frameworks
• Understanding the Hybrid Agile Model
• Understanding the Bimodal Agile Model
• Understanding the Lean Model of Agile
• Identifying the Best Fit Agile Framework
• Magnifying the Agile Benefits
• Scaling Agile for the Organization
• SAFe for Agile
• Agile Estimation Methods
• Governance Framework for Adopting Agile
• Building an Agile Culture
• Course Summary

Advanced Agile: Software Development Concepts

Course: 1 Hour, 26 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Managing Scope with Agile Tools
• Defining Best Practices for Agile Software Design
• Strategizing for Agile User Interface Design
• Extreme Programming and Agile
• Continuous Integration
• Pair Programming
• Test-Driven Development
• Code Refactoring
• Agile Coach
• Working with Distributed Teams
• Moving Towards Agile Maturity
• Course Summary

Assessment:

• Software Project Manager

Track 4: Senior Software Project Manager

In this track, the focus will be on recruiting, advanced Agile and SCRUM, organizational value management, hybrid Agile, and Agile value-driven delivery.
Courses (8 hours +)

Software Projects: Recruiting the Project Team

Course: 47 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Composing the Right Software Team
• Challenges in Recruiting for Software Projects
• Requisite Skills for Successful Teams
• Exploring Recruitment Sources
• Making Job Postings Count
• Planning the Evaluation Process
• Evaluating Communication Skills
• Evaluating Technical Skills
• Choosing the Right Interviewing Skills
• Finding the Right Software Project Manager
• Onboarding Skills
• Retaining the Software Team
• Course Summary

Advanced Agile: Tools & Techniques

Course: 56 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Product Backlog
• Managing the Product Backlog
• User Story Estimation
• Sprint Backlog
• Managing the Sprint Backlog
• Daily Scrum
• Sprint Reviews
• Sprint Retrospective
• Agile performance metrics
• Scrum board and charts
• Kanban board and charts
• Course Summary

Advanced Agile: Leadership Techniques

Course: 1 Hour, 9 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Agile vs. Traditional Projects
• Agile Leadership Focus
• Agile Leadership Best Practices
• Scaling Agile Projects
• Scaled Agile Framework
• Disciplined Agile Delivery
• Large Scale Scrum
• Risk Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Agile Team Dynamics
• Agile Coach
• Agile in the Real World
• Course Summary

Advanced Scrum for Project Management

Course: 1 Hour, 13 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Analyzing Data for Business Intelligence
• Business Intelligence Tools
• Case for Business Intelligence
• Driving Business Intelligence
• Planning for Business Intelligence
• Framing a Data Strategy
• Forming the Best BI Team
• Defining the KPIs for BI
• Advanced Analytics for BI
• Telling Stories through Reports
• Guidelines for a Successful BI Project
• Course Summary

Business Intelligence: Project Data Analysis

Course: 1 Hour, 13 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Analyzing Data for Business Intelligence
• Business Intelligence Tools
• Case for Business Intelligence
• Driving Business Intelligence
• Planning for Business Intelligence
• Framing a Data Strategy
• Forming the Best BI Team
• Defining the KPIs for BI
• Advanced Analytics for BI
• Telling Stories through Reports
• Guidelines for a Successful BI Project
• Course Summary

Business Orientation: Strategic Organizational Goals

Course: 50 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Strategic Goals, Vision, Mission, and Plan
• Approaches for Organizational Strategic Goals
• Strategic Planning Process
• Assessing the Current Business Environment
• Drafting Vision and Mission Statement
• Framing SMART Business Objectives
• Ensuring Alignment of Objectives with Goals
• Planning to Meet Set Objectives
• Metrics to Evaluate Strategic Plan
• Making the Strategic Plan Effective
• Revising the Strategic Plan
• Course Summary

Business Strategy: Managing Organizational Value

Course: 1 Hour

• Course Overview
• Understanding Value
• Delivering Value
• Types of Value
• Value Drivers for the Organization
• Value-based Management Processes
• Value Analysis and Value Engineering
• Stakeholder Perception of Value
• Ethical Leadership
• Working in a Global World
• Benefits Realization
• Performance-based Earned Value
• Course Summary

Agile Hybrid Approaches

Course: 48 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Project Management Methodologies
• Reasons for Using a Hybrid Methodology
• Popular Traditional-Agile Hybrid Models
• Case Studies
• Using a Hybrid while Transitioning to Agile
• Agile-Agile Hybrids
• Agile Project Suitability
• Project Tailoring
• Agile Values and Mindset
• Agile Manifesto
• Course Summary

Value-driven Delivery: Delivering Value in Agile Projects

Course: 1 Hour, 6 Minutes

• Course Overview
• Agile Values and Principles
• Project Selection and Business Value
• Shared Product Vision
• The Product Backlog
• Adaptive Planning
• Managing Risk
• Agile Tools
• Productivity and Work in Progress
• Waste (Muda)
• Measuring Performance
• Problem Detection and Resolution
• Course Summary

Assessment:

• Senior Software Project Manager