Applied Scrum for Agile Project Management

Thank you, Mr. John Johnson, for well prepared course on Applied Scrum for Agile Project Management.
I particularly like the clarity of your lessons and videos. The Summary Points for every lesson were particularly helpful in reinforcing new learning.
Although I am unable to do the Verified Course at this time, the Knowledge Check questions were useful to highlight the key points on each lesson. Additional references on each lesson would likewise be helpful to further deepen one’s understanding on the topic/s.

I am a PMP and have had extensive consulting experience in IT systems development, implementation and support covering both customized systems as well as software package implementation. My exposure has been mainly on what you called the Traditional Waterfall method and limited Iterative method. But, my experiences with these methods were not really exactly how you described the Traditional Waterfall method and what you described as its shortcomings. There were several features, concepts and techniques that you mentioned to be present in Agile that my projects then were actually performing like understanding the business requirements and stakeholders management, among others.

Hence, I tend to have reservations about your claim that the features, concepts and techniques you described about Agile that contributed to its popularity and success rates are somewhat exclusive to Agile (or, at least, the impression I got). And, modesty aside, I was fortunate to have good teams and supportive project stakeholders and sponsors that ensured the successful completion of our projects.

Your last lesson on Agile Pitfalls and Benefits actually were for the most part not much of a surprise to me. I would have expected that the relevant expertise, skills, experience and maturity of the project team members, Team leads and even Product owners as well as stakeholders and sponsors active (that is, both in terms of availability of time and funding for the project) support would be critical in the successful delivery of a project, regardless of which methods: be it waterfall, hybrid or agile.

Notwithstanding, I did learn the basics of Agile I was looking for that allowed me to revisit how the Waterfall method is currently viewed alongside Agile and all its variations in the project management field today. I was particularly interested in learning more about facilitation skills that I surmised to be a significant skill set in effectively applying the Scrum framework as well as controls and governance in Agile. Further, I was looking for discussion on the type of systems or applications, not just the size of the project, where Agile might be best suited or not likely to work.

Again, my sincere appreciation to you, Mr. Johnson, and to University of Maryland for the opportunity to make this course, Applied Scrum in Agile Project Management, available online on edX. Wishing you all more successes!

This is a great course to learn the technical aspects of Agile project management and John Johnson is a coherent and concise lecturer delivering high quality lessons. I took the verified track as I will be handling more projects in my role as a university learning developer.

The weekly quizzes were useful though I would have expected more short knowledge checks within the modules given their length and, at times, complexity.

Another issue I noted was the number of spelling mistakes and sentencing issues in the modules which suggests a lack of pre-launch beta testing. At times this detracted from the content (Scumban being used a few times in place of Scrumban). Some of these issues appeared in the final quiz questions too.

While the content was well delivered I missed a place to converse with fellow learners which for me is an important aspect of online learning. I found the final quiz for verified learners quite difficult as many questions were formulated in the double negative using very similar key words for correct and incorrect answers and at times just swapping one word out to make a false answer which can be challenging given you have to revise 4 weeks of content.

Having a practical assignment to implement the Agile theory in own organisations would have been beneficial as the course is very theoretical.

Overall, I learned a lot and am glad I took the course.

I would like to express my sincere thanks for the exceptional quality of the "Applied Scrum for Agile Project Management" course that I recently completed. Your ability to convey complex concepts in a clear and engaging manner was truly commendable.

The course provided a thorough understanding of Scrum and agile project management, and I am confident that the skills gained will be invaluable in my future work. Your expertise and knowledge were evident in each module, making learning an immersive and applicable experience.

I appreciate you sharing your time, experience, and valuable insights. Your passion for the subject is inspiring, and I am eager to implement the learned practices in my projects.

Once again, thank you for offering such a valuable and impactful course. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from such a skilled professional.

Sincerely,

Breno Queiroz, Brazil.

Thank you, Mr. John Johnson, for well prepared course on Applied Scrum for Agile Project Management.
I particularly like the clarity of your lessons and videos. The Summary Points for every lesson were particularly helpful in reinforcing new learning.
Although I am unable to do the Verified Course at this time, the Knowledge Check questions were useful to highlight the key points on each lesson. Additional references on each lesson would likewise be helpful to further deepen one’s understanding on the topic/s.

I am a PMP and have had extensive consulting experience in IT systems development, implementation and support covering both customized systems as well as software package implementation. My exposure has been mainly on what you called the Traditional Waterfall method and limited Iterative method. But, my experiences with these methods were not really exactly how you described the Traditional Waterfall method and what you described as its shortcomings. There were several features, concepts and techniques that you mentioned to be present in Agile that my projects then were actually performing like understanding the business requirements and stakeholders management, among others.

Hence, I tend to have reservations about your claim that the features, concepts and techniques you described about Agile that contributed to its popularity and success rates are somewhat exclusive to Agile (or, at least, the impression I got). And, modesty aside, I was fortunate to have good teams and supportive project stakeholders and sponsors that ensured the successful completion of our projects.

Your last lesson on Agile Pitfalls and Benefits actually were for the most part not much of a surprise to me. I would have expected that the relevant expertise, skills, experience and maturity of the project team members, Team leads and even Product owners as well as stakeholders and sponsors active (that is, both in terms of availability of time and funding for the project) support would be critical in the successful delivery of a project, regardless of which methods: be it waterfall, hybrid or agile.

Notwithstanding, I did learn the basics of Agile I was looking for that allowed me to revisit how the Waterfall method is currently viewed alongside Agile and all its variations in the project management field today. I was particularly interested in learning more about facilitation skills that I surmised to be a significant skill set in effectively applying the Scrum framework as well as controls and governance in Agile. Further, I was looking for discussion on the type of systems or applications, not just the size of the project, where Agile might be best suited or not likely to work.

Again, my sincere appreciation to you, Mr. Johnson, and to University of Maryland for the opportunity to make this course, Applied Scrum in Agile Project Management, available online on edX. Wishing you all more successes!

The course videos and slides were explained in an easy way. The instructor did a really good job. Also the course requires no knowledge about agile. Homework was easy and the final exam also is moderate but not difficult.

However, i found the course is a good introduction to agile, but not more. The course explains all the basic terms, roles, and framework within agile; but the course lack detailed case studies (examples) which can show real detailed agile projects. I have never worked in an agile project, so I needed the detailed examples and visualization.

The instructor did present however, two case studies in the first week, to be honest, but not detailed enough.

Some recommendation for improvement:
- while the instructor spoke a lot about daily standup and typical mistakes in the standup, I still didn't visualize it completely, there are live simulation videos on youtube, which the instructor can refer to.
- the instructor can to take on one video at least one Epic idea and breaks it into sprints and tasks to show the product backlog, spring planning, development,..etc.
- the instructor has to revise the content for week 4; for me, this was a lot of theoretical compressed information about different framework (Less, SAFe,..etc) which I didn't learn a lot from it.

Thank you Prof. John Johnson. I recently completed the course "Applied Scrum for Agile Project Management". His approach to explaining the Agile methodology and Scrum framework was insightful, engaging, and easy to understand.

The emphasis on different project management methods and their suitability & goals was elaborative and brought clarity on the subject:

1. Traditional aims for Predictability
2. Agile aims for Speed
3. Lean aims for Innovation

Each Method has its goals, but it also has its paradigms of managing against the goal. The result can be very different and similar means of managing each element:

Scope - WBS, CCB, Backlogs, Tickets
Schedule - CPM, PERT, Timeboxes, Severity Levels
Budget - EVM, ROI, Burndowns, and KPIs

The course content was well-structured, with clear explanations and practical examples. that allowed me to apply the concepts in real-world situations. Your emphasis on the importance of teamwork, servant leadership, continuous improvement, and adapting to change was particularly impactful and has changed the way I approach project management.

Overall, I found the course to be highly informative, inspiring, and beneficial to my professional development.

Thank you again for your contributions to the field and for delivering an outstanding course.

The Applied Scrum for Agile Project Management course provides a comprehensive and practical introduction to Scrum methodology, making it an ideal choice for both beginners and professionals looking to enhance their project management skills. The course covers the core principles of Agile, including sprints, backlogs, roles, and ceremonies, and emphasizes hands-on learning through real-world scenarios. The instructors are knowledgeable and engaging, offering clear explanations and actionable insights. The course structure is well-organized, with a good balance between theory and practical application, ensuring that participants can quickly implement Scrum techniques in their projects. Additionally, the interactive exercises and case studies offer a valuable opportunity to apply concepts in a collaborative setting. Overall, this course delivers a strong foundation in Scrum, making it highly recommended for anyone looking to improve their project management practices in an Agile environment.

This is a comprehensive course that provides a lot of information to help you make informed decisions about applying Agile Project Management practices. I really appreciate learning about the specific differences between Agile and Lean projects and now feel equipped to be an effective member of a project team.

The content is well-organized. The extra resources the instructor provides are very helpful as many of those resources include reference titles and web links to other Agile resources.

I encountered a few content distractions such as misspellings, word omissions, and obsolete web links. It would be great if the course could be refreshed and published with corrections and updates. I didn't quite understand the "Tailored Lesson" and its place in the lesson. I thought it should appear before the quiz.

Overall, this course met my expectations in providing an essential Scrum and Agile project management foundation.

This covers some of the technical or team architecture behind scrum but it is definitely not 'Applied'. It is also effectively presented as a sales pitch for scrum without going into any depth on reasons why it can be successful with little or no mention of the disadvantages, especially when there are still a huge number of companies and teams NOT using it.

The course itself in parts does not follow a logical progression of ideas in how it is presented. The videos are presented woodenly, in many cases just reading off the slides and with many edits in the videos that disrupt the flow. Slides are also frequently constructed in ways that are not compatible with the presentation format used and constructed in ways that have been warned against for over a very long time.

You would get better knowledge and understanding reading a good book on the subject.

"I found this Agile Scrum PMP course to be both straightforward and highly efficient. The content was well-structured, allowing me to easily grasp the key frameworks of Scrum and Agile methodologies. Each module built upon the previous one, which reinforced my understanding and helped me see how the concepts interconnect.

The instructors were knowledgeable and engaging, providing real-world examples that illustrated the principles in action. I appreciated the emphasis on practical application, which made it easier to envision how I could implement these methodologies in my own work.

Overall, this course has equipped me with valuable insights and tools that I feel confident applying in my projects. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to enhance their understanding of Agile and Scrum."

Dear Mr. Johnson,

Thank you for the well-prepared course on Applied Scrum for Agile Project Management. I enjoyed the clarity of your lessons and videos, and found the Summary Points for each lesson to be particularly helpful in reinforcing new learning. The Knowledge Check questions were also useful for highlighting the key points of each lesson.

I am a PMP with extensive experience in IT systems development, implementation, and support. My exposure has been mainly to the Traditional Waterfall method and limited Iterative method. However, my experiences with these methods did not match your description of the Traditional Waterfall method and its shortcomings. For example, my projects still involved understanding business requirements and managing stakeholders.

As a result, I am not convinced that the features, concepts, and techniques you described as being unique to Agile are actually exclusive to Agile. I believe that many of these features can be found in other project management methodologies.

Your last lesson on Agile Pitfalls and Benefits was not surprising to me. I agree that the expertise, skills, experience, and maturity of the project team members, team leads, product owners, stakeholders, and sponsors are all critical to the successful delivery of a project, regardless of the methodology used.

Despite my reservations, I did learn the basics of Agile that I was looking for. I was particularly interested in learning more about facilitation skills, which I believe are essential for effectively applying the Scrum framework. I was also interested in learning more about controls and governance in Agile, and the type of systems or applications where Agile might be best suited or not likely to work.

Thank you again for the opportunity to learn from you.