BCS Agile Foundation Certificate

About this course

Agile has caught the attention of business leaders in the UK and globally as a means of managing change, reducing time to market, eliminating waste and attracting and retaining customers. The question is – what is Agile Project Management and how does it differ from traditional waterfall? What are the roles, skills and competencies required?

This two-day foundation certificate course is concerned with the use of Agile practices in projects, product and software development.

The course is designed to ensure the delegate has suitable knowledge of the core concepts of Agile practices, the Agile values and principles, across a breadth of Agile methodologies. It is not aimed at preparing delegates to implement a specific Agile approach.

Audience profile

The certificate is relevant to anyone requiring an understanding of Agile, including organisational leaders and managers wanting to understand the value of Agile practices, or those who work in an Agile environment.

At course completion

At the end of this course you will be able to:

• Recall the origins of Agile methods
• Understand and apply the core values and principles of Agile methods
• Know the difference between the defined process and the empirical processes used in Agile
• Explain the issues identified in the traditional / waterfall approach
• Recognise myths that are often attributed with Agile practices
• Know the different approaches to the empirical model for improvement and change
• Explain the business culture and the economic case required for Agile
• Understand the implication of Agile practices on individuals, teams and businesses
• Explain the way in which we engage customers into an Agile project
• Know how we respond to change in an Agile project
• Describe the common Agile roles, techniques and practices

Examination

The closed-book exam is taken during the course and consists 40 multiple-choice questions taken over an hour. A pass mark of 65% (26 out of 40) is required for delegates to become accredited.

This course includes the Relevant Methods and Approaches for Agile Teams, including Scrum, XP (Extreme Programming), DSDM Atern, Kanban, Lean Software Development and Lean Startup.