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04. Agile, Scrum & Lean Delivery

At a glance

  • Module: 04 of 13 · Part II — Agile & Adaptive Delivery
  • Sessions: S8–S10 (Weeks 4–5)
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Estimated time: ~7 hours
  • Prerequisites: Module 03

Overview

Adaptive delivery approaches accept that requirements change and that learning happens as you build. This module covers the ideas behind agile software development, the most widely used agile framework (Scrum), and the Lean and Kanban ideas that shape flow-based work.

The goal is not to learn a checklist of ceremonies. It is to understand why adaptive approaches work, when they fit better than predictive planning, and which problems they do not solve on their own.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this module you should be able to:

  1. State the values and principles of agile software development and explain their intent.
  2. Describe the Scrum roles, events, and artefacts, and how they reinforce one another.
  3. Explain Lean principles and Kanban as a flow-based method, including work-in-progress limits.
  4. Choose between predictive and adaptive delivery for a given project, with justification.
  5. Identify common misapplications of agile and their consequences.
  6. Recognise how agile practices complement — rather than replace — sound planning.

Lesson plan

# Lesson Session Status
01 Agile and Predictive Approaches S8 Available
02 Scrum Roles, Events, and Artefacts S9 Available
03 Kanban and Work-in-Progress Limits S10 Available

Choosing an approach is covered in Lesson 1, and misapplications and anti-patterns appear in the misconceptions sections of all three lessons rather than in a separate session.

Lab

Three labs apply this module to the same product over three sessions:

  1. Lab 14 — Creating a Scrum Product Backlog — order a 100-point backlog and forecast a release from measured velocity.
  2. Lab 15 — Running Sprint Planning — turn the plan into tasks, test it against real capacity, and write a definition of done.
  3. Lab 23 — Agile versus Predictive Planning — cost the same changes under both approaches and recommend one.

Case study

A case comparing predictive and adaptive delivery on the same problem is planned. See the Case Studies overview.

Self-assessment

A module quiz is planned. See the Self-Assessment overview.

Key terms

Agile · Scrum · Sprint · Product backlog · Increment · Lean · Kanban · Work in progress limit · Retrospective — see the Glossary.