PRINCE2 Agile® Foundation/​Practitioner

The PRINCE2 Agile course uses a combination of theory, discussion and practical exercises to ensure delegates feel confident in the application of the concepts. Additional evening work will be required in the form of consolidation reading and mock examination questions. The evening work is an integral part of the course and delegates should expect to spend approximately 2.5 hours on these activities.

The course will cover the following learning outcomes:

Understand the basic concepts of common agile ways of working

• Explain the differences between projects and BAU (Business as Usual)
• Describe agile and its common approaches, how and why agile approaches have developed and where they are used.
• Describe the history of agile, its contrast to the waterfall way of working and how the agile manifesto fits in
• Describe the different levels of agile maturity and well-known agile frameworks
• Describe behaviours, concepts and techniques that characterise agile
• Define the PRINCE2 Agile view of ‘agile’
• Describe Kanban, the Kanban method and its six general practices, including the use of Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFDs)
• Describe the core concepts of Lean start-up
• Describe the use of workshops
• Describe how to transition to agile
• Define Scrum theory and explain the nature of the Scrum team, Scrum events, Scrum artefacts and Sprints

Understand the purpose and context for combining PRINCE2 and the agile ways of working

• Describe the complementary strengths of PRINCE2 and the agile ways of working
• Define who can benefit from using PRINCE2 Agile and in what contexts/situation
• Define the make-up of PRINCE2 Agile (frameworks, behaviours, concepts, techniques, focus areas)
• Explain the eight ‘guidance points’
• Explain how PRINCE2 controls and governance can enable agile to be used in many environments
• Describe what a typical PRINCE2 ‘project journey’ looks like in an agile context
• Be able to apply and evaluate the focus areas to a project in an agile context

Explain the purpose and use of the Agilometer throughout a project

• Describe the six sliders used on the Agilometer, explain their significance and how to improve them
• Describe in detail requirements terminology, decomposition and prioritisation, including MoSCoW and Ordering
• Explain how requirements prioritisation is used
• Explain the rich communication focus area, its importance and its key techniques
• Explain how to manage frequent releases and the benefits of ‘failing fast’

Be able to fix and flex the six aspects of a project in an agile context

• Describe how to use the ‘hexagon’ in relation to the six aspects of project performance
• Explain the use of tolerances in terms of what to ‘fix’ and what to ‘flex’ in relation to the six aspects of project performance
• Describe in detail each of the five targets that underpin the use of the hexagon
• Explain why the ‘fix and flex’ approach is good for the customer

Be able to tailor the PRINCE2 principles, themes, processes and management products to a project in an agile context

• Describe in detail the 5 PRINCE2 Agile behaviours (Transparency, Collaboration, Rich Communication, Self-Organisation, Exploration)
• Explain that agile needs to be incorporated in all seven PRINCE2 processes and all seven themes but that the amount appropriate to each will vary depending on the project context
• Describe the two common Organisation roles of Scrum master and Product owner
• Explain how to adjust roles, including the use of specialist roles, and the options for team organisation in a project
• Describe the make-up of a typical delivery team
• Describe servant leadership, its use and importance
• Describe how to define Working Agreements
• Describe quality setting techniques including ‘definition of done’ and the use of acceptance criteria
• Describe quality testing, quality checking and management techniques
• Describe approaches to planning and typical planning techniques
• Describe approaches to risk and how agile concepts mitigate many typical risks
• Describe how blending PRINCE2 with agile approaches controls, responds to, and minimises the impact of change, including risk management and configuration management
• Describe how empowered self-organizing teams handle change dynamically within set tolerances
• Describe common feedback loops and their importance
• Describe progress monitoring techniques including use of Work in Progress boards, burn charts, information radiators
• Describe in detail agile techniques that may apply to each PRINCE2 process including Cynefin
• Describe how to flex the ‘Direct a Project’ stage and the benefits of collaborative working
• Describe how to ‘manage by exception’ with emphasis on empowerment, quantity of deliverables, rich information flows and value of deliverables
• Explain why PRINCE2 ‘stages’ may not be required, including use of timeboxes and Scrum of scrums
• Describe typical output mechanisms when ‘Controlling a Stage’ and ‘Managing a Stage Boundary’
• Describe the use of retrospectives and how to make them effective
• Describe approaches to ‘Managing Product Delivery’ including Scrum and Kanban
• Explain how to define Work Packages, Product Descriptions, quality criteria and tolerances
• Give guidance on behaviours, risks and the frequency of releases
• Explain how to manage Stage Boundaries and the similarities between a stage and a release
• Explain how to assess quantity, quality and benefits of stage deliverables
• Explain how to effectively close a project, including evaluation of the use of agile
• Describe how to tailor PRINCE2 products, including Work Packages, Highlight Reports and Checkpoint Reports
• Describe in detail agile techniques that may apply to each PRINCE2 theme including requirements, defining value and user stories
• Describe guidance on the use of contracts
• Describe PRINCE2 Agile delivery roles
• Explain how to use the Health Check
• Describe the fundamental values and principles of agile
• Outline tips for the PRINCE2 Agile project manager

Throughout the PRINCE2 Agile course, delegates will be exposed to numerous examples of examination questions. We will undertake a number of exercises and ‘question-and-answer’ sessions that will help to consolidate the learning, thereby ensuring that delegates are more than adequately prepared for the final examination.