Agile Project Management Certification Course

Agile Online Project Management Course

Purdue University’s online Agile course introduces tools that agile teams use to measure progress and results and introduces the concept of burndown charts along with preparing professionals to become versed in several agile approaches including Scrum, Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), and Scrumban, all within 5 weeks. Students will also align their skills with the global standard set by the Project Management Institute (PMI)®.

After successful completion of the agile training course, students will be awarded 2.1 CEUs (continuing education units), or 21 contact hours, and be prepared to take the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Exam or the newest version of PMI®'s Project Management Professional (PMP)® Exam.  

Upon completion of this agile course, you will be able to: 

Define agile project management and the benefits of using agile approaches 
Summarize the agile mindset and Agile Manifesto and how they both contribute to project success 
Describe how to prepare for effective agile implementation, including key tools needed for a successful agile approach 
Explain methods used to manage agile projects 
Describe popular agile approaches, including Scrum, Kanban, and Scrumban. 
Explain measurement methods to ensure ongoing success

The current course syllabus can be found here.

WHAT IS THE AGILE METHODOLOGY? 

Agile’s widespread adoption is driven by the discovery that organizations must become agile to be competitive in a customer-driven, continuously changing marketplace. In fact, 71% of U.S. companies are now using Agile.* The methodology is used to effectively manage high uncertainty projects where requirements are not well understood or are rapidly evolving. Agile is gaining momentum across companies and industries as it is proving to be 1.5 times more successful than waterfall projects* and because it improves customer satisfaction and return-on-investment (ROI). 

The Agile Methodology Emphasizes 

Inspiring those doing the work and giving autonomy to teams so that innovation is accelerated and optimized. 
Valuing transparency and continuous improvement over predictability and standardized plans.  
Having open and interactive conversations that drive employee performance more effectively than top-down directives.

Agile Frameworks to Learn 

Kanban – Utilizes boards and task cards to represent project processes based on stage, such as “To Do”, “In Progress”, “In Review”, and “Done. The stage is changed by moving the task card from one stage to the next. Cards can also include deadlines, assignees, notes, attachments, etc. See how a marketing team utilized Kanban to organize their work weeks.
Scrum – Typically provides a framework for short-term focused efforts to move a project forward within 1-3 weeks. This framework allows for rapid feedback and issues to be brought up through daily meetings.  
eXtreme Programming (XP) - A framework designed specifically for producing high-quality software. It is designed to cut costs for software development organizations and hold team members accountable. 
Scrumban – This framework is a hybrid between Scrum and Kanban. Combining the two frameworks provides flexibility to adapt to the needs of stakeholders and production requirements.