Course Conventions and Content

COURSE CONVENTIONS AND CONTENT

Welcome to the section on the course conventions and content! Before moving forward, I want to explain the concepts and methods I will use in this course. The material is divided into several chapters. Some chapters are split up into smaller sections. Each time I start a new section or chapter, I will give you the name so that you know where we are.

The certified scrum master exam is composed of questions that require you to demonstrate your knowledge of and experience with Scrum. Therefore, I will introduce some quizzes during the course. These quizzes will help you to measure your progress with the course material. They should also help you to reinforce what you have learned. You will find the quizzes in the ‘Follow-along’ PDF- Manual. I will discuss the PDF Manual in more detail a bit later. In each section, I will give you a quiz with questions related to the material from that section. You can pause the audio and take the quiz in the Follow-along PDF Manual. Once you complete the quiz, check your answers against the answer key. If you would like, return to the audio and resume play. I will give you the correct answers and explain the reasoning behind them. Remember, this course is not only about memorizing new concepts; it is also about applying theory to real world applications. Scrum master certification is proof that you know how to do this.

You will find the quizzes near the end of each chapter; most of them will contain ten questions. At the very end of each chapter, I will highlight the most important topics I discussed. Call them takeaways. The key takeaways will help you summarize and retain as much information as possible. There will usually be ten different takeaways; depending on the complexity of the topic, I may add more or present a few less.

Earlier, I mentioned a Follow-along PDF Manual. Each Audio Learn course contains a study guide a Follow-along PDF Manual. You can read this PDF from your laptop, tablet or phone, or you can also print it out the choice is yours.

This manual contains important material, like supplemental information, graphics, and quizzes. If you decide to print it out, you will be able to write additional comments and notes to help with your studies.

A good way to memorize new ideas is by repeating them. That is why I will repeat many terms and concepts for you. Sometimes we need to hear a concept more than once to really understand it. Consider this little example.

Scrum is not just an agile framework. It is a new way of working, and there is a philosophy behind it. In an IT project under Scrum, the development team is selforganizing. That means they don´t need someone else pushing them to deliver work. Repeating such important concepts will help you to have aha moments. These are moments where you can mentally connect key ideas and come to understand the big picture.

Speaking of repetition, I recommend you listen to this audio course several times. I will present a great deal of information, new terminology, techniques, and concepts. It is critical that you understand this material to fully see how Scrum is a framework that completely changes the way projects are managed. Of course, once you have a good grasp of this information, you will be able to perform at your best on exam day.

If you feel a concept or particular idea is worth remembering, I invite you to take notes. As I mentioned, if you print out the Follow-along PDF Manual, you can take notes there.

If possible, I also invite you to follow along in the PDF Manual whenever you listen to the lectures. If, however, you are only able to listen while commuting to work, forget the manual for now. Consult it when the time is more appropriate. You can still get valuable information just by hearing what I have to say.

Now, I want to give you an outline of the material I will present to you. This is just an overview to allow you to see what to expect. I hope that much of what you hear motivates you to want to listen and excites you about the prospect of becoming a Scrum Master.

I will start out by describing how to become a certified Scrum Master. I will explain what Agile and Scrum are and why they are needed. You will learn that the Agile methodologies are based on the Agile Manifesto. I will explain when you can use Scrum, under what conditions, and typical myths about the Agile methodology.

From there, I will walk through the typical scrum timeline and the difference between traditional project management methodologies and scrum.

In the next chapter, I will explain the roles used in Scrum, your responsibilities inside the team, and the responsibilities of the other team members.

If you use Scrum in your organization, you will need to set up specific scrum events, also called scrum ceremonies, to make the scrum way of working possible. I will introduce you to the scrum ceremonies and you will learn how to plan and execute them.

I will follow up with a discussion of scrum artifacts. Working under Scrum requires using different techniques to execute and manage projects; you will hear about specific ways of sorting out, documenting, and implementing a project's requirements. You will learn how the whole scrum process works, the game rules, and how to deliver a successful project.

I will continue with a chapter about user stories. This concept is normally not mentioned in the scrum guides; you will, however, need this information for the exam and for your daily work as a Scrum Master. You will learn why we need user stories and how they can be used to assist you in your work.

Next, I will explain different estimation techniques that your team will need to use when starting the sprints. You will hear about sprints later in the course. The Agile methodologies introduce new ways of estimating and you need to master this to be a successful Scrum Master.

Once you have passed the scrum certification exam, what comes next? We have a chapter for that. The exam is the first step in starting a scrum master career. The exam is proof that you understand Scrum and you can apply it to your projects. Please be aware that some organizations already use Scrum, but many of them have still not started a transformation to an Agile methodology. The truth is that there is

still a lot of room for improvement in the corporate world and this is your opportunity to start a career with a lot of potential. Now that you have successfully completed the Scrum certification exam, where do you go from there? I will tell you.

In the last chapter, you will work on a one-hundred question final exam to simulate the certification exam. Before you take the test, I will give you some recommendations for effective preparation. Afterwards, you will have the chance to check your results to see if you are ready to take the real exam.

Well, this just about completes the introduction chapter. I hope you are prepared to start your amazing journey to master Scrum! Remember, you can listen to this course as many times as you need to. Challenge yourself with the quizzes and don´t check the answers until you have thought them through. Be critical of what you listen to and hear; this course is not only about memorizing terms, but it is also about adopting a new lifestyle regarding how you approach your work. And do not forget to use the Follow-along PDF Manual together with the lectures. The more you know the material, the more prepared you will be for the certification exam. In addition, the more you know how to apply Scrum to your projects, the more prepared and confident you will be in your daily work.