User Story Workshop: Creating Agile Requirements

Excella Consulting’s User Story Workshop focuses on developing requirements which enable an Agile team to deliver valuable products. Agile principles and Scrum framework emphasize business and team collaboration while providing clarity and focus. User stories improve our products by maximizing return on investment and speed of delivery. In class, we explore principles and techniques used to develop a product backlog in an Agile environment. These concepts are presented in a highly interactive format designed to maximize learning with elements of lecture, classroom discussion, and detailed simulation.

This course also allows the students to claim 7 Project Management Institute (PMI) Professional Development Units (PDUs) which can be applied to Project Management Professional (PMP) and PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) certifications.

Who Should Attend

The class is ideal for those who create and maintain user story requirements and product backlogs. Product Owners, Business Analysts, Feature Owners and Subject Matter Experts will benefit from learning these techniques.

What’s in it for You

Upon completion of the course, students can effectively create and manage user story requirements and a product backlog which aligns features and functions to business value in an Agile environment.

Course Outline

The course starts with an introduction to Agile Principles and Agile Business Analysis. From there, the curriculum focuses on specific ways to develop Agile requirements, including:

• Lean Discovery techniques
• Product Backlog Items and User Stories
• Testable Acceptance Criteria
• Vertical Slicing and Story Decomposition
• The Importance of Feedback Loops

Case Study

Students will apply the concepts discussed through a hands-on case study. For each learning module, we will practice the techniques discussed as we build user stories for our product backlog.

Prerequisite

For this class, we build upon your knowledge of Agile principles and the Scrum framework. Students must have previously attended a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) or Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) class or have equivalent knowledge or experience.

About Your Trainers

Stephanie Vineyard, Business Analysis Service Lead at Excella Consulting, provides consulting services to commercial and federal clients in the Washington, DC area. Stephanie coaches, mentors, and trains clients in improving their product backlog and product delivery using iterative, incremental methods. She holds a Certified Scrum Professional designation and presents at national conferences such as Business Analysis World and Building Business Capabilities.

Mark Grove is an Agile Coach and Management Consultant with over 20 years in the IT profession. He coaches individuals and teams to embrace the Agile mindset, deliver end-user value, and delight the customer while being open and welcoming to change. He is an ardent believer of incremental delivery, an advocate of frequent feedback, and a champion of continuous improvement. He provides coaching, training, and facilitation expertise on a variety of Agile practices and topics. Mark has a Master’s degree in Information Systems and holds Agile certifications from Scrum Alliance, ICAgile, Lean Kanban University, and the Project Management Institute.

Price, Date, and Location

The registration fee for this one-day workshop is $649.00 (inclusive of all taxes and fees). This fee includes:

• Training manuals and supplies
• Hot breakfast buffet before class, hot lunch buffet and afternoon snacks during class
• Validated parking in one of three nearby parking garages

You may pay online via credit card or request that Excella invoice you if you have an existing billing arrangement with Excella.

Registration is now open. Class will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Arlington Tech eXchange (ATX) at 2300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 610, Arlington, Virginia (located one block from the Court House metro station on the Orange and Silver lines). Validated parking is available in three nearby garages. Hot breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks will be provided and coffee, water, and cold beverages will be available throughout the day.

Cancellation Policy

Students submitting cancellation requests 10 business days or more prior to the start of the course are entitled to a full refund. Students submitting cancellation requests less than 10 business days prior to the start of the course will be issued credit toward a future Excella training course. The credit will be equal to the amount paid for the initial course less any applicable fees. Should the organizer cancel the course for any reason, each registered students will be refunded 100% of the registration cost they paid.