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Course Introduction

Contents

AgileSHIFT Online Learning
Introduction to the AgileSHIFT Course
Difficulty
Beginner
Duration
8m
Students
709
Ratings
4.9/5
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Description

We begin with an introduction to the course and what you can expect from the videos, resources, and quizzes in this Learning Path. The course is designed to help you apply AgileSHIFT when you get back to work and there are some important resources that you can access in this module to support this.

The Reflective Activities complement the videos by giving you the chance to consider what AgileSHIFT means to you and how you can put the principles, practices, and processes to best use in your organization. Each activity is associated with an important aspect of AgileSHIFT. Examples of concepts, practices, and processes are contained in the videos. The Making AgileSHIFT Real examples support these by providing further case studies of AgileSHIFT at work. There’s a Glossary to explain the key terms used in the AgileSHIFT framework.  

Before you start your learning, take some time to look through these documents and work out how you’re going to use them as you go through the course. You can print them out or complete them on your computer.  

Learning Objectives

The objectives of this course are to provide you with and understanding of:

  • What AgileSHIFT is and why it benefits organizations 
  • The structure and components of the Learning Path; including how to use the reflective activities and case studies
  • Hints and tips for getting the most out of this Learning Path 

Intended Audience

The target audience for the AgileSHIFT qualification is any employee of an organization that intends to adopt AgileSHIFT. This includes people who will become champions of the new working practice and employees from any part of the business who will contribute to the incremental improvements that will make up the wider change the organization requires. 

Prerequisites

There are no specific pre-requisites to study the AgileSHIFT course or for entry to the examination.

Feedback

We welcome all feedback and suggestions - please contact us at qa.elearningadmin@qa.com to let us know what you think. 

 

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the AgileSHIFT course.

 

AgileSHIFT is about helping organizations keep pace with the complex, uncertain and changing environment they operate in. It’s a scary thought really, because everything’s changing so quickly that it’s almost impossible to keep up. 

 

Unsurprisingly, technology’s driving this change – things that we couldn’t even imagine a few years ago are here today – like artificial intelligence and virtual reality, and pretty much everything is automated.  

 

And it’s not slowing down – apparently there’ll be 10 million self-driving cars on the road in the next two years, and over the next 10 years a working quantum computer will mean artificial intelligence can outperform humans. 

 

And new jobs are being invented all the time – who knew that we’d have Cloud Specialists, IOS and Android Developers or Uber drivers? 

 

But this change is tough for organizations. They’ll have a competitive edge if they invest in new technology and they’ll be OK. On the flipside, if they stay comfortable by doing what they’ve always done, they’ll have problems. 

 

Most organizations today are looking to transform the way they work. Whatever sector they’re in – voluntary, retail, finance, telecoms, public services or anything else – traditional ways of working won’t make them competitive. They’re challenged by increasing customer expectations, the rise of disruptive competitors (often exploiting new technologies), outdated processes and a culture that just doesn’t work in a rapidly changing marketplace. 

 

AgileSHIFT helps prepare organizations – and the people in them – for this transformation by creating a culture of enterprise agility. But this isn’t driven by simply adopting Agile methods or tools – it means understanding the ethos and behaviors required for change and leveraging them across the entire organization. 

 

AgileSHIFT works by: 

  • Encouraging the whole organization to appreciate the need for change; 

  • Illustrating how enterprise agility can benefit them; 

  • Demonstrating how common agile ways of working can contribute to enterprise agility; and 

  • Providing a simple Agile framework which relies on an iterative delivery approach. 

 

What’s in the course? 

This course is aligned to the Axelos AgileSHIFT syllabus and will help you: 

  • Understand why organizations need to create a culture of enterprise agility in response to a changing context;  

  • Describe the key concepts of the AgileSHIFT framework; and 

  • Define the AgileSHIFT delivery approach. 

 

It covers everything you need to know to pass the AgileSHIFT exam and has 10 modules. 

  • The first one looks at the changing context organizations operate in and the ‘tech-shift’ which has led to tech-centric working methods. It then highlights the threat of disruptors who take advantage of the opportunities arising from change before outlining the concept of a delta or ‘threat gap’ and how organizations can use this to create better value. 

  • After that, the second module highlights the importance of effective working methods to challenge market disruptors and the advantages of AgileSHIFT to be realized. It introduces the concept of enterprise agility before looking at how AgileSHIFT can be used to facilitate multimodal working. 

  • Then the third module outlines how individuals can be empowered to make small, incremental changes that work towards organizational transformation. It then develops the concept of value by describing the importance of co-creating value with customers and other stakeholders. 

  • The fourth module looks at the complexity of organizations and the role internal and external teams, and stakeholders play in co-creating value. It then highlights the importance of strategic organizational alignment and the critical role of middle managers in facilitating change. 

  • The fifth module then defines the AgileSHIFT principles which reflect the fundamental attitudes and behaviors that underpin successful change.  

  • Leading on from that, the sixth module defines the five AgileSHIFT practices – the broad themes that should be applied to any work being done using an AgileSHIFT approach. 

  • The seventh module looks at the AgileSHIFT team roles and the skills a team member needs in today’s technology-driven world. Then it looks in more detail at the critical roles of the AgileSHIFT coach and the AgileSHIFT sponsor before highlighting how a multi-specialist approach affects the way individuals contribute to the creation of value. 

  • Then the eighth module is about putting it into practice through the AgileSHIFT workflow. It describes how decisions are made and how work is aligned to the business objectives, before defining each task in an AgileSHIFT iteration. 

  • The ninth module shows you some practical tools and techniques you can use to help you work in an agile way.  

  • And finally, the tenth module summarizes everything and helps you get ready for the exam. It has a mock exam paper and some useful guidance on how you should approach it. 

 

Getting the most from this course 

Each module delivers the knowledge you need through video presentations and reference guides, which are supported by quizzes to help you check your understanding as you go through the course. You can do the quizzes as many times as you like, and you’ll be given feedback after each question so you can check how well you’re getting on. 

 

The course is designed to help you apply AgileSHIFT when you get back to work and there are some important resources that you should use alongside the videos to support this: 

 

  • The Reflective Activities give you the chance to think about what AgileSHIFT means to you and how you can put the principles, practices and processes to best use at work. Each activity is associated with an important aspect of AgileSHIFT and they’re signposted at the end of each video where you see this icon. 

 

  • The Making It Real examples support the videos by providing case studies of AgileSHIFT at work. These are signposted at the end of each video where you see this icon. 

 

  • And there’s a Glossary to explain the key terms used in the AgileSHIFT framework.  

 

Before you start, take some time to look through these resources and work out how you’re going to use them. You review them online or save them on your computer.  

 

There are also two other guides that you might find useful. The Brief History of Agile and Lean will help you place AgileSHIFT in the broader context and the Useful Resources guide has links to websites, resources and other publications that might help you implement agile ways of working.  

 

Working through the course 

You’ll have your own approach to learning – but here’s a few ideas that might help you get the most from this course: 

  • Try to complete the whole thing in three months – that way, you’ll still remember what you learn at the start when you take the exam. 

  • Try to complete an entire module at a time – or, if you can’t, a complete video.  

  • Do the quizzes as you go – they’ll help you consolidate what you’ve picked up and tell you which areas you need to go through again. 

 

Tell us what you think  

One last thing. Feedback on this course is important to us and future learners. If you’ve got anything to say – good or bad – let us know.  

 

Thanks, and we hope you enjoy the course. 

 

 

About the Author
Students
10593
Courses
37
Learning Paths
27

Tony has over 20 years’ experience in Business Development, Business Change, Consulting, and Project/Program Management working with public, private, and third sector organizations.

He has helped organizations to design and create processes and procedures to align ways of working with corporate strategy. A highly motivated and detailed solution provider, utilizing a wide range of methods and frameworks to provide structure whilst promoting creativity and innovation.

As a confident and self-motivated professional with excellent communication skills, Tony is able to bring people together and get them working as a team quickly.

Tony is an Agile and Scrum trainer with a vast knowledge spanning IT Systems, Business Change, Program and Project Management. With excellent presentation skills and a solid background, he ensures that all clients gain maximum benefit from his training. He has successfully guided those new to the industry through their initial training, helped experienced staff as they progress in their careers, and worked at the director level advising on best use and practice, as well as tailoring courses to fulfil the exact needs of clients.