Certified Less Basics (CLB)

Course Overview

Certified LeSS Basics

As per LeSS overview video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BZf_Oa7W94&t=6s, and LeSS's antithetical stance to typical misconceptions about Scrum at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr2rjaGmUzo&t=14s, Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS) is a framework for scaling agile development methods for multiple teams. More accurately, LeSS is for de-scaling the organization, simplifying organization design, processes & workflows. A short overview can be found on LeSS.works.

 LeSS builds on the Scrum principles such as empiricism and cross-functional, self-managing teams and provides a framework to use them on a larger scale. Here, simple structural rules and guidelines are given, as Scrum can also be used for large projects in product development.

The Certified LeSS Basics course provides an initial introduction to the LeSS framework. In a 1-day training course, you will get an overview of the framework itself and get to know some of the basic concepts. The course will help you decide if LeSS could be the right one for your needs, but for the introduction of LeSS, we also recommend participating in a  LeSS Practitioner course.

The Certified LeSS Basics course is suitable for anyone who deals with the concept of LeSS. Basic knowledge of Scrum is required, which means, for example, that a course has already been completed as a  Certified Scrum Master or a  Professional Scrum Master, or has been acquired through the study of specialist literature such as the  Scrum Primer and practical experience in using Scrum. The Certified Less Basics course is often offered as an extension day of a Scrum course and thus serves to deepen Scrum-focused training.

Would you like to know what practical experience some companies have had with the introduction of LeSS? Then visit the LeSS Case Studies page.

AGENDA:

• Articulate why LeSS
• Explain how LeSS is a Scrum-based approach to scaling
• Summarize what impact this has on the organizational design (structures, policies, etc.)
• Explain the dynamics of component teams vs. feature teams
• Explain all LeSS roles and their purposes
• Explain why there is one and only real PO and not so-called team POs
• Explain the LeSS Complete diagram, organizing LeSS information in terms of the principles, rules, guides, and experiments
• Explain how LeSS scales over ~8 teams
• Analyze one's own current organizations’ state
• Evaluate the applicability of LeSS in one's own current work environment
• What organizational impacts LeSS adoption may cause.
• What impact would LeSS adoption make to participants’ work life?

Starts with LeSS Friendly "Scrum reset" then continues with CLB agenda. Optional reset on Zoom calls or relaxed informal warm-up event before the workshop

Learning Goals

Foundational Knowledge

A year (or more) after this course is over, we want and hope that participants will still be able to:

• Articulate why LeSS
• Explain how LeSS is a Scrum-based approach to scaling
• Summarize what impact this has on the organizational design (structures, policies, etc.)
• Explain the dynamics of component teams vs. feature teams
• Explain all LeSS roles and their purposes
• Explain why there is one and only real PO and not so-called team POs
• Explain the LeSS Complete diagram, organizing LeSS information in terms of the principles, rules, guides, and experiments
• Explain how LeSS scales over ~8 teams
• Know the existence of and location of major learning resources at less.works, including at least these sections: Why LeSS?, Introduction to LeSS (chapter 2 from book 3), the rules, the online videos & books chapters. 

Application Goals

After the class, we expect that participants will have skills to:

• Analyze their current organizations’ state
• Evaluate the applicability of LeSS in their current work environment

Integration Goals

After the class we want and hope participants are able to make following the connections:

• LeSS is Scrum.
• What organizational impacts LeSS adoption may cause.
• What impact would LeSS adoption make to participants’ work life?
• LeSS is building on top of modern management thinking. Eg. Peter Senge, John Seddon, W. Edwards Deming, Taiichi Ohno, Richard Hackman, Robert Sutton, and Jeffrey Pfeffer.  The authors and practitioners of LeSS advocate understanding leading management thinkers and prevailing evidence in terms of management thinking and participants are encouraged to continue learning post-training.

Human Dimensions Goals

After the class we want and hope participants have made the following realizations:

• There is no blame. People’s behavior is determined by the system they are in (managers have a responsibility to change the system).
• What participants could or should learn about themselves
• What is preventing them from influencing the organization they are currently in
• What participants could or should learn about understanding others and/or interacting with them

Caring Goals

After the class, we want and hope participants have

• Interest in learning more about topics discussed in the class
• New ideas about their future

Workshop Environment:

Assessment preparation tends not to be covered in the workshop. The workshop focuses on attendees getting ready to apply new skills back at work immediately after the workshop. There is an expectation that attendees will attend some free post-workshop Zoom calls and watch recordings of their own group (or previous groups) doing tough practice tests, sometimes including John Coleman's own practice tests which address the same learning outcomes, albeit from a different angle. John has an expectation that attendees will attend the calls, as assessment preparation does not scale on a 1:1 basis. Signing up to this workshop is effectively signing up to attend these calls.

Sometimes, John Coleman will have a co-trainer, someone who is already qualified or who is building up experience. Please let John Coleman know in advance if you need him to bring an assistant trainer who speaks your language via john@orderlydisruption.com; economics will hopefully be in our favor to allow that if there is enough demand.

Live Virtual

• Each segment is 60-75 mins long with 15-30 min breaks. Attendees have the choice of spreading the workshop over several days if advertized or if other attendees are ok with that —no recording of the workshop to improve openness. The workshop size is limited to 20 attendees.
• Workshop attendees will use Zoom/Teams, Mural, Slack, StoriesOnBoard, Strategyzer, Kanbanize/SwiftKanban, and John's physical flipcharts.
• Learning online is almost as effective as face to face. The critical difference is working together online; it takes longer to do things. A "funnel" gets added to the Kanban Board for optional best efforts additions to the official curriculum. Most questions will get answered to the satisfaction of the attendees, one way or the other. 

Rules to follow:

• cameras on
• mics on - let's avoid delayed interventions
• be on time for every segment
• no meetings/phone-calls/emails during the active segments
• be self-aware and conscious of the needs of others to have their say
• no hijacking of the agenda; a free coach session is on offer per attendee, use that instead.

A Scrum Reset is often needed in the workshop

If the class attendees demonstrate additional ability, bonus content may get covered. However, the class pace can get set to a slower pace by even one attendee who has not prepared for class, as per pre-class communications. While John Coleman's style is to assume zero knowledge, some attendees may have negative knowledge, preconceived ideas that are incorrect according to Scrum.org.

Negative knowledge creates drag for a training class, hence John Coleman sometimes performs pre-training-screening-calls. While there are no formal pre-requisites for Scrum.org classes, the trainer may request in pre-training phone calls that some attendees go to Profesional Scrum Foundations/Scrum Master (by any Scrum.org trainer) to ensure a smooth learning experience, even if the booked class ticket needs to be postponed to another date, refunding if necessary less banking fees. Either way at the beginning of each workshop, some kind of Scrum reset takes place to align attendees and reduce the potential for learning drag later.

Payment, fees & cancellation

• Payment in advance is required, no exceptions. All documentation requirements for invoice payment by the training date must be declared at the outset. 
• VAT additional for UK clients only. 
• No responsibility is taken for costs resulting from cancellation/postponement.
• A minimum quorum is needed for this class to proceed.
• It's unusual for courses to get canceled. Some classes require a minimum number of attendees. No responsibility is taken for costs resulting from cancellation/postponement.
• You may cancel up to the specified online ticketing deadline, and if so, depending on the payment engine/approach, the refund could have deductions for bank transfer fees.
• You may postpone your ticket with a minimum of three business days notice, thereafter your lack of attendance at the booked date will be treated as a cancellation with zero refund (due to planning & venue costs for class numbers). Best efforts would be made to fit you into a later workshop.
• Electronic manuals and Scrum.org assessment fees are included. Physical manuals are not provided.

GDPR etc.

Subject to GDPR or other regulations:

• Attendees may be asked to optionally consent to receive communications, e.g., follow-up email newsletters.
• A booking is not a guarantee of attendance. The trainer may need to contact attendees to assess their readiness for the training class. It is possible the trainer will recommend additional training / reading before you can be accepted into the booked class.
• In order to get an assessment, the trainer must submit your name and email address to Scrum.org; Scrum.org may in turn send you regular newsletters. 
• Attendees will be invited to a slack channel for the class to enable communications before, during, and after the class.
• Photographs and/or video permission will be requested in class for follow up marketing purposes.
• Reviews & Testimonials will be requested in class; you can add the same review and star rating to each of VocalReferences, TrustPilot, and Google, to be performed optionally in class. Attendees may also be asked to provide feedback to Scrum.org. For these requests, regardless of the response, additional bonus learning content will be delivered.
• A limited number of free of charge post training Zoom/alternative calls are offered. To book, attendees can arrange to meet me via  https://calendly.com/johncolemanagile 
• Attendees may be asked to join compatible communities, e.g., the LeSS community.
• See the privacy statement at orderlydisruption.com.