Is Your Organization Agile Ready

Is Your Organization Agile-Ready?

For years, we’ve gotten questions from Agile seminar participants about how to apply Scrum to “real life,” as though these methods are “good in theory, but not at my company!” Some organizations may not be ready to adopt Agile methods completely, so we encourage people to take a short, Agile organizational readiness self-assessment to see …

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, CSM

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.

Putting Your Product Backlog in Order

Putting Your Product Backlog in Order

Earlier versions of Scrum described prioritizing the Product Backlog based on development priority, but the current Scrum Guide just says that it is ordered in order to “best achieve goals and missions” (Scrum Guide, July 2013). Ordering the backlog is the responsibility of the Product Owner, who is also responsible for optimizing the value of the …

Marsha Hughes, CSM, CBAP, PMP

Marsha is a senior instructor and consultant for Watermark Learning, and has more than thirty years of experience in the software, technology, telecommunications, and Internet business sectors. She has numerous accomplishments in Agile methods, project management, business analysis, software development, methodology development, process improvement, and courseware development and training. She is a Certified Scrum Master and Professional, a Certified BA Professional, and a Certified PM Professional. She is also a contributor to the IIBA’s Agile Extension to the BABOK, and the agile perspective in version 3.0 of the BABOK.

Webinar Recap Agile Estimating and Planning Best Practices

Webinar Recap: Agile Estimating and Planning Best Practices

Three Agile Planning Horizons Agile estimating and planning involves three “horizons” : Release Plan, around 2-6 months Iteration Plan,  2-4 weeks Daily Plan, every day Below is a brief overview of these horizons, as explained in our latest Watermark Learning webinar: Agile Estimating and Planning Best Practices.  The webinar is now available on demand and it includes …

Marsha Hughes, CSM, CBAP, PMP

Marsha is a senior instructor and consultant for Watermark Learning, and has more than thirty years of experience in the software, technology, telecommunications, and Internet business sectors. She has numerous accomplishments in Agile methods, project management, business analysis, software development, methodology development, process improvement, and courseware development and training. She is a Certified Scrum Master and Professional, a Certified BA Professional, and a Certified PM Professional. She is also a contributor to the IIBA’s Agile Extension to the BABOK, and the agile perspective in version 3.0 of the BABOK.

7 Trends in Business Analysis and Project Management to Watch for in 2012

7 Trends in Business Analysis and Project Management to Watch for in 2012

The close of one year tends to make one reflect on what has occurred in the past year and ponder the future. Here we ponder some trends in the Project Management and Business Analysis fields for 2012. Here are our top seven predictions for business analysts (BAs) and project managers (PMs) in 2012. 1. Divergence …

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, CSM

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.

A Heavyweight Fight--Scrum vs. Waterfall Estimating Part 1

A Heavyweight Fight–Scrum vs. Waterfall: Estimating Part 1

I think people like a good fight. Certainly the media seems to, not only in the world of politics, but also in the worlds of sports and entertainment to name a few. In the world of business analysis, the current fight seems to pit Agile methods against the Waterfall approach. For the next several blogs we’ll …

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, CSM

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.