ANZ Agile Training 2023

By Steven Burrows, Senior Learning Executive, Cognizant Academy — Thu, 25 Jan, 2024

The ANZ agile enablement program has delivered 10 offerings supporting over 110 participants in 2023. These programs were organised and delivered by Peter McDonald and Steven Burrows. This blog introduces the local programs delivered and the results obtained as we near the end of the 2023 calendar year.

Program Structure

Cognizant Learning & Development ANZ has local agile and training expertise to enable agile training programs in our region. Peter McDonald is certified as a SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) with Scaled Agile Incorporated and Steven Burrows is certified as a Professional Scrum Master (PSM) with Scrum.org and Certified Scrum Master (CSM) with Scrum Alliance. We see that these are amongst the most in-demand agile-related certifications, which puts us in a great position to enable the local region.

The programs we offer are summarised in the graphic above. First, we offer “Introduction to Agile Scrum” and “Getting Started with Agile Certification”, which each are one-hour webinars to give prospective candidates an understanding of agile and its certification options. With this knowledge in mind, candidates are in a much better position to then choose the most suitable agile enablement pathway for their needs. The only option that is not offered locally is CSM, which has trainer requirements not held in-house in the local region. In this case, PSM becomes an excellent alternative since both are based on the Scrum Framework. Lastly with regards to SAFe, 6 options are available to choose from locally, provided there are sufficient enrolments. All options are designed to support and lead to a certification outcome.

Professional Scrum Master 1 (PSM1)

The PSM1 certification pathway is a blend of instructor-led training and eLearning. The workshop covers the principles and (empirical) process theory underpinning the scrum framework, and the role of the scrum master within. Participants joining this workshop gain an understanding of what is at the heart of the scrum and agile movement. This workshop is suitable training towards the Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) certification from Scrum.org. Since the workshop lasts for 4 hours, the training experience is complemented with additional eLearning via Udemy to deepen the understanding.

The workshop is designed with a mixture of activities. In addition to the instructor content, there are pop quiz questions designed to challenge participants on the spot with their knowledge gained so far. The workshop also features practice activities with a corresponding workbook for participants to spend a few minutes on per activity and then come back to the group and share. In addition to all the scrum learning, the last section of the workshop includes instructions about how to complete the certification by explaining the additional self-paced learning activities to complete over the following weeks.

Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

The SAFe certification pathway is fully run as instructor-led training. Using Leading SAFe as our example, the training runs for 16 hours, and is spread across 2 or more days. At the conclusion of the training, the associates are provided with revision materials and procedural information to take up the certification. Several other SAFe courses are available too, and they generally run for 2-3 days of full-time training or part-time equivalent.

The course practical activities include participants sharing experiences with agile projects, interactive questions and answers, and simulated group activities. The course concludes with a review of practice exam questions and answers, exam study tips and exam strategy advice.

Participation

The first table below summarises the participation data for all 10 agile offerings in 2023 at time of writing. Attendance overall was high at 91%. We also had a high number of surveys returned with 94% returned. The rate of surveys returned is well above the 80% benchmark set by Learning & Development.

To explain the above results, we were able to achieve high attendance by engaging and vetting the nominations prior to the start of the training. We were also able to achieve a high number of surveys returned by asking participants to complete the feedback surveys during the training itself at the end. The high rate of feedback has also helped to inform the program performance as per the next sections. Note that the second PSM group was small as it was dedicated to graduates.

Performance

The training performance was measured by the feedback surveys administered at the end of each program. The surveys measured the instructor, courseware, environment, learning support and overall sentiment on a five-point Likert scale, with 1 meaning “strongly disagree” up to 5 meaning “strongly agree”. We also measured the Net Promotor Score as a measure of “customer satisfaction” on a 1-10 scale.

The benchmark scores set by Learning & Development are 4.35/5 for the Likert questions and 40 for NPS. We are pleased to share that most ratings across the offerings met or exceeded the benchmarks. The most noteworthy scores to report are the instructor and overall scores of 4.67/5 and an NPS of 73.

Qualitative Feedback

We captured written feedback in addition to the quantitative metrics reported above. Below follows some of the most articulate comments for PSM:

• “I liked the flow of the entire course and the way the trainer made it a very interactive session. The training sessions were concise and clear. Thank you.”
• “Overall, the trainer was very knowledgeable about the subject. I really liked how he engaged the audience and made it easy to participate in 4 hours of training!”
• “Really good to have overall POV for agile that is applicable across consulting and different industries. Enjoyed going into more detail with specific examples and being able to discuss.”
• “Very well presented by the trainer. The content gives great insight into scrum and covers all the concepts. I would definitely recommend.”

Also, here are some of the most articulate comments for SAFe:

• “Great concise content -- engaging facilitator shared good examples and emphasised on some important aspects. Overall great experience!”
• “The trainer provided excellent training for the past two days. It really helped me learn new things and understand from a much more meaningful perspective.”
• “The training was very informative and is essential to stay up to date with the current trends in technology.”
• “This training is useful for all to understand what it means to be truly lean and agile and to apply best practice tools and methods.”

Post-Training

The post-training pathway is different for the PSM and SAFe programs. In the case of PSM, the associates are requested to complete a 6.5-hour Udemy course and a few other smaller learning activities to complete their preparation prior to certification. In the case of SAFe, the associates have received all their instruction during the training itself, meaning they can advance directly to revision prior to certification. The amounts of post-training learning and certifications completed to date are summarised below.

For PSM, we have had 12 associates complete their Udemy course and 10 associates complete their certification so far. Note that associates may customise their training pathway given the flexibility that the PSM certification provides, which goes part way to explain the post-training numbers being lower than participation.

For SAFe, we have had 23 associates complete their SAFe certifications following their training. Additional records of completion may be available in the SAFe Community Platform, but this was not available at time of publication. As an aside, there is no equivalent for Scrum.org and PSM.

For both PSM and SAFe, we expect some certifications earned weren’t reported in our learning management system, which means the final numbers are likely to be higher.

Conclusions

As mentioned at the start, the ANZ agile enablement program has delivered 10 offerings supporting over 110 participants in 2023. The programs were regarded highly, with an overall rating increasing from 4.39/5 to 4.67/6 from 2022 to 2023, and the NPS remaining consistent at 73, which both well exceeded our performance benchmarks. We also have many of the associates having converted their learning into a certification outcome.

Peter and Steven thank our Learning & Development colleagues for their support with the programs. We look forward to continuing these programs in 2024.