Advanced Agile Metrics, Forecasting & Predictability

“When will it be done?” “How many items will I get in the next release?” “When will all of the items in the backlog be completed?”

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Those are some of the first questions that your customers will ask you once you start work for them. This hands-on workshop provides you with the tools you need to answer those questions predictably. In this tutorial, attendees will learn what metrics are necessary for accurate forecasting, how to visualize those metrics in appropriate analytics, how to use those analytics make reliable forecasts and understand risk, and, finally, how to make meaningful interventions for overall process improvement.​​

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In this class we will use ActionableAgile to understand and manipulate the data. However, the concepts taught in class are tool-agnostic and can be applied whether or not you have this software.

About the trainers

Julia Wester has used Kanban for more than 10 years, is passionate about flow, predictability, and probabilistic forecasting. She is the co-founder of 55 Degrees AB as well as acting product manager for their flagship product, ActionableAgile. Julia is also on the advisory board of ProKanban.org and a Professional Scrum Trainer with Scrum.org. She has just started a multi-year role as one of 2 course stewards for their Professional Scrum with Kanban class. Follow Julia on twitter at @EverydayKanban.

Daniel Vacanti has spent the last 15 years focusing on Lean and Agile practices and, in 2007, he helped to develop the Kanban Method for knowledge work. Daniel co-founded ActionableAgile™ which provides industry leading predictive analytics tools and services to any Lean-Agile process. He is also the author of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability and When Will It Be Done?, a PST with Scrum.org, and a founding member of ProKanban.org. Follow Daniel on twitter at @danvacanti.

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Learning Outcomes

• An understanding of what Lean-Agile metrics are necessary for predictability.
• An ability to make accurate forecasts for single items including how to forecast when an individual story, epic, or feature will be done.
• An ability to make accurate forecasts for multiple items including how to know when all items remaining in a backlog will be done or an ability to project how many items will be completed by a given release date and the risks associated with each.
• An understanding of how to use flow metrics and analytics to achieve a stable process including an understanding of why a stable process is necessary for accurate forecasting.

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Topic Areas

• Flow Metrics: a deep dive into WIP, Cycle Time, and Throughput—including why you need to track them, how they are related through Little’s Law, and why they are important for forecasting.
• Flow Analytics: an introduction to Cumulative Flow Diagrams (CFDs), Scatterplots, Histograms, and other supporting charts—including a detailed discussion of what they are, how to generate them correctly, and how to utilize them for better predictability.
• Forecasting Using Monte Carlo Simulation: how to use flow metrics to answer “When will it be done?”—including an introduction to Monte Carlo Simulation and statistical sampling methods for forecasting (no advanced mathematics required!).
• Quantifying Risk and Risk Management: how an understanding of risk is crucial to developing accurate forecasts—including how to quantify risk in the different analytics’ charts and how changing forecast inputs can help to develop an overall risk profile.
• How to Get Started: how to immediately apply these techniques to your current project or process to achieve the results you are looking for—including what data to collect, how to mine your data, and how much data you need to begin.

For a detailed outline of the course, please view our course detail page for this class.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is included in the price?

The price includes the standard benefits for this course:

• course materials (in English)
• Free copy of "Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability" and "When Will It Be Done?" ebooks by Daniel Vacanti​

The price also includes these special perks from 55 Degrees:

• a 1-hour remote coaching session with Julia Wester to help you integrate concepts into your context (at a mutually agreeable time following the course)
• 2 months free access to ActionableAgile Analytics Standalone (https://analytics.actionableagile.com)
• 20% discount on training from 55 Degrees for the next 12 months
• membership to the 55 Degrees online slack community

What are the course hours?

The course starts at 14:00 and finishes at 17:30 CEST each day for 4 days. There will be short breaks during each session.

How should I prepare for the course?

Please ensure that your network supports the use of Zoom and Mural and that you have a working video camera, speaker, and microphone. We will send you an email some weeks before class begins with deatils on how to gather some of your work data so that you can experience class concepts in the context of your data. 

I'm not sure if I have enough experience to take the course. What should I do?

Email us at support@55degrees.se and we will advise you.

How and when do I pay?

After registration, you will immediately receive a booking confirmation via email. Payment is made via invoice which will be sent out before the course starts. If you need to pay by credit card, please let us know.

Where can I contact the trainer with further questions?

You can email us at support@55degrees.se