Course description
Agile Innovation and Problem Solving Skills
As an agile problem solver, you'll need to expand your critical thinking skills to address the key sources of risk in developing best solutions for your new products and business lines. The Problem-solving techniques covered begin with problem definition, beginning with job descriptions and applying the right soft skills to enhance requirements gathering. This ensures you're targeting a good problem to solve, and that you understand the business model. The course then moves on to practices such as "brainstorm and storm drain" to target new creative solutions. You will learn how innovation works on fast feedback cycles to test possible solutions and target root causes of defects. Creative thinking isn't a straight line, and neither should the problem-solving process be a straight line. Each course of action needs early and frequent testing.
Upcoming start dates
Suitability - Who should attend?
Prerequisites:
None
Outcome / Qualification etc.
What you'll learn
- How Agile manages solution risk and return more effectively
- Accurate, effective requirements gathering that avoids delusional "perspective taking"
- Paradox of structure, aka "how constraints drive creativity and luck!"
- Test-driven development for faster, better solutions in complex systems
- How to target scope to meet Performance Objectives via the Theory of Constraints
Training Course Content
- Week 1: The first week of Innovation revisits concepts of capability delivery from technical perspective; asking how do we achieve a project's purpose to innovate? What are the risks and methods to be successful in delivering a defined output under uncertain conditions? Here the Theory of Constraints (TOC) is used to target innovation for maximum impact.
- Week 2: The second week dives into the requirements gathering and validation process, and the science behind the most powerful requirement tool, a User Story, and how it forms the basis for Test-Drive Development (TDD).
- Week 3: The third week looks at how adding constraints to solutioning unleashes creativity, luck, and productivity towards solving hard, uncertain problems.
- Week 4: The fourth week culminates with the application of the TOC Thinking Processes, User Stories, and Constraints along with the use of the powerful system engineering solutioning techniques (isolation, absorption, acceleration, etc.) and tools like TRIZ.
Course delivery details
This course is offered through The University of Maryland, College Park, a partner institute of EdX.
2-3 hours per week
Expenses
- Verified Track -$199
- Audit Track - Free