Loading upcoming classes…

Scrum Alliance® micro-credential

Agile Essentials

This is a focused session on how agile actually works, for everyone who works on, with, or around an agile team. It is the fastest way to get a whole group speaking the same language.

Scrum Alliance Licensed Training Partner badgeOfficial Scrum Alliance micro-credential, delivered live by Phase Won

Flexible scheduleTwo half-days, two evenings, or a single day
In person or live onlineOn-site anywhere in the US, or virtual
Badge that never expiresPlus a two-year Scrum Alliance membership
No prerequisites, no examAttend and participate to earn the credential

Who this course is for

Agile Essentials was built for the people a certification course skips: the rest of the organization. It's the right fit if you:

  • Lead or work on a team that's adopting agile and want everyone to start from the same understanding
  • Work in marketing, operations, HR, finance, clinical, or another non-software function that's being asked to "be more agile"
  • Manage or sponsor agile teams and want to know what to expect from them, and what they need from you
  • Are a new hire, analyst, or project manager joining an agile organization
  • Want a recognized credential without committing to a multi-day certification

It's also a good refresher for experienced practitioners, because it teaches agile through today's lens rather than 2001's.

What you'll learn

Five lessons, each with exercises you'll do in the room. The lessons are set by Scrum Alliance; the examples and practice come from twenty years of running real teams.

Why agile now

  • The Agile Manifesto's four values and twelve principles, in plain language
  • Why agile matters in a world of constant market and technology disruption
  • Agile beyond software, and where it applies to your work

Working in agile teams and organizations

  • The five characteristics of an agile team
  • Who does what: team roles, organizational roles, and how they change
  • What changes for middle managers
  • Agile operating rhythms, and agile versus traditional ways of working side by side

Writing and prioritizing work requests

  • Customer-centric work requests: who, what, and why
  • Writing a user story from a real scenario
  • Prioritization anti-patterns, and a framework for deciding objectively
  • Practice with a value versus effort matrix

Continuous improvement

  • Why small, regular changes beat big fixes
  • Two models for improving continuously
  • Impediments and blockers at the team and organization level
  • Strategies to resolve them

Measuring success

  • Traditional output measures and where they fall short
  • Agile measures: outcomes, value delivered, and system health
  • Choosing useful metrics for a real scenario

Why take it with Phase Won

Most "intro to agile" sessions teach the ceremonies. This one teaches the job: how work actually flows, why the roles are shaped the way they are, and what changes for you personally when your team adopts agile. I've led teams through that change more times than I can count, at startups and at Fortune 500 companies, and I know which parts trip people up.

You'll leave with a shared vocabulary, a handful of tools you can use the next morning, and a Scrum Alliance credential that shows you took the time to learn it properly.

Training the whole group is not a nice-to-have. Agile acumen is now the second most demanded functional skill, wanted across all roles rather than agile ones, and demand for it is still climbing.

64%of organizations saw demand for agile-related skills rise in the past year
36%want agile acumen in every role, not just agile roles

Scrum Alliance and Business Agility Institute, Skills in the New World of Work, 2023.

How the micro-credential works

  1. Attend and take part. There's no exam. You earn the credential by completing the full session and participating in the exercises.
  2. Get your badge. Scrum Alliance issues a digital Agile Essentials badge you can add to LinkedIn and your resume. Micro-credentials never expire.
  3. Join the community. Your seat includes a two-year Scrum Alliance membership: a profile in the member directory, user groups, and discounts on events. Existing members earn Scrum Education Units toward renewals.
  4. Stack it. Agile Essentials pairs naturally with the Certified ScrumMaster for the people who'll lead the work, and with AI for Product Owners for the people running the backlog.

Pick the format that works for your team

Private cohort for your team

Now booking

Bring the whole team, or the whole department. I'll deliver Agile Essentials on-site or online for groups of 8 to 20 and tailor the examples to your work. Choose two half-days, two evening sessions, or a single day with extended practice on your own work. Flat cohort pricing typically runs $2,000–$3,000.

Request Private Cohort

Public classes

Open to anyone. Public classes run as live virtual sessions, or live in-person sessions in Denver and along Colorado's Front Range. Classes include the same content and hands-on exercises as a private cohort. Dates, times, and prices are on the calendar.

Join a Public Class

Common questions

Do I need any agile or scrum background?

No. Agile Essentials has no prerequisites and is designed for complete beginners as well as people who've been on agile teams for years without formal training.

How is this different from the on-demand version on the Scrum Alliance site?

Same modules, same credential. The difference is a live instructor, a room full of your colleagues, and exercises run on your real work instead of generic examples. Live cohorts also make it easy to get a whole team through together.

Is there a test?

No exam. You earn the micro-credential by attending the full session and participating.

Can we do this for a team that isn't in software?

Yes, and it's one of the best uses of the course. The first lesson makes the case that agile isn't limited to software, and every exercise runs on scenarios I tailor to your function, whether that's marketing, operations, HR, finance, or clinical work.

Should we take this or the Certified ScrumMaster?

If you want everyone on the same page quickly, take Agile Essentials. If you want the people leading the work to go deep on scrum and earn a certification, take the CSM. Many organizations do both: Agile Essentials for the group, CSM for the leads.

Scrum Alliance® is a registered trademark of Scrum Alliance, Inc. Agile Essentials is an official Scrum Alliance micro-credential course delivered by Phase Won, a Scrum Alliance Licensed Training Partner.

Get your whole team on the same page

Tell me who's in the room and what you're trying to change. I'll come back with a format recommendation and a quote within two business days.

Book a Private Cohort