Who it’s for
Product managers/owners, business analysts, UX designers, and stakeholders who shape products
Objective for the participants
Adopt mindset and techniques for discovering, shaping, and evolving valuable products in an Agile way
Description
Product managers/owners, UX/UI designers, business analysts, and domain architects are all Agile Customers. This role comes with great responsibility, far beyond writing user stories, specifying acceptance criteria, and prioritizing a backlog.
For Agile Customers to be successful in their role, the Agile mindset must permeate everything they do: identifying outcomes, choosing the next work, engaging with delivery teams, and so on. They need to know how to make commitments while eschewing predictions, how to thin-slice work items, and how to chart meaningful evolutionary paths. It’s not about the tools, artifacts, and techniques — they’re secondary — yet somehow they’re the focus of most PO courses out there.
Participants learn how to create and manage higher-value products with less risk. They come away feeling confident about performing their role effectively, both strategically and day-to-day. Importantly, they also see a holistic picture of teams being Agile: what their development counterparts do, and how to collaborate effectively with them.
Note: This is not a certification class. We teach holistically, and empower participants to think about their choices so they can achieve their objectives.
If you’re looking to increase customer delight and improve business outcomes, this course is for you!
Group size
8-20 participants (16 if online)
“Gil’s explanations, examples, and simulations were engaging and clear. What impressed me most, however, was how attuned he was to our culture and practices. The conversations he seeded around working effectively across teams and stakeholder groups were invaluable in helping me understand my role in driving change both within my team and throughout our organization.”
– Sandra Earl, Senior Usability Specialist at D2L
I've been through many such courses, but this one was something else. All this time, Gil didn't mention Scrum or Kanban, yet he's taught us how to be Agile.
- S. N.Director, Data Engineering
It's clear that Gil has mastered the art of coaching/teaching with online tools, and his years of experience working with Agile methods show through. Gil’s sound advice and guidance have armed me with the skills needed to continue my Agile journey.
- Matt S.IT Director (participated in three different courses)
Gil masterfully presented this course online using some of the best tools and practices that enabled all the participants to actively engage in the learning process. The training and the takeaway tools continue to provide amazing value to my leadership growth both at work and my personal life.
- Jeff GortonDirector of Client Experience, Pethealth
I never paid so much attention in a university class as I did in your training. Your delivery was very compelling.
- G. S.Developer
I thoroughly enjoyed Gil's online Agile training. It was engaging and educational, and I've taken many of the practices I learned and applied them in my daily job to maximise both my own and my team's productivity.
- Mat FisherSenior Developer, BGIS
The course was very interactive and included many real life examples. I initially thought it would be difficult to sit through this training online, but the exercises were a good way to engage everyone and allow the introverts to speak/share their thoughts and ideas.
- Christine MohabirSenior Project Manager (on the Business side)
A lot deeper than all the agile training I've had before. Gil has challenged the "by the agile book" mentality and made the training dynamic and interesting. A lot for me to take back and apply to myself and the team.
- Name withheld
I strongly recommend Gil to any group looking to transition from trying to "act" Agile to actually embracing and becoming Agile in mindset. We are so glad we flew in people from all over the world to attend the training — definitely worth it 10x over.
- Albert TsaiSVP, Product, Catapult Sports
Gil did a fantastic job teaching "Pragmatic Scrum". Many participants commented on how much better it was than training which they had received previously, both in substance and in the way Gil delivered it. They came away energized and enthusiastic about applying their learning.
- Eli JuniDirector of Software Engineering, Thoughtwire
I left the workshop with both a much better defined framework of what soft skills are needed to grow my team, and techniques to improve those skills.
- Byron JungSoftware development project manager
Sometimes, reading good advice 147 times on blogs is not as effective as having one person ask you to actually do it. I paid for the course, not an employer; I consider that fee a sound investment.
- Duncan McRaeSoftware developer
Our teams responded enthusiastically to the ideas that Gil presented in "Being Agile." With an Agile mindset, many immediately began re-examining how they were working, with a new sense of freedom and empowerment.
- Philip WhitcombeDirector, Digital Products, CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
Gil helped my team learn and implement Agile engineering. Later, his assistance was vital in providing me with the confidence, knowledge, and skills for becoming an Agile Team Leader... He is an excellent down-to-earth coach and mentor.
- Matthew CampbellSenior software developer
I found the information Gil provided invaluable and very well presented. The insights gained in that seminar will change my approach to software development forever.
- Alon SabiCTO, Functionpoint Software
Gil is an exceptional agile coach and amazing facilitator. His delivery of seminars was well thought out with great exercises that really captured the essence and complexity of real-life situations and yet were condensed and focused.
- Claudio GambettiEngineering director
Gil delivered an excellent interactive workshop for all our team members. It was an absolute pleasure to learn more about the Agile culture and what that means for us. Seeing the difference between "Being Agile" and "Doing Agile" was incredibly useful.
- Sean McKaigSenior manager, UI development, CBC
Gil brings an enormously helpful message that companies ignore at their peril if they want to deepen their investment in Agile. He’s experienced in many of the challenges to Agile teams, and resourceful in coaching teams through new challenges.
- Michael GoiteinPrincipal project manager, Mobiquity
The course content was excellent and tailored to our needs... Being primarily based on code samples and exercises it was a chance for in-context and practical learning that I have already seen being applied in our code.
- Simon PalmerCTO, Empathica