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TRANSCRIPT
01182017 Page 1
Rabb School of Continuing Studies Course Syllabus
I Course Information
Agile Project Management
RPJM-130-1DL Spring 2017
January 18 2016 to March 28 2017 Wednesday through Tuesday
Instructor Leanne Bateman PMP CSM
Office Hours Send message via Private Forum to arrange telephone call
Document Overview
This syllabus contains all relevant information about the course its objectives and outcomes the grading criteria the texts and other materials of instruction and of weekly topics outcomes assignments and due dates
Consider this your roadmap for the course Please read through the syllabus carefully and feel free to share any questions that you may have Please print a copy of this syllabus for reference
Course Description
Agile project management techniques are being applied within a growing number of companies of various sizes and industries from the entrepreneurial to the conservative This course covers characteristics and delivery frameworks for agile project management
The course also explores how agile methods differ from traditional project management along with how to recognize projects that may be suitable for agile techniques Additional topics include the values roles deliverables and practices of Scrum additional agile and iterative methods scalability and enterprise-wide considerations The format of the class and procedures we will use throughout the semester are clearly documented in this syllabus and through the materials posted in LATTE Please familiarize yourself with these materials and feel free to ask me any questions that you may have If you are completely new to agile project management some of the concepts may be confusing at first they will make more sense once we apply them in our group exercises and assignments I encourage you to ask questions whenever you have them For those of you who already some agile experience please share any relevant experience you may have on the topics in the weekly discussions Real work examples are always valuable and help us to continually learn from each other At the end of the course students will be able to
Prepare andor analyze agile project management deliverables including a vision statement product backlog with user stories release plan reflecting estimated team velocity iteration plan burn-down chart and task board
Comparecontrast agile and traditional project management methods and assess the applicability and effectiveness of related practices
Comparecontrast agile and iterative approaches including Scrum Extreme Programming and Unified Process
Prerequisites RPJM-101 Foundations of Project Management
01182017 Page 2
Materials of Instruction a Required Texts
Agile Project Management Jim Highsmith Addison-Wesley Pearson Education Inc 2010 ISBN 0-321-65839-6
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Rev 5
You have complimentary access via LATTE
1 Select One Search from the LATTE Resources block on the left frame of the course 2 Enter Project Management Body of Knowledge in the search box 3 The top item returned in the search should be the PMBOK 5th edition 4 Click on the link in the far-right column labeled Online Access Available 5 If you have any difficulties accessing PMBOK go to back to the Resources Block to ldquoChat with a librarianrdquo
b Required Software and Other Supplies
None
c Recommended Journal Articles and ResourcesLinks
Optional journal articles will be available on the course site in many weeks
httpwwwagileallianceorg
httpwwwscrumallianceorg
Software Engineering Institute Library Agile Articles
Additional resources on agile approaches for your reference
o Beck Kent Extreme Programming Explained Addison-Wesley 2000 o Cockburn Alistair Writing Effective Use Cases Addison-Wesley 2001 o Cohn Mike Agile Estimating and Planning Pearson Education Inc 2006 o Highsmith Jim Agile Project Management Second Edition Addison-Wesley 2010 o Kerzner Harold Project Management Case Studies Second Edition Wiley and Sons Inc 2006 o Kroll Per and Phillippe Kruchten The Rational Unified Process Made Easy Pearson Education Inc
2003 o Larman Craig Agile amp Iterative Development A Managerrsquos Guide Addison-Wesley 2004 o Schwaber Ken Agile Project Management with Scrum Microsoft Press 2004 o Schwaber Ken Agile Software Development with Scrum Prentice Hall 2002 o Schwaber Ken The Enterprise and Scrum Microsoft Press 2007 o Wysocki Robert Effective Project Management Traditional Agile Extreme Fifth Edition Wiley
Publishing Inc 2009
d Online Course Content
This section of the course will be conducted completely online using Brandeisrsquo LATTE site available at httplattebrandeisedu The site contains the course syllabus assignments discussion forums linksresources to course-related professional organizations and sites and weekly checklists objectives outcomes topic notes self-tests and discussion questions Access information is emailed to enrolled students before the start of the course To begin participating in the course review the Welcome Message and the materials found in the Week 1 block
01182017 Page 3
Course Grading Criteria
Description of Assignments
Note Please review the grading rubrics found in the top block in Latte in addition to the grading detail below
1 Weekly Discussions Online Participation - 30 (3 per week)
All student participation will be done online via LATTE Each weekly block has a page that includes Discussion Questions This page describes the topics for discussion related to the course materials posted that week Each topic description includes a series of discussion questions or other directions for providing a response
To earn full credit for the Participation component of the grade students will be expected to complete the following during weeks 1 through 10 of the course
Respond to 1-2 discussion topics each week Post an original response to one topic by midnight on Saturday and when there are 2 questions to another by midnight on Monday
Post at least 2 other substantive replies to the discussions each week by midnight on Tuesday These messages are replies to the original response messages of others or replies to someone elsersquos reply message The assumption is that you will read through the posts of your classmates to enhance your learning reply to those of your choice based upon your own experiences and insights
Post messages on three different days of the course week While you may post all the required original responses and replies before the due dates it is important for you to be involved in the discussions throughout the week
Percent Component
30 1 DiscussionsOnline participation
a 30 individual discussions (3 per week 10 weeks)
50 2 Assignments Agile Project Deliverables
Individual
1) Team Norms and Vision Statement (10)
2) Product Description and PDS (10)
3) Product Backlog and Release Plan (10)
4) Agile Tools (10)
Group
5) Iteration Plan (10)
20 3 Individual - Final Exam
01182017 Page 4
Evaluation Criteria
Each of the two required original response messages contributes 30 of the weekly participation grade Maximum grade is given for each of these if the posted message
Answers all questions asked and follows all directions specified in the topic description
Includes shared industry experiences andor relates concepts to the topic notes and readings as appropriate Note that all sources should be cited (refer to the Research Help gt Citing Sourcesrdquo link in the LATTE Resources block)
Uses good grammarspellingformat and cites sources as appropriate
Provides sufficient detail original responses should include a minimum of 200 words Some topics require lengthier responses in order to answer all of the questions
Each of the two required substantive reply messages contributes 15 of the weekly participation grade Maximum grade is given for each of these if the posted message
Provides substantive comments (beyond an I agree post) with follow-on points or questions to extend the conversation Substantive replies should include a minimum of 100 words
Uses good grammarspellingformat and cites sources as appropriate
Posting of discussion messages needs to be done in a timely manner so that others in the class have sufficient opportunity to review these and provide replies
Late Policy
Half credit is deducted for an original response that is one day late
No credit is earned for original responses that are posted more than one day late
No credit is earned for substantive replies that are posted late
Additionally 10 of the weekly participation grade is based on your participation in the discussions throughout the week
Maximum grade is given for those that post messages to the weekly discussions forum on three (or more) days during the course week
Partial credit is given for those that post their messages to the weekly discussions forum on only one or two days of the course week
The online participation grade for each week is based on your contribution to the weekly discussion forum for example ldquoWeek 1 Discussionsrdquo Posts to the forums set up for discussion of general questions and comments exercises or assignments are not considered in the weekly participation grade
To summarize the online participation grade for each week is based on the following requirements
Weekly Requirement Portion of Weekly
Participation Grade
Post Original Response 1 by Saturday Night 30
Post Original Response 2 (when applicable) by Monday Night
30
Post Substantive Reply 1 by Tuesday Night 15
Post Substantive Reply 2 by Tuesday Night 15
Post messages to the weekly discussions forum on three different days
10
01182017 Page 5
2 AssignmentsmdashIndividual and Group (50)
There are 5 assignments during the semester 4 are individual and 1 is a group assignment Each is 10 of the course grade
The assignments will require students to develop a set of agile project management deliverables
The following documents will be produced
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (10)----Week 4
Assignment 2 Product Description and PDS (10)------------Week 5
Assignment 3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10)------Week 6
Assignment 4 Group Assignment--Iteration Plan (10)------Weeks 7-8
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (10)------------------------------------Week 9
Submission of each assignment is due by Tuesday at midnight in the week it is due
Late Policy Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
3 Final Exam (20)
The take-home final exam will consist of short answers small exercises and conceptual questions that require an analysis and discussion of agile project management practices Weeks 1 through 10 will be covered in the final exam
Final Exam Available Wednesday Week 10 due Tuesday Week 10
Late Policy The Final Exam will not be accepted beyond the due date
01182017 Page 6
II Weekly Information
Week 1 January 18--January 24 Iterative and Agile Development Overview
Learning Objectives
At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify the basic principles of iterative and evolutionary methods including timeboxing and adaptive planning
Determine how development approaches may be classified by their life cycle and degree of process rigor
Describe agile principles and methods including the Agile Manifesto
Assess the degree to which their current teamsorganizations embody agile principles
Analyze the degree to which agile projects share characteristics with traditional project management methods
Readings Welcoming Message
General CourseLATTE Tips
Orientation Materials
Week 1 Topic Notes
Week 1 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
CourseSyllabus Self-Test (required)
Academic Integrity Agreement quiz (required)
Introduce Yourself Forum post your introduction by Saturday
Private Forum reply to instructorrsquos post by Saturday
Agile Survey Response (required)
Week 1 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 1 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 2 January 25mdashJanuary 31 Agile Project Management Fundamentals
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify fundamentals strengths and weaknesses of agile principles
Explain three fundamental agile project management principles including value over constraints teams over tasks and adapting over conforming
Analyze critical success factors for self-organizing agile teams
Analyze the relationships between organizational structures rolesresponsibilities and project management life-cycles
Readings Highsmith Chapters 1-4
Week 2 Topic Notes
Week 2 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 2 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 2 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 7
Week 3 February 1mdashFebruary 7 Fundamentals of Scrum
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the core practices and rules of Scrum including Scrum roles the Sprint planning meeting the daily scrum meeting the Sprint review meeting and the Sprint retrospective meeting
Explain the purpose and structure of core Scrum deliverables including the Product Backlog the Burn-down chart and the Sprint Backlog
Identify values strengths weaknesses and common implementation mistakes of Scrum
Analyze characteristics of effective Scrum Masters
Readings Week 3 Topic Notes
Week 3 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 3 Discussions refer to Week 3 Checklist and Week 3 Participation Requirements
Week 3 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 4 February 8mdashFebruary 14 Envisioning
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the high-level phases of an agile project framework including Envision Speculate Explore Adapt and Close
Identify structure and elements of a product vision statement and project data sheet (PDS)
Determine considerations when developing the vision for the project community and its approach including specific approaches when customer representatives are not actively involved in the visioning process
Readings Highsmith Chapter 5 6
Week 4 Topic Notes
Week 4 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 4 Discussions refer to Week 4 Checklist and Week 4 Participation Requirements
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (available Wed Week 4 due Tue Week 4)
Week 4 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 5 February 15mdashFebruary 21 Speculating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe common approaches to develop and document product backlog items including use cases and user stories
Explain the characteristics and purpose of the product backlog
Explain why planning often fails
Identify characteristics of agile planning methods including multiple levels of planning and conditions of satisfaction
Describe the steps to develop a release plan for an agile project
Develop high-level user stories for a hypothetical case
Prepare daily Scrum meeting rules and analyze the critical factors required for their success
Readings Highsmith Chapters 7 and 8
Week 5 Topic Notes
Week 5 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 5 Discussions refer to Week 5 Checklist and Week 5 Participation Requirements Assignment 2 Product Description and Project Data Sheet (PDS) (available Wed Week 5 due
Tues Week 5)
Week 5 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 8
Week 6 February 22mdashFebruary 28 Agile Planning and Estimating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe methods to estimate project size including story points and ideal days along with their strengths and weaknesses
Identify methods to derive duration from size using velocity
Identify methods used to estimate story points including analogy disaggregation planning poker
Identify factors to consider when prioritizing user stories including value-to-cost ratio degree of product and project knowledge gained and risk
Develop a scale for story point estimation and assess its effectiveness
Analyze the similarities and differences between the project charter and the PDS
Develop a product backlog and release plan collaboratively
Readings Review Highsmith Chapter 8
Week 6 Topic Notes
Week 6 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Week 6 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 6 Discussions refer to Week 6 Checklist and Week 6 Participation Requirements
Assignment 3 Product Backlog amp Release Plan (available Wed Week 6 due Tue Week 6)
Week 7 March 1mdashMarch 7 Exploring Adapting and Closing
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Compare and contrast the applicability and effectiveness of velocity-driven and commitment-driven iteration planning including factors that determine an optimum iteration length
Identify methods to monitor release and iteration progress including task boards parking lots and burn-down charts
Describe technical and community practices common to agile projects
Explain activities and techniques of the explore adapt and close phases of the agile project management framework
Analyze story point estimates and their relationships to release and iteration planning
Readings Highsmith Chapters 9 and 10
Week 7 Topic Notes
Week 7 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 7 Discussions refer to Week 7 Checklist and Week 7 Part Requirements
Assignment 4 Group Iteration Plan (available Wed Week 7 due Tue Week 8)
Week 7 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 9
Week 8 March 8mdashMarch 14 Other Agile Methods
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics practices roles and rules related to other agile and iterative methods including Extreme Programming Unified Process and Adaptive Project Framework
Compare and contrast the practices and level of process rigor assumed by common agile and iterative methods
Analyze release and iteration planning results team dynamics and riskreward ratios to make recommendations to management
Develop an iteration plan for a hypothetical project
Readings Week 8 Topic Notes
Week 8 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 8 Discussions refer to Week 8 Checklist and Week 8 Participation Requirements
Week 8 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 9 March 15mdashMarch 21 Agile and Traditional Approaches
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics of traditional agile and extreme projects and their relative complexity and uncertainty
Identify factors affecting the best choice for a project management life cycle model
Develop project scenarios that best fit various project management life cycle models
Select project management life cycle models based on complexity and uncertainty levels of hypothetical projects
Research agile tools including features functionality and fit for enterprise deployment
Readings Week 9 Topic Notes
Week 9 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 9 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (available Wed Week 9 due Tue Week 9)
Week 9 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 10 March 22mdashMarch 28 Scaling and Enterprise Considerations
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Develop a scaling model for agile organizations
Factor in considerations for large andor distributed agile teams
Work within an agile team to produce a releasable product after the first iteration
Analyze critical success factors required to scale an agile approach across an organization
Readings Highsmith Chapters 11 and 12
Week 10 Topic Notes
Week 10 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 10 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Final Exam available Wed Week 10 due Tue Week 10
Week 10 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 10
III Course Policies and Procedures
1 Late Policies A discussion post (original response) submitted one day after due date will receive a 50 point reduction original responses submitted more than one day late will receive no credit Replies may be posted late but will receive no credit
Late assignments Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
Late Final Exams will not be accepted
2 Grading Standards
Students are responsible to explore each weeks materials and submit required work by their due dates On average a student can expect to spend approximately 3-5 hours per week reading and approximately 7-9 hours per week completing assignments and posting to discussions The calendar of assignments and due dates is located at the end of this syllabus and all assignments are due by the close of the associated week (Tuesday evenings)
Students are graded on demonstration of knowledge or competence rather than on effort alone Each student is expected to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior All assignments are meant to represent your own work I expect students to conduct themselves courteously online If in my judgment a students conduct is not courteous I reserve the right to reduce that students grade
How points and percentages equate to grades
100-94 A 76-73 C
93-90 A- 72-70 C-
89-87 B+ 69-67 D+
86-83 B 66-63 D
82-80 B- 62-60 D-
79-77 C+ 59 or lt F
3 Feedback
Feedback will be provided on assignments and the exam within 10 days of the due date Within 7 days of the close of each week feedback will be provided on weekly participation and your discussion posts for the previous week
4 Confidentiality While typically assumed in the more traditional on-ground classroom as we proceed throughout our Discussions Id like to highlight a point about confidentiality in our online classroom
We can draw on the wealth of examples from our organizations in class discussions and in our written work However it is imperative that we not share information that is confidential privileged or proprietary in nature We must be mindful of any contracts we have agreed to with our companies In addition we should respect our fellow classmates and work under the assumption that what is discussed here (as it pertains to the workings of particular organizations) stays within the confines of the classroom For your awareness members of the Universitys technical staff have access to all course sites to aid in course setup and technical troubleshooting Program Chairs and a small number of Graduate Professional Studies (GPS) staff have access to all GPS courses for oversight purposes Students enrolled in GPS courses can expect that individuals other than their fellow classmates and the course instructor(s) may visit their course for various purposes Their intentions are to aid in technical troubleshooting and to ensure that quality course delivery standards are met Strict confidentiality of student information is maintained
01182017 Page 11
5 Class Schedule
Week Online Week StartEnd Dates
1 January 18-24
2 January 25-January 31
3 February 1-7
4 February 8-14
5 February 15-21
6 February 22-February 28
7 March 1-March 7
8 March 8-14
9 March 15-21
10 March 22-28
6 Calendar of Assignment Availability and Due Dates
Assignment Available Date Due Date
1 Team Norms amp Vision Statement (5) Wednesday Week 4 Feb 8 Tuesday Week 4 Feb 14
2 Product Description and PDS (10) Wednesday Week 5 Feb 15 Tuesday Week 5 Feb 21
3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10) Wednesday Week 6 Feb 22 Tuesday Week 6 Feb 28
4 Group Iteration Plan (10) Wednesday Week 7 Mar 1 Tuesday Week 8 Mar 14
5 Agile Tools (10) Wednesday Week 9 Mar 15 Tuesday Week 9 Mar 21
Final Exam Wednesday Week 10 Mar 22 Tuesday Week 10 Mar 28
Weeks with 2 Discussion Questions one response by Saturday amp one by Monday (200 word minimum each)
Weeks with 1 Discussion Questions one original response by Saturday (200 word minimum)
Other Substantive Replies two replies by Tuesday each week (100 word minimum each)
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances
01182017 Page 2
Materials of Instruction a Required Texts
Agile Project Management Jim Highsmith Addison-Wesley Pearson Education Inc 2010 ISBN 0-321-65839-6
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Rev 5
You have complimentary access via LATTE
1 Select One Search from the LATTE Resources block on the left frame of the course 2 Enter Project Management Body of Knowledge in the search box 3 The top item returned in the search should be the PMBOK 5th edition 4 Click on the link in the far-right column labeled Online Access Available 5 If you have any difficulties accessing PMBOK go to back to the Resources Block to ldquoChat with a librarianrdquo
b Required Software and Other Supplies
None
c Recommended Journal Articles and ResourcesLinks
Optional journal articles will be available on the course site in many weeks
httpwwwagileallianceorg
httpwwwscrumallianceorg
Software Engineering Institute Library Agile Articles
Additional resources on agile approaches for your reference
o Beck Kent Extreme Programming Explained Addison-Wesley 2000 o Cockburn Alistair Writing Effective Use Cases Addison-Wesley 2001 o Cohn Mike Agile Estimating and Planning Pearson Education Inc 2006 o Highsmith Jim Agile Project Management Second Edition Addison-Wesley 2010 o Kerzner Harold Project Management Case Studies Second Edition Wiley and Sons Inc 2006 o Kroll Per and Phillippe Kruchten The Rational Unified Process Made Easy Pearson Education Inc
2003 o Larman Craig Agile amp Iterative Development A Managerrsquos Guide Addison-Wesley 2004 o Schwaber Ken Agile Project Management with Scrum Microsoft Press 2004 o Schwaber Ken Agile Software Development with Scrum Prentice Hall 2002 o Schwaber Ken The Enterprise and Scrum Microsoft Press 2007 o Wysocki Robert Effective Project Management Traditional Agile Extreme Fifth Edition Wiley
Publishing Inc 2009
d Online Course Content
This section of the course will be conducted completely online using Brandeisrsquo LATTE site available at httplattebrandeisedu The site contains the course syllabus assignments discussion forums linksresources to course-related professional organizations and sites and weekly checklists objectives outcomes topic notes self-tests and discussion questions Access information is emailed to enrolled students before the start of the course To begin participating in the course review the Welcome Message and the materials found in the Week 1 block
01182017 Page 3
Course Grading Criteria
Description of Assignments
Note Please review the grading rubrics found in the top block in Latte in addition to the grading detail below
1 Weekly Discussions Online Participation - 30 (3 per week)
All student participation will be done online via LATTE Each weekly block has a page that includes Discussion Questions This page describes the topics for discussion related to the course materials posted that week Each topic description includes a series of discussion questions or other directions for providing a response
To earn full credit for the Participation component of the grade students will be expected to complete the following during weeks 1 through 10 of the course
Respond to 1-2 discussion topics each week Post an original response to one topic by midnight on Saturday and when there are 2 questions to another by midnight on Monday
Post at least 2 other substantive replies to the discussions each week by midnight on Tuesday These messages are replies to the original response messages of others or replies to someone elsersquos reply message The assumption is that you will read through the posts of your classmates to enhance your learning reply to those of your choice based upon your own experiences and insights
Post messages on three different days of the course week While you may post all the required original responses and replies before the due dates it is important for you to be involved in the discussions throughout the week
Percent Component
30 1 DiscussionsOnline participation
a 30 individual discussions (3 per week 10 weeks)
50 2 Assignments Agile Project Deliverables
Individual
1) Team Norms and Vision Statement (10)
2) Product Description and PDS (10)
3) Product Backlog and Release Plan (10)
4) Agile Tools (10)
Group
5) Iteration Plan (10)
20 3 Individual - Final Exam
01182017 Page 4
Evaluation Criteria
Each of the two required original response messages contributes 30 of the weekly participation grade Maximum grade is given for each of these if the posted message
Answers all questions asked and follows all directions specified in the topic description
Includes shared industry experiences andor relates concepts to the topic notes and readings as appropriate Note that all sources should be cited (refer to the Research Help gt Citing Sourcesrdquo link in the LATTE Resources block)
Uses good grammarspellingformat and cites sources as appropriate
Provides sufficient detail original responses should include a minimum of 200 words Some topics require lengthier responses in order to answer all of the questions
Each of the two required substantive reply messages contributes 15 of the weekly participation grade Maximum grade is given for each of these if the posted message
Provides substantive comments (beyond an I agree post) with follow-on points or questions to extend the conversation Substantive replies should include a minimum of 100 words
Uses good grammarspellingformat and cites sources as appropriate
Posting of discussion messages needs to be done in a timely manner so that others in the class have sufficient opportunity to review these and provide replies
Late Policy
Half credit is deducted for an original response that is one day late
No credit is earned for original responses that are posted more than one day late
No credit is earned for substantive replies that are posted late
Additionally 10 of the weekly participation grade is based on your participation in the discussions throughout the week
Maximum grade is given for those that post messages to the weekly discussions forum on three (or more) days during the course week
Partial credit is given for those that post their messages to the weekly discussions forum on only one or two days of the course week
The online participation grade for each week is based on your contribution to the weekly discussion forum for example ldquoWeek 1 Discussionsrdquo Posts to the forums set up for discussion of general questions and comments exercises or assignments are not considered in the weekly participation grade
To summarize the online participation grade for each week is based on the following requirements
Weekly Requirement Portion of Weekly
Participation Grade
Post Original Response 1 by Saturday Night 30
Post Original Response 2 (when applicable) by Monday Night
30
Post Substantive Reply 1 by Tuesday Night 15
Post Substantive Reply 2 by Tuesday Night 15
Post messages to the weekly discussions forum on three different days
10
01182017 Page 5
2 AssignmentsmdashIndividual and Group (50)
There are 5 assignments during the semester 4 are individual and 1 is a group assignment Each is 10 of the course grade
The assignments will require students to develop a set of agile project management deliverables
The following documents will be produced
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (10)----Week 4
Assignment 2 Product Description and PDS (10)------------Week 5
Assignment 3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10)------Week 6
Assignment 4 Group Assignment--Iteration Plan (10)------Weeks 7-8
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (10)------------------------------------Week 9
Submission of each assignment is due by Tuesday at midnight in the week it is due
Late Policy Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
3 Final Exam (20)
The take-home final exam will consist of short answers small exercises and conceptual questions that require an analysis and discussion of agile project management practices Weeks 1 through 10 will be covered in the final exam
Final Exam Available Wednesday Week 10 due Tuesday Week 10
Late Policy The Final Exam will not be accepted beyond the due date
01182017 Page 6
II Weekly Information
Week 1 January 18--January 24 Iterative and Agile Development Overview
Learning Objectives
At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify the basic principles of iterative and evolutionary methods including timeboxing and adaptive planning
Determine how development approaches may be classified by their life cycle and degree of process rigor
Describe agile principles and methods including the Agile Manifesto
Assess the degree to which their current teamsorganizations embody agile principles
Analyze the degree to which agile projects share characteristics with traditional project management methods
Readings Welcoming Message
General CourseLATTE Tips
Orientation Materials
Week 1 Topic Notes
Week 1 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
CourseSyllabus Self-Test (required)
Academic Integrity Agreement quiz (required)
Introduce Yourself Forum post your introduction by Saturday
Private Forum reply to instructorrsquos post by Saturday
Agile Survey Response (required)
Week 1 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 1 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 2 January 25mdashJanuary 31 Agile Project Management Fundamentals
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify fundamentals strengths and weaknesses of agile principles
Explain three fundamental agile project management principles including value over constraints teams over tasks and adapting over conforming
Analyze critical success factors for self-organizing agile teams
Analyze the relationships between organizational structures rolesresponsibilities and project management life-cycles
Readings Highsmith Chapters 1-4
Week 2 Topic Notes
Week 2 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 2 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 2 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 7
Week 3 February 1mdashFebruary 7 Fundamentals of Scrum
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the core practices and rules of Scrum including Scrum roles the Sprint planning meeting the daily scrum meeting the Sprint review meeting and the Sprint retrospective meeting
Explain the purpose and structure of core Scrum deliverables including the Product Backlog the Burn-down chart and the Sprint Backlog
Identify values strengths weaknesses and common implementation mistakes of Scrum
Analyze characteristics of effective Scrum Masters
Readings Week 3 Topic Notes
Week 3 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 3 Discussions refer to Week 3 Checklist and Week 3 Participation Requirements
Week 3 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 4 February 8mdashFebruary 14 Envisioning
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the high-level phases of an agile project framework including Envision Speculate Explore Adapt and Close
Identify structure and elements of a product vision statement and project data sheet (PDS)
Determine considerations when developing the vision for the project community and its approach including specific approaches when customer representatives are not actively involved in the visioning process
Readings Highsmith Chapter 5 6
Week 4 Topic Notes
Week 4 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 4 Discussions refer to Week 4 Checklist and Week 4 Participation Requirements
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (available Wed Week 4 due Tue Week 4)
Week 4 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 5 February 15mdashFebruary 21 Speculating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe common approaches to develop and document product backlog items including use cases and user stories
Explain the characteristics and purpose of the product backlog
Explain why planning often fails
Identify characteristics of agile planning methods including multiple levels of planning and conditions of satisfaction
Describe the steps to develop a release plan for an agile project
Develop high-level user stories for a hypothetical case
Prepare daily Scrum meeting rules and analyze the critical factors required for their success
Readings Highsmith Chapters 7 and 8
Week 5 Topic Notes
Week 5 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 5 Discussions refer to Week 5 Checklist and Week 5 Participation Requirements Assignment 2 Product Description and Project Data Sheet (PDS) (available Wed Week 5 due
Tues Week 5)
Week 5 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 8
Week 6 February 22mdashFebruary 28 Agile Planning and Estimating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe methods to estimate project size including story points and ideal days along with their strengths and weaknesses
Identify methods to derive duration from size using velocity
Identify methods used to estimate story points including analogy disaggregation planning poker
Identify factors to consider when prioritizing user stories including value-to-cost ratio degree of product and project knowledge gained and risk
Develop a scale for story point estimation and assess its effectiveness
Analyze the similarities and differences between the project charter and the PDS
Develop a product backlog and release plan collaboratively
Readings Review Highsmith Chapter 8
Week 6 Topic Notes
Week 6 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Week 6 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 6 Discussions refer to Week 6 Checklist and Week 6 Participation Requirements
Assignment 3 Product Backlog amp Release Plan (available Wed Week 6 due Tue Week 6)
Week 7 March 1mdashMarch 7 Exploring Adapting and Closing
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Compare and contrast the applicability and effectiveness of velocity-driven and commitment-driven iteration planning including factors that determine an optimum iteration length
Identify methods to monitor release and iteration progress including task boards parking lots and burn-down charts
Describe technical and community practices common to agile projects
Explain activities and techniques of the explore adapt and close phases of the agile project management framework
Analyze story point estimates and their relationships to release and iteration planning
Readings Highsmith Chapters 9 and 10
Week 7 Topic Notes
Week 7 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 7 Discussions refer to Week 7 Checklist and Week 7 Part Requirements
Assignment 4 Group Iteration Plan (available Wed Week 7 due Tue Week 8)
Week 7 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 9
Week 8 March 8mdashMarch 14 Other Agile Methods
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics practices roles and rules related to other agile and iterative methods including Extreme Programming Unified Process and Adaptive Project Framework
Compare and contrast the practices and level of process rigor assumed by common agile and iterative methods
Analyze release and iteration planning results team dynamics and riskreward ratios to make recommendations to management
Develop an iteration plan for a hypothetical project
Readings Week 8 Topic Notes
Week 8 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 8 Discussions refer to Week 8 Checklist and Week 8 Participation Requirements
Week 8 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 9 March 15mdashMarch 21 Agile and Traditional Approaches
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics of traditional agile and extreme projects and their relative complexity and uncertainty
Identify factors affecting the best choice for a project management life cycle model
Develop project scenarios that best fit various project management life cycle models
Select project management life cycle models based on complexity and uncertainty levels of hypothetical projects
Research agile tools including features functionality and fit for enterprise deployment
Readings Week 9 Topic Notes
Week 9 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 9 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (available Wed Week 9 due Tue Week 9)
Week 9 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 10 March 22mdashMarch 28 Scaling and Enterprise Considerations
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Develop a scaling model for agile organizations
Factor in considerations for large andor distributed agile teams
Work within an agile team to produce a releasable product after the first iteration
Analyze critical success factors required to scale an agile approach across an organization
Readings Highsmith Chapters 11 and 12
Week 10 Topic Notes
Week 10 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 10 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Final Exam available Wed Week 10 due Tue Week 10
Week 10 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 10
III Course Policies and Procedures
1 Late Policies A discussion post (original response) submitted one day after due date will receive a 50 point reduction original responses submitted more than one day late will receive no credit Replies may be posted late but will receive no credit
Late assignments Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
Late Final Exams will not be accepted
2 Grading Standards
Students are responsible to explore each weeks materials and submit required work by their due dates On average a student can expect to spend approximately 3-5 hours per week reading and approximately 7-9 hours per week completing assignments and posting to discussions The calendar of assignments and due dates is located at the end of this syllabus and all assignments are due by the close of the associated week (Tuesday evenings)
Students are graded on demonstration of knowledge or competence rather than on effort alone Each student is expected to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior All assignments are meant to represent your own work I expect students to conduct themselves courteously online If in my judgment a students conduct is not courteous I reserve the right to reduce that students grade
How points and percentages equate to grades
100-94 A 76-73 C
93-90 A- 72-70 C-
89-87 B+ 69-67 D+
86-83 B 66-63 D
82-80 B- 62-60 D-
79-77 C+ 59 or lt F
3 Feedback
Feedback will be provided on assignments and the exam within 10 days of the due date Within 7 days of the close of each week feedback will be provided on weekly participation and your discussion posts for the previous week
4 Confidentiality While typically assumed in the more traditional on-ground classroom as we proceed throughout our Discussions Id like to highlight a point about confidentiality in our online classroom
We can draw on the wealth of examples from our organizations in class discussions and in our written work However it is imperative that we not share information that is confidential privileged or proprietary in nature We must be mindful of any contracts we have agreed to with our companies In addition we should respect our fellow classmates and work under the assumption that what is discussed here (as it pertains to the workings of particular organizations) stays within the confines of the classroom For your awareness members of the Universitys technical staff have access to all course sites to aid in course setup and technical troubleshooting Program Chairs and a small number of Graduate Professional Studies (GPS) staff have access to all GPS courses for oversight purposes Students enrolled in GPS courses can expect that individuals other than their fellow classmates and the course instructor(s) may visit their course for various purposes Their intentions are to aid in technical troubleshooting and to ensure that quality course delivery standards are met Strict confidentiality of student information is maintained
01182017 Page 11
5 Class Schedule
Week Online Week StartEnd Dates
1 January 18-24
2 January 25-January 31
3 February 1-7
4 February 8-14
5 February 15-21
6 February 22-February 28
7 March 1-March 7
8 March 8-14
9 March 15-21
10 March 22-28
6 Calendar of Assignment Availability and Due Dates
Assignment Available Date Due Date
1 Team Norms amp Vision Statement (5) Wednesday Week 4 Feb 8 Tuesday Week 4 Feb 14
2 Product Description and PDS (10) Wednesday Week 5 Feb 15 Tuesday Week 5 Feb 21
3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10) Wednesday Week 6 Feb 22 Tuesday Week 6 Feb 28
4 Group Iteration Plan (10) Wednesday Week 7 Mar 1 Tuesday Week 8 Mar 14
5 Agile Tools (10) Wednesday Week 9 Mar 15 Tuesday Week 9 Mar 21
Final Exam Wednesday Week 10 Mar 22 Tuesday Week 10 Mar 28
Weeks with 2 Discussion Questions one response by Saturday amp one by Monday (200 word minimum each)
Weeks with 1 Discussion Questions one original response by Saturday (200 word minimum)
Other Substantive Replies two replies by Tuesday each week (100 word minimum each)
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances
01182017 Page 3
Course Grading Criteria
Description of Assignments
Note Please review the grading rubrics found in the top block in Latte in addition to the grading detail below
1 Weekly Discussions Online Participation - 30 (3 per week)
All student participation will be done online via LATTE Each weekly block has a page that includes Discussion Questions This page describes the topics for discussion related to the course materials posted that week Each topic description includes a series of discussion questions or other directions for providing a response
To earn full credit for the Participation component of the grade students will be expected to complete the following during weeks 1 through 10 of the course
Respond to 1-2 discussion topics each week Post an original response to one topic by midnight on Saturday and when there are 2 questions to another by midnight on Monday
Post at least 2 other substantive replies to the discussions each week by midnight on Tuesday These messages are replies to the original response messages of others or replies to someone elsersquos reply message The assumption is that you will read through the posts of your classmates to enhance your learning reply to those of your choice based upon your own experiences and insights
Post messages on three different days of the course week While you may post all the required original responses and replies before the due dates it is important for you to be involved in the discussions throughout the week
Percent Component
30 1 DiscussionsOnline participation
a 30 individual discussions (3 per week 10 weeks)
50 2 Assignments Agile Project Deliverables
Individual
1) Team Norms and Vision Statement (10)
2) Product Description and PDS (10)
3) Product Backlog and Release Plan (10)
4) Agile Tools (10)
Group
5) Iteration Plan (10)
20 3 Individual - Final Exam
01182017 Page 4
Evaluation Criteria
Each of the two required original response messages contributes 30 of the weekly participation grade Maximum grade is given for each of these if the posted message
Answers all questions asked and follows all directions specified in the topic description
Includes shared industry experiences andor relates concepts to the topic notes and readings as appropriate Note that all sources should be cited (refer to the Research Help gt Citing Sourcesrdquo link in the LATTE Resources block)
Uses good grammarspellingformat and cites sources as appropriate
Provides sufficient detail original responses should include a minimum of 200 words Some topics require lengthier responses in order to answer all of the questions
Each of the two required substantive reply messages contributes 15 of the weekly participation grade Maximum grade is given for each of these if the posted message
Provides substantive comments (beyond an I agree post) with follow-on points or questions to extend the conversation Substantive replies should include a minimum of 100 words
Uses good grammarspellingformat and cites sources as appropriate
Posting of discussion messages needs to be done in a timely manner so that others in the class have sufficient opportunity to review these and provide replies
Late Policy
Half credit is deducted for an original response that is one day late
No credit is earned for original responses that are posted more than one day late
No credit is earned for substantive replies that are posted late
Additionally 10 of the weekly participation grade is based on your participation in the discussions throughout the week
Maximum grade is given for those that post messages to the weekly discussions forum on three (or more) days during the course week
Partial credit is given for those that post their messages to the weekly discussions forum on only one or two days of the course week
The online participation grade for each week is based on your contribution to the weekly discussion forum for example ldquoWeek 1 Discussionsrdquo Posts to the forums set up for discussion of general questions and comments exercises or assignments are not considered in the weekly participation grade
To summarize the online participation grade for each week is based on the following requirements
Weekly Requirement Portion of Weekly
Participation Grade
Post Original Response 1 by Saturday Night 30
Post Original Response 2 (when applicable) by Monday Night
30
Post Substantive Reply 1 by Tuesday Night 15
Post Substantive Reply 2 by Tuesday Night 15
Post messages to the weekly discussions forum on three different days
10
01182017 Page 5
2 AssignmentsmdashIndividual and Group (50)
There are 5 assignments during the semester 4 are individual and 1 is a group assignment Each is 10 of the course grade
The assignments will require students to develop a set of agile project management deliverables
The following documents will be produced
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (10)----Week 4
Assignment 2 Product Description and PDS (10)------------Week 5
Assignment 3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10)------Week 6
Assignment 4 Group Assignment--Iteration Plan (10)------Weeks 7-8
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (10)------------------------------------Week 9
Submission of each assignment is due by Tuesday at midnight in the week it is due
Late Policy Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
3 Final Exam (20)
The take-home final exam will consist of short answers small exercises and conceptual questions that require an analysis and discussion of agile project management practices Weeks 1 through 10 will be covered in the final exam
Final Exam Available Wednesday Week 10 due Tuesday Week 10
Late Policy The Final Exam will not be accepted beyond the due date
01182017 Page 6
II Weekly Information
Week 1 January 18--January 24 Iterative and Agile Development Overview
Learning Objectives
At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify the basic principles of iterative and evolutionary methods including timeboxing and adaptive planning
Determine how development approaches may be classified by their life cycle and degree of process rigor
Describe agile principles and methods including the Agile Manifesto
Assess the degree to which their current teamsorganizations embody agile principles
Analyze the degree to which agile projects share characteristics with traditional project management methods
Readings Welcoming Message
General CourseLATTE Tips
Orientation Materials
Week 1 Topic Notes
Week 1 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
CourseSyllabus Self-Test (required)
Academic Integrity Agreement quiz (required)
Introduce Yourself Forum post your introduction by Saturday
Private Forum reply to instructorrsquos post by Saturday
Agile Survey Response (required)
Week 1 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 1 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 2 January 25mdashJanuary 31 Agile Project Management Fundamentals
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify fundamentals strengths and weaknesses of agile principles
Explain three fundamental agile project management principles including value over constraints teams over tasks and adapting over conforming
Analyze critical success factors for self-organizing agile teams
Analyze the relationships between organizational structures rolesresponsibilities and project management life-cycles
Readings Highsmith Chapters 1-4
Week 2 Topic Notes
Week 2 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 2 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 2 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 7
Week 3 February 1mdashFebruary 7 Fundamentals of Scrum
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the core practices and rules of Scrum including Scrum roles the Sprint planning meeting the daily scrum meeting the Sprint review meeting and the Sprint retrospective meeting
Explain the purpose and structure of core Scrum deliverables including the Product Backlog the Burn-down chart and the Sprint Backlog
Identify values strengths weaknesses and common implementation mistakes of Scrum
Analyze characteristics of effective Scrum Masters
Readings Week 3 Topic Notes
Week 3 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 3 Discussions refer to Week 3 Checklist and Week 3 Participation Requirements
Week 3 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 4 February 8mdashFebruary 14 Envisioning
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the high-level phases of an agile project framework including Envision Speculate Explore Adapt and Close
Identify structure and elements of a product vision statement and project data sheet (PDS)
Determine considerations when developing the vision for the project community and its approach including specific approaches when customer representatives are not actively involved in the visioning process
Readings Highsmith Chapter 5 6
Week 4 Topic Notes
Week 4 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 4 Discussions refer to Week 4 Checklist and Week 4 Participation Requirements
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (available Wed Week 4 due Tue Week 4)
Week 4 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 5 February 15mdashFebruary 21 Speculating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe common approaches to develop and document product backlog items including use cases and user stories
Explain the characteristics and purpose of the product backlog
Explain why planning often fails
Identify characteristics of agile planning methods including multiple levels of planning and conditions of satisfaction
Describe the steps to develop a release plan for an agile project
Develop high-level user stories for a hypothetical case
Prepare daily Scrum meeting rules and analyze the critical factors required for their success
Readings Highsmith Chapters 7 and 8
Week 5 Topic Notes
Week 5 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 5 Discussions refer to Week 5 Checklist and Week 5 Participation Requirements Assignment 2 Product Description and Project Data Sheet (PDS) (available Wed Week 5 due
Tues Week 5)
Week 5 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 8
Week 6 February 22mdashFebruary 28 Agile Planning and Estimating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe methods to estimate project size including story points and ideal days along with their strengths and weaknesses
Identify methods to derive duration from size using velocity
Identify methods used to estimate story points including analogy disaggregation planning poker
Identify factors to consider when prioritizing user stories including value-to-cost ratio degree of product and project knowledge gained and risk
Develop a scale for story point estimation and assess its effectiveness
Analyze the similarities and differences between the project charter and the PDS
Develop a product backlog and release plan collaboratively
Readings Review Highsmith Chapter 8
Week 6 Topic Notes
Week 6 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Week 6 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 6 Discussions refer to Week 6 Checklist and Week 6 Participation Requirements
Assignment 3 Product Backlog amp Release Plan (available Wed Week 6 due Tue Week 6)
Week 7 March 1mdashMarch 7 Exploring Adapting and Closing
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Compare and contrast the applicability and effectiveness of velocity-driven and commitment-driven iteration planning including factors that determine an optimum iteration length
Identify methods to monitor release and iteration progress including task boards parking lots and burn-down charts
Describe technical and community practices common to agile projects
Explain activities and techniques of the explore adapt and close phases of the agile project management framework
Analyze story point estimates and their relationships to release and iteration planning
Readings Highsmith Chapters 9 and 10
Week 7 Topic Notes
Week 7 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 7 Discussions refer to Week 7 Checklist and Week 7 Part Requirements
Assignment 4 Group Iteration Plan (available Wed Week 7 due Tue Week 8)
Week 7 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 9
Week 8 March 8mdashMarch 14 Other Agile Methods
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics practices roles and rules related to other agile and iterative methods including Extreme Programming Unified Process and Adaptive Project Framework
Compare and contrast the practices and level of process rigor assumed by common agile and iterative methods
Analyze release and iteration planning results team dynamics and riskreward ratios to make recommendations to management
Develop an iteration plan for a hypothetical project
Readings Week 8 Topic Notes
Week 8 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 8 Discussions refer to Week 8 Checklist and Week 8 Participation Requirements
Week 8 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 9 March 15mdashMarch 21 Agile and Traditional Approaches
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics of traditional agile and extreme projects and their relative complexity and uncertainty
Identify factors affecting the best choice for a project management life cycle model
Develop project scenarios that best fit various project management life cycle models
Select project management life cycle models based on complexity and uncertainty levels of hypothetical projects
Research agile tools including features functionality and fit for enterprise deployment
Readings Week 9 Topic Notes
Week 9 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 9 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (available Wed Week 9 due Tue Week 9)
Week 9 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 10 March 22mdashMarch 28 Scaling and Enterprise Considerations
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Develop a scaling model for agile organizations
Factor in considerations for large andor distributed agile teams
Work within an agile team to produce a releasable product after the first iteration
Analyze critical success factors required to scale an agile approach across an organization
Readings Highsmith Chapters 11 and 12
Week 10 Topic Notes
Week 10 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 10 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Final Exam available Wed Week 10 due Tue Week 10
Week 10 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 10
III Course Policies and Procedures
1 Late Policies A discussion post (original response) submitted one day after due date will receive a 50 point reduction original responses submitted more than one day late will receive no credit Replies may be posted late but will receive no credit
Late assignments Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
Late Final Exams will not be accepted
2 Grading Standards
Students are responsible to explore each weeks materials and submit required work by their due dates On average a student can expect to spend approximately 3-5 hours per week reading and approximately 7-9 hours per week completing assignments and posting to discussions The calendar of assignments and due dates is located at the end of this syllabus and all assignments are due by the close of the associated week (Tuesday evenings)
Students are graded on demonstration of knowledge or competence rather than on effort alone Each student is expected to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior All assignments are meant to represent your own work I expect students to conduct themselves courteously online If in my judgment a students conduct is not courteous I reserve the right to reduce that students grade
How points and percentages equate to grades
100-94 A 76-73 C
93-90 A- 72-70 C-
89-87 B+ 69-67 D+
86-83 B 66-63 D
82-80 B- 62-60 D-
79-77 C+ 59 or lt F
3 Feedback
Feedback will be provided on assignments and the exam within 10 days of the due date Within 7 days of the close of each week feedback will be provided on weekly participation and your discussion posts for the previous week
4 Confidentiality While typically assumed in the more traditional on-ground classroom as we proceed throughout our Discussions Id like to highlight a point about confidentiality in our online classroom
We can draw on the wealth of examples from our organizations in class discussions and in our written work However it is imperative that we not share information that is confidential privileged or proprietary in nature We must be mindful of any contracts we have agreed to with our companies In addition we should respect our fellow classmates and work under the assumption that what is discussed here (as it pertains to the workings of particular organizations) stays within the confines of the classroom For your awareness members of the Universitys technical staff have access to all course sites to aid in course setup and technical troubleshooting Program Chairs and a small number of Graduate Professional Studies (GPS) staff have access to all GPS courses for oversight purposes Students enrolled in GPS courses can expect that individuals other than their fellow classmates and the course instructor(s) may visit their course for various purposes Their intentions are to aid in technical troubleshooting and to ensure that quality course delivery standards are met Strict confidentiality of student information is maintained
01182017 Page 11
5 Class Schedule
Week Online Week StartEnd Dates
1 January 18-24
2 January 25-January 31
3 February 1-7
4 February 8-14
5 February 15-21
6 February 22-February 28
7 March 1-March 7
8 March 8-14
9 March 15-21
10 March 22-28
6 Calendar of Assignment Availability and Due Dates
Assignment Available Date Due Date
1 Team Norms amp Vision Statement (5) Wednesday Week 4 Feb 8 Tuesday Week 4 Feb 14
2 Product Description and PDS (10) Wednesday Week 5 Feb 15 Tuesday Week 5 Feb 21
3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10) Wednesday Week 6 Feb 22 Tuesday Week 6 Feb 28
4 Group Iteration Plan (10) Wednesday Week 7 Mar 1 Tuesday Week 8 Mar 14
5 Agile Tools (10) Wednesday Week 9 Mar 15 Tuesday Week 9 Mar 21
Final Exam Wednesday Week 10 Mar 22 Tuesday Week 10 Mar 28
Weeks with 2 Discussion Questions one response by Saturday amp one by Monday (200 word minimum each)
Weeks with 1 Discussion Questions one original response by Saturday (200 word minimum)
Other Substantive Replies two replies by Tuesday each week (100 word minimum each)
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances
01182017 Page 4
Evaluation Criteria
Each of the two required original response messages contributes 30 of the weekly participation grade Maximum grade is given for each of these if the posted message
Answers all questions asked and follows all directions specified in the topic description
Includes shared industry experiences andor relates concepts to the topic notes and readings as appropriate Note that all sources should be cited (refer to the Research Help gt Citing Sourcesrdquo link in the LATTE Resources block)
Uses good grammarspellingformat and cites sources as appropriate
Provides sufficient detail original responses should include a minimum of 200 words Some topics require lengthier responses in order to answer all of the questions
Each of the two required substantive reply messages contributes 15 of the weekly participation grade Maximum grade is given for each of these if the posted message
Provides substantive comments (beyond an I agree post) with follow-on points or questions to extend the conversation Substantive replies should include a minimum of 100 words
Uses good grammarspellingformat and cites sources as appropriate
Posting of discussion messages needs to be done in a timely manner so that others in the class have sufficient opportunity to review these and provide replies
Late Policy
Half credit is deducted for an original response that is one day late
No credit is earned for original responses that are posted more than one day late
No credit is earned for substantive replies that are posted late
Additionally 10 of the weekly participation grade is based on your participation in the discussions throughout the week
Maximum grade is given for those that post messages to the weekly discussions forum on three (or more) days during the course week
Partial credit is given for those that post their messages to the weekly discussions forum on only one or two days of the course week
The online participation grade for each week is based on your contribution to the weekly discussion forum for example ldquoWeek 1 Discussionsrdquo Posts to the forums set up for discussion of general questions and comments exercises or assignments are not considered in the weekly participation grade
To summarize the online participation grade for each week is based on the following requirements
Weekly Requirement Portion of Weekly
Participation Grade
Post Original Response 1 by Saturday Night 30
Post Original Response 2 (when applicable) by Monday Night
30
Post Substantive Reply 1 by Tuesday Night 15
Post Substantive Reply 2 by Tuesday Night 15
Post messages to the weekly discussions forum on three different days
10
01182017 Page 5
2 AssignmentsmdashIndividual and Group (50)
There are 5 assignments during the semester 4 are individual and 1 is a group assignment Each is 10 of the course grade
The assignments will require students to develop a set of agile project management deliverables
The following documents will be produced
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (10)----Week 4
Assignment 2 Product Description and PDS (10)------------Week 5
Assignment 3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10)------Week 6
Assignment 4 Group Assignment--Iteration Plan (10)------Weeks 7-8
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (10)------------------------------------Week 9
Submission of each assignment is due by Tuesday at midnight in the week it is due
Late Policy Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
3 Final Exam (20)
The take-home final exam will consist of short answers small exercises and conceptual questions that require an analysis and discussion of agile project management practices Weeks 1 through 10 will be covered in the final exam
Final Exam Available Wednesday Week 10 due Tuesday Week 10
Late Policy The Final Exam will not be accepted beyond the due date
01182017 Page 6
II Weekly Information
Week 1 January 18--January 24 Iterative and Agile Development Overview
Learning Objectives
At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify the basic principles of iterative and evolutionary methods including timeboxing and adaptive planning
Determine how development approaches may be classified by their life cycle and degree of process rigor
Describe agile principles and methods including the Agile Manifesto
Assess the degree to which their current teamsorganizations embody agile principles
Analyze the degree to which agile projects share characteristics with traditional project management methods
Readings Welcoming Message
General CourseLATTE Tips
Orientation Materials
Week 1 Topic Notes
Week 1 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
CourseSyllabus Self-Test (required)
Academic Integrity Agreement quiz (required)
Introduce Yourself Forum post your introduction by Saturday
Private Forum reply to instructorrsquos post by Saturday
Agile Survey Response (required)
Week 1 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 1 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 2 January 25mdashJanuary 31 Agile Project Management Fundamentals
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify fundamentals strengths and weaknesses of agile principles
Explain three fundamental agile project management principles including value over constraints teams over tasks and adapting over conforming
Analyze critical success factors for self-organizing agile teams
Analyze the relationships between organizational structures rolesresponsibilities and project management life-cycles
Readings Highsmith Chapters 1-4
Week 2 Topic Notes
Week 2 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 2 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 2 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 7
Week 3 February 1mdashFebruary 7 Fundamentals of Scrum
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the core practices and rules of Scrum including Scrum roles the Sprint planning meeting the daily scrum meeting the Sprint review meeting and the Sprint retrospective meeting
Explain the purpose and structure of core Scrum deliverables including the Product Backlog the Burn-down chart and the Sprint Backlog
Identify values strengths weaknesses and common implementation mistakes of Scrum
Analyze characteristics of effective Scrum Masters
Readings Week 3 Topic Notes
Week 3 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 3 Discussions refer to Week 3 Checklist and Week 3 Participation Requirements
Week 3 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 4 February 8mdashFebruary 14 Envisioning
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the high-level phases of an agile project framework including Envision Speculate Explore Adapt and Close
Identify structure and elements of a product vision statement and project data sheet (PDS)
Determine considerations when developing the vision for the project community and its approach including specific approaches when customer representatives are not actively involved in the visioning process
Readings Highsmith Chapter 5 6
Week 4 Topic Notes
Week 4 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 4 Discussions refer to Week 4 Checklist and Week 4 Participation Requirements
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (available Wed Week 4 due Tue Week 4)
Week 4 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 5 February 15mdashFebruary 21 Speculating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe common approaches to develop and document product backlog items including use cases and user stories
Explain the characteristics and purpose of the product backlog
Explain why planning often fails
Identify characteristics of agile planning methods including multiple levels of planning and conditions of satisfaction
Describe the steps to develop a release plan for an agile project
Develop high-level user stories for a hypothetical case
Prepare daily Scrum meeting rules and analyze the critical factors required for their success
Readings Highsmith Chapters 7 and 8
Week 5 Topic Notes
Week 5 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 5 Discussions refer to Week 5 Checklist and Week 5 Participation Requirements Assignment 2 Product Description and Project Data Sheet (PDS) (available Wed Week 5 due
Tues Week 5)
Week 5 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 8
Week 6 February 22mdashFebruary 28 Agile Planning and Estimating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe methods to estimate project size including story points and ideal days along with their strengths and weaknesses
Identify methods to derive duration from size using velocity
Identify methods used to estimate story points including analogy disaggregation planning poker
Identify factors to consider when prioritizing user stories including value-to-cost ratio degree of product and project knowledge gained and risk
Develop a scale for story point estimation and assess its effectiveness
Analyze the similarities and differences between the project charter and the PDS
Develop a product backlog and release plan collaboratively
Readings Review Highsmith Chapter 8
Week 6 Topic Notes
Week 6 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Week 6 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 6 Discussions refer to Week 6 Checklist and Week 6 Participation Requirements
Assignment 3 Product Backlog amp Release Plan (available Wed Week 6 due Tue Week 6)
Week 7 March 1mdashMarch 7 Exploring Adapting and Closing
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Compare and contrast the applicability and effectiveness of velocity-driven and commitment-driven iteration planning including factors that determine an optimum iteration length
Identify methods to monitor release and iteration progress including task boards parking lots and burn-down charts
Describe technical and community practices common to agile projects
Explain activities and techniques of the explore adapt and close phases of the agile project management framework
Analyze story point estimates and their relationships to release and iteration planning
Readings Highsmith Chapters 9 and 10
Week 7 Topic Notes
Week 7 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 7 Discussions refer to Week 7 Checklist and Week 7 Part Requirements
Assignment 4 Group Iteration Plan (available Wed Week 7 due Tue Week 8)
Week 7 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 9
Week 8 March 8mdashMarch 14 Other Agile Methods
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics practices roles and rules related to other agile and iterative methods including Extreme Programming Unified Process and Adaptive Project Framework
Compare and contrast the practices and level of process rigor assumed by common agile and iterative methods
Analyze release and iteration planning results team dynamics and riskreward ratios to make recommendations to management
Develop an iteration plan for a hypothetical project
Readings Week 8 Topic Notes
Week 8 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 8 Discussions refer to Week 8 Checklist and Week 8 Participation Requirements
Week 8 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 9 March 15mdashMarch 21 Agile and Traditional Approaches
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics of traditional agile and extreme projects and their relative complexity and uncertainty
Identify factors affecting the best choice for a project management life cycle model
Develop project scenarios that best fit various project management life cycle models
Select project management life cycle models based on complexity and uncertainty levels of hypothetical projects
Research agile tools including features functionality and fit for enterprise deployment
Readings Week 9 Topic Notes
Week 9 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 9 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (available Wed Week 9 due Tue Week 9)
Week 9 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 10 March 22mdashMarch 28 Scaling and Enterprise Considerations
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Develop a scaling model for agile organizations
Factor in considerations for large andor distributed agile teams
Work within an agile team to produce a releasable product after the first iteration
Analyze critical success factors required to scale an agile approach across an organization
Readings Highsmith Chapters 11 and 12
Week 10 Topic Notes
Week 10 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 10 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Final Exam available Wed Week 10 due Tue Week 10
Week 10 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 10
III Course Policies and Procedures
1 Late Policies A discussion post (original response) submitted one day after due date will receive a 50 point reduction original responses submitted more than one day late will receive no credit Replies may be posted late but will receive no credit
Late assignments Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
Late Final Exams will not be accepted
2 Grading Standards
Students are responsible to explore each weeks materials and submit required work by their due dates On average a student can expect to spend approximately 3-5 hours per week reading and approximately 7-9 hours per week completing assignments and posting to discussions The calendar of assignments and due dates is located at the end of this syllabus and all assignments are due by the close of the associated week (Tuesday evenings)
Students are graded on demonstration of knowledge or competence rather than on effort alone Each student is expected to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior All assignments are meant to represent your own work I expect students to conduct themselves courteously online If in my judgment a students conduct is not courteous I reserve the right to reduce that students grade
How points and percentages equate to grades
100-94 A 76-73 C
93-90 A- 72-70 C-
89-87 B+ 69-67 D+
86-83 B 66-63 D
82-80 B- 62-60 D-
79-77 C+ 59 or lt F
3 Feedback
Feedback will be provided on assignments and the exam within 10 days of the due date Within 7 days of the close of each week feedback will be provided on weekly participation and your discussion posts for the previous week
4 Confidentiality While typically assumed in the more traditional on-ground classroom as we proceed throughout our Discussions Id like to highlight a point about confidentiality in our online classroom
We can draw on the wealth of examples from our organizations in class discussions and in our written work However it is imperative that we not share information that is confidential privileged or proprietary in nature We must be mindful of any contracts we have agreed to with our companies In addition we should respect our fellow classmates and work under the assumption that what is discussed here (as it pertains to the workings of particular organizations) stays within the confines of the classroom For your awareness members of the Universitys technical staff have access to all course sites to aid in course setup and technical troubleshooting Program Chairs and a small number of Graduate Professional Studies (GPS) staff have access to all GPS courses for oversight purposes Students enrolled in GPS courses can expect that individuals other than their fellow classmates and the course instructor(s) may visit their course for various purposes Their intentions are to aid in technical troubleshooting and to ensure that quality course delivery standards are met Strict confidentiality of student information is maintained
01182017 Page 11
5 Class Schedule
Week Online Week StartEnd Dates
1 January 18-24
2 January 25-January 31
3 February 1-7
4 February 8-14
5 February 15-21
6 February 22-February 28
7 March 1-March 7
8 March 8-14
9 March 15-21
10 March 22-28
6 Calendar of Assignment Availability and Due Dates
Assignment Available Date Due Date
1 Team Norms amp Vision Statement (5) Wednesday Week 4 Feb 8 Tuesday Week 4 Feb 14
2 Product Description and PDS (10) Wednesday Week 5 Feb 15 Tuesday Week 5 Feb 21
3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10) Wednesday Week 6 Feb 22 Tuesday Week 6 Feb 28
4 Group Iteration Plan (10) Wednesday Week 7 Mar 1 Tuesday Week 8 Mar 14
5 Agile Tools (10) Wednesday Week 9 Mar 15 Tuesday Week 9 Mar 21
Final Exam Wednesday Week 10 Mar 22 Tuesday Week 10 Mar 28
Weeks with 2 Discussion Questions one response by Saturday amp one by Monday (200 word minimum each)
Weeks with 1 Discussion Questions one original response by Saturday (200 word minimum)
Other Substantive Replies two replies by Tuesday each week (100 word minimum each)
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances
01182017 Page 5
2 AssignmentsmdashIndividual and Group (50)
There are 5 assignments during the semester 4 are individual and 1 is a group assignment Each is 10 of the course grade
The assignments will require students to develop a set of agile project management deliverables
The following documents will be produced
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (10)----Week 4
Assignment 2 Product Description and PDS (10)------------Week 5
Assignment 3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10)------Week 6
Assignment 4 Group Assignment--Iteration Plan (10)------Weeks 7-8
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (10)------------------------------------Week 9
Submission of each assignment is due by Tuesday at midnight in the week it is due
Late Policy Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
3 Final Exam (20)
The take-home final exam will consist of short answers small exercises and conceptual questions that require an analysis and discussion of agile project management practices Weeks 1 through 10 will be covered in the final exam
Final Exam Available Wednesday Week 10 due Tuesday Week 10
Late Policy The Final Exam will not be accepted beyond the due date
01182017 Page 6
II Weekly Information
Week 1 January 18--January 24 Iterative and Agile Development Overview
Learning Objectives
At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify the basic principles of iterative and evolutionary methods including timeboxing and adaptive planning
Determine how development approaches may be classified by their life cycle and degree of process rigor
Describe agile principles and methods including the Agile Manifesto
Assess the degree to which their current teamsorganizations embody agile principles
Analyze the degree to which agile projects share characteristics with traditional project management methods
Readings Welcoming Message
General CourseLATTE Tips
Orientation Materials
Week 1 Topic Notes
Week 1 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
CourseSyllabus Self-Test (required)
Academic Integrity Agreement quiz (required)
Introduce Yourself Forum post your introduction by Saturday
Private Forum reply to instructorrsquos post by Saturday
Agile Survey Response (required)
Week 1 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 1 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 2 January 25mdashJanuary 31 Agile Project Management Fundamentals
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify fundamentals strengths and weaknesses of agile principles
Explain three fundamental agile project management principles including value over constraints teams over tasks and adapting over conforming
Analyze critical success factors for self-organizing agile teams
Analyze the relationships between organizational structures rolesresponsibilities and project management life-cycles
Readings Highsmith Chapters 1-4
Week 2 Topic Notes
Week 2 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 2 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 2 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 7
Week 3 February 1mdashFebruary 7 Fundamentals of Scrum
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the core practices and rules of Scrum including Scrum roles the Sprint planning meeting the daily scrum meeting the Sprint review meeting and the Sprint retrospective meeting
Explain the purpose and structure of core Scrum deliverables including the Product Backlog the Burn-down chart and the Sprint Backlog
Identify values strengths weaknesses and common implementation mistakes of Scrum
Analyze characteristics of effective Scrum Masters
Readings Week 3 Topic Notes
Week 3 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 3 Discussions refer to Week 3 Checklist and Week 3 Participation Requirements
Week 3 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 4 February 8mdashFebruary 14 Envisioning
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the high-level phases of an agile project framework including Envision Speculate Explore Adapt and Close
Identify structure and elements of a product vision statement and project data sheet (PDS)
Determine considerations when developing the vision for the project community and its approach including specific approaches when customer representatives are not actively involved in the visioning process
Readings Highsmith Chapter 5 6
Week 4 Topic Notes
Week 4 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 4 Discussions refer to Week 4 Checklist and Week 4 Participation Requirements
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (available Wed Week 4 due Tue Week 4)
Week 4 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 5 February 15mdashFebruary 21 Speculating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe common approaches to develop and document product backlog items including use cases and user stories
Explain the characteristics and purpose of the product backlog
Explain why planning often fails
Identify characteristics of agile planning methods including multiple levels of planning and conditions of satisfaction
Describe the steps to develop a release plan for an agile project
Develop high-level user stories for a hypothetical case
Prepare daily Scrum meeting rules and analyze the critical factors required for their success
Readings Highsmith Chapters 7 and 8
Week 5 Topic Notes
Week 5 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 5 Discussions refer to Week 5 Checklist and Week 5 Participation Requirements Assignment 2 Product Description and Project Data Sheet (PDS) (available Wed Week 5 due
Tues Week 5)
Week 5 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 8
Week 6 February 22mdashFebruary 28 Agile Planning and Estimating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe methods to estimate project size including story points and ideal days along with their strengths and weaknesses
Identify methods to derive duration from size using velocity
Identify methods used to estimate story points including analogy disaggregation planning poker
Identify factors to consider when prioritizing user stories including value-to-cost ratio degree of product and project knowledge gained and risk
Develop a scale for story point estimation and assess its effectiveness
Analyze the similarities and differences between the project charter and the PDS
Develop a product backlog and release plan collaboratively
Readings Review Highsmith Chapter 8
Week 6 Topic Notes
Week 6 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Week 6 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 6 Discussions refer to Week 6 Checklist and Week 6 Participation Requirements
Assignment 3 Product Backlog amp Release Plan (available Wed Week 6 due Tue Week 6)
Week 7 March 1mdashMarch 7 Exploring Adapting and Closing
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Compare and contrast the applicability and effectiveness of velocity-driven and commitment-driven iteration planning including factors that determine an optimum iteration length
Identify methods to monitor release and iteration progress including task boards parking lots and burn-down charts
Describe technical and community practices common to agile projects
Explain activities and techniques of the explore adapt and close phases of the agile project management framework
Analyze story point estimates and their relationships to release and iteration planning
Readings Highsmith Chapters 9 and 10
Week 7 Topic Notes
Week 7 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 7 Discussions refer to Week 7 Checklist and Week 7 Part Requirements
Assignment 4 Group Iteration Plan (available Wed Week 7 due Tue Week 8)
Week 7 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 9
Week 8 March 8mdashMarch 14 Other Agile Methods
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics practices roles and rules related to other agile and iterative methods including Extreme Programming Unified Process and Adaptive Project Framework
Compare and contrast the practices and level of process rigor assumed by common agile and iterative methods
Analyze release and iteration planning results team dynamics and riskreward ratios to make recommendations to management
Develop an iteration plan for a hypothetical project
Readings Week 8 Topic Notes
Week 8 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 8 Discussions refer to Week 8 Checklist and Week 8 Participation Requirements
Week 8 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 9 March 15mdashMarch 21 Agile and Traditional Approaches
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics of traditional agile and extreme projects and their relative complexity and uncertainty
Identify factors affecting the best choice for a project management life cycle model
Develop project scenarios that best fit various project management life cycle models
Select project management life cycle models based on complexity and uncertainty levels of hypothetical projects
Research agile tools including features functionality and fit for enterprise deployment
Readings Week 9 Topic Notes
Week 9 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 9 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (available Wed Week 9 due Tue Week 9)
Week 9 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 10 March 22mdashMarch 28 Scaling and Enterprise Considerations
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Develop a scaling model for agile organizations
Factor in considerations for large andor distributed agile teams
Work within an agile team to produce a releasable product after the first iteration
Analyze critical success factors required to scale an agile approach across an organization
Readings Highsmith Chapters 11 and 12
Week 10 Topic Notes
Week 10 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 10 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Final Exam available Wed Week 10 due Tue Week 10
Week 10 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 10
III Course Policies and Procedures
1 Late Policies A discussion post (original response) submitted one day after due date will receive a 50 point reduction original responses submitted more than one day late will receive no credit Replies may be posted late but will receive no credit
Late assignments Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
Late Final Exams will not be accepted
2 Grading Standards
Students are responsible to explore each weeks materials and submit required work by their due dates On average a student can expect to spend approximately 3-5 hours per week reading and approximately 7-9 hours per week completing assignments and posting to discussions The calendar of assignments and due dates is located at the end of this syllabus and all assignments are due by the close of the associated week (Tuesday evenings)
Students are graded on demonstration of knowledge or competence rather than on effort alone Each student is expected to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior All assignments are meant to represent your own work I expect students to conduct themselves courteously online If in my judgment a students conduct is not courteous I reserve the right to reduce that students grade
How points and percentages equate to grades
100-94 A 76-73 C
93-90 A- 72-70 C-
89-87 B+ 69-67 D+
86-83 B 66-63 D
82-80 B- 62-60 D-
79-77 C+ 59 or lt F
3 Feedback
Feedback will be provided on assignments and the exam within 10 days of the due date Within 7 days of the close of each week feedback will be provided on weekly participation and your discussion posts for the previous week
4 Confidentiality While typically assumed in the more traditional on-ground classroom as we proceed throughout our Discussions Id like to highlight a point about confidentiality in our online classroom
We can draw on the wealth of examples from our organizations in class discussions and in our written work However it is imperative that we not share information that is confidential privileged or proprietary in nature We must be mindful of any contracts we have agreed to with our companies In addition we should respect our fellow classmates and work under the assumption that what is discussed here (as it pertains to the workings of particular organizations) stays within the confines of the classroom For your awareness members of the Universitys technical staff have access to all course sites to aid in course setup and technical troubleshooting Program Chairs and a small number of Graduate Professional Studies (GPS) staff have access to all GPS courses for oversight purposes Students enrolled in GPS courses can expect that individuals other than their fellow classmates and the course instructor(s) may visit their course for various purposes Their intentions are to aid in technical troubleshooting and to ensure that quality course delivery standards are met Strict confidentiality of student information is maintained
01182017 Page 11
5 Class Schedule
Week Online Week StartEnd Dates
1 January 18-24
2 January 25-January 31
3 February 1-7
4 February 8-14
5 February 15-21
6 February 22-February 28
7 March 1-March 7
8 March 8-14
9 March 15-21
10 March 22-28
6 Calendar of Assignment Availability and Due Dates
Assignment Available Date Due Date
1 Team Norms amp Vision Statement (5) Wednesday Week 4 Feb 8 Tuesday Week 4 Feb 14
2 Product Description and PDS (10) Wednesday Week 5 Feb 15 Tuesday Week 5 Feb 21
3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10) Wednesday Week 6 Feb 22 Tuesday Week 6 Feb 28
4 Group Iteration Plan (10) Wednesday Week 7 Mar 1 Tuesday Week 8 Mar 14
5 Agile Tools (10) Wednesday Week 9 Mar 15 Tuesday Week 9 Mar 21
Final Exam Wednesday Week 10 Mar 22 Tuesday Week 10 Mar 28
Weeks with 2 Discussion Questions one response by Saturday amp one by Monday (200 word minimum each)
Weeks with 1 Discussion Questions one original response by Saturday (200 word minimum)
Other Substantive Replies two replies by Tuesday each week (100 word minimum each)
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances
01182017 Page 6
II Weekly Information
Week 1 January 18--January 24 Iterative and Agile Development Overview
Learning Objectives
At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify the basic principles of iterative and evolutionary methods including timeboxing and adaptive planning
Determine how development approaches may be classified by their life cycle and degree of process rigor
Describe agile principles and methods including the Agile Manifesto
Assess the degree to which their current teamsorganizations embody agile principles
Analyze the degree to which agile projects share characteristics with traditional project management methods
Readings Welcoming Message
General CourseLATTE Tips
Orientation Materials
Week 1 Topic Notes
Week 1 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
CourseSyllabus Self-Test (required)
Academic Integrity Agreement quiz (required)
Introduce Yourself Forum post your introduction by Saturday
Private Forum reply to instructorrsquos post by Saturday
Agile Survey Response (required)
Week 1 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 1 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 2 January 25mdashJanuary 31 Agile Project Management Fundamentals
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Identify fundamentals strengths and weaknesses of agile principles
Explain three fundamental agile project management principles including value over constraints teams over tasks and adapting over conforming
Analyze critical success factors for self-organizing agile teams
Analyze the relationships between organizational structures rolesresponsibilities and project management life-cycles
Readings Highsmith Chapters 1-4
Week 2 Topic Notes
Week 2 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 2 Discussions refer to Week 2 Checklist and Week 2 Participation Requirements
Week 2 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 7
Week 3 February 1mdashFebruary 7 Fundamentals of Scrum
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the core practices and rules of Scrum including Scrum roles the Sprint planning meeting the daily scrum meeting the Sprint review meeting and the Sprint retrospective meeting
Explain the purpose and structure of core Scrum deliverables including the Product Backlog the Burn-down chart and the Sprint Backlog
Identify values strengths weaknesses and common implementation mistakes of Scrum
Analyze characteristics of effective Scrum Masters
Readings Week 3 Topic Notes
Week 3 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 3 Discussions refer to Week 3 Checklist and Week 3 Participation Requirements
Week 3 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 4 February 8mdashFebruary 14 Envisioning
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the high-level phases of an agile project framework including Envision Speculate Explore Adapt and Close
Identify structure and elements of a product vision statement and project data sheet (PDS)
Determine considerations when developing the vision for the project community and its approach including specific approaches when customer representatives are not actively involved in the visioning process
Readings Highsmith Chapter 5 6
Week 4 Topic Notes
Week 4 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 4 Discussions refer to Week 4 Checklist and Week 4 Participation Requirements
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (available Wed Week 4 due Tue Week 4)
Week 4 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 5 February 15mdashFebruary 21 Speculating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe common approaches to develop and document product backlog items including use cases and user stories
Explain the characteristics and purpose of the product backlog
Explain why planning often fails
Identify characteristics of agile planning methods including multiple levels of planning and conditions of satisfaction
Describe the steps to develop a release plan for an agile project
Develop high-level user stories for a hypothetical case
Prepare daily Scrum meeting rules and analyze the critical factors required for their success
Readings Highsmith Chapters 7 and 8
Week 5 Topic Notes
Week 5 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 5 Discussions refer to Week 5 Checklist and Week 5 Participation Requirements Assignment 2 Product Description and Project Data Sheet (PDS) (available Wed Week 5 due
Tues Week 5)
Week 5 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 8
Week 6 February 22mdashFebruary 28 Agile Planning and Estimating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe methods to estimate project size including story points and ideal days along with their strengths and weaknesses
Identify methods to derive duration from size using velocity
Identify methods used to estimate story points including analogy disaggregation planning poker
Identify factors to consider when prioritizing user stories including value-to-cost ratio degree of product and project knowledge gained and risk
Develop a scale for story point estimation and assess its effectiveness
Analyze the similarities and differences between the project charter and the PDS
Develop a product backlog and release plan collaboratively
Readings Review Highsmith Chapter 8
Week 6 Topic Notes
Week 6 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Week 6 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 6 Discussions refer to Week 6 Checklist and Week 6 Participation Requirements
Assignment 3 Product Backlog amp Release Plan (available Wed Week 6 due Tue Week 6)
Week 7 March 1mdashMarch 7 Exploring Adapting and Closing
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Compare and contrast the applicability and effectiveness of velocity-driven and commitment-driven iteration planning including factors that determine an optimum iteration length
Identify methods to monitor release and iteration progress including task boards parking lots and burn-down charts
Describe technical and community practices common to agile projects
Explain activities and techniques of the explore adapt and close phases of the agile project management framework
Analyze story point estimates and their relationships to release and iteration planning
Readings Highsmith Chapters 9 and 10
Week 7 Topic Notes
Week 7 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 7 Discussions refer to Week 7 Checklist and Week 7 Part Requirements
Assignment 4 Group Iteration Plan (available Wed Week 7 due Tue Week 8)
Week 7 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 9
Week 8 March 8mdashMarch 14 Other Agile Methods
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics practices roles and rules related to other agile and iterative methods including Extreme Programming Unified Process and Adaptive Project Framework
Compare and contrast the practices and level of process rigor assumed by common agile and iterative methods
Analyze release and iteration planning results team dynamics and riskreward ratios to make recommendations to management
Develop an iteration plan for a hypothetical project
Readings Week 8 Topic Notes
Week 8 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 8 Discussions refer to Week 8 Checklist and Week 8 Participation Requirements
Week 8 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 9 March 15mdashMarch 21 Agile and Traditional Approaches
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics of traditional agile and extreme projects and their relative complexity and uncertainty
Identify factors affecting the best choice for a project management life cycle model
Develop project scenarios that best fit various project management life cycle models
Select project management life cycle models based on complexity and uncertainty levels of hypothetical projects
Research agile tools including features functionality and fit for enterprise deployment
Readings Week 9 Topic Notes
Week 9 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 9 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (available Wed Week 9 due Tue Week 9)
Week 9 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 10 March 22mdashMarch 28 Scaling and Enterprise Considerations
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Develop a scaling model for agile organizations
Factor in considerations for large andor distributed agile teams
Work within an agile team to produce a releasable product after the first iteration
Analyze critical success factors required to scale an agile approach across an organization
Readings Highsmith Chapters 11 and 12
Week 10 Topic Notes
Week 10 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 10 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Final Exam available Wed Week 10 due Tue Week 10
Week 10 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 10
III Course Policies and Procedures
1 Late Policies A discussion post (original response) submitted one day after due date will receive a 50 point reduction original responses submitted more than one day late will receive no credit Replies may be posted late but will receive no credit
Late assignments Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
Late Final Exams will not be accepted
2 Grading Standards
Students are responsible to explore each weeks materials and submit required work by their due dates On average a student can expect to spend approximately 3-5 hours per week reading and approximately 7-9 hours per week completing assignments and posting to discussions The calendar of assignments and due dates is located at the end of this syllabus and all assignments are due by the close of the associated week (Tuesday evenings)
Students are graded on demonstration of knowledge or competence rather than on effort alone Each student is expected to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior All assignments are meant to represent your own work I expect students to conduct themselves courteously online If in my judgment a students conduct is not courteous I reserve the right to reduce that students grade
How points and percentages equate to grades
100-94 A 76-73 C
93-90 A- 72-70 C-
89-87 B+ 69-67 D+
86-83 B 66-63 D
82-80 B- 62-60 D-
79-77 C+ 59 or lt F
3 Feedback
Feedback will be provided on assignments and the exam within 10 days of the due date Within 7 days of the close of each week feedback will be provided on weekly participation and your discussion posts for the previous week
4 Confidentiality While typically assumed in the more traditional on-ground classroom as we proceed throughout our Discussions Id like to highlight a point about confidentiality in our online classroom
We can draw on the wealth of examples from our organizations in class discussions and in our written work However it is imperative that we not share information that is confidential privileged or proprietary in nature We must be mindful of any contracts we have agreed to with our companies In addition we should respect our fellow classmates and work under the assumption that what is discussed here (as it pertains to the workings of particular organizations) stays within the confines of the classroom For your awareness members of the Universitys technical staff have access to all course sites to aid in course setup and technical troubleshooting Program Chairs and a small number of Graduate Professional Studies (GPS) staff have access to all GPS courses for oversight purposes Students enrolled in GPS courses can expect that individuals other than their fellow classmates and the course instructor(s) may visit their course for various purposes Their intentions are to aid in technical troubleshooting and to ensure that quality course delivery standards are met Strict confidentiality of student information is maintained
01182017 Page 11
5 Class Schedule
Week Online Week StartEnd Dates
1 January 18-24
2 January 25-January 31
3 February 1-7
4 February 8-14
5 February 15-21
6 February 22-February 28
7 March 1-March 7
8 March 8-14
9 March 15-21
10 March 22-28
6 Calendar of Assignment Availability and Due Dates
Assignment Available Date Due Date
1 Team Norms amp Vision Statement (5) Wednesday Week 4 Feb 8 Tuesday Week 4 Feb 14
2 Product Description and PDS (10) Wednesday Week 5 Feb 15 Tuesday Week 5 Feb 21
3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10) Wednesday Week 6 Feb 22 Tuesday Week 6 Feb 28
4 Group Iteration Plan (10) Wednesday Week 7 Mar 1 Tuesday Week 8 Mar 14
5 Agile Tools (10) Wednesday Week 9 Mar 15 Tuesday Week 9 Mar 21
Final Exam Wednesday Week 10 Mar 22 Tuesday Week 10 Mar 28
Weeks with 2 Discussion Questions one response by Saturday amp one by Monday (200 word minimum each)
Weeks with 1 Discussion Questions one original response by Saturday (200 word minimum)
Other Substantive Replies two replies by Tuesday each week (100 word minimum each)
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances
01182017 Page 7
Week 3 February 1mdashFebruary 7 Fundamentals of Scrum
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the core practices and rules of Scrum including Scrum roles the Sprint planning meeting the daily scrum meeting the Sprint review meeting and the Sprint retrospective meeting
Explain the purpose and structure of core Scrum deliverables including the Product Backlog the Burn-down chart and the Sprint Backlog
Identify values strengths weaknesses and common implementation mistakes of Scrum
Analyze characteristics of effective Scrum Masters
Readings Week 3 Topic Notes
Week 3 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 3 Discussions refer to Week 3 Checklist and Week 3 Participation Requirements
Week 3 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 4 February 8mdashFebruary 14 Envisioning
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe the high-level phases of an agile project framework including Envision Speculate Explore Adapt and Close
Identify structure and elements of a product vision statement and project data sheet (PDS)
Determine considerations when developing the vision for the project community and its approach including specific approaches when customer representatives are not actively involved in the visioning process
Readings Highsmith Chapter 5 6
Week 4 Topic Notes
Week 4 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 4 Discussions refer to Week 4 Checklist and Week 4 Participation Requirements
Assignment 1 Team Norms and Vision Statement (available Wed Week 4 due Tue Week 4)
Week 4 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 5 February 15mdashFebruary 21 Speculating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe common approaches to develop and document product backlog items including use cases and user stories
Explain the characteristics and purpose of the product backlog
Explain why planning often fails
Identify characteristics of agile planning methods including multiple levels of planning and conditions of satisfaction
Describe the steps to develop a release plan for an agile project
Develop high-level user stories for a hypothetical case
Prepare daily Scrum meeting rules and analyze the critical factors required for their success
Readings Highsmith Chapters 7 and 8
Week 5 Topic Notes
Week 5 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 5 Discussions refer to Week 5 Checklist and Week 5 Participation Requirements Assignment 2 Product Description and Project Data Sheet (PDS) (available Wed Week 5 due
Tues Week 5)
Week 5 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 8
Week 6 February 22mdashFebruary 28 Agile Planning and Estimating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe methods to estimate project size including story points and ideal days along with their strengths and weaknesses
Identify methods to derive duration from size using velocity
Identify methods used to estimate story points including analogy disaggregation planning poker
Identify factors to consider when prioritizing user stories including value-to-cost ratio degree of product and project knowledge gained and risk
Develop a scale for story point estimation and assess its effectiveness
Analyze the similarities and differences between the project charter and the PDS
Develop a product backlog and release plan collaboratively
Readings Review Highsmith Chapter 8
Week 6 Topic Notes
Week 6 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Week 6 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 6 Discussions refer to Week 6 Checklist and Week 6 Participation Requirements
Assignment 3 Product Backlog amp Release Plan (available Wed Week 6 due Tue Week 6)
Week 7 March 1mdashMarch 7 Exploring Adapting and Closing
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Compare and contrast the applicability and effectiveness of velocity-driven and commitment-driven iteration planning including factors that determine an optimum iteration length
Identify methods to monitor release and iteration progress including task boards parking lots and burn-down charts
Describe technical and community practices common to agile projects
Explain activities and techniques of the explore adapt and close phases of the agile project management framework
Analyze story point estimates and their relationships to release and iteration planning
Readings Highsmith Chapters 9 and 10
Week 7 Topic Notes
Week 7 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 7 Discussions refer to Week 7 Checklist and Week 7 Part Requirements
Assignment 4 Group Iteration Plan (available Wed Week 7 due Tue Week 8)
Week 7 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 9
Week 8 March 8mdashMarch 14 Other Agile Methods
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics practices roles and rules related to other agile and iterative methods including Extreme Programming Unified Process and Adaptive Project Framework
Compare and contrast the practices and level of process rigor assumed by common agile and iterative methods
Analyze release and iteration planning results team dynamics and riskreward ratios to make recommendations to management
Develop an iteration plan for a hypothetical project
Readings Week 8 Topic Notes
Week 8 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 8 Discussions refer to Week 8 Checklist and Week 8 Participation Requirements
Week 8 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 9 March 15mdashMarch 21 Agile and Traditional Approaches
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics of traditional agile and extreme projects and their relative complexity and uncertainty
Identify factors affecting the best choice for a project management life cycle model
Develop project scenarios that best fit various project management life cycle models
Select project management life cycle models based on complexity and uncertainty levels of hypothetical projects
Research agile tools including features functionality and fit for enterprise deployment
Readings Week 9 Topic Notes
Week 9 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 9 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (available Wed Week 9 due Tue Week 9)
Week 9 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 10 March 22mdashMarch 28 Scaling and Enterprise Considerations
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Develop a scaling model for agile organizations
Factor in considerations for large andor distributed agile teams
Work within an agile team to produce a releasable product after the first iteration
Analyze critical success factors required to scale an agile approach across an organization
Readings Highsmith Chapters 11 and 12
Week 10 Topic Notes
Week 10 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 10 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Final Exam available Wed Week 10 due Tue Week 10
Week 10 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 10
III Course Policies and Procedures
1 Late Policies A discussion post (original response) submitted one day after due date will receive a 50 point reduction original responses submitted more than one day late will receive no credit Replies may be posted late but will receive no credit
Late assignments Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
Late Final Exams will not be accepted
2 Grading Standards
Students are responsible to explore each weeks materials and submit required work by their due dates On average a student can expect to spend approximately 3-5 hours per week reading and approximately 7-9 hours per week completing assignments and posting to discussions The calendar of assignments and due dates is located at the end of this syllabus and all assignments are due by the close of the associated week (Tuesday evenings)
Students are graded on demonstration of knowledge or competence rather than on effort alone Each student is expected to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior All assignments are meant to represent your own work I expect students to conduct themselves courteously online If in my judgment a students conduct is not courteous I reserve the right to reduce that students grade
How points and percentages equate to grades
100-94 A 76-73 C
93-90 A- 72-70 C-
89-87 B+ 69-67 D+
86-83 B 66-63 D
82-80 B- 62-60 D-
79-77 C+ 59 or lt F
3 Feedback
Feedback will be provided on assignments and the exam within 10 days of the due date Within 7 days of the close of each week feedback will be provided on weekly participation and your discussion posts for the previous week
4 Confidentiality While typically assumed in the more traditional on-ground classroom as we proceed throughout our Discussions Id like to highlight a point about confidentiality in our online classroom
We can draw on the wealth of examples from our organizations in class discussions and in our written work However it is imperative that we not share information that is confidential privileged or proprietary in nature We must be mindful of any contracts we have agreed to with our companies In addition we should respect our fellow classmates and work under the assumption that what is discussed here (as it pertains to the workings of particular organizations) stays within the confines of the classroom For your awareness members of the Universitys technical staff have access to all course sites to aid in course setup and technical troubleshooting Program Chairs and a small number of Graduate Professional Studies (GPS) staff have access to all GPS courses for oversight purposes Students enrolled in GPS courses can expect that individuals other than their fellow classmates and the course instructor(s) may visit their course for various purposes Their intentions are to aid in technical troubleshooting and to ensure that quality course delivery standards are met Strict confidentiality of student information is maintained
01182017 Page 11
5 Class Schedule
Week Online Week StartEnd Dates
1 January 18-24
2 January 25-January 31
3 February 1-7
4 February 8-14
5 February 15-21
6 February 22-February 28
7 March 1-March 7
8 March 8-14
9 March 15-21
10 March 22-28
6 Calendar of Assignment Availability and Due Dates
Assignment Available Date Due Date
1 Team Norms amp Vision Statement (5) Wednesday Week 4 Feb 8 Tuesday Week 4 Feb 14
2 Product Description and PDS (10) Wednesday Week 5 Feb 15 Tuesday Week 5 Feb 21
3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10) Wednesday Week 6 Feb 22 Tuesday Week 6 Feb 28
4 Group Iteration Plan (10) Wednesday Week 7 Mar 1 Tuesday Week 8 Mar 14
5 Agile Tools (10) Wednesday Week 9 Mar 15 Tuesday Week 9 Mar 21
Final Exam Wednesday Week 10 Mar 22 Tuesday Week 10 Mar 28
Weeks with 2 Discussion Questions one response by Saturday amp one by Monday (200 word minimum each)
Weeks with 1 Discussion Questions one original response by Saturday (200 word minimum)
Other Substantive Replies two replies by Tuesday each week (100 word minimum each)
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances
01182017 Page 8
Week 6 February 22mdashFebruary 28 Agile Planning and Estimating
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe methods to estimate project size including story points and ideal days along with their strengths and weaknesses
Identify methods to derive duration from size using velocity
Identify methods used to estimate story points including analogy disaggregation planning poker
Identify factors to consider when prioritizing user stories including value-to-cost ratio degree of product and project knowledge gained and risk
Develop a scale for story point estimation and assess its effectiveness
Analyze the similarities and differences between the project charter and the PDS
Develop a product backlog and release plan collaboratively
Readings Review Highsmith Chapter 8
Week 6 Topic Notes
Week 6 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Week 6 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 6 Discussions refer to Week 6 Checklist and Week 6 Participation Requirements
Assignment 3 Product Backlog amp Release Plan (available Wed Week 6 due Tue Week 6)
Week 7 March 1mdashMarch 7 Exploring Adapting and Closing
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Compare and contrast the applicability and effectiveness of velocity-driven and commitment-driven iteration planning including factors that determine an optimum iteration length
Identify methods to monitor release and iteration progress including task boards parking lots and burn-down charts
Describe technical and community practices common to agile projects
Explain activities and techniques of the explore adapt and close phases of the agile project management framework
Analyze story point estimates and their relationships to release and iteration planning
Readings Highsmith Chapters 9 and 10
Week 7 Topic Notes
Week 7 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 7 Discussions refer to Week 7 Checklist and Week 7 Part Requirements
Assignment 4 Group Iteration Plan (available Wed Week 7 due Tue Week 8)
Week 7 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 9
Week 8 March 8mdashMarch 14 Other Agile Methods
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics practices roles and rules related to other agile and iterative methods including Extreme Programming Unified Process and Adaptive Project Framework
Compare and contrast the practices and level of process rigor assumed by common agile and iterative methods
Analyze release and iteration planning results team dynamics and riskreward ratios to make recommendations to management
Develop an iteration plan for a hypothetical project
Readings Week 8 Topic Notes
Week 8 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 8 Discussions refer to Week 8 Checklist and Week 8 Participation Requirements
Week 8 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 9 March 15mdashMarch 21 Agile and Traditional Approaches
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics of traditional agile and extreme projects and their relative complexity and uncertainty
Identify factors affecting the best choice for a project management life cycle model
Develop project scenarios that best fit various project management life cycle models
Select project management life cycle models based on complexity and uncertainty levels of hypothetical projects
Research agile tools including features functionality and fit for enterprise deployment
Readings Week 9 Topic Notes
Week 9 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 9 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (available Wed Week 9 due Tue Week 9)
Week 9 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 10 March 22mdashMarch 28 Scaling and Enterprise Considerations
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Develop a scaling model for agile organizations
Factor in considerations for large andor distributed agile teams
Work within an agile team to produce a releasable product after the first iteration
Analyze critical success factors required to scale an agile approach across an organization
Readings Highsmith Chapters 11 and 12
Week 10 Topic Notes
Week 10 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 10 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Final Exam available Wed Week 10 due Tue Week 10
Week 10 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 10
III Course Policies and Procedures
1 Late Policies A discussion post (original response) submitted one day after due date will receive a 50 point reduction original responses submitted more than one day late will receive no credit Replies may be posted late but will receive no credit
Late assignments Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
Late Final Exams will not be accepted
2 Grading Standards
Students are responsible to explore each weeks materials and submit required work by their due dates On average a student can expect to spend approximately 3-5 hours per week reading and approximately 7-9 hours per week completing assignments and posting to discussions The calendar of assignments and due dates is located at the end of this syllabus and all assignments are due by the close of the associated week (Tuesday evenings)
Students are graded on demonstration of knowledge or competence rather than on effort alone Each student is expected to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior All assignments are meant to represent your own work I expect students to conduct themselves courteously online If in my judgment a students conduct is not courteous I reserve the right to reduce that students grade
How points and percentages equate to grades
100-94 A 76-73 C
93-90 A- 72-70 C-
89-87 B+ 69-67 D+
86-83 B 66-63 D
82-80 B- 62-60 D-
79-77 C+ 59 or lt F
3 Feedback
Feedback will be provided on assignments and the exam within 10 days of the due date Within 7 days of the close of each week feedback will be provided on weekly participation and your discussion posts for the previous week
4 Confidentiality While typically assumed in the more traditional on-ground classroom as we proceed throughout our Discussions Id like to highlight a point about confidentiality in our online classroom
We can draw on the wealth of examples from our organizations in class discussions and in our written work However it is imperative that we not share information that is confidential privileged or proprietary in nature We must be mindful of any contracts we have agreed to with our companies In addition we should respect our fellow classmates and work under the assumption that what is discussed here (as it pertains to the workings of particular organizations) stays within the confines of the classroom For your awareness members of the Universitys technical staff have access to all course sites to aid in course setup and technical troubleshooting Program Chairs and a small number of Graduate Professional Studies (GPS) staff have access to all GPS courses for oversight purposes Students enrolled in GPS courses can expect that individuals other than their fellow classmates and the course instructor(s) may visit their course for various purposes Their intentions are to aid in technical troubleshooting and to ensure that quality course delivery standards are met Strict confidentiality of student information is maintained
01182017 Page 11
5 Class Schedule
Week Online Week StartEnd Dates
1 January 18-24
2 January 25-January 31
3 February 1-7
4 February 8-14
5 February 15-21
6 February 22-February 28
7 March 1-March 7
8 March 8-14
9 March 15-21
10 March 22-28
6 Calendar of Assignment Availability and Due Dates
Assignment Available Date Due Date
1 Team Norms amp Vision Statement (5) Wednesday Week 4 Feb 8 Tuesday Week 4 Feb 14
2 Product Description and PDS (10) Wednesday Week 5 Feb 15 Tuesday Week 5 Feb 21
3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10) Wednesday Week 6 Feb 22 Tuesday Week 6 Feb 28
4 Group Iteration Plan (10) Wednesday Week 7 Mar 1 Tuesday Week 8 Mar 14
5 Agile Tools (10) Wednesday Week 9 Mar 15 Tuesday Week 9 Mar 21
Final Exam Wednesday Week 10 Mar 22 Tuesday Week 10 Mar 28
Weeks with 2 Discussion Questions one response by Saturday amp one by Monday (200 word minimum each)
Weeks with 1 Discussion Questions one original response by Saturday (200 word minimum)
Other Substantive Replies two replies by Tuesday each week (100 word minimum each)
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances
01182017 Page 9
Week 8 March 8mdashMarch 14 Other Agile Methods
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics practices roles and rules related to other agile and iterative methods including Extreme Programming Unified Process and Adaptive Project Framework
Compare and contrast the practices and level of process rigor assumed by common agile and iterative methods
Analyze release and iteration planning results team dynamics and riskreward ratios to make recommendations to management
Develop an iteration plan for a hypothetical project
Readings Week 8 Topic Notes
Week 8 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 8 Discussions refer to Week 8 Checklist and Week 8 Participation Requirements
Week 8 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 9 March 15mdashMarch 21 Agile and Traditional Approaches
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Describe characteristics of traditional agile and extreme projects and their relative complexity and uncertainty
Identify factors affecting the best choice for a project management life cycle model
Develop project scenarios that best fit various project management life cycle models
Select project management life cycle models based on complexity and uncertainty levels of hypothetical projects
Research agile tools including features functionality and fit for enterprise deployment
Readings Week 9 Topic Notes
Week 9 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 9 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Assignment 5 Agile Tools (available Wed Week 9 due Tue Week 9)
Week 9 Self-Test (recommended)
Week 10 March 22mdashMarch 28 Scaling and Enterprise Considerations
Objectives At the end of the week students will be able to
Develop a scaling model for agile organizations
Factor in considerations for large andor distributed agile teams
Work within an agile team to produce a releasable product after the first iteration
Analyze critical success factors required to scale an agile approach across an organization
Readings Highsmith Chapters 11 and 12
Week 10 Topic Notes
Week 10 Additional Readings (recommended)
Assignments Assessments
Self-Assessments
Week 10 Discussions refer to Week 9 Checklist and Week 9 Participation Requirements
Final Exam available Wed Week 10 due Tue Week 10
Week 10 Self-Test (recommended)
01182017 Page 10
III Course Policies and Procedures
1 Late Policies A discussion post (original response) submitted one day after due date will receive a 50 point reduction original responses submitted more than one day late will receive no credit Replies may be posted late but will receive no credit
Late assignments Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
Late Final Exams will not be accepted
2 Grading Standards
Students are responsible to explore each weeks materials and submit required work by their due dates On average a student can expect to spend approximately 3-5 hours per week reading and approximately 7-9 hours per week completing assignments and posting to discussions The calendar of assignments and due dates is located at the end of this syllabus and all assignments are due by the close of the associated week (Tuesday evenings)
Students are graded on demonstration of knowledge or competence rather than on effort alone Each student is expected to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior All assignments are meant to represent your own work I expect students to conduct themselves courteously online If in my judgment a students conduct is not courteous I reserve the right to reduce that students grade
How points and percentages equate to grades
100-94 A 76-73 C
93-90 A- 72-70 C-
89-87 B+ 69-67 D+
86-83 B 66-63 D
82-80 B- 62-60 D-
79-77 C+ 59 or lt F
3 Feedback
Feedback will be provided on assignments and the exam within 10 days of the due date Within 7 days of the close of each week feedback will be provided on weekly participation and your discussion posts for the previous week
4 Confidentiality While typically assumed in the more traditional on-ground classroom as we proceed throughout our Discussions Id like to highlight a point about confidentiality in our online classroom
We can draw on the wealth of examples from our organizations in class discussions and in our written work However it is imperative that we not share information that is confidential privileged or proprietary in nature We must be mindful of any contracts we have agreed to with our companies In addition we should respect our fellow classmates and work under the assumption that what is discussed here (as it pertains to the workings of particular organizations) stays within the confines of the classroom For your awareness members of the Universitys technical staff have access to all course sites to aid in course setup and technical troubleshooting Program Chairs and a small number of Graduate Professional Studies (GPS) staff have access to all GPS courses for oversight purposes Students enrolled in GPS courses can expect that individuals other than their fellow classmates and the course instructor(s) may visit their course for various purposes Their intentions are to aid in technical troubleshooting and to ensure that quality course delivery standards are met Strict confidentiality of student information is maintained
01182017 Page 11
5 Class Schedule
Week Online Week StartEnd Dates
1 January 18-24
2 January 25-January 31
3 February 1-7
4 February 8-14
5 February 15-21
6 February 22-February 28
7 March 1-March 7
8 March 8-14
9 March 15-21
10 March 22-28
6 Calendar of Assignment Availability and Due Dates
Assignment Available Date Due Date
1 Team Norms amp Vision Statement (5) Wednesday Week 4 Feb 8 Tuesday Week 4 Feb 14
2 Product Description and PDS (10) Wednesday Week 5 Feb 15 Tuesday Week 5 Feb 21
3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10) Wednesday Week 6 Feb 22 Tuesday Week 6 Feb 28
4 Group Iteration Plan (10) Wednesday Week 7 Mar 1 Tuesday Week 8 Mar 14
5 Agile Tools (10) Wednesday Week 9 Mar 15 Tuesday Week 9 Mar 21
Final Exam Wednesday Week 10 Mar 22 Tuesday Week 10 Mar 28
Weeks with 2 Discussion Questions one response by Saturday amp one by Monday (200 word minimum each)
Weeks with 1 Discussion Questions one original response by Saturday (200 word minimum)
Other Substantive Replies two replies by Tuesday each week (100 word minimum each)
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances
01182017 Page 10
III Course Policies and Procedures
1 Late Policies A discussion post (original response) submitted one day after due date will receive a 50 point reduction original responses submitted more than one day late will receive no credit Replies may be posted late but will receive no credit
Late assignments Half credit is deducted for an assignment that is submitted one day late No credit is earned for an assignment submitted more than one day late
Late Final Exams will not be accepted
2 Grading Standards
Students are responsible to explore each weeks materials and submit required work by their due dates On average a student can expect to spend approximately 3-5 hours per week reading and approximately 7-9 hours per week completing assignments and posting to discussions The calendar of assignments and due dates is located at the end of this syllabus and all assignments are due by the close of the associated week (Tuesday evenings)
Students are graded on demonstration of knowledge or competence rather than on effort alone Each student is expected to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior All assignments are meant to represent your own work I expect students to conduct themselves courteously online If in my judgment a students conduct is not courteous I reserve the right to reduce that students grade
How points and percentages equate to grades
100-94 A 76-73 C
93-90 A- 72-70 C-
89-87 B+ 69-67 D+
86-83 B 66-63 D
82-80 B- 62-60 D-
79-77 C+ 59 or lt F
3 Feedback
Feedback will be provided on assignments and the exam within 10 days of the due date Within 7 days of the close of each week feedback will be provided on weekly participation and your discussion posts for the previous week
4 Confidentiality While typically assumed in the more traditional on-ground classroom as we proceed throughout our Discussions Id like to highlight a point about confidentiality in our online classroom
We can draw on the wealth of examples from our organizations in class discussions and in our written work However it is imperative that we not share information that is confidential privileged or proprietary in nature We must be mindful of any contracts we have agreed to with our companies In addition we should respect our fellow classmates and work under the assumption that what is discussed here (as it pertains to the workings of particular organizations) stays within the confines of the classroom For your awareness members of the Universitys technical staff have access to all course sites to aid in course setup and technical troubleshooting Program Chairs and a small number of Graduate Professional Studies (GPS) staff have access to all GPS courses for oversight purposes Students enrolled in GPS courses can expect that individuals other than their fellow classmates and the course instructor(s) may visit their course for various purposes Their intentions are to aid in technical troubleshooting and to ensure that quality course delivery standards are met Strict confidentiality of student information is maintained
01182017 Page 11
5 Class Schedule
Week Online Week StartEnd Dates
1 January 18-24
2 January 25-January 31
3 February 1-7
4 February 8-14
5 February 15-21
6 February 22-February 28
7 March 1-March 7
8 March 8-14
9 March 15-21
10 March 22-28
6 Calendar of Assignment Availability and Due Dates
Assignment Available Date Due Date
1 Team Norms amp Vision Statement (5) Wednesday Week 4 Feb 8 Tuesday Week 4 Feb 14
2 Product Description and PDS (10) Wednesday Week 5 Feb 15 Tuesday Week 5 Feb 21
3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10) Wednesday Week 6 Feb 22 Tuesday Week 6 Feb 28
4 Group Iteration Plan (10) Wednesday Week 7 Mar 1 Tuesday Week 8 Mar 14
5 Agile Tools (10) Wednesday Week 9 Mar 15 Tuesday Week 9 Mar 21
Final Exam Wednesday Week 10 Mar 22 Tuesday Week 10 Mar 28
Weeks with 2 Discussion Questions one response by Saturday amp one by Monday (200 word minimum each)
Weeks with 1 Discussion Questions one original response by Saturday (200 word minimum)
Other Substantive Replies two replies by Tuesday each week (100 word minimum each)
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances
01182017 Page 11
5 Class Schedule
Week Online Week StartEnd Dates
1 January 18-24
2 January 25-January 31
3 February 1-7
4 February 8-14
5 February 15-21
6 February 22-February 28
7 March 1-March 7
8 March 8-14
9 March 15-21
10 March 22-28
6 Calendar of Assignment Availability and Due Dates
Assignment Available Date Due Date
1 Team Norms amp Vision Statement (5) Wednesday Week 4 Feb 8 Tuesday Week 4 Feb 14
2 Product Description and PDS (10) Wednesday Week 5 Feb 15 Tuesday Week 5 Feb 21
3 Product Backlog and Release Plan (10) Wednesday Week 6 Feb 22 Tuesday Week 6 Feb 28
4 Group Iteration Plan (10) Wednesday Week 7 Mar 1 Tuesday Week 8 Mar 14
5 Agile Tools (10) Wednesday Week 9 Mar 15 Tuesday Week 9 Mar 21
Final Exam Wednesday Week 10 Mar 22 Tuesday Week 10 Mar 28
Weeks with 2 Discussion Questions one response by Saturday amp one by Monday (200 word minimum each)
Weeks with 1 Discussion Questions one original response by Saturday (200 word minimum)
Other Substantive Replies two replies by Tuesday each week (100 word minimum each)
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances
01182017 Page 12
IV University and Division of Graduate Professional Studies Standards
Please review the policies and procedures of Graduate Professional Studies found at httpwwwbrandeisedugpscurrent-studentsacademic-informationstudent-handbookhtml We would like to highlight the following
Learning Disabilities If you are a student who needs accommodations because of a documented disability you may present your letter of accommodation from the Rabb School Disability Coordinator to me as soon as possible and ideally before the course begins If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation you should contact the Rabb School Disabilities Coordinator directly (781-736-8787)
Academic Honesty and Student Integrity Academic honesty and student integrity are of fundamental importance at Brandeis University and we want students to understand this clearly at the start of the term As stated in the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities handbook ldquoEvery member of the University Community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty A student shall not receive credit for work that is not the product of the studentrsquos own effort A students name on any written exercise constitutes a statement that the work is the result of the students own thought and study stated in the students own words and produced without the assistance of others except in quotes footnotes or references with appropriate acknowledgement of the source In particular students must be aware that material (including ideas phrases sentences etc) taken from the Internet and other sources MUST be appropriately cited if quoted and footnoted in any written work turned in for this or any Brandeis class Also students will not be allowed to collaborate on work except by the specific permission of the instructor Failure to cite resources properly may result in a referral being made to the Office of Student Development and Judicial Education The outcome of this action may involve academic and disciplinary sanctions which could include (but are not limited to) such penalties as receiving no credit for the assignment in question receiving no credit for the related course or suspension or dismissal from the University
Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIncom software to verify originality TurnItIn is a tool that compares student assignment submissions to internet sources and a comprehensive database of other papers It creates a report that provide a link to possible matches and a rdquosimilarity scorerdquo TurnItIn does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized individual faculty will make that judgment All papers submitted to TurnItIn are kept in a separate reference database of Brandeis work to be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in the future Students retain copyright on their original course work Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades andor suspension from the university Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides Further information regarding academic integrity may be found in the following publications In Pursuit of Excellence - A Guide to Academic Integrity for the Brandeis Community (Students) Rights and Responsibilities Handbook AND Graduate Professional Studies Student Handbook You should read these publications which all can be accessed from the Graduate Professional Studies Web site A student that is in doubt about standards of academic honesty (regarding plagiarism multiple submissions of written work unacknowledged or unauthorized collaborative effort false citation or false data) should consult either the course instructor or other staff of the Rabb School Graduate Professional Studies
University Caveat The above schedule content and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances