Bcs Agile foundation/practitioner

[Shockuk]

Hello,

I'm a business analyst and it seems behind on the times. More and more positions now request agile experience and I've personally never had.

I've found the bcs foundation and practitioner exams but I prefer the self study routes. Can any recommend a good book that would give me enough knowledge to sit the exams.

Thanks

[nomadd]

Hello,

I'm a business analyst and it seems behind on the times. More and more positions now request agile experience and I've personally never had.

I've found the bcs foundation and practitioner exams but I prefer the self study routes. Can any recommend a good book that would give me enough knowledge to sit the exams.

Thanks

Would the exams really help? Every interview I attend they ask something more along the lines of "How did you apply Agile principles on your last 3 roles? What worked? What didn't work? Did you follow a specific Agile methodology? If so, how closely did you stick to it? Why? Why not?" etc., etc. I'm not sure the exam route and "In my hand I have a piece of paper..." would suffice, tbh.

If you are looking for a great easy read on Agile - and specifically Scrum, I'd suggest: Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process Addison-Wesley Signature: Amazon.co.uk: Kenneth S. Rubin: Books

I've done quite a bit of Agile stuff over the last 10 years, but my last few clients have been very much Scrum (or at least something based around it) based. Well worth a read of that book.

As for an overview of Agile, there are a gazillion free resources on the Internet.

[SpontaneousOrder]

Agile is for losers - real men embrace agility.

Worth reading this too. Dave Thomas was an original signatory of the manifesto for agile software development (note I didn't say 'Agile Manifesto' :P). Agile Is Dead (Long Live Agility) - PragDave

[BlasterBates]

I've been working on an "agile" project for the first time and well I don't really see much difference. A project meeting is a "scrum meeting" and you have them every day, although it's a waste of time you regurgitate what you're doing and no-one's interested. Requirements are called "stories", the PM is a "Scrum Master", the BA is a "Product Manager" and a release is a "Sprint".

That's all you need to know.

If the inventors of Agile had spoken to Quality Engineers in the 1990's they could have saved themselves a lot of effort, because it's all in the ISO9000 standards.

[DigitalUser]

I've been working on an "agile" project for the first time and well I don't really see much difference. A project meeting is a "scrum meeting" and you have them every day, although it's a waste of time you regurgitate what you're doing and no-one's interested. Requirements are called "stories", the PM is a "Scrum Master", the BA is a "Product Manager" and a release is a "Sprint".

That's all you need to know.

If the inventors of Agile had spoken to Quality Engineers in the 1990's they could have saved themselves a lot of effort, because it's all in the ISO9000 standards.

I've never quite understood those people who attempt to flay something they don't really get, and here is a perfect example of it.

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[DigitalUser]

Hello,

I'm a business analyst and it seems behind on the times. More and more positions now request agile experience and I've personally never had.

I've found the bcs foundation and practitioner exams but I prefer the self study routes. Can any recommend a good book that would give me enough knowledge to sit the exams.

Thanks

My advice would be to try and get some practical experience on a project that is applying Agile in what is considered to be a good way. Certifications have some value, but practical application is much more beneficial both to you and to clients.

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[BlasterBates]

I've never quite understood those people who attempt to flay something they don't really get, and here is a perfect example of it.

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Why Agile Isn't Working: Bringing Common Sense to Agile Principles - CIO.com

Good job this wasn't around in the 1960's otherwise man would probably have not walked on the moon.

It leads to poor quality "hacked" code.

[DigitalUser]

Why Agile Isn't Working: Bringing Common Sense to Agile Principles - CIO.com

Good job this wasn't around in the 1960's otherwise man would probably have not walked on the moon.

It leads to poor quality "hacked" code.

Yup, pat yourself on the back for bringing up an article on Agile that clearly demonstrates the author working on projects which have been delivered poorly. Working in an Agile way does not mean quality drops or planning does not take place, as the author has suggested.

What, in your opinion is it about Agile that leads to "hacked" code?

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[BlasterBates]

Yup, pat yourself on the back for bringing up an article on Agile that clearly demonstrates the author working on projects which have been delivered poorly. Working in an Agile way does not mean quality drops or planning does not take place, as the author has suggested.

What, in your opinion is it about Agile that leads to "hacked" code?

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Indeed I do, because the article points out the weaknesses of agile.

The article is well written, I agree with his points and I have nothing further to add.

Have a nice day.

[SpontaneousOrder]

Why Agile Isn't Working: Bringing Common Sense to Agile Principles - CIO.com

Good job this wasn't around in the 1960's otherwise man would probably have not walked on the moon.

It leads to poor quality "hacked" code.

In my experience it leads to much better quality code.

I've seen 'it' lead to what you describe but that was because 'it' wasn't real agile software development (and what you were describing earlier was Scrum - not agile software development) - it was buzzword compliance used as an self-deceiving excuse to make a company full of hackers feel better about themselves.