The Certified In Practical Scaled Agile (CIPSA) courseis highly practical and economical. It's world's only Practical Scaled Agile certification, where you learn scaling with your own hands.
Complex concepts are explained with simple lessons, and you will get an unforgettable certification. The below trailer (1m: 1s) informs more. For the best experience, go full-screen HD mode and plug-in your headphones.
To know more about the CIPSA certification course, see here.
To have the complete course breakdown, check here.
For this course, many FAQs have been answered. See here.
If you have any other questions or clarifications, please send an email to managementyogi@gmail.com.
Life is never static. It flows forward like a river. Almost every aspect of life changes - or upgrades, if you want - as you grow. It happens in all spheres of our lives, including our professional lives, where we spend much of our time. Let’s consider a few examples:
You started as a trainee engineer or developer. Do you remain (or want to remain) in the same position as time passes: say, 10 or 15 years down the line?
You learned Scrum, a team-level framework, years ago. Now, your organization has grown, and Scrum needs to be applied at an organizational level. Will Scrum work in such cases?
You were fine with lesser, but fair compensation early in your career. Would you want to stay on the same salary for the next 5 or 10 years?
I’m sure you know the answers to these questions!
The old saying below comes to my mind as I write:
“What I hear, I may forget. What I see, I may remember. What I do, I'll understand....and unlikely to forget.”
With the CIPSA Certification, in fact, you are doing all three of the above, i.e., listening to and watching the videos, visualizing Scaled Agile concepts being applied to build large products, and doing them hands-on to understand.
In addition, you will also have self-reviews with practice exercises, running the solution files with MS Project software, and answering questions.
Now, let’s look at the top reasons to go for the CIPSA Certification.
--
Reason – 1: The CIPSA Certification is the world’s only practical, hands-on Scaled Agile certification.
Worldwide, many Scaled Agile frameworks and certifications exist, but none offer hands-on, practical use with software tools, except CIPSA. Most frameworks are theoretical, which is important, but real-world application is a must for a useful certification.
The CIPSA certification, based on the CIPSA framework (see here), focuses on practical scaling with hands-on software tools like MS Project. Similar concepts can be applied with other tools.
Reason – 2: The unique CIPSA certification comes at a very affordable price. No other Scaled Agile Certification is offered at such a low cost.
To be a CIPSA, you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars, not even a thousand dollar. It comes at a very low cost.
No other Scaled Agile certification comes at such a low cost. It also comes with a full-money guarantee without any terms and conditions. No other provider will provide it! The guarantee is applicable for the entire course duration. (See herefor price, and guarantee details)
Reason – 3: CIPSA certification combines essential theory with practical.
The CIPSA certification course has a 70%:30% ratio – 70% practical and 30% theoretical. Scaling is new to many teams and scaled Agile aspirants and simplifying it, is challenging for most.
Therefore, theory is provided for clarity, but the emphasis is on practical application. A large number of solution files are available for hands-on practice. See here for example.
Reason – 4: CIPSA certification offers in-depth, practical Scrum at Scale and Kanban at Scale training—unmatched by any other Scaled Agile certification.
Scrum is one of the widely used team-level frameworks. But when you go for Scrum at Scale (see here), you need to have various meta-events, artifacts and roles/accountabilities at scale. The CIPSA course explains and demonstrates these concepts.
Again, you’ll not only learn how to scale these elements, but also how to apply them practically in a hands-on manner.
Next to Scrum, Kanban is another well-used team-level Lean framework. With Kanban at Scale(see here), you'll also need meta-events, artifacts and roles/accountabilities at scale. The CIPSA course explains and demonstrates these with Kanban projects.
Here too, you’ll not only learn about scaling various theoretical aspects of Kanban ones, you’ll also learn how to do them practically in a hands-on manner.
Reason – 5: The CIPSA framework is simple, easy to learn, and follow. There are little to no pre-requisites.
Simple things are always easy to remember and apply. The CIPSA framework is very simple and easy to follow. CIPSA stands out for its simplicity. In any endeavor, simplicity is powerful. Combined with practicals, you'll learn in and out of the scaling.
Now, because it’s straightforward, your team members can also quickly grasp and apply it. Some "frameworks" are overly complex with numerous roles and artifacts, taking months or years to understand—let alone apply. That's bureaucracy! When bureaucracy prevails, Agile fails.
The primary goal of Agile is to deliver valuable increments. With CIPSA, that means the CIPSA Integrated Increment. See here. Complex "frameworks" (which aren’t truly frameworks!) undermine this purpose.
Download the guide here, for free. You can see it's simple.
Reason – 6: The course comes with a massive content library – 11 hours, 153 videos and over 80 solution files.
The course content is detailed oriented. You’ll learn with hours of videos, practice, demonstration with software tool. In addition, all solution files are downloadable.
The solution files are needed when you’re stuck or you’re struggling with the software tool. You can load these files into the software tool and instantly see the solution. The files are in Microsoft Project Plan (.MPP) format.
Reason – 7: You’ll receive hands-on solution files, practice questions, quizzes, and a full-length question set for your CIPSA certification.
The CIPSA certification is highly practical, with essential theory included, making its course structure and test approach unique.
You’ll receive exercises, Microsoft Project Plan (.MPP) files, lesson-end quizzes, and full-length practice exams. For sample questions, see here.
After preparing, you'll take the final test and earn your CIPSA certification. One free retake is allowed if needed.
Reason – 8: Globally accessible and accessible 24*7. Learn at your pace, anytime, anywhere.
The CIPSA certification course is hosted online and you can access anytime, anywhere from part of the planet. With this you can learn at your own pace and at your own place.
Another advantage is that as the course is video-based, you can watch the content as many times as you want till you master the topic at hand.
This certification is globally recognized. A number of articles, webinars and publications have done for this certification. In fact, worldwide, many are pursuing this certification.
Reason – 9: Scaling is inevitable. With CIPSA certification, you stay ahead of the curve because it's created by industry experts with proven Scaled Agile experiences.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, growth requires upskilling and learning. Real learning happens through practical application, which helps you retain knowledge longer.
The CIPSA certifications is prepared with inputs from Agile and Scaled Agile practitioners with decades of work experiences. Hours of discussions, meetings and reviews have been done before it went public. In other words, it's tested and validated by hundreds of hours of reviews.
Your career won’t remain static, and growth is a must. As organizations adopt Scrum at Scale or Kanban at Scale, these skills will become crucial in your skill-arsenal.
Reason – 10: You can lead Scaled Agile Transformations with the Globally Recognized CIPSA Certification.
When you not only explain scaling, but demonstrate how it's done with your CIPSA certification, it goes a long way in securing the coveted job or career growth that you always wanted.
As a CIPSA, you will gain the expertise to guide and manage large-scale Agile transformations within your organization.
Here are some more reasons to go for the CIPSA certification:
No other certification is needed to be a CIPSA. It’s a stand-alone certification and you can immediately start off.
Scaling is inevitable. With CIPSA certification, you stay ahead, boost your resume, and drive your career growth. Your skills become unique – because you can not only tell, but also demonstrate. You truly know how to do scaling.
Conclusion
One can say the following about the CIPSA certification. The certification is:
Practical and economical.
Value-driven and Agile-conscious.
Outcome-oriented and benefits-focused.
Hands-on skills, and a life-time achievement.
It has a number of real-world projects, comes with purposeful learning, and job-focused results. You’ve complex concepts explained with simple lessons, but will get an unforgettable certification.
With this course, you not only learn, but also get value for your money.
Scrum at Scale with CIPSA introduces only two key roles – Chief Product Owner (CPO) and Principal Scrum Master (PSM). But the soul of the CIPSA framework is the CIPSA team as I’ve noted here.
Without the developers, including the integrations specialists in the CIPSA team, there is no delivery. If there is no delivery, then Scrum at Scale has no real meaning, use, or purpose.
In addition, there can be a Sponsor. Without a Sponsor or an executive champion, the product is not actively pursued or supported at the executive level. The Sponsor is not directly part of the CIPSA Scrum team but plays a crucial role.
In this article, I’ve taken four metaphors to describe the four roles used in the CIPSA Scrum Framework. CIPSA is world’s only framework that is practical and hands-on. These metaphors set the mindset, which is crucial for implementing the CIPSA framework.
Top 10 Reasons to go for the CIPSA Certification. See here.
Importance of Metaphors
Metaphors exist in every language, including English. In our context, they relate to Agile at Scale, specifically Scrum at Scale using the CIPSA framework.
In individual team-level Scrum, there are only a few people, roles, events (ceremonies), and artifacts. Complexity and dependencies are minimal, and risks, impediments, issues, and problems are mostly contained within the individual Scrum team.
However, Scrum at scale will be very different because of the followings:
A number of teams will be involved and hence, a number of people.
There have to be new roles.
There will be meta-events, not events.
Additional artifacts will be required.
The complexities, obviously, will be more.
The focus will be on inter-team risks and dependencies, among others.
Hence, the mindset to scale has to be different when compared to the mindset at individual team-level. To reiterate, metaphors play a crucial role in setting this mindset – the mindset of scale.
The metaphors used in the CIPSA Scrum Framework are:
Ninja,
Guide,
Mastermind, and
Patron.
Now, let’s have a look at them briefly. The detailed elaboration is be part of the CIPSA certification course. See the details here.
Ninja
The developers in the CIPSA Scrum Team are Ninjas. A ninja is a top-class implementer. He or she is classically stealthy and highly skilled. Give a ninja a task, and be assured that the work will get done. There is no second-guessing here. This skilled executor focuses on delivering high-quality work and is not high dependent on others to deliver. The ninjas thrive on autonomy and mastery.
It’s the ninjas who deliver the work and provide the CIPSA Integrated Increment every Sprint. See here.
Guide
The guide is the Principal Scrum Master and is always available to the CIPSA team. The PSM helps CIPSA team members solve cross-team problems (issues and impediments), rejoices in the team’s growth, shares his/her knowledge, and offers experience.
In addition, the guide champions Agile values and principles and ensures the team continuously improves. Some of the value and principles may or may not be applied at Scale, but it’s the job of the Guide to understand and provide solutions.
The guide, i.e., the PSM can also be called the coach of the entire CIPSA team. See here.
Mastermind
The mastermind is the Chief Product Owner. In this role, the mastermind is the chief strategist, thinking ahead about the items to be added to the Product Backlog. The CPO, as I’ve noted in this article (see here), is not a backlog maintenance person, but a backlog strategist.
The mastermind is a visionary who steers product direction and backlog prioritization. As this person thinks ahead, hence the name or metaphor.
Patron
The Sponsor is the patron. The patron is the one who supports the product's delivery and remains continuously invested. This person secures resources and organizational support. The patron also champions the initiative at the executive level.
It’s the patron who secures the funding and brings in the resources – financial, assets, material, equipment or others. Hence, the metaphor!
Table Brief – Ninja, Guide, Mastermind and Patron
Now that understand the metaphors used in the CIPSA Certification Course, it’s a good time to have a summary table. It’s shown below.
Live Video Explanation
I’ve prepared a video [duration - 09: 28s] to further consolidate your understanding. Watch the video alongside this article for a better learning experience. Don't forget to plug-in your headphones and go full-screen HD.
Conclusion
You now may be wondering are there any metaphors in the CIPSA Kanban Framework?
Yes, indeed! There too we’ve metaphors, but they’re different from CIPSA Scrum Framework. Scrum and Kanban are not the same! Hence, when you scale, your thinking also has to be different.
For example, in the CIPSA Kanban framework, I’ve used the metaphors of Samurai and Sensei to explain on my visualization of the roles. As wrote in the beginning, it helps to set the mindset when applying Agile at Scale.
So, whether you go for the CIPSA Scrum or Kanban frameworks for implementation in your teams and/or organizations, keep these metaphors and roles in mind to get the maximum value out of your CIPSA certification.
