Tasks and Duties
Task Objective: Your goal for this week is to demonstrate your ability to initiate and plan an agile project from scratch. You will create a comprehensive project initiation document that outlines the project vision, objectives, scope, and a preliminary risk assessment. This task simulates the early stages of an agile project where initial planning and stakeholder alignment are crucial.
Expected Deliverables: A single DOC file containing the following sections: project vision, objectives, scope definition, stakeholder analysis, risk identification and mitigation strategies, and a high-level roadmap. Ensure your document reflects clarity, coherence, and adherence to agile principles.
Key Steps to Complete the Task:
- Research basic agile principles, focusing on project initiation and planning techniques.
- Define the project vision and objectives with clear, measurable goals.
- Create a detailed section on project scope that includes anticipated deliverables and exclusions.
- Develop a stakeholder analysis to identify key team members and stakeholders, outlining their roles.
- Identify potential project risks and propose mitigation strategies.
- Draft a high-level roadmap outlining major milestones for the project.
- Review your document, ensuring it is logically structured and formatted in a DOC file.
Evaluation Criteria: The submission will be evaluated based on the comprehensiveness of the analysis, clarity of the project charter elements, adherence to agile principles, and overall document quality. Your work should be organized, use appropriate headings, and demonstrate an understanding of agile project initiation. The final DOC file should be polished and ready for presentation as an initial project plan.
Task Objective: This week, focus on creating and managing an agile backlog. You will develop a complete backlog document that includes user stories, acceptance criteria, and prioritization based on business value. This exercise is meant to simulate the ongoing process of requirements gathering and prioritization in an agile environment.
Expected Deliverables: A DOC file that contains a detailed agile backlog. Your document must include sections for user stories, associated tasks, acceptance criteria for each story, and a priority ranking that explains your choice based on business and customer value.
Key Steps to Complete the Task:
- Research best practices for agile backlog management and user story writing.
- Develop a set of user stories that are coherent and connected to a hypothetical project scenario.
- Create detailed acceptance criteria that clearly explain the expected functionality for each user story.
- Implement a prioritization method (e.g., MoSCoW, business value, or complexity scoring) to rank the stories.
- Document the process steps used to arrive at the final prioritized list.
- Review the document for clarity, consistency, and proper DOC file formatting.
Evaluation Criteria: Your submission will be assessed based on the quality and clarity of the user stories, the appropriateness and detail of the acceptance criteria, the logic behind your prioritization, and the fidelity to agile methodologies. The final DOC file should be well-structured and reflect insights into backlog management and agile planning practices.
Task Objective: This week's task emphasizes the planning phase of a sprint cycle. You are required to draft a sprint planning document that outlines the sprint goal, selected backlog items, task estimates, and resource allocation. This practical exercise is designed to test your ability to prepare for a sprint cycle by accurately estimating effort and defining clear sprint objectives.
Expected Deliverables: A DOC file that includes a sprint planning report. The report should detail the sprint goal, selected user stories from the backlog, estimation of story points, task breakdown, and your approach for resource allocation. Additionally, include a section on risk management and contingency planning for the sprint.
Key Steps to Complete the Task:
- Study sprint planning techniques and agile estimation methods (such as planning poker or T-shirt sizing).
- Select a subset of user stories from a hypothetical backlog, ensuring they align with a specific sprint goal.
- Assign story points or other estimation metrics to each user story.
- Break down user stories into actionable tasks and allocate roles hypothetically.
- Outline potential risks and propose contingency plans.
- Ensure your document is structured, clearly formatted, and submitted as a DOC file.
Evaluation Criteria: Your work will be measured on the ability to set and articulate clear sprint goals, the accuracy and practicality of the estimations, and the detail provided in the risk management plan. Your document should exhibit a clear understanding of sprint planning processes and agile estimation methodologies, demonstrating readiness for sprint execution within an agile framework.
Task Objective: In this task, you will focus on the execution and monitoring aspects of an agile sprint. The aim is to develop a document that outlines how you would track sprint progress, manage daily stand-up meetings, and address emerging impediments. This task ensures you can translate agile planning into effective execution and adaptive project management.
Expected Deliverables: Submit a DOC file containing a detailed plan for sprint execution and monitoring. The document should include sections on daily stand-up procedures, progress tracking mechanisms (such as burn-down charts or Kanban boards), and strategies for resolving impediments that may hinder the sprint progress.
Key Steps to Complete the Task:
- Research agile execution techniques and tools for monitoring project progress.
- Design a daily stand-up meeting schedule with a clear structure, including time, agenda, and follow-up action items.
- Develop progress tracking methods and visual aids (e.g., charts or boards) to monitor sprint status.
- Identify common impediments in agile projects and propose effective resolution strategies.
- Create a section that demonstrates integration between planning and active monitoring during a sprint cycle.
- Compile all information into a well-organized DOC document with clear formatting.
Evaluation Criteria: The final submission will be evaluated based on the clarity and practicality of the monitoring strategies, the innovativeness of the daily stand-up plan, and the depth of the problem-solving approaches for handling impediments. The DOC file must be professionally formatted and reflect a comprehensive understanding of agile execution practices.
Task Objective: Your final task of the internship is to conduct a project retrospective and compile a lessons learned document. This exercise is aimed at evaluating the entire agile project lifecycle from initiation to execution. You are expected to critically analyze what went well, identify areas for improvement, and propose actionable insights for future sprints.
Expected Deliverables: A DOC file that comprises a comprehensive retrospective report. The report must include a summary of the project, key achievements, identified failures or challenges, root cause analysis, and actionable recommendations for future improvements. Additionally, include a section that proposes metrics or measurements to evaluate success in future projects.
Key Steps to Complete the Task:
- Review agile retrospective methods and reflective practices used in project management.
- Outline the structure of your retrospective, beginning with an overview of the project lifecycle.
- Identify and document both positive outcomes and areas that encountered challenges during the project.
- Perform a root cause analysis for the challenges and propose clear, actionable responses.
- Suggest improvements for planning, execution, or communication that could enhance future sprint performance.
- Conclude with a list of metrics that could be used to quantitatively assess project success in subsequent iterations.
- Ensure your retrospective report is detailed, reflective, and submitted as a DOC file.
Evaluation Criteria: The quality of your final document will be assessed based on the depth of your analysis, the logical structure of the retrospective, the practicality and innovativeness of your recommendations, and the overall clarity and coherence of the document. Your submission should reflect an ability to critically evaluate an agile project and offer insightful, data-driven improvements.