Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Description: 

In the bustling landscape of today's workplace, the ability to think critically is of the upmost importance. The course begins with a foundational understanding of the 'why' behind our focus, followed by an exploration of critical thinking principles. Then attendees will delve into its application in various workplace scenarios. With a focus on practicality, the course will equip participants with essential problem-solving techniques, guiding them through each step from problem identification to decision evaluation. Throughout the course, interactive exercises and Q&A fosters a dynamic learning environment for real-life business application.

Course Objectives: After completing the course, you will be able to

• Develop a clear understanding of the principles and significance of critical thinking.
• Draw from a toolkit of best practices to effectively apply critical thinking skills in the decision making processes.
• Confidently tackle complex challenges within professional environments.

Who Should Attend: This course is ideal for project managers and managers who want to develop/expand their leadership capability to fast track their careers. Anyone who wantd to develop their critical thinking skills will also benefit from this course.

PDUs: 7 PDUs / SEUs / Contact Hours (Business Acumen: 0, Power Skills: 7, Ways of Working: 0)

Course Delivery: This course will be delivered in one full day over the web from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM US Central time each day.

Course Material: RefineM will prepare and provide the necessary training course material for all attendees.

About RefineM's Instructors: RefineM's instructors are experienced and certified in project management and Agile and bring real-world experience to their instruction. Our instructors not only teach concepts, we also provide insights and hands-on experience. And we don’t waste time. Our training is focused and hard-hitting. We offer practical targeted training in just the key topics that will make the most impact.

Cancellation Policy: Please refer to RefineM's Training Policies.

Lean/Agile Process Improvement Workshop

Duration: 2 or 3 days

Description: Did you know that you can achieve 15-40% efficiency gains and cost savings in 4-8 weeks using Lean/Agile? And that most of the time, these gains also lead to generating additional revenue? Other organizations and teams have experienced this phenomenon, and you can too if you invest a day in learning how. It doesn’t matter whether your process is technical, such as software development, or business-focused, such as issuing an insurance policy; all processes can be improved significantly using Lean/Agile practices.

Agile Practices for Service and Support Teams

Duration: 1 day

Description: Service and support teams routinely encounter challenges in managing their process flow. These teams will have difficulty using Scrum because fixed sprint durations and inflexibility to incorporate changes during a sprint are incompatible with an unpredictable inflow of work and constantly changing priorities. However, such teams, even if operating under a traditional (Waterfall) environment, can benefit from key agile practices geared toward workflow management.

First Steps Toward Agility:
Incorporating Agile Practices in a Waterfall Environment

Duration: 1 day

Description: Both traditional (Waterfall) methodology and Agile methodology have pros and cons and can be effective ways to structure a project. For teams that are not practicing Agile, there are still Agile practices that can benefit them. Daily standups, retrospectives, and many other key Agile practices and ceremonies can benefit even a Waterfall team.

For many, the most arduous part of transitioning to Agile in a waterfall environment happens at the beginning—in the uncertainty of how to put the initiative into motion. In this course, strategies and best practices to begin incorporating Agile practices are revealed. Real-world experiences working with existing project teams to begin incorporating Agile practices and ceremonies are shared. By initiating practices, teams start to understand Agile principles and mindset and become better prepared to take the next steps on their Agile journey. Specific Agile practices, and how to adapt each one to a traditional environment, are covered.

Agile Fundamentals / Agile 101

Description: Are you looking for a way to deliver value and customer satisfaction? Are you seeking to implement Agile and unsure where to start? This course can address these problems, providing a stepping stone to take Agile practices to the next level.

Scrum vs. Kanban: Which Works Best Where?

Duration: 1 day

Description: Scrum and Kanban are both crucial agile methodologies to improve productivity of project teams. Scrum provides a framework for organizing work by priority and keeping teams on task daily, while Kanban provides a framework for moving high-priority work through a path to completion. How do these frameworks differ from each other, and in what situations does each work best? These questions and more will be answered in RefineM’s course. Attendees will walk away with a better understanding of Scrum and Kanban and when to utilize each, together or separately, to drive project success.

LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile

Duration: 1 day

Description: LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile are all powerful ways to maximize an organization’s project delivery capability. LEAN, which was developed from manufacturing, focuses on efficiency across the enterprise. Agile, which was conceived for the software development industry, is finding increasing use across different industries for the way in which it helps teams deliver the highest value first and engage customers. Six Sigma can be leveraged to help discover and eliminate process defects, improving the quality of project outcomes.

Put together, these three frameworks can drastically increase an organization’s project delivery capability. How best can organizations achieve these integrations to achieve the results they want? In this course, you will learn more about LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile, and how each can work together. Potential trouble spots for any integration will be identified, and solutions proposed to help you integrate LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile in an ideal way.

Course Objectives: After completing the course, you will be able to

• Explain similarities and differences between LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile.
• Learn how each integrates with the other.
• Develop a plan to integrate LEAN, Six Sigma, and Agile in your organization.

Who Should Attend: This course is ideal for project/program managers, portfolio managers, change agents, PMO leaders, project team members, business/systems analysts and other project stakeholders.

PDUs: 7 PDUs (Business Acumen: 7, Power Skills: 0, Ways of Working: 0) (8 PDUs for two half-days over the Web)

Course Delivery: Variable

Course Material: RefineM will prepare and provide the necessary training course material for all attendees.

About RefineM's Instructors: RefineM's instructors are experienced and certified in project management and Agile and bring real-world experience to their instruction. Our instructors not only teach concepts, we also provide insights and hands-on experience. And we don’t waste time. Our training is focused and hard-hitting. We offer practical targeted training in just the key topics that will make the most impact.

Contact us about future dates or to arrange for this training to be delivered in your organization or city.