Reviews & Metrics for Software Improvements from Coursera

What's inside

Syllabus

Module 1: Right Product

Welcome to the first module! This module is all about creating the “right product”. You will examine various ways of ensuring that you are creating the right product for both your client and your users. You will learn how to conduct a sprint review meeting and why they are an important step for delivering the right product. Then you will look at user studies. You will learn about several techniques for determining the needs of your users. The module concludes by examining how some of the big companies in the industry ensure that they are delivering the right product to their users.

Module 2: Done Right

Welcome to the second module! Now that you’ve learned about how to make sure you’re creating the “right product”, it’s time to explore how to ensure that product is “done right”. Here, you’ll start with review techniques, some issues surrounding project monitoring in general, and the Goal Quality Metric framework. Then, you’ll move on to desirable properties of metrics and dive into some key metrics for ensuring that you’re on track. You’ll finish off the module with defect analysis, leading you into getting your product “managed right” in the next module.

Module 3: Managed Right

This third module examines the concept of managing your project right. You will learn some important and popular project management techniques. The module starts off by introducing you to the Daily Scrum meeting. You will learn ways to implement daily scrums with the teams that you work with as well as techniques to improve the meetings if they are not working well. Then we will cover the concept of Velocity in more detail which will prepare you for learning about burndown charts. This module covers both Release Burndowns, as well as Iteration Burndowns. We show you how to create, read, and use these useful tracking tools with the teams you work with. Together, these lessons will teach you how to ensure your projects are “managed right”.

Module 4: Project Retrospectives

Welcome to the final module of the course! The previous module was focused on ensuring your project was managed right by exploring techniques in project planning. This module will focus on an often-neglected, but very valuable tool: Retrospectives. You’ll explore what retrospectives are and some issues surrounding them. Then, you’ll learn about how a retrospective looks, along with some recommended retrospective exercises. Finally, you’ll round the module off with a summary of the course!

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Touches on topics that are core skills for project managers, such as conducting sprint reviews, analyzing defects, and managing daily scrums

Covers techniques for monitoring project progress and quality, as well as techniques for aligning client needs and software production

Offers hands-on practice through retrospectives and review exercises

Discusses tools and techniques used in industry, providing practical insights for students

Requires students to have some experience in Agile and Scrum methodologies

Designed for individuals aspiring to develop project monitoring and management skills

Reviews summary

Well-received software metrics course

Learners say that this engaging course effectively teaches key concepts in software reviews and metrics. It is well-organized, featuring useful lectures, informative videos, and challenging quizzes. Students appreciate the real-life examples and the course's practical focus, which prepares them for real-world software development scenarios. The course provides valuable insights into industry best practices and helps learners improve their software development skills. Overall, this course is highly recommended for those looking to enhance their knowledge of software reviews and metrics.

Course provides insights into industry best practices.

"Really a great course that will deffer a good software engineer from a bad one. understanding how to control is an easy task now!"

"I recommend this high quality course to every software engineer practicing Agile. Couldn't be a best course than this out there.! Marvelous work done by the team by putting together high quality content to create this precious course. "

"I liked that they included more things about the dynamics of working in the team, such as emotions; the difference between sprint review and sprint retrospective, among other activities that improve the process, not just wanting to have the product."

Course effectively teaches key concepts in software reviews and metrics.

"Excellent course! Really helpful !"

"Great insight and very informative videos!"

"Great course, lot to learn with lots of practical examples, quiz were very effective"

Course is well-organized with engaging lectures and informative videos.

"Great course. Clearly outlined with examples to help better understand the topics. Love the quizzes and assessments to reinforce what we just learned. Would be more help for visual learners if some of the videos also shows the highlights and details what the instructor talked about."

"Excellent course! Really helpful !"

"Great insight and very informative videos!"

Course provides real-life examples and practical focus.

"Excellent course with very good planning and research of the course material"

"Amazing and well thought out content, presented in ways students can understand the challenges and properly apply concepts."

"Very informative and thorough about the importance of Metrics, monitoring, Reviews, and retrospective in order to improve processes for upcoming and ongoing projects."

Course prepares learners for real-world software development.

"Amazing and well thought out content, presented in ways students can understand the challenges and properly apply concepts."

"Really a great course that will deffer a good software engineer from a bad one. understanding how to control is an easy task now!"

"As the rest of the courses of the specialization it's a terrifically organized learning experience. "

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Reviews & Metrics for Software Improvements with these activities:

Review project management principles

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Brushing up on core concepts in project management will help you understand the terminology and strategies presented in this course.

Browse courses on Project Management

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Read through relevant sections of a project management textbook
Review online summaries and tutorials on project management basics
Take a practice quiz or assessment on project management principles

Review the basics of software development

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A solid understanding of software development will help you understand the technical aspects of project management.

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Read through relevant sections of a software development textbook
Review online summaries and tutorials on software development basics
Take a practice quiz or assessment on software development principles

Practice creating user stories

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Writing user stories is a key skill in software development and product management. This activity will help you practice and improve your storytelling abilities.

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Identify a product or feature that you want to develop
Brainstorm different user needs and perspectives
Write user stories in a clear and concise format
Share your user stories with others for feedback
Iterate on your user stories based on feedback

Four other activities

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Participate in a group sprint review simulation

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Participating in a sprint review simulation will help you understand the collaborative nature of product development and how to effectively communicate project progress to stakeholders.

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Form a group with other students in your class
Choose a product or feature to develop
Work together to create a sprint plan
Conduct a simulated sprint review
Get feedback on your sprint review from your instructor or peers

Attend a workshop on project management best practices

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Attending a workshop on project management best practices will allow you to learn from experienced professionals and network with other project managers.

Browse courses on Project Management

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Identify a workshop on project management best practices
Register for the workshop
Attend the workshop and take notes
Apply what you learned in your own projects

Develop a sample project plan

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Creating a project plan will help you apply the principles you learn in this course to a real-world scenario. This activity will also help you identify any knowledge gaps that you may need to address.

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Define the scope and objectives of your project
Identify the key tasks and activities involved in your project
Estimate the duration and resources required for each task
Create a Gantt chart or other visual representation of your project plan
Get feedback on your project plan from other stakeholders

Contribute to an open-source project related to project management

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Contributing to an open-source project will allow you to apply your skills in a real-world setting, collaborate with other developers, and gain valuable experience.

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Identify an open-source project related to project management
Review the project's documentation and codebase
Identify a bug or feature that you can contribute to
Create a pull request with your proposed changes
Get feedback on your pull request from the project maintainers

Career center

Learners who complete Reviews & Metrics for Software Improvements will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Scrum Master

Scrum Masters are individuals that help plan, organize, and facilitate Agile software development processes. This course can help a Scrum Master by providing an overview of different Agile methodologies, as well as providing a deep dive into the Scrum framework. The course's focus on continual monitoring of project progress and software quality would be invaluable to Scrum Masters, since monitoring is a core part of the Scrum framework.

See salaries and explore the career path for Scrum Master

Business Analyst

Business Analysts are responsible for gathering and analyzing business requirements. This course can help Business Analysts by providing an overview of different business analysis techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile business analysis. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating project progress and software quality would be invaluable to Business Analysts, as monitoring is a core part of the business analysis process.

See salaries and explore the career path for Business Analyst

IT Manager

IT Managers are responsible for planning, organizing, and managing the IT resources of an organization. This course can help IT Managers by providing an overview of different IT management techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile IT management. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating progress and quality would be invaluable to IT Managers, as monitoring is a core part of the IT management process.

See salaries and explore the career path for IT Manager

Software Developer

Software Developers are responsible for designing, developing, and testing software products. This course can help Software Developers by providing an overview of different software development methodologies, as well as a deep dive into Agile development. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating software quality would be invaluable to Software Developers, as ensuring software quality is a core part of their role.

See salaries and explore the career path for Software Developer

Systems Analyst

Systems Analysts are responsible for analyzing and designing systems for an organization. This course can help Systems Analysts by providing an overview of different systems analysis techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile systems analysis. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating progress and quality would be invaluable to Systems Analysts, as monitoring is a core part of the systems analysis process.

See salaries and explore the career path for Systems Analyst

Software Architect

Software Architects are responsible for designing the overall architecture of a software system. This course can help Software Architects by providing an overview of different software architecture techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile software architecture. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating progress and quality would be invaluable to Software Architects, as monitoring is a core part of the software architecture process.

See salaries and explore the career path for Software Architect

Quality Assurance Analyst

Quality Assurance Analysts are responsible for ensuring the quality of software products. This course can help Quality Assurance Analysts by providing an overview of different software testing techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile testing. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating software quality would be invaluable to Quality Assurance Analysts, as monitoring is a core part of their role.

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Technical Lead

Technical Leads are responsible for mentoring and guiding a team of developers. They must have a strong understanding of both the technical and business aspects of software development. This course can help Technical Leads by providing an overview of different software development methodologies, as well as a deep dive into Agile development. The course's focus on continual monitoring and evaluation of software quality would be invaluable to Technical Leads, as ensuring software quality is a core part of their role.

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Product Owner

Product Owners are responsible for representing the needs of stakeholders and ensuring that the software product meets those needs. This course can help Product Owners by providing an overview of different product management techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile product management. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating project progress and software quality would be invaluable to Product Owners, as monitoring is a core part of the product management process.

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Process Improvement Manager

Process Improvement Managers are responsible for improving the processes within an organization. This course can help Process Improvement Managers by providing an overview of different process improvement techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile process improvement. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating progress and quality would be invaluable to Process Improvement Managers, as monitoring is a core part of the process improvement process.

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Chief Information Officer (CIO)

CIOs are responsible for the overall IT strategy and direction of an organization. This course can help CIOs by providing an overview of different IT leadership techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile IT leadership. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating progress and quality would be invaluable to CIOs, as monitoring is a core part of the IT leadership process.

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Release Manager

Release Managers are responsible for planning, executing, and managing the release of software products. This course can help Release Managers by providing an overview of different release management techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile release management. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating project progress and software quality would be invaluable to Release Managers, as monitoring is a core part of the release management process.

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Project Manager

Project Managers help plan, execute, and manage a wide variety of projects. This course can help Project Managers by providing an overview of different project management techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile project management. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating project progress would be invaluable to Project Managers, as monitoring is an essential part of the project management process.

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Change Manager

Change Managers are responsible for managing change within an organization. This course can help Change Managers by providing an overview of different change management techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile change management. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating progress and quality would be invaluable to Change Managers, as monitoring is a core part of the change management process.

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Data Analyst

Data Analysts are responsible for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. This course may be useful for Data Analysts by providing an overview of different data analysis techniques, as well as a deep dive into Agile data analysis. The course's focus on continually monitoring and evaluating progress and quality may be helpful to Data Analysts, as monitoring is a core part of the data analysis process.

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