Up next in 10
Agile Fundamentals Explained in 10 Minutes
Jul 13, 2025
New to Agile? Or studying for the PMP exam and need a clear breakdown of Agile principles, roles, and practices? This video covers all the Agile Fundamentals you need to understand how Agile works, how teams collaborate, and how value is delivered iteratively. We’ll walk through the Agile Manifesto, the Agile mindset, key roles, commonly used tools, metrics, estimation techniques, and planning approaches. This is the perfect starting point for anyone looking to build a solid foundation in Agile project management. Why Watch This Video? Whether you're on an Agile team, preparing for the PMP exam, or just exploring Agile practices, this video breaks down core concepts in a simple, beginner-friendly way. In This Video: - What Agile is and how it differs from traditional approaches -The 4 Agile values and 12 guiding principles - Agile mindset and servant leadership - Key Agile roles: Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team - Agile artifacts like product backlog, increment, and definition of done - Agile tools and metrics including velocity, cycle time, and burn charts - Estimation methods: Story points, t-shirt sizing, Planning Poker - Agile planning: sprints, releases, and roadmap planning - How Agile supports customer collaboration, flexibility, and fast feedback Chapters
View Video Transcript
0:00
Are you looking for a crash course on
0:01
agile? In this video, we're diving into
0:04
agile fundamentals. Whether you're new
0:06
to agile, studying for a certification
0:09
like PMP, or just trying to sharpen your
0:12
understanding, this video is designed to
0:14
help you grasp the essentials of agile.
0:17
We'll walk through the core values and
0:19
principles of agile, the mindset behind
0:21
agile teams, the key roles, popular
0:23
frameworks, essential artifacts, tools,
0:26
metrics, and how estimating and planning
0:29
work in an agile environment. We have a
0:31
lot to cover. Let's get started. Agile
0:34
starts with the Agua manifesto, which
0:36
lays out the philosophy behind all agile
0:39
practices. It includes four key values
0:41
and 12 guiding principles that shape the
0:44
behavior and decisions of agile teams.
0:47
Let's begin with the four values. First,
0:50
individuals and interactions over
0:53
processes and tools. Agile places people
0:55
at the center because it's
0:57
collaboration, not systems, that drives
0:59
delivery. Second, working software over
1:02
comprehensive documentation.
1:04
Documentation still matters, but agile
1:07
favors getting functional products into
1:08
users hands early. Third, customer
1:12
collaboration over contract negotiation.
1:14
Instead of locking down scope in rigid
1:17
contracts, agile invites continuous
1:19
engagement with customers. And fourth,
1:22
responding to change over following a
1:24
plan. Plans provide direction, but agile
1:27
teams accept that new insights often
1:29
lead to better outcomes. Now, let's walk
1:32
through the 12 agile principles that
1:34
bring these values to life. One, deliver
1:37
working software early and continuously.
1:40
Agile teams don't wait for perfection.
1:42
They aim for steady delivery of value.
1:45
Two, welcome changing requirements even
1:48
late in development. Change is embraced
1:50
as a way to improve the product, not
1:53
derail it. Three, deliver working
1:55
software frequently. Short delivery
1:58
cycles like two week sprints create
2:00
quick feedback loops. Four, business
2:04
people and developers must work together
2:06
daily. Regular interaction keeps
2:08
everyone aligned and responsive. Five,
2:11
build projects around motivated
2:13
individuals. When people are trusted and
2:15
supported, they thrive and own their
2:17
results. Six, communicate face-to-face
2:20
whenever possible, whether in person or
2:23
virtually, direct communication reduces
2:25
confusion and speeds up decisions.
2:28
Seven, working software is the primary
2:31
measure of progress. It's not about task
2:34
completion, it's about what the user can
2:36
actually use. Eight, promote sustainable
2:39
development. Agile teams avoid burnout
2:41
by maintaining a consistent, manageable
2:43
pace. Nine, pay continuous attention to
2:46
technical excellence and good design.
2:49
Clean, scalable systems enable long-term
2:52
agility. 10, simplicity is essential.
2:56
Doing only what's necessary avoids waste
2:58
and keeps things focused. 11.
3:01
Self-organizing teams produce the best
3:03
results. Empowered teams are more
3:05
innovative and committed. 12. Reflect
3:08
regularly and adjust. Agile teams hold
3:11
retrospectives to continuously improve
3:13
how they work. Now that we've talked
3:16
about values and principles, let's shift
3:18
to something equally important. The
3:20
agile mindset. This mindset is what
3:23
turns process into progress. Without it,
3:26
you can have all the right ceremonies
3:28
and tools and still not be truly agile.
3:31
At its core, the agile mindset is about
3:34
being flexible, collaborative, and
3:35
focused on value. Agile teams see change
3:38
as a benefit, not a burden. When
3:40
priorities shift, they adjust and
3:42
realign quickly rather than resisting.
3:45
They focus on delivering value, not just
3:48
completing tasks. Everything done by the
3:50
team should link back to solving a
3:52
problem or helping the user. They also
3:56
operate on trust and empowerment. Agile
3:58
teams are self-organizing and
4:00
accountable. Leaders step back and act
4:02
as servant leaders, removing blockers
4:04
rather than issuing commands. Agile
4:07
encourages collaboration over control.
4:09
Teams solve problems together across
4:11
roles and they welcome different
4:12
perspectives. And finally, agile teams
4:15
value learning over certainty. Instead
4:18
of trying to get everything right up
4:19
front, they experiment, gather feedback,
4:22
and refine their approach continuously.
4:25
Agile defines roles based not on
4:27
hierarchy, but on responsibility and
4:30
collaboration. There are three core
4:32
roles that appear across most agile
4:34
teams. Let's start with the product
4:36
owner. This person is the voice of the
4:38
customer. They define and prioritize the
4:41
product backlog, making sure the team
4:42
works on the most valuable features
4:44
first. They engage regularly with
4:46
stakeholders and make trade-off
4:47
decisions when priorities conflict.
4:50
Next, scrum master is a servant
4:53
leadership role. The scrum master
4:55
supports the team by facilitating
4:57
ceremonies, removing obstacles, and
4:59
helping them improve over time. And then
5:02
there's the development team. This is a
5:04
cross-functional group including
5:06
developers, testers, designers,
5:08
analysts, and anyone needed to build the
5:10
product. They're self-managing and fully
5:13
accountable for delivery. In larger
5:15
environments, you might see supporting
5:17
roles like agile coaches, UX designers,
5:19
or release train engineers. But even in
5:22
those cases, the emphasis is on
5:24
empowering teams, not managing them.
5:27
Agile frameworks give structure to agile
5:30
values and principles. Each framework
5:32
supports a different way of organizing
5:33
work and collaboration. Let's start with
5:36
Scrum, which is probably the most widely
5:38
used agile framework. Scrum organizes
5:41
work into sprints, which are short
5:42
fixedlength iterations. It includes
5:45
structured ceremonies like sprint
5:47
planning, daily standups, reviews, and
5:49
retrospectives. Scrum teams aim to
5:52
deliver a potentially shippable product
5:54
increment at the end of each sprint.
5:56
Then there's conbon, which is more
5:58
flexible. Work is visualized on a conbon
6:00
board and team set limits on how many
6:03
items can be in progress at once. There
6:05
are no prescribed roles or iterations.
6:08
Instead, conbon focuses on optimizing
6:10
flow and cycle time. Extreme programming
6:14
or XP is all about technical excellence.
6:17
It includes practices like pair
6:18
programming, test-driven development,
6:20
and continuous integration. It's
6:22
especially effective when quality and
6:24
responsiveness are critical. If you're
6:27
scaling agile across multiple teams or
6:29
departments, you'll likely look at safe
6:31
or the scaled agile framework. It
6:33
introduces additional planning layers
6:35
and roles like release train engineers
6:37
to coordinate teams and align them to
6:39
enterprise goals. Scrum of scrums is a
6:42
lightweight approach to scaling scrum.
6:44
Representatives from multiple scrum
6:46
teams meet regularly to discuss cross
6:48
team dependencies and obstacles. and
6:51
less or large-scale scrum maintains the
6:54
scrum structure but spreads it across
6:56
multiple teams with a shared product
6:59
owner and backlog. Next, let's talk
7:02
about agile artifacts. First, the
7:04
product backlog. This is the master list
7:07
of everything the product might include.
7:08
It's owned and prioritized by the
7:10
product owner and evolves constantly as
7:12
the team and stakeholders learn more.
7:15
The sprint backlog is a subset of the
7:17
product backlog. It includes the items
7:19
the team commits to completing during
7:21
the current sprint. It's managed
7:23
collaboratively and updated throughout
7:25
the sprint. Then there's the increment,
7:27
the sum of all completed work that meets
7:29
the team's definition of done. It's the
7:32
real output, the usable product that can
7:35
potentially be released to users.
7:38
Definition of done is a shared agreement
7:40
of what done means. It might include
7:42
code reviews, testing, documentation,
7:45
and other quality standards. It brings
7:47
consistency and clarity. And finally,
7:49
user stories and acceptance criteria.
7:52
User stories describe work from the
7:54
user's perspective. Like, as a user, I
7:57
want to reset my password so I can
7:59
regain access to my account. The
8:01
acceptance criteria specify what
8:03
conditions must be met for the story to
8:05
be considered complete. Agile teams use
8:08
metrics not to control performance, but
8:10
to understand it, improve it, and
8:12
sustain it. Velocity is the number of
8:14
story points completed in a sprint. It
8:17
helps teams forecast future work, but
8:19
should never be used for comparison
8:21
between teams. Lead time measures how
8:24
long it takes from request to delivery.
8:27
Cycle time tracks the time from when
8:29
work starts to when it's done. For
8:31
example, lead time is the time from when
8:33
you put in the order to when the pizza
8:35
is delivered. Cycle time is when the
8:38
chef starts making the pizza till the
8:40
pizza is done. Burndown charts show how
8:42
much work remains in a sprint, while
8:44
burnup charts show how much has been
8:46
completed versus the total scope. Burnup
8:49
is especially useful when the scope
8:51
changes frequently. Cumulative flow
8:54
diagrams visualize and track consistency
8:57
in work in progress levels and can help
8:59
identify bottlenecks or overloading.
9:02
Agile teams estimate and plan
9:04
differently from traditional teams.
9:07
Instead of detailed hour-based
9:09
predictions, Agile uses relative
9:12
estimation and progressive elaboration.
9:15
Story points are used to compare the
9:17
size and complexity of stories relative
9:19
to one another. It's abstract but
9:21
effective. Another technique is t-shirt
9:23
sizing where items are labeled as small,
9:25
medium, large, or XL. Planning poker is
9:28
a collaborative technique where team
9:30
members vote on estimates then discuss
9:32
any major differences before finalizing
9:34
the story points. Agile planning happens
9:37
in layers. Sprint planning defines what
9:40
will be delivered in the upcoming
9:41
sprint. Release planning looks at the
9:43
broader product roadmap and helps set
9:45
expectations for stakeholders. The
9:47
product road map outlines themes and
9:50
goals over multiple releases. And with
9:52
rolling wave planning, teams plan
9:54
near-term work in detail and keep future
9:56
work more flexible, refining it as more
9:59
becomes known. The goal isn't perfect
10:01
prediction. It's creating a shared
10:03
understanding and enabling adaptability.
10:06
So there you have it, a detailed look at
10:08
the agile fundamentals from core values
10:10
to planning strategies. Agile is more
10:13
than a process. It's a way of thinking,
10:15
a way of working, and a way of
10:16
continuously delivering value. If this
10:20
video helped you build a stronger
10:21
understanding of agile, be sure to like
10:23
this video and subscribe for more
10:25
content like this. And don't forget to
10:28
visit pmaspirin.com for resources and
10:30
study tools to help you on your project
10:31
management journey. Thanks for watching
10:34
and until next time, stay curious, stay
10:36
agile.