Build Capabilities & Drive Lasting Results Beyond the Classroom.
Ariel Partners provides practical training and embedded coaching that help organizations strengthen delivery capabilities, improve collaboration, and accelerate adoption of modern ways of working.
We support leaders, delivery teams, and practitioners with role-based learning tailored to real operational environments, whether the focus is Agile, DevSecOps, Jira and service management, Human Centered Design, or flow-based improvement methods such as Flight Levels.
Our approach combines structured learning with hands-on coaching, facilitation, and real-world application so teams can immediately put new concepts into practice, reinforcing governance, accountability, and continuous improvement from day one.
Role-Based Learning
Embedded Coaching
Continuous Improvement
Recognized Credentials
Introduction to Flight Levels
1 Day
Gain a fundamental understanding of the Flight Levels Model and its foundations. Learn about Flight Levels based on a real case study. Apply your newly acquired knowledge in your own context. Get the required prerequisite knowledge to sign up for more advanced classes.
Flight Level 2 Design
1 Day
Establish collaboration and manage resources better across teams, departments, products, or services. Discover what collaboration across your organization looks in reality. Learn how to design Flight Levels 2 Systems in your own context and where to focus first.
Flight Level 3 Design
1 Day
Design systems for strategy execution & align long-term company goals with daily operations. Make your strategy happen and free it from PowerPoint slides and wishy-washy chatter. Connect your strategy with delivery and put it into reality.
Flight Level Systems Architecture
1 Day
Achieve business agility at scale with a systematic approach to organizational improvement. See your processes from a different perspective and improve your organization in a simple, pragmatic, and cost-effective way.
Flight Level Change Leadership
1 Day
Enhance your approach to organizational change by executing Flight Levels initiatives at all levels. Expand your toolbox for leading larger change initiatives and take your organization to the next level.
Jira Fundamentals Training
2 Days
In partnership with PMI, Ariel provides Jira fundamentals training. This training is targeted for team members and those in an oversight role for technology delivery and sustainment programs. The hands-on training teaches students how to use Jira to manage and track their work in an immersive environment that simulates a large, diverse organization. The course covers Jira fundamentals such as how to create and search for issues, as well as how to use popular Agile methods Scrum and Kanban while putting them in a practical context. Thoughtfully configured and enhanced with a carefully curated set of plugins, the training highlights lessons learned and best practices, demonstrating how smooth and effortless Jira can be.
Jira Intermediate Training
2 Days
Building on Jira fundamentals, Ariel’s intermediate training is designed for team members and program leads ready to work more effectively across projects, boards, and reporting workflows. The course covers advanced search using JQL, custom dashboards, workflow configuration, and the use of components, versions, and sprints to manage complex delivery programs. Students practice in the same immersive simulation environment, now reflecting program-level priorities, with deeper application of Scrum and Kanban flow metrics in a realistic organizational context.
Jira Advanced Training
2 Days
Jira advanced training enables students to leverage the full power of Jira to address challenges that arise in larger organizations while also providing a foundation for those who wish to become Jira administrators. The first part of the course covers topics including advanced searching, project planning and forecasting, handling dependencies, reporting and dashboards. The second part addresses project administration and configuration as well as an overview of how to configure permissions, workflows, Kanban/Scrum boards, fields and forms. All lessons are introduced in the context of solving clearly described, real-world problems, so that even those who never intend to become Jira administrators can gain insights and increase their comfort level with Jira.
Jira Service Management
2 Days
Jira service desk training teaches team members how to use Jira Service Management (formerly Jira Service Desk) to perform service management tasks including asset tracking and management, help desk, knowledge base management, ”level zero” (self-service) help, and many other tasks. The training demonstrates how to use JSM to perform tasks in a way that is fully compatible with applicable standards and industry best practices such as ITIL. It also shows students how to set up and maintain dashboards so that users can be aware of pending outages, service status, and announcements and other important information. Finally, the training demonstrates the configuration and setup of insight, the popular plugin that supports asset tracking and management, vendor and support information, and sophisticated reporting.
Team Spaces in Confluence
1 Day
Confluence training helps users of all levels leverage the tool to the fullest extent, teaching best practices and pointing out pitfalls to avoid. This hands-on training teaches students how to use Confluence to manage important use cases including reference documentation, supporting software projects, and enabling support teams. The training covers page macros, templates, blueprints, and searching. The course covers popular third-party plugins such as PDF files and Visio-compatible diagrams. Students will learn important governance mechanisms and general best practices including design patterns and naming conventions. Finally, the training will cover space administration, page restrictions, security, permissions, and content tools.
Git and BitBucket
2 Days
Understand how to use Atlassian BitBucket by diving in to experience a full end-to-end DevOps toolchain including Jira for issue tracking and Jenkins for automated builds. This 2-day intensive hands-on training will enable developers of all skill levels to master modern best practices for large-team software development using Git, Jira, and Bitbucket. We will review popular branching and merging models including GitFlow and GitHubFlow and explore how coding conventions, automated tests, and best practices enable end-to-end traceability. The training is based on the most popular modern full-stack framework: Java, Spring Boot, and ReactJS, but can also be tailored for a Microsoft C#.NET Core and Angular instead. We will explore automating release numbering and release notes, using markdown for documentation, and Cucumber for automated acceptance tests. The training covers cutting-edge techniques including pair testing and automated acceptance testing. Finally, we will touch on Bitbucket administration, users, roles, and permissions. Students will walk away knowing how to leverage the Atlassian suite for streamlined, modern and highly efficient software development.
Team-Level Scrum
1 Day
This training course provides a comprehensive understanding of the Scrum agile process. In particular, it will explain what problems Scrum solves, how Scrum teams are organized and managed, and how the work is captured, managed, and tracked. This course is designed to prepare attendees to pass the Professional Scrum Master I and II certifications.
Scaling Scrum: LeSS, SAFe, Nexus, Scrum@Scale
1 Day
This training course provides a comprehensive understanding of the most popular methods for scaling Scrum across multiple teams, including Large Scale Scrum and the Scaled Agile Framework, among others. The course will review how these methods evolved, and how they organize and align the work of multiple Scrum teams to deliver much larger programs of work than that which could be done by a single Scrum team acting alone.
Fundamentals of Agile
2 Days
This two-day ICAgile certified course provides a whirlwind tour of the state of the art in agile processes: agile requirements, forecasting estimation and metrics, Kanban and scrum, human centered design, scaling, DevOps, test automation, and more. Highly interactive and engaging, this training provides an excellent background and preparation for joining an agile team or adopting agile.
Agile Software Architectures
1/2 Day
This training course provides a brief overview of Agile software architecture—focusing on web-based and microservices architectures that are simple and scalable. We will review some key design patterns such as hexagonal design and design for testability and manageability. Come learn the ways companies like HBO and Netflix provide for both incredible scalability and simple manageability.
Agile for Leaders and Executives Seminar
1 Day
Learn about what leaders and executives can do to support their agile organizations and lead a successful digital transformation. Understand the key role management plays in supporting agile teams. Learn about management 3.0 and “liberating structures:” cutting edge facilitation techniques that can significantly improve buy-in and engagement.
Agile Governance and Oversight at Scale
2 Days
Given the lack of detailed plans up-front, the reduced emphasis on documentation, and the eschewing of traditional metrics such as earned value, one might assume that governance and oversight is more challenging in the agile space. To the contrary, agile methods offer governance and oversight a wealth of new tools and capabilities, enabling a more proactive and collaborative approach. Learn specific techniques for governance and oversight of large-scale Agile projects, and how to avoid common failure modes.
Team-Level Kanban
1 Day
This training course provides a comprehensive understanding of the Kanban agile process. In particular, it will explain what problems Kanban solves, how Kanban teams are organized and managed, and how the work is captured, managed, and tracked. It will review how releases are planned and tracked and review the key metrics used to evaluate the progress of Kanban teams.
Certified Team Kanban Practitioner
1 Day
Getting Started with Visualization and Limiting Work-in-progress is a highly interactive one-day entry-level course accredited by the Lean-Kanban University (LKU) that focuses on implementing Kanban at the Team Level. Participants will gain sufficient knowledge about the Kanban Method and related topics to get started by introducing Kanban in the existing process and taking that first step to making it successful.
Kanban System Design (KSD)
2 Days
Learn the alternative path to agility with certified kanban classes. Use Kanban to manage any process: human resources, sales, underwriting, corporate strategy, IT operations, and software development. Understand how Kanban systems can be used to visualize and manage delivery flow and drive continuous improvement.
Kanban Systems Improvement (KSI)
2 Days
Kanban Systems Improvement is a 2-day advanced level course that will help participants build on their existing knowledge of Kanban Method and will help them take their current Kanban implementation to the next level. Building on KMPI, the KMPII course focuses on broadening beyond a single-team focus to upstream/customer Kanban and deepening to scale to the value-stream and strategy level. We take a deeper dive into Kanban adoption challenges, dependencies, and identifying and removing delays. Attendees of both KMPI and KMPII receive a Kanban Management Professional certification.
Scaling with Kanban: Flight Levels and Multi-Team Flow
1 Day
“I didn’t know you could do that with Kanban!” This training course describes how Kanban can be applied at multiple levels within an organization, such as to coordinate the efforts of multiple Scrum development teams. We will explore how Kanban boards can be used in diverse industries and at multiple levels of the organization. We will explore several interesting examples, including Kanban boards for managing non-IT knowledge work, facilitating multi-team coordination at scale, and even planning and communicating corporate strategy. The course introduces the concept of Flight Levels: team (level one), value-stream (level two), and strategy/portfolio (level three). In the course we will conduct workshops to interactively explore how using a higher-level Kanban board, together with Cap Tokens, can be used to manage dependencies across Scrum teams in a simple and effective way, yielding dramatically improved overall throughput. We will explore the ramifications of some alternative board designs, which will help participants learn to construct their own Kanban boards and improve the design of existing boards.
Leading SAFe
2 Days
During this two-day course, attendees gain the knowledge necessary to lead a Lean-Agile enterprise by leveraging the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®) and its underlying principles derived from Lean, systems thinking, Agile development, product development flow, and DevOps.
Participants in the class gain insights into mastering Business Agility in order to thrive in the competitive market. They discuss how to establish team and technical agility and organize and re-organize around the flow of value. They also learn and practice the skills for supporting and executing PI Planning events and coordinating multiple Agile Release Trains (ARTs). Participants in the class explore the importance of adopting a customer-centric mindset and design thinking approach to agile product delivery. Learners also develop an understanding for implementing a Lean Portfolio Management function in their enterprise.
Attending the class prepares individuals to take the exam and become a certified SAFe® Agilist (SA)
Product Owner
2 Days
Develop the skillsets needed to guide the delivery of value in a Lean enterprise by becoming a SAFe® 5 Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM). During this two-day course, attendees gain an in-depth understanding of how to effectively perform their role in the Agile Release Train (ART) as it delivers value through Program Increments.
Attendees explore how to apply Lean thinking to decompose Epics into Features and Stories, refine Features and Stories, manage Program and Team backlogs, and to plan and execute Iterations and Program Increments. Attendees also discover how the Continuous Delivery Pipeline and DevOps culture contribute to the relentless improvement of the ART.
SAFe For Teams
2 Days
Build the skills needed to become a high-performing team member of an Agile Release Train (ART)—and learn how to collaborate effectively with other teams—by becoming a SAFe® 5 Practitioner.
During this two-day course, gain an in-depth understanding of the ART, how it delivers value, and what you can do to effectively perform your role using Scrum, Kanban, and XP. Learn how to write stories and break down features, plan and execute iterations, and plan Program Increments. Finally, learn about the continuous delivery pipeline and DevOps culture, how to effectively integrate with other teams in the program, and what it takes to continuously improve the train.
Scrum Master
2 Days
In this two-day course, attendees gain an understanding of the role of a Scrum Master in a SAFe enterprise. Unlike traditional Scrum Master training that focuses on the fundamentals of team-level Scrum, the SAFe Scrum Master course explores the role of the Scrum Master in the context of the entire enterprise, and prepares attendees to successfully plan and execute the Program Increment (PI), the primary enabler of alignment throughout all levels of a SAFe organization. This includes learning the key components of Agile at scale development, how Scrum is facilitated throughout the enterprise, and how to execute Iteration Planning.
Attendees discover how to build high performing Agile teams by becoming a servant leader and coach, and how to coach those teams to deliver the maximum business value at scale. SAFe 5 Scrum Master (SSM) certification signifies that people are prepared to perform the role of Scrum Master in a SAFe environment, increasing their value to teams and organizations that are implementing SAFe.
Human Centered Design
2 Days
Human-Centered Design (HCD) is an approach to problem solving commonly used in design and management frameworks that develops solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process. HCD emphasizes immersion, observing, and contextual framing in which innovators immerse themselves with the problem and community. HCD, also known as customer experience or design thinking, encourages us to stop jumping to solutions prematurely and to consider the problem from the customer’s perspective. Often we can find solutions that are cheaper and better, while significantly increasing customer satisfaction.
ALM Customization with Version One/TFS/JIRA
1/2 Day
Many teams struggle with their application lifecycle management tool’s out-of-the-box- configuration. Typically these tools provide overly complex or inappropriate workflows and forms and are not fully integrated into the ecosystem. On the other hand, some teams suffer from overly customized and disorganized configurations, and metrics that don’t make sense. What is needed is a middle ground. Properly general and streamlined configuration can pay for itself many times over in terms of increased productivity and more accurate metrics. This training course provides a deep dive into the capabilities of VersionOne with many examples demonstrating how it can be integrated with other tools in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) ecosystem. There are VersionOne, TFS, and JIRA alternatives for this training.
Agile Requirements, Story Splitting, Release Planning, Forecasting and Metrics
1 Day
Among the leading causes of project failure are unclear or poorly defined requirements. In addition, many projects are set up for failure due to being drastically underestimated from the start. This training course addresses both of these issues head on! First, we focus on the processes of requirements gathering, communication and coordination in an Agile environment. We will discuss strategies for organizing requirements into categories and hierarchies. We will cover visual modeling and tips on how to engage stakeholders. We will discuss rolling wave planning and how to decompose high-level requirements into lower-level User Stories. We will construct our “Definition of Ready” to ensure that our requirements are captured correctly, and practice Story Splitting to chop big requirements down into bite-sized– but still valuable and business-understandable chunks. Finally, we will explore techniques for creating tests that help us ensure we have captured requirements completely and correctly. Second, this training course provides a deep dive into Agile forecasting, release planning, and metrics. We will explore different methods for prioritization and estimation, and how probabilistic methods can be used to provide highly reliable estimates that get better and better over time. We will also review techniques like reference class forecasting, which can be used even in situations where we have very little information. This class is for all project stakeholders including subject matter experts, business analysts, project managers, developers, and testers. No matter which Agile method you are practicing: Scrum, Kanban, eXtreme Programming, or something else, this 1-day overview can dramatically improve your chances of success!
Overview of DevOps and CI/CD
1/2 Day
This course provides an overview of DevOps and Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) and why it became a dominant approach to software delivery. We will explore best practices in Continuous Development, Continuous Testing, Configuration Management and Continuous Integration, and finally, Continuous Monitoring of software throughout its development life cycle. We will learn about important tools in the DevOps ecosystem such as GitHub, JIRA/TFS, Docker, Ansible, Puppet/Chef, Terraform, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions/Azure, Pipelines/Jenkins/Spinnaker, and GitOps.
With the goal of always delivering the most current and relevant content, please note that the class agenda, contents, and schedule are subject to change.
Substitutions are accepted at any time. If you cannot attend a class you signed up for, let us know as soon as possible, and we can usually put you in one of the next regularly scheduled classes for no fee! In the event that you wish to cancel outright, cancellations must be notified by email and refunds will be provided according to the following:
More than 10 days prior = 80% of course fee
5 to 10 days prior = 50% of course fee
Less than 5 days = no refund provided
Ariel Partners reserves the right to postpone or cancel this event if there are insufficient registrations or if presenters are unable to attend due to illness. If necessary, you will be notified no later than 7 days prior to the event and all registration payments will be refunded promptly. If circumstances require, presenters may be substituted for alternative qualified presenters with equivalent experience.
Please be advised that events can be subject to changes in date and/or venue due to acts out of our control such as bad weather, civil unrest, etc. It is recommended that you purchase changeable and refundable tickets. Ariel Partners will not be responsible for incurred costs in the event that we need to make changes due to circumstances beyond our control.
