Exceptional Agility
Scott M. Graffius Speaking at Frug'Agile Conference Armenia and France 2021
21 September 2021
Follow @scottgraffius

Scott M. Graffius will speak at October 2021 edition of Frug'Agile Conference (Photo of Khor Virap monastery in the shadow of Mount Ararat by Andrew Behesnilian; used under license, CC BY-SA 3.0)
🔥 Update: The Frug'Agile Conference recorded sessions and made the videos available to the public. The video of Scott's talk is included at the end of this post.
Scott M. Graffius will be speaking at the October 2021 edition of Frug’Agile. The conference will take place in Armenia and France, attendees can participate in-person or virtually, and sessions will be delivered in French or English. Scott will present “The Journey to Happier and More Productive Agile Teams” — in English — on Friday, October 15th at:
🕖 Armenia Time: 7:00-8:00 p.m. AT
🕔 Central European Time: 5:00-6:00 p.m. CET
🕗 Pacific Time: 8:00-9:00 a.m. PT

Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 Professional Development Hour (PDH). For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 Professional Development Unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum Educational Unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
To learn more and to secure tickets for the conference, visit https://www.frugagile.org.


About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books (Agile Scrum and Agile Transformation), workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:


About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

About Frug’Agile Conference
Frug’Agile 2021 is a global conference on agile. The theme for this edition is "back to basics," and it runs from October 14-15. The conference features speakers from Armenia, France, and around the world. Sessions will be presented in either French or English, and attendees may participate in-person — from venues in Armenia or France — or virtually.
To learn more about Frug’Agile, visit https://www.frugagile.org.

Update on November 13, 2021
If you missed the event, recordings of sessions are now available on YouTube. Scott's talk is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewokhrpMCIE and the video is also shown below.

The short link for this blog post is: https://bit.ly/frug-21
The short link for a related post on LinkedIn is: https://bit.ly/frug-in
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.


Scott M. Graffius will speak at October 2021 edition of Frug'Agile Conference (Photo of Khor Virap monastery in the shadow of Mount Ararat by Andrew Behesnilian; used under license, CC BY-SA 3.0)
🔥 Update: The Frug'Agile Conference recorded sessions and made the videos available to the public. The video of Scott's talk is included at the end of this post.
Scott M. Graffius will be speaking at the October 2021 edition of Frug’Agile. The conference will take place in Armenia and France, attendees can participate in-person or virtually, and sessions will be delivered in French or English. Scott will present “The Journey to Happier and More Productive Agile Teams” — in English — on Friday, October 15th at:
🕖 Armenia Time: 7:00-8:00 p.m. AT
🕔 Central European Time: 5:00-6:00 p.m. CET
🕗 Pacific Time: 8:00-9:00 a.m. PT

Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 Professional Development Hour (PDH). For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 Professional Development Unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum Educational Unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
To learn more and to secure tickets for the conference, visit https://www.frugagile.org.

About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books (Agile Scrum and Agile Transformation), workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:


About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile framework―Scrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇭🇺 Hungary
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇮🇱 Israel
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇳🇴 Norway
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 UAE
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States

About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States

About Frug’Agile Conference
Frug’Agile 2021 is a global conference on agile. The theme for this edition is "back to basics," and it runs from October 14-15. The conference features speakers from Armenia, France, and around the world. Sessions will be presented in either French or English, and attendees may participate in-person — from venues in Armenia or France — or virtually.
To learn more about Frug’Agile, visit https://www.frugagile.org.

Update on November 13, 2021
If you missed the event, recordings of sessions are now available on YouTube. Scott's talk is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewokhrpMCIE and the video is also shown below.

The short link for this blog post is: https://bit.ly/frug-21
The short link for a related post on LinkedIn is: https://bit.ly/frug-in
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.

Scott M. Graffius Delivering a Talk at DevOps Experience 2021 Conference
05 October 2021
Follow @scottgraffius

🔥 Update: The DevOps Experience 2021 conference recorded sessions and made the videos available. The video for Scott's session is included at the end of this post.
Scott M. Graffius will be speaking at the DevOps Experience 2021 Conference. Now in its 4th year, the conference will explore the role DevOps will play in the "roaring 2020s". This year, speakers and attendees will interact virtually. Scott will present “The Journey to Happier and More Productive DevOps Teams.” His session will air at:

Attendees may be eligible to receivntinuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 0.75 Professional Development Hour (PDH). For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 0.75 Professional Development Unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 0.75 Scrum Educational Unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
To learn more and to secure tickets for the conference, visit https://www.techstrongevents.com/devopsexperience.


About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books (Agile Scrum and Agile Transformation), workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:


About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

About the DevOps Experience Conference
The following includes content from the conference website:
As we stand poised to move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, we are on the edge of what could be a giant leap forward. The world has come to see and recognize the power of digital transformation. Digital transformation is driven by software, and software is accelerated by DevOps. Cloud native computing has served as a catalyst to the DevOps, software, and digital transformation cycle. Now after perhaps 4-7 years worth of digital transformation progress compressed into the last 18 months concurrent with the pandemic, and with favorable capital markets and business outlook on the horizon, we are poised for a generational leap forward.
As we look forward to all of the great things this transformation enables, we also have to be ready to tackle tough problems like cybersecurity threats, future pandemics, and more. DevOps can be a powerful force for change in all of this. In its 4th year, this year's DevOps Experience will explore how DevOps will be a major factor in the "roaring 2020s."
To learn more about the DevOps Experience 2021 Conference, visit https://www.techstrongevents.com/devopsexperience.


Update on October 28, 2021
If you missed the event, recordings of sessions are now available. Scott's talk is at https://player.vimeo.com/video/637145697 and the video is also shown below.

The short link for this blog post is: https://bit.ly/doe-21
The short link for a related post on LinkedIn is: https://bit.ly/in-doe
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.


🔥 Update: The DevOps Experience 2021 conference recorded sessions and made the videos available. The video for Scott's session is included at the end of this post.
Scott M. Graffius will be speaking at the DevOps Experience 2021 Conference. Now in its 4th year, the conference will explore the role DevOps will play in the "roaring 2020s". This year, speakers and attendees will interact virtually. Scott will present “The Journey to Happier and More Productive DevOps Teams.” His session will air at:
- Pacific Time: 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on 28 October
- Eastern Time: 2:45 to 3:30 p.m. on 28 October
- Central European Time: 8:45 to 9:30 p.m. on 28 October
- Australian Eastern Time: 5:45 to 6:30 a.m. on 29 October

Attendees may be eligible to receivntinuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 0.75 Professional Development Hour (PDH). For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 0.75 Professional Development Unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 0.75 Scrum Educational Unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
To learn more and to secure tickets for the conference, visit https://www.techstrongevents.com/devopsexperience.

About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books (Agile Scrum and Agile Transformation), workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:


About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile framework―Scrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇭🇺 Hungary
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇮🇱 Israel
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇳🇴 Norway
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 UAE
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States

About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States

About the DevOps Experience Conference
The following includes content from the conference website:
As we stand poised to move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, we are on the edge of what could be a giant leap forward. The world has come to see and recognize the power of digital transformation. Digital transformation is driven by software, and software is accelerated by DevOps. Cloud native computing has served as a catalyst to the DevOps, software, and digital transformation cycle. Now after perhaps 4-7 years worth of digital transformation progress compressed into the last 18 months concurrent with the pandemic, and with favorable capital markets and business outlook on the horizon, we are poised for a generational leap forward.
As we look forward to all of the great things this transformation enables, we also have to be ready to tackle tough problems like cybersecurity threats, future pandemics, and more. DevOps can be a powerful force for change in all of this. In its 4th year, this year's DevOps Experience will explore how DevOps will be a major factor in the "roaring 2020s."
To learn more about the DevOps Experience 2021 Conference, visit https://www.techstrongevents.com/devopsexperience.


Update on October 28, 2021
If you missed the event, recordings of sessions are now available. Scott's talk is at https://player.vimeo.com/video/637145697 and the video is also shown below.

The short link for this blog post is: https://bit.ly/doe-21
The short link for a related post on LinkedIn is: https://bit.ly/in-doe
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.

Scott M. Graffius Delivered 40 Talks and Workshops Across 17 Countries in 2021
27 December 2021
Follow @scottgraffius

In 2021, Scott M. Graffius delivered 40 dynamic and engaging talks and workshops across 17 countries. His sessions spanned leadership, technical project management (inclusive of agile, waterfall, and hybrid approaches to project, program, portfolio, and PMO management), and strategic and business management. He incorporated everyday language and vibrant custom visuals to make complex topics clear and understandable, and he provided audiences with practical information they can use. His engagements were highly rated by attendees and event organizers alike.
Here's an abridged list his 40 sessions in 2021 (most recent shown first):
Visit here for detailed listings, videos (where available), testimonials, and more.


About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, multi award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over 1.75 billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from Graffius's books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, professional associations, governments, and universities including Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Gartner, Deloitte, Project Management Institute, IEEE, SANS Institute, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Wrike, Bayer, National Academy of Sciences, United States Department of Energy, United States Army, New Zealand Ministry of Education, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, National University of Ireland Galway, Loughborough University London, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, and others. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. The professional services firm provides client organizations with advisory, training, speaking, embedded talent, and facilitative consulting services to help them advance their agile project, program, portfolio, and PMO management capabilities to best realize their strategic objectives and business initiatives, making them more competitive and valuable. The company confidently backs its services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™.
A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Graffius’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (ISBN-13: 9781533370242). It helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book garnered 17 first place awards from national and international competitions. His second title, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change (ISBN-13: 9781072447962), was named one of the best Scrum books of all time by BookAuthority. Graffius and his works have been featured by media outlets and publications including Yahoo Finance, Computer Weekly, MobileAppDaily, Innovation Management, the PM World Journal, NASSCOM, Software Quality Management, Nimble Ways, Business Application Monitoring, Learning Solutions, Innovation Ecosystem Metrics, DZone, Innovation Project Management (by Dr. Harold Kerzner), TopDevs, NHD Podcast, and others.
Graffius is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets, as well as experience spanning 20 countries.
Graffius has a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications: Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM), Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Scrum Foundations Educator (SFE), Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL). He is a member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Graffius was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI EMEA Congress 2019, and he served as a member of the review team for the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gathering—New York City 2020.
Graffius delivers dynamic and engaging talks and workshops at public and private/corporate events. His engagements include 59 in-person and online conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States. Graffius delights audiences with sessions on technology leadership and project, program, portfolio, and PMO management inclusive of agile, waterfall, and hybrid approaches. He uses everyday language and vibrant custom visuals to make complex topics clear, and he provides audiences with practical information they can use. For details, visit the public speaker section of his website here.
He resides in Los Angeles, California.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:


About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

The short link for this article is: https://bit.ly/40-in-2021
The short link for a related post on LinkedIn is: https://bit.ly/21-in
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.


In 2021, Scott M. Graffius delivered 40 dynamic and engaging talks and workshops across 17 countries. His sessions spanned leadership, technical project management (inclusive of agile, waterfall, and hybrid approaches to project, program, portfolio, and PMO management), and strategic and business management. He incorporated everyday language and vibrant custom visuals to make complex topics clear and understandable, and he provided audiences with practical information they can use. His engagements were highly rated by attendees and event organizers alike.
Here's an abridged list his 40 sessions in 2021 (most recent shown first):
- 🇺🇸 | Private event
- 🇺🇸 | Private event
- 🇺🇸 | DevOps Experience 2021 Conference
- 🇦🇲 | Frug'Agile Conference Armenia 2021
- 🇺🇸 | Private event
- 🇺🇸 | IEEE Day 2021
- 🇧🇷 | Private event
- 🇬🇧 | BSides Newcastle England 2021 InfoSec Conference
- 🇺🇸 | Private event
- 🇧🇷 | Agile Trends Gov Conference 2021
- 🇺🇸 | Private event
- 🇭🇰 | Private event
- 🇺🇸 | Florida Suncoast Chapter of the Project Management Institute
- 🇺🇸 | Private event
- 🇺🇸 | Central Virginia Chapter of the Project Management Institute
- 🇸🇪 | Private event
- 🇱🇹 | DevOps Pro Europe 2021 Conference
- 🇺🇸 | Southwest Virginia Chapter of the Project Management Institute
- 🇬🇧 | Private event
- 🇱🇺 | Luxembourg Chapter of the Project Management Institute
- 🇬🇧 | Private event
- 🇺🇸 | Monterey Bay Chapter of the Project Management Institute
- 🇦🇺 | Private event
- 🇳🇿 | New Zealand Chapter of the Project Management Institute
- 🇮🇪 | Private event
- 🇺🇸 | Southern Nevada Chapter of the Project Management Institute
- 🇺🇸 | California Institute of Advanced Management
- 🇦🇺 | Private event
- 🇬🇧 | Scottish Summit 2021
- 🇫🇮 | Finland Chapter of the Project Management Institute
- 🇨🇦 | ConFoo Developer Conference 2021
- 🇺🇸 | Private event
- 🇨🇿 | DevConf.CZ 2021 Conference
- 🇺🇸 | Private event
- 🇺🇸 | California Inland Empire Chapter of Project Management Institute
- 🇺🇸 | Private event
- 🇩🇪 | Private event
- 🇺🇸 | Alaska Chapter of the Project Management Institute
- 🇺🇸 | North Alabama Chapter of Project Management Institute
- 🇳🇱 | Netherlands Chapter of the Project Management Institute
Visit here for detailed listings, videos (where available), testimonials, and more.

About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, multi award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over 1.75 billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from Graffius's books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, professional associations, governments, and universities including Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Gartner, Deloitte, Project Management Institute, IEEE, SANS Institute, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Wrike, Bayer, National Academy of Sciences, United States Department of Energy, United States Army, New Zealand Ministry of Education, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, National University of Ireland Galway, Loughborough University London, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, and others. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. The professional services firm provides client organizations with advisory, training, speaking, embedded talent, and facilitative consulting services to help them advance their agile project, program, portfolio, and PMO management capabilities to best realize their strategic objectives and business initiatives, making them more competitive and valuable. The company confidently backs its services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™.
A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Graffius’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (ISBN-13: 9781533370242). It helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book garnered 17 first place awards from national and international competitions. His second title, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change (ISBN-13: 9781072447962), was named one of the best Scrum books of all time by BookAuthority. Graffius and his works have been featured by media outlets and publications including Yahoo Finance, Computer Weekly, MobileAppDaily, Innovation Management, the PM World Journal, NASSCOM, Software Quality Management, Nimble Ways, Business Application Monitoring, Learning Solutions, Innovation Ecosystem Metrics, DZone, Innovation Project Management (by Dr. Harold Kerzner), TopDevs, NHD Podcast, and others.
Graffius is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets, as well as experience spanning 20 countries.
Graffius has a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications: Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM), Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Scrum Foundations Educator (SFE), Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL). He is a member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Graffius was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI EMEA Congress 2019, and he served as a member of the review team for the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gathering—New York City 2020.
Graffius delivers dynamic and engaging talks and workshops at public and private/corporate events. His engagements include 59 in-person and online conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States. Graffius delights audiences with sessions on technology leadership and project, program, portfolio, and PMO management inclusive of agile, waterfall, and hybrid approaches. He uses everyday language and vibrant custom visuals to make complex topics clear, and he provides audiences with practical information they can use. For details, visit the public speaker section of his website here.
He resides in Los Angeles, California.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:


About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile framework―Scrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇭🇺 Hungary
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇮🇱 Israel
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇳🇴 Norway
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 UAE
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States

About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States

The short link for this article is: https://bit.ly/40-in-2021
The short link for a related post on LinkedIn is: https://bit.ly/21-in
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.

Most Valuable IT Certifications: Update for 2024
15 March 2024
BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS | ScottGraffius.com



In Technology, there's no substitute for experience. However, certifications remain a valuable tool for advancing one's career.
In 2017, Scott M. Graffius started developing and reporting information on the most valuable Information Technology (IT) certifications. As technology advances and marketplace needs evolve over time, the skills and knowledge required to succeed can also change. For that reason, Graffius periodically updates his respective work. This article provides the 2024 update for the most valuable IT certifications.


Certifications can help position people as a valuable asset to their current — and prospective future — employers.
Employers want employees and candidates with up-to-date knowledge and skills, and certifications demonstrate a person’s mastery of the respective subject. Additionally, certifications can advance a person’s marketability and lead to promotions and higher pay.
Graffius compiled and analyzed data from 12 sources — Exceptional Agility, California Institute of Arts and Technology, CIO, CIO Dive, ComputerScience(dot)org, eWeek, Fortune, Global Knowledge, Indeed, PC Magazine, Robert Half, and Skillsoft — to determine the general consensus on the most valuable IT related certifications. Eleven certifications emerged.
Now, on to this list!


1. CompTIA A+
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


2. Cisco Certified Network Associate
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


3. Certified Information Systems Security Professional
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


4. Project Management Professional
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


5. Certified Ethical Hacker
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


6. AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


7. Azure Administrator Associate
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


8. ITIL Foundation
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


9. Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


10. Certified ScrumMaster
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


11. Certified Artificial Intelligence Scientist
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


Certifications can provide significant value for professionals looking to enhance their skills and credibility in the marketplace. Employers often prefer to hire certified professionals, and people who invest in professional credentials typically enjoy larger salaries.
Informed by data from multiple sources, this article identified and profiled 11 IT related certifications: CompTIA A+, Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (AWS SA), Azure Administrator Associate, ITIL Foundations (ITIL), Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect (GCP Architect), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), and Certified Artificial Intelligence Scientist (CAIS).
Those interested in securing one or more IT related certifications can leverage the information presented in this article to assist in their decision-making.


References/Sources:


How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2024, March 15). Most Valuable IT Certifications: Update for 2024. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/it-certs-2024.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.11776.03849.




About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, SA, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, thinker, creator, multi-award-winning author, and international public speaker. Founder and CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, he has generated over $1.9 billion for Global Fortune 500 businesses and other organizations he has served. Graffius and content from his books, talks, workshops, and more have been featured and used by Microsoft, Oracle, Broadcom, Cisco, Gartner, Project Management Institute, IEEE, National Academy of Sciences, United States Department of Energy, Yale University, Tufts University, and others. He delights audiences with dynamic and engaging talks and workshops on agile project management, AI, Tech leadership, video game development, strategic alignment, the science of high performance teams, and more. To date, he's presented sessions at 89 conferences and other events across 25 countries.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:



About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.

The short link for this article is: https://bit.ly/it-certs
© Copyright 2024 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.




In Technology, there's no substitute for experience. However, certifications remain a valuable tool for advancing one's career.
In 2017, Scott M. Graffius started developing and reporting information on the most valuable Information Technology (IT) certifications. As technology advances and marketplace needs evolve over time, the skills and knowledge required to succeed can also change. For that reason, Graffius periodically updates his respective work. This article provides the 2024 update for the most valuable IT certifications.


Certifications can help position people as a valuable asset to their current — and prospective future — employers.
Employers want employees and candidates with up-to-date knowledge and skills, and certifications demonstrate a person’s mastery of the respective subject. Additionally, certifications can advance a person’s marketability and lead to promotions and higher pay.
Graffius compiled and analyzed data from 12 sources — Exceptional Agility, California Institute of Arts and Technology, CIO, CIO Dive, ComputerScience(dot)org, eWeek, Fortune, Global Knowledge, Indeed, PC Magazine, Robert Half, and Skillsoft — to determine the general consensus on the most valuable IT related certifications. Eleven certifications emerged.
Now, on to this list!


1. CompTIA A+
- Certification name: CompTIA A+
- Certification name abbreviation: A+
- Governing organization - name: CompTIA
- Governing organization - website: https://www.comptia.org
- Short description of certification: This is generally considered to be a certification for people who want to start careers in the IT industry. To acquire the CompTIA A+ certification, you must pass two separate tests: Core 1 and Core 2. Core 1 (220-1101) covers mobile devices, networking technology, hardware, virtualization, and cloud computing. Core 2 (220-1102) covers operating systems, security, software, and operational procedures.
- Prerequisites (if any) for certification: None
- Certification exam – cost: Total cost for the two exams varies by location and other factors. The average total combined cost is $492
- Certification exam – delivery (in-person or online): in-person or online
- Certification exam – number of questions: Core 1 exam has 90 questions, Core 2 exam also has 90 questions
- Certification exam – time to complete it: 90 minutes for Core 1 exam, and 90 minutes for Core 2 exam
- Certification exam – minimum pass rate (X% or higher correct required to pass exam): Estimated to be 83% for the Core 1 exam. Estimated to be 86% for the Core 2 exam.
- Certification expiration – does it expire? Yes
- Certification expiration – how long does it last before expiring? 3 years
- Certification renewal cost: $75
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


2. Cisco Certified Network Associate
- Certification name: Cisco Certified Network Associate
- Certification name abbreviation: CCNA
- Governing organization - name: Cisco
- Governing organization - website: https://www.cisco.com
- Short description of certification: Validates the ability to install, operate, configure, and troubleshoot basic Cisco networking devices and technologies.
- Prerequisites (if any) for certification: No prerequisites. However, Cisco recommends having at least a basic knowledge of networking and at least one year of experience with Cisco products.
- Certification exam – cost: $300
- Certification exam – delivery (in-person or online): In-person or online
- Certification exam – number of questions: Varies, between 50-75 questions
- Certification exam – time to complete it: 120 minutes
- Certification exam – minimum pass rate (X% or higher correct required to pass exam): Estimated to be 80%
- Certification expiration – does it expire? Yes
- Certification expiration – how long does it last before expiring? 3 years
- Certification renewal cost: $150
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


3. Certified Information Systems Security Professional
- Certification name: Certified Information Systems Security Professional
- Certification name abbreviation: CISSP
- Governing organization - name: (ISC)²
- Governing organization - website: https://www.isc2.org
- Short description of certification: The CISSP is a highly respective, vendor-neutral certification that validates a broad understanding of information security and best practices.
- Prerequisites (if any) for certification: At least five years of paid, full time work experience involving two or more (of the eight) domains of the CISSP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK)
- Certification exam - cost: $749, although the cost may vary by location and other factors
- Certification exam - delivery (in-person or online): In-person at a Pearson VUE testing center
- Certification exam - number of questions: Between 125-175 questions
- Certification exam - time to complete it: 4 hours
- Certification exam - minimum pass rate (X% or higher correct required to pass exam): Estimated to be 70%
- Certification expiration - does it expire? Yes
- Certification expiration - how long does it last before expiring? 3 years
- Certification renewal cost: $125
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


4. Project Management Professional
- Certification name: Project Management Professional
- Certification name abbreviation: PMP
- Governing organization - name: Project Management Institute (PMI)
- Governing organization - website: https://www.pmi.org/
- Short description of certification: PMP certification is a globally recognized and sought-after project management credential that recognizes experienced project managers for successfully leading teams through a project’s life cycle.
- Prerequisites (if any) for certification: A or B. (A) Bachelor's degree (or global equivalent) + 36 months of project management experience + 35 hours of project management education/training. Or (B) Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree or global equivalent) + 60 months of project management experience + 35 hours of project management education/training.
- Certification exam - cost: $405 for members of the PMI, $575 for those not a member of the PMI
- Certification exam - delivery (in-person or online): In-person
- Certification exam - number of questions: Between 180-200 questions
- Certification exam - time to complete it: 230 minutes
- Certification exam - minimum pass rate (X% or higher correct required to pass exam): Estimated to be 81%
- Certification expiration - does it expire? Yes
- Certification expiration - how long does it last before expiring? 3 years
- Certification renewal cost: $150
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


5. Certified Ethical Hacker
- Certification name: Certified Ethical Hacker
- Certification name abbreviation: CEH
- Governing organization - name: EC-Council
- Governing organization - website: https://www.eccouncil.org
- Short description of certification: This certification is obtained by demonstrating knowledge of assessing the security of computer systems by looking for vulnerabilities in target systems, using the same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker, but in a lawful and legitimate manner to assess the security posture of a target system.
- Prerequisites (if any) for certification: Candidates need to have experience in a job related to network security or complete approved training courses before taking the exam
- Certification exam - cost: $1,199, can vary based on registration options and other factors
- Certification exam - delivery (in-person or online): In-person at a Pearson VUE testing center or online proctored
- Certification exam - number of questions: 125
- Certification exam - time to complete it: 4 hours
- Certification exam - minimum pass rate (X% or higher correct required to pass exam): Estimated to be 70%
- Certification expiration - does it expire? Yes
- Certification expiration - how long does it last before expiring? 3 years
- Certification renewal cost: $85
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


6. AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
- Certification name: AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
- Certification name abbreviation: AWS SA
- Governing organization - name: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Governing organization - website: http://aws.amazon.com
- Short description of certification: This certification showcases knowledge and skills in AWS technology, across a wide range of AWS services. The focus is on the design of cost- and performance-optimized solutions, demonstrating a strong understanding of the AWS Well-Architected Framework.
- Prerequisites (if any) for certification: None
- Certification exam - cost: $150
- Certification exam - delivery (in-person or online): In-person or online
- Certification exam - number of questions: 65 questions
- Certification exam - time to complete it: 130 minutes
- Certification exam - minimum pass rate (X% or higher correct required to pass exam): Estimated to be 70%
- Certification expiration - does it expire? Yes
- Certification expiration - how long does it last before expiring? 3 years
- Certification renewal cost: $75
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


7. Azure Administrator Associate
- Certification name: Azure Administrator Associate
- Certification name abbreviation: There isn't an abbreviation designated. AZ-104 (the corresponding exam code for the certification) is sometimes used as an identifier.
- Governing organization - name: Microsoft
- Governing organization - website: https://learn.microsoft.com
- Short description of certification: Azure Administrator Associate (also referred to as Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate) certification validates one’s ability to manage Azure subscriptions, implement and secure infrastructure, configure virtual networks, deploy virtual machines, monitor resources, and troubleshoot issues.
- Prerequisites (if any) for certification: None, but Microsoft recommends at least six months of experience administering Azure
- Certification exam - cost: $165
- Certification exam - delivery (in-person or online): In-person or online proctored
- Certification exam - number of questions: Varies, typically between 40-60 questions
- Certification exam - time to complete it: 120 minutes
- Certification exam - minimum pass rate (X% or higher correct required to pass exam): Estimated to be 70%
- Certification expiration - does it expire? Yes
- Certification expiration - how long does it last before expiring? 1 year
- Certification renewal cost: Free renewal
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


8. ITIL Foundation
- Certification name: ITIL Foundation
- Certification name abbreviation: ITIL
- Governing organization - name: Axelos
- Governing organization - website: https://www.axelos.com
- Short description of certification: Provides a foundation in IT service management (ITSM) best practices. Covers key concepts, service lifecycle, and the benefits of effective ITSM.
- Prerequisites (if any) for certification: None
- Certification exam - cost: $330
- Certification exam - delivery (in-person or online): In-person or online
- Certification exam - number of questions: 40 questions
- Certification exam - time to complete it: 60 minutes
- Certification exam - minimum pass rate (X% or higher correct required to pass exam): Some sources indicate it is 65%, others estimate it to be 70%
- Certification expiration - does it expire? No
- Certification expiration - how long does it last before expiring? Not applicable; certification does not expire
- Certification renewal cost: Not applicable; certification does not expire
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


9. Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect
- Certification name: Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect
- Certification name abbreviation: GCP Architect
- Governing organization - name: Google
- Governing organization - website: https://cloud.google.com
- Short description of certification: Demonstrates expertise in designing, developing, and managing secure, reliable, scalable, and cost-effective solutions on the Google Cloud Platforms (GCP)
- Prerequisites (if any) for certification: None; familiarity with GCP products and services is recommended
- Certification exam - cost: $200
- Certification exam - delivery (in-person or online): In-person
- Certification exam - number of questions: 50 questions
- Certification exam - time to complete it: 120 minutes
- Certification exam - minimum pass rate (X% or higher correct required to pass exam): Estimated to be 70%
- Certification expiration - does it expire? Yes
- Certification expiration - how long does it last before expiring? 2 years
- Certification renewal cost: $100
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


10. Certified ScrumMaster
- Certification name: Certified ScrumMaster
- Certification name abbreviation: CSM
- Governing organization - name: Scrum Alliance
- Governing organization - website: https://www.scrumalliance.org
- Short description of certification: Validates a solid understanding of Scrum including practical ways to apply it on one’s team and organization
- Prerequisites (if any) for certification: Completion of a two-day course by an authorized trainer
- Certification exam - cost: Course (referenced above) includes the cost of the exam. Cost ranges from about $500 to $1,500 depending on the location, delivery format, and other factors
- Certification exam - delivery (in-person or online): Online
- Certification exam - number of questions: 50
- Certification exam - time to complete it: 1 hour
- Certification exam - minimum pass rate (X% or higher correct required to pass exam): Estimated to be 74%
- Certification expiration - does it expire? Yes
- Certification expiration - how long does it last before expiring? 2 years
- Certification renewal cost: $100
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


11. Certified Artificial Intelligence Scientist
- Certification name: Certified Artificial Intelligence Scientist
- Certification name abbreviation: CAIS
- Governing organization - name: United States Artificial Intelligence Institute (USAII)
- Governing organization - website: https://www.usaii.org
- Short description of certification: The CAIS is publicized by USAII as the most sophisticated and ground-breaking certification program for senior AI professionals and business leaders to develop the perfect AI solutions and strategy, bringing the right organizational change leading to an absolute business transformation.
- Prerequisites (if any) for certification: One of three eligibility paths and completion of a self-paced course. Path 1: Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in any academic discipline; and at least five years of experience in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Project Management, or any Programming Languages. Path 2: Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in any academic discipline; and at least four years of experience in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Engineering, Finance, or Management. Path 3: Certified Artificial Intelligence Consultant (CAIC) (or other equivalent) certification; and at least four years of experience for a candidate who has a Bachelor's degree (or equivalent), or three years of experience for a candidate who has a Master's degree (or equivalent).
- Certification exam - cost: Course (referenced above) includes the cost of the exam. Cost is $894.
- Certification exam - delivery (in-person or online): In-person
- Certification exam - number of questions: 80
- Certification exam - time to complete it: 100 minutes
- Certification exam - minimum pass rate (X% or higher correct required to pass exam): 70%
- Certification expiration - does it expire? Yes
- Certification expiration - how long does it last before expiring? 3 years
- Certification renewal cost: $249
Note: Prerequisites, cost (shown in United States Dollar - USD), and other data are subject to change by the governing organization.


Certifications can provide significant value for professionals looking to enhance their skills and credibility in the marketplace. Employers often prefer to hire certified professionals, and people who invest in professional credentials typically enjoy larger salaries.
Informed by data from multiple sources, this article identified and profiled 11 IT related certifications: CompTIA A+, Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (AWS SA), Azure Administrator Associate, ITIL Foundations (ITIL), Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect (GCP Architect), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), and Certified Artificial Intelligence Scientist (CAIS).
Those interested in securing one or more IT related certifications can leverage the information presented in this article to assist in their decision-making.


References/Sources:
- Exceptional Agility (2024, January 4). Top Agile Certifications: Update for 2024. Available at: https://exceptionalagility.com/blog/files/top-agile-certifications-2024.html.
- California Institute of Arts and Technology (CIAT) (2024, February). 10 In-Demand IT Jobs You Can Get With Tech Certifications. Available at: https://www.ciat.edu/blog/10-in-demand-it-jobs-you-can-get-with-tech-certifications.
- CIO (2024, November 24). The 15 Most Valuable IT Certifications Today. Available at: https://www.cio.com/article/286762/careers-staffing-12-it-certifications-that-deliver-career-advancement.html.
- CIO Dive (2023, November 14). 5 Highest-Paying IT Certifications in 2023. Available at: https://www.ciodive.com/news/top-paying-IT-certifications-project-management-security/699641.
- Computer Science(dot)org. (2023, November 9). Best IT Certifications To Boost Your Computer Science Career. Available at: https://www.computerscience.org/resources/top-it-certifications.
- eWeek (2024, February 8). 30 Top AI Certifications: Hotlist of 2024. Available at: https://www.eweek.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-certifications.
- Fortune (2023, November 14). How Much Can You Make with IT Certifications? Available at: https://fortune.com/education/articles/how-much-can-you-make-with-it-certifications-average-salaries.
- Global Knowledge (2023, April 27). 10 Top-Paying IT Certifications. Available at: https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-en/resources/resource-library/articles/10-top-paying-it-certifications.
- Indeed (2023, December 18). Top 17 IT Certifications in Demand for 2024. Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/top-it-certifications.
- PC Magazine (2023, December 1). Level Up Your Career: The Highest-Paying IT Certifications for 2024. Available at: https://www.pcmag.com/news/highest-paying-it-certifications.
- Robert Half (2023, November 27). The 29 Most Valuable IT Certifications. Available at: https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/career-development/which-it-certifications-are-most-valuable.
- Skillsoft (2024, January 16). The 20 Top-Paying Microsoft Certifications in 2024. Available at: https://www.skillsoft.com/blog/top-paying-microsoft-certifications.


How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2024, March 15). Most Valuable IT Certifications: Update for 2024. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/it-certs-2024.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.11776.03849.




About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius, PMP, SA, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, thinker, creator, multi-award-winning author, and international public speaker. Founder and CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, he has generated over $1.9 billion for Global Fortune 500 businesses and other organizations he has served. Graffius and content from his books, talks, workshops, and more have been featured and used by Microsoft, Oracle, Broadcom, Cisco, Gartner, Project Management Institute, IEEE, National Academy of Sciences, United States Department of Energy, Yale University, Tufts University, and others. He delights audiences with dynamic and engaging talks and workshops on agile project management, AI, Tech leadership, video game development, strategic alignment, the science of high performance teams, and more. To date, he's presented sessions at 89 conferences and other events across 25 countries.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:



About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile framework―Scrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
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About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change

Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
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The short link for this article is: https://bit.ly/it-certs
© Copyright 2024 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.

When Agile, AI, and Strategic Thinking Converge
24 January 2025
BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS | ScottGraffius.com


Introduction
Agile, artificial intelligence (AI), and strategic thinking are essential for businesses to thrive in today’s fast-paced world. Each pillar stands on its own. Combined, the synergistic intersections of these pillars forge a powerful triad, capable of revolutionizing operations, supercharging performance, and delivering unprecedented results.
Agile is an iterative and incremental methodology. Agile approaches (such as Scrum and Kanban) help teams work in short cycles, rapidly adapt to change, and deliver products and services expeditiously.
AI adds a new dimension to adaptability. Leveraging vast datasets, AI can automate tasks, generate actionable insights (for smarter, faster decisions), and more.
Strategic thinking is about anticipating change and identifying opportunities. It helps individuals navigate complexities and achieve long-term goals. Strategic thinking centers on understanding the broader context. It considers market dynamics, competition, and internal capabilities. It ensures efforts align with a clear vision. While agile promotes adaptability and AI powers insights, strategic thinking ties everything together.
The Real Magic Happens When Agile, AI, and Strategic Thinking Converge
Here’s how the synergy plays out.
Agile Plus AI Provides Enhanced Agility with Intelligence
Agile combined with AI enables teams to work more effectively. For example, AI can analyze customer/user feedback and market data in real-time. This helps agile teams prioritize features or quickly pivot when needed.
AI also automates repetitive tasks. For example, it can handle some testing in software development. This frees teams to focus on innovation and higher-value work.
In addition, AI provides predictive insights. It helps improve sprint planning by anticipating challenges or uncovering opportunities. This helps teams stay one step ahead.
AI Plus Strategic Thinking Provides Data-Driven Strategy
AI and strategic thinking together create data-driven strategies. This empowers organizations to make informed and effective decisions.
AI provides precision at scale. It helps leaders analyze vast amounts of data, from market trends to user behavior. It assists them in crafting more impactful strategies.
AI’s predictive capabilities enhance scenario planning. Organizations can model potential outcomes and reduce uncertainty. This can provide a competitive edge.
Agile Plus Strategic Thinking Provides a Flexible Vision
Agile combined with strategic thinking creates a flexible vision. This helps organizations adapt and thrive in dynamic environments.
Agile methods allow strategies to evolve as real-world results emerge. Adaptable approaches replace rigid plans. This flexibility best positions businesses to respond effectively to new insights and changing conditions.
Agile also bridges the gap between execution and vision. It transforms ambitious goals into actionable steps; incremental progress aligns day-to-day efforts with long-term objectives.
Agile Plus AI Plus Strategic Thinking Provides Synergy at Its Best
When agile, AI, and strategic thinking converge, they create a powerful synergy. This drives a dynamic and adaptive approach to problem-solving and innovation.
Integrating AI into agile processes allows organizations to measure strategy effectiveness in real-time. They can make adjustments as needed, enabling real-time adaptive strategies.
This combination fosters a culture of fast-paced innovation. Agile frameworks and AI insights embed innovation into daily operations.
Strategic thinking ensures agility and AI are applied with purpose. It aligns efforts with long-term objectives. This provides resilience and better future-proofing in our ever-changing world.
Conclusion
Combining agile methodologies, AI technologies, and strategic thinking is not just advantageous—it's essential in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. Agile provides the framework to adapt quickly, AI augments decision-making with data-driven insights, and strategic thinking ensures a clear vision aligns these elements. Together, they create a synergistic system where responsiveness, innovation, and foresight form the foundation of sustainable success.

Read on for:


References/Sources
Select bibliography:

About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius is a high impact and globally recognized AI, advanced technology, agile, and project management researcher, thought leader, author, and public speaker.
Graffius has generated more than USD $1.9 billion in business value for organizations served, including Fortune 500 companies. Businesses and industries range from technology (including R&D and AI) to entertainment, financial services, and healthcare, government, social media, and more.
Graffius leads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded talent, and consulting services to public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™. Graffius is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
He is the author of two award-winning books.
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have featured Graffius and his work including content from his books, talks, workshops, and more. Select examples include:
Graffius has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Graffius was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds nine professional certifications:
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He divides his time between Los Angeles and Paris, France.
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How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2025, January 24). When Agile, AI, and Strategic Thinking Converge. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/when-agile-ai-and-strategic-thinking-converge.html.


Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.22277.46565


Short Link for Article
The short link for this article is https://bit.ly/ai-agile


Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.



Introduction
Agile, artificial intelligence (AI), and strategic thinking are essential for businesses to thrive in today’s fast-paced world. Each pillar stands on its own. Combined, the synergistic intersections of these pillars forge a powerful triad, capable of revolutionizing operations, supercharging performance, and delivering unprecedented results.
Agile is an iterative and incremental methodology. Agile approaches (such as Scrum and Kanban) help teams work in short cycles, rapidly adapt to change, and deliver products and services expeditiously.
AI adds a new dimension to adaptability. Leveraging vast datasets, AI can automate tasks, generate actionable insights (for smarter, faster decisions), and more.
Strategic thinking is about anticipating change and identifying opportunities. It helps individuals navigate complexities and achieve long-term goals. Strategic thinking centers on understanding the broader context. It considers market dynamics, competition, and internal capabilities. It ensures efforts align with a clear vision. While agile promotes adaptability and AI powers insights, strategic thinking ties everything together.
The Real Magic Happens When Agile, AI, and Strategic Thinking Converge
Here’s how the synergy plays out.
Agile Plus AI Provides Enhanced Agility with Intelligence
Agile combined with AI enables teams to work more effectively. For example, AI can analyze customer/user feedback and market data in real-time. This helps agile teams prioritize features or quickly pivot when needed.
AI also automates repetitive tasks. For example, it can handle some testing in software development. This frees teams to focus on innovation and higher-value work.
In addition, AI provides predictive insights. It helps improve sprint planning by anticipating challenges or uncovering opportunities. This helps teams stay one step ahead.
AI Plus Strategic Thinking Provides Data-Driven Strategy
AI and strategic thinking together create data-driven strategies. This empowers organizations to make informed and effective decisions.
AI provides precision at scale. It helps leaders analyze vast amounts of data, from market trends to user behavior. It assists them in crafting more impactful strategies.
AI’s predictive capabilities enhance scenario planning. Organizations can model potential outcomes and reduce uncertainty. This can provide a competitive edge.
Agile Plus Strategic Thinking Provides a Flexible Vision
Agile combined with strategic thinking creates a flexible vision. This helps organizations adapt and thrive in dynamic environments.
Agile methods allow strategies to evolve as real-world results emerge. Adaptable approaches replace rigid plans. This flexibility best positions businesses to respond effectively to new insights and changing conditions.
Agile also bridges the gap between execution and vision. It transforms ambitious goals into actionable steps; incremental progress aligns day-to-day efforts with long-term objectives.
Agile Plus AI Plus Strategic Thinking Provides Synergy at Its Best
When agile, AI, and strategic thinking converge, they create a powerful synergy. This drives a dynamic and adaptive approach to problem-solving and innovation.
Integrating AI into agile processes allows organizations to measure strategy effectiveness in real-time. They can make adjustments as needed, enabling real-time adaptive strategies.
This combination fosters a culture of fast-paced innovation. Agile frameworks and AI insights embed innovation into daily operations.
Strategic thinking ensures agility and AI are applied with purpose. It aligns efforts with long-term objectives. This provides resilience and better future-proofing in our ever-changing world.
Conclusion
Combining agile methodologies, AI technologies, and strategic thinking is not just advantageous—it's essential in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. Agile provides the framework to adapt quickly, AI augments decision-making with data-driven insights, and strategic thinking ensures a clear vision aligns these elements. Together, they create a synergistic system where responsiveness, innovation, and foresight form the foundation of sustainable success.

Read on for:
- Sources/References,
- About Scott M. Graffius,
- How to Cite This Article,
- and more.


References/Sources
Select bibliography:
- Atsmon, Yuval (2017, May 2). How to Unleash Your Strategic Thinking. Digital article. McKinsey & Company.
- Beall, Justin L. (2024, March 15). Revolutionizing Agile Ceremonies with OpenAI. Available at: https://dev.to/dev3l/revolutionizing-agile-ceremonies-with-openai-a-game-changer-in-software-development-177p.
- Berlin School of Business and Innovation (2022, September 22). How Do Technical Abilities Combined with Leadership Skills Fuel Career Growth? Available at: https://www.berlinsbi.com/blog/career-advice/how-do-technical-abilities-combined-with-leadership-skills-fuel-career-growth.
- Bonn, Ingrid (2005, June). Improving Strategic Thinking: A Multilevel Approach. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 26 (5). DOI: 10.1108/01437730510607844.
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) (2024, September 27). Teaching AI What It Should and Shouldn’t Do. Available at: https://www.darpa.mil/news/2024/teaching-ai.
- Dixit, Avinash K., & Nelebuff, Barry J. (1993). Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
- Dolev, Niva, & Itzkovich, Yariv (2020). In the AI Era, Soft Skills are the New Hard Skills. In: Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact on Business, pp. 55-77. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
- Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (n.d.). Strategic Thinking for Engineering Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence. Available at: https://www.ervacommunity.org/task-force/visioning-event-strategic-thinking-for-engineering-research-in-the-era-of-ai/.
- Exceptional Agility (2023, April 10). What's the Future of Agile? Available at: https://exceptionalagility.com/blog/files/the-future.html.
- Goldman, Ellen F. (2007, Summer). Strategic Thinking at the Top. MIT Sloan Management Review, 48 (4): 75-81.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2016). Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2016). Thinking Strategically and Acting Tactically. Winnetka, CA: Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2018, October 18). Agile Scrum Helps Innovators, Disruptors, and Entrepreneurs Develop and Deliver Products at Astounding Speed Which Drives Competitive Advantage [Presentation]. Talk delivered at Techstars Startup Week Conference. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25009.12647.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2019). Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change. Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2020, October 16). Four Ways to Improve Your Strategic Thinking Skills Today. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/4-Strategic.html.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2023, May 1). AI is a Team Sport: A Confluence of Diverse Technical and Soft Skills are Crucial for Success. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/successful-ai-teams.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.20321.79200.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2024, May 3). Leverage Agile and AI to Innovate at the Speed of Light. Talk at private event in Dubai, UAE. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.30790.48960.
- Kerzner, Harold (2022). Innovation Project Management: Methods, Case Studies, and Tools for Managing Innovation Projects—Second Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.
- Kilby, Mark (2024, February 2). How AI Will Reshape Agile Development: Takeaways from a Recent Briefing. Agile Alliance. Available at: https://www.agilealliance.org/how-ai-will-reshape-agile-development-takeaways-from-a-recent-briefing/.
- Lang, Trudi, & Ramírez, Rafael (2023, October 11). How Ghost Scenarios Haunt Strategy Execution. MIT Sloan Management Review. Available at: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-ghost-scenarios-haunt-strategy-execution/.
- Lieberman, Marvin (2021, February). Is Competitive Advantage Intellectually Sustainable? Strategic Management Review, 2 (1): 29-46.
- Maneria, Sumitra, & Paikaray, Divya (2023). Artificial Intelligence and Agile Based Business Development Review. Third International Conference on Advance Computing and Innovative Technologies in Engineering (ICACITE), 2023, pp. 2091-2095. DOI: 10.1109/ICACITE57410.2023.10182756.
- Panesar, Gurpreet Singh, and Chadha, Raman, and Sharma, Ashim, and Tinna, Mandeep Singh, and Gupta, Anish, & Puri, Digvijay (2022). Atificial Intelligence in Business Development and Agile Software. Second International Conference on Advance Computing and Innovative Technologies in Engineering (ICACITE), 2022, pp. 306-311. DOI: 10.1109/ICACITE53722.2022.9823907.
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About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius is a high impact and globally recognized AI, advanced technology, agile, and project management researcher, thought leader, author, and public speaker.
Graffius has generated more than USD $1.9 billion in business value for organizations served, including Fortune 500 companies. Businesses and industries range from technology (including R&D and AI) to entertainment, financial services, and healthcare, government, social media, and more.
Graffius leads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded talent, and consulting services to public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™. Graffius is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
He is the author of two award-winning books.
- His first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (ISBN-13: 9781533370242), received 17 awards.
- His second book is Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change (ISBN-13: 9781072447962). BookAuthority named it one of the best Scrum books of all time.
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have featured Graffius and his work including content from his books, talks, workshops, and more. Select examples include:
- Adobe,
- American Management Association,
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute,
- Bayer,
- BMC Software,
- Boston University,
- Broadcom,
- Cisco,
- Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts Germany,
- Computer Weekly,
- Constructor University Germany,
- Data Governance Success,
- Deimos Aerospace,
- DevOps Institute,
- EU's European Commission,
- Ford Motor Company,
- GoDaddy,
- Harvard Medical School,
- Hasso Plattner Institute Germany,
- IEEE,
- Innovation Project Management,
- Johns Hopkins University,
- Journal of Neurosurgery,
- Lam Research (Semiconductors),
- Leadership Worthy,
- Life Sciences Trainers and Educators Network,
- London South Bank University,
- Microsoft,
- NASSCOM,
- National Academy of Sciences,
- New Zealand Government,
- Oracle,
- Pinterest Inc.,
- Project Management Institute,
- SANS Institute,
- SBG Neumark Germany,
- Singapore Institute of Technology,
- Torrens University Australia,
- TBS Switzerland,
- Tufts University,
- UC San Diego,
- UK Sports Institute,
- University of Galway Ireland,
- US Department of Energy,
- US National Park Service,
- US Tennis Association,
- Veleučilište u Rijeci Croatia,
- Verizon,
- Virginia Tech,
- Warsaw University of Technology,
- Wrike,
- Yale University,
- and many others.
Graffius has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Graffius was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds nine professional certifications:
- Certified SAFe 6 Agilist (SA),
- Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM),
- Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO),
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM),
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO),
- Project Management Professional (PMP),
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and
- IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL).
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He divides his time between Los Angeles and Paris, France.
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How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2025, January 24). When Agile, AI, and Strategic Thinking Converge. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/when-agile-ai-and-strategic-thinking-converge.html.


Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.22277.46565


Short Link for Article
The short link for this article is https://bit.ly/ai-agile


Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
