BCS Agile Foundation Certificate – Syllabus Update 2.1

In June 2023 BCS made a minor update to the syllabus for their Agile Foundation Certificate to version 2.1. This change was largely focused on the structure and organisation of the syllabus, but also included a small number of specific terminology changes. This page lists the differences in terminology for those preparing to take the exam, having taken a class before June 2023.

Agile Roles

The four generic versions of the agile roles have been replaced with four “non-scrum roles” to be learned in addition to the three Scrum roles. From now, the following should be understood:

• Scrum Roles

  • Scrum Master

  • Product Owner

  • Development Team

• Non-Scrum Roles (new)

  • Business Sponsor – accountable for the budget and is the main advocate for the product. Ideally the product owner but often not

  • Coach – Able to provide one-to-one coaching to Scrum Masters, and take a wider perspective.

  • Product Manager – If there is a portfolio of related products, the product manager is accountable for the whole set

  • Scaled Scrum Master – Where there are several teams, there can be a hierarchy of Scrum Masters led by the Scaled Scrum Master

Development Team Size

The recommended size of the development team changed with their updated syllabus – it is now 3-9

Agile Manifesto

In the manifesto value Individuals and Interactions over processes and tools the possible pitfall of reliance on processes and tools include:

• Removes creativity

• Less ownership

• No independent thought

• Tool worship

In the manifesto value Responding to Change over Following a Plan,  the types of change to recognise include:

• BAU – everyday tasks dealt with at team level, don’t require high level sign off

• Strategic change – requires significant planning and dedicated teams