Please note, due to the Coronavirus, classroom-based training with GDS Academy is currently on hold. In the meantime, we have developed a library of online training courses for local authority staff.
The Local Digital Fund is offering GDS Academy training to over 1000 local authority staff. The initiative aims to build digital delivery and leadership capacity in the sector. This page sets out what’s available, who’s eligible and how to register.
Who is eligible for training?
Staff of local authorities that have signed the Local Digital Declaration are eligible to apply for free digital skills training as part of the Local Digital Fund.
How to book
You can book a place on a free training course through the Eventbrite links below:
Cancelling a course
If you cancel a course less than one month before the course starts, fail to notify us that you want to cancel a course, or the person does not attend the course, it may affect your ability to book and attend training courses with us in the future.
Please email skills@localdigital.gov.uk with as much notice as possible to cancel or amend your booking.
Changing the person attending a course
You can change the name of the person attending a course up to 3 working days before the course starts. Please email the details of the change, including course name, dates, location, and the names and email addresses of the people involved.
Please email the details of the change as soon as possible to skills@localdigital.gov.uk so that we can pass this onto GDS Academy.
What courses are available?
The list below outlines what’s involved in each course, who it’s aimed at and how many credits it’s worth. All courses are delivered at GDS Academy venues. The Agile for Teams course also offers the option to be delivered at venues provided by councils.
Agile for Teams
Who is this course for?
This course aims to equip teams to work well together and deliver good project outputs. It’s designed for groups of people from the same team attending together, and as such isn’t open to individuals. It’s best suited to cohorts of between 10 and 15 people, but if your team falls outside of these numbers please get in touch and we can discuss your requirements. We will deal with the lead council point of contact to arrange this.
Course summary
Agile for Teams introduces agile concepts and techniques for teams to understand and apply agile to their work. During the course, there will be the opportunity to apply the techniques with a ready-prepared simulation, which will help consolidate learning.
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- explain the origins of agile including the values and principles
- recognise agile ways of working in other areas
- demonstrate how to apply agile methodologies within their own team
Modules
- Agile principles
- Scrum overview
- User stories
- Agile estimating and planning
- Backlog refinement
- Kanban
- Project simulation
Duration
The course takes 3 working days. It usually runs from 9:30am to 4pm.
Dates
Available dates can be booked through this Eventbrite booking page.
Introduction to User Centred Design
Who is this course for?
This course is for team members who want to understand how to carry out research and design in agile.
This course is open to any member of staff. You should not take this course if you have taken the Agile for Teams training.
Course summary
This course provides a high level of awareness of the importance of research and design. You will get the chance to explore techniques such as interaction design and content design, and see how they work in an agile team.
The aim of this course is to show how government carries out user-centred design to create inclusive services that are easy for people to use.
By the end of the course you will be able to explain:
- what user-centred design is
- why user-centred design is important
- how user-centred design is done in an agile team
- how the different disciplines in user-centred design work together
Modules
- Introduction to user-centred design
- User needs
- Disciplines in user-centred design
- Accessibility needs
- User research
- Designing simple services
- Prototyping
Duration
The course takes 1 working day, 10:00 – 17:00.
Dates and locations
Available dates can be booked through this Eventbrite booking page.
Delivery manager - working level
Who is this course for?
This course is for delivery managers who have already attended the GDS Academy Digital and Agile Foundation course, Agile for Teams, or have approximately 6 months’ experience in this role. It is also for experienced delivery managers who are new to local government.
This course is appropriate for associate delivery managers and delivery managers.
Participants are expected to have at least 6 months’ experience in their role. Applicants should be familiar with Scrum as an agile method. This could include working within a Scrum team or using an agile framework. A working knowledge of the agile values and principles is required.
Course summary
The aim of this course is to provide a deeper understanding of the role of a delivery manager and explore some of the techniques and methods commonly used on digital teams.
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- explain the role of the delivery manager, and the characteristics required of a good or great delivery manager
- describe different agile patterns and when they are typically used
- explain and implement effective agile ceremonies
- communicate the role of the delivery manager in forming high performing teams
Modules
- The role of the delivery manager
- Agile patterns
- Agile ceremonies
- Team forming
- Minimum viable product and story mapping
- Impact mapping
Duration
The course takes 3 working days. It usually runs from 9am to 5:30pm.
Dates and locations
Available dates can be booked through this Eventbrite booking page.
Product manager - working level
Who is this course for?
This course is for product managers who have already attended the GDS Academy Digital and Agile Foundation course, Agile for Teams, or have approximately 6 months’ experience in this role. It is also for experienced product managers who are new to local government.
This course is appropriate for associate product managers and product managers. Applicants are expected to have a minimum of 3 to 6 months experience in the role.
Course summary
The aim of this course is to deepen knowledge of the product manager role and provide experience in a number of techniques.
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- describe the role of the product manager and identify the characteristics required to be a good or great product manager
- use techniques to develop a product vision
- understand how impact mapping, story mapping and hypothesis testing can be used on your team to generate a product backlog
- understand behaviour driven development and how this is used on digital teams
Modules
- The role of the product manager
- Developing a vision and a roadmap
- What makes a good Discovery, Alpha and Beta
- Sprint planning and backlog grooming
- Prototyping
- Preparing for a GDS service assessment
- Measurement and Google analytics
Duration
The course takes 3 working days:
- Day 1: 10am to 5:30pm
- Day 2: 9am to 5:30pm
- Day 3: 9am to 4:30pm
Dates and locations
Available dates can be booked through this Eventbrite booking page.
Business analyst - working level
Who is this course for?
This course is for business analysts who have already attended the GDS Academy Digital and Agile Foundation course, Agile for Teams, or have approximately 6 months’ experience in this role. It is also for experienced business analysts who are new to local government.
This course is appropriate for existing business analysts who are about to start work on, or have recently joined, digital teams. A minimum of 6 months’ business analysis experience is required.
Course summary
This GDS Academy course focuses on the business analyst role within a digital service. It does not aim to cover all business analysis techniques (there is an assumed level of knowledge here).
The course is focused on business analysts’ understanding their role in digital projects and it does not cover traditional business analysis methods or techniques.
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- describe the role of the business analyst on a digital team
- explain how the business analyst works with other members of a multidisciplinary team and what the business analyst brings to the team
- develop user stories and acceptance criteria
Modules
- The role of the business analyst
- Talks from a user researcher, delivery manager, technical architect, developer, QA, experienced business analyst, product owner
- User stories, story mapping, story splitting
- How a business analyst impacts each phase
- The Three Amigos process
- Acceptance criteria
- Behaviour-driven development and continuous integration
Duration
The course takes 3 working days. It usually runs from 9am to 5:30pm.
Dates and locations
Available dates can be booked through this Eventbrite booking page.
User researcher - working level
Who is this course for?
This course is for user researchers working in local government.
Course summary
This course aims to show how user research supports the user-centred design and development of digital public services that are easy for people to use. It will provide delegates with the understanding and confidence to start conducting research as part of an agile team.
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- understand what user research is and why it’s important
- understand how user research is done in an agile team
- understand how the different disciplines in user-centred design work together
- understand how to develop and maintain a research plan
- have practised a selection of foundation user research techniques
- understand how to analyse and prioritise user research findings with a team
- have an awareness of accessibility issues and how they relate to user research
- understand the key ethical and privacy issues relevant to conducting user research
Dates and locations
Available dates can be booked through this Eventbrite booking page.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government