EXIN Agile Coach Assessment study plan

Define Agnostic Agile in your own words and distinguish it from Scrum-only, SAFe-only, and framework-branded coaching stances

Map the Agile Manifesto's four values and twelve principles to concrete coaching behaviors you would demonstrate in a team session

Compare at least four Agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, XP, SAFe) on roles, cadence, and artifacts, and note where they conflict

Write a one-page glossary of Agile terms you must use precisely in coaching conversations

Explain the difference between being Agile and doing Agile using two workplace examples

Trace the origin and intent of the Agile Manifesto principles and identify which principle is most often violated in practice

Describe how Lean thinking and systems thinking underpin Kanban flow and WIP limits

Identify three symptoms of framework dogmatism in a team and propose a framework-agnostic response to each

Facilitate a simulated retrospective and select techniques appropriate to the team's maturity stage

Design a value-stream map for a sample delivery process and mark the largest queue

Explain how to use flow metrics (cycle time, throughput, WIP) to diagnose a bottleneck without prescribing Scrum

Compare estimation approaches (story points, no-estimates, cycle-time forecasting) and state when each is defensible

Describe how technical practices such as CI, TDD, and refactoring interact with process coaching

Analyze the stages of change and identify where resistance typically appears in an Agile transformation

Draft a stakeholder map for a transformation, classifying sponsors, blockers, and neutrals

Explain Kotter's and ADKAR's change models and apply one to a realistic Agile adoption scenario

Identify three sources of organizational impediment (policy, structure, incentives) and propose escalation paths

Practice framing an Agile change message that addresses fear of lost role or status

Design a coaching engagement plan with entry, diagnosis, intervention, and exit stages

Explain how to contract with a sponsor on goals, success measures, and boundaries

Distinguish coaching, mentoring, teaching, and consulting, and choose the right mode for three scenarios

Describe how to handle a manager who wants Agile metrics used as individual performance targets

Plan how to build internal change agents so the transformation survives your departure

Apply the GROW model to a live practice-coaching conversation and record the questions you used

Demonstrate active listening and powerful questioning in a recorded role-play and self-assess against a rubric

Explain the difference between coaching the person and fixing the process, and choose correctly in three cases

Identify when coaching is inappropriate and referral or escalation is required (conflict, burnout, ethics)

Practice giving feedback using a specific behavioral model without judgmental language

Coach a resistant team lead through a simulated conversation using the GROW model and non-directive techniques

Diagnose team dysfunction using a model such as Tuckman or psychological safety and select an intervention

Explain how to coach across cultural and hierarchical distance without imposing your own values

Design a feedback loop that keeps the sponsor informed without breaching coaching confidentiality

Identify your own coaching blind spots and state two concrete development actions

Synthesize all four domains into a coherent personal coaching philosophy statement

Answer timed practice questions across all domains and review every error against source material

Re-teach the weakest two topics aloud as if explaining to a colleague, and note gaps

Verify recall of key definitions, models, and distinctions without notes

Finalize a one-page exam-day summary sheet of models and decision rules