Are you looking to implement Agile in your company, expand your Agile knowledge, or train your team? You’re in the right place.

Agile is a dynamic and iterative approach to project management and software development. In this Best Courses Guide, we’ve utilized Class Central, a search engine for online courses, along with other sources, to identify the top Agile courses for you.

These courses are ideal for a range of professionals — from project managers and Scrum masters to Product Owners, Agile Coaches, and anyone keen on applying Agile methodologies. Whether you’re interested in creating better user stories through design thinking, mastering Agile with Jira, understanding Scrum or Kanban, or delving into Agile for software development and leadership, we’ve got you covered.

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• Top Picks
• Stats
• Why You Should Trust Us
• How We Made Our Picks and Tested Them

Here are our top picks

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Stats

• 5 courses are free or free-to-audit and 3 are paid
• The Agile subject is followed by 7.3K learners on Class Central
• The most featured provider is Coursera with 4 courses.

Best Intro to Agile and Design Thinking for Better User Stories (University of Virginia)

Are you a Product Owner willing to create products that genuinely resonate with users? Agile Meets Design Thinking merges Agile methodologies with the user-centric approach of design thinking, placing you at the forefront of developing products that exceed user expectations.

In this course, you’ll learn how to refine your product vision by focusing on what’s truly valuable to your users. By developing personas and user stories, you’ll gain insights into user needs, allowing you to prioritize your product backlog more effectively. This course offers practical tools to help you transition from theoretical understanding to real-world application, ensuring that your team’s work translates into tangible value for your users.

What you’ll learn:

• Techniques for integrating design thinking into Agile methodologies
• Methods for developing user personas and creating compelling user stories
• Strategies for testing assumptions and aligning product development with real user needs
• Best practices for prioritizing the product backlog to maximize user value.

“Lectures were useful, but the supplementary material listed in the syllabus was essential. I don’t think a total newcomer to Agile can really understand the big picture without reading the supplementary resources on Alex Cowan’s site.” – Alexis K, Coursera learner.

Best Course for Agile Teams Using Jira (Atlassian)

Agile with Atlassian Jira explores the core principles of Agile methodologies with a special focus on their application within the Jira Software Cloud environment. The course covers Agile and lean principles, including Kanban and Scrum, and guides you through configuring Jira to align with your team’s Agile processes.

You’ll gain hands-on experience in creating custom kanban boards, executing sprints in Jira, and mastering Jira Query Language (JQL) for more effective project tracking and management. Plus, you’ll acquire skills necessary for basic site administration within Jira.

What you will learn:

• Agile and lean principles, with a focus on kanban and scrum, applied through Jira
• Hands-on skills in setting up and managing Agile projects using Jira Software Cloud
• Advanced techniques in Jira configuration to support custom Agile methodologies
• Proficiency in Jira Query Language (JQL) for effective project management and tracking
• Essentials of Jira site administration, preparing you for an Atlassian certification.

“An excellent course to learn the basics of Jira, Agile, Scrum, and Kanban. It’s extensive and informative. A must-do for all users to have these methodologies implemented at their workplace.” – MANASVINI V, Coursera learner

Best Scrum Course for Agile Project Managers (Google)

Scrum is a practical framework for implementing Agile’s adaptive and collaborative project management methodologies. While Agile outlines the overarching philosophy and principles, Scrum provides specific processes and practices to put Agile into action effectively.

Agile Project Management is a comprehensive guide to understanding and applying Agile and Scrum methodologies in real-world scenarios. This course is ideal for anyone interested in project management, especially those aiming for an introductory-level job. You’ll be learning directly from Google program managers, who bring their hands-on experience to the table, offering you practical tools and resources to succeed.

Throughout the course, you’ll explore the history, philosophy, and practical application of Scrum. Learn how to build and manage a Product Backlog, understand the roles within a Scrum team, and effectively organize and execute Scrum events.

What you will learn:

• Core principles of Scrum within the Agile project management philosophy
• Building and managing a Product Backlog and performing Backlog Refinement
• Setting up and managing key Scrum events for effective team collaboration
• Preparing for a career in Agile project management, with a focus on Scrum roles.

“My favorite course of the Certificate Program by a mile. I enjoyed learning from such a great instructor and true Google “Agilest”, who provided many real-life project examples and useful tips. Kudos.” – Sergei K, Coursera learner

Best Scrum & Kanban Course for Agile Teams (Udemy)

Scrum structures project management into sprints, while Kanban uses visual organization to streamline and simplify workflow, both essential for Agile teams’ efficiency and adaptability.

In Agile Fundamentals: Including Scrum & Kanban, you’ll master Agile principles, methodologies, and frameworks. Whether you’re a beginner or have basic knowledge of Agile practices, this course will help further your understanding and skills. By taking this course, you’ll learn from instructors with real-world experience, Jeremy Aschenbrenner (The BA Guide) and Vivek Khattri (The Agile Coach), who bring a wealth of knowledge of Agile, Scrum, Kanban, and Scrumban.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Embrace the Agile mindset and understand its role in business evolution
• Master the Scrum, Kanban, and Scrumban frameworks to excel in Agile positions
• Gain insights from interactive lessons that apply to real-life scenarios
• Become a more valuable team member by facilitating organizational change through Agile methods.

“Before starting the course, I was afraid of terms like Scrum, Agile & Kanban. Now I really understand what it is and how it works[…]” – Ommer Farooq S., Udemy learner

Best Course for Agile in Software Development (University of Minnesota)

Agile Software Development is designed specifically for those with a foundational understanding of software development processes and methodologies. As the software industry increasingly embraces Agile for its adaptability in unpredictable and evolving project environments, this course offers a focused exploration of Agile’s application in this field.

You’ll learn the Agile mindset and how it contrasts with traditional software development approaches, making it more suited for dynamic project requirements. The course also offers practical examples where you’ll have the chance to apply your learnings to fictional case studies.

What you’ll learn:

• The agile mindset and how agile methods differ from traditional approaches
• Application of agile mindset in software development
• In-depth knowledge of Scrum and XP frameworks, including their practices and purposes
• Agile estimation, planning techniques, and user story creation
• Solutions to common challenges in adopting Agile methods in software projects.

“The course is interactive and has practical examples. Case study and peer reviews provide good experience of agile practice. Thank you for the wonderful course.” – Subalakshmi S, Coursera learner

Best Course on Agile Leadership Mastery (University System of Maryland)

Agile Leadership Principles and Practices is a great course for leaders in Agile software development.

In the Agile context, especially within software development, leadership moves from command-control to a focus on facilitation, empowerment, and communication. This course dives into how Agile leadership differs from traditional styles, emphasizing skills like empowering team members, facilitating creativity, managing biases in decision-making, and navigating conflicts.

What you will learn:

• The principles of Agile leadership, contrasting traditional and Agile leadership styles
• Techniques for effectively motivating and empowering software development teams
• Strategies for facilitating creativity and inclusivity in high-functioning teams
• Managing biases in decision-making and mastering conflict negotiation
• Practical tools for applying Agile leadership in software development environments.

“This was a very interesting course. I appreciated the external reading suggestions and real world examples. The course provided scope for self evaluation and insight on how to leverage skills in negotiations and leadership. I can see this being useful at work.” – Serena Bonini

Best Course for Embedding Agile Philosophy into Organizational DNA (Udemy)

Business Strategy Execution-Agile Organization System Design teaches the crucial application of Agile methodologies for aligning an organization’s culture, systems, and capabilities with its strategic business objectives.

This is an essential training for leaders and managers who aim to integrate Agile into their strategic planning and execution processes.

The course provides a detailed roadmap for assessing current organizational culture, identifying areas for improvement, and leveraging opportunities. Through a blend of theory and practical examples, you will gain the skills necessary to transform your organization.

What you will learn:

• Practical application of Agile methodologies for strategic alignment in business
• Techniques for aligning an organization’s culture, systems, and capabilities with strategic goals
• Strategies for fostering an agile, adaptive corporate culture
• Methods for engaging all levels of the organization in transformative practices
• Assessing and leveraging organizational strengths for competitive advantage.

“This course exceeded my expectations. Larry provided amazing insight and practical examples of how organizations fail to transform and successfully execute their business strategy. I will apply these learnings in my organization.” – Fadli D., Udemy learner

Best Advanced Agile Principles Course for Intermediate Practitioners (Udemy)

Agile PM 201 – Understanding Agile at a Deeper Level is an essential course for aspiring Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters who have a foundational understanding of Agile and Scrum and are ready to take their skills to the next level. You’ll explore advanced principles and values of Agile and Scrum, enabling you to develop high-performance Agile teams and apply Agile methodologies more effectively across various projects and business contexts.

What sets this course apart is its focus on creating an adaptive Agile approach, tuned to the nuances of different project environments.

What you will learn:

• Agile and Scrum values, principles, and their history
• Skills to create and lead high-performance Agile teams
• Techniques to apply Agile principles in a wide range of project environments
• Insights to lead, mentor, and coach Agile project teams effectively.

“Amazing content. Gives a detailed history on the development of agile and the various methodologies under agile like scrum, XP and others. Also the correlation between Agile, TQM and Lean was new to me.” – Abhinav R., Udemy learner

Why You Should Trust Us

Class Central, a Tripadvisor for online education, has helped 60 million learners find their next course. We’ve been combing through online education for more than a decade to aggregate a catalog of 200,000 online courses and 200,000 reviews written by our users. And we’re online learners ourselves: combined, the Class Central team has completed over 400 online courses, including online degrees.

How We Made Our Picks and Tested Them

Trying to find “the best” can be daunting, even for those of us who live and breathe online courses. Here’s how I approached this task.

First, I combed through Class Central’s Catalog and the internet to find a variety of free and paid open courses, some with certificates. You don’t need to enroll in a university to learn about Agile.

When choosing courses, I considered the following factors:

• Renowned Institutions: I looked for recognized institutions in Agile
• Instructor experience: I sought instructors with extensive experience in Agile and engaging presentation styles
• Popularity: I checked numbers of enrollments and views to find popular courses
• Course content: I examined courses that covered a range of topics and presentation styles, including the basics and more advanced topics. I watched some course videos to sample courses I hadn’t already taken
• Learner reviews: I read learner reviews (when available) to get a sense of the quality of each course, leveraging the Class Central database with its thousands of course ratings and reviews written by our users as well as available course provider reviews.

Then, I defined the scope for these recommendations. An Agile course can cover various topics, so I chose top courses from a range of sub-fields.

Ultimately, I used a combination of data and my own judgment to make these picks. I’m confident these recommendations will be a reliable way to learn about Agile.