WGU E007 Agile Methodology - Performance Assessment Exemplar
WGU E007
AGILE METHODOLOGY
Performance Assessment Exemplar
Complete Agile Transformation Scenario, Scrum, Kanban & Lean Analysis
2026/2027 Updated
Course: E007 Agile Methodology (ITEC 2201)
Credits: 3 competency units
Scenario: SummitWorks Digital Services - Agile Transformation
Primary recommendation: Kanban-led Agile operating model with Lean principles and selected
Scrum cadences
Original educational exemplar - not an official WGU task prompt, rubric, or student submission.
Designed from the October 2026 WGU course description and primary Agile framework sources.
Page 1
, WGU E007 Agile Methodology - Performance Assessment Exemplar
Document Purpose and Research Basis
This exemplar is designed to model the depth, organization, and applied reasoning expected in WGU E007
Agile Methodology. The October 2026 WGU catalog describes E007 as a three-competency-unit course
centered on Agile principles, practices, and mindset, with explicit coverage of Scrum, Kanban, Lean,
backlog management, Agile ceremonies, transparency, alignment, self-organizing teams, inclusivity,
psychological safety, and continuous improvement (Western Governors University, 2026).
WGU does not publicly publish the proprietary E007 task wording or full evaluator rubric in its catalog.
Current public guidance about the refreshed course consistently emphasizes an application-heavy written
assessment rather than a generic Agile essay. For that reason, this document uses an original scenario and
a six-aspect assessment-style structure that deliberately covers the defensible competency areas without
claiming to reproduce unpublished WGU instructions.
The scenario was intentionally designed to create a genuine decision problem. SummitWorks has both
planned digital-product work and unpredictable support demand. A purely time-boxed method would
struggle with interruptions, while a purely flow-based method could lose useful product-feedback
cadence. That tension makes it possible to compare Scrum, Kanban, and Lean on their actual operating
assumptions and then justify a context-specific recommendation.
Competency Coverage Map
Assessment-style aspect Evidence provided Location
1. Current-state analysis Team, demand pattern, pain points, Sections 1-2
constraints, measurable baseline
2. Framework analysis Scrum, Kanban, and Lean compared Section 3
against scenario-specific criteria
3. Applied Agile practices Workflow, backlog, WIP controls, Sections 4-5
service policies, Definition of
Ready/Done, cadences
4. Roles and collaboration Decision rights, facilitation, self- Section 6
management, inclusion, psychological
safety
5. Recommendation and justification Chosen operating model linked Section 7
explicitly to scenario evidence
6. Measurement and improvement Flow metrics, targets, reviews, Sections 8-10
30/60/90-day roadmap, risks
Executive Summary
SummitWorks Digital Services is an internal technology team responsible for enhancing and supporting a
customer-facing service portal used by approximately 18,000 employees and partners. The team currently
plans work in monthly batches, but receives urgent incidents, regulatory changes, and executive requests
throughout the month. Work enters through five different channels, priorities change without a common
decision rule, and specialists routinely begin new items before existing work is finished. The result is high
work in progress, long lead times, unpredictable delivery, rework, and repeated stakeholder status
requests.
Page 2
, WGU E007 Agile Methodology - Performance Assessment Exemplar
The recommended transformation is a Kanban-led Agile operating model strengthened by Lean principles
and selected Scrum cadences. Kanban is the primary method because the dominant operational problem
is flow under variable demand. Lean is used to remove non-value-adding handoffs and queues. Selected
Scrum practices - a product goal, backlog refinement, short review cadence, and recurring retrospectives -
create strategic focus and structured feedback without forcing all work into Sprints.
The transformation targets a reduction in median lead time from 42 to 21 calendar days, a reduction in
average active WIP from 14 to 6 items, a decrease in rework from 23% to below 10%, and improved
stakeholder satisfaction from 3.1 to at least 4.0 on a five-point scale within 90 days. These targets will be
monitored with the Kanban flow metrics of WIP, throughput, work item age, and cycle time,
supplemented by blocked time, rework rate, service-level expectation performance, and stakeholder
satisfaction.
1. Agile Transformation Scenario
1.1 Organization and Team
SummitWorks Digital Services is the internal technology division of a national professional-services
company. Its eight-person Portal Delivery Team maintains the SummitHub service portal, develops
workflow enhancements, integrates third-party tools, and resolves production defects. The portal has
grown rapidly and now supports onboarding, service requests, knowledge access, and approvals across
the organization.
Role Name Current responsibility Observed tension
Business sponsor Elena Brooks Director of Digital Operations; Receives escalations from
accountable for business multiple executives and
outcomes frequently reorders work
Service owner Marcus Lee Owns portal roadmap and Acts as de facto prioritizer but
stakeholder relationships lacks a transparent intake
policy
Delivery lead Priya Nair Coordinates delivery and Spends significant time
reporting chasing status rather than
improving flow
Business analyst Jordan Kim Clarifies requests and Often receives incomplete
acceptance needs requests after development
has already started
Developers 4 engineers Build integrations, features, Each carries 2-4 concurrent
fixes items and is frequently
interrupted
Quality specialist Amina Yusuf Testing, regression, release Testing is a persistent
validation bottleneck and final handoff
occurs late
1.2 Current Operating Model
Requests reach the team by email, direct chat, service desk tickets, executive meetings, and a monthly
roadmap spreadsheet. Priya compiles a plan at the start of each month, but urgent production issues and
new leadership requests continually displace planned work. Because there is no explicit work-in-progress
policy, team members frequently start another item while waiting for clarification, testing, or approval.
The resulting queues are largely invisible until deadlines are missed.
Page 3
WGU E007
AGILE METHODOLOGY
Performance Assessment Exemplar
Complete Agile Transformation Scenario, Scrum, Kanban & Lean Analysis
2026/2027 Updated
Course: E007 Agile Methodology (ITEC 2201)
Credits: 3 competency units
Scenario: SummitWorks Digital Services - Agile Transformation
Primary recommendation: Kanban-led Agile operating model with Lean principles and selected
Scrum cadences
Original educational exemplar - not an official WGU task prompt, rubric, or student submission.
Designed from the October 2026 WGU course description and primary Agile framework sources.
Page 1
, WGU E007 Agile Methodology - Performance Assessment Exemplar
Document Purpose and Research Basis
This exemplar is designed to model the depth, organization, and applied reasoning expected in WGU E007
Agile Methodology. The October 2026 WGU catalog describes E007 as a three-competency-unit course
centered on Agile principles, practices, and mindset, with explicit coverage of Scrum, Kanban, Lean,
backlog management, Agile ceremonies, transparency, alignment, self-organizing teams, inclusivity,
psychological safety, and continuous improvement (Western Governors University, 2026).
WGU does not publicly publish the proprietary E007 task wording or full evaluator rubric in its catalog.
Current public guidance about the refreshed course consistently emphasizes an application-heavy written
assessment rather than a generic Agile essay. For that reason, this document uses an original scenario and
a six-aspect assessment-style structure that deliberately covers the defensible competency areas without
claiming to reproduce unpublished WGU instructions.
The scenario was intentionally designed to create a genuine decision problem. SummitWorks has both
planned digital-product work and unpredictable support demand. A purely time-boxed method would
struggle with interruptions, while a purely flow-based method could lose useful product-feedback
cadence. That tension makes it possible to compare Scrum, Kanban, and Lean on their actual operating
assumptions and then justify a context-specific recommendation.
Competency Coverage Map
Assessment-style aspect Evidence provided Location
1. Current-state analysis Team, demand pattern, pain points, Sections 1-2
constraints, measurable baseline
2. Framework analysis Scrum, Kanban, and Lean compared Section 3
against scenario-specific criteria
3. Applied Agile practices Workflow, backlog, WIP controls, Sections 4-5
service policies, Definition of
Ready/Done, cadences
4. Roles and collaboration Decision rights, facilitation, self- Section 6
management, inclusion, psychological
safety
5. Recommendation and justification Chosen operating model linked Section 7
explicitly to scenario evidence
6. Measurement and improvement Flow metrics, targets, reviews, Sections 8-10
30/60/90-day roadmap, risks
Executive Summary
SummitWorks Digital Services is an internal technology team responsible for enhancing and supporting a
customer-facing service portal used by approximately 18,000 employees and partners. The team currently
plans work in monthly batches, but receives urgent incidents, regulatory changes, and executive requests
throughout the month. Work enters through five different channels, priorities change without a common
decision rule, and specialists routinely begin new items before existing work is finished. The result is high
work in progress, long lead times, unpredictable delivery, rework, and repeated stakeholder status
requests.
Page 2
, WGU E007 Agile Methodology - Performance Assessment Exemplar
The recommended transformation is a Kanban-led Agile operating model strengthened by Lean principles
and selected Scrum cadences. Kanban is the primary method because the dominant operational problem
is flow under variable demand. Lean is used to remove non-value-adding handoffs and queues. Selected
Scrum practices - a product goal, backlog refinement, short review cadence, and recurring retrospectives -
create strategic focus and structured feedback without forcing all work into Sprints.
The transformation targets a reduction in median lead time from 42 to 21 calendar days, a reduction in
average active WIP from 14 to 6 items, a decrease in rework from 23% to below 10%, and improved
stakeholder satisfaction from 3.1 to at least 4.0 on a five-point scale within 90 days. These targets will be
monitored with the Kanban flow metrics of WIP, throughput, work item age, and cycle time,
supplemented by blocked time, rework rate, service-level expectation performance, and stakeholder
satisfaction.
1. Agile Transformation Scenario
1.1 Organization and Team
SummitWorks Digital Services is the internal technology division of a national professional-services
company. Its eight-person Portal Delivery Team maintains the SummitHub service portal, develops
workflow enhancements, integrates third-party tools, and resolves production defects. The portal has
grown rapidly and now supports onboarding, service requests, knowledge access, and approvals across
the organization.
Role Name Current responsibility Observed tension
Business sponsor Elena Brooks Director of Digital Operations; Receives escalations from
accountable for business multiple executives and
outcomes frequently reorders work
Service owner Marcus Lee Owns portal roadmap and Acts as de facto prioritizer but
stakeholder relationships lacks a transparent intake
policy
Delivery lead Priya Nair Coordinates delivery and Spends significant time
reporting chasing status rather than
improving flow
Business analyst Jordan Kim Clarifies requests and Often receives incomplete
acceptance needs requests after development
has already started
Developers 4 engineers Build integrations, features, Each carries 2-4 concurrent
fixes items and is frequently
interrupted
Quality specialist Amina Yusuf Testing, regression, release Testing is a persistent
validation bottleneck and final handoff
occurs late
1.2 Current Operating Model
Requests reach the team by email, direct chat, service desk tickets, executive meetings, and a monthly
roadmap spreadsheet. Priya compiles a plan at the start of each month, but urgent production issues and
new leadership requests continually displace planned work. Because there is no explicit work-in-progress
policy, team members frequently start another item while waiting for clarification, testing, or approval.
The resulting queues are largely invisible until deadlines are missed.
Page 3
