National Harbor, Maryland, Certified LeSS Practitioner, July 29-31, 2026, @ PMI Agile 2026

  James  4 mins read.

July 29-31: Get Tickets

@ PMI Agile 2026

The PMI Agile 2026 conference runs from Sunday, July 26 until Tuesday, July 28. This LeSS Practitioner course is intentionally shoulder booked with the conference to make it easy for people to attend.

This LeSS course is not affillated with PMI in any way. You won’t find it mentioned on the PMI Agile 2026 conference pages, as you will the PMI affiliated courses running in the hotel at the same time.

This course is found on both the Agile Carpentry, and LeSS.works websites. All description pages for this instance of the course link to the same ticketing page. The Agile Carpentry link will provide a nicer link preview if you wish to create a LinkedIn post for it.

Beware, there is a good chance the system modeling activities within this workshop will cause you to seriously question a lot of what you hear at the conference, especially at certain vendor booths.

Video Introduction

Course Agenda

The morning of the first of three days will be used to establish the overall context of the system modeling activities which follow. This will be done through a small amount of lecture, combined with both small and large group discussions.

Once the stage is set, we will transition to thoughtful analysis of the impact of different organizational design decisions on adaptability and value delivery using system modeling. Following each incremental framework-agnostic advance in our understanding, we will map concrete aspects of LeSS into our increasingly enlightened understanding of organizational system dynamics. The system modeling brings deeper insight, while mapping this insight into LeSS facilitates better retention along with an understanding of how to act on what is being learned.

We will continue to incrementally advance our depth of understanding using system modeling for the majority of the three days. Towards the end of the third day time will be spent: coalescing the whole of our enhanced understanding; providing guidance on how to move forward; and orienting participants on how to navigate a wealth of additional information.

DAY 1: Setting the Stage

The first of three days will be used to establish the overall context of the system modeling activities which follow. This will be done with a small amount of lecture, but primarily via small and large group discussions and exercises. We’ll follow this thread through the entire 3-day event.

  • Introduction
  • Avoiding Taylorism
  • Estimates, not Commitments
  • People are Valuable
  • System Optimization, not Local Optimization
  • Discovering Value
  • Implications of multiple Product Backlogs

DAY 2: Seeing Simplicity through Systems Modeling

On the second day, we will take what we learned about Systems Modeling on Day 1 and use those tools to understand:

  • Benefits of Cross-Functional Teams
  • Product Breadth Considerations
  • Private Code Impedes Technical Excellence
  • Managing Cognitive Fullness
  • Requirement Area Sizing Considerations

DAY 3: Modeling decisions through Systems Modeling & LeSS

As we continue to advance our depth of understanding using system modeling, the third day will be spent coalescing the whole of our enhanced understanding, providing guidance on how to move forward, and orienting participants on how to navigate a wealth of additional information.

  • Product Breadth and Adaptability
  • Avoiding Middlemen
  • LeSS Complete Picture
  • Structure Drives Culture
  • Adoption in your organization
  • Extended Q&A

After course completion

Each participant will be a Certified LeSS Practitioner and will get an account on less.works. Here one can find additional information about LeSS, share course information, and stay in contact with the other course participants.

All participants get access to the book: Large-Scale Scrum: More with LeSS

U.S. Air-Force Specifics

This course is listed in the United States Air Force’s Education and Training Management System (ETMS). More details are available here.

Participant Testimonials

LeSS Adopters

LeSS Logo Sheet by Sector

Training Venue Details

I have reserved a hospitality suite at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, 201 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, MD 20745.

The hospitality suite will provide enough capacity to support the first few attendees, at which point I will book a larger space, and cancel the hospitality suite. Any larger event space will most likely be at the Gaylord as well.

There is always a chance any larger event space will be outside of the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. If I need to move the course location, I will do my best to stay within walking distance of the Gaylord. There is a Westin, as well as a few upscale limited service hotels within a few blocks of the Gaylord lobby entrance which all have ballroom space.

Meals

I will be providing lunch for everyone. This will most likely be in one of the various table service restaurants within the resort.

There is a good chance some of us will organize dinners as well, but those are not included in the cost of the course.

Tickets

July 29-31: Get Tickets