Transformation Prospectus

The Scottish Digital Academy is the public sector centre of excellence for digital capability in Scotland. Our prospectus provides an overview of our transformation development courses and programmes.

The courses are funded by the Scottish Government Digital Directorate.

Transforming public services

The Transformation Prospectus helps individuals, teams and organisations shape the transformation of the way they deliver change and value to their customers, develop their people and teams and manage change in complex environments by refining their approach. Our offer enables them to develop and enhance teams, design user-centred services and adopt a flexible and responsive mindset.

Agile mindsets are vital for public service reform. We provide people and teams across the public and third sector in Scotland with high-quality learning opportunities to build knowledge and confidence in developing digital products and services. Agile can transform behaviours and culture not just individually but across teams and organisations as well enabling and encouraging experimentation, adaptability and responsiveness.

Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework

The Capability Framework describes the job roles in the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Profession and provides details of the skills needed to work at each role level. The Transformation Prospectus is aligned to the skills levels within the framework.

There are 4 skill levels which indicate the level of expertise required for the job role/course:

Awareness. You know about the skill and have an appreciation of how it is applied in the environment.
Working. You can apply your knowledge and experience of the skill, including tools and techniques. You can adopt those most appropriate for the environment.
Practitioner. You know how to share your knowledge and experience of this skill with others, including tools and techniques. You can define those most appropriate for the environment.
Expert. You have both knowledge and experience in the application of this skill. You are a recognised specialist and adviser in this skill including user needs, generation of ideas, methods and tools. You can lead or guide others in best-practice use.

Available courses for people in the Scottish Public and Third Sector

These courses are available to anyone working in the public or third sector in Scotland. You do not need to be a Civil Servant nor do you need to work in a digital or data role. There are nine open courses which are designed to provide progression in learning, but you may attend any of them in an order to suit you.

Full details and eligibility criteria can be found on each course page. These courses are in high demand, if you cannot see any scheduled dates complete the waiting list or contact us and we will contact you when a space become available.

Awareness Level

Agile mindsets

This course provides an introduction to agile mindsets and practices, helping public and third sector staff in Scotland understand the values, principles and ways of working that underpin successful agile delivery. It explores how agile thinking supports collaboration, continuous improvement and user‑focused problem‑solving when developing products and services. Participants gain insight into how adopting an agile mindset can strengthen team culture, improve adaptability and encourage more effective decision‑making. The course offers practical guidance to help individuals apply agile behaviours confidently within their day‑to‑day work.

Working skill level

Why agile?

Start your agile journey here with a deeper dive into agile values, principles and practices that shape modern ways of working. This course offers a unique opportunity to explore how agile is driving digital transformation across organisations. Open to everyone in the Scottish public and third sectors, it provides insight into why iterative and incremental approaches matter when creating digital products and services. Participants gain knowledge and confidence to understand agile more fully, supporting improved delivery, collaboration and the development of user‑focused solutions in complex environments.

User story mapping

This course introduces you to user story mapping, a technique developed by Jeff Patton that helps teams understand and plan development of products, services and features. It includes recognising user stories in context and provides an accessible introduction to mapping techniques. Suitable for anyone working in the Scottish public or third sectors, the course supports those wishing to learn more about user stories and their practical use. It offers clear guidance to strengthen understanding, helping participants organise work effectively and build stronger shared perspectives when shaping digital products or services.

Product roadmaps

Open to everyone across the Scottish public and third sectors, this course explores the connection between your product or service vision and how to create a compelling roadmap for existing or proposed services. It explains the intent and context of product roadmaps and their link with modern product delivery. The course provides clear examples, insights and guidance to build confidence in roadmap development. Participants gain practical approaches to help apply roadmap thinking effectively, supporting better decision‑making, prioritisation and longer‑term planning within a wide range of organisational and delivery settings.

Introduction to Scrum

This introductory course explains the fundamentals of the Scrum Framework, covering its key roles, events and artefacts to help public and third sector staff in Scotland understand how Scrum supports iterative and incremental delivery. It introduces team responsibilities, core Scrum values and the ways the framework helps organisations respond effectively to complex service challenges. Participants gain a practical foundation for using Scrum confidently, including how to apply collaborative, adaptive approaches that improve product development and support continuous improvement in changing environments.

Estimation and planning

Open to public and third sector staff in Scotland, this course introduces the fundamentals of estimating work effort and planning effectively, helping you understand how agile teams think about their backlogs, prioritise high‑value work and organise delivery. It covers widely used estimation tools and techniques, explaining how estimation supports strategic planning and informed decision‑making. Participants gain the confidence to run their own estimation and planning sessions, improving clarity, prioritisation and delivery outcomes while strengthening team understanding of how work is sized, sequenced and aligned to organisational goals.

Agile prioritisation

This brand‑new course is currently in development and has not yet launched. It will help you understand why prioritisation is important and introduce skills and techniques that support teams in defining value and establishing clear focus. The course will explore how effective prioritisation strengthens decision‑making, improves delivery flow and supports alignment with organisational goals. As the content is still being shaped, attendance is by invite only for now. Please check back for updates as we prepare this course for wider release.

Coming soon

Practitioner skill level

Product and delivery practitioner

This course is for practitioners in the DDaT Product and Delivery family across the Scottish public and third sectors who work in or around agile teams in complex environments. This fast‑paced, hands‑on two‑day course is ideal for practitioners ready to deepen their agile practice. Aligned to key DDaT skills, it boosts confidence with agile ways of working, experimentation and team dynamics. Participants gain practical tools to create better products and deliver meaningful impact, helping them apply modern delivery techniques effectively within diverse project and service contexts.

Agile Leadership in Practice

Agile Leadership in Practice is designed for leaders across the Scottish public and third sectors who manage or support agile teams working in complex environments. The course explores practical leadership strategies that foster collaboration, build resilience and encourage positive team cultures. Participants learn how to navigate uncertainty, support adaptive decision‑making and drive meaningful impact using agile principles. It offers clear guidance to strengthen confident leadership and improve organisational outcomes, helping leaders apply agile thinking effectively across a variety of modern public service settings.