1. Warm up: Agile Team and Portfolio Management Overview

Provider: GitLab University (GitLab)
What you earn: Course completion on your GitLab University profile (we found no free badge or certificate)
Cost: Free (free GitLab University account) · Approx. time: about 1 hour

This is the page one of our learners found. It is a video lesson, so GitLab University may ask you to sign in or register first.

2. Learn the tools: GitLab Agile Project Management

Provider: GitLab University (GitLab)
What you earn: Course completion (no free badge found); self-paced lessons with an estimated 5 hours of effort and access for up to 6 months after you register
Cost: Free (free GitLab University account) · Approx. time: about 5 hours

3. Go deeper: Agile Planning & Portfolio Management learning path

Provider: GitLab University (GitLab)
What you earn: Free self-paced videos, articles and hands-on practice covering agile planning, epics and portfolio management
Cost: Free (instructor-led classes are separate and paid, you do not need them) · Approx. time: about 4 hours

4. Practice: Hands-on Lab, Project Management with Issues and Boards

Provider: GitLab Professional Services (public handbook)
What you earn: A guided lab you can follow step by step; no certificate, but it is the best rehearsal for the real exams
Cost: Free lab guide · Approx. time: about 2 hours

Do the lab steps in your own workspace project (see Practice in GitLab below) rather than creating a new project.

5. Later, when sponsored: GitLab Certified Agile Portfolio Management Associate Exam

Provider: GitLab University (GitLab)
What you earn: Official exam and digital Credly badge. Listed as 50 questions in 75 minutes with a 75% pass mark
Cost: Paid exam: about $150 USD (only when a sponsor pays; not part of the $0 path) · Approx. time: exam day plus study

GitLab lists the price at $150 USD per attempt. Prices change, so confirm on GitLab's page before anyone pays.

6. Later, when sponsored: GitLab Certified Project Management Associate Exam

Provider: GitLab University (GitLab)
What you earn: Official GitLab certification with a hands-on component
Cost: Paid exam: about $150 USD (only when sponsored; not part of the $0 path) · Approx. time: exam day plus study

Heads up: this page is titled with the word “partner”, so check on the page whether it is open to you before paying.

Exercise 1. Set up workflow:: scoped labels

On your project board, open Manage > Labels and create these labels: workflow::backlog, workflow::ready, workflow::in-progress, workflow::review, workflow::done. Because they share the workflow:: prefix, GitLab lets an issue hold only one of them at a time. Then create a board with one list per label, and set a work-in-progress (WIP) limit of 3 on the workflow::in-progress list so the team notices when too much is open at once.

Check: move one issue across the board and watch the label swap automatically.

Exercise 2. Start a two-week iteration cadence

In your group, open Plan > Iterations and create a cadence that repeats every 2 weeks with a few upcoming iterations scheduled. Pull five issues into the current iteration from the issue sidebar. Hold a 15-minute planning session with your buddy and write the iteration goal in the first issue’s description.

Check: open the iteration report and note how many issues you committed to.

Exercise 3. Create a milestone and read its burndown

Create a milestone with a start and due date two weeks apart (Plan > Milestones). Add weights to the issues (1, 2, 3, 5) and assign them to the milestone using quick actions: /milestone %"Your Milestone" and /weight 3. After a few days open the milestone page and read the burndown chart.

Check: can you explain, in one sentence, whether you are ahead or behind?

Exercise 4. Build a reusable feature-request template

You do not need to push files to get templates. Write your feature-request template (sections: Problem, Who is affected, Desired outcome, Acceptance criteria, Out of scope, Links) in two reusable forms. First, save it as a comment template in your GitLab user preferences, so you can insert it into any issue with one click. Second, paste it into a wiki page called “Feature request template” so the whole team can copy it into a new issue description.

Check: create one real issue from your template and notice how much faster the next reader understands it. If your team later wants it as an official project template, an engineering buddy can add it as a file.

Exercise 5. Quick actions and saved board views

Open any issue and, in a single comment, type: /label ~"workflow::ready", /milestone %"Your Milestone", /weight 2, /estimate 4h, /assign me. Press Comment once and see everything apply. Also add /health_status on_track to an issue you are confident about. Next, make three boards: by label (workflow), by assignee (one list per teammate) and by milestone. Use Switch board to jump between them, and bookmark the one you use daily.

Check: time yourself. How many clicks did the quick actions save?

Try it: your first agent-drafted status update

1. Pick the milestone from Exercise 3 and open its issue list. Choose one long issue thread.
2. Ask GitLab Duo (or paste the thread into Claude, after removing anything private) to: “Summarise this thread in 5 bullets, list open questions, and name the next action and owner.”
3. Then ask: “Draft a 120-word status update for the team: done, in progress, blocked, and a health rating of on track, needs attention or at risk, with reasons.”
4. Fact-check every line against the board. Fix what is wrong, post it as a comment, and note what the AI missed.
5. Bonus: write a short instruction an agent could follow to draft a new issue from your feature template, and list which permissions you would give it and which you would not.