Revised Training Plan Modules:

Module 1: GitLab Foundations & UI Navigation (20-30 mins)

Objective: Quickly refresh understanding of GitLab's core project management context and ensure comfortable navigation of the UI for the topics ahead. Topics: Quick Recap: GitLab for Source Code Management, CI/CD, and Project Management (Focus: "Plan" capabilities). GitLab UI Overview: Dashboard, Groups, Projects, Key sidebar menus (Issues, Boards, Epics, Milestones, Roadmaps). Understanding Work Organization: Groups vs. Projects. Brief on Project Settings: Key configurations relevant to planning. Activities: Log in and navigate to a shared sandbox project. Quickly explore project sidebar menus and key settings areas. Module 2: Mastering Issue Management & Integrated Time Tracking (60-90 mins)

Objective: Master advanced issue features for granular tracking, establishing relationships between work items, and effectively utilizing GitLab's integrated time management capabilities (all available in Premium). Topics: Issue Deep Dive: Beyond Basics: Title, Rich Description (Markdown), Assignees, Due Dates, Labels, Milestones. Task Lists (Checklists) within Issues. Issue Relationships: Linked, Related, Blocking, and Blocked by issues. Promoting Issues to Epics. Moving Issues between projects. Confidential Issues & Locking Issue conversations. Issue Health Status (At-Risk, Needs Attention, On Track – available in Premium). Service Desk: Creating issues from emails (available in Premium). Issue Templates: Standardizing common issue types. Time Management in GitLab (available in Premium): Estimating Time: /estimate quick action. Tracking Spent Time: /spend quick action. Viewing Time Tracking Reports. Best practices for accurate time logging. Activities: Create issues with task lists; mark items complete. Establish blocking relationships between issues. Set up and use an issue template. Practice time estimation and logging; review time tracking reports. Discuss team conventions for time tracking. Module 3: Strategic Labeling & Powerful Filtering (50-75 mins)

Objective: Implement advanced labeling strategies for workflow automation, multi-faceted categorization, and precise data retrieval using GitLab's filtering capabilities (core features). Topics: Scoped Labels Mastery: Designing effective scoped label systems (e.g., Workflow::, Priority::). Enforcing workflow progression using scoped labels on Issue Boards. Group Labels vs. Project Labels. Labels for Context & Automation (Conceptual). Advanced Filtering & Searching: Leveraging GitLab's search syntax. Saving complex search queries. Label Subscriptions & Notifications. Best practices for label hygiene. Activities: Design scoped labels for a workflow. Apply labels and use them on an Issue Board. Construct and save complex search queries. Discuss label automation applications. Module 4: Milestones for Timeboxing & Release Planning (40-50 mins)

Objective: Effectively use Milestones to group issues into time-bound periods and track progress (core Premium feature). Topics: What are Milestones? (Representing sprints, releases, phases). Creating and Managing Milestones. Assigning Issues to Milestones. Milestone View: Progress tracking (burndown charts are available in Premium; note that more advanced analytics like burnup charts might be limited compared to Ultimate), associated issues/MRs. Using Milestones for Sprints vs. Releases. Activities: Create Milestones (e.g., "Current Sprint," "Next Release Cycle"). Assign issues to a Milestone. Explore the Milestone view page, including basic burndown charts. Filter issue lists/boards by Milestone. Module 5: Epics for Structuring Larger Initiatives (45-60 mins)

Objective: Utilize Epics in GitLab Premium to organize and track collections of related issues and child epics under larger themes or features. Topics: What are Epics? (Containers for strategic initiatives – a Premium feature). Creating Epics: Title, Description, Start/End Dates (fixed or inherited). Epic Hierarchy: Adding child epics and child issues. Viewing Epics: Tree structure, linking to Roadmaps. Epics vs. Milestones vs. Issues: Purpose and strategic usage. Activities (using Premium features): Navigate to the Epics section (Group level). Create a parent Epic (e.g., "User Management Revamp"). Add existing issues as children to the Epic; create a child epic. Explore the Epic tree view and its connection to issues and milestones. Module 6: Advanced Issue Board Configurations & Workflow Visualization (45-60 mins)

Objective: Leverage Issue Board features in Premium for highly customized workflow visualization, including WIP limits and swimlanes. Topics: Recap: Issue Boards as a visual workflow tool. Creating Custom Boards: Scope (project, group). Advanced Column Configurations (Labels, Assignees, Milestones). WIP (Work In Progress) Limits (available in Premium). Board Scope: Project, Group. Swimlanes: Grouping issues horizontally by Epic (available in Premium). Using boards for specific use cases (Bug Triage, Sprint Planning). Activities: Configure a board with WIP limits. Set up swimlanes by Epic on a board. Design a board for a "Sprint Retrospective" or "Bug Triage" process. Module 7: Roadmaps for Strategic Visualization (30-45 mins)

Objective: Utilize GitLab Roadmaps (available in Premium) for long-term strategic visualization and communication of Epics over time. Topics: Roadmap View: Visualizing Epics based on their start/end dates (Gantt-like overview in Premium). Filtering and customizing the Roadmap view. Tracking Epic progress and dependencies on the Roadmap. Communicating strategic plans using Roadmaps. Activities: Explore the Roadmap view with the Epics created/used earlier. Practice adjusting Epic dates and observing changes on the Roadmap. Discuss how this view aids in long-term planning and stakeholder communication. Module 8: Advanced Git Branching Workflows with GitLab (60-75 mins)

Objective: Understand and apply effective Git branching strategies (rebase vs. merge) within a GitLab MR workflow for cleaner project histories (core Git skills valuable for all tiers). Topics: Core Concepts: git merge vs. git rebase. Pros and Cons of each strategy. Strategic Application: When to use rebase vs. merge. GitLab Merge Request (MR) Settings & Strategies (Merge Commit, Semi-linear, Fast-forward, Squash - all relevant for Premium). Interactive Rebase (git rebase -i). Handling Merge Conflicts. Activities: Walkthrough: Rebasing and Merging scenarios. Review GitLab project MR settings. Team discussion: Consistent branching/merging strategy. Module 9: CI/CD Foundations & Best Practices for Premium (60-75 mins)

Objective: Understand CI/CD core components and implement best practices for efficient, maintainable, and secure pipelines using GitLab Premium features. Topics: CI/CD Foundations Refresher: .gitlab-ci.yml, Pipelines, Stages, Jobs, Runners, Variables, Artifacts, Caching. CI/CD Best Practices (Premium Context): Optimize for Speed; Effective Caching. Secure Secrets Management: Using CI/CD variables (protected, masked - available in Premium). (Note: HashiCorp Vault integration is generally an Ultimate feature, so focus on Premium's capabilities). DRY Pipelines (include:, YAML anchors). Review Apps (conceptual, can be set up in Premium). Structuring Jobs to Run "As Needed" (using rules: keyword). Activities: Analyze a .gitlab-ci.yml for improvements. Modify a job to run conditionally using rules:changes:. Create a manual job using rules:when:manual. Discuss strategies for different test suites based on triggers. Module 10: Leveraging the GitLab Ecosystem & Tying it all Together (30-40 mins)

Objective: Explore integration possibilities, recap key workflow enhancements for Premium users, and discuss applying learnings. Topics: GitLab API Overview (for custom automation). Webhooks (triggering external actions). Key Integrations (e.g., Slack, Jira). Recap Premium Workflow: Idea -> Epic -> Issue (tasks/time) -> Scoped Labels -> Milestone -> Board (with swimlanes/WIP) -> Roadmap -> MRs (with CI/CD) -> Done. Consistency & Linking work items. Activities: Show simple API usage examples. Review project integrations. Q&A on advanced Premium scenarios. Challenge: Identify Premium features to implement. Resources for continued learning.