Effective Scrum
- 4 min read
Sprint Planning from Hell
Does your team's Sprint Planning seem like a complete and utter waste of time? Most of the time, the planning isn't the real problem.
Read full articlePut an End to Ineffective Scrum
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Great job Mark! Training was excellent. I now know what REAL scrum is and feel equipped to continue learning and practicing true scrum principles.
Cornelus MVirtual
Very smart and knowledgeable about not only Scrum but also Agile practices. Didn't mince words and instilled confidence in us that we could make his advice work for us.
Simon LOttawa
Mark inspires you to make yourself better in the roles which makes your workplace better. I wish he could come to my place of employ to get us setup to succeed. Might have to look into that.
Jackie MEdmonton
Mark is a very engaging instructor. He combines his scrum master knowledge with humour and demontrates both in real situations. He has inspired me through this course to be a great scrum master!
Lisa MToronto
Solid course, instructor was knowledgeable and friendly. I liked how it felt like a conversation and not a presentation, so I had pretty high engagement.This subject feels like an applied art, not a list of facts for memorization.
Michael RVirtual
Thank you for this course, I don’t recall ever having such a good teacher during my studies! I am very satisfied and I can’t wait to start and try to improve things. I will say to my colleagues that are being formed to be PO that they should have looked to your classes.
Laurene TVirtual
Of the three coures I have taken on agile training from different organzations, I found this the most effective because the instructor's understanding and incorporation of humor behavor and learning. Instructor came across as very persceptive and intelligent. Because of my positive impression of him as an intellectual I could value his opinions and teaching more than a "generic" instructor going through the motions.
Shaina SPrivate Client
Mark, you're awesome! Certainly one of the best instructors I've had the pleasure of learning from. The course is absolutely helpful in building good foundational knowledge of scrum and especially the scrum master role.
Debbie LToronto
Mark Levison was an excellent instructor: knowledgeable, personable, and very approachable. The course material was clear and I felt like the coverage was appropriate.
Ken MMontreal
I got a lot of tricky questions answered. Real life issues we face at work.
Aleksandar YPrivate Client
The content of the course covered most of things I was looking for. Mark is a knowledgeable instructor and was able to answer all of the queries the class had.
Ramandeep MEdmonton
Good course, lots of excellent content, examples and materials. Would recommend. Mark is a good facilitator who is honest and understanding about the technical and organizational challenges.
Charles MVirtual
Fantastic overview of everything PO, Agile, Scrum. Learning how to manage and maintain a collaborative product backlog will be so valuable.
Elizabeth MPrivate Client
The instructor was very knowledgeable and kept me interested in the content by applying real life scenarios.
Jennifer MPrivate Client
Thank you. Enjoyed your examples and how these methods can be used in the real world.
Jenna MToronto
Great course, a lot of valuable information. Experienced instructor, great ability to adapt to group and real work situtations.
Karen LPrivate Client
Really dynamic! Use scrum tools to control the flow of the course which is a good example.
Marc LMontreal
Really enjoyed Mark's presonal anecdotes and humour. Very clear that Mark is knowledgeable and I look forward to diving into the numerous references for "extra reading".
Naomi MOttawa
Mark is knowledgable and engaging. What I liked the most was that he stood his ground if anyone challenged what he taught (respectfully) and offered an explanation why.
Andrea MOttawa
Concepts I learned in this course are more sticky because they were demonstrated through exercise and not just explained.
Joseph MOttawa
Mark has a very engaging style of delivering content and making learning fun peppered with real life examples.
Anurag TOttawa
The teaching methodologies used by the instructor complemented the material very well. The information packed session was delievered very well. It was a great course!
Swati TPrivate Client
Excellent. Well worth money and time.
David MOttawa
Very helpful for our specific problems. Excellent responding to questions with good examples. Sense of humour. Fun but thorough course.
Tina SPrivate Client
Great facilitator, very knowledgeable.
Jay TEdmonton
Very interesting course, useful information, good class structure and handouts.
Jialin MPrivate Client
Mark is great facilitator. Overall the course materials and information provided me a better understanding of the scrum master role.
Nhan TKitchener-Waterloo
Passion to share his knowledge, good class set-up and dividing the class.
Erol TMontreal
Mark is quite knowledgable about the subject. A good collaborative style was used so I can learn everyone's views and share what I could gather.
Sriprasadh ROttawa
Mark did a great job. I appreciated that a) he was coming from a strong development background and b) had an obvious passion about Scrum and the benefits it could bring to development.
Adam MVirtual
It was an excellent seminar. It gave us hands-on exercises. I can see lots of challenges ahead as I try to implement changes to our scrum team. Should be fun and interesting journey!
Ann Margaret GMontreal
Mark was fantastic and the course was a great!
Henry MVirtual
Fantastic overview of Scrum and the need to create High Performing Teams.
Greg LEdmonton
A excellent and well-delivered course. Very informative!
Warren ROttawa
I found Mark to be engaged, upbeat, and very knowledgeable.
Peter LPrivate Client
Mark and the course were able to give me a lot of different perspectives on how scrum can be applied. Mark is very knowledgable and has tech background [which] helped myself as we knew the sector better.
Nicholas LOttawa
10/10 Loved the atmosphere he created, kept us engaged, able to send important messages, did not overwhelm us.
Biljana CPrivate Client
Patient and helpful in answering questions throughout the course. Appreciate the resources shared i.e. book recommendations to further learning outside of the course. I liked how Mark encouraged small gains instead of trying to implement an overnight solution
Katherine SVirtual
Very Experienced, Shared Experiences, Class Participation was done very well.
Gary FPrivate Client
The class progress and keeping us engaged was great.
Bikash SToronto
Very Charming, approachable, easy to ask questions to.
Carly SToronto
Really great! Fun, lots of examples & ways to keep people engaged.
Dave VPrivate Client
Great course! I will recommend this to others.
Darryl EVancouver
Overall the course provide many tools and knowledge to perform the day to day work of a PO. The instructor kept a good flow, he provided sufficient time to move and get coffee/tea.
Annie SVirtual
Mark was excellent in explaining the concepts and examples from his experience. Found it very engaging and interactive.
Shilpi SPrivate Client
Excellent. Taught and gave a great understanding of Scrum.
Cameron MEdmonton
Mark is very well prepared and understands his material in depth. He has a very logical way of looking at questions which can shift people’s understanding in a useful way. If you need to understand “pure” Scrum, this is a good course.
Paul AVirtual
Instructor was great - appreciated the humor, real life examples and willingness to answer everyone's questions.
Natasha TMontreal
Mark is a very clear and engaging instructor. He is able to use examples and exercises to ground our learning.
Ayesha KOttawa
Very knowledgeable and very fun and interesting way to deliver the content.
Eric SToronto
Mark Levison was an excellent instructor: knowledgeable, personable, and very approachable. The course material was clear and I felt like the coverage was appropriate.
Ken MMontreal
I got a lot of tricky questions answered. Real life issues we face at work.
Aleksandar YPrivate Client
The content of the course covered most of things I was looking for. Mark is a knowledgeable instructor and was able to answer all of the queries the class had.
Ramandeep MEdmonton
Good course, lots of excellent content, examples and materials. Would recommend. Mark is a good facilitator who is honest and understanding about the technical and organizational challenges.
Charles MVirtual
Fantastic overview of everything PO, Agile, Scrum. Learning how to manage and maintain a collaborative product backlog will be so valuable.
Elizabeth MPrivate Client
The instructor was very knowledgeable and kept me interested in the content by applying real life scenarios.
Jennifer MPrivate Client
Thank you. Enjoyed your examples and how these methods can be used in the real world.
Jenna MToronto
Great course, a lot of valuable information. Experienced instructor, great ability to adapt to group and real work situtations.
Karen LPrivate Client
Great job Mark! Training was excellent. I now know what REAL scrum is and feel equipped to continue learning and practicing true scrum principles.
Cornelus MVirtual
Very smart and knowledgeable about not only Scrum but also Agile practices. Didn't mince words and instilled confidence in us that we could make his advice work for us.
Simon LOttawa
Really dynamic! Use scrum tools to control the flow of the course which is a good example.
Marc LMontreal
Really enjoyed Mark's presonal anecdotes and humour. Very clear that Mark is knowledgeable and I look forward to diving into the numerous references for "extra reading".
Naomi MOttawa
Mark inspires you to make yourself better in the roles which makes your workplace better. I wish he could come to my place of employ to get us setup to succeed. Might have to look into that.
Jackie MEdmonton
Mark is knowledgable and engaging. What I liked the most was that he stood his ground if anyone challenged what he taught (respectfully) and offered an explanation why.
Andrea MOttawa
Concepts I learned in this course are more sticky because they were demonstrated through exercise and not just explained.
Joseph MOttawa
Mark has a very engaging style of delivering content and making learning fun peppered with real life examples.
Anurag TOttawa
The teaching methodologies used by the instructor complemented the material very well. The information packed session was delievered very well. It was a great course!
Swati TPrivate Client
Excellent. Well worth money and time.
David MOttawa
Very helpful for our specific problems. Excellent responding to questions with good examples. Sense of humour. Fun but thorough course.
Tina SPrivate Client
Great facilitator, very knowledgeable.
Jay TEdmonton
Mark is a very engaging instructor. He combines his scrum master knowledge with humour and demontrates both in real situations. He has inspired me through this course to be a great scrum master!
Lisa MToronto
Very interesting course, useful information, good class structure and handouts.
Jialin MPrivate Client
Mark is great facilitator. Overall the course materials and information provided me a better understanding of the scrum master role.
Nhan TKitchener-Waterloo
Passion to share his knowledge, good class set-up and dividing the class.
Erol TMontreal
Mark is quite knowledgable about the subject. A good collaborative style was used so I can learn everyone's views and share what I could gather.
Sriprasadh ROttawa
Solid course, instructor was knowledgeable and friendly. I liked how it felt like a conversation and not a presentation, so I had pretty high engagement.This subject feels like an applied art, not a list of facts for memorization.
Michael RVirtual
Mark did a great job. I appreciated that a) he was coming from a strong development background and b) had an obvious passion about Scrum and the benefits it could bring to development.
Adam MVirtual
Thank you for this course, I don’t recall ever having such a good teacher during my studies! I am very satisfied and I can’t wait to start and try to improve things. I will say to my colleagues that are being formed to be PO that they should have looked to your classes.
Laurene TVirtual
It was an excellent seminar. It gave us hands-on exercises. I can see lots of challenges ahead as I try to implement changes to our scrum team. Should be fun and interesting journey!
Ann Margaret GMontreal
Mark was fantastic and the course was a great!
Henry MVirtual
Fantastic overview of Scrum and the need to create High Performing Teams.
Greg LEdmonton
A excellent and well-delivered course. Very informative!
Warren ROttawa
I found Mark to be engaged, upbeat, and very knowledgeable.
Peter LPrivate Client
Mark and the course were able to give me a lot of different perspectives on how scrum can be applied. Mark is very knowledgable and has tech background [which] helped myself as we knew the sector better.
Nicholas LOttawa
10/10 Loved the atmosphere he created, kept us engaged, able to send important messages, did not overwhelm us.
Biljana CPrivate Client
Patient and helpful in answering questions throughout the course. Appreciate the resources shared i.e. book recommendations to further learning outside of the course. I liked how Mark encouraged small gains instead of trying to implement an overnight solution
Katherine SVirtual
Very Experienced, Shared Experiences, Class Participation was done very well.
Gary FPrivate Client
The class progress and keeping us engaged was great.
Bikash SToronto
Very Charming, approachable, easy to ask questions to.
Carly SToronto
Of the three coures I have taken on agile training from different organzations, I found this the most effective because the instructor's understanding and incorporation of humor behavor and learning. Instructor came across as very persceptive and intelligent. Because of my positive impression of him as an intellectual I could value his opinions and teaching more than a "generic" instructor going through the motions.
Shaina SPrivate Client
Really great! Fun, lots of examples & ways to keep people engaged.
Dave VPrivate Client
Great course! I will recommend this to others.
Darryl EVancouver
Overall the course provide many tools and knowledge to perform the day to day work of a PO. The instructor kept a good flow, he provided sufficient time to move and get coffee/tea.
Annie SVirtual
Mark was excellent in explaining the concepts and examples from his experience. Found it very engaging and interactive.
Shilpi SPrivate Client
Excellent. Taught and gave a great understanding of Scrum.
Cameron MEdmonton
Mark is very well prepared and understands his material in depth. He has a very logical way of looking at questions which can shift people’s understanding in a useful way. If you need to understand “pure” Scrum, this is a good course.
Paul AVirtual
Mark, you're awesome! Certainly one of the best instructors I've had the pleasure of learning from. The course is absolutely helpful in building good foundational knowledge of scrum and especially the scrum master role.
Debbie LToronto
Instructor was great - appreciated the humor, real life examples and willingness to answer everyone's questions.
Natasha TMontreal
Mark is a very clear and engaging instructor. He is able to use examples and exercises to ground our learning.
Ayesha KOttawa
Very knowledgeable and very fun and interesting way to deliver the content.
Eric SToronto
Confused? Burnt Out? Disillusioned?
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Effective Scrum
- 5 min read
Unpacking Interruptions- Why Your Team Struggles to Get Things Done
That thing where you’re trying to work but... Surviving interruptions in your team. We look at where they come from and how to eliminate them.
Read full article
Teams
- 10 min read
How to Build a Powerful Team from Scratch
Learn what it takes to go from Working Group to True Team. Hint, there is hard work involved.
Read full article Why choose us
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Get professional input on the unique issues you’re facing at your organization in a coaching session with Mark after training.
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Focuses on the role of the team and the ScrumMaster. Get the skills and practical experience necessary to improve teamwork, take the exam, and advance your career with a certification that is in high demand today. Often the best fit for anyone new to Scrum.
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Relatable Scenarios
Learn on-the-job applications of key Scrum concepts, skills, principles, along with practical solutions that you can apply the next day for difficult, real-life situations.
Respected Certification
Everything you need to earn your Scrum Alliance® ScrumMaster certification, including exam fee and membership, and so much more.
Practical Exercises
With focus on the challenges that real teams face, and tools to dig deeper. You don’t need more boring Scrum theory. You need something you can sink your teeth into to see immediate results.
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This workshop is not just for software development or people with a computer science degree. We’ve helped many non-software teams with Scrum.
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Use Scrum knowledge to standout at work, get paid more, and impress your customer, all without burning out.
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Our active Scrum community forum is a safe place to ask questions. Long after you earn the Certified Scrum Master certification, you will have access to the forum, course materials, and additional valuable resources.