About Us

We focus on giving you the best possible return on investment, with many services and resources to help you become Agile.

Collaboration that reaps rewards takes more than having a group of people in the same office. Learning doesn't gain anything unless you can apply it and get results. We show you how to implement best practices in the context of your own organization with your unique goals and constraints in mind.

Approach

While Agile is the primary focus of our services, we have many years of experience running all sizes of software projects from the very small to the very large. We understand what it takes for teams to collaborate to create to best possible solution. We also have very deep understanding of the full software development lifecycle and of how to implement best practices.

While we are passionate about the work we do, we are also pragmatic about ensuring that the services that we deliver fit with your organization and your goals. The relationship that we build with you is of utmost importance.

Mark Levison

Mark Levison is the Certified Scrum Trainer and Agile Coach behind Agile Pain Relief Consulting. With over 30 years of experience in the IT industry, he has been learning and teaching Agile since 2001. Introducing Scrum, Lean, and Agile methodology to a large variety of organizations —government departments, banks, insurance, healthcare, education, software, logistics and non-profits, to name only a few— Mark has brought Scrum to thousands of professionals and helped launch the practice throughout Canada.

Participants benefit from Mark’s voracious study and writing on the neuroscience of learning. A respected international speaker at Agile Alliance conferences and Scrum Gatherings, Mark is also a published author on the subject, including The Guide to Effective Agile Retrospectives, Five Steps Towards Creating High-Performance Teams, blog “Notes from a Tool User”, “Beyond Scrum”, various guides and handbooks, and multiple articles for InfoQ and the Scrum Alliance.

Heather Uhl

Heather Uhl joined Agile Pain Relief Consulting in 2003 as Operations Manager, and supports Mark with his writing, teaching, and general business, as well as provides resource information for public Scrum enquiries and Agile Pain Relief’s thousands of alumni.

Decades of experience working with artists and non-traditional businesses underpins Heather’s interest in Agile methodology and her passion for empowering others to succeed. In addition to her work with Mark, she is the owner of More Time in a Day and longtime Operations Manager of Canadian Music Hall of Fame band Trooper.

We've helped 8000+ people find success using Scrum

Proud to be the trusted training provider for many of the largest financial, insurance, software, and education organizations, as well as all levels of Canadian government.

Get Certified See More Testimonials
Mark did an excellent job facilitating the course and the content was very helpful. We covered a lot of ground in three sessions and the pre-learning was helpful too! Mark was patient and respectful and very supportive throughout the sessions. It was a pleasure to spend the time with Mark and to learn from someone who obviously knows his subject.
Debbie BVirtual
The material/presentation were top notch. Demontrations/examples were very good. Instructor is enthusiastic, knowledgeable.
Norm RKitchener-Waterloo
Greatly impressed by the teaching style and format of the course. Much appreciate the sprint style format and the engagment level of the instructor.
Hatem NOttawa
Great course. Mark clearly knows his stuff!
Marc LOttawa
Mark was fantastic and the course was a great!
Henry MVirtual
I really appreciated the experience as a whole. Great valuable content. Super trainer. Experienced and flexible.
Marie MOttawa
Crisp and concise in delivery. Captivating and inspiring. Obviously very knowledgeable and experienced.
Jason LToronto
Mark Levison was very effective in delivering the material for the class. He kept it interesting and interactive even though this was an online course.
Marie LVirtual
Very knowledgeable in the topic, and always open for healthy discussion and willing to clarify our questions.
Higo MVancouver
He is very motivated. Mark kept us engaged as the day went fast. He was respectful and was active listener, paid attention to cues when we did not understand.
Lyne LOttawa
Mark is fantastic at keeping the material interested. You can tell he is passionate on the topic and knows his stuff.
Jackie MEdmonton
Great course and great instructor! Will definitely recommend to friends!
Hisham EOttawa
Mark was very approachable, friendly, and knowledgable. He has done a great job in helping someone like me who doesn't belong to a corporate world learn so much about scrum in 2 days!
Mashiat FToronto
Great course material and energetic instructor.
Chris HPrivate Client
Mark knows the subject very well. He was never boring. He has offered good references for us to continue studying on our own.
Melanie LPrivate Client
Very knowledgeable instructor about scrum and software development in general.
Elizabeth GOttawa
Great in-depth knowledge, and clearly prepared.
Michael MOttawa
Despite these unprecedented times, this course was great! Using tools like mural made this course engaging, fun and inspiring while being from home. Mark was up for answering all questions and challenging us, or at the very least pointing us in the right direction!
Jessica LVirtual
Very thorough. The copious use of examples were very helpful!
Kevin HMontreal
I had the best two days of practical training on Agile. Instructor has logical answers to my questions.
Angie EEdmonton
Covered a little of everything. Was always interesting.
Regis LMontreal
Great instructor, great technique using Scrum to learn.
Jen MToronto
Very knowledgeable instructor and dynamic . Provided good examples to better understand concept.
Yves GPrivate Client
Much more than expected. Great experience! I appreciate it very much!
Alfredo FOttawa
The course was fun, engaging, and highly responsive to participants. The complete lack of Powerpoint and bulleted lists was amazingly refreshing. Using a Sprint board to run the course was ingenious.
Robin GToronto
Mark was a very thoughtful and direct instructor.
Luke GVirtual
I felt a great sense of relief that I could do something to improve how my team delivers software.
Stephen GPrivate Client
Mark did a great job teaching, providing examples, and exersises. This is my third session and I would recommend him.
Cheryl ROttawa
Mark is very enthusiastic and responsive, good at eliciting participation, diverse exercises to keep us from getting bored, informative answers. Good focus on cross-functional teams and sharing non-dev where we fit in.
Carly HPrivate Client
Mark has a very engaging style of delivering content and making learning fun peppered with real life examples.
Anurag TOttawa
Very well organized; clear instructions; experienced instructor; useful prep work; dynamic and encouraged individuals participation; perfect breaks; excellent material.
Ana PVirtual
Exceptional presentation delivery that is clear, concise, and though-provoking, involving tremendous audience participation.
Norman EOttawa
Thumbs up! Easy to follow. Engaging and thought provoking.
Neil OPrivate Client
Very informative course on the use of Scrum for software development. It covers all the areas of scrum, including all the key players and demonstrates how the roles, responsibilities and process work together to create effective, self organizing teams.
Amera PEdmonton
Very informative, with humour. Easy to understand for non-technical folks.
Tetyana OOttawa
Awesome!! Very captivating, approachable and well spoken. Provoked conversation and posed questions in a manner that made you think
Katherine HKitchener-Waterloo
Lots of information. Agenda was covered in full. Role play very effective. If you can apply the Scrum, it is a very good course to attend.
Mitch RToronto
Engaging instructor, keeps it interesting.
Yves GMontreal
Mark's briiliant, I would like an assessment on our company and some hints.
Stefano GToronto
It was a very helpful course and it met my expectations.
Vinicious GVancouver
Well structured training. Excellent communication skills.
Khaled MToronto
The course was highly insightful. I feel more prepared to take on a Product Owner role. The instructor delivered it in a very easy to understand, digestable way. Making it fun and interactive and educational.
Mhairy MToronto
Mark was an excellent instructor and I learned a lot in this workshop considering it was only 2 days. I would recommend it to my friends and colleagues.
Mohamed EVirtual
Instructor was very engaging and helped me learn a lot and I have a lot of actions to take back to hep the team. I think we learned enough to help the team and guide them effectively as a scrum master.
Ian ROttawa
Mark made a challenging and complex process (Scrum) very clear and highlighted the benefits and opportunities in an engaging and entertaining way.
Jeremy GVancouver
Very instructive course and thought provoking. I will use it in a unique way and it gave me approach that will allow it to work for me.
Mike GVancouver
This instructor was absolutely brilliant. He was very clear and knowlegable in all the areas. He was also very honest in his opinions.
Jonathan EOttawa
This is one of the best courses I took. I liked the 'hands on' scrum technique. I liked the open discussions and how the instructor motivated people and kept them engaged.
Magda SOttawa
Mark was a great instructor in an unsual, yet effective way. He constantly avoided aswering questions, by letting us come to conclusions ourselves.
Fahad SPrivate Client
The course was fun to follow and covers a lot of material. Mark keeps the class engaged and is respectful to participants.
Julie SVirtual

Get Certified

Explore what Scrum is and how to make it work for you in our Scrum Certification training. Hands-on learning will guide you to improve teamwork, deliver quick feedback, and achieve better products and results.

Registration is now open for workshops:

May 13-14, 2025

Live Online

About this course

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.

Learning and Benefits

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.

Jargon-Free Learning

This workshop is not just for software development or people with a computer science degree. We’ve helped many non-software teams with Scrum.

Career Advancement

Use Scrum knowledge to standout at work, get paid more, and impress your customer, all without burning out.

Ongoing Support

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.