Free Scrum eBooks for your Agile learning

The following Scrum/Agile resources are available free to our newsletter subscribers.

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The Guide to Effective Agile Retrospectives

If you’re tired of having retrospective meetings greeted with groans and heavy, reluctant sighs or feeling like you’re rehashing the same old problems with no signs of improvement, the advice Mark Levison shares in this book will help make your retrospectives more effective.

There’s no need to have retrospectives that people hate and aren’t even useful – with a few tweaks, you can have meetings your team will look forward to, and start seeing real improvements and results. (More details)

Includes follow-up support emails to reinforce what you learned and help you make real changes right away.

Five Steps for Creating High-Performance Teams

Scrum is a tool for building high-performance teams. Some Scrum Teams achieve this goal almost by magic, while others struggle to get there. So is it magic? Or luck? Or is it far more attainable than that? There is a science to it that makes it possible.

Mark Levison offers insight into the neuroscience of teams with five proven Agile methods to create teams that sizzle, not fizzle.

A Jargon-Free Introduction to Scrum

This Scrum for beginners e-book is an easy to understand introduction to basic Scrum methodology and how it helps teams and organizations. Using a simple case study, you visualize Scrum at work in a marketing company and how its structure leads to many benefits. Scrum terms are explained simply, so you can get in on the conversation from the beginning. This is Scrum made simple. (More details)

Includes a follow-up email learning series to give you even more confidence and skills.

Beyond Scrum: Why Scrum Alone is Not Enough

To be successful with Scrum in the long term you need more than the basic framework. This is intentional. Scrum provides the structure as a starting point, but it’s designed to work well when applied with other effective patterns.

Mark Levison’s first book discusses topics including why organizations become Agile, the limits of Scrum, common mistakes made and how to avoid resulting failure, and the benefit of exploring other Agile practices.

Agile Engineering Practices and Their Effects

(Technically not a book, but a downloadable PDF Cheat Sheet.)

In Mark’s workshops, he’s often asked, “How can I help my team go faster?”, or “How can we deliver this Product sooner?” His answer is always the same. “You must slow down to go fast.”

In software development, the single best way to improve quality, and eventually speed, is writing less code. Most of the time spent writing code should be to understand the problem and then find the simplest solution to it. The practices used to facilitate this in Agile software development are popularly known as Agile Engineering Practices.

We've helped 8000+ people find success using Scrum

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Mark Levison is a great teacher, who is very good at giving examples to answer questions. I really appreciated his genuine interest in the topic and willingness to help us all understand, and to challenge our brains. Thank you Mark!
Camilla SVirtual
Instructor was very invested in the material. Very knowledgeable and relatable.
Alan MEdmonton
Thank you. Enjoyed your examples and how these methods can be used in the real world.
Jenna MToronto
I enjoyed having Mark as an instructor, he is knowledgeable on the topic, provided easy to follow examples, and has a good sense of humour. I liked how he took notes on questions people had, provided a brief answer and then provided links after the workshop so that we could follow up on the topics that interest us. The 10 min sanity breaks that he gave every hour were great as it allowed my brain to relax and then come back and focus. I really enjoyed the course, I learned lots over the 2 day workshop. I feel like 2 days might be a bit short for the course as I would have enjoyed another day of the course to learn more and refine my skills. I would recommend this course to anyone new to the scrum master role or interested in learning about scrum as it gives you a great base that you can expand.
Christopher MVirtual
Very enthusiastic and diplomatic. Very knowledgeable. Course was enjoyable.
Chris MKitchener-Waterloo
It is very well organized and timed. The teacher has a really deep, hands-on knowledge about the subject.
Alberto MPrivate Client
Mark was great. I appreciated his directness.
James POttawa
The course was excellent, loved the "agile" format. The instructor carefully included agile in most aspects of the course.
Kara SOttawa
Thanks Mark! Course was enjoyable and your time spent on each topic was awsome!
Henrik SPrivate Client
Very helpful for our specific problems. Excellent responding to questions with good examples. Sense of humour. Fun but thorough course.
Tina SPrivate Client
Mark did a wonderful job of coaching and supporting the class participants throughout the entire SCRUM course. Even though this was the first virtual class attempt, the choice of tools did a wonderful job of making all of us feel as if we were actually working together in person. Mark’s use of a working agreement right off the get go allowed everyone in the class to not only buy into the value of these agreements but also participate in its enforcement over the two days. Mark provided numerous references and examples from his vast wealth of experience which provided richness to the content. Overall, the course was a great experience and I will definitely encourage others to seek a future opportunity to enroll in one of Mark’s courses.
Glen SVirtual
Mark is a great teacher and is very good at engaging people. Really gets the spark going!
Julien LMontreal
I found the instructor extremely engaging and very knowledgeable about the subject. The time flew by!
Granville GOttawa
Instructor was very passionate about subject and links theory to concrete examples.
Jean-Philippe BMontreal
The combination of hands-on practice and excellent facilitation style made this course enjoyable, useful and very applicable to my day to day life as a Project Manager. The content was carefully curated and meaningful discussions were had during the session. It was engaging, interactive and insightful! I would highly recommend Mark and the Agile Pain Relief company for anyone looking to do their CSM training and pass the exam!
Valerie GVirtual
Great course! My future teams will be thankful to be a high performance team.
Filipe PVancouver
The instructor was very adaptive and knowledgeable. I respect how the instructor worked and would take another course with him in the future.
Johnny KEdmonton
Very patient. Really liked the group activity where we had to work in Sprints on user stories.
Anita AVirtual
Great course! I will recommend this to others.
Darryl EVancouver
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
There was not a single bit of content that wasn't helpful.
Bruno PMontreal
Excellent job of teaching about using scrum. Very good job engaging the class and providing a fun place to learn. Full moneys worth.
Eric CToronto
Brilliant instructor for a heavy and varied course. Answers questions almost flawlessly and really understands what people need in order to learn effectively.
Analee CPrivate Client
The instructor is very knowledgeable in the subject and kept us motivated and alert during the course. The course itself covers lots of material which is necessary for someone who wants to become a successful scrum master.
Elena RVirtual
I learned a lot and the content was far more enganging than I expected it to be. I come away with many improvements I can make to my organization. Thanks and well done.
Dan CKitchener-Waterloo
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
Awesome speaker. Fantastic course.
Helen KMontreal
Great instructor, very satisfied, will recomment! I brought my whole team with me, happy I did.
Joshua COttawa
Excellent overview of Scrum/Kanban/Agile. The technical material/theoretical material was well balanced/augments with the personal expeirences of the instructor. Highly recommend.
Dino CPrivate Client
Provided excellent understanding of scrum, more difficult concepts with a very hands on approach.
Carmen CToronto
He rocks! I like a lot of the tips given by him.
Fagner SMontreal
10/10 Loved the atmosphere he created, kept us engaged, able to send important messages, did not overwhelm us.
Biljana CPrivate Client
Mark was very engaging, and his training session helped to increase my knowledge of Agile and Scrum.
Tiffany MToronto
Mark was recommended to me from a colleague and I honestly was delighted of how much I learned from the course. I have been as a project manager for a number of years, and I really felt that I was able to understand how to apply this to my current work and also even how to work within my working style.
Joyce KVirtual
Mark's session was a great combination of theory, practical exercises and real life stories that kept this learner engaged and involved. Time spent was definitely worthwhile. Thanks!
Justin LVirtual
Very knowledgeable and very fun and interesting way to deliver the content.
Eric SToronto
Mark is a very clear and engaging instructor. He is able to use examples and exercises to ground our learning.
Ayesha KOttawa
This course taught me about Scrum and, in particular, provided depth around the roles and responsibilities of a Scrum team. Despite Covid-19, the material was well-prepared for online consumption and Mark, the instructor, was engaging and informative. Mark has a huge library of Scrum-related resources, as well as many non-Scrum but still applicable resources, and I would highly recommend Mark and his team for anyone seeking ScrumMaster training.
Karen MVirtual
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
5 Stars
Yui HEdmonton
Mark is an excellent educator and guru of the world of agile and human behaviour. Topics introduced in this course were broken down into easy to understand concepts and how to possibly apply them to the real world. His viewpoints and solutions are educated and more importantly, help to encourage thought and self learning.
Vibol HVirtual
Very good instructor, very knowledgeable, good facilitator.
Liz SToronto
The instructor was well prepared, and extremely knowledgeable. The course was structured in a way that it was easy to follow, well structured, and easy to be engaged. All the team activities were extremely useful to put in practice the theory. I enjoyed every single one! Virtual learning is a really difficult environment, and the instructor made it look like a piece of cake, kept us engaged throughout the days. Kuddos!
Jenny CVirtual
Brilliant approach to coaching.
Serguei LToronto
Great in depth knowledge of subject matter.
Joseph COttawa
Very knowledgeable and experienced, thanks!
Kendall OVancouver
It was such a pleasure to meet Mark and hve him be our instructor for 2 days. He has really good method to run this course and deliver the message. Also, his humour is 5*!
Neesa RVirtual
Thank you Mark, I have lots of ideas to bring back to the team. I appreciated your energy and sense of humor.
David COttawa
Great course material and energetic instructor.
Chris HPrivate Client
Instructor was excellent. Provided an environment of communication.
Nathalile LOttawa

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.

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.