Effective Scrum
Are you lost in Fake Agile, with too many “best practices”? Effective Scrum is a map and a compass to get out. It’s a tool to help you understand where your team is currently at, then decide what steps you can reasonably take next to get to your goals.
Can you relate?
- Our ScrumMaster is also our Project Manager … they’re still behaving like the person in charge.
- I hate Scrum because I spend all of my time in meetings.
- I’m frustrated with our Scrum team’s Product Backlog Refinement… our Product Owner doesn’t have clear priorities.
- Our Scrum Sprint Planning really bogs down … it’s a huge waste of time.
- My development team wastes a lot of time estimating user stories that we don’t understand.
- Our Product Owner is bad at maintaining realistic scope for our product… it’s challenging to deliver.
- Sprint Reviews are boring… we almost fall asleep.
- I’m frustrated that our Product Owner doesn’t have a clear vision of the product we’re trying to build.
- Scrum Sprint Retrospectives call for improvements but they never get made… so why do we bother to hold them?
- Our ScrumMaster is also our Product Owner… is that right? I’m confused.
If you’ve experienced any of the above, then our upcoming release of Effective Scrum will help you and your team get to the next level of Scrum and remove the confusion and guesswork.
Who is Effective Scrum for?
- Frustrated ScrumMasters who know the job isn’t about being focused on numbers or metrics, and they know they could make a difference.
- Burnt-out Product Owners who are pulled in six directions at once by their stakeholders.
- Managers who can see that the current version of Scrum/Agile isn’t working.
All of these people feel the pain of their current process. They know that their system is broken, and they want to make a change, however, they’re overwhelmed by the volume of information and don’t know where to start. They also don’t know who to trust.
Does your team lack a product vision? Then now would be a good time to create one, or at least dig it out of the closet and dust it off.
Are your people on many teams/projects at the same time? That’s not actually practicing Scrum. We show you how (and why) to turn the work into actual Scrum, or show you what do instead.
Don’t worry, even if Scrum isn’t the right thing for your team right now, most of what you will learn is still applicable. The really hard part about Scrum isn’t the mechanics of the events, it’s understanding how to work effectively with the people on your team to deliver the product your customer needs.
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.
Mark did a great job. I learned way more than I thought. Scrum is way more than sprints and stand ups. It's a system for effective teams.
Joshua BVirtual
Mark is a very smart, passionate, knowledgable trainer, with a charismatic personality and great pedagogical skills. I see his potential to change companies culture. The course really taught me many things and made me want to read and know more!
Iulia AToronto
The course does an excellent job in this covid world. Lots was learned even though I have been working in an agile environment for years. Would certainly return to Agile Pain Relief if I decide to pursue future training.
Robert AVirtual
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
I was impressed. The most valuable thing was not the principles (already knew most intellectually) but the instructor's zen master answers to challnges/questions. This aided in more intutive knowledge.
David AEdmonton
Amazing instructor, was able to clearly explain complex concepts, made the course relevant and engaging! This will alow us to build strong agile teams.
Dylan HPrivate Client
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
Mark was an excellent instructor and facilitator for the certified product owner course. The content was engaging, not just a typical PowerPoint presentation. Active learning was encouraged through the use of breakout sessions where the course material was practiced; this allowed for better understanding and encouraged practical questions. I would recommend the course to anybody that wants to improve their product ownership skills and has the means to attend.
Mark FVirtual
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 two days! Added new tools to my PO toolbox and Mark has inspired me again to improve as a PO and to improve my team's scrumming.
Binh HMontreal
A wealth of useful and interesting knowledge.
Sarah HEdmonton
Instructor was very passionate about subject and links theory to concrete examples.
Jean-Philippe BMontreal
Mark was exteremly knowledgeable and enganging facilitor and I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking to bbuild their agile. Thanks for the excellent course!
Mike WPrivate Client
Provided excellent understanding of scrum, more difficult concepts with a very hands on approach.
Carmen CToronto
Mark was engaging and patient. He got everyone involved and kept spirits and energy levels high.
David BPrivate Client
Mark did an excellent job of teaching the material and went beyond just presenting it.
Noah AEdmonton
Awesome work on walking us through the process.
Steven CVancouver
Mark was an awesome instructor, engaging, and very informative and knowledgable.
Tanya BToronto
Very engaging instructor and scenarios.
Christine APrivate Client
I though the class was great. I liked how the class was structured in a Scrum Agile way and how we got to choose what to focus the class time on.
Ryan DVancouver
Thank you Mark, I have lots of ideas to bring back to the team. I appreciated your energy and sense of humor.
David COttawa
Lively, knowledgeable instructor who delivered the material creatively (no powerpoint! ) and made everyone comfortable.
Karen BOttawa
Mark is very well read, with lots of breadth. Mark helped to challenge participants' ways of thinking that could impede scrum implementation.
Louise BOttawa
Excellent! Engaged all of the time. My head is exploding with new knowledge.
Harlie DMontreal
Mark is awesome! I really enjoyed both courses I took with him. I much prefer in-person interaction to virtual, but his approach worked well.
Nicole BVirtual
The course was well organizated and presented but the real value comes in the form of the facilitator Mark. His knowledge, enthusiasm and ability to help you find our own answers was refreshing, Thank you Mark!
James BOttawa
The instructor Mark was very knowledgeable and provided lots of knowledge and examples. I learned a lot but did not realize what a huge topic this is.
Andrei DToronto
The course and instructor was excellent. The concepts were clearly communicated.
Edmund CEdmonton
Mark was a very knowledgeable instructor and very passionate about the material. For a brand new subject area, I was very content and feeling comfortable in training (which usually is not the normal case). Whatever little pre-knowledge I had, this was a very great course. I took my own notes by hand and will strive the use the material as much as possible where I can. I did all of the pre-work and it definitely helped. Thank you for the training !
Brian BVirtual
Excellent instructor!!! Expert in Agile/Scrum.
Marc BOttawa
Great use of time. Very clear examples of work life situations.
Duane BToronto
Mark inspired the participants to be engaged in the moment using Plato's dialogue techniques - Mark delights!
Laura DOttawa
Excellent! A refreshing approach! I loved the style of delivering the material and the many discussions and short exercises.
Mark APrivate Client
Mark was fantastic. Enjoyed his coaching very well. Course was very interesting.
Robert AOttawa
Excellent communicator and interacts well with the class. Great knowledge of course material and a genuine advocate of Scrum.
Tony CToronto
It was a really good way to understand the concepts of the Scrum Agile practice making us exercise and see how a real Agile org works.
Newton DMontreal
The instructor was very good and demonstrated a clear knowledge of scrum and its principles. Hope to bring this knowledge with me into my company.
Kevin AToronto
Instructor was great and dialed into the topic. He was also effective at managing differing opinions.
Scott BVirtual
Awesome, really. Energizing course, I learned a lot and feel empowered - Thank you!
Benoit FOttawa
A very rewarding learning experience. Timeboxed for two days, that really provides business value for future scrum masters /Agile practioners.
Delia DMontreal
Good. Has lots of experience.
Jimmy AEdmonton
Great seminar, very helpful and Mark showed us in real time examples the application of Scrum.
Pierre EMontreal
I found Mark to be engaging, informative and entertaining. His answers to class questions were well thought out, practical and helpful. He did a very good job handling the various personalities and keeping things on track.
Brad GVirtual
Mark made the class enjoyable. I was initially dreading a 3 day course. After the first day I knew that I could live through the course.
Dickie BPrivate Client
Mark is a great presenter. I appreciate that he is to the point and succinct in his points, but can expand when prompted. I appreciate that there was room for "derailment" and that the training was made more custom tailored to the individual experiences of the scrum masters at our org. The subject matter was good. I think it contained a lot of the info that new scrum masters don't think about, and covered a lot of traps that they fall into.
Adel AVirtual
Instructor is engaging; good change of state during delivery. I like the more concrete demonstration of SCRUM by teaching the course in the SCRUM style.
Damon HEdmonton
Mark was very personable, easy going and knows what he was teaching. This makes the class environment more interactive and fun
Dan DVirtual
Mark is amazing. He is a knowledgeable instructor about scrum and I would like to attend another course with him. He taught me the basic and theories of scrum. Now i will need to integrate it with the work place. I enjoyed this course as it provided me with the concept of scrum to bring forward to my team at work.
Justin CVirtual
Great course instructor is very knowledgeable in agile and scrum mastery. Great work relating real life examples to course material and helping to start thinking.
Autem DEdmonton
The instructor did a great job in getting people to participate and make sure everyone followed along.
George HPrivate Client
A wealth of useful and interesting knowledge.
Sarah HEdmonton
Instructor was very passionate about subject and links theory to concrete examples.
Jean-Philippe BMontreal
Mark was exteremly knowledgeable and enganging facilitor and I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking to bbuild their agile. Thanks for the excellent course!
Mike WPrivate Client
Provided excellent understanding of scrum, more difficult concepts with a very hands on approach.
Carmen CToronto
Mark was engaging and patient. He got everyone involved and kept spirits and energy levels high.
David BPrivate Client
Mark did a great job. I learned way more than I thought. Scrum is way more than sprints and stand ups. It's a system for effective teams.
Joshua BVirtual
Mark did an excellent job of teaching the material and went beyond just presenting it.
Noah AEdmonton
Mark is a very smart, passionate, knowledgable trainer, with a charismatic personality and great pedagogical skills. I see his potential to change companies culture. The course really taught me many things and made me want to read and know more!
Iulia AToronto
Awesome work on walking us through the process.
Steven CVancouver
Mark was an awesome instructor, engaging, and very informative and knowledgable.
Tanya BToronto
Very engaging instructor and scenarios.
Christine APrivate Client
I though the class was great. I liked how the class was structured in a Scrum Agile way and how we got to choose what to focus the class time on.
Ryan DVancouver
The course does an excellent job in this covid world. Lots was learned even though I have been working in an agile environment for years. Would certainly return to Agile Pain Relief if I decide to pursue future training.
Robert AVirtual
Thank you Mark, I have lots of ideas to bring back to the team. I appreciated your energy and sense of humor.
David COttawa
Lively, knowledgeable instructor who delivered the material creatively (no powerpoint! ) and made everyone comfortable.
Karen BOttawa
Mark is very well read, with lots of breadth. Mark helped to challenge participants' ways of thinking that could impede scrum implementation.
Louise BOttawa
Excellent! Engaged all of the time. My head is exploding with new knowledge.
Harlie DMontreal
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
Mark is awesome! I really enjoyed both courses I took with him. I much prefer in-person interaction to virtual, but his approach worked well.
Nicole BVirtual
The course was well organizated and presented but the real value comes in the form of the facilitator Mark. His knowledge, enthusiasm and ability to help you find our own answers was refreshing, Thank you Mark!
James BOttawa
The instructor Mark was very knowledgeable and provided lots of knowledge and examples. I learned a lot but did not realize what a huge topic this is.
Andrei DToronto
The course and instructor was excellent. The concepts were clearly communicated.
Edmund CEdmonton
Mark was a very knowledgeable instructor and very passionate about the material. For a brand new subject area, I was very content and feeling comfortable in training (which usually is not the normal case). Whatever little pre-knowledge I had, this was a very great course. I took my own notes by hand and will strive the use the material as much as possible where I can. I did all of the pre-work and it definitely helped. Thank you for the training !
Brian BVirtual
Excellent instructor!!! Expert in Agile/Scrum.
Marc BOttawa
I was impressed. The most valuable thing was not the principles (already knew most intellectually) but the instructor's zen master answers to challnges/questions. This aided in more intutive knowledge.
David AEdmonton
Great use of time. Very clear examples of work life situations.
Duane BToronto
Mark inspired the participants to be engaged in the moment using Plato's dialogue techniques - Mark delights!
Laura DOttawa
Excellent! A refreshing approach! I loved the style of delivering the material and the many discussions and short exercises.
Mark APrivate Client
Mark was fantastic. Enjoyed his coaching very well. Course was very interesting.
Robert AOttawa
Amazing instructor, was able to clearly explain complex concepts, made the course relevant and engaging! This will alow us to build strong agile teams.
Dylan HPrivate Client
Excellent communicator and interacts well with the class. Great knowledge of course material and a genuine advocate of Scrum.
Tony CToronto
It was a really good way to understand the concepts of the Scrum Agile practice making us exercise and see how a real Agile org works.
Newton DMontreal
The instructor was very good and demonstrated a clear knowledge of scrum and its principles. Hope to bring this knowledge with me into my company.
Kevin AToronto
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
Instructor was great and dialed into the topic. He was also effective at managing differing opinions.
Scott BVirtual
Mark was an excellent instructor and facilitator for the certified product owner course. The content was engaging, not just a typical PowerPoint presentation. Active learning was encouraged through the use of breakout sessions where the course material was practiced; this allowed for better understanding and encouraged practical questions. I would recommend the course to anybody that wants to improve their product ownership skills and has the means to attend.
Mark FVirtual
Awesome, really. Energizing course, I learned a lot and feel empowered - Thank you!
Benoit FOttawa
A very rewarding learning experience. Timeboxed for two days, that really provides business value for future scrum masters /Agile practioners.
Delia DMontreal
Good. Has lots of experience.
Jimmy AEdmonton
Great seminar, very helpful and Mark showed us in real time examples the application of Scrum.
Pierre EMontreal
I found Mark to be engaging, informative and entertaining. His answers to class questions were well thought out, practical and helpful. He did a very good job handling the various personalities and keeping things on track.
Brad GVirtual
Mark made the class enjoyable. I was initially dreading a 3 day course. After the first day I knew that I could live through the course.
Dickie BPrivate Client
Mark is a great presenter. I appreciate that he is to the point and succinct in his points, but can expand when prompted. I appreciate that there was room for "derailment" and that the training was made more custom tailored to the individual experiences of the scrum masters at our org. The subject matter was good. I think it contained a lot of the info that new scrum masters don't think about, and covered a lot of traps that they fall into.
Adel AVirtual
Instructor is engaging; good change of state during delivery. I like the more concrete demonstration of SCRUM by teaching the course in the SCRUM style.
Damon HEdmonton
Mark was very personable, easy going and knows what he was teaching. This makes the class environment more interactive and fun
Dan DVirtual
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
Mark is amazing. He is a knowledgeable instructor about scrum and I would like to attend another course with him. He taught me the basic and theories of scrum. Now i will need to integrate it with the work place. I enjoyed this course as it provided me with the concept of scrum to bring forward to my team at work.
Justin CVirtual
Great course instructor is very knowledgeable in agile and scrum mastery. Great work relating real life examples to course material and helping to start thinking.
Autem DEdmonton
The instructor did a great job in getting people to participate and make sure everyone followed along.
George HPrivate Client
Great two days! Added new tools to my PO toolbox and Mark has inspired me again to improve as a PO and to improve my team's scrumming.
Binh HMontreal
Your Guide to Everything Scrum
Mark Levison spent 12 years as a ScrumMaster and Coach, helping teams by chance before he started to systemize it. Armed with an insatiable love for research, he has been studying and teaching Agile since 2001, introducing Scrum, Lean, and Agile methodology to a broad range of individuals and organizations. Mark has helped launch Scrum practice throughout Canada including Government of Canada departments, major financial and insurance institutions, healthcare agencies, and leading payroll, HR services, and software companies.
Students and communities benefit from Mark’s more than thirty years of experience in the IT industry and over two decades of Scrum and Agile expertise, as he brings his uniquely fun and effective teaching style to thousands of individuals and teams so they can be more effective.
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:
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.