Free Scrum eBooks for your Agile learning
The following Scrum/Agile resources are available free to our newsletter subscribers.
Newsletters are sent out roughly every two weeks. You can opt out of anything at any time by simply unsubscribing, or letting us know and we’ll customize your subscription to only what you need.
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.
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.
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
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.
Wanted to say thanks again for the great insights at the CSM course last month. I've had a fair amount of success thus far introducing and implementing the concepts at the agency I work for. We completed our first full Scrum project yesterday. Scrum really is a magnifying glass for issues. We identified quite a few with our systems within the first couple of days and are now radically overhauling how we assign budgets to projects.
Paul AOttawa
The CSM course rocks! If you want to immediately jump into the action and improve as you go, this is it. You'll start off as a group of strangers, and find out how quickly you can build a high-performance team. And, if you separately want to read every comprehensive detail there is to know about scrum, Mark will share that with you too.
Nicole BVirtual
Great to get this training from the subject matter expert.
Nisha 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
Mark is an excellent instructor with lots of experience-based knowledge. He goes beyond teaching the basics by applying, and letting us apply, the knowledge to real world example.
Ettore CMontreal
This course was exactly what I was looking for! Mark was a very knowledgeable and engaging instructor. I appreciated the hands-on exercises that allowed me to put the methodology into practice with my course mates and learn from the experience. The course material is also top notch. I feel ready to take the exam and put what I've learnt into practice in my workplace.
Anu PVirtual
I wanted to take the time to leave this review after seeing how my new Scrum knowledge has impacted my work. Now, I can confidently say that the training not only gave me a deeper understanding of Agile and Scrum but also boosted my confidence, motivation, and drive. I apply my new skills every single day, and they have made a significant difference in how I support my teams.
Mark, thank you for contributing to my growth—I’m so glad I took this step. Your training was engaging, insightful, and truly life-changing for anyone passionate about Scrum and Agile. I highly recommend this certification to anyone looking to elevate their skills and make a real impact in their teams!
Anastasia FVirtual
Overall very well structured course. It helped me see the benefits of Scrum and learned how to apply it.
Nazir EOttawa
Great course! I like the interactive nature.
Caroline WPrivate Client
Mark was awesome. Engaging and interactive. Course material is detailed but not overwhelming.
Adam DToronto
Great course. Information overload but not in a bad way. I liked that we discussed specific corporate problems people were having. Helped build context in how others are using Agile/Scrum. Maybe misusing, too.
Tyler BVancouver
Amazing instructor, very clear and breaks our pre-conceived understandings.
Jean-Francois BMontreal
Mark was able to provide valuable lessons in a short period of time. Using a variety of methods he illustrated and reinforced the key elements of scrum.
Sean BOttawa
Very good and useful information. I like the format (no boring Powerpoint) and doing the meeting as a sprint was great.
Fred BPrivate Client
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
This course gave me a new insight into delivering better software for the customer more effectively.
Len CVancouver
Thanks for being so responsive and Agile in your approach to leading the class.
Deb BKitchener-Waterloo
Excellent presentation. Challenging contributing questions.
Zeki AMontreal
Mark was an excellent teacher; explained all concepts very well.
Jackie COttawa
Provided excellent understanding of scrum, more difficult concepts with a very hands on approach.
Carmen CToronto
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
The instructor is well-versed in the material covered and was able to relate it to our issues without telling us how to do it. For a short course we covered a lot of ground, but I did not feel overwhelmed.
Wayne PPrivate Client
Well structured training. Excellent communication skills.
Khaled MToronto
Mark knows his stuff and delivers a highly interactive and animated training.
Ted MPrivate Client
Great course! Very engaging and knowlegeable instructor.
Kolin BOttawa
Mark was the best instructor that I have learned from. His style of delivery is very crisp and enjoyable. Loved every minute of it.
Rajiv MToronto
Mark harnessed the power of our diverse perspectives/skills/experience to create agile team enacting scrum as we applied our learning. This applied learning led us to knowledge sharing, trust, and mastery.
Danica MOttawa
Course was informative and entertaining. There was good participant involvement and useful examples.
George COttawa
Very knowledgeable, enjoy the practical examples that were shared.
Tina MEdmonton
Mark is super knowledgeable and engaging. 10/10. Would recommend.
Steve BPrivate Client
Mark, you rock. Loved the course.
Jan SVancouver
Mark was excellent! He is a very efficient communicator. Concise in the material he presents. The pace was great. I love the fact that scrum fundamentals were demonstrable.
Omesh MToronto
Great instructor, light atmosphere, very knowledgeable and engaging. Thank You!
Edwine JVirtual
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
Rocks! I would really recomment this instructor to others.
Raghda FToronto
Very Charming, approachable, easy to ask questions to.
Carly SToronto
Very knowlegable on the topic. Able to communicate message effectively through stories.
Nish SVancouver
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
Great job! You did a great job or engaging us and encouraging participation. I feel inspired to better my team and organization using the knowledge I gained.
Michael DToronto
Very passionate and organized, kept material interesting.
Sjoerd FEdmonton
Mark was very informative and very patient. Had a great communication style for managing and gently pushing 11 professionals through a very full 2-days of Zoom.
His practical experience on how and when to use tools and methods was extremely valuable and not simply an academic lecture.
Dan TVirtual
Very helpful for our specific problems. Excellent responding to questions with good examples. Sense of humour. Fun but thorough course.
Tina SPrivate Client
Course: great content! Instructor: excellent and very knowledgeable on the subject.
Nadeem FEdmonton
Mark is a great instructor for a difficult topic. The course was great to establish Agile/Scrum basics.
Hansil SPrivate Client
Concepts I learned in this course are more sticky because they were demonstrated through exercise and not just explained.
Joseph MOttawa
Mark was a great instructor. He made things really fun and engaging. It wasn't just a boring lecture to sit through for two
days. It kept us engaged and we learned a lot. Thanks Mark!
Geeta BVirtual
Mark was great. He definitely understands and believes in what he is teaching. He made sure to go slowly and would always check to see if we understood.
Adrien GVirtual
Mark is simply a very knowledgeable and engaging instructor. Great experience.
Emad MPrivate Client
Very well done. Good introduction of the concepts, good use of technology, good practical incorporation of the methods being taught into the course itself, 10/10
Adam GVirtual
I had the best two days of practical training on Agile. Instructor has logical answers to my questions.
Angie EEdmonton
Overall very well structured course. It helped me see the benefits of Scrum and learned how to apply it.
Nazir EOttawa
Great course! I like the interactive nature.
Caroline WPrivate Client
Mark was awesome. Engaging and interactive. Course material is detailed but not overwhelming.
Adam DToronto
Great course. Information overload but not in a bad way. I liked that we discussed specific corporate problems people were having. Helped build context in how others are using Agile/Scrum. Maybe misusing, too.
Tyler BVancouver
Wanted to say thanks again for the great insights at the CSM course last month. I've had a fair amount of success thus far introducing and implementing the concepts at the agency I work for. We completed our first full Scrum project yesterday. Scrum really is a magnifying glass for issues. We identified quite a few with our systems within the first couple of days and are now radically overhauling how we assign budgets to projects.
Paul AOttawa
The CSM course rocks! If you want to immediately jump into the action and improve as you go, this is it. You'll start off as a group of strangers, and find out how quickly you can build a high-performance team. And, if you separately want to read every comprehensive detail there is to know about scrum, Mark will share that with you too.
Nicole BVirtual
Amazing instructor, very clear and breaks our pre-conceived understandings.
Jean-Francois BMontreal
Mark was able to provide valuable lessons in a short period of time. Using a variety of methods he illustrated and reinforced the key elements of scrum.
Sean BOttawa
Great to get this training from the subject matter expert.
Nisha AToronto
Very good and useful information. I like the format (no boring Powerpoint) and doing the meeting as a sprint was great.
Fred BPrivate Client
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 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
This course gave me a new insight into delivering better software for the customer more effectively.
Len CVancouver
Thanks for being so responsive and Agile in your approach to leading the class.
Deb BKitchener-Waterloo
Excellent presentation. Challenging contributing questions.
Zeki AMontreal
Mark was an excellent teacher; explained all concepts very well.
Jackie COttawa
Provided excellent understanding of scrum, more difficult concepts with a very hands on approach.
Carmen CToronto
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
The instructor is well-versed in the material covered and was able to relate it to our issues without telling us how to do it. For a short course we covered a lot of ground, but I did not feel overwhelmed.
Wayne PPrivate Client
Well structured training. Excellent communication skills.
Khaled MToronto
Mark knows his stuff and delivers a highly interactive and animated training.
Ted MPrivate Client
Great course! Very engaging and knowlegeable instructor.
Kolin BOttawa
Mark is an excellent instructor with lots of experience-based knowledge. He goes beyond teaching the basics by applying, and letting us apply, the knowledge to real world example.
Ettore CMontreal
Mark was the best instructor that I have learned from. His style of delivery is very crisp and enjoyable. Loved every minute of it.
Rajiv MToronto
Mark harnessed the power of our diverse perspectives/skills/experience to create agile team enacting scrum as we applied our learning. This applied learning led us to knowledge sharing, trust, and mastery.
Danica MOttawa
Course was informative and entertaining. There was good participant involvement and useful examples.
George COttawa
Very knowledgeable, enjoy the practical examples that were shared.
Tina MEdmonton
Mark is super knowledgeable and engaging. 10/10. Would recommend.
Steve BPrivate Client
Mark, you rock. Loved the course.
Jan SVancouver
Mark was excellent! He is a very efficient communicator. Concise in the material he presents. The pace was great. I love the fact that scrum fundamentals were demonstrable.
Omesh MToronto
This course was exactly what I was looking for! Mark was a very knowledgeable and engaging instructor. I appreciated the hands-on exercises that allowed me to put the methodology into practice with my course mates and learn from the experience. The course material is also top notch. I feel ready to take the exam and put what I've learnt into practice in my workplace.
Anu PVirtual
Great instructor, light atmosphere, very knowledgeable and engaging. Thank You!
Edwine JVirtual
I wanted to take the time to leave this review after seeing how my new Scrum knowledge has impacted my work. Now, I can confidently say that the training not only gave me a deeper understanding of Agile and Scrum but also boosted my confidence, motivation, and drive. I apply my new skills every single day, and they have made a significant difference in how I support my teams.
Mark, thank you for contributing to my growth—I’m so glad I took this step. Your training was engaging, insightful, and truly life-changing for anyone passionate about Scrum and Agile. I highly recommend this certification to anyone looking to elevate their skills and make a real impact in their teams!
Anastasia FVirtual
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
Rocks! I would really recomment this instructor to others.
Raghda FToronto
Very Charming, approachable, easy to ask questions to.
Carly SToronto
Very knowlegable on the topic. Able to communicate message effectively through stories.
Nish SVancouver
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
Great job! You did a great job or engaging us and encouraging participation. I feel inspired to better my team and organization using the knowledge I gained.
Michael DToronto
Very passionate and organized, kept material interesting.
Sjoerd FEdmonton
Mark was very informative and very patient. Had a great communication style for managing and gently pushing 11 professionals through a very full 2-days of Zoom.
His practical experience on how and when to use tools and methods was extremely valuable and not simply an academic lecture.
Dan TVirtual
Very helpful for our specific problems. Excellent responding to questions with good examples. Sense of humour. Fun but thorough course.
Tina SPrivate Client
Course: great content! Instructor: excellent and very knowledgeable on the subject.
Nadeem FEdmonton
Mark is a great instructor for a difficult topic. The course was great to establish Agile/Scrum basics.
Hansil SPrivate Client
Concepts I learned in this course are more sticky because they were demonstrated through exercise and not just explained.
Joseph MOttawa
Mark was a great instructor. He made things really fun and engaging. It wasn't just a boring lecture to sit through for two
days. It kept us engaged and we learned a lot. Thanks Mark!
Geeta BVirtual
Mark was great. He definitely understands and believes in what he is teaching. He made sure to go slowly and would always check to see if we understood.
Adrien GVirtual
Mark is simply a very knowledgeable and engaging instructor. Great experience.
Emad MPrivate Client
Very well done. Good introduction of the concepts, good use of technology, good practical incorporation of the methods being taught into the course itself, 10/10
Adam GVirtual
I had the best two days of practical training on Agile. Instructor has logical answers to my questions.
Angie EEdmonton
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.
GenAI for Systems Thinking
Learn the basics of using Generative AI as a tool to support Systems Thinking in your ScrumMaster role. Explore how to leverage GenAI to help uncover patterns, and think more deeply about the systems your team operates in.
Ongoing Support
Your learning doesn’t stop when the workshop ends. You get lifetime access to all course materials, plus a followup email series designed to reinforce your learning objectives and help you apply what you’ve learned on the job.