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.
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 is one of the most interesting humans I’ve had the pleasure to meet. As a student, I can tell he genuinely has our interest and development in mind when creating and delivering his workshops. I can’t say enough good things about the practical knowledge I’ve gained taking this training.
Michael RVirtual
This course helped me understand the principles of Agile and how to implement it to achieve better performance with any team while having a good time. Really like the balance between the exercises and the theory.
Pierre LMontreal
Mark was a great instructor! Very enthusiastic about the course and assisting its participants in becoming successful product owners. Incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining.
Elizabeth CToronto
Amazing experience attending this course. I learned an incredible amount from Mark, to apply to my career and better relationship building techniques.
Nicole DOttawa
Mark is a wealth of knowledge and makes agile super easy! The course is interesting, interactive, and extremely informative. I got a lot of takeaways from the course and excited to take this back to my team. I'm looking forward to taking the Advance Scrum and Advanced PO courses next Fall.
Jenny CVirtual
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 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
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
We covered a vast amount of information in 2 days - all extremely helpful! Mark kept the class engaged and it is clear he is enthusiastic and believs in the methodology he is teaching, which has a very positive influence. He was open to discussing topics the class had questions about while fitting in a lot of other valuable items!
Jennifer SToronto
Mark is a very knowledgeable and respectful instructor. He kept the information interesting and engaging, and was great at adapting the focus of the content to align with the needs of the participants. The course overall accomplished its goal of providing me with a good feel for the role of a Scrum Master.
Dean TVirtual
Excellent materials delivered nicely.
Zin RKitchener-Waterloo
I liked it very much. Too bad it was only two days.
Igor SToronto
Mark L was the best instructor I've had.
David SOttawa
Excellent instruction and examples on how to combine Scrum with the realities of a corporate enviroment.
Kevin SOttawa
Very well put together and organized. Great teacher who uses lots of examples.
Kunal SToronto
Mark is an engaging instructor using conversation and interaction as the engagement catalyst!
Shawn RToronto
He rocks! I like a lot of the tips given by him.
Fagner SMontreal
He is knowledgeable and patient about the subject.
Nabil SEdmonton
Clear and open to questions, provides good examples that help illustrate the process.
Radu SPrivate Client
It was great! Very well explained and engaging.
Donald HToronto
Mark inspired the participants to be engaged in the moment using Plato's dialogue techniques - Mark delights!
Laura DOttawa
Instructor was very knowledgable! Incredible library in his head.
Kafia BOttawa
Great! Humour is a plus too!
Daryl BVancouver
Thumbs up! Easy to follow. Engaging and thought provoking.
Neil OPrivate Client
Energetic. Applied scrum in practice by helping lead us to answers in many modules.
Laura LVancouver
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
Lots of information and data for a great walk through about the agile methodology.
Pierre-Michel AMontreal
Very knowledgeable, led the session very well.
Bob BPrivate Client
Mark was very personable, easy going an know what he was teaching. This makes the class environment more interactive and fun.
Asif BVirtual
Mark is an articulate speaker that is easy to listen to and he brings real-life situations to the course which makes it interesting. Answers questions well and takes the time to
make sure he gets his point across.
Wayne BVirtual
Thank you Mark for the amazing training and for the useful tips you shared!
Manal DVirtual
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
Mark was great. Excellent sense of humor, great ability to adapt, wealth of business and sugject matter knowledge.
Jesse BPrivate Client
I really enjoyed Mark, despite not being my sector I was able to make connections and take away information.
Catherine BOttawa
Mark is super knowledgable on the topic and presents it in a fun and educational atmosphere. Really enjoyed the team work and Mark's perspective on a lot of the information.
Shelly MToronto
Very patient. Really liked the group activity where we had to work in Sprints on user stories.
Anita AVirtual
Excellent instructor and the course was great. A lot of thought provoking exercises that bring home the idea of scrum.
Deena SToronto
I find the instructor very knowledgeable and experienced in Scrum. He was very well organized and prepared for the course. He encouraged in class participation and elevated course content with real life examples. Well played! The course, its content and material covered Scrum very well.
Alena CVancouver
Mark is a great instructor who clearly understands his subject matter and continuously engages with his students in order to make his presentations dynamic and memorable. He maintained a good pace throughout the workshop while always ensuring that questions were answered and that nobody would be left behind. Thanks Mark!
Mikael SVirtual
Covered a little of everything. Was always interesting.
Regis LMontreal
Really liked it, will recommend to others.
Alexey SToronto
Very engaging instructor. Used many real-life examples.
Laura OPrivate Client
He knows his stuff!
Stephen DVancouver
Instructor was amazing, easy to listen to and follow. Did not read from book and provided concrete examples.
Tricia AOttawa
This was a great course with an engaging instructor - well worth the time of anyone who wants to learn more about product ownership.
Mark BVirtual
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
Mark did an excellent job running the course. Explanations were clear and he was open to all questions.
Michael DToronto
Really dynamic! Use scrum tools to control the flow of the course which is a good example.
Marc LMontreal
Added some very interesting info as well as presented the material very well clearly.
Yvonne REdmonton
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
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
We covered a vast amount of information in 2 days - all extremely helpful! Mark kept the class engaged and it is clear he is enthusiastic and believs in the methodology he is teaching, which has a very positive influence. He was open to discussing topics the class had questions about while fitting in a lot of other valuable items!
Jennifer SToronto
Mark is a very knowledgeable and respectful instructor. He kept the information interesting and engaging, and was great at adapting the focus of the content to align with the needs of the participants. The course overall accomplished its goal of providing me with a good feel for the role of a Scrum Master.
Dean TVirtual
Excellent materials delivered nicely.
Zin RKitchener-Waterloo
I liked it very much. Too bad it was only two days.
Igor SToronto
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 L was the best instructor I've had.
David SOttawa
Excellent instruction and examples on how to combine Scrum with the realities of a corporate enviroment.
Kevin SOttawa
Very well put together and organized. Great teacher who uses lots of examples.
Kunal SToronto
Mark is an engaging instructor using conversation and interaction as the engagement catalyst!
Shawn RToronto
He rocks! I like a lot of the tips given by him.
Fagner SMontreal
He is knowledgeable and patient about the subject.
Nabil SEdmonton
Clear and open to questions, provides good examples that help illustrate the process.
Radu SPrivate Client
It was great! Very well explained and engaging.
Donald HToronto
Mark inspired the participants to be engaged in the moment using Plato's dialogue techniques - Mark delights!
Laura DOttawa
Mark is one of the most interesting humans I’ve had the pleasure to meet. As a student, I can tell he genuinely has our interest and development in mind when creating and delivering his workshops. I can’t say enough good things about the practical knowledge I’ve gained taking this training.
Michael RVirtual
Instructor was very knowledgable! Incredible library in his head.
Kafia BOttawa
Great! Humour is a plus too!
Daryl BVancouver
Thumbs up! Easy to follow. Engaging and thought provoking.
Neil OPrivate Client
Energetic. Applied scrum in practice by helping lead us to answers in many modules.
Laura LVancouver
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
Lots of information and data for a great walk through about the agile methodology.
Pierre-Michel AMontreal
Very knowledgeable, led the session very well.
Bob BPrivate Client
Mark was very personable, easy going an know what he was teaching. This makes the class environment more interactive and fun.
Asif BVirtual
Mark is an articulate speaker that is easy to listen to and he brings real-life situations to the course which makes it interesting. Answers questions well and takes the time to
make sure he gets his point across.
Wayne BVirtual
This course helped me understand the principles of Agile and how to implement it to achieve better performance with any team while having a good time. Really like the balance between the exercises and the theory.
Pierre LMontreal
Thank you Mark for the amazing training and for the useful tips you shared!
Manal DVirtual
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
Mark was great. Excellent sense of humor, great ability to adapt, wealth of business and sugject matter knowledge.
Jesse BPrivate Client
I really enjoyed Mark, despite not being my sector I was able to make connections and take away information.
Catherine BOttawa
Mark is super knowledgable on the topic and presents it in a fun and educational atmosphere. Really enjoyed the team work and Mark's perspective on a lot of the information.
Shelly MToronto
Very patient. Really liked the group activity where we had to work in Sprints on user stories.
Anita AVirtual
Excellent instructor and the course was great. A lot of thought provoking exercises that bring home the idea of scrum.
Deena SToronto
Mark was a great instructor! Very enthusiastic about the course and assisting its participants in becoming successful product owners. Incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining.
Elizabeth CToronto
I find the instructor very knowledgeable and experienced in Scrum. He was very well organized and prepared for the course. He encouraged in class participation and elevated course content with real life examples. Well played! The course, its content and material covered Scrum very well.
Alena CVancouver
Mark is a great instructor who clearly understands his subject matter and continuously engages with his students in order to make his presentations dynamic and memorable. He maintained a good pace throughout the workshop while always ensuring that questions were answered and that nobody would be left behind. Thanks Mark!
Mikael SVirtual
Covered a little of everything. Was always interesting.
Regis LMontreal
Really liked it, will recommend to others.
Alexey SToronto
Very engaging instructor. Used many real-life examples.
Laura OPrivate Client
He knows his stuff!
Stephen DVancouver
Instructor was amazing, easy to listen to and follow. Did not read from book and provided concrete examples.
Tricia AOttawa
Amazing experience attending this course. I learned an incredible amount from Mark, to apply to my career and better relationship building techniques.
Nicole DOttawa
Mark is a wealth of knowledge and makes agile super easy! The course is interesting, interactive, and extremely informative. I got a lot of takeaways from the course and excited to take this back to my team. I'm looking forward to taking the Advance Scrum and Advanced PO courses next Fall.
Jenny CVirtual
This was a great course with an engaging instructor - well worth the time of anyone who wants to learn more about product ownership.
Mark BVirtual
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
Mark did an excellent job running the course. Explanations were clear and he was open to all questions.
Michael DToronto
Really dynamic! Use scrum tools to control the flow of the course which is a good example.
Marc LMontreal
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
Added some very interesting info as well as presented the material very well clearly.
Yvonne REdmonton
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.