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.

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Very enthusiastic and diplomatic. Very knowledgeable. Course was enjoyable.
Chris MKitchener-Waterloo
Mark provided down-to-earth help in scrum masters to untangle their own problems.
Herb VToronto
Course material provided was excellent for references and follow up. Instructor was energetic, dynamic, and full engaging.
Dinah MPrivate Client
Mark was a great instructor, really made the content easily understandable and great at answering questions.
Melanie MVirtual
It was fantastic. I wasn't sure what to expect given my non-technical background but Mark was an amazing facilitor.
Kristin MKitchener-Waterloo
This course was one of the best I have experienced, because we did everything instead of listening to someone talk.
Doris PPrivate Client
Very good at keeping interest. Very dynamic, engages easily with students.
Paul PMontreal
Mark is totally wonderfully weird and knowledgeable.
Sarah MOttawa
Mark is a great teacher and is very good at engaging people. Really gets the spark going!
Julien LMontreal
Lively, hands on, enlightening. Would recommend.
Allen NEdmonton
Mark inspires you to make yourself better in the roles which makes your workplace better. I wish he could come to my place of employ to get us setup to succeed. Might have to look into that.
Jackie MEdmonton
Intense and totally worth it.
Marinho MEdmonton
Excellent work, I have a lot of ideas and appreciate the way they were introduced.
John MEdmonton
Excellent course. Recommend for people that have done some Scrum and read all the readings. Mark is a great instructor. Among best I've had.
David MEdmonton
Mark was a great commincator of the concepts. He practiced what he preached by using SCRUM to team.
Darren MMontreal
The instructor keeps you engaged through the use of his mannerisms, stories, and body language.
Sherry PPrivate Client
Instructor was well organized and touched each topic in a sequential matter that was logical.
Joe PMontreal
Excellent course and instructor.
Joanna PEdmonton
Great instructor - very clear and easy to follow. Makes you think.
Linda LOttawa
As always, Mark is both extremely knowledgable and wildy entertaining for all things scrum.
Jennifer MOttawa
This course was a real eye opener and hope it will not be like preaching in the desert. You are a great orator and would love to listen to your thoughts for hours.
Marc-Andre LMontreal
Fantastic overview of Scrum and the need to create High Performing Teams.
Greg LEdmonton
Mark is a very engaging instructor. He combines his scrum master knowledge with humour and demontrates both in real situations. He has inspired me through this course to be a great scrum master!
Lisa MToronto
Energetic, clear, helpful, inspiring, a great teacher.
Nadil POttawa
Fantastic 2 days. Loved the incorporation of practical exercies. Lots of feedback and helps you understand how people think.
Tony KVancouver
Mark is quick-witted, experienced, blunt, and plays role of a neutral facilitaor very well. He made three content heavy days digestible, relevant to my work life, and enjoyable.
Craig BPrivate Client
Amazing! Given the time a lot was covered about Scrum.
Hanumanth Reddy POttawa
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
Insightful material, engaging classroom practice.
Eliza BVirtual
Really dynamic! Use scrum tools to control the flow of the course which is a good example.
Marc LMontreal
Covered a little of everything. Was always interesting.
Regis LMontreal
Mark is an excellent instructor and has great techniques to help us understand and learn the material of the course.
Miguel NMontreal
Very knowledgeable and well-versed in the art and science of Scrum and Agile. Clearly has a breadth of experience to share.
Sara MVirtual
Mark has an effective approach at coaching us through the course in an "agile" way. Would recommend the course to those who are experienced scrum masters and especially to those who are new to the agile world.
Caia RToronto
Mark is very easy to listen to. He is knowledgeable and keeps the class engaged. He has a lot of experience.
Lori CToronto
Thank you. It has been one of the most interesting courses I have attended.
Hemant KToronto
Brilliantly said. I am happy to be part of this Scrum Product owner course.
Esva PMontreal
Great course - certainly lived up to its reputation.
Ryann MKitchener-Waterloo
Was an extremely focused and well organized two days, I have taken other courses in similar timelines but found this significantly easier to consume and digest the information. Mark was funny, and left me with an impression of “this guy is legit, and extremely intelligent, I need to soak up his knowledge”.
Jack BVirtual
He is very engaging and clear. It was easy to grasp the concepts and apply it to exercises.
Jamielyn CToronto
Fantastic course. I was really happy with the structure, the breaks, and the group interaction. I've taken other online courses like this before and really felt like there was a good balance between listening, discussions, applying the knowledge, and pauses.
Amanda PVirtual
Excellent source of knowledge and provided additional resources. Helped with real examples
Sean OPrivate Client
Awesome speaker. Fantastic course.
Helen KMontreal
Excellent communicator and educator who encourages students to think through questions. Thorough course material to get student "Ready to Rock"
Sue LToronto
Mark was wonderful, prepared, entertaining, and accommodating. He effectively kept my attention and created good situations for the team to practice scrum. It felt like escape rooms. The course allowed me to use scrum, to put on different hats, and to envision how scrum would play out in my organization and previous teams. My questions were answered and then some.
Bryan LVirtual
Mark brings a wealth of knowledge and practical experience and stories. We have applied many of the ideas and totally revitalized the way we run our Agile process.
MacMillan JKitchener-Waterloo
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
Mark was great! I found this style easy to follow and I feel prepared.
Melanie KToronto
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
I enjoyed taking this course with Mark. Examples given in class were relatable to the majority of the group. He was engaging, leaving nobody left out (ensuring everybody participated).
Jennifer MPrivate Client

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.

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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:

March 5-6, 2026

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April 13-14, 2026

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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.