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.
It was a great experience coming to Agile Scrum just a few months ago allowed this to solidify a lot of things I've been practicing. I will likely immediately reap the rewards.
Curtis BOttawa
Amazing course! Love every second of it. Mark kept us all engaged. I knew nothing about agile/scrum and now feel well equipped to make changes at work. I'd love for the rest of my team to attend.
Shravan COttawa
Mark did a great job of purposefully making us all feel included and engaged with his class. He added great clarity to the budding scrum process that has taken over in my workplace. I have seen many versions and perspectives on scrum values that deviate and distort how scrum would work, but I am now confident I can facilitate with my projects and team, using a much clearer scrum.
Charlene FVirtual
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
Mark's ability to adapt to the background of students and relate to their org's characteristics adds exceptional value. This course isn't just for software development!
Paul AOttawa
There is so much about Scrum that I didn't know I didn't know! Thanks Mark for an informative and engaging 2 days.
Dan LKitchener-Waterloo
This course helped me get a significant understanding of what Scrum is, how it can be applied in my real life work environment and what benefits could I have from it. The instructor was passionate about the subject, which helped me stay focus and interested.
Vincent MVirtual
Mark is an awesome instructor! The course was very valuable and useful.
Chandni LToronto
I enjoyed the course and the instruction. Good examples were provided. Excercises helped me understand concepts.
Claire LPrivate Client
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
Mark was great at adapting to our needs - how very agile!
Mika TPrivate Client
Very good. Great at illustrating his point.
Manny BOttawa
Awesome, good humour and very knowledgeable about side elements and how they come into play.
Daniel LOttawa
Great course to get started. Mark is greatly knowledgeable and shares well the information.
Christine AMontreal
Great agenda, engaging instructor, relevant examples and exercises. 10/10 rating
Ed AVancouver
Mark was intellegent, able to improvise, and brought humor to the class. He supports diversity, no one should feel uncomfortable.
Jeffrey LMontreal
Overall very well structured course. It helped me see the benefits of Scrum and learned how to apply it.
Nazir EOttawa
Awesome instructor, great course.
Kristie KPrivate 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
Mark is great - knows the material and can address all questions, prompting us to try and answer them first! Great trainer, I would recommend him to others.
Frances AOttawa
Instructor was very knowledgeable and expressed his thoughts honestly and concisely. Course was very informative.
Lorne APrivate Client
Instructor was clearly knowledgable and many examples were given. I was able to follow with nearly no prior scrum/Agile experience.
Kevin KOttawa
Excellent. Learn a lot about Scrum. Very knowledgeable and experienced in the area. Able to relate different examples on questions asked during class.
Robert CToronto
You have a deep understanding of the Scrum methodology. You are good listener and you are able to adapt to your audience. I am really satisfied and will recommend you.
Eric LMontreal
This course was fun and informative. The instructor was a great motivator/animator of the material. I really appreciated the efforts in engaging the audience.
Bill LMontreal
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
Instructor is super knowledgeable and shared his wealth of expertise in a meaning manner.
Randy GPrivate Client
Extremely knowledgeable. Engaged the entire team. Clear communication.
Ahalya AToronto
Mark is an awesome instructor and he is very knowledgeable.
Samina CVirtual
Mark was very knowledgeable and walked us through Scrum using the actual technique. Very good technique.
Kevin COttawa
Mark leads the class on an explanation of the topics and provides traps to ensure students can learn from practice.
Peter CPrivate Client
Great energy. Made the day pass with a mix of humour and data.
Matthew COttawa
Mark Levison is a good coach, very knowledgeable and not boring.
Pradeep CPrivate Client
The course and exercise were well designed to add value compared to reading about Scrum. Mark is an effective presenter, keeping things interesting and (often) entertaining.
Gordon EPrivate Client
It was a very helpful course and it met my expectations.
Vinicious GVancouver
I found the instructor extremely engaging and very knowledgeable about the subject. The time flew by!
Granville GOttawa
Excellent course, very knowledgeable instructor. Will highly recomment the product owner course.
Florentino LPrivate Client
Very good format and flow to course. Good idea to structure course in Agile format so we can experience Agile first hand.
Julia APrivate Client
Instructor kept the course interested, kept us engaged through fun exercises. I love the course content, the book. Well prepared reference.
Hulya AOttawa
Great training. Good energy throughout the workshop. Well facilitated. I liked the regular breaks. Good combination of both breakout room exercises and whole group learnings. Good use of technology for a virtual workshop.
Carole GVirtual
Mark is fantastic at keeping the material interested. You can tell he is passionate on the topic and knows his stuff.
Jackie MEdmonton
I enjoyed this interactive class with Mark. So much more entertaining then watching slide after slide of a Powerpoint.
Shelley COttawa
Mark was great! He kept the room energized and very engaged. His passion and pexereince were very evident. Class materials were very helpful! Great focus on how to drive results.
Aaron MPrivate Client
Content and pace of course was good. Mark was a great coach and answered questions thoroughly.
Chris RKitchener-Waterloo
Mark was a good speaker and resourceful instructor. Exercises were practical and useful.
Ronald MPrivate Client
The course was structured in a way that allowed us to cover a lot of information in a manner that kept things interesting and allowed space to explore topics where the group was more interested.
Gino FOttawa
Mark did a great job of bringing the group into the basic tenets of Agile-Scrum whenever someone brought up a challenge/issue in the participant's particular situation.
Eric AMontreal
Thank you. It has been one of the most interesting courses I have attended.
Hemant KToronto
Great instructor, light atmosphere, very knowledgeable and engaging. Thank You!
Edwine JVirtual
Excellent teaching and course delivery. Practical scrum practices was very informational.
Odion OToronto
Mark is an awesome instructor! The course was very valuable and useful.
Chandni LToronto
I enjoyed the course and the instruction. Good examples were provided. Excercises helped me understand concepts.
Claire LPrivate Client
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
Mark was great at adapting to our needs - how very agile!
Mika TPrivate Client
It was a great experience coming to Agile Scrum just a few months ago allowed this to solidify a lot of things I've been practicing. I will likely immediately reap the rewards.
Curtis BOttawa
Amazing course! Love every second of it. Mark kept us all engaged. I knew nothing about agile/scrum and now feel well equipped to make changes at work. I'd love for the rest of my team to attend.
Shravan COttawa
Very good. Great at illustrating his point.
Manny BOttawa
Awesome, good humour and very knowledgeable about side elements and how they come into play.
Daniel LOttawa
Great course to get started. Mark is greatly knowledgeable and shares well the information.
Christine AMontreal
Great agenda, engaging instructor, relevant examples and exercises. 10/10 rating
Ed AVancouver
Mark was intellegent, able to improvise, and brought humor to the class. He supports diversity, no one should feel uncomfortable.
Jeffrey LMontreal
Mark did a great job of purposefully making us all feel included and engaged with his class. He added great clarity to the budding scrum process that has taken over in my workplace. I have seen many versions and perspectives on scrum values that deviate and distort how scrum would work, but I am now confident I can facilitate with my projects and team, using a much clearer scrum.
Charlene FVirtual
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
Overall very well structured course. It helped me see the benefits of Scrum and learned how to apply it.
Nazir EOttawa
Awesome instructor, great course.
Kristie KPrivate 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
Mark is great - knows the material and can address all questions, prompting us to try and answer them first! Great trainer, I would recommend him to others.
Frances AOttawa
Instructor was very knowledgeable and expressed his thoughts honestly and concisely. Course was very informative.
Lorne APrivate Client
Instructor was clearly knowledgable and many examples were given. I was able to follow with nearly no prior scrum/Agile experience.
Kevin KOttawa
Excellent. Learn a lot about Scrum. Very knowledgeable and experienced in the area. Able to relate different examples on questions asked during class.
Robert CToronto
You have a deep understanding of the Scrum methodology. You are good listener and you are able to adapt to your audience. I am really satisfied and will recommend you.
Eric LMontreal
This course was fun and informative. The instructor was a great motivator/animator of the material. I really appreciated the efforts in engaging the audience.
Bill LMontreal
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
Instructor is super knowledgeable and shared his wealth of expertise in a meaning manner.
Randy GPrivate Client
Extremely knowledgeable. Engaged the entire team. Clear communication.
Ahalya AToronto
Mark is an awesome instructor and he is very knowledgeable.
Samina CVirtual
Mark was very knowledgeable and walked us through Scrum using the actual technique. Very good technique.
Kevin COttawa
Mark leads the class on an explanation of the topics and provides traps to ensure students can learn from practice.
Peter CPrivate Client
Great energy. Made the day pass with a mix of humour and data.
Matthew COttawa
Mark's ability to adapt to the background of students and relate to their org's characteristics adds exceptional value. This course isn't just for software development!
Paul AOttawa
Mark Levison is a good coach, very knowledgeable and not boring.
Pradeep CPrivate Client
The course and exercise were well designed to add value compared to reading about Scrum. Mark is an effective presenter, keeping things interesting and (often) entertaining.
Gordon EPrivate Client
It was a very helpful course and it met my expectations.
Vinicious GVancouver
I found the instructor extremely engaging and very knowledgeable about the subject. The time flew by!
Granville GOttawa
Excellent course, very knowledgeable instructor. Will highly recomment the product owner course.
Florentino LPrivate Client
Very good format and flow to course. Good idea to structure course in Agile format so we can experience Agile first hand.
Julia APrivate Client
Instructor kept the course interested, kept us engaged through fun exercises. I love the course content, the book. Well prepared reference.
Hulya AOttawa
There is so much about Scrum that I didn't know I didn't know! Thanks Mark for an informative and engaging 2 days.
Dan LKitchener-Waterloo
Great training. Good energy throughout the workshop. Well facilitated. I liked the regular breaks. Good combination of both breakout room exercises and whole group learnings. Good use of technology for a virtual workshop.
Carole GVirtual
Mark is fantastic at keeping the material interested. You can tell he is passionate on the topic and knows his stuff.
Jackie MEdmonton
I enjoyed this interactive class with Mark. So much more entertaining then watching slide after slide of a Powerpoint.
Shelley COttawa
Mark was great! He kept the room energized and very engaged. His passion and pexereince were very evident. Class materials were very helpful! Great focus on how to drive results.
Aaron MPrivate Client
Content and pace of course was good. Mark was a great coach and answered questions thoroughly.
Chris RKitchener-Waterloo
Mark was a good speaker and resourceful instructor. Exercises were practical and useful.
Ronald MPrivate Client
The course was structured in a way that allowed us to cover a lot of information in a manner that kept things interesting and allowed space to explore topics where the group was more interested.
Gino FOttawa
Mark did a great job of bringing the group into the basic tenets of Agile-Scrum whenever someone brought up a challenge/issue in the participant's particular situation.
Eric AMontreal
Thank you. It has been one of the most interesting courses I have attended.
Hemant KToronto
Great instructor, light atmosphere, very knowledgeable and engaging. Thank You!
Edwine JVirtual
Excellent teaching and course delivery. Practical scrum practices was very informational.
Odion OToronto
This course helped me get a significant understanding of what Scrum is, how it can be applied in my real life work environment and what benefits could I have from it. The instructor was passionate about the subject, which helped me stay focus and interested.
Vincent MVirtual
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.
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.