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.
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
Mark has extensive experience on which he can call on to illustrate the reason for what works and what does not.
Mark CPrivate Client
Of the three coures I have taken on agile training from different organzations, I found this the most effective because the instructor's understanding and incorporation of humor behavor and learning. Instructor came across as very persceptive and intelligent. Because of my positive impression of him as an intellectual I could value his opinions and teaching more than a "generic" instructor going through the motions.
Shaina SPrivate Client
Mark has helped me learn Agile in a fun way. The hands on experience have added value for a non-agile user like me.
Keerthiga NEdmonton
I cannot say anything but good things about the course, and have been telling many people in my org about it.
Hatem NVirtual
The instructor was able to cram a staggering amount of learning into a very short amount of time in a very effective manner. I highly-recommend this training for any Scrum Product Owner or Scrum Dev Team member. The instructor was even able to effectively maintain the energy levels of the students throughout the 2-day course by taking sufficient breaks and by introducing sufficient novelty between modules to keep things interesting throughout.
Tyler TVirtual
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
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
Great course! I like the interactive nature.
Caroline WPrivate Client
Well organized, skillfully motivates the team and demonstrates excellent practical examples
Hanna MVirtual
Came into the course with basic practice and limited knowledge of theory. Mark has deep knowledge and experience of the material that is easily shared, conveyed, and put into practical settings /analogies. I appreciated the effort of setting a team working agreement during the course, how we communicated /voted throughout the course, and the respected timeframe granted to teach us the material. Many thanks Mark for sharing your time, knowledge, and humour with us. It was very interesting, albeit an intense 2 days of information. Not an easy feat in a virtual setting. Also, many thanks for the many links provided to learn further on our own time. The course material is large and wide. This was perfect to learn basic theory in practice. Further knowledge, training and experience is required to fully capture and understand the depth of SCRUM and Agile.
Chantal MVirtual
Awesome work on walking us through the process.
Steven CVancouver
This is an excellent course to take after the CSM. The instructor was excellent, the course was wonderful, the students awesome.
Marc HMontreal
Excellent material and great passion from Mark. The training went above my expectations.
Bryan TMontreal
Excellent course! Was able to relate to everything covered. Scrum should be used every day.
Mark MEdmonton
Mark was very enthusiastic and encouraging to learn from. He was very open to all ideas, and did not hesitate to tell us how we can better our companies.
Kelvin HVirtual
Mark was excellent in explaining the concepts and examples from his experience. Found it very engaging and interactive.
Shilpi SPrivate Client
Really helpful and inspiring!
Thomas (Tan) PToronto
Good instructor. On point. Assertive and describes the problems and approaches well.
Andrei POttawa
Mark was intensely knowledgeable, humorous, and a bit off-beat. Initially I was skeptical of his abilites to engage the totality of the group but as the course progressed he appeared to fully succeed.
David OEdmonton
Awesome, good humour and very knowledgeable about side elements and how they come into play.
Daniel LOttawa
Instructor was engaging, kept the interest of the class. Nice material, I really like how we got into Scrum framework right away by using the backlog analogy for the course topics.
Cecilia OOttawa
Mark did a fantastic job of concisely and thoroughly describing the POs.
Dean GToronto
Course: great content! Instructor: excellent and very knowledgeable on the subject.
Nadeem FEdmonton
He is funny. And smart. And a good storyteller. All together = great combo.
Melanie HEdmonton
Mark is an amazing communicator and is able to clearly deliver information. He uses good examples to illustrate how something should be done and shouldn't be done. He clearly has an expert level grasp of the SCRUM process. The course was fantastic, this was the best and most captivating training I've ever attended. Most times when participating in training there is a sense toward the end that you would like it to be over. At the end of this training I felt like I wanted it to continue.
Marc VVirtual
Hands on experience in the subject helps to communicate most of the inportant message throughout the course.
Wael FToronto
Knowledgeable instructor. Engaging and well planned course.
Dan RVirtual
Excellent, material and discussion was perfect.
Jacques CVirtual
The course was very helpful by reinforcing my commitment to scrum team responsibilty and ownership. Mark was an excellent instructor, knowledgeable, professional, and in control.
Adrian GPrivate Client
Mark was fantastic! He explained the concepts very clearly and kept the class very engaging for the 2 days. He has a wealth of experience and was able to convey that to the class (plus the fun soap box moments).
Anthony GVirtual
Very good course, well balanced and very interactive.
Alexandre GMontreal
Mark has a great attitude and was very informative. I liked the recommendations for external resources when he reached the limit of his knowledge and/or time.
Jason TKitchener-Waterloo
This course was a rapid-fire immersion into the world of scrum. As such, it provides a grounding for us to start on the journey to becoming a good scrummaster.
Steve HToronto
Mark is engaging, very knowledgeable and morphs to the class knowledge. His sense of humor is also appreciated.
Malisha CToronto
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
Brilliant! Engaging and enlightening while not promising the world.
Oksana KOttawa
Good course. Good instructor. No boring moments.
Ashishkumar PMontreal
He is very motivated. Mark kept us engaged as the day went fast. He was respectful and was active listener, paid attention to cues when we did not understand.
Lyne LOttawa
Excellent! I really enjoyed the course and I learned more than I was expecting to.
Dave VToronto
Great class, Very interactive!
Mika TPrivate Client
Very empathic torwards participants, and I admire the ability to adjust the course trajectory on the fly. Thank you for a great course!
Sophia SPrivate Client
Awesome instructor, great course.
Kristie KPrivate Client
Mark is very entertaining and knowledgable, the combination of which made for a great two days of training, well done!
Daniel JKitchener-Waterloo
Very knowledgeable in the topic, and always open for healthy discussion and willing to clarify our questions.
Higo MVancouver
Excellent course, great depth of knowledge from the instructor, well paced and well run.
Kurt OEdmonton
Insightful material, engaging classroom practice.
Eliza BVirtual
I greatly enjoyed Mark's class. He is obviously a subject matter expert and has great insights.
Mandana BVirtual
Mark clearly articulated the value of Scrum and Agile. He was able to distill to the appropriate level for the audience.
Dave VKitchener-Waterloo
Mark was very engaging and provides an excellent overview of the Scrum methodology.
Stephane LEdmonton
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
Great course! I like the interactive nature.
Caroline WPrivate Client
Well organized, skillfully motivates the team and demonstrates excellent practical examples
Hanna MVirtual
Came into the course with basic practice and limited knowledge of theory. Mark has deep knowledge and experience of the material that is easily shared, conveyed, and put into practical settings /analogies. I appreciated the effort of setting a team working agreement during the course, how we communicated /voted throughout the course, and the respected timeframe granted to teach us the material. Many thanks Mark for sharing your time, knowledge, and humour with us. It was very interesting, albeit an intense 2 days of information. Not an easy feat in a virtual setting. Also, many thanks for the many links provided to learn further on our own time. The course material is large and wide. This was perfect to learn basic theory in practice. Further knowledge, training and experience is required to fully capture and understand the depth of SCRUM and Agile.
Chantal MVirtual
Awesome work on walking us through the process.
Steven CVancouver
This is an excellent course to take after the CSM. The instructor was excellent, the course was wonderful, the students awesome.
Marc HMontreal
Excellent material and great passion from Mark. The training went above my expectations.
Bryan TMontreal
Excellent course! Was able to relate to everything covered. Scrum should be used every day.
Mark MEdmonton
Mark was very enthusiastic and encouraging to learn from. He was very open to all ideas, and did not hesitate to tell us how we can better our companies.
Kelvin HVirtual
Mark was excellent in explaining the concepts and examples from his experience. Found it very engaging and interactive.
Shilpi SPrivate Client
Really helpful and inspiring!
Thomas (Tan) PToronto
Good instructor. On point. Assertive and describes the problems and approaches well.
Andrei POttawa
Mark was intensely knowledgeable, humorous, and a bit off-beat. Initially I was skeptical of his abilites to engage the totality of the group but as the course progressed he appeared to fully succeed.
David OEdmonton
Awesome, good humour and very knowledgeable about side elements and how they come into play.
Daniel LOttawa
Instructor was engaging, kept the interest of the class. Nice material, I really like how we got into Scrum framework right away by using the backlog analogy for the course topics.
Cecilia OOttawa
Mark did a fantastic job of concisely and thoroughly describing the POs.
Dean GToronto
Course: great content! Instructor: excellent and very knowledgeable on the subject.
Nadeem FEdmonton
He is funny. And smart. And a good storyteller. All together = great combo.
Melanie HEdmonton
Mark is an amazing communicator and is able to clearly deliver information. He uses good examples to illustrate how something should be done and shouldn't be done. He clearly has an expert level grasp of the SCRUM process. The course was fantastic, this was the best and most captivating training I've ever attended. Most times when participating in training there is a sense toward the end that you would like it to be over. At the end of this training I felt like I wanted it to continue.
Marc VVirtual
Hands on experience in the subject helps to communicate most of the inportant message throughout the course.
Wael FToronto
Knowledgeable instructor. Engaging and well planned course.
Dan RVirtual
Excellent, material and discussion was perfect.
Jacques CVirtual
The course was very helpful by reinforcing my commitment to scrum team responsibilty and ownership. Mark was an excellent instructor, knowledgeable, professional, and in control.
Adrian GPrivate Client
Mark was fantastic! He explained the concepts very clearly and kept the class very engaging for the 2 days. He has a wealth of experience and was able to convey that to the class (plus the fun soap box moments).
Anthony GVirtual
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
Very good course, well balanced and very interactive.
Alexandre GMontreal
Mark has a great attitude and was very informative. I liked the recommendations for external resources when he reached the limit of his knowledge and/or time.
Jason TKitchener-Waterloo
This course was a rapid-fire immersion into the world of scrum. As such, it provides a grounding for us to start on the journey to becoming a good scrummaster.
Steve HToronto
Mark is engaging, very knowledgeable and morphs to the class knowledge. His sense of humor is also appreciated.
Malisha CToronto
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
Brilliant! Engaging and enlightening while not promising the world.
Oksana KOttawa
Mark has extensive experience on which he can call on to illustrate the reason for what works and what does not.
Mark CPrivate Client
Good course. Good instructor. No boring moments.
Ashishkumar PMontreal
He is very motivated. Mark kept us engaged as the day went fast. He was respectful and was active listener, paid attention to cues when we did not understand.
Lyne LOttawa
Excellent! I really enjoyed the course and I learned more than I was expecting to.
Dave VToronto
Of the three coures I have taken on agile training from different organzations, I found this the most effective because the instructor's understanding and incorporation of humor behavor and learning. Instructor came across as very persceptive and intelligent. Because of my positive impression of him as an intellectual I could value his opinions and teaching more than a "generic" instructor going through the motions.
Shaina SPrivate Client
Great class, Very interactive!
Mika TPrivate Client
Mark has helped me learn Agile in a fun way. The hands on experience have added value for a non-agile user like me.
Keerthiga NEdmonton
Very empathic torwards participants, and I admire the ability to adjust the course trajectory on the fly. Thank you for a great course!
Sophia SPrivate Client
Awesome instructor, great course.
Kristie KPrivate Client
I cannot say anything but good things about the course, and have been telling many people in my org about it.
Hatem NVirtual
Mark is very entertaining and knowledgable, the combination of which made for a great two days of training, well done!
Daniel JKitchener-Waterloo
The instructor was able to cram a staggering amount of learning into a very short amount of time in a very effective manner. I highly-recommend this training for any Scrum Product Owner or Scrum Dev Team member. The instructor was even able to effectively maintain the energy levels of the students throughout the 2-day course by taking sufficient breaks and by introducing sufficient novelty between modules to keep things interesting throughout.
Tyler TVirtual
Very knowledgeable in the topic, and always open for healthy discussion and willing to clarify our questions.
Higo MVancouver
Excellent course, great depth of knowledge from the instructor, well paced and well run.
Kurt OEdmonton
Insightful material, engaging classroom practice.
Eliza BVirtual
I greatly enjoyed Mark's class. He is obviously a subject matter expert and has great insights.
Mandana 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
Mark clearly articulated the value of Scrum and Agile. He was able to distill to the appropriate level for the audience.
Dave VKitchener-Waterloo
Mark was very engaging and provides an excellent overview of the Scrum methodology.
Stephane LEdmonton
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.