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.

Five Steps for Creating High-Performance Teams

Scrum is a tool for building high-performance teams. Some Scrum Teams achieve this goal almost by magic, while others struggle to get there. So is it magic? Or luck? Or is it far more attainable than that? There is a science to it that makes it possible.

Mark Levison offers insight into the neuroscience of teams with five proven Agile methods to create teams that sizzle, not fizzle.

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.

Beyond Scrum: Why Scrum Alone is Not Enough

To be successful with Scrum in the long term you need more than the basic framework. This is intentional. Scrum provides the structure as a starting point, but it’s designed to work well when applied with other effective patterns.

Mark Levison’s first book discusses topics including why organizations become Agile, the limits of Scrum, common mistakes made and how to avoid resulting failure, and the benefit of exploring other Agile practices.

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.

Excellent course, although packed! Good pace.
Catherine SVancouver
Awesome course, stimulating content and very engaging coach. Feel positive about Scrum.
James WToronto
Great job!
Rana ROttawa
Mark is extremely well informed on the subject matter and made it extremely easy to comprehend. I find his ability to articulate his thoughts and teachings very impressive, and it's easy to see how intelligent he is.
Alexandria SOttawa
The format was great, and I appreciated the 10 minute breaks on the hour, particularly for a virtual training where zoom can be a drag after a while. The pace was good where the content and group activities wasn't rushed but time-boxed sufficiently that we didn't feel we were 'waiting'. The training goes beyond the 'minimum' for certification and was also flexible to address various questions by attendees.
Matthew RVirtual
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
Mark is exceptionally knowledgeable and offered many useful tibits I can better my organization with.
James ROttawa
Mark is very knowledgeable and open/fair when answering questions or comments from the class. The course did a great job of covering scrum.
Darryl COttawa
The course was very relevant. The instructor has good insight and was able to address questions.
Jeyasandhya RToronto
Excellent course! I learned a lot although I reliaze there's a lot to cover but now I have a very good understanding of scrum.
Martin ROttawa
The instructor is clearly knowledgeable about scrum and other approaches. The course demonstrates the basics of scrum very well.
Matthew BToronto
This course has challenged me to take little steps within my tasks to be an effective team player. I also feel that the little tips and techniques will help me produce better quality in my projects. Enjoyed the use of SCRUM to conduct the training seminar and the group exercises or techniques presented because I felt engaged and they foster group participation.
Sally CVancouver
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
Best training I've taken in a long time.
Susan DPrivate Client
A excellent and well-delivered course. Very informative!
Warren ROttawa
Mark was a very knowledgeable instructor and very passionate about the material. For a brand new subject area, I was very content and feeling comfortable in training (which usually is not the normal case). Whatever little pre-knowledge I had, this was a very great course. I took my own notes by hand and will strive the use the material as much as possible where I can. I did all of the pre-work and it definitely helped. Thank you for the training !
Brian BVirtual
Great energy. Interesting course material.
Julie CToronto
Great! Very enthuiastic instructor and made learning a breeze.
Dalbir SKitchener-Waterloo
Very knowledgeable and examples that are applicable to our reality.
Allen SOttawa
Mark was great explaining the concepts of Scrum. Practical solutions with testing and QA Implementation.
Ramya RKitchener-Waterloo
Very pleased to have taken this course. Learned lots of valuable information about Scrum and I want to start using in a short term. Mark is a great instructor. He was making us think so we really understand the Agile principles. Would recommend.
Line CVirtual
Did a great job getting the information across. Provided real-world examples and concrete solutions that were helpful. Q&A throughout added a lot.
Jacob DPrivate Client
Mark did an excellent job of teaching the material and went beyond just presenting it.
Noah AEdmonton
Course was great. Mark was terrific! Kept us involved and thinking.
Anne DPrivate Client
The instructor and the course both were awesome.
Rajeev RToronto
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
Excellent format; close groups, format's a plus. Instructor is very good at relating information in layman terms.
Amar SVancouver
The failure-based models used for learning were effective.
Vince RVirtual
Awesome. I got more than enough info to get me started and max team productivity.
Joel RVancouver
The course does an excellent job in this covid world. Lots was learned even though I have been working in an agile environment for years. Would certainly return to Agile Pain Relief if I decide to pursue future training.
Robert AVirtual
Mark is great, crams a boat load into two days effectively.
Gordon IVirtual
Fun and focused. Mark knows Scrum inside and out.
Ryan JEdmonton
Mark is a very clear and engaging instructor. He is able to use examples and exercises to ground our learning.
Ayesha KOttawa
Very knowledgeable and very fun and interesting way to deliver the content.
Eric SToronto
Mark is a very entertaining instructor. I feel I learned a great deal more than I could through reading/self study.
Michael HToronto
It is very well organized and timed. The teacher has a really deep, hands-on knowledge about the subject.
Alberto MPrivate Client
A wealth of useful and interesting knowledge.
Sarah HEdmonton
Mark is very knowledgeable and willing to provide strategic guidance above and beyond strict training material. Well humoured and effective, good mix of depth and breadth.
Julian RPrivate Client
These days passed quickly, the instructor is very friendly and relaxed. Thanks again to Mark for his support!
Vlad AVirtual
Time master- thank you for pushing us through topics. Honestly - stated that you can provide examples, up to us to decide.
Tracey OToronto
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
Energetic, clear, helpful, inspiring, a great teacher.
Nadil POttawa
I really enjoyed the workshop and I think the examples were really helpful in understanding the basics of scrum.
Louis-Pierre DMontreal
Great course! Interesting and fun. Not a moment of dullness.
Roma SOttawa
Awesome instructor with a sense of humor. Well read and fun!
Wendy AVancouver
Excellent! Engaged all of the time. My head is exploding with new knowledge.
Harlie DMontreal
Very informative. Well presented. Good tempo.
Robert MOttawa
Extremely enlightening. Put a lot of elements into proper context. Great foundation.
Yvan NMontreal
The course was informative and engaging. It was delivered in a way that help me achieve better understanding of the material, Mark rocks!!
Akhmad SPrivate Client
Mark was a patient and enthusiastic teacher, with knowledge spanning multiple industries. The course itself was a great mix of learning with lots of opportunities to do hands-on activities to really cement understanding. At the end of the course I felt confident in my understanding and my ability to pass the certification test. Thank you, Mark
Carrie BVirtual

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.