Free Resources
We're happy to offer several resources for self-study learning. These also qualify for Scrum Alliance® Scrum Education Units (SEUs).
Scrum and Agile articles
Notes from a Tool User, Mark Levison’s long-running blog, explores current Agile topics and mixes in insightful advice with practical application tips to help Scrum teams and individuals.
Agile Glossary and Reference Library
Jokingly called the “World’s Largest Opinionated Agile Reference Library”. The content is created and the links are curated through the lens of Agile Pain Relief Consulting’s view of what is effective in the practice of Scrum and Agile.
New to Scrum?
A whole page of free resources specifically for those who are trying to make sense of Scrum basics and terminology.
Scrum and Agile Games
Learning doesn’t have to be boring or tedious. Our brains retain more information when it’s fun!
- Online Agile Teams Game
- High-Performance Team Game
- Building High-Performance Organizations Game
Free with newsletter subscription
The following Scrum and 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.
eBooks
- The Guide to Effective Agile Retrospectives
- Five Steps for Creating High-Performance Teams
- A Jargon-Free Introduction to Scrum
- Beyond Scrum: Why Scrum Alone is Not Enough
- Agile Engineering Practices and Their Effects PDF Cheat Sheet
Community Coaching
Free Virtual Scrum Meetup. Kind of office hours/virtual coffee chat, where you can join in a Zoom conference and talk about whatever confuses and confounds you in Scrum. (Bonus: if you haven’t done a workshop with me yet, this is your chance to try before you buy.)
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
Great two days! Added new tools to my PO toolbox and Mark has inspired me again to improve as a PO and to improve my team's scrumming.
Binh HMontreal
Mark was very approachable, friendly, and knowledgable. He has done a great job in helping someone like me who doesn't belong to a corporate world learn so much about scrum in 2 days!
Mashiat FToronto
I participated in the Certified Scrum Master course instructed by Mark Levison. Mark is a very well educated in the Agile Scrum methodology and presented the course material in a very entertaining way during the 2-day course. I learned a lot of things I had not previously known even though I had been practicing scrum for the past 5 years. I would highly recommend that every organization send their scrum focal’s to this training – it will help them advance their organization in implementing, and delivering scrum based projects, thus help their business be more successful.
Graham FVirtual
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, you're awesome! Certainly one of the best instructors I've had the pleasure of learning from. The course is absolutely helpful in building good foundational knowledge of scrum and especially the scrum master role.
Debbie LToronto
Came in with a cynical view and attitude and left with nuggets of insight. That is quite an accomplishment for any instructor!
Mojtaba HOttawa
Brilliant instructor for a heavy and varied course. Answers questions almost flawlessly and really understands what people need in order to learn effectively.
Analee CPrivate Client
Mark is extremely knowlegeable, humorous, and an effective teacher. I feel far more knowedgeable about Scrum now than I did 2 days ago.
Jeremy GToronto
Thank you for this course, I don’t recall ever having such a good teacher during my studies! I am very satisfied and I can’t wait to start and try to improve things. I will say to my colleagues that are being formed to be PO that they should have looked to your classes.
Laurene TVirtual
Mark provides clarity into the mystical world of Agile and Scrum with practical examples and Jedi wisdom. Add some psychosocial games into the batch and your in for an adventure. Training will test not just your ability to obtain facts, but leave you pondering the cavernous opportunities for the scum master to be an agent of organizational change.
Petrus BVirtual
Mark was incredibly knowledge and experienced and it's very apparent. I learned more than I could have expected. I greatly appreciate all the additional reading materials. I would have never been able to collect such a library on my own and I have a fascination for good leadership and developing high performing teams.
Anly HOttawa
Very good instructor, very knowledgeable, good facilitator.
Liz SToronto
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
Enthusiasm. Knows his material.
Isabelle LOttawa
A fantastic approach to teaching Scrum and agile practices.
Jordan LToronto
The instructor demonstrates solid knowledge on Agile and scrum fundamentals. The course is interesting and easy to follow.
Don LEdmonton
Very informative and interesting introduction to the concepts and principles of Agile development and Scrum.
Michael HVancouver
It was a very good experience for me, I appreciate how much knowledge the instructor transferred to us in just 2 days.
Elena KOttawa
Very well done. Good introduction of the concepts, good use of technology, good practical incorporation of the methods being taught into the course itself, 10/10
Adam GVirtual
Excellent course, gained a lot of context on SCRUM best practices beyond the context of how [Private Client] currently operates.
Hamza EPrivate Client
Mark was intellegent, able to improvise, and brought humor to the class. He supports diversity, no one should feel uncomfortable.
Jeffrey LMontreal
Excellent. Would recommend any time.
Cindy IEdmonton
Mark knows this content, kept us engaged and provided hands-on workshop tasks to understand the conent. Fantastic approach to this course with backlog and Sprints. Stories and answering questions of the group was appreciated.
Matt FPrivate Client
Very good, very detailed.
John LMontreal
Course was very informative. You spoke to the entire group on a level everyone can understand.
Monica HPrivate Client
The course was well led, I found it very useful. Allowing the conversations to go on was nice as a lot of the issues were issues I was experiencing as well. I found Mark to be pleasant and extremely knowledgeable.
Jeff FVirtual
Mark is great and the course is very valuable. I really appricate your time and patience. We covered a lot of mtaterial which is great.
William DOttawa
Very good course, well balanced and very interactive.
Alexandre GMontreal
Mark was very well prepared with the material and handled questions well. You gave us enough information to address our own issues without giving us the solution.
Ramiz IPrivate Client
Fantastic overview of Scrum and the need to create High Performing Teams.
Greg LEdmonton
Great, eloquent, knowledgeable.
Mladen JToronto
Great content, stories, anecdotes. Enjoyed instructor's enthusiasm and knowledge on the subject.
Paul JMontreal
Mark was a very good lively instructor who cared for all the questions. I am normally a quiet person, but I felt safe enough to speak up and answer questions.
Brenna GEdmonton
Instructor was informative and handled the challenges he faced well.
Ruth JPrivate Client
Mark had great skills at sharing knowledge, breaking down concepts and explaining the "whys" of things.
Cedric LMontreal
Instructor very excellent and the course is very good to introduce perople to the Agile Methodology.
Sonia JPrivate Client
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
The course was awesome with great instructor. It was great to have the groups for exercices and then discuss with trainer.
Françoise DVirtual
Mark was an excellent instructor and I learned a lot in this workshop considering it was only 2 days. I would recommend it to my friends and colleagues.
Mohamed EVirtual
Mark is very entertaining and knowledgable, the combination of which made for a great two days of training, well done!
Daniel JKitchener-Waterloo
Mark Levison is a great teacher, who is very good at giving examples to answer questions. I really appreciated his genuine interest in the topic and willingness to help us all understand, and to challenge our brains. Thank you Mark!
Camilla SVirtual
Great course and great instructor! Will definitely recommend to friends!
Hisham EOttawa
Instructor was fantastic! Course content had some humour!
Joelle LPrivate Client
The course was well structured. I like how Mark used the dashboard and used it like a scrum process. Mark knows the material, respect the students and teaches it well. Always open to questions. He did a great job of keeping the students engaged by asking for feedback. Even when there was a small technical glitch Mark did not lose a beat, he ploughed through.
The course was enjoyable.
Peter RVirtual
Very informative and up to my expectations. I loved the availability of the instructor.
Nicolas RMontreal
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 has a way to engage the group that is positive and unique. His ability to be flexible in the two days with regards to training makes the course fun.
David HOttawa
Great seminar, very helpful and Mark showed us in real time examples the application of Scrum.
Pierre EMontreal
He rocks! I like a lot of the tips given by him.
Fagner SMontreal
Very good instructor, very knowledgeable, good facilitator.
Liz SToronto
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 two days! Added new tools to my PO toolbox and Mark has inspired me again to improve as a PO and to improve my team's scrumming.
Binh HMontreal
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 very approachable, friendly, and knowledgable. He has done a great job in helping someone like me who doesn't belong to a corporate world learn so much about scrum in 2 days!
Mashiat FToronto
Enthusiasm. Knows his material.
Isabelle LOttawa
A fantastic approach to teaching Scrum and agile practices.
Jordan LToronto
The instructor demonstrates solid knowledge on Agile and scrum fundamentals. The course is interesting and easy to follow.
Don LEdmonton
I participated in the Certified Scrum Master course instructed by Mark Levison. Mark is a very well educated in the Agile Scrum methodology and presented the course material in a very entertaining way during the 2-day course. I learned a lot of things I had not previously known even though I had been practicing scrum for the past 5 years. I would highly recommend that every organization send their scrum focal’s to this training – it will help them advance their organization in implementing, and delivering scrum based projects, thus help their business be more successful.
Graham FVirtual
Very informative and interesting introduction to the concepts and principles of Agile development and Scrum.
Michael HVancouver
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
It was a very good experience for me, I appreciate how much knowledge the instructor transferred to us in just 2 days.
Elena KOttawa
Very well done. Good introduction of the concepts, good use of technology, good practical incorporation of the methods being taught into the course itself, 10/10
Adam GVirtual
Excellent course, gained a lot of context on SCRUM best practices beyond the context of how [Private Client] currently operates.
Hamza EPrivate Client
Mark was intellegent, able to improvise, and brought humor to the class. He supports diversity, no one should feel uncomfortable.
Jeffrey LMontreal
Excellent. Would recommend any time.
Cindy IEdmonton
Mark knows this content, kept us engaged and provided hands-on workshop tasks to understand the conent. Fantastic approach to this course with backlog and Sprints. Stories and answering questions of the group was appreciated.
Matt FPrivate Client
Very good, very detailed.
John LMontreal
Course was very informative. You spoke to the entire group on a level everyone can understand.
Monica HPrivate Client
The course was well led, I found it very useful. Allowing the conversations to go on was nice as a lot of the issues were issues I was experiencing as well. I found Mark to be pleasant and extremely knowledgeable.
Jeff FVirtual
Mark is great and the course is very valuable. I really appricate your time and patience. We covered a lot of mtaterial which is great.
William DOttawa
Very good course, well balanced and very interactive.
Alexandre GMontreal
Mark was very well prepared with the material and handled questions well. You gave us enough information to address our own issues without giving us the solution.
Ramiz IPrivate Client
Fantastic overview of Scrum and the need to create High Performing Teams.
Greg LEdmonton
Great, eloquent, knowledgeable.
Mladen JToronto
Mark, you're awesome! Certainly one of the best instructors I've had the pleasure of learning from. The course is absolutely helpful in building good foundational knowledge of scrum and especially the scrum master role.
Debbie LToronto
Great content, stories, anecdotes. Enjoyed instructor's enthusiasm and knowledge on the subject.
Paul JMontreal
Mark was a very good lively instructor who cared for all the questions. I am normally a quiet person, but I felt safe enough to speak up and answer questions.
Brenna GEdmonton
Instructor was informative and handled the challenges he faced well.
Ruth JPrivate Client
Mark had great skills at sharing knowledge, breaking down concepts and explaining the "whys" of things.
Cedric LMontreal
Came in with a cynical view and attitude and left with nuggets of insight. That is quite an accomplishment for any instructor!
Mojtaba HOttawa
Instructor very excellent and the course is very good to introduce perople to the Agile Methodology.
Sonia JPrivate Client
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
Brilliant instructor for a heavy and varied course. Answers questions almost flawlessly and really understands what people need in order to learn effectively.
Analee CPrivate Client
The course was awesome with great instructor. It was great to have the groups for exercices and then discuss with trainer.
Françoise DVirtual
Mark was an excellent instructor and I learned a lot in this workshop considering it was only 2 days. I would recommend it to my friends and colleagues.
Mohamed EVirtual
Mark is extremely knowlegeable, humorous, and an effective teacher. I feel far more knowedgeable about Scrum now than I did 2 days ago.
Jeremy GToronto
Mark is very entertaining and knowledgable, the combination of which made for a great two days of training, well done!
Daniel JKitchener-Waterloo
Thank you for this course, I don’t recall ever having such a good teacher during my studies! I am very satisfied and I can’t wait to start and try to improve things. I will say to my colleagues that are being formed to be PO that they should have looked to your classes.
Laurene TVirtual
Mark Levison is a great teacher, who is very good at giving examples to answer questions. I really appreciated his genuine interest in the topic and willingness to help us all understand, and to challenge our brains. Thank you Mark!
Camilla SVirtual
Great course and great instructor! Will definitely recommend to friends!
Hisham EOttawa
Instructor was fantastic! Course content had some humour!
Joelle LPrivate Client
Mark provides clarity into the mystical world of Agile and Scrum with practical examples and Jedi wisdom. Add some psychosocial games into the batch and your in for an adventure. Training will test not just your ability to obtain facts, but leave you pondering the cavernous opportunities for the scum master to be an agent of organizational change.
Petrus BVirtual
Mark was incredibly knowledge and experienced and it's very apparent. I learned more than I could have expected. I greatly appreciate all the additional reading materials. I would have never been able to collect such a library on my own and I have a fascination for good leadership and developing high performing teams.
Anly HOttawa
The course was well structured. I like how Mark used the dashboard and used it like a scrum process. Mark knows the material, respect the students and teaches it well. Always open to questions. He did a great job of keeping the students engaged by asking for feedback. Even when there was a small technical glitch Mark did not lose a beat, he ploughed through.
The course was enjoyable.
Peter RVirtual
Very informative and up to my expectations. I loved the availability of the instructor.
Nicolas RMontreal
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 has a way to engage the group that is positive and unique. His ability to be flexible in the two days with regards to training makes the course fun.
David HOttawa
Great seminar, very helpful and Mark showed us in real time examples the application of Scrum.
Pierre EMontreal
He rocks! I like a lot of the tips given by him.
Fagner SMontreal
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.