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.
Had little to no knowledge/training of Scrum & Agile and this was a great intro, with a couple of deep(er) dives. This course definitely helped me get introduced to Scrum and the world of Agile. While it's nice that scrum doesn't explicitly tell you how to do something, it definitely requires a significant amount of application in the real world to learn it.
Daneila DToronto
Mark did an excellent job keeping the course dynamic and informative. I would have loved a few more days to really dig into some subjects.
Tim KPrivate Client
This was an excellent training. I really valued how engaging Mark was as a facilitator, everyone had the space to contribute and ask questions, and I loved how interactive and applicable it was, especially for myself outside of the software industry. It was incredibly fun and I learned a lot - I feel ready to step into a Scrum Master role and am excited at how it can improve the value we offer to clients at my organization.
Sarah HVirtual
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
I really enjoyed my experience with Agile Pain Relief and the 2 day CSM course. It was highly informative, interactive, and engaging, even with the hurdle of being fully virtual. Mark was thoughtful, patient, and ready to answer any question that came his way. I found the workshop to be not only educational, but also a great exercise in building confidence.
Katie HVirtual
Thank you Mark! Up until last week I knew nothing about Scrum and now I know quite a lot. Took my test this morning -- just as you said, it was not that complicated and panicking was not warranted. Excited to apply the new skills in practice!
Anastasia KVirtual
Mark is a very approachable and friendly instructor and brings some comic relief to his training sessions. He broke down Scrum/Agile so that it was very easy to follow, and always offered opportunities for the class to ask questions. I felt very supported and encouraged while learning about Scrum/Agile and was never scared to ask a question. I am looking forward to another training opportunity to learn from Mark again!
Dana SVirtual
Masters the subject more than anyone else I've met.
Carlo DMontreal
Mark is extremely academically knowledgeable in this space. This knowledge mixed with his real world experience and ability to engage a group makes his class a delightful experience.
Melissa MPrivate Client
Great course that makes you think.
Seok Woo JToronto
I thought Mark did a great job. Never missed a beat and gave us a great experience
Sahan DOttawa
Mark, you master it! Many thanks for making this content easy to understand.
Bertrand LVirtual
Mark is a great instructor, we can see the vast experience that he has from his training style. We have learnt as much as it is possible from a two day workshop. Keep up the good work Mark.
Sreepad KVirtual
Mark is a lively and engaging instructor. Information was presented effectively and at a reasonable pace.
Joel DOttawa
Very informative and fun learning session.
Kim KPrivate Client
Excellent material, entertaining instructor. Instructor distilled the information well. Both instructor and course provided a great intro to Scrum. The course was challenging yet rewarding.
Duff KOttawa
Fantastic. Very engaging and helpful blend of both Scrum and general business advice.
Dace DOttawa
Very knowledgeable and interesting. I appreciated that he respected the outline and timeframes.
Caroline DVirtual
Mark was very knowledgeable; I really appreciated the examples that he shared with the group. Thank you!
Suzanne AVirtual
Mark was awesome. Kept the session engaged.
Jyoti KVirtual
Mark, you are awesome! I enjoyed your style of teaching/coaching. You focused on our needs and priorities ensuring a "happy customer." You are also respectful towards everyone's opinion which makes it engaging conversation.
Zeeshan BOttawa
The instructor Mark was very knowledgeable and provided lots of knowledge and examples. I learned a lot but did not realize what a huge topic this is.
Andrei DToronto
Excellent instruction with deep knowledge of scrum. All questions or clarfications were answered. Provided information I can take back to my team.
Emilia KOttawa
Having come with a very limited knowledge of Scrum, Mark did a great job of leading the class through the knowledge required. The material was engaging and there were great opportunities to work with other learners as a team to practice different elements of the knowledge. Mark is friendly and humorous which made the otherwise very intense schedule a fun experience. He consistently offered great suggestions of further reading to consider in order to better understand the many elements of this practice.
Michael HVirtual
Awesome speaker. Fantastic course.
Helen KMontreal
Awesome work on walking us through the process.
Steven CVancouver
Thank you. It has been one of the most interesting courses I have attended.
Hemant KToronto
Mark is a great instructor, very clear and informative. Great course. High recommendable.
Simon BVancouver
Course was very informative. You spoke to the entire group on a level everyone can understand.
Monica HPrivate 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
Brilliant! Engaging and enlightening while not promising the world.
Oksana KOttawa
Training was excellent with good interaction. Knowledge sharing is good. Course was practically and informative. Mark Levison is enthusiastic with English subtle sense of humour and really aware of what he is explaining. The course helped to build confidence, valuable experiences and learning.
Yana KVirtual
Great instructor, knowledgeable, kept team engaged for two full days.
Nermin JToronto
Interesting personality and presentation style. Instructor's views align well with my own -> don't continue doing 'insane' things
Brad LEdmonton
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
Excellent course content delivered in a direct, practical and memorable fashion.
Kimberley KOttawa
I really enjoyed Mark, despite not being my sector I was able to make connections and take away information.
Catherine BOttawa
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
Lots of information and data for a great walk through about the agile methodology.
Pierre-Michel AMontreal
Mark was great! I found this style easy to follow and I feel prepared.
Melanie KToronto
Mark is an amazing and experienced Agile Coach. He is detail oriented and helps to answer any questions very well.
Rishi VMontreal
Mark has good mastering on the topic, keeps the audience engaged, and effectively delivers the material to get the job done.
David KEdmonton
Mark was a great facilitator. No changes suggested! Helpful, honest, experienced, engaging.
Candice SEdmonton
Great course instructor is very knowledgeable in agile and scrum mastery. Great work relating real life examples to course material and helping to start thinking.
Autem DEdmonton
This course was great at examining how our team currently uses elements of scrum and refreshing that knowledge in order to improve our scrum practices.
Aaron SVirtual
Experienced person. I like the overview and compassion.
Michal RKitchener-Waterloo
Fantastic 2 days. Loved the incorporation of practical exercies. Lots of feedback and helps you understand how people think.
Tony KVancouver
Very thorough and engaging. Flexibility and self-organization of the course was great.
Brendan SPrivate Client
Mark is an engaging instructor using conversation and interaction as the engagement catalyst!
Shawn RToronto
Thoroughly knowledgeable about subject.
Enwei CVancouver
Mark is extremely academically knowledgeable in this space. This knowledge mixed with his real world experience and ability to engage a group makes his class a delightful experience.
Melissa MPrivate Client
Great course that makes you think.
Seok Woo JToronto
I thought Mark did a great job. Never missed a beat and gave us a great experience
Sahan DOttawa
Mark, you master it! Many thanks for making this content easy to understand.
Bertrand LVirtual
Had little to no knowledge/training of Scrum & Agile and this was a great intro, with a couple of deep(er) dives. This course definitely helped me get introduced to Scrum and the world of Agile. While it's nice that scrum doesn't explicitly tell you how to do something, it definitely requires a significant amount of application in the real world to learn it.
Daneila DToronto
Mark is a great instructor, we can see the vast experience that he has from his training style. We have learnt as much as it is possible from a two day workshop. Keep up the good work Mark.
Sreepad KVirtual
Mark is a lively and engaging instructor. Information was presented effectively and at a reasonable pace.
Joel DOttawa
Mark did an excellent job keeping the course dynamic and informative. I would have loved a few more days to really dig into some subjects.
Tim KPrivate Client
Very informative and fun learning session.
Kim KPrivate Client
Excellent material, entertaining instructor. Instructor distilled the information well. Both instructor and course provided a great intro to Scrum. The course was challenging yet rewarding.
Duff KOttawa
Fantastic. Very engaging and helpful blend of both Scrum and general business advice.
Dace DOttawa
Very knowledgeable and interesting. I appreciated that he respected the outline and timeframes.
Caroline DVirtual
Mark was very knowledgeable; I really appreciated the examples that he shared with the group. Thank you!
Suzanne AVirtual
Mark was awesome. Kept the session engaged.
Jyoti KVirtual
Mark, you are awesome! I enjoyed your style of teaching/coaching. You focused on our needs and priorities ensuring a "happy customer." You are also respectful towards everyone's opinion which makes it engaging conversation.
Zeeshan BOttawa
The instructor Mark was very knowledgeable and provided lots of knowledge and examples. I learned a lot but did not realize what a huge topic this is.
Andrei DToronto
Excellent instruction with deep knowledge of scrum. All questions or clarfications were answered. Provided information I can take back to my team.
Emilia KOttawa
This was an excellent training. I really valued how engaging Mark was as a facilitator, everyone had the space to contribute and ask questions, and I loved how interactive and applicable it was, especially for myself outside of the software industry. It was incredibly fun and I learned a lot - I feel ready to step into a Scrum Master role and am excited at how it can improve the value we offer to clients at my organization.
Sarah HVirtual
Having come with a very limited knowledge of Scrum, Mark did a great job of leading the class through the knowledge required. The material was engaging and there were great opportunities to work with other learners as a team to practice different elements of the knowledge. Mark is friendly and humorous which made the otherwise very intense schedule a fun experience. He consistently offered great suggestions of further reading to consider in order to better understand the many elements of this practice.
Michael HVirtual
Awesome speaker. Fantastic course.
Helen KMontreal
Awesome work on walking us through the process.
Steven CVancouver
Thank you. It has been one of the most interesting courses I have attended.
Hemant KToronto
Mark is a great instructor, very clear and informative. Great course. High recommendable.
Simon BVancouver
Course was very informative. You spoke to the entire group on a level everyone can understand.
Monica HPrivate 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
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
Brilliant! Engaging and enlightening while not promising the world.
Oksana KOttawa
Training was excellent with good interaction. Knowledge sharing is good. Course was practically and informative. Mark Levison is enthusiastic with English subtle sense of humour and really aware of what he is explaining. The course helped to build confidence, valuable experiences and learning.
Yana KVirtual
Great instructor, knowledgeable, kept team engaged for two full days.
Nermin JToronto
I really enjoyed my experience with Agile Pain Relief and the 2 day CSM course. It was highly informative, interactive, and engaging, even with the hurdle of being fully virtual. Mark was thoughtful, patient, and ready to answer any question that came his way. I found the workshop to be not only educational, but also a great exercise in building confidence.
Katie HVirtual
Interesting personality and presentation style. Instructor's views align well with my own -> don't continue doing 'insane' things
Brad LEdmonton
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
Excellent course content delivered in a direct, practical and memorable fashion.
Kimberley KOttawa
I really enjoyed Mark, despite not being my sector I was able to make connections and take away information.
Catherine BOttawa
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
Lots of information and data for a great walk through about the agile methodology.
Pierre-Michel AMontreal
Mark was great! I found this style easy to follow and I feel prepared.
Melanie KToronto
Mark is an amazing and experienced Agile Coach. He is detail oriented and helps to answer any questions very well.
Rishi VMontreal
Mark has good mastering on the topic, keeps the audience engaged, and effectively delivers the material to get the job done.
David KEdmonton
Mark was a great facilitator. No changes suggested! Helpful, honest, experienced, engaging.
Candice SEdmonton
Thank you Mark! Up until last week I knew nothing about Scrum and now I know quite a lot. Took my test this morning -- just as you said, it was not that complicated and panicking was not warranted. Excited to apply the new skills in practice!
Anastasia KVirtual
Great course instructor is very knowledgeable in agile and scrum mastery. Great work relating real life examples to course material and helping to start thinking.
Autem DEdmonton
This course was great at examining how our team currently uses elements of scrum and refreshing that knowledge in order to improve our scrum practices.
Aaron SVirtual
Mark is a very approachable and friendly instructor and brings some comic relief to his training sessions. He broke down Scrum/Agile so that it was very easy to follow, and always offered opportunities for the class to ask questions. I felt very supported and encouraged while learning about Scrum/Agile and was never scared to ask a question. I am looking forward to another training opportunity to learn from Mark again!
Dana SVirtual
Experienced person. I like the overview and compassion.
Michal RKitchener-Waterloo
Fantastic 2 days. Loved the incorporation of practical exercies. Lots of feedback and helps you understand how people think.
Tony KVancouver
Very thorough and engaging. Flexibility and self-organization of the course was great.
Brendan SPrivate Client
Mark is an engaging instructor using conversation and interaction as the engagement catalyst!
Shawn RToronto
Masters the subject more than anyone else I've met.
Carlo DMontreal
Thoroughly knowledgeable about subject.
Enwei CVancouver
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.