About Us

We focus on giving you the best possible return on investment, with many services and resources to help you become Agile.

Collaboration that reaps rewards takes more than having a group of people in the same office. Learning doesn't gain anything unless you can apply it and get results. We show you how to implement best practices in the context of your own organization with your unique goals and constraints in mind.

Approach

While Agile is the primary focus of our services, we have many years of experience running all sizes of software projects from the very small to the very large. We understand what it takes for teams to collaborate to create to best possible solution. We also have very deep understanding of the full software development lifecycle and of how to implement best practices.

While we are passionate about the work we do, we are also pragmatic about ensuring that the services that we deliver fit with your organization and your goals. The relationship that we build with you is of utmost importance.

Mark Levison

Mark Levison is the Certified Scrum Trainer and Agile Coach behind Agile Pain Relief Consulting. With over 30 years of experience in the IT industry, he has been learning and teaching Agile since 2001. Introducing Scrum, Lean, and Agile methodology to a large variety of organizations —government departments, banks, insurance, healthcare, education, software, logistics and non-profits, to name only a few— Mark has brought Scrum to thousands of professionals and helped launch the practice throughout Canada.

Participants benefit from Mark’s voracious study and writing on the neuroscience of learning. A respected international speaker at Agile Alliance conferences and Scrum Gatherings, Mark is also a published author on the subject, including The Guide to Effective Agile Retrospectives, Five Steps Towards Creating High-Performance Teams, blog “Notes from a Tool User”, “Beyond Scrum”, various guides and handbooks, and multiple articles for InfoQ and the Scrum Alliance.

Heather Uhl

Heather Uhl joined Agile Pain Relief Consulting in 2003 as Operations Manager, and supports Mark with his writing, teaching, and general business, as well as provides resource information for public Scrum enquiries and Agile Pain Relief’s thousands of alumni.

Decades of experience working with artists and non-traditional businesses underpins Heather’s interest in Agile methodology and her passion for empowering others to succeed. In addition to her work with Mark, she is the owner of More Time in a Day and longtime Operations Manager of Canadian Music Hall of Fame band Trooper.

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.

The combination of hands-on practice and excellent facilitation style made this course enjoyable, useful and very applicable to my day to day life as a Project Manager. The content was carefully curated and meaningful discussions were had during the session. It was engaging, interactive and insightful! I would highly recommend Mark and the Agile Pain Relief company for anyone looking to do their CSM training and pass the exam!
Valerie GVirtual
Provocative, amusing, thanks!
Stefan BPrivate Client
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
Very good presentation skills. Excellent materials for study (in class and via email). Good tips and pragmatic approach. Good experience and info from the trenches.
Luiza DToronto
Great energy. Made the day pass with a mix of humour and data.
Matthew COttawa
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
I greatly enjoyed Mark's class. He is obviously a subject matter expert and has great insights.
Mandana 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
He is very engaging and clear. It was easy to grasp the concepts and apply it to exercises.
Jamielyn CToronto
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 leads the class on an explanation of the topics and provides traps to ensure students can learn from practice.
Peter CPrivate Client
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
Fantastic instructor and couse. I learned so much, thank you!
Jeremy CKitchener-Waterloo
Overall excellent instruction to Agile, practical exercises worked well, foundation to applications of principles and desire to learn more established.
Stuart BVancouver
True value demonstrated outside of the software development world.
Theresa BToronto
Great course Mark! I really enjoyed learning more about the framwork and listening to others point of view.
Sarah MToronto
Mark L was the best instructor I've had.
David SOttawa
Mark was an extremely engaging and informative instructor. I enjoyed all of the aspects of the course/topics covered. I look forward to continuing my Agile education because of this course.
Cailey RToronto
Mark was a good speaker and resourceful instructor. Exercises were practical and useful.
Ronald MPrivate 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
This was a great course that I will recomment to others! A lot to cover in a short period of time, and I managed to understand most if not all material. I'm excited to take my learnings with me and apply to my role at my company!
Lesleanne BToronto
Love the course and the personality and knowledge you bring!
Steve POttawa
The CSM course rocks! If you want to immediately jump into the action and improve as you go, this is it. You'll start off as a group of strangers, and find out how quickly you can build a high-performance team. And, if you separately want to read every comprehensive detail there is to know about scrum, Mark will share that with you too.
Nicole BVirtual
Very knowledgeable and well-versed in the art and science of Scrum and Agile. Clearly has a breadth of experience to share.
Sara MVirtual
Very knowledgeable instructor about scrum and software development in general.
Elizabeth GOttawa
Good instruction. Kept it interesting.
Mark OToronto
Mark's facilitation style was extremly engaging and his knowledge deep. I like the way he builds the scrum framework into the training workshop agenda. No power point, lots of discussion and releveant examples. I appreciate very much the time Mark took to address my question for which he had no existing reference.
Renee OKitchener-Waterloo
Fantastic course. I was really happy with the structure, the breaks, and the group interaction. I've taken other online courses like this before and really felt like there was a good balance between listening, discussions, applying the knowledge, and pauses.
Amanda PVirtual
Instructor is super knowledgeable and shared his wealth of expertise in a meaning manner.
Randy GPrivate Client
Excellent, expert, engaging, humourous, I would strongly recommend any course offered by Mark!
Tod MVancouver
It was fantastic. I have taken other training and preferred this one. Learning by doing is the best way.
Breanne WPrivate Client
Thoroughly knowledgeable about subject.
Enwei CVancouver
Very informative, with humour. Easy to understand for non-technical folks.
Tetyana OOttawa
Very well done course. Very experienced, knowledgeable instructor, well structured course, clear explanation, keeps nice spirit during the course, encourages collaboration.
Dina DMontreal
Very unique training style, really appreciate that I don’t have to look at power point screen. Appreciate the Q&As and the end of class recap round.
Vicky CPrivate Client
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
Objective when needed and directs us to the conclusions. Interesting course.
Andre MMontreal
Added some very interesting info as well as presented the material very well clearly.
Yvonne REdmonton
Mark was awesome. Kept the session engaged.
Jyoti KVirtual
Calm, able to provide examples demonstrating his points.
Martin DMontreal
Very knowledgeable in what he is teaching. Passion for scrum.
Mandi AEdmonton
Overall, this was a well curated and delivered course. The instructor is SME on the subject of Scrum with lots of hands-on experiences. This helps to drive the points home to the trainees. Bravo Mark for the excellent job done.
Adefemi DVirtual
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
Mark knows the subject very well. He was never boring. He has offered good references for us to continue studying on our own.
Melanie LPrivate Client
10/10 Loved the atmosphere he created, kept us engaged, able to send important messages, did not overwhelm us.
Biljana CPrivate Client
Was very fun and good flow, not by the book provided but with sharing real-life examples and his previous experience. Very appreciated!
Kevin LToronto
I thought the instructor and course was excelelnt and very enlightening.
Aengus MEdmonton
Mark, thanks for an awesome class. I was quite impressed how you were able to run the entire course, without consulting notes or a PowerPoint! Then I noticed your Jedi mind trick of putting a finger to your temple to recall information… at least it seemed that way. I have nothing at all by way of improvement I can offer for you. The course was informative and your style was quite engaging
Thom RPrivate Client
Mark was engaging, knowledgeable, well-read and provided great examples.
Warren CVancouver
This was a fantastic, informative course! I'm ready to try a few of the retro "games" with the team next week.
Erin GOttawa

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.

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.