Discovery Certified ScrumMaster Course (In-Person)

Discovery CSM Course – Charlotte, NC

This course will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EDT (USA) on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you’re also taking the ARP workshop, it will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

This course is in-person, so we maximize learning by using all our senses, including common sense.

Our Certified Scrum Master (CSM) Course + Agile Release Planning (ARP) Workshop approach is UNIQUE.

Our theme is “discovery.” We assume you come to discover Agile and Scrum. We look at the Scrum Team’s work as discovery (and building). We want to change your team’s mindset to be more successful—a kind of discovery.

Unlike others, we offer a two-day interactive CSM Course plus a one-day ARP Workshop. Sometimes, we add the Real-World Scrum Workshop. (The workshops are optional and not required for CSM certification.)

The Discovery CSM Course

We offer you a unique experience. If you only want a certification, you might do better elsewhere (you can find a cheaper course just to get certified). If you want to discover something new, then you are invited!

You may be new to Agile-Scrum, or you may need to rediscover Agile-Scrum again for the first time. Welcome! This course sails soon.

Our course gives you an applied understanding of the Scrum process. It will help you develop the tools, attitudes, and skills required to apply Scrum to your projects and across your organization.

We cover Scrum’s basics and several advanced topics to give you the knowledge, interest, and motivation you need to use these ideas more effectively. You will gain enough knowledge and skills to start with Scrum and become more successful.

The Unique Agile Release Planning Workshop

Our unique workshop day allows you to take real work and use it for Agile Release Planning—this is learning by doing.

The workshop takes the real work of the identified Product Owner at each table, and the Team (typically four people) at that table does the Agile Release Planning for that work.

This is an excellent way to:

Take the ideas of the CSM Course and make them practical
See how to build the initial Product Backlog
See how to get your team ready to start the first sprint on Monday

The skills learned also make your efforts at continuous Product Backlog refinement more effective.

Your Problems or Scenarios

We ask each person to bring their background and actively participate. Ask questions. Describe your problems. We will do the best we can within the timebox to prepare you to return to the real world and build a better Team. In part, we will use the Socratic discovery method—questions and answers, dialogue. All may participate.

We Ask of You

We ask a few things of you:

Be ready for a significant experience.
“Show up” and be prepared to learn.
Your undivided attention. (Yes, we can make small exceptions.)
Commit to learning and making discoveries.
Take responsibility for your learning. (I will explain.)
Be ready for some fun!

Changing the mindset is not easy. Getting your Scrum Team and your company to change takes work.

What You Get

Like Greeks after a voyage, we have gifts!

Upon completing the CSM course and ARP workshop, you receive many benefits. The main gift is the new knowledge about Scrum and Agile, which prepares you to reap the business benefits of Scrum and Agile for yourself, your Team, and your Customers.

We are helping you see how to build Business Agility for your company. We expect these benefits to be very significant. These likely include, directly or indirectly, a better career. And there are other benefits.

Note: To become an official CSM, you must satisfactorily complete the course and the CSM Test. The CSM Test is later, online, and timeboxed to 1 hour. You must also agree to the Scrum Alliance license agreement.

Once you become a CSM, you will receive:

Recognition by Scrum Alliance as a CSM (including a printable certificate)
Renewal of any prior Scrum Alliance certifications
16 PDUs (or similar) (for the 2-day CSM course)
8 SEUs for the ARP workshop (and also 8 PDUs)
A two-year membership to Scrum Alliance
A printed copy of the course materials
One pack of LAT Fibonacci estimating cards to estimate with your team
A free copy of our book, “A Scrum Introduction”
A free copy of our book, “Agile Release Planning”
A PDF copy of the drawings and notes we draw together in your class

Why Choose Us?

A better trainer (co-trained eight times with Jeff Sutherland and 16+ years as a CST)
We have an MBA, so we focus first on the overall business success of your Team
A more fun, entertaining, and memorable course
More success for you and your organization
We provide on-going articles on topics that help you (see this newsletter and this blog)
Free webinars that continue your education (here and here)
More real Scrum!

Note: We took Ken Schwaber’s CSM course in 2005. We co-trained 8x with Jeff Sutherland. Sutherland and Schwaber are the co-creators of Scrum. Few CSTs have this experience with them.

The course and workshop are one voyage of discovery. As you master your new skills, you will go through another Agile journey.

You may want to learn about our Referral Program and Refresher Program.

Meet Your Trainer

Joe Little has 19+ years of experience as an Agile coach and CST. He will lead this course. He has co-trained eight times with Jeff Sutherland (one of the co-creators of Scrum), which will give you more “real Scrum” when taking this course.

Joe has an MBA and 20+ years of senior-level Big 6 and related consulting experience. He also has in-depth practical experience in helping teams become very productive with Scrum and Agile. He often co-teaches these courses with other great Scrum trainers. Take a look at Joe’s blog and newsletter.

Registration and Fees

The course fee is listed above and includes everything (CSM Test and, if in-person, food and conference room).
The Registration Fee includes the cost of the CSM Test. (No extra fee later.)
The fee covers a continental breakfast, an AM break, lunch, and a PM break.
We may change pricing at any time.
We are more expensive than other Trainers. We give you a unique experience.
If you need us to hold a price for you for a couple of days (e.g., to get approval), please contact us, and we will do our best to accommodate you.
If you are a member of a local Agile group, PMI chapter, or similar group, we will support that by giving you a $100 reduction in these fees. Contact us for details.
Alternatively, there is a 10% discount for any group of three or more.
In addition, there is a 3% cash discount.
These are the short explanations for these pricing rules. If you have questions, please contact us. These rules are not fully automated. We might contact you after you register to make an adjustment.
Contact us at 704-376-8881 or info@leanagiletraining.com.
Payment methods include USD check, money transfer/ACH, credit card, PayPal, over-the-phone (CC), cash transfer, cash, etc. Usually, payment should be received before the course starts.
Of course, invoices, receipts, etc., are possible. We can probably handle your firm’s normal method of payment.

Contact us for further details, and see here for more information.

Policy for Changes and Refunds

If you cannot attend a course for any reason, you may send another person in your place for free (no additional fee). You must identify that person before the course starts.

You may NOT cancel for a full refund within 16 days of the course start date (27 x 16 hours).

If you are concerned about how your schedule may change, please contact us.

If you need to cancel within 16 days of the course start, you may incur fees or extra costs. Also, there is a fee to transfer (in this timeframe) to a different date. Click here for more information regarding changes and refunds.