Scrum Alliance® certification course
Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®)
Most scrum training walks you through the framework. This course puts you inside it: real impediments and the conversations no diagram prepares you for, taught by someone who ran product teams on scrum for twenty years. You leave with the most widely recognized credential in scrum and the knowledge and tools that you need to make your teams more effective.
Phase Won is a Scrum Alliance Licensed Training Partner
Who this course is for
The CSM is the most widely recognized scrum credential, and the course is broader than the title suggests. It's the right starting point if you:
- Are stepping into a scrum master role, or want to
- Are a project manager, business analyst, or engineer who inherited scrum without training
- Are a product owner or team member who wants to see how the whole framework fits together
- Lead a team or department that's adopting scrum and want everyone working from the same playbook
- Want the credential on your resume, backed by skills you can actually use
Scrum has moved well beyond software. Marketing, operations, healthcare, government, and HR teams all use it now, and the agile principles behind it apply to virtually any job role.
What you'll learn
The course covers every objective in the Scrum Alliance CSM learning objectives. The exercises, stories, and hard-won opinions are mine.
Why agile, why scrum
- Agile values and principles in plain language
- Empiricism: transparency, inspection, adaptation
- The five scrum values and why teams that skip them struggle
- What scrum is not: a status process, a project plan, a ticket system
The scrum team
- Scrum master, product owner, and developer accountabilities
- Self-management: what it means and what it doesn't
- How managers and stakeholders fit around a scrum team
- Cross-functional teams in the real world
The events
- Sprint, sprint planning, daily scrum, review, retrospective
- Purpose, timebox, and outputs of each
- Facilitation that makes events useful instead of ceremonial
- Backlog refinement as an ongoing practice
Artifacts and commitments
- Product backlog and product goal
- Sprint backlog and sprint goal
- Increment and definition of done
- Writing backlog items a team can actually deliver
The scrum master's craft
- Serving the team, the product owner, and the organization
- Coaching versus directing
- Finding and removing impediments
- Working through resistance and organizational change
Scrum in your context
- Common anti-patterns and how to spot them early
- Scaling considerations for multiple teams
- A plan for your first 30 days back at work
Why take it with Phase Won
Plenty of people can teach the Scrum Guide. I spent two decades on the other side of it, leading product teams at companies from six people to Fortune 500, and I know exactly where scrum goes sideways in practice: the review nobody attends, the backlog that's really a wish list, the scrum master who's been quietly turned back into a project manager.
So the course is built around doing, not listening. You'll practice facilitating events, write backlog items, and get feedback in the room. You'll leave with the templates and facilitation guides I use myself, and a clear answer to "what do I do first when I get back?"
Scrum Alliance and Business Agility Institute, Skills in the New World of Work, 2023.
How certification works
- Attend the full course. Scrum Alliance requires the full course of instruction, which is why no session can be skipped.
- Take the CSM exam. After the course you'll get access to the online test: 50 multiple-choice questions, one hour, 37 correct to pass. Your seat includes two attempts, and you have 90 days to use them.
- Accept your license and badge. You'll receive your CSM certification and a two-year Scrum Alliance membership with a profile listing, community access, and event discounts.
- Keep it current. The CSM renews every two years with continuing education (Scrum Education Units), which is part of why employers still trust it.
Pick the format that works for your team
Private cohort for your team
Now bookingYour team, your product, your real impediments. I'll deliver the course on-site or online for groups of 8 to 20, tailor the examples to your organization, and run the exercises on scenarios you actually face. Flat cohort pricing typically runs $6,000–$8,000, so the cost per person drops as the group grows.
Request Private CohortPublic classes
Open to anyone. Public classes run as live virtual sessions, or live in-person sessions in Denver and along Colorado's Front Range. Classes include the same content and hands-on exercises as a private cohort. Dates, times, and prices are on the calendar.
Join a Public ClassNeed your manager's approval? Get the kit
Need your manager to say yes?
Get the Manager Approval Kit. It has everything your manager needs to approve the class, already written, with the dates, hours, and price filled in for the class you pick.
- A short email you can send your manager today, covering cost, time away, and what the team gets back
- A one-page scope letter with dates, hours, and learning objectives
- How to have Phase Won invoice your employer instead of paying yourself
Common questions
Do I need scrum experience to attend?
No. The course starts from the beginning and is designed for mixed rooms. People already using scrum get the most from the facilitation and coaching material; people who are new get the most from the hands-on practice.
Is the online version the same course?
Yes. Same content, same exam and membership. Online cohorts run as half-days or full days, whichever fits your team. In person is usually better for a whole team taking it together; online is easier for distributed teams.
What if I don't pass the exam?
You get two attempts within 90 days, and most people who attend the full course pass on the first. If both attempts are used, Scrum Alliance charges a small fee for additional tries.
Can the course be tailored to our organization?
The learning objectives are set by Scrum Alliance; the examples, exercises, and discussion are not. For private cohorts I'll spend time with you beforehand so the course speaks to your actual products and challenges.
How is this different from Agile Essentials?
Agile Essentials is a micro-credential on agile ways of working for everyone on and around a team. CSM is a certification focused on the scrum framework and the scrum master's role. Many teams do Agile Essentials for the whole group and CSM for the people who'll lead the work.
Do I get a certificate the same day?
You'll get exam access shortly after the course ends. Scrum Alliance issues the certification and badge once you pass and accept the license agreement, usually within a few days.
Certified ScrumMaster®, CSM®, and Scrum Alliance® are registered trademarks of Scrum Alliance, Inc. Phase Won delivers this course as a Scrum Alliance Licensed Training Partner.
Ready to get your team certified?
Tell me about your team, your timing, and where scrum is working (or isn't). I'll come back with a plan and a quote within two business days.
Book a Private Cohort