Certified ScrumMaster in Reading, Thames Valley November 22, 2010

All CSM courses are taught by Certified Scrum Trainers. Taking a CSM course and the corresponding evaluation designates you as a Certified ScrumMaster, which indicates that you have been introduced to the basic concepts you need to perform as a ScrumMaster or team member on a Scrum team. This course also satisfies two elements of the CSD track: Scrum Introduction and Elective.

The ScrumMaster Certification is a 2-day course introducing the concepts and application principles of the Scrum framework.

You will learn the essential concepts, roles and the tools of Scrum, providing you with a roadmap for adopting Agile. Learn how to lead development teams towards agile operations by managing product backlogs, planning releases and sprints, tracking and reporting progress, and holding retrospectives.

Upon completion of the course, you are eligible to take an exam, the successful completion of which gains you the designation of Certified ScrumMasters (CSM), a first step in the journey towards this more adaptive form of projectwork and leadership. Included in the course is membership in the Scrum Alliance, where valuable ScrumMaster material and information is available exclusively to CSMs.

About the Trainer

This course is taught by Simon Bennett a Scrum Alliance Certified Scrum Trainer with over 20 years real-world experience in software and hardware development, the last 12 of which have been focussed on using Agile frameworks and methods including Scrum, XP, Crystal & Kanban.

From 2008 through 2010 Simon was also the Product Owner for the Scrum for Team System TFS process template.

Simon has considerable experience in organisational agile adoption, large scale Scrum and using Scrum in an offshore environment, as well as successfully blending Scrum with other methods including UCD.

His wealth of experience brings a unique depth and flavour to the course, as students will learn from real world case studies rather than only theory and simulations.

With regard to delivery, Simon is also a seasoned trainer with over two decades of experience, and a regular speaker at major international conferences. Recent engagements include:

Scrum Gathering South Africa
"The Incentive Trap" (5 hour deep dive)
Opening Address

Agile 2010, Orlando August 2010
“The Incentive Trap” (3 hour invited tutorial)

Scrum Gathering Orlando March 2010
“The Incentive Trap”

PDC 2009, Los Angeles
“Scrum in the Enterprise with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010”
http://microsoftpdc.com/Sessions/FT09

Scrum Gathering Munich 2009
“The Prisoner’s Dilemma: Applying Game Theory to Agile Contracting”
“Best Practice in Agile Product Ownership” – Panel Chair
Conference Selection Committee Member

Agile 2009, Chicago
“The Prisoner’s Dilemma: Applying Game Theory to Agile Contracting”
“Why do (so many) testers (still) hate Agile?”

PDC 2008, Los Angeles
“Agile development on the Microsoft Platform”

Scrum Gathering Stockholm 2008
“Lean vs. Agile: Stop fighting, start delivering”

About the Co-Trainer

Co-training with Simon Bennett is Karen Greaves, an active Certified Scrum Professional with over a decade of experience in software development and a substantial background in agile methodologies. She is an experienced co-trainer who can add another perspective to the day in the life of the Scrum Master.

Karen currently works for Fundamo helping their Product development team do Scrum well and deliver mobile financial services to the world. She has hands on experience in roles of both ScrumMaster and Product Owner, and is well versed in the common challenges encountered by software teams adopting Scrum. She has worked in a number of large corporations including Microsoft, IBM and JP Morgan as well as smaller companies mostly in the financial services and telecoms domains.

Her background includes many years as a project and grogram manager using more traditional approaches like RUP and V-Model. In her career Karen has been certified as a PMP and Prince2 Practitioner. She can offer insights about the benefits of moving from these more traditional approaches to Scrum, and can help relate the benefits of Scrum in terms well understood by experienced project managers.

Karen is also an experienced speaker and has given the following talks to the agile community:
Lessons learned in a Scrum Implementation at SPIN meeting April 2009
Scrum Smells at Scrum Day September 2009
Agile Testing at Scrum User Group meeting May 2010
Deep Dive on Retrospectives at South Africa Scrum Gathering September 2010 (with Josef Scherer)

About the Venue

A hearty lunch is provided both days.

Enjoy the country surrounds at this tranquil yet convenient location. DeVere Wokefield Park is easily accessible from Reading, the M4 and the M3, there is ample free parking available. Complimentary transportation to and from Mortimer railway station can be provided with prior notice. Please note that Google Maps is a bit misleading for the location, entry to Wokefield Park is at the intersection of Goodboys Lane and Cross Lane.

Fully catered accommodation on the grounds is also available and is a popular option, please contact DeVere details.

About the Cost

Early-bird discount until 29th October and group discounts available.

Official Website: http://www.scrumalliance.org/courses/20096224-certified-scrummaster