Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster®

Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster®

Reach the top level of scrum master certification provided by Scrum Alliance-certified trainers who have the experience and insights to help you reach your goals, whether you want to scale scrum across an organization, launch new scrum teams, or take your career to new heights. A two-year Scrum Alliance professional membership is included with your successful completion of this course.

***  100% Live Online Training ***

SparkPlug Agility's CSP-SM course is built to provide you with the tools, techniques, and skills necessary to help you grow personally and professionally, and bring a whole new set of techniques back to your organizations.

This three-day course is a highly interactive, learner-focused experience, with students sharing with and learning from one another across settings and activities. Exercises range from self-reflection and exploration to class-wide simulations designed to create experiences that "stick" and create stronger, more skilled, and empowered Scrum Masters.  

 

Learn from a World Leader in Advanced Scrum Master Training

Chris Li is the world's premier provider of advanced Scrum Master courses, working with teams and students all over the United States in improving their Scrum adoption and effectiveness as agile leaders.  Chris developed the first A-CSM Certification course approved by Scrum Alliance in North America, and his CSP-SM is also the first classroom-based CSP-SM course in North America.

Chris has over 20 years of technical delivery experience in IT services. Passionate for developing teams and supporting delivery, he has a background in software development using both agile and traditional approaches.  He also frequently speaks at agile conferences and supports initiatives of the world’s major agile organizations.

 

Why SparkPlug Agility?

SparkPlug Agility is proud to support you, the agile professional that desires to continue to grow their skills as a Scrum Master.  Our set of Scrum Master certified courses has been designed to complement one another, creating an integrated and progressive learning experience from the CSM through to the CSP-SM.   We have a passion for supporting those agile leaders on the ground every day - helping them take their skills to the next level with practical knowledge and techniques that make an immediate impact on the hearts and minds of their organizations.

We are excited to offer this comprehensive course to those wishing to achieve their Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster certification.  Even if you received your CSM or A-CSM certification from another organization, we welcome you to take this next step with us!

Our team brings a unique perspective to the industry, with a combination of delivery and consulting experience from various sectors:

• Technical delivery background
• Federal and commercial experience
• Active in the international agile community

 

Need your A-CSM? Spend the Week With SparkPlug Agility

Need to complete your A-CSM before attending CSP-SM class?  Register for both the two-day virtual A-CSM and three-day virtual CSP-SM for one bundled rate of $2499 through our "Racing School" program! You can spend the week with us and take the A-CSM October 21-22, or any other SparkPlug virtual A-CSM to receive the bundled rate. Discounts and payment plans available. You can register for the program here, or contact us directly at [email protected] for more information about this unique opportunity to complete your CSP-SM.

 

What You Get With Your Registration

When you register for this class, your registration fee includes the following:

• Training course and supplies
• Certification fees

This course is eligible for up to 40 Scrum Alliance SEUs and PMI PDUs as follows:

• Up to 4 hours pre-course learning
• 24 hours live online instruction
• Up to 12 hours post-class learning

 

Discounts and Payment Plans

SparkPlug Agility is proud to offer a range of discounts and special offers for groups, Veterans, First Responders, and Full-Time Students. Use this form to apply for a course discount.  Payment plans and purchase order payment options are also available, contact us directly to discuss your options!

 

What Sets Our CSP-SM Course Apart?

• Three days of instruction - An additional day of instruction and interaction lets you get much deeper into topics and really fill your toolbox. We have more interaction not only with other students but also more personalized interaction with Chris Li, who is one of the world's premier instructors of the advanced level Scrum Master courses.  The CSP-SM course roster size is limited, ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to get individualized support and feedback.

• Work outside of class - Many programs have a large amount of work that occurs outside of the classroom, using self-study as an alternative to in-depth discussion and exercises in the classroom.  Our pre-course assignments are specifically created to enhance the in-classroom experience, not to gloss over or limit discussion of learning objectives.  With three intensive days of instruction, our post-class assignments can be shorter, and specifically used to apply techniques in your own context.  

• Training component - Several of our students are interested in becoming trainers themselves, and our course spends significant time helping participants prepare for taking this next step.  Inspired by the challenging "Guide" level certification path set out by Scrum Alliance, we dedicate more class time to lesson design and delivery.   

• Coaching component - Also in the "Guide" level category, many of our students are interested in becoming a Certified Team Coach or Certified Enterprise Coach.  We bring some real-world concepts and tactical tools designed to make you a better coach.  

• This is what we do! -  While some organizations strive to be "all things to all flavors of agility", our primary passion at SparkPlug Agility is our set of courses focused on making our students excellent Scrum Masters, with a wide variety of tools, techniques, and experiences that prepare you for the real world.  We have a passion for supporting agilists with teams on the ground every day, rather than catering to executive leadership or purely theoretical practices.

• World leader in advanced offerings - We are proud to have been the first training organization in north america to offer both the A-CSM as well as the CSP-SM in a classroom-based format.  Chris Li has taught A-CSM and CSP-SM courses for several years and is the third Educator approved in the world for these courses.  He also volunteers time working with Scrum Alliance and other trainers to support the Path to CSP program and its strategy. 

• Scrum Education Units - Our class awards up to 40 hours of SEU credits, 24 in class and 16 outside, as opposed to other programs that offer as few as 16 total.  With the recent changes to Scrum Alliance's certification renewal process that now requires SEU credits, this course enables you to gain valuable hours toward maintaining your certifications.

Dates:	23-25 Oct 2024
Starting At:	09:00 EDT for 9.0 hours
Language:	English
Venue:	Virtual Training
Price:	$1,999 $1999 USD
Discounts:	Discounted seats available. Contact Christine Li for more information.
Notes:	What our CSP-SM Students are Saying “Best Scrum class I've attended.  I want to continue to get better at Scrum. I made a good choice. ;-)”  -Reggie R "Lots of practical exercises to learn and reflect. Great guidance from Chris!  I like the way, style, and professionalism in which the course is conducted from start to end.”  -Kalpana C. “I loved the scrum topic exercise that we did.  It forced us out of our comfort zone and allowed us to put our own thoughts together on a topic.  Chris was an awesome instructor and I feel fortunate to have spent time with him.”  -Bob R. “The playbook exercises were so valuable. I get so passionate about sharing the way me and my teams are practicing and learn from others. The instructor and classmates far exceeded expectations.”  -Gene G. "Best trainer I’ve ever had. This class will make a big difference in my life.”  -Steve S.   Class will run from 9 AM to 6 PM Eastern Time / 8 AM to 5 PM Central Time each day. To be eligible for certification, participants are required to attend the entire class.  If a participant misses any part of the course, they may need to complete an additional assignment, or potentially lose their certification eligibility.  Should your schedule prevent you from attending the entire class, our team will work with you to schedule another class on a different date. Cancellation Policy Due to the pandemic,  student cancellations and transfers for virtual courses are available until 48 hours before class begins at no charge. Within 48 hours of the start of class, there is a $100 late change fee for any cancellations or transfers. No-Show Policy - No refunds or transfers for registrants who no-show for a course. ​ Should the organizer cancel the course for any reason, all registrants will receive a full refund. Please contact us at [email protected] for any cancellation and transfer requests.

Below is a summary of the topics covered in our CSP-SM course. The learning experience covers all of the Learning Objectives identified by Scrum Alliance, presented in an interactive and exercise-based format.  

Pre-Course Learning
Our course includes a short assignment prior to class to help prepare you for course discussions, drawing ties to your own context.  This assignment provides a jump-off point for conversations, exercises, and lessons with other students and the instructor.  Please plan to spend up to four hours completing this pre-course assignment.

Reset
We start class with a set of activities to re-acclimate you with the fundamental elements of Scrum and important highlights from your A-CSM.  We also look at separating the basics of Scrum from common anti-patterns and behaviors commonly observed in organizations.

Coaching
Many of our CSP-SM students are looking to advance their career in the area of coaching, potentially taking the next step toward certifications from Scrum Alliance like CTC or CEC.  Building on the coaching concepts introduced in the A-CSM, we contrast the discipline with other concepts such as Consulting and Mentoring.  We explore important coaching assumptions and create the beginnings of a coaching agreement that you can use with potential clients.

Initiation
As new teams form or established teams look to improve, they engage in a range of discussions to align their activities and document how they will work together.  This module prepares you for these conversations, including identifying roles and responsibilities, contrasting Feature and Component teams, and reinforcing technical concepts.

Teamwork
There is a big difference between a group of individuals working on a similar effort and a “real team.”  This module focuses on the specific attributes and behaviors to look for and establish in a team, including complimentary skills, common purpose, and mutual accountability, exploring identifiers in the Team Performance Curve.

Dysfunctions
Scrum Masters often encounter unhealthy interpersonal behaviors on their teams.  This module explores these dysfunctions by defining the behaviors and how they are linked to one another.  You will learn a valuable set of tools you can use in your organization to identify dysfunctions, and new techniques to establish the trust, accountability, and results needed for a team to perform at their best.

Performance
This module focuses on defining and expanding the concepts of team performance, and the link between commitment to team basics and regular behaviors of an effective team.  We introduce the Drexler Sibbet Team Performance Model and its Performance Indicators, empowering you with this tool and a set of facilitated activities you can use to improve your team’s performance.  

Systems
The death of any system is rooted in local optimization.  We will look at Scrum with a fresh point of view, examining it as a system.  We will explore the roots of lean thinking and continuous improvement, relating the core concepts of Lean to Scrum.

Wastes
Organizations struggle with many challenges and obstacles to delivering value.  By exploring types of wastes and the relationship of production wastes to their development counterparts, this module will better equip you to identify and reduce waste in your organization, including tools to visualize the relationships within a system.

Change
Organizations are continuously re-inventing themselves, their products, and how they work.  We will present several interesting and deliberate techniques you can take back to your organization to catalyze change.  We identify change areas in your context and tie them to these techniques, empowering you with approaches to help make those changes a reality.

Training
Scrum Masters often act in the role of teacher, and many of our CSP-SM students are looking to take the next step in their agile careers as trainers.  Our course is unique in that we specifically focus on growing your skills in this area. Inspired by the process of becoming a Certified Scrum Trainer, this module walks you through designing and delivering a lesson on a Scrum Foundations topic.  With feedback from your peers and one-on-one guidance from Chris Li, you will leave this module with valuable techniques to improve your effectiveness as a trainer.

Facilitation
Agile professionals are often asked to create a space for others to do their best thinking.  You will learn, participate in, and practice advanced techniques from the real-world environments of today’s Scrum teams.  Highlights include low-fidelity, high-impact techniques to help groups to get shared understanding in an interactive and conversational manner.

Vision
While not explicitly required by Scrum, having aligning conversations around Vision are crucial to a Scrum Team’s success.  This module introduces you to the fundamental elements of a Vision, with tools to decompose those ideas into actionable pieces.  

Backlog
Scrum Masters often provide their expertise in building and managing the Product Backlog.  You will learn a helpful technique to improve how your teams write Acceptance Criteria, explore concepts around scaling the role of a Product Owner, and identify areas to consider when segmenting your Product Backlog.

Agenda
When someone sends an invitation to a meeting, they are asking for an attendees most valuable thing, time.  This module focuses on the considerations necessary to create an effective agenda. We will revisit the logic model that you can use to craft an agenda that provides clarity and shared understanding of a discussion, to maximize the limited and valuable resource of time.

Playbooks
Another highlight of our CSP-SM learning experience, you will further grow your teaching and leadership skills by participating in a class-wide simulation to develop a set of instructions that someone can use to facilitate Scrum Events in your place. Going beyond “by the book” activities, we simulate common real-world challenges like multiple teams, complementary planning sessions, and remote teams. You will leverage your personal experience as well as many tools and techniques from class.  The constructive one-on-one feedback on both your materials and instructional style will help prepare you for developing new agile leaders in your organizations.

Organization
Organizations are not always set up to succeed in implementing Scrum. Challenges in culture and structure can get in the way of seeing results.  We will introduce organizational structures that support multi-team Scrum, with real-world examples you can use to learn from as you apply structures in your own context.

Self
This module incorporates reflection on the learning experience itself and celebration of your accomplishments as a class.  You will create an action plan and identify powerful takeaways from your experience, interacting and sharing insights with your peers. 

Assignments
Your learning does not end in the classroom.  You will leave class with a set of assignments to apply the tools and techniques from class in your own context.  These activities enable you to leverage your new skills and share your findings with Chris Li, receiving additional one-on-one guidance even after the course is over.  Successfully completing these assignments is the final step in achieving your CSP-SM!

This course is designed for the experienced Scrum Master ready to take the next step in their career learning.  The CSP-SM is a highly regarded industry certification, demonstrating both theoretical Scrum knowledge and practical experience with teams and organizations.  Agile leaders, including coaches, consultants, program and project managers, facilitators, and technical leaders, can all benefit from building their Scrum Master skills with the CSP-SM.  

Students must have an active A-CSM certification before attending this course. 
To receive your CSP-SM certification from Scrum Alliance students must have an active A-CSM certification and satisfy the following requirements:

1. Complete the CSP-SM course
2. Demonstrate at least 24 months of Scrum Master experience in the past five years by uploading your role-specific experience to your Scrum Alliance Profile

For more information about the CSP-SM and certification process, visit https://www.scrumalliance.org/get-certified/scrum-master-track/certified-scrum-professional-scrummaster.