Become a Better Facilitator to Improve Scrum Team Interactions

Jeff has been in the Scrum world since 2011, when he accepted the reality that his crystal ball was fatally flawed and he'd never be able to accurately predict the future in an ever-changing world. He has served teams as a Scrum Master and coach and is an Agile trainer. With 20 years of consulting experience in dozens of companies, he brings Agile experience in industries as diverse as eCommerce, Medical Device and Marketing. Forever a recovering project manager, Jeff is able to connect Agile philosophy and the Scrum framework to students from all industries and applications.

Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills™ is an interactive course designed to help Scrum practitioners develop a facilitator’s mindset, proficiency in facilitation skills, and learn when and how to select effective techniques for various circumstances. Strong facilitation skills enable better problem-solving, more effective Scrum events and greater team alignment, all leading to better outcomes.

A key tenet of Scrum is to put problem-solving and decision-making in the hands of the Scrum Team. The Scrum Framework creates venues for this to happen and the Scrum Values help create an environment in which each Scrum Team member’s voice can be heard. However, team interactions don’t always go well. Sometimes team members lose sight of goals, don’t fully engage and/or can’t reach agreement. Effective facilitation can guide the team toward their desired outcomes.

Course Overview

In this one-day skills-building course, participants will learn how to become better facilitators to improve interactions with their Scrum Teams, stakeholders and customers. They will focus on how to adopt facilitation as a stance and enable the Scrum Values. Students will address a series of common Scrum-related scenarios by applying several facilitation techniques that they can add to their collection of agile practices. They will create and leave with their own facilitation “plan” to improve their next team discussion or Scrum event.

View the different Focus Areas covered within this class and others.

Course Learning Objectives

• Develop facilitation skills and a facilitator’s mindset
• Learn the facilitation principles that experienced facilitators fall back on when interactions are difficult
• Understand the roles that facilitation principles and the Scrum Values play in enhancing healthy collaboration in Scrum Teams
• Explore how facilitation can address challenging scenarios most Scrum Teams encounter
• Apply facilitation skills and techniques to improve the Scrum events and other interactions
• Understand how to encourage diverse perspectives, while bringing the team together to reach decisions
• Experience the elements of group dynamics and how they influence the decision-making process
• Leave class with a toolbox of facilitation techniques and understand how to apply them in different circumstances

Who Should Attend this class?

This course is ideal for:

• Scrum Masters and any Scrum Team member interested in learning how to use facilitation to enhance their team’s success
• Scrum Coaches, Agile Coaches and Consultants

This course is not suitable for professionals with little Scrum knowledge or experience.

Professional Scrum Certification

All participants completing the Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills course will receive a password to attempt the Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills assessment. PSFS class participants who attempt the PSFS assessment within 14 days of the class and do not score at least 85% will be granted a 2nd attempt at no additional cost.