Play by Play: Becoming a More Effective Scrum Master
Your team’s velocity stalls when Scrum Masters lack real facilitation chops. This course cuts through theory to show you the play-by-play moves that unblock sprints, resolve conflicts, and actually improve team performance—not just process compliance.
AIU.ac Verdict: Ideal for practising Scrum Masters hitting a plateau and engineering leads stepping into the role for the first time. You’ll gain immediately applicable facilitation techniques. Note: focuses on execution rather than Scrum framework fundamentals, so some baseline Agile knowledge helps.
What This Course Covers
The course dissects real-world Scrum Master scenarios through recorded gameplay and expert commentary. You’ll explore sprint planning facilitation, backlog refinement leadership, handling difficult team dynamics, removing genuine impediments versus manufactured blockers, and coaching developers toward self-organisation. Norton and Jarrell model specific language patterns and intervention timing that separate effective Scrum Masters from process administrators.
Practical application spans sprint ceremonies (standups that don’t waste time, retros that drive change), stakeholder management without losing team autonomy, and metrics that matter. You’ll see how to diagnose why velocity fluctuates, when to escalate versus resolve locally, and how psychological safety directly impacts sprint outcomes. The play-by-play format means you can reference specific scenarios when your own team hits similar friction points.
Who Is This Course For?
Ideal for:
- Practising Scrum Masters: Stuck in a facilitation rut or managing teams with recurring sprint failures. Direct techniques to improve ceremony effectiveness and team dynamics.
- Engineering leads transitioning to Scrum Master roles: Need soft skills and facilitation frameworks beyond technical credibility. Bridges the gap between individual contributor and servant leader.
- Agile coaches and delivery managers: Sharpen your ability to coach Scrum Masters and diagnose team performance issues. Adds depth to your facilitation toolkit across multiple teams.
May not suit:
- Scrum framework newcomers: Assumes you understand sprint ceremonies, roles, and basic Agile principles. Start with foundational Scrum training first.
- Enterprise SAFe or LeSS practitioners: Focuses on single-team Scrum dynamics. If you’re scaling across programmes, you’ll need supplementary content on cross-team coordination.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Play by Play: Becoming a More Effective Scrum Master take?
2 hours 15 minutes. Designed for busy practitioners—watch in one sitting or break into sprint-sized chunks across your week.
Do I need Scrum certification to benefit from this course?
No formal certification required, but you should have hands-on experience running sprints. This course accelerates your effectiveness, not your credentials.
Who are the instructors?
Doc Norton and Jeremy Jarrell—both veteran Agile coaches with decades of real-world team experience. They teach through recorded gameplay, not slides.
Will this help with distributed or remote teams?
Yes. The facilitation principles apply across co-located and remote contexts. You’ll learn how to adapt ceremonies and communication patterns for async-first environments.
Course by Doc Norton, Jeremy Jarrell on Pluralsight. Duration: 2h 15m. Last verified by AIU.ac: March 2026.
