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Jan 7, 2021
Always great classes with Simon
Simon always makes the class very interesting and fun! I learned a lot and look forward to putting it into practice.
Stephanie Poettcker
Dec 5, 2020
Great online class with useful tools
Simon is a great teacher that knows how to keep every class member motivated. Even though the class was held remotely, we were all eager to take part in the discussion, as Simon made it very easy for us to interact. He drew graphs and pictures, he selected exercises and games, and he used tools that helped us assimilate the concepts.
I would strongly recommend him!
Louise André
Dec 1, 2020
Simon conducted an excellent session
Simon conducted an excellent session. He guided us through the subject matter with expertise.
Ian Leslie
Nov 27, 2020
Excellent
Excellent. Although this was a 2-day full time on-line course the dynamic was intense and allowed an active participation of the whole team. Split up in groups and on-going discussions as well as the use of collaboration tools managed by the instructor Simon Bourk, was great. I would strongly recommend this course to others and senior management of companies to embrace the Scrum philosophy.
Roberto Kudo
Nov 27, 2020
Very engaging and fun to follow class
The class was very helpful, engaging and well taught. Simon's coaching methods kept us all absorbed and focused on the material.
The class was virtual but it was extremely interactive and the whole process was easy to follow and allowed the whole class to participate and follow along at a good pace.
I would recommend Simon's class to anyone.
Leo Chaves
Oct 22, 2020
Very good and fun course
Very good and fun course. I learnt a lot of useful information I will be able to take back to my team! Thank you very much Simon!
Alison Sorrell
Sep 18, 2020
Remote PSD Was Excellent!
I thoroughly enjoyed taking the PSD course with Simon Bourke. I know there's a lot of value in being able to attend courses like this in person, but I feel Simon adapted well to using remote collaboration tools (Azure DevOps, Teams, Miro, etc.), and we were still able to have a great learning experience. I highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn the Scrum framework and best practices from the shoes of a Developer!
Mike Torrence
Sep 18, 2020
Very well organized and prepared
I really enjoyed this class and I learned a lot. The material was well prepared and structured, with real life examples. Working on the class project was fun and informative. Thank you Simon.
Alin
Jul 8, 2020
Great online class
Simon is an excellent bilingual teacher. He has great learning tips, makes you think and discuss with the other participants. I think it was one of his first online class and it didn't show. We were 10-12 people attending the class which made for great discussions!
Christine
Jun 30, 2020
Amazing learning experience through a series of real Sprints
Simon created an amazing learning environment for us to experience Scrum first-hand in a series of real Sprints. Without giving away too much here: Simon's simulation helped us experience real-life complexities and invited us to reflect on how Scrum helps us surface, solve and prevent these challenges. Thank you, Simon, for the opportunity to participate!
Johannes Geske
Feb 26, 2020
This was a great interactive class…
This was a great interactive class where I got plenty of insights from other participants.
Ekaterina Bulatova
Dec 16, 2019
Very good instructor with a lot of…
Very good instructor with a lot of knowledge and experience in teaching Scrum to businesses. Would recommend.
Alexandre Sauvé
Dec 11, 2019
The course was very good
The course was very good. If you're going to take it then make sure you read up on Scrum beforehand to get the most out of the course.
Brian Jones
Oct 21, 2019
Très bon cours
J'ai bien aimé le dynamisme de Simon et sa méthode d'enseignement un peu unique qui a rendu ce cours fort intéressant. Le contenu du cours était facile a suivre et cette formation a excédée mes attentes.
J'ai donne 4 étoile dû a la salle de classe. On y étaient beaucoup trop à l'étroit et les chaises étaient très peu confortable.
Francois Rousseau
Oct 17, 2019
Great class with a great trainer
Great class with a great trainer. Going home with a lot of tools in my pockets to better accompany the product owner i work with.
Philippe Lauzon
Jul 23, 2019
Simon was a very effective instructor
Simon was a very effective instructor. His class was a fun and fulfilling learning experience.
Patrick Greer
May 18, 2019
Simon Bourk is an engaging instructor…
Simon Bourk is an engaging instructor who is living Scrum. The class was truly enjoyable and educative. Lots of exercises and conversations that cover theory and practice. Highly recommended!
Mohamed Aboud
May 8, 2019
Simon was an engaging and energetic…
Simon was an engaging and energetic instructor. His flipcharts were an excellent way to retain information and be reminded of key concepts. I like that he is always looking for ways to improve his class - very much aligned with the principles of Scrum
Jonathan Fung
Mar 27, 2019
It's always about the people
It's always about the people, and Simon Bourk is the reason why I enjoyed the Professional Scrum Master I course so much, thanks to his highly relatable teaching and fun anecdotes. Looking forward to taking Professional Scrum Master II course in a year from now!
Alexandra
Mar 22, 2019
Professional Scrum Master (PSM) is a…
Professional Scrum Master (PSM) is a must for any new scrum master, The course is great and the teacher (Simon) is excellent. Lots of engagement and interaction. Simon keeps the class engaged the whole time and focused. Doing hands on activities keeps the students on their toes. This should however be a 2.5 day class. I think this could easily have continued for another half day.
5/5 Great course.
Ryan
Mar 4, 2019
Never a dull moment
Never a dull moment
Simon ensures all your questions are answered as we take the path to learning about scrum and the role of the scrum master. The class is a mix of power point, flip charts, hands on activities and anecdotes from real life. No matter what type of learner you are - visual, auditory, manual -- you will have the chance to practice all three.
The diversity of how Simon presents the material ensures that the information is understood and remains with the student after the class.
Chantal Levert
Mar 2, 2019
Awesome course
i truly recommend this course - PSM. The instructor (Simon Bourque) is awesome and with his great knowledge and coaching capabilities, he made the class very interesting. The flip charts created during the class is as one would say « a picture is worth a 1000 words ».
Simon Gauthier
Mar 1, 2019
Simon is an outstanding teacher
Simon is an outstanding teacher. He is highly engaging throughout the class and can provide real-life examples to support the theory. He also has a skill to make the class fun and reinforces the learnings through practical exercices and live drawings throughout the class. We had the benefit of an on-site session with our entire team and he was able to provide practical advice directly applicable to our specific environment.
Highly recommended!
Michel Moubarak
Mar 1, 2019
Much appreciated
As part of Agile transformation, I was fortunate to attend two Scrum training sessions (PSM and PSPO) with Simon Bourk. The flow of information, presentation techniques, experiments and wicked questions were well structured to facilitate the learning process through interactive mode and hands-on exercises. Highly recommended trainer for all levels.
Sharif Mattar
Feb 4, 2019
Excellent!
Effective course, excellent instructor, would recommend.
David Soegiarto
Jan 16, 2019
It is an excellent course
It is an excellent course! Very dynamic and filled with concrete activities which allows students to fully understand the concepts and apply them. I would definitely recommend Simon as a teacher. Extremely knowledgeable and a well-rounded instructor. Dynamic, humoristic and creates great visual!
Claudine
Simon's Certifications
Simon's Bio
Simon loves to help. As a consultant, he has been helping 12+ businesses and coached 30+ teams on how best to implement the Scrum Framework and embody the Agile Manifesto in their environment. Working closely with his local Agile community, Simon has built up a good reputation as an organizer, as a speaker, as an Agile Coach, and as a Professional Scrum Trainer.
Simon’s professional world was flipped upside down when a Scrum Master joined his waterfall team back in 2005. Back then, he was a miserable programmer in a dark cubicle suffering from others’ tantrum when he would fix “their” code. Being a Scrum team member for 5 years taught Simon the true potential of a high-performance team. Since then, Simon has been helping his clients experiencing how it feels to be part of a Professional Scrum Team and what happens when the Agile Mindset is understood deeply across the organization. Simon is recognized as an energetic change agent and Professional Scrum Trainer.
Watch His Profile Video
Spoken Languages
- English
- French
Courses taught by Simon
See What My Students Say
Jan 7, 2021
Always great classes with Simon
Simon always makes the class very interesting and fun! I learned a lot and look forward to putting it into practice.
Stephanie Poettcker
Dec 5, 2020
Great online class with useful tools
Simon is a great teacher that knows how to keep every class member motivated. Even though the class was held remotely, we were all eager to take part in the discussion, as Simon made it very easy for us to interact. He drew graphs and pictures, he selected exercises and games, and he used tools that helped us assimilate the concepts.
I would strongly recommend him!
Louise André
Dec 1, 2020
Simon conducted an excellent session
Simon conducted an excellent session. He guided us through the subject matter with expertise.
Ian Leslie
Nov 27, 2020
Excellent
Excellent. Although this was a 2-day full time on-line course the dynamic was intense and allowed an active participation of the whole team. Split up in groups and on-going discussions as well as the use of collaboration tools managed by the instructor Simon Bourk, was great. I would strongly recommend this course to others and senior management of companies to embrace the Scrum philosophy.
Roberto Kudo
Nov 27, 2020
Very engaging and fun to follow class
The class was very helpful, engaging and well taught. Simon's coaching methods kept us all absorbed and focused on the material.
The class was virtual but it was extremely interactive and the whole process was easy to follow and allowed the whole class to participate and follow along at a good pace.
I would recommend Simon's class to anyone.
Leo Chaves
Oct 22, 2020
Very good and fun course
Very good and fun course. I learnt a lot of useful information I will be able to take back to my team! Thank you very much Simon!
Alison Sorrell
Sep 18, 2020
Remote PSD Was Excellent!
I thoroughly enjoyed taking the PSD course with Simon Bourke. I know there's a lot of value in being able to attend courses like this in person, but I feel Simon adapted well to using remote collaboration tools (Azure DevOps, Teams, Miro, etc.), and we were still able to have a great learning experience. I highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn the Scrum framework and best practices from the shoes of a Developer!
Mike Torrence
Sep 18, 2020
Very well organized and prepared
I really enjoyed this class and I learned a lot. The material was well prepared and structured, with real life examples. Working on the class project was fun and informative. Thank you Simon.
Alin
Jul 8, 2020
Great online class
Simon is an excellent bilingual teacher. He has great learning tips, makes you think and discuss with the other participants. I think it was one of his first online class and it didn't show. We were 10-12 people attending the class which made for great discussions!
Christine
Jun 30, 2020
Amazing learning experience through a series of real Sprints
Simon created an amazing learning environment for us to experience Scrum first-hand in a series of real Sprints. Without giving away too much here: Simon's simulation helped us experience real-life complexities and invited us to reflect on how Scrum helps us surface, solve and prevent these challenges. Thank you, Simon, for the opportunity to participate!
Johannes Geske
Feb 26, 2020
This was a great interactive class…
This was a great interactive class where I got plenty of insights from other participants.
Ekaterina Bulatova
Dec 16, 2019
Very good instructor with a lot of…
Very good instructor with a lot of knowledge and experience in teaching Scrum to businesses. Would recommend.
Alexandre Sauvé
Dec 11, 2019
The course was very good
The course was very good. If you're going to take it then make sure you read up on Scrum beforehand to get the most out of the course.
Brian Jones
Oct 21, 2019
Très bon cours
J'ai bien aimé le dynamisme de Simon et sa méthode d'enseignement un peu unique qui a rendu ce cours fort intéressant. Le contenu du cours était facile a suivre et cette formation a excédée mes attentes.
J'ai donne 4 étoile dû a la salle de classe. On y étaient beaucoup trop à l'étroit et les chaises étaient très peu confortable.
Francois Rousseau
Oct 17, 2019
Great class with a great trainer
Great class with a great trainer. Going home with a lot of tools in my pockets to better accompany the product owner i work with.
Philippe Lauzon
Jul 23, 2019
Simon was a very effective instructor
Simon was a very effective instructor. His class was a fun and fulfilling learning experience.
Patrick Greer
May 18, 2019
Simon Bourk is an engaging instructor…
Simon Bourk is an engaging instructor who is living Scrum. The class was truly enjoyable and educative. Lots of exercises and conversations that cover theory and practice. Highly recommended!
Mohamed Aboud
May 8, 2019
Simon was an engaging and energetic…
Simon was an engaging and energetic instructor. His flipcharts were an excellent way to retain information and be reminded of key concepts. I like that he is always looking for ways to improve his class - very much aligned with the principles of Scrum
Jonathan Fung
Mar 27, 2019
It's always about the people
It's always about the people, and Simon Bourk is the reason why I enjoyed the Professional Scrum Master I course so much, thanks to his highly relatable teaching and fun anecdotes. Looking forward to taking Professional Scrum Master II course in a year from now!
Alexandra
Mar 22, 2019
Professional Scrum Master (PSM) is a…
Professional Scrum Master (PSM) is a must for any new scrum master, The course is great and the teacher (Simon) is excellent. Lots of engagement and interaction. Simon keeps the class engaged the whole time and focused. Doing hands on activities keeps the students on their toes. This should however be a 2.5 day class. I think this could easily have continued for another half day.
5/5 Great course.
Ryan
Mar 4, 2019
Never a dull moment
Never a dull moment
Simon ensures all your questions are answered as we take the path to learning about scrum and the role of the scrum master. The class is a mix of power point, flip charts, hands on activities and anecdotes from real life. No matter what type of learner you are - visual, auditory, manual -- you will have the chance to practice all three.
The diversity of how Simon presents the material ensures that the information is understood and remains with the student after the class.
Chantal Levert
Mar 2, 2019
Awesome course
i truly recommend this course - PSM. The instructor (Simon Bourque) is awesome and with his great knowledge and coaching capabilities, he made the class very interesting. The flip charts created during the class is as one would say « a picture is worth a 1000 words ».
Simon Gauthier
Mar 1, 2019
Simon is an outstanding teacher
Simon is an outstanding teacher. He is highly engaging throughout the class and can provide real-life examples to support the theory. He also has a skill to make the class fun and reinforces the learnings through practical exercices and live drawings throughout the class. We had the benefit of an on-site session with our entire team and he was able to provide practical advice directly applicable to our specific environment.
Highly recommended!
Michel Moubarak
Mar 1, 2019
Much appreciated
As part of Agile transformation, I was fortunate to attend two Scrum training sessions (PSM and PSPO) with Simon Bourk. The flow of information, presentation techniques, experiments and wicked questions were well structured to facilitate the learning process through interactive mode and hands-on exercises. Highly recommended trainer for all levels.
Sharif Mattar
Feb 4, 2019
Excellent!
Effective course, excellent instructor, would recommend.
David Soegiarto
Jan 16, 2019
It is an excellent course
It is an excellent course! Very dynamic and filled with concrete activities which allows students to fully understand the concepts and apply them. I would definitely recommend Simon as a teacher. Extremely knowledgeable and a well-rounded instructor. Dynamic, humoristic and creates great visual!
Claudine
Upcoming Classes by Simon
See all upcoming classes-
Professional Scrum Product OwnerDetails Register
Live VirtualJan 18-19, 2021
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
America/Toronto
English -
Applying Professional Scrum for Software DevelopmentDetails Register
Live VirtualJan 20-22, 2021
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
America/Toronto
English -
Professional Agile Leadership - EssentialsDetails Register
Live VirtualFeb 8-9, 2021
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
America/Toronto
English -
Professional Scrum Product Owner - AdvancedDetails Register
Live VirtualMar 22-23, 2021
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
America/Toronto
English
Classes Attended by Simon
Latest Blogs by Simon
See all blogs
Simon Bourk
Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all staying home for the safety of our people. This is a hard time for all of us. While classes are re-scheduled in the Fall, some of us Scrum trainers are refocusing our energy to help the household while others are investigating how to conduct interactive online training.
Apr 8, 2020
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Simon Bourk
I am learning awesome things that can relate to our world of “Agile” and “Product Ownership.”
Feb 19, 2019
Read blog
Simon Bourk
I’m currently helping a small software shop within a government organization where multiple Scrum Teams are serving the same cause. They are building one product that has several sub-systems, which sometimes need to be integrated. Mostly, they have a low amount of dependencies between teams and systems. Today, the wind is slowly changing and the trend is “unity,” so the sub-systems need to be closely integrated. I suggested they use the Nexus Framework to help them manage their development. They decided to integrate the systems gradually, starting with two Scrum Teams and adding more teams as it goes. They have implemented the Nexus Daily Scrum.
A few weeks prior to beginning development, the Dev Teams refined their dependent items. I knew there was some anxiety. At that point, they were conducting Nexus Daily Scrums, but felt that these daily meetings in addition to the Daily Scrums were overkill, because there were no dependencies between the sub-systems. So they decided to stop. They managed instead with offline ad-hoc conversations about upcoming “dependent” work. However, after a few Sprints, they selected the dependent items that needed to be developed and decided to reinstate the Nexus Daily Scrum and synchronize daily.
The teams organized an ad-hoc pre-planning meeting which included a few members from each team. They wrote down the list of dependent items, and had a high level conversation about how they would integrate their work. After this discussion, they decided to postpone the release off by one week in order to allow for “recovery” and “stabilization.” Those two words made me twitch instantly. The habit of “stabilization period” is so frustrating! These are old habits left over from using waterfall and poor technical practices. What does it mean to be “done” at the end of a Sprint? Why do you need a stabilization period if you were “done?” What can you do to mitigate risks earlier, now? I went on for a little rant with the teams. I saw heads nodding, reasons were disclosed and it occurs to me that they were using a risk assessment practice that they used in the past. Anyhow, a potential topic for the next retrospective.
The Sprint continued. Every day, at the Nexus Daily Scrum, most of the developers would start their turn by saying “there are no dependencies, can we go now?” and then, at last, someone would say “I will be doing this highly technical thing, how will I integrate with this other thing?” and the conversation would trigger everyone’s interest. The equivalent of the Nexus Sprint Backlog would be updated with new information and they would carry on.
Even if the teams were not ready to plug and play their parts fully implemented, the Nexus Daily Scrum continues to be held everyday. It enables the team members to discover small experiments they can do before going too far into the development.
Furthermore, although they haven’t been using the Nexus Framework fully as describe in the Nexus Guide, they created the equivalent of the Nexus Sprint Planning and created a Nexus Sprint Backlog for tracking their dependencies. I cannot wait to see what they will come up for the Nexus Sprint Review and for the Nexus Sprint Retrospective!
Cheers,
Simon
From the Nexus Guide, you can read:
Nexus Daily Scrum
The Nexus Daily Scrum is an event for appropriate representatives from individual Scrum Development Teams to inspect the current state of the Integrated Increment and to identify integration issues or newly discovered cross-team dependencies.
During the Nexus Daily Scrum, attendees should focus on each team’s impact on the Integrated Increment and discuss:
● Was the previous day’s work successfully integrated? If not, why not?
● What new dependencies have been identified?
● What information needs to be shared across teams in the Nexus?
During the Nexus Daily Scrum, the Nexus Sprint Backlog should be used to visualize and manage current dependencies.
Work that is identified during the Nexus Daily Scrum is then taken back to individual Scrum Teams for planning inside their Daily Scrum events.
Sep 30, 2016
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