Advanced Certified ScrumMaster®
Lead With Confidence When Scrum Gets Hard
Scrum is powerful — and applying it in real organizations isn’t always straightforward. This course helps you succeed when things get complex.
In two focused days, you’ll develop the judgment, presence, and influence to guide teams through conflict, resistance, and real-world constraints — without becoming the Scrum police.
Chosen by companies in SaaS, Healthcare, Government, Consulting, Financial Services, Retail, Energy, Aerospace and more.
Taught by People Who Helped Shape Scrum
Mountain Goat Software was co-founded by Mike Cohn, a co-founder of both the Scrum Alliance and the Agile Alliance, and author of some of the most influential books in Agile software development, including User Stories Applied, Agile Estimating & Planning, and Succeeding with Agile.
For more than 25 years, Mountain Goat Software has helped teams and organizations adopt Scrum in ways that actually work—across industries, team types, and organizational cultures.
When you train with Mountain Goat, you’re learning from people who have:
- Helped define modern Agile practice
- Guided thousands of teams
- Seen what works, and what doesn’t, over decades
What This A-CSM Course Emphasizes
You’ll spend less time reviewing Scrum mechanics and more time practicing how to:
- Navigate conflict and resistance productively
- Facilitate conversations where real decisions are at stake
- Coach teams toward ownership rather than compliance
- Apply Scrum principles thoughtfully in complex environments
The emphasis is on practical judgment, not rigid frameworks or exam preparation.
Seth Webster
I recently attended Mountain Goat Software's Advanced Certified Scrum Master 2 day course. Much to my delight it was facilitated by Brian Milner. Brian is such a skilled and engaging facilitator. The content was logically sequenced and paced well for increased comprehension along with application of new learnings and skills. The best part for me personally was connecting with so many like minded Scrum Masters whose main goals here were to increase their abilities to best serve their teams. The conversations and relationships I made were fantastic and I cannot wait to start making even more of difference with my teams. Thank you Mike, Brian and Mountain Goat Software for yet another enriching learning journey.
Rishi Kapur
Amazing class! Great course content but my favorite part was how engaging and valuable the workshops were. Brian did such an excellent job facilitating and making sure everyone was able to have productive conversations. I wish we had another day just to keep sitting around talking!
Daniel Hunt
Brian's A-CSM class was a perfect combination of recap, new materials, and discussions with other professionals.
Daniel Mundra
This class was a relevant step in learning more about being a better scrum master and the journey in front of the scrum master. I would recommend this class to anyone that is trying to learn more about SCRUM. The instructor was very knowledgeable, understanding, and quick to respond to questions. He had complete control of the class but also encouraged spontaneity. The classmates were all eager to learn and had a wealth of knowledge being from different backgrounds and it seemed like every exercise the team I was with all participated and worked for excellence in the exercises.
David E. Harms
How We Approach Teaching Advanced Scrum Masters
Learn by Doing
This course is built around practice, not lectures. You’ll work through realistic scenarios, facilitation exercises, and coaching conversations that reflect the challenges experienced Scrum Masters face every day.
Learn from Peers
You’ll learn alongside other experienced Scrum Masters, sharing challenges and comparing approaches. Structured discussions and group work ensure you benefit from the collective experience in the room.
Focus on Real-World Judgment
We emphasize decision-making in messy, ambiguous situations—when there isn’t a single “right” answer. You’ll practice choosing the right stance and intervention based on context, not rules.
Apply It Immediately
Everything in the course is designed to be usable right away. You’ll leave with techniques you can apply immediately to facilitate difficult conversations, coach teams more effectively, and navigate organizational constraints.
A Unique, Interactive Learning Experience
Team Home is a collaboration platform that we designed for our courses. It is optimized for live, online training. Participants benefit by collaborating in ways beyond what is possible with generic whiteboard software such as Mural or Miro. Instructors can observe activity across all rooms, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of exercise debriefs.
Tools and Resources You’ll Continue Using
Your registration includes access to tools that support your work beyond the class:
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MGS AI Toolkit for coaching, story-splitting and backlog items
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Planning Poker® for collaborative estimation
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Elements of Agile™ assessment to help teams identify improvement opportunities
What You'll Be Able to Do
Intervene skillfully in conflict — Step into tense situations between team members, Product Owners, and stakeholders and guide them toward productive outcomes.
Facilitate high-stakes conversations — Lead discussions where priorities clash, emotions run high, and real decisions are required.
Coach teams toward self-management — Help teams take ownership of their process instead of relying on you to solve problems for them.
Adapt Scrum without losing its intent — Apply Scrum principles flexibly in complex organizations.
Choose the right stance in the moment — Know when to teach, coach, facilitate, or step back entirely.
Before and After Advanced Certified ScrumMaster®
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Before
- Avoid stepping into conflict
- Feel pressure to enforce Scrum
- Unsure how to influence beyond the team
- Running meetings instead of leading change
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After
- Confidently guide tough conversations
- Coach rather than police
- Influence without authority
- Become a trusted partner to teams and leaders
Your Mountain Goat Instructors
Mountain Goat has handpicked instructors that share our training values. These are people with deep experience, who are leading teams with agile today and can give you real-world answers about what does and doesn’t work.
Brian Milner
Starting out as a developer, Brian worked up through management layers, then transitioned to Scrum Master, then Coach and now Certified Scrum Trainer. His practical experience in both waterfall and agile organizations helps him clarify what works and what doesn’t, plus he has many years’ experience helping teams transition to agile.
Read more...Brian also brings more than 20 years of software development experience to his classes. People remark on his ability to answer even tough questions with ease, enthusiasm, and insight.
Scrum Certifications include: CSM, CST, CSPO, CAL-Educator, CAL-1, A-CSM, A-CSPO, CSP-CM, CSP-PO, Path to CSP Educator, Scrum Foundations Educator.
Lance Dacy
As a Certified Scrum Trainer, Lance has trained and coached teams through many successful Scrum implementations since 2011, from Fortune 20 companies to small start-ups. Lance is also experienced in showing agile coaches and managers how to help cross functional, self-organizing teams deliver high value for customers as early as possible by using Scrum.
Read more...Lance is a true evangelist for Scrum, having founded the successful DFW Scrum User Group in Dallas as an outlet for professional networking and a community sounding-board for Scrum. He has a fun and generous personality, and shares his passion for Scrum in every course.
Scrum Certifications include: CSM, CST, CSPO, CAL-1, A-CSM, A-CSPO, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, Path to CSP Educator, Scrum Foundations Educator.
Ready to Take the Next Step as a Scrum Master?
Join thousands of Scrum Masters, agile practitioners, and leaders who have learned Scrum with Mountain Goat Software—and applied it successfully in the real world.
Course Includes:
Certification Credits
Need a Flexible Training Option?
Pre-pay for 10+ passes and you can assign seats directly to team members, or let them self-select the courses that suit their training needs and schedule.
Learn about our Flex and Select Passes »
Course Outline
Agile and Scrum
Go beyond the rules of Scrum to understand the principles that make agile work. Explore how Scrum fits alongside other agile approaches and what must be preserved when teams adapt practices to real-world constraints.
The Scrum Master Role
Clarify what it truly means to be an effective Scrum Master. Examine the behaviors, responsibilities, and boundaries of the role—and how great Scrum Masters build trust, influence outcomes, and avoid becoming process police.
Facilitation
Learn advanced facilitation techniques for challenging situations. Practice guiding discussions when there is disagreement, ambiguity, or strong emotion, helping groups reach clarity and decisions without forcing consensus.
Coaching
Develop coaching skills that help teams grow rather than depend on you. Learn when and how to coach individuals and teams, how to work through resistance, and how to choose the most effective stance in the moment.
High-Performing Teams
Explore what enables teams to move from working to truly high-performing. Examine collaboration, quality, and delivery patterns, and how Scrum Masters can support Product Owners and teams through discovery, refinement, and continuous improvement.
Agile Organizations
Understand how organizational systems affect team performance. Examine common structural impediments, apply systems thinking and root-cause analysis, and learn how Scrum Masters can influence change beyond a single team.
Scrum Mastery
Bring the learning together with a focus on your own development. Assess your strengths and growth areas and leave with a clearer path for becoming a more effective, influential Scrum Master.
Got a Question?
What happens when you contact us?
- We’ll get back to you within a day.
- Answer your training questions and discuss any custom needs.
- Recommend the best agile training path for your teams and goals.
- Want to talk to someone? Schedule a call.