7 min read
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Scrum Trainer Evaluation Guide: 10 Questions Answered
What to ask any Scrum trainer before you pay for a CSM or CSPO class, with a Certified Scrum Trainer's own answers as a model.
Prints one question per page, with room for notes and a score for each trainer.
Before you pay for Scrum training, speak directly with the person who will teach it and ask them ten questions. Not an assistant, not a marketing rep. Your trainer is usually your first imprint of what Scrum is, and experience matters. Below are my own answers as a model for what a good one sounds like.
How to use this guide
- Pick two or three trainers and book a conversation with the person who will actually teach the class.
- Print this page or save it as a PDF. Each question gets its own page, with room to write.
- Ask every trainer the same question, one page at a time. Write what they say, then mark it ✔ (clear and specific), ? (vague), or ✘ (a red flag) before you move on.
- Check my answer afterward. It’s a model, not the standard. The “Listen for” and “Red flag” lines show what a good answer sounds like.
- Compare on the last page, then pick the trainer whose answers you’d want to hear again in six months. If a trainer collects several ✘, keep looking.
Short on time? These three tell you the most: Q1, how long they’ve really taught, Q4, whether they still do the work, and Q9, whether they promise things no one can.
I’m Michael Vizdos, a Certified Scrum Trainer® (CST) with the Scrum Alliance. New to this? Start with how to choose a Scrum trainer and Scrum Fundamentals.
1. How long have you been delivering Scrum training?
Since 2006, as an official CST. I’ve trained about 5,000 people and been to over 50 countries. I’m one of the original CSTs, mentored directly by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, the two people who created Scrum. I took my CSM from Ken Schwaber in January 2004, and Ken named me among the Scrum training “pioneers” in a 2013 post. I’ve also helped train and mentor dozens of other CSTs (yes, they’re my “competitors” today).
Seen the “Scrum Chicken and Pig” cartoons? Those are mine. Here’s where they came from.
Listen for: who taught them, when, and what they’ve done since. Red flag: “years of experience” with no names, dates, or examples.
2. How often do you update your training?
Before every new training event. And you get lifetime access: the current slides and exercises whenever you need them, the recording (if the session was virtual) or its transcript, and the study guide, which is always there. If you want to repeat a seat in a future class, you get an incredible discount.
Listen for: what changed in the last class. Red flag: “We use the same deck every time.”
3. How has your training evolved over the years?
Each event is different. Think of training as an ongoing conversation between me, you, and the other attendees. Read about the CSM training experience.
Listen for: something they dropped or rewrote, with a reason. Red flag: “It hasn’t changed. It works.”
4. What else do you do besides deliver Scrum training?
I don’t fly city to city delivering training every week. That matters, because I bring current experience into your class.
- Chief Product Officer and co-founder at Edvizion. I’m in the trenches with my own team, building a SaaS product for schools and developing organizations. We use Scrum every day to run the company and ship real software, so the stories I tell are from this week, not a slide deck.
- Consulting with clients around the world.
- Strategic advisor to a school district, working with their leadership team, teachers, and students (see ScrumInSchool.org).
- Scrum Master in Residence at the VCU da Vinci Center (2017 to 2025), and a co-founder of AgileRichmond.com and ScrumRVA.org.
I deliver public training as people ask for it. I mostly deliver private training wrapped in very specific needs and deliverables for your organization. Either way I use real examples, sometimes literally from yesterday. No recycled stories.
Watch for “Guaranteed to Run.” It’s mostly marketing from a marketing company, not the trainer. I schedule a public class once four people have reserved a seat, so you’re never in a class of one, and nobody pays for a class that doesn’t run. Reservations are refunded if no class runs within 90 days.
Listen for: work they’re doing this month, with stories from it. Red flag: only classroom stories, or stories that are years old.
5. How much does your training cost (and what’s included)?
I’m not the cheapest Scrum trainer. Do your own research: contact a few trainers and ask these same questions. If lowest price is your only concern, I’m probably not a good match. A seat in a public class is $997, private team classes start at $5,000, and the debrief after a private class is included. Details are on the training page. Almost everyone who attends a course with me was referred by someone I trained before.
Listen for: one price, in writing, with everything included. Red flag: add-on fees, or pressure like “only 2 seats left.”
6. What preparation do I need before attending?
If you want to show up and have slides read to you for a class, please go somewhere else. I email preparation information beforehand, send updates during, and follow up after. The current prep is at csm_preparation.mvizdos.com.
With any trainer, you should know the Scrum fundamentals first. Read the official learning objectives at Scrum Fundamentals, or read, watch, or listen to the 2020 Scrum Guide in the Interactive Scrum Guide.
Listen for: specific things to read, watch, or do before day one. Red flag: “Just show up.”
7. What resources will I leave with?
The Scrum Alliance exam fee is included in my pricing, as it should be for every CST. So are 2 years of Scrum Alliance membership and SEUs/PDUs. Many courses list these like they’re special. They’re not; they’re part of the course fee, so make sure no other CST charges you extra for the exam. Ask them to confirm in writing.
Attendees of my class also get a detailed study guide. You can view a draft at csm_study_draft.mvizdos.com, and it’s useful even if you train with someone else. You can also book a 20-minute call to talk with me.
Listen for: what you can still use six months later, and for how long. Red flag: materials that expire or arrive only in class, or a separate charge for the exam.
8. Do you offer remote or in-person training?
Both. I currently use Zoom (including its built-in whiteboards) plus Google Docs and Slides for remote CSM and CSPO classes; read the full experience. I also teach in person (let’s talk). It’s one or the other: I’m not a fan of “hybrid” yet, because mixing in-person and remote attendees is a worse experience for everyone.
Listen for: honest reasons for their format and how they handle it well. Red flag: a mixed room of in-person and remote people with no plan for the remote ones.
9. Will training guarantee me a new job or higher salary?
No, and no. If anyone guarantees it, run away. A CSM or CSPO can’t hurt, and it might get you through search filters. But a certification alone won’t get you a job. Read my tips on landing your dream job.
Listen for: “No.” Red flag: any promise about a job or salary.
10. What is the question only you would ask?
You probably have more questions. Good; ask them, and see how the trainer responds. Contact me or book a 20-minute call for a conversation with no sales pressure. An informed buyer knows there’s a real difference in who becomes your Scrum trainer.
Bonus questions worth asking anyone: “Can I talk with someone you trained recently?” and “Tell me about a class that didn’t go well, and what you changed.” Trainers who like the questions are usually the ones worth your money.
The best trainer for you might not be me. Pick the one whose answers you’d want to hear again in six months. Your trainer is likely your first imprint of Scrum, and that’s worth an hour of asking.
What next?
- Comparing trainers? Contact at least three and ask each these ten questions.
- Ready to register with me? Reserve a seat in the next class, or schedule private team training.
- Want a shorter option? Try the 4-hour Scrum Essentials Certification.
- Questions about my answers? Contact me or connect on LinkedIn. Feedback is welcome.
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