Product LeadersIntermediate

Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills (PSFS) Certification Course

Gain practical facilitation skills to improve Scrum team collaboration, decision making, and event effectiveness, with certification for experienced Agile practitioners.

IntermediateScrum.orgTraditional (Full Day) · Traditional (Half Day) · Immersive

What changes for your team

  • Turn meetings into momentum
  • Get diverse voices moving together
  • Lead the room without taking over

Immersive training pays back differently to a two-day course. Sessions spread across several weeks mean each idea is applied in your real work before the next one lands — so capability builds instead of fading under a backlog. Why immersive produces better returns →  ·  Other formats available in the panel above.

Course Code: PSFS

Overview

Enhance your facilitation skills to empower Scrum Teams in solving problems, building consensus, and fostering transparency. This interactive course equips participants with practical facilitation techniques to improve team collaboration and Scrum events.

Target Audience

  • Scrum Team members (Scrum Masters, Developers, Product Owners)
  • Scrum Coaches, Agile Coaches, and Consultants
  • Product Owners and Product Managers
  • Lean Agile Practitioners
  • Individuals with prior Scrum training or experience

Learning Outcomes

  • Explain the roles that facilitation principles and Scrum Values play in enhancing healthy collaboration within Scrum Teams
  • Gain facilitation skills to leverage and focus on the benefits of diverse perspectives on a team with varying dynamics
  • Apply facilitation principles and techniques to improve Scrum events and other interactions
  • Improve team collaboration and participatory decision making using a facilitator stance and toolbox of techniques

Course Topics

  • Facilitation principles and Scrum Values
  • Team collaboration and conflict resolution
  • Participatory decision making
  • Facilitation techniques for Scrum events
  • Developing a personal facilitation plan

Certification

  • Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills (PSFS) Certification

Frequently Asked Questions

PSFS is designed for Scrum Masters, Scrum Team members, Agile Coaches, Scrum Coaches, Consultants, Product Owners, and experienced Lean Agile practitioners who already have a foundation in Scrum. It is not suitable for people without prior Scrum knowledge or experience.

All participants get a password to take the Scrum.org Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills assessment after PSFS. If you attempt it within 14 days and don’t achieve 85% or higher, you receive a second attempt at no extra cost.

You’ll address common Scrum team challenges such as unproductive team interactions, low engagement, unresolved conflict, and stalled decision-making by applying facilitation techniques to real-world Agile scenarios.

You should have previous Scrum training or hands-on experience working with Scrum teams, as PSFS is intended for those with established Scrum knowledge.

PSFS is an interactive, hands-on course built around practical skills-building activities and scenario-based exercises, rather than just lectures or theory.

Syllabus

Here is exactly what your team will cover, and how we deliver it. Every format teaches the same modules; what changes is how the time is spread and what happens between sessions:

Immersive RecommendedTraditional (Full Day)Traditional (Half Day)
Sessions 4 sessions 1 day 2 half-days
Each session 4h: 2h reflect + 2h learn 8h incl. breaks and lunch 4h incl. breaks
Total time with an expert 16h 8h 8h
New concept and practice
incl. breaks		 8h 8h 8h
Facilitated reflection
what happened when you tried it		 8h — —
~Expert time per topic
breaks removed		 ~3h20
1h40 reflect + 1h40 learn		 ~1h30 ~1h40
Time to apply between sessions 1–2 working weeks (≈36–72h) Overnight Half a working day (≈4h)

Each immersive session follows a learning cycle: reflect on what happened when you applied the last concept, learn the next one and practise it, then take it back to work as an outcome-based assignment. It is designed for triple-loop learning, so participants do not just change what they do; they question why they do it and how they see their organisation.

Need more support? The immersive experience can be combined with additional coaching, consulting or mentoring to create a Mentor Program for your team.

Choose a format above to see how the modules group into sessions.

Session 1 · 2h facilitated reflection + 2h new concept and practice · 10m break each hour

Introduction and Setting the Stage

Module 1

Learn a new concept

Participants will experience facilitation techniques firsthand while establishing a safe learning environment through co-created working agreements and interactive icebreakers, setting the foundation for collaborative learning throughout the course.

Outcome-based assignment: Create a Safe Environment Practice · Immersive only

Practice establishing psychological safety in your next team interaction by co-creating a working agreement or team charter.
For example, you might:
  • Facilitate a session with your team to establish ground rules for meetings
  • Lead a working agreement creation exercise for a new project kickoff
  • Modify an existing team charter to include psychological safety elements
  • Practice the “Introduction Carousel” icebreaker technique with colleagues
→ Reflected on at the start of Module 2: Facilitation Principles and Scrum

Session 2 · 2h facilitated reflection + 2h new concept and practice · 10m break each hour

Facilitation Principles and Scrum

Module 2

Facilitated reflection: Create a Safe Environment Practice · Immersive only

Facilitated reflection: Create a Safe Environment Practice

Learn a new concept

Participants will collaboratively define great facilitation, explore core facilitation principles (Participatory, Healthy conflict, Transparency, Process focus, and Purposeful), and learn to apply these principles to Scrum events while understanding the facilitator’s role in supporting team dynamics.

Outcome-based assignment: Scrum Event Assessment and Improvement · Immersive only

Choose one Scrum event in your organization and assess it using the five facilitation principles. Create an improvement plan based on your observations.
For example, you might:
  • Observe a Daily Scrum and identify which facilitation principles are missing or weak
  • Assess a Sprint Retrospective for participatory decision-making opportunities
  • Evaluate a Sprint Planning session for transparency and process focus
  • Create a facilitation plan for an upcoming Sprint Review
  • Document “signals” that indicate when facilitation is needed in your team’s events
→ Reflected on at the start of Module 3: Applying Facilitation Skills and Techniques

Session 3 · 2h facilitated reflection + 2h new concept and practice · 10m break each hour

Applying Facilitation Skills and Techniques

Module 3

Facilitated reflection: Scrum Event Assessment and Improvement · Immersive only

Facilitated reflection: Scrum Event Assessment and Improvement

Learn a new concept

Participants will develop core facilitation skills, practice inclusive techniques like the White Elephant method, understand divergent and convergent thinking concepts, and learn to navigate the challenging “Groan Zone” while managing diverse team dynamics effectively.

Outcome-based assignment: Facilitation Technique Practice · Immersive only

Practice using the White Elephant technique or another inclusive facilitation method in a real team scenario. Observe and document the results.
For example, you might:
  • Use White Elephant technique for prioritizing team backlog items or impediments
  • Facilitate a divergent thinking session (brainstorming) followed by convergent thinking (prioritization)
  • Practice navigating through a “groan zone” moment in a team discussion
  • Apply active listening techniques during a team conflict resolution session
  • Use structured methods to ensure all voices are heard in a team decision
→ Reflected on at the start of Module 4: Improving Facilitation Skills and Course Wrap-up

Session 4 · 2h facilitated reflection + 2h new concept and practice · 10m break each hour

Improving Facilitation Skills and Course Wrap-up

Module 4

Facilitated reflection: Facilitation Technique Practice · Immersive only

Facilitated reflection: Facilitation Technique Practice

Learn a new concept

Participants will create personal improvement plans for continuing their facilitation journey, commit to specific practice goals, and reflect on their learning through facilitated closing activities that reinforce the importance of ongoing skill development.

Outcome-based assignment: Personal Facilitation Development Plan · Immersive only

Create a comprehensive personal development plan for improving your facilitation skills over the next 3 months. Include specific goals, techniques to practice, and methods for gathering feedback.
For example, you might:
  • Set SMART goals for facilitating specific Scrum events in the next sprint
  • Identify 2-3 facilitation techniques you want to master and create practice opportunities
  • Establish a feedback mechanism with team members or colleagues
  • Plan to facilitate at least one difficult conversation using techniques learned
  • Commit to reading one facilitation resource per month and applying new insights
  • Schedule regular self-reflection sessions to assess your facilitation growth
→ Reflected on at the start of Catchup & After

Catchup & After · Immersive only

Catchup & After

Facilitated reflection: Personal Facilitation Development Plan

Facilitated reflection: Personal Facilitation Development Plan

Two weeks after completion, participants are invited to join a follow-up catch-up session designed to address any remaining questions, ideas, or challenges that have emerged since the training. This session provides an opportunity to reflect on your experiences applying the concepts learned in the course, share insights, and receive additional support.

* Assignments are part of our Immersive Training Programs, encouraging participants to apply their learning practically between sessions for a more hands-on experience.

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