My life of Scrum started in 2003 when we wrapped our eXtreme Programming approach in Scrum. Throughout my two+ decades of experience, I feel I have seen and experienced much. Anyone interested in more details can check out the complete saga of my life of Scrum that I included in The Scrum Caretaker 14.

What keeps surprising me is the lack of a heuristic, experience-based approach when adopting Scrum, an approach based on the stance of trying to solve problems by finding practical ways of dealing with them, of learning by discovering things for oneself, of learning from past experience rather than over-analyzing and thinking everything should be known upfront.

The fact that Scrum is an open framework makes it apparently easy to get stuck at some academic level with debates over interpretations of the words used in the Scrum Guide or at the level of some mechanistic, lifeless implementation of Scrum. These approaches often cause (a new incarnation of) ‘analysis paralysis’ and keep the industrial paradigm intact rather than deeply transforming an organization’s way of working.

Ultimately, the rules of Scrum serve to create a base structure, a frame, within which people and organizations develop a working process that is specific and appropriate to their time and context. Within these boundaries, people form organized groups around a common problem or challenge without external work plans or instructions being imposed on them (“self-organization”). The process of regularly inspecting the outcome and the how of the work helps them identify the most sensible adaptations (“empiricism”), understanding that what works today might not work tomorrow.

I have always aspired to help people and organizations get unstuck by regaining focus, start moving (their) Scrum downfield and up their game; to firm up their agility by re-imagining their Scrum (as shared in The Scrum Caretaker 14). Understanding the rules of Scrum is no more than a start, yet seems to be the end stage for so many. Moving (your) Scrum downfield requires understanding the rules to play by them to then…look beyond them. As a Scrum Caretaker, I propagate Scrum as more than a ‘process’ by actively nurturing and upholding the values, behaviors, and people-centric aspects that make Scrum more effective. My ambition, ultimately, is to humanize the workplace; thereby acting as an advisor, a connector, a teacher, a writer, or a speaker.

As a ‘teacher’ I facilitate people’s learning process rather than ‘train’ or condition them. Since I started with Scrum in 2003, I have created and delivered a wide diversity of Scrum workshops and classes for diverse audiences and people with different levels of expertise. In 2011 I obtained my license as a Professional Scrum Trainer for Scrum.org from Ken Schwaber (co-creator of Scrum). My business vehicle, Ullizee-Inc, is a member of the Professional Training Network of Scrum.org.

In 2021 I developed and launched a first online workshop to interactively explore how “Values Drive Behavior“, thereby offering a perspective on Scrum beyond the rules, through the lens of the Scrum Values. It took way too long, but finally, the follow-up workshop, called “Engaging the Brain“, is now available. Regardless of my original intent and communication, this new workshop is available to anyone, so not just to the people that have attended the first module.

Warm regards
Gunther
independent Scrum Caretaker

About my Scrum Focus Classes

In 2021 I developed and launched a first online workshop to interactively explore how “Values Drive Behavior“, thereby offering a perspective on Scrum through the lens of the Scrum Values and beyond the rules. I initially named the workshop a “Scrum Pocket Class”, after my “Scrum Pocket Guide“. Next, also in 2021, I developed and launched a Scrum Pocket Class on the topic of “Multi-team Scrum“, as part of another series called “Scrum in the Large“.

You might remember that it was my ambition to create follow-up workshops in both series. In a follow-up workshop of the Scrum Values series I wanted to interactively explore what the social neuroscience tells us about people, their motivation and their (social) behaviors. The follow-up workshop in the “Scrum in the Large”-series will be about “Multi-product Scrum“.

The great news is that the follow-up workshop to my Scrum Values workshop, called “Engaging the Brain” is now available. There are a few changes to the overall program however that I would like to highlight, besides the fact that I have recently already renamed my proprietary series of workshops from “Scrum Pocket Class” to “Scrum Focus Class” [SFC].

As I was developing this follow-up workshop, it started dawning on me that the overarching theme of the series was not just the Scrum Values, but psychological safety which greatly fits my ambition to humanize the workplace by restoring the people vs process balance of (your) Scrum. In the first module of my Scrum Focus Class series on Psychological Safety (“Values Drive Behavior”) we explore how to enact the Scrum Values as drivers of our behaviors, which contributes to establishing such a safe environment. In the second module (“Engaging the Brain”) we will explore insights from the social neuroscience to go a step deeper, into the (often subconscious) drivers of social behavior and how to recognize and influence them.

I realized that the bigger picture was about “Scrum & Psychological Safety”, i.e. psychological safety and how (elements of) Scrum will help establish it. Although I was already underway in the process of launching and promoting the new workshop as a ‘Scrum Values’ workshop, I still decided to act upon this insight. I changed course mid-launch (including re-working logos, badges and banners). It means that I am now launching module 2 of the Scrum Focus Class series about “Psychological Safety”, called “Engaging the Brain” [SFC-PS2].

!!! Your help in spreading the news is much appreciated !!!

The story line of this module will continue where we stop in module 1, although having attended module 1 is not a must anymore (initially, it was). Both modules can be attended independently. Following are the characters of module 1, in order of appearance:

Book your seat!

The new Scrum Focus Class in the “Psychological Safety” series is called “Engaging the Brain” and is now available for anyone:

Planned sessions Online Scrum Focus Class “Psychological Safety 2” on 28 November 2025 [SFC-PS2] € 300,00 Add to cart View cart Online Scrum Focus Class “Psychological Safety 2” on 12 December 2025 [SFC-PS2] € 300,00 Add to cart View cart Online Scrum Focus Class “Psychological Safety 2” on 19 January 2026 [SFC-PS2] € 300,00 Add to cart View cart Online Scrum Focus Class “Psychological Safety 2” on 9 February 2026 [SFC-PS2] € 300,00 Add to cart View cart

Important administrative notice: If your organization is funding you, don’t forget to enter your company’s data during the check-out when purchasing your seat (certainly its VAT number).

What to expect?

All my Scrum Focus Classes take around 3.5 hours and include selected cases from my Scrum Caretaker Book of Exercises. This ‘ancient’ book collects exercises, cases and practical challenges that I encountered during my two+ decades of experience with Scrum.

Scrum Focus Classes are mostly online and in English but can be organized in Dutch and in-person as well. They are low-tech events with tools like Zoom and a Mural virtual learning space, and the occasional use of PowerPoint and a flip chart. They are much case-driven with plenty of room for interaction and conversation.

Given the availability of the first two modules in the Scrum Focus Class on Psychological Safety, a one-day combo of module 1+2 is an option as well.

If your team, your department or your organization is in need of a private training session, drop us a line at  info@guntherverheyen.com .