Testimonials from Attendees & Clients

Here's a sampling of the feedback we've received from training courses & clients around the world.


People are saying

"...joyful...", "humble", ... engaged, valuable, & actionable...", "...priceless...", "...wonderful experience...", "...expert and deep caring...", ".. one of the best trainers I've encountered...", "...interactive & inclusive...", "...I got the job!..."


"Mike is great! Wonderful at listening to questions, processing them, and responding in a thoughtful and informative way." -- CSD class

"Michael Kelley is awesome! Very humble and always eager to help. Focused on the students outcomes and even offered additional time to work through some individual questions if we had them. It was great!" -- A-CSD class

"Thank you so much for your time, and patience, and for sharing your knowledge. It was an amazing experience, I learned a lot, and can't wait to discuss some of these practices with my team." -- Italo Bett, Lead Product Manager - Technical, A-CSD class

"What a fantastic two days in CSD with a great instructor and some wonderful people. Thank you so much Michael Kelley Harris for really making this program/course for all!" - Shannon Larsen, Curriculum Designer at Scrum Alliance

"The team loved your course. They shared that in the moment it was a lot to take in, but saw the power in our shift." -- Scrum Master for a team taking a Certified Scrum Developer (CSD) course

"I appreciated how interactive the class was, and I appreciate your willingness to answer questions, even ones not directly covered by the training." - Jack, CSD class

"I really enjoyed this course! Though I am not a software developer, I was able to participate in all activities and was also provided options for non-software activities. It was a wonderful two days and the instructor Michael Kelley Harris did a great job accommodating all. I also think that it was the perfect sized course for interaction with only 6 students and the instructor." - CSD class attendee

"Mike is a talented and empathetic instructor with enough professional experience to craft instruction around the relevant needs of each student (and that's saying a lot, since I have a somewhat unconventional background) without diluting the fundamentals or pillars of the training. Highly recommend!" -- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) attendee via Zoom

"Kelley recently conducted a Certified Scrum Master training session that I participated in. He did a masterful job of teaching the principles of Scrum and highlighted how they can be applied in both our personal and professional lives. The truth is Kelley is much more than a wonderful coach and mentor. He is truly empathetic to people and organizations, and is motivated by delivering value as a means to improve the world. We had some wonderful conversations that will forever impact me. I would highly recommend Kelley if you are looking for a leadership consultant, professional coach, mentor, or trainer, and/or business consultant." -- Richard Martin, Business and Management Consultant

"Kelley is a master facilitator and coach! He created a Scrum experience within the scrum workshop so we got to live as a scrum team and get better in the process. I feel more confident to help my Agile teams continuously improve." -- David Gallimore, CSM, Seattle, and Marshall Goldsmith Leadership Coach - Community Builder - Philanthropist

"This was a great course that had a great mix of discussion and exercises. The instructor adapted the class to serve the needs of the students (especially the quiet ones). Curriculum was organized and clear. I would love to take other classes like this one." -- Janet Major, CSM, Palo Alto, California

"Thank you for not only delivering an excellent class, but also modeling the servant-leader behaviors in the way you conducted the class. This was as impactful to me as the content." -- Jerry Reed, PMP, MCP President, PMplicity, Los Angeles, CA

"Hi Kelley. I took the Scrum cert test last night and passed!!!. Thank you so much for the wonderful and interesting class! I learned a ton and you were instrumental in helping me to put all things Scrum in perspective within the Agile context. I even found to my delight even today at work that I'm already effortlessly using what I learned and able to make application of many things you taught us in class to recognize and influence & help all I interact with as a Scrum Master! This class was powerful, and I am very excited about helping all within my organization to realize the power of Agile Scrum!!! Thank you again, and I'm looking forward to learning more... I'm so excited!!!" -- Laura Munoz, Portland, OR

"Thank you, Kelley! Your insight is priceless. Thank you for sharing it with us. I couldn't have asked more from a trainer. ... Thank you for setting up this segment. Thank you for guiding us. Thank you for doing it with the genuine passion that you did." -- Ozzy Venegas, Los Angeles, CA

"When I took the Scrum course with you I was working in HR, and now I'm officially working in project management for our Engineering teams! My Scrum Certification helped put me above the other candidates. Thanks so much!" -- Madison Martin

"Thanks for a great course over the weekend! I just took the exam and scored 100%. I really got a lot out of the course and I am already implementing some of the things I learned at work." -- Alexis, Boulder, CO

"Hi Kelley, I wanted to thank you for the excellent class you provided to our team of application developers and managers here at Caltrans. The class was very informative and professionally presented and exceeded my expectations. I received excellent feedback from attendees who had no prior SCRUM experience and also from attendees with considerable experience gained from jobs in the private sector. It was also gratifying to me personally to receive positive comments from staff and managers who were skeptical about whether or not the framework would be applicable in their project efforts. Several of these individuals indicated to me that they were glad they had the opportunity to attend and had gained insight into how the framework would benefit their project efforts." -- Paul Allen, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) IT ITSD Custom Development Office Chief

"We asked SourceCell's Michael Kelley Harris and Elaine Bulloch to do a series of Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) courses for our people from SLAC and Stanford. I've heard nothing but positive comments about the CSM training. Everyone really enjoyed the classes. Many thanks to Kelley and Elaine for making it joyful, and of course for all the new knowledge they helped our teams gain!" -- Maggie Loera, Stanford's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA

"Thanks Kelley! Very much appreciate all your time, sharing and inspiring games during the 2-day class - I enjoyed it and most importantly learned more in-depth about SCRUM and the Scrum Master role :-) Thank you for being a great instructor! Let's also keep in touch! btw - I just got certified :-)" -- Charlie, IBM - WW Technical Support Manager, San Francisco Bay Area

"Our team loved the Agile training! The instructor [Elaine Bulloch] gave us lots of freedom to explore how Agile can be adapted to our team’s specific use. It was beneficial to be in a smaller environment where we could interact and brainstorm how Agile could benefit us. And the hands on activities make the training so tangible. Thanks so much for being a great partner!" -- Brendan Cheney, Strategy Consultant, Wells Fargo Innovation Group, San Francisco, California

"I truly cannot thank you enough for such an engaged, valuable, and actionable course. The impact it has had on my efficiency and effectiveness is unreal, and my Team is thrilled." -- Jason Bohrer, MBA, CSPO, Business Development, AfterNow, Los Angeles, CA

"Thanks Kelley! I also want to let you know that I passed the CSM test with 100% result. The class was a great help! Thanks." -- Sharon, attended CSM class in Palo Alto

"Your course is the best Scrum course I have seen, and I have seen many instructors. Thank you for that course." -- Deborah Gale, PhD PMP CSM ACP, California Department of Technology, and Department of Mathematics and Statistics, American River College

"Michael [de la Maza] exceeded expectations and the team came out with a clear understanding that scrum is the path forward. Our two goals of education and alignment were met 100%. We will definitely consider SourceCell (specifically Michael) for future sessions." -- Lee Evans, Sr. Project Manager, Retail Solutions

"Thank you very much for a wonderful experience. It was an awesome course and I would highly recommend to my colleges." -- Long, CSM, Santa Monica, California

"THANK YOU for a fantastic class! I learned quite a bit. Looking forward to attending your other training events!" -- Shawn, CSM, Santa Monica, California

"You were awesome. I'd take another class with you any day. Thanks for all you do." - Ann, S., CSM, Sacramento

"I really enjoyed the class, it was a lot of fun, and yet very informative, I learned a lot. I especially enjoyed the exercises (which is VERY unusual for me), they were just complex enough to serve as the basis for discussion, and just silly enough to be enjoyable to do with the team. THANK YOU!" -- Erik, CSM Attendee, Sacramento, California

"It is rare to find Kelley's combination of subject matter expert and deep caring for his students. I thoroughly enjoyed how lively and active Kelley's course was. It was clear that he puts an incredible amount of time into planning the lessons and accompanying activities. Everyone was on their feet working together with an hour of us getting there on Day 1. This sort of engagement helps you learn the lesson and put it to immediate use. This type of learning helps you to grasp concepts faster and remember them longer.I have taken a dozen Scrum workshops in various places but nothing came close to the depth and creativity I found in Kelley's course, he is simply the best!" -- Carol Glennon, CSM Attendee, Sunnyvale, California

"The course this weekend was spot-on. I took the exam last night and I'm now a CSM! You are one of the best trainers I've encountered. I'll definitely be taking other courses in the future." -- Stephanie S Griffin, PMP, CSM, Sr Project Manager / Business Analyst, GuideWorks

"Thanks for wonderful weekend course on Scrum. I have been with the team for sometime following scrum. After class I did get deep understanding. I found class fun and interactive. Had a great time. Thanks, Monika. PS Just got my certification." -- Monika, Certified Scrum Master, Palo Alto, California

"I really enjoyed meeting you! I found the class very valuable. You brought a great depth of knowledge and experience to the material, and made what could have been dry and boring information come to life, making the time flew by. I appreciate you! Thank you very much." -- Sandra, CSPO, Palo Alto, UX Team Leader

"Kelley has the unique & inherent ability to embody the spirit and benefits of Scrum & Agile through his language, delivery, mannerisms & energy. He leads by example. Kelley made us feel like he was a coach for us as a team...learning the benefits of Scrum and Agile LIVE! He delivers material with a freshness that seems remarkable" -- Paige Bishop, CSM Attendee, San Francisco Bay Area, California

"Hi Michael. Thanks again for the Agile/Scrum training at SLAC recently. I think it will go a long way towards making our team more productive." -- Nikola Stojanovic, Senior IT Business Analyst, Stanford University / SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California

"It was an honor to take a class with you. I had an amazing time in class, you made the concepts so interactive and simple for us. Thanks to that I got a full grade on the test." -- Bassel Bastiano Farran, MBA, CSM, California

"Kelley, You did a great job training! It takes a lot for a trainer to enjoy training. I got my CSM this morning, thank you!" -- Hilary Crandall, PMP, CSM, IT Training Project Manager, California

"My biggest problem with Kelley Harris’ CSM class was being able to sit still until the end to act on great ideas from it. As it was Sunday night after it ended I was already firing off related-memos for the Monday morning meeting. I would credit Kelley with inspiring me to speed up development projects and keep workers engaged and happy. I am pretty wary of any class teaching, in part, group dynamics and organizational skills. I wish I had skipped business school and during my management consulting career all the team building days had everybody at each other’s throats by the end. Kelley Harris’ class was, by contrast, great! I got a lot of out of the material, exercises and my classmates. And in 2 months I will go back for more!" -- Nick Levenstein, Founder, Mongoose Capital; Manager, SAMOCO, Santa Monica, California

"Thanks for a very informative and highly interactive class. I learned a lot from the course as well as from the fellow class members. I appreciate the mix of instruction, videos, q&a, games, team challenges, etc, all of which made me to get more out of the class than if had been just a straight lecture. I would highly recommend your class to others and plan to do so. BTW, I passed the test yesterday." -- Bharath, Palo Alto, California

"Hi Kelley. I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful class we had during the weekend. Even though I have been working in Agile for the past 2 years, I never really realized the importance of Agile methodology. The puzzle you made us to solve at the beginning of the class changed my perspective. THANK YOU!!!!" -- Madhu, Palo Alto, California

"I got the job at Cisco! Your class was instrumental in helping to make this happen!" -- Rick, San Francisco Bay Area

"Kelley's CSM training provided the ScrumMasters at Procore with a deep sense of of Agile values and principles. The hands on experiences reinforced not only the practices themselves, but why they work. The in-house training he did was was custom-tailored to our needs, and it sparked a lot of valuable conversations and changes to the way we do Agile." -- Dillon Kearns, Agile Coach & Trainer and Scrum Transformation Specialist, Procore, Santa Barbara, CA

"The on-site time with Elaine was very good, and has resulted in great progress on our side, where we were already using many agile processes we have adopted and formalized even more. We started using user stories in our requirements, we formalized our sprint schedule and have gotten into a good rhythm, we are using story points and have regularly scheduled rather than sporadic backlog grooming and sprint planning sessions. We also have committed to doing a retrospective every sprint, and are getting ready to do a Scrum Self Assessment." -- Tara Repka Flores, Assistant Vice President, Information Technology, Zenith Agribusiness Solutions

"The training that you and Elaine provided served as a good, strong foundation for the teams to understand scrum and be ready for thinking about and beginning their first sprints." -- Rebekah Jackson, Vice President, Program Management and Operations, Oracle, Pleasanton, California

"Highly informative, interactive, hands on activities. The instructor Kelley is an excellent facilitator and instructor, very engaging. The course is an overview of Agile/Scrum principles and practices and focuses on the Product Owner role, and the related events/activities." -- Steven, CSPO, Sr. Business Analyst, Sacramento, California

"Very interactive and inclusive. Everyone is engaged. Instructor (Kelley) is animated & presents material very well." -- Rupert, CSPO, Sacramento, California

"It was a great experience. Two fun days. It really went by quickly. I came to the class as a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM). I came here to deepen by Scrum knowledge, and learn more about the Product Owner role, to more efficiently work and collaborate with Product Owners. What I really like about Kelley is that his style is really clear and very engaging. He brought tons of activities to the class room, and got us up and moving around, which was great, very engaging. I also enjoyed that he had a lot of information about the latest terminology. ... We also learned a little bit about Lean Startup and some other concepts. Overall a very solid Product Owner class that I can highly recommend." -- Steffi Zacke, CSPO, CSM, Sr. Project Manager and Producer, Agile Professional, Honolulu, Hawaii

"Great overall exposure to Scrum, while still able to get into the nuanced details as well as real-life behavior. I liked the exercises and the ability to hear from different people from different companies on how Agile/Scrum is implemented." -- CSM attendee, Palo Alto, California, USA

"A very informative course geared toward understanding, standing up, and running a scrum team as a scrum master. Thoroughly enjoyed the interactive learning portions of the class, planning poker, sprints, roles, and estimation." -- CSM attendee, Palo Alto, California, USA

"Thank you for the great training. Passed, only missed one. They are tricky questions. I'm sure you covered everything but sometimes it's hard not to space out :) You did an awesome job." -- CSM attendee, Nestor (Alex) Orellana, Los Angeles, California

"I wanted to Thank you! For the class, I really appreciated all of the extra information you shared with the class regarding Lean Start-Up and Engineering Practices. Also I took the test this evening and “PASSED”. Thank you!" -- CSM attendee, Palo Alto, California, USA

"Elaine, Thank you for helping us launch our 3rd agile team. We are grateful for the training and expertise you've been able to share to enable our teams to start in the Agile/self-directed method. We are especially grateful for you sharing your expertise after the training sessions to provide feedback and share your experiences with teams you're leading elsewhere." -- Jon Garcia, VP Product Management, Toolwire, Pleasanton, California

"Provides a great fundamental overview of Scrum and the Scrum Master's role critical for any team member working in an agile/scrum environment." -- Nolan, CSM Course, San Francisco, CA.

"Concise course in the Scrum framework that removes all the confusion and ambiguities of Agile/Scrum, where they are generally lumped together." -- Marie, CSM Course, San Francisco, CA.

"The training was just what we are looking for to start a new agile team. Elaine helped us create a flexible, practical course plan for the day and she was extremely helpful in gathering feedback and helping iron out questions and issues after class with our product owner and Scrum Master. I'm hopeful that we grow each of the agile teams and reach a point to get a refresher from either of you two to continue growing in the self-management methodology." -- Jon Garcia, VP Product Management, Toolwire

"Thank you for the valuable information and excellent coaching over the weekend. I was able to pass the test in my first attempt and appreciate your patience in answering all the questions." -- attendee of a weekend CSM course, Palo Alto, California, USA

"Great perspective & level-set on Agile/Scrum. Eliminated misperceptions about what Scrum is and isn't" -- Dave, CSM Course, Sunnyvale, CA.

"Kelley lead Agile training for a new product team at Toolwire. Our goal was to provide Agile training for a group ~15 people with varying levels of experience with Agile to help use that methodology to launch products faster and to get market feedback faster. His preparation for our sessions was meticulous and gave me and senior management confidence in the training program. His training style was thoughtful and collaborative and non-dogmatic (concerning agile). His experience as a software manager really helped bring to life explaining the concepts and how we could tailor this methodology to help us most quickly. We've only had one sprint which is in-progress as of this recommendation but I see that the team and senior management are confident that we'll be able to deliver product faster and gather feedback faster compared to our previous approach. I recommend Kelley and am hopeful that we can bring him back to our organization again for training and coaching for other teams at Toolwire." -- Jon Garcia, VP Product Management at Toolwire

"It's a great course! If more people have understanding of Agile principles, organizations would be more productive and better places to work." -- Megha, CSM Course, Sunnyvale, CA.

"Easy to understand introduction to Scrum and Agile methodologies. Instructor is very patient and addresses questions and concerns." -- CSM Course, Sunnyvale, CA.

"The course was informative and an eye opener. The topics were described clearly and easy to understand." -- CSM attendee, Palo Alto, California, USA

"Great way to get fundamental knowledge of Agile/Scrum principles that you can take back and apply to your organization." -- Matt, CSM Course, San Francisco, CA.

"... world-class instructors. Learned more in two weeks than in an entire semester in collage." -- Software Engineer, Agile Object-Oriented Bootcamp, USA

"Kelley did a great job as a trainer. His ability to provide additional examples throughout the learning helped me grasp the concepts." -- Software professional, Certified ScrumMaster course, Canada

"Course was excellent and taught me many aspects of O-O design that I either did not know, or was unclear on. I am a better programmer because of this, and am confident I can apply what I learned in my work." -- Software Engineer, Agile Object-Oriented Bootcamp, USA

"Very informative about Scrum, with lots of practical examples. Highly recommended for a person who wants to learn Scrum." -- Ambrose, Cognizant, USA

"The topics will help me with my everyday job. The natural flow and direction of the learning fit nicely together ..." About the Instructor(s): "Great! Very knowledgeable ... Very positive and have a great attitude to learning, and helping others learn." -- Software Engineer, Agile Object-Oriented Bootcamp, UK

"Excellent delivery. Great content. Really enjoyable and gained loads of knowledge. ... wealth of knowledge and answered any questions asked or guided to the answer." About the Instructor(s): "... excellent, have a wealth of knowledge and answered any question asked or guided to the answer." -- Software Engineer, UK

"The discussion were well composed and thought provoking." -- Software Engineer, Agile Object-Oriented Bootcamp, USA

"Instructor is very patient and knowledgable" -- Software Engineer, Agile Fundamentals, Chennai India

"... demonstrated outstanding expertise in subject area. Appreciated the interactive nature of the course, which ensured strong engagement from all attendees. Learned a lot of good practices." About the Instructor(s): "Good clear communication, with comprehensive coverage of subject. Liked the way they avoided being judgmental and instead presented various options and perspectives." -- Software Engineer, Agile Object-Oriented Bootcamp, UK

"The interactive 'games' were very useful. Kelley was easy to approach and knowledgable." -- Software Engineer, India, Agile Fundamentals

"The content was very good, and was flexible enough to be easily adapted to our requirements." About the Instructor(s): "... The training style was incredibly engaging and allowed everyone to feel they were progressing. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire fortnight." -- Software Engineer, UK

"Course was really good. Got to know how to approach and implement things. Got a very good overview of OOP concepts, SOLID, design patterns, and more about Agile." About the Instructor(s): "... very good and encouraging." -- Software Engineer, UK

"The material was high quality and informative. The instructors were experts in the application of the material. The facilitators were very adept at explaining the material and providing experience-based examples for clarification." -- Software Engineer, US

"Well structured, approachable + knowledgeable facilitators, running the course in an open and conversational fashion. I like the way the structure is always open to suggestions from participants." About the Instructor(s): "Friendly guys, encouraging conversation about every topic is great way to keel all involved and maintain engagement. They have the knowledge to address any question thrown at them." -- Software Engineer, UK

"I like the fact the exercises were set like a working environment based story." About the Instructors: "Two fantastic guys with immense knowledge." -- Software Engineer, UK

"The exercises were a good way of reinforcing the principles and skills learned. Showcases were useful in learning different solutions to solving the same problem." About the Instructor(s): "... helpful when asked to clarify issues, and took the time to explain until I understood the concepts." -- Software Engineer, UK

"Created relaxed but encouraging learning experience." -- Software Engineer, UK