About

About

Born From Necessity

While working for private companies for nearly 25 years, Jim Schiel experienced environments that were ineffective and toxic. He watched as exhausted and frustrated people were overrun by their organization and its demands. Long hours and constantly shifting priorities; a lot happening, but little being accomplished. In 2009, Jim took action and began building a company he knew could combat the chaos.

Our Vision

We see a world with leaders prepared for the 21st century, working cooperatively, leveraging change and uncertainty to the benefit of their organization and their community.

Jim Schiel, Founder & CEO

Meet Our Team

Jim Schiel

Founder, Principle Instructor

Jim Schiel has more than 35 years of experience in software development, R&D management, leadership and Agile Development in highly regulated industries including healthcare and telecommunications. He has been a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) since 2005 and a Certified Scrum Professional (CSP) and Certified Scrum Trainer (CST) since 2006 and a Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) since 2008 when the certification was created.

Jim’s professional career started in 1983 as a systems programmer and operator. In 1985, he began working for Shared Medical Systems (purchased by Siemens Medical Solutions in 1999). He managed various development teams ranging in size from 5 to 80 developers where he instituted iterative project management processes and improved product quality, development performance, and customer satisfaction in his product areas. At Siemens, Jim transitioned an organization of 1,200 developers from waterfall and various iterative processes to Agile Development using Scrum and Extreme Programming (XP) practices. At the same time, Jim was coached by some of the thought leaders in the Agile space: Bob Martin, Jim Grenning, Mike Cohn, Ken Schwaber, and Esther Derby to name a few. Jim left Siemens in 2008 to begin working as an Agile coach and trainer and in 2009, founded Artisan Agility (formerly Artisan Software Consulting). Artisan provides coaching, training, and consulting to organizations attempting to transform into 21st century organizations.

Jim has been providing exceptional Agile training experiences for fifteen years and has trained more than 16,000 students in several countries around the world. He currently teaches several Scrum certification courses and provides workshops on agile leadership, Scrum and Agile techniques, agile management, release management, and more. Jim also provides coaching services to individuals and organizations looking to plan a transformation to agile development (using the Artisan Agility Chrysalis Framework) or to correct a transformation gone wrong.

Jim’s books, Enterprise-Scale Agile Software Development and The ScrumMaster’s Study Guide, published in 2009 and 2011 respectively, cover much of his experiences managing and guiding large-scale transformations as well as helping new Certified ScrumMasters learn how to use Scrum.

Jim has worked with companies and government organizations around the world, including the Project Management Institute (PMI), PepsiCo, Tektronix, Siemens, Schwab, H&R Block, JP Morgan Chase, Cisco, L3Harris, Capital One, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the US Air Force and the US Army and has helped save millions of dollars in costs by improving development practices and product quality.

LeAnne Notabartolo

Training Coordinator

LeAnne has spent all of her adult life in customer service. She has worked in banking, retail, hospitality, culinary, and travel. As a retired military wife, LeAnne knows how to adapt and overcome obstacles. A passion for food and cooking led her to culinary school late in life. In her off hours, LeAnne loves to expand her culinary knowledge by reading cookbooks, trying new recipes, and eating everything in sight.

Jake Schiel

Video Production & Graphics Designer

Jake brings a decade’s worth of experience creating and managing digital content. He holds a B.S. in Graphic Information Technology from Arizona State University. Not only does he bring creative experience, but years of experience in customer service. He knows how to combine his passion for creation along with his abilities to connect with and develop lasting customer relations.

FEATURED RESOURCE:

Successful Event Planning Guide

Download Now!

Swipe this FREE DOWNLOAD to supercharge your work sessions.

Normally available ONLY to Artisan students, we’re offering this handy guide to you for a limited time!

Certification Guarantee

We’re so confident in our training techniques that if you don’t pass the Certification Test on either of your two attempts that are included with your course, we’ll work with you to help you understand where you went wrong, and we’ll pay for you to re-take the test again and again until you pass.

We’ve offered this guarantee for several years, but nobody’s ever had to take us up on it!

Artisan Approach

Inspired Teams

Inspired teams build amazing products. Our experienced ScrumMasters identify what’s holding your teams back and turn them into high-performing teams by applying role-based training, team coaching, and professional staffing.

Artisan Staffing

Measurable Results

The outcome and impact of products and projects must be clear; it’s the only way to increase profits. Our product management coaching, enterprise agility training, and enterprise agility consulting can help you stand out.

Artisan Coaching

Agile Leaders

Agile leaders are the next generation of business leaders. They are passionate visionaries who attract loyal, hardworking team members with the help of our Scrum Certification training courses and our new Artisan Academy.

Artisan Training

Testimonials

Here’s what some of our clients had to say about us:

Artisan Agility
4.9
Based on 40 reviews
Artisan Agility
4.8
Based on 37 reviews
Artisan Agility
5.0
Based on 3 reviews
Vinita Jetley
Vinita Jetley
03/23/23
The trainer Jim is very knowledgable. He was able to answer all out questions and kept us engaged in the 2 day training.
Hunter Meloche
Hunter Meloche
01/06/23
Jim goes above and beyond what you need to pass the CSM exam. Highly recommended.
yeoda
yeoda
12/26/22
Learned so much about the Scrum principles and roles for an effective Scrum team. The two day training course was a great use of time and I have already begun sharing with other friends in different organizations. Thanks Jim and Artisan Agility!
David Wood
David Wood
12/19/22
Great working with Jim. His class was beneficial. Lots of real world examples!
Leila Kayl
Leila Kayl
11/02/22
Jim was an excellent instructor.The course content was thorough and the interaction with Jim and the others taking the course was great. I was very well prepared after this course to pass the certification.
Kristen Kerr
Kristen Kerr
11/01/22
Jim is great and the class was so helpful!
Yug Madhu
Yug Madhu
10/21/22
it's good
Eric Watkins
Eric Watkins
10/20/22
Great Course on scrum. Friendly and knowledgeable instructor
Shajan Kay
Shajan Kay
09/04/22
It was a good class and I passes the exam after.
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
08/11/22
Attended remote training session. Instructor Jim Schiel was knowledgeable and made the subject timely and interesting. I will be attending future events.
DougFromSales (TheItalian)
DougFromSales (TheItalian)
07/22/22
Jim was my instructor through this course. He was outstanding and everything he taught was compared to real life examples. This Company and their Instructors are worth the price of learning.
Michelle Frazier
Michelle Frazier
06/16/22
Artisan Agility provided excellent training. The content was great and he provided real life scenarios that help align how SCRUM can help move concept to realization
Matt Simon
Matt Simon
05/02/22
Informative, Engaging and Fun. I've done a lot of shorter lectures from other places that were unbearable, but Jim kept us engaged for 2 days. I think a big key was that its very much an active Socratic session where we were given the space to chime in, ask questions, voice an opinion. Possibly most impressive was that we actually did interact, which is a first for me, getting the class to take you up on that "ask questions" is not a simple thing.If more professors were like Jim college would be a lot shorter.
Amanda Mason
Amanda Mason
03/30/22
I just took the Certified Scrum Product Owner course virtually and it was super organized and informative. I'm able to take what I've learned and apply it to my daily responsibilities for better success of my project, team members, and customers.
R Grant
R Grant
02/26/22
Jim was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Pacing of the class time was great. Content was applicable at work. Would definitely take another class with Artisan in the future.
Ben Reilly
Ben Reilly
02/16/22
Jim is great. He’ll help you apply Agile to your specific organizational needs until your questions are answered. He strips down the clutter to apply concepts minimally without getting hung up on tooling/terms that can distract and overwhelm people. Excellent experience.
Danilo Faso
Danilo Faso
02/16/22
Hello Jim, The CSPO training was very informative and valuable to me. With real life examples and interactions with the group the course was easy to follow. I definitely recommend the rest of my team to join you.Thank you
Robert De Luca
Robert De Luca
01/10/22
Our Instructor Jim was really phenomenal! I really learned a lot from him. He had super useful and relevant examples that drove home the subject matter in a way that I have not experienced in an instructor lead, distance learning format. I will definitely take another class from Artisan Agility again.
David Kuhn
David Kuhn
11/12/21
Best agile training ever! Covered everything and gave us a solid grasp of what we need to do differently now.
Sara Mlv
Sara Mlv
10/13/21
Jim is extremely prepared and I really enjoyed this class , topics are well explained and you are kept engaged throughout the whole duration .
Although I ‘m completely new to Agile and Scrum world,I found it easy to understand, thanks to the ability of the teacher to transmit the contents.
hope to get soon into this work area .
Greatly recommend this class .
Robin Giguere
Robin Giguere
09/15/21
Found the class very useful, especially the second day. Jim was great at answering questions specific to the content and trying to giving advice on how to implement certain concepts within our unique organization.
Elaine Houle
Elaine Houle
09/15/21
My department recently finished Scrum Master training with Jim Schiel. Jim was extremely knowledgeable and patient with our group. The training process was very organized and walked us through the material with great slides, examples and discussion. I came out of the training with a very good understanding of what is involved in facilitating/being part of scrums. We can't wait to start implementing these principles. Thank you Jim!
Bruno van de Werve
Bruno van de Werve
09/06/21
Jim is a fantastic instructor, one of the very best i've had for sure (took his Scrum Product owner and Scrum master classes, 16h each). His broad and deep experience and expertise certainly contribute to his eloquence, and his personal touch help connect instantly, which is especially relevant in a remote/online training. The pace, content and depth of the training may appear slow and basic at first but dont worry, it will quickly reach highs in a very engaging manner. Bottom line: I'm now applying concepts learned at work for the better good, and would love to take the learning to the next level and dig into the advanced Scrum master training. Thank you again Jim, please keep it up!
Nidhi Agarwal
Nidhi Agarwal
08/23/21
I had a great class with Jim. Without difficulty I cleared the CSM exam as well.
Bahar Pakzad
Bahar Pakzad
08/04/21
Just finished my first course with Jim from Artisan Agility. It was a great experience. He is such a great coach.
Carlos Fernandez
Carlos Fernandez
06/30/21
The best training ever! It is so smooth that you don't know you are learning! I passed the exam 1st attempt 100%. Also with what I learned, I'm making a difference in my team and the organization. Thank you!
Carlos Fernández
Carlos Fernández
06/30/21
The best training ever! It is so smooth that you don't know you are learning! I passed the exam 1st attempt 100%. Also with what I learned, I'm making a difference in my team and the organization. Thank you! 😀
Kim Fortney
Kim Fortney
06/09/21
I would highly recommend this course to others. The knowledge received is useful to a wide range of people. It is basic enough that it can be understood by someone new to scrum and the basics can be reinforced and new ideas learned by people who have worked in scrum for a long time. I will definitely take some of the ideas that I learned and apply them to my daily work.
Jeremy
Jeremy
06/09/21
Jim is an attentive teacher and his years of experience in the industry mixed with his years of experience teaching made a perfect mix for a great Agile and Scrum trainer. He could answer every question in depth, and even give real-world examples from his own career to shed more light on pretty much every scenario. Would highly recommend!
Crazytown Kira
Crazytown Kira
04/15/21
The CSM course was excellent! Jim is such an awesome instructor and really prepared me for the exam. Following the course, I passed the exam a few hours after the final class ended. The course material is simple, to the point, and taught in an easy to understand manner. I highly recommend someone interested in becoming a Scrum Master to consider this course.
Tracey Holland Kay
Tracey Holland Kay
04/14/21
I completely enjoyed the CSM class with Jim Schiel. Even with it being on zoom he was able to keep us engaged. His guarantee to pass was an amazing draw, however you probably won’t need it he teaches it so well we all passed the 1st try!
Tracey Kay
Tracey Kay
04/14/21
I completely enjoyed the CSM class with Jim Schiel. Even with it being over Zoom he was able to keep us engaged! And his guarantee was an amazing draw, however I didn't need it I passed on the first try!
Lauren Nadolson
Lauren Nadolson
03/29/21
Recently had the pleasure of taking a course with these folks. At every step of the way they were incredibly helpful and friendly. The course taken was extremely helpful and the instructor Jim went out of his way to make sure he was getting us all the relevant information we might need.
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Vinita Jetley
03/23/23
The trainer Jim is very knowledgable. He was able to answer all out questions and kept us engaged in the 2 day training.
Hunter Meloche
01/06/23
Jim goes above and beyond what you need to pass the CSM exam. Highly recommended.
yeoda
12/26/22
Learned so much about the Scrum principles and roles for an effective Scrum team. The two day training course was a great use of time and I have already begun sharing with other friends in different organizations. Thanks Jim and Artisan Agility!
David Wood
12/19/22
Great working with Jim. His class was beneficial. Lots of real world examples!
Jeremy Wills
12/16/22
Garrett Anderson
11/21/22
Leila Kayl
11/02/22
Jim was an excellent instructor.The course content was thorough and the interaction with Jim and the others taking the course was great. I was very well prepared after this course to pass the certification.
Kristen Kerr
11/01/22
Jim is great and the class was so helpful!
Yug Madhu
10/21/22
it's good
Eric Watkins
10/20/22
Great Course on scrum. Friendly and knowledgeable instructor
Shajan Kay
09/04/22
It was a good class and I passes the exam after.
Christopher Smith
08/11/22
Attended remote training session. Instructor Jim Schiel was knowledgeable and made the subject timely and interesting. I will be attending future events.
DougFromSales (TheItalian)
07/22/22
Jim was my instructor through this course. He was outstanding and everything he taught was compared to real life examples. This Company and their Instructors are worth the price of learning.
Michelle Frazier
06/16/22
Artisan Agility provided excellent training. The content was great and he provided real life scenarios that help align how SCRUM can help move concept to realization
Matt Simon
05/02/22
Informative, Engaging and Fun. I've done a lot of shorter lectures from other places that were unbearable, but Jim kept us engaged for 2 days. I think a big key was that its very much an active Socratic session where we were given the space to chime in, ask questions, voice an opinion. Possibly most impressive was that we actually did interact, which is a first for me, getting the class to take you up on that "ask questions" is not a simple thing.If more professors were like Jim college would be a lot shorter.
Amanda Mason
03/30/22
I just took the Certified Scrum Product Owner course virtually and it was super organized and informative. I'm able to take what I've learned and apply it to my daily responsibilities for better success of my project, team members, and customers.
Stephanie Novin
03/06/22
R Grant
02/26/22
Jim was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Pacing of the class time was great. Content was applicable at work. Would definitely take another class with Artisan in the future.
Ben Reilly
02/16/22
Jim is great. He’ll help you apply Agile to your specific organizational needs until your questions are answered. He strips down the clutter to apply concepts minimally without getting hung up on tooling/terms that can distract and overwhelm people. Excellent experience.
Danilo Faso
02/16/22
Hello Jim, The CSPO training was very informative and valuable to me. With real life examples and interactions with the group the course was easy to follow. I definitely recommend the rest of my team to join you.Thank you
Robert De Luca
01/10/22
Our Instructor Jim was really phenomenal! I really learned a lot from him. He had super useful and relevant examples that drove home the subject matter in a way that I have not experienced in an instructor lead, distance learning format. I will definitely take another class from Artisan Agility again.
Anton Egorov
12/20/21
David Kuhn
11/12/21
Best agile training ever! Covered everything and gave us a solid grasp of what we need to do differently now.
Colin Wilcoxen
11/10/21
Sara Mlv
10/13/21
Jim is extremely prepared and I really enjoyed this class , topics are well explained and you are kept engaged throughout the whole duration .
Although I ‘m completely new to Agile and Scrum world,I found it easy to understand, thanks to the ability of the teacher to transmit the contents.
hope to get soon into this work area .
Greatly recommend this class .
Robin Giguere
09/15/21
Found the class very useful, especially the second day. Jim was great at answering questions specific to the content and trying to giving advice on how to implement certain concepts within our unique organization.
Elaine Houle
09/15/21
My department recently finished Scrum Master training with Jim Schiel. Jim was extremely knowledgeable and patient with our group. The training process was very organized and walked us through the material with great slides, examples and discussion. I came out of the training with a very good understanding of what is involved in facilitating/being part of scrums. We can't wait to start implementing these principles. Thank you Jim!
Bruno van de Werve
09/06/21
Jim is a fantastic instructor, one of the very best i've had for sure (took his Scrum Product owner and Scrum master classes, 16h each). His broad and deep experience and expertise certainly contribute to his eloquence, and his personal touch help connect instantly, which is especially relevant in a remote/online training. The pace, content and depth of the training may appear slow and basic at first but dont worry, it will quickly reach highs in a very engaging manner. Bottom line: I'm now applying concepts learned at work for the better good, and would love to take the learning to the next level and dig into the advanced Scrum master training. Thank you again Jim, please keep it up!
Nidhi Agarwal
08/23/21
I had a great class with Jim. Without difficulty I cleared the CSM exam as well.
Bahar Pakzad
08/04/21
Just finished my first course with Jim from Artisan Agility. It was a great experience. He is such a great coach.
Carlos Fernandez
06/30/21
The best training ever! It is so smooth that you don't know you are learning! I passed the exam 1st attempt 100%. Also with what I learned, I'm making a difference in my team and the organization. Thank you!
Carlos Fernández
06/30/21
The best training ever! It is so smooth that you don't know you are learning! I passed the exam 1st attempt 100%. Also with what I learned, I'm making a difference in my team and the organization. Thank you! 😀
Kim Fortney
06/09/21
I would highly recommend this course to others. The knowledge received is useful to a wide range of people. It is basic enough that it can be understood by someone new to scrum and the basics can be reinforced and new ideas learned by people who have worked in scrum for a long time. I will definitely take some of the ideas that I learned and apply them to my daily work.
Jeremy
06/09/21
Jim is an attentive teacher and his years of experience in the industry mixed with his years of experience teaching made a perfect mix for a great Agile and Scrum trainer. He could answer every question in depth, and even give real-world examples from his own career to shed more light on pretty much every scenario. Would highly recommend!
Luis Hernandez
05/26/21
Crazytown Kira
04/15/21
The CSM course was excellent! Jim is such an awesome instructor and really prepared me for the exam. Following the course, I passed the exam a few hours after the final class ended. The course material is simple, to the point, and taught in an easy to understand manner. I highly recommend someone interested in becoming a Scrum Master to consider this course.
Tracey Holland Kay
04/14/21
I completely enjoyed the CSM class with Jim Schiel. Even with it being on zoom he was able to keep us engaged. His guarantee to pass was an amazing draw, however you probably won’t need it he teaches it so well we all passed the 1st try!
Tracey Kay
04/14/21
I completely enjoyed the CSM class with Jim Schiel. Even with it being over Zoom he was able to keep us engaged! And his guarantee was an amazing draw, however I didn't need it I passed on the first try!
Lauren Nadolson
03/29/21
Recently had the pleasure of taking a course with these folks. At every step of the way they were incredibly helpful and friendly. The course taken was extremely helpful and the instructor Jim went out of his way to make sure he was getting us all the relevant information we might need.
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