About David
David's professional experience spans roles of; Agile Trainer, Agile Coach, Scrum Master, Kanban Service Delivery Manager, Team Leader and Software Developer in a variety of industries, including finance, eCommerce, social housing and education. He is a Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer (PST), and a Kanban University Accredited Kanban Trainer (AKT) and Kanban Coaching Professional (KCP). David is also the co-author of the books Facilitating Professional Scrum Teams, Mastering Collaboration in a Product Team and Adopting Agile Across Borders.
David is a Course Delivery Enabler with Scrum.org. CDEs act as ambassadors for the Scrum.org courses that they support for the Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer community. This involves working closely with the community to improve course delivery and supporting Professional Scrum Trainers in gaining deep understanding of the intent and design of the courses and collaborating with trainers and the Scrum.org Courseware Team to identify and refine ideas for improving the delivery of courses.
David believes in servant leadership, and he values environments where empowerment, autonomy and flexibility enable teams to do the best work possible. He is committed to continuous learning and development in himself and others. He is passionate about getting the best out of teams and seeing people reach their full potential.
David is active in the global Agile community, including blogging, and speaking at conferences and meetups around the world.
David enjoys travelling, keeping fit, the outdoors and spending quality time with his guitar.
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What students say about David
Sep 18, 2023
The Professional Scrum with Kanban…
The Professional Scrum with Kanban class with Red Tangerine was a very informative and eye opening class. It's a great refresh of the scrum knowledge as well as understanding the essentials of both Scrum and Kanban. David Spinks is an amazing trainer and facilitator. It was one of the best trainings I had and I really enjoyed it the whole time. I'd definitely recommend anyone to get at least one training from David and Red Tangerine.
Aug 22, 2023
Great practical insights and engaging
Great practical insights and engaging! Happily recommend to anyone.
Aug 9, 2023
The class was very well organised
The class was very well organised. David shared his vast experience and attendees had enough practice sessions. David is an exceptional trainer and highly recommend him.
Jul 23, 2023
David is a great facilitator
David is a great facilitator. Engaging class, lots of interaction whilst providing essential info and knowledge on the discipline, tools and lots more.
Would highly recommend.
Mar 24, 2023
David Spinks and Glaudia Califano are…
David Spinks and Glaudia Califano are wonderful facilitators and trainers. Plus, the class is wonderfully designed, with a nice mixture of applied learning on various facilitation techniques to juice up one's facilitation toolbox. Energy levels are high from beginning to end.
Mar 22, 2023
Great PSPO course
The course was extremely interactive and the trainer gave lots of real world examples to help provide context around the material.
Feb 15, 2023
Class was Excellent
Class was excellent, our trainer ran us through great scenarios and mixed up our groups which I thought was an excellent idea.
Jan 30, 2023
Professional training with getting hands dirty
Good atmosphere on the training. Refreshed current SCRUM knowledge + got the new interesting knowledge.
Jan 9, 2023
Great content and awesome trainer with interactive hands on examples.
It was a very well planned class with great content and hands on case studies. It was so informative and interactive class that we learned a lot and felt like a physical class.
Jan 8, 2023
Great Trainer
Great Trainer, Great Course
Dec 18, 2022
Excellent hands facilitation class
Excellent hands on class that confirmed my facilitation skills in a Scrum context. Looking forward to teach and share the experience in the future
Nov 8, 2022
David @ Red Tangerine facilitated my…
David @ Red Tangerine facilitated my training course and it was a great experience. The content was well presented and the activities well structured. I will definitely look to use them again for future Scrum training.
Nov 2, 2022
Awesome class
Awesome class. It helped me answer all the uncertain questions I had regarding scrum, agile, and roles of a scrum master. Thanks Red Tangerine/David Spinks!
Oct 28, 2022
Wonderful trainers and helpful class
Wonderful trainers and helpful class
Oct 28, 2022
Amazing training experience!
Amazing training experience!
In a very short timebox, Glaudia and David were able to engage a very dynamic class with real life examples and tales from their experience. We've learned powerful techniques and also practiced some of them during. It was one of the best classes that I've participated in.
Oct 28, 2022
Fantastic experience …
Fantastic experience …. Thanks for the experience
Oct 23, 2022
Very interactive
Very interactive
Oct 23, 2022
Challenging and useful
The delivery by David Spinks at Red Tangerine was both challenging and informative. The trainers were very engaged with the class and I learnt a lot.
I enjoyed it very much.
Oct 21, 2022
Very informative and interesting…
Very informative and interesting course. The mixture of learning was well-balanced and the group activities were hugely beneficial.
Oct 21, 2022
The session was well organised & very engaging
The session was well organised, very good content, I enjoyed the collaborative sessions in my team and interactions with other teams. learnt current updates to the scrum guide. learnt more about TDD and how teams can deliver quality done and valuable increments frequently.
Oct 21, 2022
Great course
A very intense 3 day course which included 3 90 minute sprints! Well paced, very interactive and lots of fun. David and Glaudia were excellent teachers
Oct 21, 2022
An excellent course/workshop
A great interactive course with lots of conversation and activities. I would recommend this to anyone working in a Scrum team, or interested in learning more about Scrum
Sep 20, 2022
David and Glaudia were perfect…
David and Glaudia were the perfect trainers.
I really enjoyed the 2 days.
Loved how David allowed us to discuss the points however managed to keep us on track!
Sep 16, 2022
Scrum With Kanban PSK Course
As usual Scrum.Org delivers a great learning experience. Loads of useful tools, tips and knowledge relevant to my work. Skilfully facilitated and I was kept engaged and on my toes throughout the two days.
Sep 14, 2022
David was incredibly friendly and…
David was incredibly friendly and thorough in his teaching. David was able to ensure the group were engaged and had sufficient breaks to keep hydrated and focused. I hope the next course is led by David.
Aug 25, 2022
Excellent course
Excellent course. The instructor was brilliant - knowledgable, fun, and engaging. The pace was spot on, especially given some complex real-world areas.
Even as someone who has been working with Scrum for a long time, I found it very useful to brush up on some areas, learned some new things, and felt reinvoigorated to bring new practises to our teams
Aug 24, 2022
Had a fantastic time with David and…
Had a fantastic time with David and Glaudia. Learned a lot that I have already put into practice.
Aug 24, 2022
Nice and very helpful class
Nice and very helpful class. It is nice to see so much new information
Aug 10, 2022
Great PSPO course hosted by Red Tangerine
A very interactive 2 days with David. He is knowledgeable, accommodating and engaging, It was a pleasure to attend his course.
Aug 10, 2022
Good training for everyone who wants to get insides of scrum and PO
Thank you very much for the training. I got many insides on scrum and PO.
David is a great trainer and he explained material the way that professionals and beginners could understand everything.
Aug 1, 2022
A very hands-on course
A very hands-on course, and a great opportunity to meet with others in different roles and share experiences. I would have liked a bit more pointers on the assessment during the course but a follow up on the assessment is provided separately.
Jul 4, 2022
David Spinks is an excellent teacher…
David Spinks is an excellent teacher and his teaching methods are great. Very clear and concise. He has helped me to understand concepts of Scrum in Software Development.
Jul 4, 2022
It was good session and learned a lot
It was good session and learned a lot
Mar 29, 2022
Really impressed by the way the class…
Really impressed by the way the class was given, example discussions and the ability to provide real world examples relative to your disciple, Well Done, I would suggest anyone learning Agile to attend this course as a PO.
Mar 21, 2022
Excellent introduction to SCRUM MASTER training.
Excellent introduction to SCRUM MASTER training. Neat and concise
Feb 21, 2022
I found the course really insightful…
I found the course really insightful with lots of debate which helped my learning throughout.
Feb 14, 2022
Full disclosure
Full disclosure: I am PST.
I found the insights from David very helpful and enjoyed the metrics and practices of Kanban with simulation. Very helpful in order to work with Scrum Teams.
THANKS David!
Feb 9, 2022
David explained things in a simple
David explained things in a simple, clear and easy to understand way. 2 full days on Zoom didnt feel as tough as it sounded when I signed up as a result of the variety of activities and learning content
Jan 10, 2022
Excellent training by excellent…
Excellent training by excellent trainer; Highly recommend the class
Dec 6, 2021
Glaudia & David are exceptional…
Glaudia & David are exceptional trainers with a focus to impact lives with their expertise. I am a Professional Scrum Master with Kanban.
Glaudia & David are embodiments of the Agile mindset, they are doing Agile, they live & breathe Agile
Their impact and sacrifice in Africa cannot be measured and thank you for supporting LEARNTOR
Without the support of Scrum.org none of the successes recorded by LEARNTOR would be possible. As a PTN we appreciate Scrum.org family
Nov 24, 2021
Awesome knowledge sharing experience!!
Awesome knowledge sharing experience!!
Nov 22, 2021
An excellent refresher on Scrum and indepth look at Kanban's application to Scrum teams.
An excellent refresher on Scrum and indepth look at Kanban's application to Scrum teams.
Nov 22, 2021
The course was practical oriented…
The course was practical oriented precise and contained lots of valuable information about Professional Scrum with Kanban. I would recommend David and Claudia anytime.
Nov 19, 2021
Amazing that we learnt scrum principles…
Amazing that we learnt scrum principles and practices by doing 3 spints in the training classes itself, very well structured and organised.
Nov 14, 2021
Very informational and engaging
This class was very fun, interactive, and engaging. I was able to learn a lot of information and get a lot of notes in.
Nov 14, 2021
Very Interactive, would recommend!
the class was awesome I learned so much about scrum, David was very helpful.
Nov 14, 2021
The class was very engaging and easy to…
The class was very engaging and easy to understand, the instructor cleared any questions we had and offered great input.
Nov 11, 2021
Great job David Spinks!
The class that I was in was amazing, my instructor David Spinks did a great job at teaching us the core values of Scrum and how to utilize them.
Sep 8, 2021
PSK training experience
This has been one of my best trainings so far. David is a great facilitator and he challenged us to think and give answers, learning path was amazing. Bravo David, thank you for this experience!
Sep 8, 2021
Amazing class held by David Spinks
Amazing class held by David Spinks!
With so much interaction in the class, I've felt like I was in the same room with the other ones attending the class. It's not just about Kanban in Scrum it's also about the psychology behind it and nurturing a proper mindset.
Excellent.
Aug 23, 2021
Good balance between theory and…
Good balance between theory and practise. Trainer challenged with tricky questions along the course to make sure we think before we answer.
Jul 21, 2021
David Spinks is outstanding
David Spinks is outstanding
Jul 13, 2021
David made the class fun and was very…
David made the class fun and was very engaging. I feel confident I'm on the right track to getting my certification!
Jul 6, 2021
I love this course
I love this course, the training materials, the structure the trainer's professionalism, experience, and value-added in the way the training was held, and the experience. I fully recommend it, I learned a lot from it and after two days I was sad to see the training ended. I hope to have more inspiring trainings like this
Jun 23, 2021
Great learning experience
Great learning experience. David shared a lot of very usefull stories and was also great in facilitating the many conversations.
May 11, 2021
A thorough and interactive 2 day…
A thorough and interactive 2 day session on Scrum, and how to apply it. David is an engaging and relaxed trainer who puts his class at ease from the word go.
I would recommend this course to everyone interested in Scrum
May 11, 2021
I think it was good class
I think it was good class, definitely worth it
May 10, 2021
Scrum Master review Luis Hontoria
the course was well conducted with clear content and lot of practical exercices , David is a motivated teacher and tries to involve evrybody .
Maybe to improve the whole course i would include some practical examples in Jira for example of Scrum organized projects.
Thanks , regards.
May 8, 2021
Loved the class
Loved the class, the instructor is knowledgable, engaging, adaptive to the interests of the group, and has loads of insightful stories and experiences. Thoroughly recommend the class, and this trainer.
May 5, 2021
Very engaging and insightful. Highly recommended trainers.
David and Glaudia compensated with each other in the training. They provided a lot of insightful, real-world situation that everyone can understand. The activities are really engaging despite being virtual. Topics were covered enough. Everyone is given the opportunity to speak. All questions and concerns were answered properly. Highly recommended trainers for this course.
Apr 28, 2021
Great class
Great class! Learn so many new tools. Dave and Glaudia, made the class really interactive. Loved the Kanban simulation. A great example of learning by doing. And Yes, Scrum and Kanban are not binary choices, they complement each really well.
Apr 14, 2021
This was a really useful course in a…
This was a really useful course in a pertinent time within our transformation. Really valuable and came away super knowledgeable and excited to implement learnings
Mar 31, 2021
Clear, concise, with the right amount of fun
The course contents were very well taught and enhanced with additional examples such as real-world stories. The right amount of fun in the course kept it light and ongoing. Highly recommended!
Mar 9, 2021
Excellent course
Excellent course, very interactive. David is very knowledgeable and the class was designed to engage us and have us learn by doing, rather than only focusing on the theory. highly recommended!
Mar 8, 2021
The programme was very well designed…
The programme was very well designed and executed. David is an excellent trainer and the participants of the programme were energetic too.
Jan 27, 2021
very good
very good didactics, lots of real life examples
professional use of online techniques
works good remote
Jan 18, 2021
Great class with lots of fun exercises and very good content
The class was jam packed with very useful information about applying Kanban to Scrum. The two trainers have been very competent and made the course a fun experience. We did a lot of practical exercises and got all of our questions answered. I definitely would recommend the course to anybody who is interested in combining Kanban with Scrum in the right way.
Jan 17, 2021
For me the first day of this in-house…
For me the first day of this in-house training was too basic. Esp. for a group of software engineers with an average of over 10 years of experience in Kanban. Skip day 1 and start with day 2 and extend the discussions there to an additional day. The analysis part and expert experience exchange is where it got interesting.
Jan 14, 2021
I love the training that I had with…
I love the training that I had with David with the YEarup program, he is AMAZING!
Jan 14, 2021
This class was amazing
This class was amazing! David was the best instructor and kept it professional while being casual with us. 10/10 recommend!
Jan 14, 2021
The class was fun
The class was fun, engaging, and informative. You will leave knowing more about scrum and wanting to learn more!
Jan 14, 2021
It was wonderful to have you as our…
It was wonderful to have you as our instructor! I learned so much and I have a better understanding of scrum.
I enjoyed your method of teaching and I was able to retain 90% of the information given. I would also like to praise you on the Murals- they were very detail and beneficial for us. Keep the music and breaks going, they kept us going! Overall, everything was superb and valuable. Thank You!
Dec 18, 2020
Initial SCRUM experience
The training was well maintained and David is very professional but also very close to the real-life scenarios. For me personally, this experience will be for sure the gateway for the next SCRUM pieces of training
Aug 19, 2020
PSK I course with David Spinks and Glaudia Califano
I loved the PSK I course! A great mix between theory and exercises, where the finer points of Scrum with Kanban are explained in detail. Points that I had missed while trying to learn this in self-study. All by all I had a great experience that I will recommend to everyone that wants to learn about PSK.
May 6, 2020
Excellent trainer
Excellent trainer, clearly very knowledge but also pleasant to work with. They offer an exam prep session as well. It was a virtual class for two days. David really pulled it off - keeping the class interactive with lots of exercises and team work.
Apr 30, 2020
Remote training worked really well
Fantastic course to re-affirm the foundations and first principals of scrum. Excellently taught given it was my first remote course. The virtual breakout rooms and choice of exercises and activities and tooling was exceptional. Highly recommended.
Apr 30, 2020
Highly recommended
Great class, very engaging and a good mix between theory & interactive activities!
Apr 29, 2020
Great learning experience
Great learning experience. One of the best introductory Scrum class.
Structure of class was great.
Mar 3, 2020
Highly experienced and engaging trainers in the Agile-Lean environment
I participated in the two-day PSK class in January 2020 and decided to pursue this with the Red Tangerine.
The class was interactive and well structured with plenty of group activities. The trainers (David Spinks and Glaudia Califano) were highly skilled at keeping the group engaged with real life examples, bringing to life how to apply Scrum and Kanban in a practical way.
The environment of the class was one of support, learning, play, conversation and fun. I would highly recommend both David and Glaudia for anyone that is interested in Scrum and Kanban trainings.
I passed the PSK exam within two weeks of the course and this is a testament to the reading materials, exam support, and learning shared by David and Glaudia.
Jan 15, 2020
Subject Experts and Expert Teaching
Glaudia and David are excellent learning facilitators, experts at guiding people to the answers. This course was also excellent, helping to address long standing questions that come up time and time again whilst teaching new techniques to take work optimisation to another level. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and feel better equipped.
Jan 15, 2020
Super fun and creative class which…
Super fun and creative class which covered everything in great detail. I will be using Glaudia and David again for sure!
Oct 24, 2019
PSK a must for any scrum master
Great two days of learning, loved very minute of the sessions and the information shared was very useful and has made me rethink my approach to applying Scrum. I would recommend this course to any who wants to take their scrum mastery to the next level.
Courses taught by David
Applying Professional Scrum
Applying Professional Scrum for Software Development
Professional Agile Leadership - Evidence Based Management
Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills
Professional Scrum with Kanban
Professional Scrum Master
Professional Scrum Master II
Professional Scrum Master and Professional Scrum Product Owner
Professional Scrum Product Backlog Management Skills
Professional Scrum Product Owner
Professional Scrum Product Owner - Advanced
Professional Scrum with User Experience
Other Services by David
- Coaching/Consulting
- Private Courses
Upcoming Classes by David
See all upcoming classes
Live Virtual
Date: Feb 13-16, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM Europe/London
Live Virtual
Date: Feb 26-27, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Europe/London
In Person
Date: Mar 4-5, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
Central London, United Kingdom
Live Virtual
Date: Mar 11-14, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM Europe/London
Live Virtual
Date: Mar 20, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Europe/London
Live Virtual
Date: Apr 22, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Europe/London
Live Virtual
Date: Apr 23-26, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
2:00 PM - 5:30 PM Europe/London
Live Virtual
Date: May 2-3, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Europe/London
Live Virtual
Date: May 28-31, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
2:00 PM - 5:30 PM Europe/London
Live Virtual
Date: Jun 3-4, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Europe/London
Live Virtual
Date: Jun 6, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Europe/London
Live Virtual
Date: Jun 11-13, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Europe/London
Latest Blogs by David
See all blogs
In this article we discuss why agile engineering practices in software development are essential To achieve agility.
In this article, we discuss how forecasting in VUCA has always been problematic and the questions that should be asked instead.
In this article, we discuss the concept of self-management Scrum and how it is more than a Scrum Team making its own decisions.
A lot of talk in the Agile space centres on breaking down silos, and yet it appears that in practice it is one of the things that is met with the most inertia.
While many misinterpretations and misunderstandings have spread on the “what” and “how” of Agile, it is perhaps the “why” - the purpose of being Agile - that has become most lost.
The 2017 version of the Scrum Guide states, "The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product resulting from work of the Development Team." But what does value mean anyway?
A typical Kanban board shows a series of steps or activities that work passes through. Does this mean that Kanban is only suitable for "linear" processes? Scrum is a proven strategy for addressing complex adaptive problems, so if Kanban is linear, is it an unsuitable complimentary practice to add to Scrum?
“Our problem is that we can’t plan Sprints accurately with velocity,” he said. “Some Sprints, our velocity is really high, in others, we barely achieve anything.”
At a recent training class one of the delegates spoke about their present company, about how it was the most “Agile” place he had ever worked.