About Jesse
Jesse is a passionate trainer and coach, helping teams improve their productivity and quality all the while trying to keep work fun. He is a Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) through Scrum.org for the Professional Scrum Foundations, Professional Scrum Master and Developer programs. With a strong background in the .NET platform, Jesse is able to translate the needs of development teams when it comes to tools to manage work, build the code and keep quality up. Through his extensive coaching of Scrum Masters, Product Owners and Development managers Jesse is able to bridge the technical world of developers with the commercial world of those creating a marketable product or service.
Jesse regularly blogs and contributes to StackExchange, he has received the Microsoft Community Contributor Award three years in a row and has been awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional since 2015. He has spoken at conferences and user groups, including Techorama, Microsoft TechDays, Scrum Day Europe and Scrum Alliance Agile Conference. He has contributed to a number of open source products that extend Azure DevOps and Visual Studio.
Trainer certifications:
- Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer
- DevOps Agile Skills Association
- Phoenix Project Game Facilitator
- Microsoft certified Trainer (MCT)
- GitHub Accredited Trainer
In past years Jesse has delivered Scrum, ALM and DevOps training all over the world, most recently in Amsterdam, Brussels, Bucharest, Melbourne, Sydney, Milan, Frankfurt, Madrid, Bangalore and Mumbai.
Jesse is married to Charlotte, father Lily Rose and Mika Charlie and lives in Amersfoort. He loves espresso and dark chocolate, travels a lot and takes photos everywhere he goes.
Jesse delivers the Scrum.org courses through the following Scrum.org Network Partners:
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What students say about Jesse
Feb 2, 2024
Very engaging
Very engaging. Lots of different exercises and insights. Inspiring trainer
Jan 25, 2024
Very practical and insightfull training…
This training gave more and better insight in my role as Scrum Master. I am more confident now how to drive change and support teams in succesfull application of Scrum. The training was full of practical experiences which was great to hear and could relate with.
Jan 24, 2024
Great interactive class
Great interactive class. Enthusiastic teacher.
Dec 13, 2023
Recommended!
Jesse has a relaxt and authentic style to teach the scrum principles, the training brought new insights that I find very useful to become a better product owner.
Nov 23, 2023
Insightful on how to use kanban in a scrum environment
Really insightfull training about how you can use kanban to amplify and empower your scrum way of working. Jesse talks from experience and gives realistic examples that makes situations or issues understandable how to tackle them.
Nov 21, 2023
Very nice trainer and venue
Very nice trainer and venue. Good training materials and allied to the various situations of the trainees.
Oct 27, 2023
It was a great class
It was a great class. experienced people sharing real world challenges and a great experienced trainer that you can learn a lot from. Thanks a lot!!
Oct 27, 2023
Virtual bliss!
I approached Xebia's PSMII training with reservations but was pleasantly surprised. The course was thoughtfully structured with ample breaks to reduce screen fatigue. The in-depth insights on Scrum were its highlight, combining theory with real-world application. The trainer was engaging and knowledgeable, ensuring a clear grasp of the material. With interactive sessions mirroring in-person workshops, Xebia's training is a top-notch choice for anyone aiming to master Scrum.
Highly recommended! 👍🏼📘📈
Oct 18, 2023
Informative
Informative, interactive. Wasn't bored for even a moment
Oct 9, 2023
Great class
Great class, nice instructor, good food as well.
Sep 20, 2023
Good training
Good training, a knowledgeable trainer and room for interaction.
Sep 13, 2023
Good interactive workshop
The interaction between the trainer and the group was great. Lot's of excercises and discussions to work on our PO skills.
Sep 12, 2023
Knowledgeable trainer for PSPO-A
Knowledgeable trainer with tons of practical use cases and good discussion.
Sep 12, 2023
Inspirational
Great combination of theory and practical cases. Very usefull in real business-life. Jesse has a great vibe as well, and motivates the group to grow.
Sep 5, 2023
great teacher
Jesse forced me to think and reflect on my work situation during the training. During exercises we focused on thinking about the problem not endless presenting of each participants result.
It helped me nailed the Certification!
Sep 1, 2023
Good training!
The way Jesse explains the material is great. He combines humor with the things i need to learn. He keeps you activated through out the whole training.
Jul 6, 2023
Good class. Remark: not focussed on scaling issues
The PSU class was teached well and the service was excellent.
I had hoped the content of the class would be more focussed on the issues you run into combining UX and Scrum in a big organisation. And class mates worked in smaller organisations and had other experience. So we couldn't go that deep into it. I understood that we actually have scaling issues, so an other class is more suited towards that part of the knowledge I was looking for. It is difficult to know upfront in what class one should be to solve the problem one wants to solve. Next time I might call the training organisation with my biggest question, to check which class is suited.
Yet, it is a big plus that I understand now that the cause is how one scales.
And the trainer catered quite well to my questions.
[ Review is adjusted based on the response of scrum.org below. The first version was more negative then I now think of it. ]
Jul 4, 2023
Welcoming service
Welcoming service. Good trainers. Good combination of practice and theory.
Jun 20, 2023
PSK by Jesse Houwing is an awesome experience!
Jesse Houwing is an awesome trainer who has a compelling way of storytelling and is able to combine his knowledge with practical tips. One of my favourite trainers at Xebia.
Jun 19, 2023
Tangible Experience
It was a very interactive class with real-life scenarios which made the application of the techniques more tangible.
Jun 19, 2023
Recommended
The course was practical and interactive, with important insights for the certification exam. The trainer managed the class well, shared great stories and was keeping a good pace between theory and exercises. Great learning experience!
Jun 15, 2023
Creating a safe group environment from…
Creating a safe group environment from the start, Jesse Houwing immediately paves the way for a great collaborative day of training. Learning by doing is the mantra while still having space for sharing experiences, tips and humor.
Jun 14, 2023
Awesome training for every Scrum Master
An awesome training for every Scrum Master that wants to expand her / his facilitation skills. Learned new techniques and gained new insights that will definitely benefit my team and my development as a Scrum professional.
May 29, 2023
Nice interactions and the way the…
Nice interactions and the way the training was provided by the teacher was great
May 25, 2023
Got to tweak my hands-on SM knowledge
Got to tweak my hands-on SM knowledge, learned a lot from the other trainee's and had in Jesse a great trainer.
May 24, 2023
Hands on training where lots was learned
It was nice to have such a small group. That meant there weren't hours filled with answering personal questions.
It was nice that it was very interactive and not just listening.
The trainer did everything with lots of humor, no training or meeting should ever be without.
The experience of the trainer helped clear up any questions and we learned so much by doing and thinking of things by ourselves and then discuss it afterwards. Everything's sticks better this way.
Everything around the training was well organised.
Apr 14, 2023
Scrum thought leadership
Focus on Scrum thought leadership, and full skill-set of a Scrum Product Owner from Product Management perspective. Lots of hands-on training material & flexibility to adjust to discussions by attendees.
Mar 31, 2023
A good lesson about scrum master's role is dat you must have leader /coaching/ teacher skills
A good lesson about scrum master's role and character. what kind of person you have to be if you want to be a successful scrum master.
he had many examples so you know he is an expersion teacher and he worked in many companies so he could share his knowledge
Mar 10, 2023
Good structure of the learning…
Good structure of the learning material.
And very good information out of the real world of practice of scrum. Many examples of companies working with scrum and in relation to our own situation.
Instructor Jesse was very pleasant and his knowledge of practice and how to do things was impressive.
Feb 28, 2023
Good to excellent teaching/coaching by Jesse.
We were very much invited to interact. And the switching between groups and tables. I loved the assignments, I met the whole group of new people, but it was so easy to chat and learn about each other. I will do it again at Xebia, and hopefully with Jesse Houwing. Great learning experience for me. Bye, Renald Laing.
Feb 15, 2023
Jesse is a great teacher
Jesse is a great teacher. Smart, insightful and keeps you on your toes. Very interactive and practical sessions. The build up of the sessions was excellent.
Feb 15, 2023
Easy to get to location, good trainer
Easy to get to location, good trainer.
Feb 1, 2023
Excellent training and trainer
Excellent training and trainer
Well thought-out course plan, excellent materials, high level of interactivity and involvement of participants.
Dec 29, 2022
A lot to learn
A lot to learn
Dec 19, 2022
Proper mix of theory and doing things…
Proper mix of theory and doing things yourself
Nov 24, 2022
Good teacher with loads of experience
Jesse is a great teacher. Lots of experience and real life examples. He also likes to make the class as interactive as possible. This helps also to inspire you for other sessions.
Thanks, Jesse!
Nov 24, 2022
Great trainer, great location
Great trainer, great location, learned a lot!
Nov 22, 2022
A great training where practice and…
A great training where practice and theory alternation was very pleasant
Sep 26, 2022
Worth it
Jesse is an excellent trainer who made sure to answer and address all questions the group had.
Sep 22, 2022
PSK1, Inhouse training 19-20 sept 2022
Prima tempo, heldere uitleg afgewisseld met praktijkvoorbeelden. Het zelf doen middels de actionable agile metrics "game" gaf spelenderwijs veel duidelijkheid. Tevens regelmatig tips & tricks naar de eigen organisatie (deze zit in de transitie fase naar de Agile WoW). Aanrader voor iedereen die zijn squad nóg meer wil verbeteren.
Jul 18, 2022
Cool training with lots of use cases.
Cool training with lots of use cases.
Jul 7, 2022
Recommended training
Interactive training, with a trainer which knows where he was talking about.
Jul 1, 2022
Great course.
A lot of interaction for and between the participants.
Jun 29, 2022
Tough virtual, he is able to keep you engaged
I joined a virtual SPS training from Jesse. I’m used to have in person, very interactive trainings, this was my first in a virtual setting and kudos to Jesse. He was able to keep me hooked and energized. Hard things to achieve digitally. Also he knows what he is talking about and it came very naturally. I already recommended the training to others!
Jun 29, 2022
Practical and energetic, rich in content
Jesse managed to keep this online training lively and interactive. His style of communication kept me engaged and energized.
The level of practical versus theoretical content (experience based learning) was very effective.
Finally, Jesse complemented the content of the training with relevant background and examples from his experience as an agile coach.
Jun 29, 2022
A solid course.
A solid course.
Jesse tells it like it is and uses the cases to let you make the mistakes that everybody does - and then tells you how you can help others avoid them. A good overview of the Nexus framework and more, interactive and with comprehensive information.
If there is anything to improve, it would be to realise that participants like to participate and questions (including raised hands) should be taken quickly, rather than finishing the storytelling.
Thanks Jesse, I will try and do the exam as quickly as possible
Jun 2, 2022
Pleasant and experienced trainer
I found Jesse to be a very pleasant and experienced trainer. Recommended.
May 11, 2022
Nice!
Nice website and courses
Apr 15, 2022
The Scrum with Kanban training make me…
The Scrum with Kanban training make me to connect a lot of dots and the trainer explained everything very good. There were very intense two days but definitively worth it.
Thank you!
Apr 6, 2022
Excellent class on Scaling with Nexus
Great class using relevant examples. I took a lot away from this course.
Mar 10, 2022
Great interactive training, no powerpoint-slideware here.
Ik wil je persoonlijk bedanken voor de training van 7+8 Maart. Het was voor iedereen even wennen "in person". Je hebt naar mijn mening een goeie training opgezet met een diverse groep. Die luchtkwaliteit meter ga ik nooit vergeten ;-)
Iets persoonlijker, je hebt effectief een spiegel voor mij gehouden als beginnend Scrum Master. Mijn reflecterend vermogen volledig aan het werk gezet. Daardoor ben ik mij bewuster geworden van de "stances" waar ik in de toekomst minder snel, of helemaal niet in hoop terug te vallen.
De value van de training zal ik meenemen naar al mijn toekomstige opdrachten. En ook het PSM II certificaat, dat heb ik namelijk behaald vandaag met 96,4%.
Nogmaals bedankt !
Feb 4, 2022
Awesome and Magnificent Class
awesome and magnificent class, i have learn a lot of from jesse. learn a lot of new from here. i will try to implement this to my organization.
thanks jesse hope will join another course/class from you.
Dec 20, 2021
Jesse Houwing was excellent in getting…
Jesse Houwing was excellent in getting the theory accross and had loads of examples of practices within different businesses. Never boring and always sensitive for the moment a break was needed. Would subscribe for another training with Jesse at any time.
Dec 18, 2021
Very experienced trainer mastering the…
Very experienced trainer mastering the subject and able to reflect deal with comments/remarks from the class.
Dec 7, 2021
Good practical 'hands on' training
Good practical 'hands on' training. Had a lot of fun and thoughts on the use cases during the training. The trainer interacted very well with us.
For taking the 'exam' I still needed to study quite a lot.
Dec 7, 2021
The course gives you a clear overview…
The course gives you a clear overview of the possiblities and chances that UX brings to SCRUM and the other way around. The classes are a good foundation for both UX and SCRUM.
Nov 30, 2021
Valuable training for product owners…
Valuable training for product owners with handson assigments during the classroom and a solid foundation for the PSPO exam.
Oct 17, 2021
Great training!
Great training!
Thanks Jesse for the the comprehensive and challenging training of last week.
The experience you bring, the examples and discussions have really given me a more profound understanding of Agile/Scum and the role of the Product owner in particular.
Oct 14, 2021
PSPO 1 training
De training PSPO heeft mij heel veel inzichten gegeven. Ik ga met een enorm veel kennis aan de slag!
Sep 24, 2021
Good training
Very informative training with the right amount of theoratical lessons in comparison to hands on assessments.
I found Jesse to be very enthousiastic and interesting. He has a lot of knowledge about Scrum and is able to share some personal experiences which makes it a lot more relatable.
Sep 19, 2021
Good agile training
Jesse was a very inspiring teacher, and he managed to associate the theory to our daily challenges.
Aug 9, 2021
The class was interesting and…
The class was interesting and informative but at some points it was getting too much into detail that is not important.
Aug 7, 2021
Informative training
The training was very informative on how to best apply Scrum in a complex environment. A very skilled instructor, with a lot of industrial knowledge. The training was also very interactive and simulated discussions between team members.
Jul 20, 2021
The life PSPO-A class led by Jesse…
The life PSPO-A class led by Jesse Houwing was excellent. He asked for five stars on Trustpilot. Plenty of interactions, and lots of stories from the field.
Jul 19, 2021
Good
Good trainer, clear course
Jul 8, 2021
Interactive, bring new perspective..
I found this class very interactive and give me a new perspective on how I will (or not) scaling the Scrum team. I found the why before the how to scale the team so that at the end of this class it helped me to look back on my journey in scaling teams.
Jul 7, 2021
Great class
Great class. Jesse could switch between theory and lines of questions that were relevant from our experiences very easily. There was a large emphasis on the application of theory and discussions on how to improve on what we observe in the field / at our clients. Very useful and much appreciated.
Jul 5, 2021
I loved how the training was delivered.
I loved how the training was delivered.
We can practice directly and can reflect to our day to day activities
I admit I got lost sometimes, especially when jesse spoke fast.
Probably because English is not my primary language and different timezone (the training was 2 - 10 PM GMT+7) made me sleepy on the last hours of the training.
What could be improved maybe about the cadence of the practice in each topic
Some practices were too fast, like 8 minutes for A, 10 minutes for B
Thanks Jesse and Simon
Jun 29, 2021
Good instructor with best practice…
Good instructor with best practice experience.
Jun 8, 2021
Active role of attendee during…
Active role of attendee during class-meeting supported by a lot of examples of Jesse.
May 27, 2021
High Expectations - Exceeded
I have high expectations about this training and also about Jesse as trainer and it was all fulfilled completely and beyond.
I did not come completely unprepared to the training and still I was able to learn a lot. Jesse was able to explain things clearly, overall flow of the training was very good, usage of Mural for collaboration was very pleasant experience.
I can recommend this training and Jesse as trainer to anyone interested in the topic of using Kanban with Scrum
May 25, 2021
Good understanding of Kanban principles…
Good understanding of Kanban principles and how to use it in practice
Apr 29, 2021
In these Corona times
In these Corona times, it is difficult to organize a classroom. It is more tiring and it is more difficult to get to know each other. We succeeded as good as possible in this!
Apr 23, 2021
Best scrum master lives the Scrum Values
Scrum is clear and well defined but using Scrum (even mastering) is hard in many real situations. It requires self-discipline, endurance, and open mind. Honestly, it requires to have implemented Scrum Values in your personal and professional live.
Mar 12, 2021
Jesse is a wonderful trainer
Jesse is a wonderful trainer. I love his sense of humour, and his friendly disarming style. The Scaled Professional Scrum course is very well designed; it is mostly fun & practical exercises. And it's really up to date with the latest trends. Jesse's SPS workshop is run at the perfect pace. This is the class to attend if you want to learn about scaling/de-scaling with Nexus.
Mar 6, 2021
It was really a great training class…
It was really a great training class and I learned new interesting things I will try during my workday and within my team. The class organization and preparation were awesome and very professional besides that we also have a lot of fun in it.
Feb 3, 2021
Jesse gave a great training where I…
Jesse gave a great training where I started to really love Scrum
Dec 21, 2020
Very clear and to the point teacher
Very clear and to the point teacher. Learned A LOT!
Dec 16, 2020
Would recommend this training
There have been some updates around the Scrum guide since the last time I took part on a similar training related to how the PO interacts with the team and also with stakeholders outside the scrum team. I intend to fine tune our existing processes to try out the effectiveness of this updates in our environment.
The training touched upon organisational and hierarchical nuances, how they can possibly impact scrum teams and gave some suggestions about how might we work best under those circumstances.
Covering those additional areas related to stakeholder management make it a more complete program than workshops offered by competitors I have experienced, in my opinion (Went previously through the official program from Scrum alliance)
Dec 2, 2020
Online training was a good alternative
+ Online training was a good alternative for a classroom training.
+ Experienced trainer
- Less human interation (online....)
Sep 1, 2020
The balance between interactive and…
The balance between interactive and theory parts are great. You can ask your questions without any problems and you will get a honest response on them as well. I got more information and knowledge from this course then I anticipated. So keep up the good work!
Aug 28, 2020
Excellent training by Jesse Houwing
Excellent training by Jesse Houwing, who has a ton of experience.
This was an online session but the quality and experience are just as good as the live trainings I have had via scrum.org.
The PSK training is a powerful way to be introduced in the power of scrum when it is combined with the flow concept of kanban. I am already looking forward to the next training...
Jul 28, 2020
PSMII class by Jesse Houwing 23/24 july 2020
The PSMII class by Jesse Houwing was very informative and very interactive. Lots of insights gained by the collective excercises together with other classmates and Jesse leaves lots of room for questions and reflection on real life cases brought in by the participants.
The notoriously difficult item of time management played a part here as well, where the second half of the day 2 afternoon felt somewhat rushed.
All in all a very good training and highly recommended, just not perfect.
Jul 27, 2020
First online training and a good one.
Jesse is very knowledgable on Scrum and help me to get more insights in the working of Scrum, the Scrum Master and of course the product owner and the development team. Job well done!
Jul 27, 2020
Discover Scrum by doing Scrum
Small group with a lot of interaction. I think we only listened to an hour of day of explaining - the remaining time was spent discovering solutions ourselves. Discover Scrum by doing Scrum, really nice! Would highly recommend.
Jan 11, 2020
Great Class with incredible interaction level realized.
The class was great as the 4 stars indicate. Jesse is a great teacher who understands practical implications and translating theory into practice. Evelien shows great knowledge of the Scrum theories, so the combination in that sense is very well.
The engagement level they realized in class was phenomenal.
Room for improvement was to go deeper into the translation to our reality. If that would have been added, I’d go for 5 stars without a doubt.?
Jan 10, 2020
Insightfull
Very clear, interactive and insightfull!
Jan 10, 2020
It was a nice experience
It was a nice experience, confirming a lot of my previous knowledge. The trainers were very knowledgeable and easy going.
Nov 25, 2019
Very good training with practical…
Very good training with practical scenarios that help relate to situations I can implement in my workplace. Recommended!
Nov 22, 2019
Great class
Great class. Really appreciated the way of explaining. Last part could have been a little more interactive like the first day, but due to the great amount of information this was inevitable I guess.
Nov 21, 2019
Excellent classroom program with…
Excellent classroom program with materials, examples, and interactive task in between to understand Scrum.
Nov 20, 2019
Great course with a great instructor…
Great course with a great instructor who is very knowledgeable. The use of visuals during the course is a great way to go through the theory and assignments.
Nov 8, 2019
Fun, interesting and practical
The class was a good mixture of theory and practice, as well as sitting and walking. It wasn't tedious or tiring for me at all. I learned a lot, not in the least by some provoked errors.
Nov 7, 2019
Great class, lots of useful information!
Great class, lots of useful information!
Nov 6, 2019
Good interactive class
Good interactive class. Would be even better if more of our real-life situations could be practiced. But still very helpful!
Nov 2, 2019
Mastering scrum as a real scrum master
After this class you have learned how to scrum with your team and with other teams. You know all the facets of being a scrum master and what his roll is within a team and within a organization.
Oct 21, 2019
Awesome class, great trainers!
Both class and trainers were great. Very interactive class with lots of interesting topics being discussed.
Both Simon and Jesse are really skilled trainers and are a great team in delivering the PSM class together!
Oct 7, 2019
great experience
great experience, very insightful. I took and passed my PSPO-1 exam as well :)
Oct 7, 2019
Great class!
Great class! We had a very good time learning and working with Jesse
Oct 5, 2019
Fun and interactive training!
Fun and interactive training!
Courses taught by Jesse
Applying Professional Scrum
Applying Professional Scrum for Software Development
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 Owner
Professional Scrum Product Owner - Advanced
Professional Scrum with User Experience
Scaled Professional Scrum
Other Services by Jesse
- Coaching/Consulting
- Private Courses
Upcoming Classes by Jesse
See all upcoming classes
In Person
Date: Feb 15-16, 2024
Language: Dutch
Class Format: Traditional
Hilversum, Netherlands
In Person
Date: Mar 25-26, 2024
Language: Dutch
Class Format: Traditional
Hilversum, Netherlands
Live Virtual
Date: Apr 22-23, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Europe/Amsterdam
In Person
Date: Apr 25-26, 2024
Language: Dutch
Class Format: Traditional
Hilversum, Netherlands
Live Virtual
Date: Apr 29-30, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Europe/Amsterdam
In Person
Date: May 30-31, 2024
Language: Dutch
Class Format: Traditional
Hilversum, Netherlands
In Person
Date: Jun 10-11, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
Hilversum, Netherlands
In Person
Date: Sep 16-17, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
Hilversum, Netherlands
In Person
Date: Sep 26-27, 2024
Language: Dutch
Class Format: Traditional
Hilversum, Netherlands
In Person
Date: Oct 7-8, 2024
Language: Dutch
Class Format: Traditional
Hilversum, Netherlands
In Person
Date: Oct 14, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Live Virtual
Date: Oct 17-18, 2024
Language: English
Class Format: Traditional
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Europe/Amsterdam
Latest Blogs by Jesse
See all blogs
Some people just happen to learn more from short movie clips. And they can be a great way to bring some humor in. Also available as a Youtube Playlist.
As Scrum Trainer I get to meet a lot of teams and hear of many different ways to do Scrum. Most are valid ways, yet some seem more aligned with the values of Scrum or the purpose of the specific Scrum Element.
This is the third post in a series on tools for Scrum Masters and their teams.
A couple of months ago I blogged about some of the tools and toys that live in the trunk of my car. I take these along everywhere I teach and coach. Since posting, people have suggested additional items that just must be in my toolbox.
About 40 people gathered at the nlScrum meetup dedicated to physical and digital tools for the agile workspace. Tools that help developers, coaches and trainers to survive in the toughest environments.
If you've been at an Agile conference, been a Scrum Master for quite some time and joined an Agile meetup group (here in The Netherlands there are several), then you probably found that games can be very quick ways to energize any meeting and to drive learning through fun.
In every Scrum.org Professional Scrum Development class, we touch upon both technical and collaboration practices to help improve the development teams explore new options.
You’re likely to have been asked the question: “we need to go faster, how many more people do we need?” Most people naturally understand that just adding a random number of people isn’t likely to make us any faster in the short run.