Being Agile, Doing Scrum: A Path To Certification
This is another in a series of posts aimed at helping Scrum Masters coach “team members in self-management and cross-functionality []including [l]eading, training, and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption.”
With a simple cut and paste, Scrum Masters can share this post weekly or once per sprint, concurrently adding some frivolity with several fun facts and content.
Note: Some posts come with an intro to provide background and additional information/tips, followed by the ‘cut/paste’ content that can be shared with the team.
Note: There are lots of fun facts and content. Feel free to pick and choose what to include/omit.
Check back next week for another post, and more content to share!
[For an index of all Being Agile, Doing Scrum posts click here.]
Background:
This week we continue the conversation centered on the team investing in their own education, outside of anything related to their current project.
When it comes to agile and scrum certifications there are plenty of options, perhaps too many options, but there are standouts. This post details five of them; all are leading providers of Scrum, Agile, Product and ‘at scale’ certifications. There’s also some bonus options.
Cut/Paste:
Have you ever received an email from a company, or a LinkedIn connection, offering to help you get a certification? Many people have, but is there value in certification? The short answer is yes, let’s start with the ‘why’.
The Scrum Guide states:
“The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team in several ways, including: Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality.”
Cross-functionality “means having a group of individuals with diverse skills, a shared sense of responsibility, and a collaborative mindset” and one way to achieve this is to have a Scrum Team that certifies in disciplines outside of their normal role. By that I mean there is value in a Scrum Master certifying as a Product Owner, and all members of the Scrum Team certifying as a Scrum Master.
Whether you are lucky enough to work for a forward thinking company that covers course costs, or you invest your own money as part of a personal development plan, the first question is what organizations offer the most valuable certifications?
Here are the top five, which collectively focus on Scrum, Product, Agile, Kanban and Scrum/Agile at scale.
1. Scrum.org, founded by Scrum co-creator Ken Schwaber, offers the broadest array of certifications:
2. A close second is Scrum Alliance, with very clear paths to Scrum Master, Product Owner and Developer certifications:
3. Gartner named SAFe “the #1 most considered and adopted framework for scaling Agile”, with Scaled Agile providing SAFe certification:
4. Scrum Inc, founded in 2006 by the co-creator of Scrum, and Agile Manifesto signator Dr. Jeff Sutherland, provides many courses including some on Scrum@Scale:
5. Last but not least, for those using Kanban, there is the Kanban University:
Bonus considerations:
Atlassian’s products are widely used, and so getting certified, be it in Jira, Confluence or Trello, is always of value and is a great addition to your resume:
In collaboration with hundreds of leading colleges Coursera has thousands of courses with many centered on project management, Scrum, and Agile:
For exclusively Product Managers/Owners Product School provides beginner and advanced courses:
Honorable mentions:
We have to mention Udemy and PMI who collectively have lots of courses and certifications.
Good luck!
Inspirational Quote:
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” — Malcom X
Fascinating Facts:
On the day that historically ‘celebrates’ the impeachment against Richard Nixon here are 8 myths about US Presidents:
George Washington had wooden teeth
Thomas Jefferson Signed the Constitution
Abraham Lincoln Wrote the Gettysburg Address on an Envelope
Howard Taft Got Stuck in a Bathtub
The Teddy Bear Got Its Name After Theodore Roosevelt Saved a Real Bear
John F. Kennedy Won the Election Because of the TV Debates Against Richard Nixon
Zachary Taylor Was Poisoned
Gerald Ford Was a Total Klutz
Word of the Day:
Adroit — Clever or skillful in using the hands or mind.
Example: “The adroit chef was a wonder to watch while he worked.”
National Day Calendar: July 21st
National Be Someone Day
National Junk Food Day
National Parenting Gifted Children Week
National Anti-Boredom Month
National Grilling Month
National Hot Dog Month
Born On This Day:
Ken Starr: American lawyer who investigated sitting US President Bill Clinton (Starr Report), born in Vernon, Texas. (1946)
Cat Stevens: British singer-songwriter (“Peace Train”; “Moonshadow”), born in Marleybone, London, England. (1948)
Robin Williams: American actor and comedian (Mork & Mindy, Jumanji, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting), born in Chicago, Illinois. (1951)
Juno Temple: English actress (Ted Lasso), born in London, England. (1989)
Erling Haaland: Norwegian soccer striker (EPL season scoring record Manchester City [35] 2023, born in Leeds, England. (2000)
On This Day In History:
Napoleon Bonaparte: Wins Battle of Pyramids in Egypt (Battle of Embabeh) against Mamluk rulers, wiping out most of the Egyptian army. (1798)
Central Park Created: New York State Legislature puts aside more than 750 acres of land on Manhattan Island. (1953)
First True Western Showdown: In market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt. (1865)
Jesse James: And James Younger gang’s 1st train robbery at Adair, Iowa. (1873)
Field Marshal Günther von Kluge: Warns Hitler of impending collapse of front in Normandy. (1944)
Dalai Lama: Returns to Tibet. (1951)
Althea Gibson: 1st black to win a major US tennis tournament. (1957)
Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to step on the Moon. (1969)
Hank Aaron: Hits Philadelphia Phillies Ken Brett’s fastball for his 700th HR, in Atlanta. (1973)
US House Judiciary: Approves two Articles of Impeachment against President Richard Nixon. (1974)
Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis: Accepts Democratic nomination for president. (1988)
Mike Tyson: KOs Carl Williams in 1:33 for heavyweight boxing title. (1989)
Tony Blair: Declared the winner of the leadership election of the British Labour Party, paving the way for him to become Prime Minister in 1997. (1994)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The final book in the series by J. K. Rowling is published worldwide. 11 million copies sell in 24 hrs. (2007)
Justin Bieber: Barred from performing in China by Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture citing his “bad behavior”. (2017)
Marvel: Announces 10 new superhero films at Comic Con including Blade with Mahershala Ali, Natalie Portman as a female Thor and first Asian American super hero film Shang-Chi. (2019)
President Xi Jinping: Arrives in Tibet in first official visit by a Chinese leader in 30 years. (2021)
