How To Get Professional Scrum Master Certificate
Hi again everyone, last year I got my Professional Scrum Master I certificate, passing the exam with a 95% score. I always wanted to make a post about it but I never had the chance. Today is the day.
What is Scrum?
If you are reading this, it is highly unlikely that you haven’t heard of the Scrum framework. Nevertheless, I will explain it in short. Scrum is an implementation of Agile software development methodology. It helps development teams to effectively develop their software and add small increments to their product by time. I won’t go more into the details of the framework. However, it is very common in the industry and if you are interested in reading more, I would advise checking the official Scrum website.
I understand but what is the certification for?
Scrum framework is popular in the IT sector. As a software consultant, I witnessed that almost every client is applying it. Thus, certification is important to be able to demonstrate your knowledge on the topic to the employer when you apply for a position. There are two ways to do it. Either, you have technical experience or a certificate. The best scenario is both. Especially, if you are a fresh graduate, the second one is more effective.
In my opinion, the more important benefit of certification is not collecting the certificate but collecting the knowledge when studying it. For example, I had hearsay knowledge on the Scrum framework even though I had technical experience of it. I never sat down and studied. I learned by doing it. When I decided to take a certificate and started studying it, I discovered that I lack so much knowledge on it. After I completed studying course materials and was solving tests, I found that I still lack knowledge in some cases. Thus, even though you think that you know something, you will be amazed to see how much you lack when you study for something.
I saw that there are different types of Scrum certificates, which one shall I take?
There are 6 types of Scrum certificates and most of them also have different levels in it. For example, the PSM exam which I took is only level 1. There are also level 2 and level 3 which in my opinion is not necessary unless you are giving educations on the topic.
The one that you should get depends on your work area, expertise, and expectations:
As you can see above, each of them has a different purpose. I will explain each in short:
- Professional Scrum Master: For those who want to be a Scrum Master in a team.
- Professional Scrum Developer: For those who want to be a developer in a Scrum team.
- Professional Scrum with Kanban: For those who want to work in a Scrum team that applies Kanban.
- Professional Scrum Product Owner: For those who want to work in a Scrum team as a product owner.
- Scaled Professional Scrum: For those who want to apply and organize Scrum in larger teams and companies using Nexus Framework.
- Professional Agile Leadership: For those who want to get knowledge on sponsorship or leadership on the Agile principles in general not specific to Scrum.
How to apply?
You can apply for the exam via the internet from Scrum.org. First, you need to register via this link. After verifying your email, you should log in to the website and go to the related exam page like PSM. There you can click on the BUY button based on the exam level that you want to take. After you click, you will see a shopping cart that you can checkout with below payment methods.
Exam prices vary based on the exam between 150$ to 500$. The PSM I exam that I took was 150$. After you purchase the exam, you will be provided with a password by email that you can use to start the exam anytime and anywhere. Just be sure that you have a strong WiFi connection and you won’t be disturbed for the while. To start the exam press the START button and provide the password.
Exam Details
PSM I exam has 80 questions and 60 minutes time limit. It can only be taken in English. The questions are either multiple-answer or true/false questions. To be able to pass the exam you must score at least 85% which is 68 questions minimum.
How to study?
Even though you work in a Scrum environment, I would still advise studying the exam for a few days. The reason for that is the questions are usually tricky. You can also get a public or private class from here but I believe that online resources are enough at least for the first level. You can do the following steps to study and comprehend the Scrum.
- Read the Scrum guide a few times for a general overview.
- Read the Scrum glossary to understand each term.
- Read concepts that you struggle with separately from the official blog. The most important topics are Scrum rituals, values, roles, and events.
- Take the open assessments until you fully understand each answer.
- Find more mockup tests online and solve them. Some examples that I can provide are the following: Test-Questions, knowledgehut and The Scrum Master.
After you complete the above steps, you should be ready for the exam. Still, be careful when reading the questions. Especially, if you have a bad experience of Scrum implementation in your previous work, the questions will make you feel confused with some concepts and word tricks. For example, there is no such thing as “Sprint 0”, stakeholders shouldn’t join “Sprint Planning” or “Retrospective” etc. To be able to handle such questions, you should stick to the course material as much as possible, not thinking about what you are doing in your work area.
Results & Certificate
The exam results are instant. After you press the complete button. You will be directed to a new page where you can view your results. Your results and your certificate will also be emailed to you and you can view them anytime using my profile link.
Conclusion
If you pass the exam congratulations! If you didn’t, don’t worry. You can take it again anytime. Just do the above steps and when you actually take the exam, read the questions carefully. So, you will not fall for the word tricks.
Don’t forget to reach me with any questions and see you in another post!
