What is Scrum Master and PSM Certification?

In this post, I will share everything you need to know about Scrum Master & PSM Certification (Professional Scrum Master).

1. What is Scrum?
2. Who is Scrum Master?
3. Scrum Master Roles and Responsibilities
4. Skills required in Scrum Master
5. Scrum Master Certification: CSM and PSM
6. Pre-requisites for CSM  
7. Pre-requisites for PSM
8. Steps to Register for Scrum Master Exam
9. Scrum Master Exam Pattern and Cost
10. Certified Scrum Master Syllabus
11. Professional Scrum Master Syllabus
12. Scrum Master Certification Renewal Policy
13. Certified Scrum Master Salary
14. FAQs
15. Conclusion

If you are someone who is looking to improve the team’s performance, and progress, want to get a taste of various methodologies, the importance and values of Scrum, and ultimately benefit the organization by developing a highly-valued product, Scrum Master Certification is the right pick for you.

What is Scrum?

Scrum is a process or a framework that helps generate adaptive solutions for modern world complex problems and deliver the best value product. It is a journey where the team members are cherished for their success at various tasks (projects), their failures are highlighted to improve, and they learn through experiences. Hence the entire team works on a particular task by considering the scrum methodologies to develop a better product.

Who is a Scrum Master?

A Master Scrum is a highly skilled professional who is responsible for leading a team during a project with the best practices of agile project management methodologies. A Master Scrum takes charge of all the plans, communication and collaboration with team members to ensure the best positive outcomes at the end. There are numerous methodologies available in the market today, and Scrum Master is one of the best frameworks for fast-moving projects. Not only IT industry has adapted the agile methodologies, but Scrum Master jobs are available in every industry around the globe.

Also Read: Agile vs Scrum: Differences & Similarities

Scrum Master Roles and Responsibilities

1) Project Management

Scrum Master’s role is to lead the project, manage workflow, and ensure that his team has a clear vision of the product requirement and what the client expects. They also facilitate communication between the team and other external groups, including the product owner. Scrum Master monitors the team tasks, and project progress and drive a culture of agility.

2) Assist the Product Owner

Scrum Master’s role is to assist the product owner with the project requirements and the deadline that he can expect. They also create a backlog with all the project requirements, planned tasks, and expected time to make them aware of the project status.

3) Monitor Progress and Resolve Conflicts

The Scrum Master’s role is to keep track of the project progress and ensure that the team meets the deadlines. Scrum Master hosts regular meetings with the team and discusses the daily task, expected time, and the issues encountered. Also, by ensuring the proper management of the team workload, a Scrum Master removes all the possible roadblocks and issues in completing the task.

4) Follow Scrum Best Practices.

Scrum Master’s role is to act as a mentor to guide his team and follow best practices that lead to more productivity. It helps the team to stay more focused and dedicated to work.

Skills Required in Scrum Master

• Soft Skills/Communication – Scrum Master’s role is to communicate or held regular meetings with stakeholders, project owners, the development teams and other external groups or teams to lead the project and discuss requirements.
• Presentation Skills – With monitoring and creating reports, a Scrum Master must also present the progress to the project owners and the team.
• Leadership – Scrum Master’s role is to lead and guide the team to accomplish the project.
• Problem-Solving – A Scrum Master should be confident enough to tackle all the issues that come in between completing a project.
• Education – There is no particular education restriction to becoming a Scrum Master, but the employer prefers a bachelor’s degree with any IT specialization.

Scrum Master Certification: CSM and PSM

By keeping in mind modern-day requirements, many industries are adopting Agile methodologies for their projects and product management. This makes scum master an essential leadership aspect in agile development.

What is CSM Certification

The Certified Scrum Master Certification is made available through Scrum Alliance. It is an entry-level certification that focuses on providing a skillset to professionals with an awareness of various techniques and values of the Scrum to improve team performance, progress and get a successful outcome at the end.

This certification is specially designed for those people who are involved in product delivery and use the scrum framework. It is not hard to get a tag of Certified Scrum Master; you can become one using preparation. Becoming CSM opens various doors for your career. It also benefits individuals with recognition as a leader in the industry.

What is PSM Certification

The Professional Scrum Master Certification is made available through Scrum.org. certification PSM  is more respected, credible and preferred by serious Scrum practitioners.

PSM has their certification in 3 levels that cover the knowledge from basic to expert. The levels of PSM certifications are as follows:

• PSM I – The entry-level Scrum Certification that covers the fundamental knowledge of the Scrum framework.
• PSM II – The intermediate-level Scrum Certification checks your knowledge of Scrum in a business environment.
• PSM III – The expert-level Scrum Certification dives deeper into scrum concepts and challenges your experience to make the product ready across the finish line.

Also Read: Scrum Master Exam Questions and Answers

Pre-requisites for CSM

An individual does not require any pre-knowledge of Scrum Master to enroll in a training program. But having good training for CSM is a must. Candidates must understand the scrum framework, its techniques, and practices. Scrum Alliance provides an abundance of resources on scrum fundamentals that contain presentations, articles, blogs, videos, etc. Candidates must go through a training of a minimum of 16 hours from a certified trainer or a verified training platform. So after the successful completion of the training, candidates need to pass the CSM exam. You can appear for the exam using the Scrum Alliance portal. A minimum of 16 hours of training is mandatorily required to appear for the exam. If it’s been more than three months (90 days) since your training is completed, you need to pay $25 for this exam.

Pre-requisites for PSM

There is no special pre-requisite for attending Professional Scrum Master (PSM) exam. Unlike CSM, you don’t need to go through specialized scrum training from the verified training platform. In this exam, scrum knowledge is the only thing you need. So, if you think you are aware of the scrum framework, its techniques, and practices, you can go ahead with the exam.

Steps to Register for Scrum Master Exam

This section will show the steps to register for the Certified Scrum Master Exam, Professional Scrum Master I, and Professional Scrum Master II Exam.

Register for CSM Exam

Step 1) You need to enroll in a minimum of 2 days (16 hours)training program from a verified trainer or a platform.

Step 2) When you complete this course, your certified scrum trainer or a scrum-verified platform would pass your details to the Scrum Alliance organization by stating that you have completed this training program.

Step 3) You will receive an email containing an invitation to attempt this certification exam. This email will also contain the login credentials.

Step 4) Visit scrumalliance.org/login and enter the login credentials. Now place your mouse cursor over “hello, (your name)” and select my dashboard.

Step 5) Now click on “Take CSM Test“. Select the language and click on continue. You will be redirected to the exam site, and you can attempt this exam.

Note: You can only attempt this exam through a verified resource or a trainer from Scrum Alliance. Also, disable pop up blockers of your browser while attempting the exam. 

Register for Professional Scrum Master I Exam

You can attempt this exam without training also. If you think that you are well aware of the concepts and the scrum guide for this exam, you can directly appear for the Professional Scrum Master I Certification Exam.

Step 1) Visit the scrum.org website. Click on the Certification option in the navigation bar.

Step 2) Now click on Professional Scrum Master and select Buy Option under PSM I Assessment.

Step 3) Make the Payment, and you will receive an email within 1 Business Day to attempt the test.

Register for Professional Scrum Master II Exam

You can attempt this exam without training also. If you think that you are well aware of the concepts and the scrum guide for this exam, you can directly appear for the Professional Scrum Master II Certification Exam.

Step 1) Visit the scrum.org website. Click on the Certification option in the navigation bar.

Step 2) Now click on Professional Scrum Master and select Buy Option under PSM II Assessment.

Step 3) Make the Payment and you will receive an email within 1 Business Day to attempt the test.

Scrum Master Exam Pattern and Cost

Let’s have a look at the exam pattern and cost for Certified Scrum Master, Professional Scrum Master I, Professional Scrum Master II and Professional Scrum Master III.

Certified Scrum Master

Scrum Master Exam contains 50 MCQs and true/false questions with a time limit of 60 minutes. In order to pass this exam, you need to mark 37 questions correctly to achieve a passing grade of 74%. If you are appearing for this test for the very first time, there will be no exam fee. You just have to do training from a verified trainer or a platform. Whatever amount you will pay for your training to a trainer or any verified institute, will be considered as your exam fee.

Note: The exam fee will be the training fee that you will pay for the trainer or a verified platform.

Retake Policy

If you do not pass the exam on the first attempt, you can appear for the exam free of cost within 90 days of the training you have completed. But if you failed in the second attempt also, you need to pay $25 for the third attempt. A candidate can attempt the test only twice within 90 days, provided 16 hours (2 days) of minimum training must be one.

Read: Scrum User Story

Professional Scrum Master I

• Exam Cost –  $150 USD per attempt
• Exam Language – English
• Passing Criteria – 85%
• Time Limit – 60 Minutes
• Total Number of Questions – 80
• Exam Format – Multiple Choice, True/False, Multiple Answers

For further details, check out: PSM I Exam Details

Professional Scrum Master II

• Exam Cost –  $250 USD
• Exam Language – English
• Passing Criteria – 85%
• Time Limit – 90 Minutes
• Total Number of Questions – 30
• Exam Format – Multiple Choice, True/False, Multiple Answers

For further details, check out: PSM II Exam Details

Professional Scrum Master III

• Exam Cost –  $500 USD
• Exam Language – English
• Passing Criteria – 85%
• Time Limit – 150 Minutes
• Total Number of Questions – 30
• Exam Format – Multiple Choice and Essay

For further details, check out: PSM III Exam Details

Certified Scrum Master Syllabus

The topics covered in the Certified Scrum Master Exam are: Lean, Agile, and Scrum

• Scrum Roles
• Scrum Events and Artifact Transparency
• Sprint and Increment
• Sprint Planning
• Daily Scrum
• Sprint Review
• Sprint Retrospective
• Product Backlog
• Sprint Backlog
• Definition of “Done”

Scrum Master Core Competencies

• Facilitation
• Coaching

Service to the Development Team

• Scrum Master as Servant-Leader

Service to the Product Owner Service to the Organization

• Impediment Removal
• Coaching the Organization

Read: What three techniques should a scrum master use?

Professional Scrum Master Syllabus

The topics covered in the Professional Scrum Master Exam slightly differ based on the different levels. We have listed below the topics covered in the PSM exam. The first three topics below fall in both the PSM I and PSM II exam and the last two topics are covered in the intermediate-level PSM II exam.

Understanding and Applying the Scrum Framework

• Empiricism
• Scrum Values
• Scrum Team
• Events
• Artifacts
• Done

Developing People and Teams

• Self-Managing Teams
• Facilitation
• Leadership Styles
• Coaching
• Mentoring

Managing Products with Agility

• Product Backlog Management
• Stakeholders & Customers.

Developing and Delivering Products Professionally

• Managing Technical Risk

Evolving the Agile Organization

• Organizational Design & Culture

Read: Agile Estimation Techniques

Scrum Master Certification Renewal Policy

Most certifications are not lifetime valid and need to be renewed periodically. In this section, we will learn about the renewal policy of both the CSM and PSM exams.

CSM Renewal Policy

If you want to maintain your certification, you have to renew your credentials by paying an amount of $100 for two years of validity. You will be allotted 20 Scrum Educational Units (SEUs). These renewal charges also include the Scrum Alliance membership fee.

PSM Renewal Policy

PSM is a lifetime certification that doesn’t need to be renewed at all. So once you earn a PSM certification it is valid for your lifetime.

Scrum Master Salary

There is a massive demand for certified Scrum Masters in not only the IT industry but in almost all other industries as well. According to the Study.com report, the Scrum Master role will be witnessing an annual growth of about 24%  till 2026 as most of the enterprises are streamlining their software development process and adopting the Agile method. Salary in India:

As per Payscale.com, the average salary for an entry-level Scrum Master is  ₹5,79,557.

• The average salary for a mid-level Scrum Master is ₹12,00,480.
• The average salary for an experienced Scrum Master is ₹15,38,005.

Salary in Other Countries:

• The average salary of a Scrum Master in the US is $117,000.
• The average salary of a Scrum Master in the UK is £67,000.

FAQs

Conclusion

Now you have got the idea of Certified Scrum Master and Professional Scrum Master Certification. Scrum Masters are unique and play an essential part in the successful development of the product and the organization’s success. Scrum Masters Collaborate with the owner of the product and teams for better communication and on-time successful completion of the project. There are numerous job openings for Scrum Masters; it’s the suitable skill set that will help you land up a successful job in this field.

References

• The Official Scrum Master Study Guide
• Scrum Master Roles and Responsibilities
• Agile Software Development Lifecycle
• Agile Methodology and DevOps | DevOps and Agile Relationship
• Agile vs Scrum
• Introduction To Sprint in Scrum & Its Uses
• Agile Scrum Methodology

Next Task for You

If you are considering in-depth learning about Scrum Master Certification in the upcoming days, join our Free Class and don’t miss an opportunity to attend a Free Class and gain a plethora of insights about Certified Scrum Master.