I am often asked which Scrum certificate is "the right one" for Scrum users. To cover this topic in depth, I wrote this blog.
- You do not need any certificate to be skillful at any topic. Certificates only very rarely prove skill, but rather state a level of knowledge tested by the certificate at a certain point of time. Only because somebody carries a certificate with him he is not necessarily the right person for the task ahead. Think back to the time when you did the exams for your diploma, your a-levels exam or your driving license: Would you be able to correctly answer all questions, you passed back then? How much did your university degree help you when you finally hit the real world? In my case, I could use around 10% of everything I had learned - the rest taught me the job itself...
- There are three organisations that are known worldwide whose certificates are worth mentioning: PMI, Scrumalliance and Scrum.org
- The PMI-Agile certificate is nearing the end of its pilot phase. I did not do it myself, so I cannot be sure about its quality. However, it is worth noting that a candidate needs 2.000 hours of "General Project Management Experience". In my experience, a good "classical" project manager still has to go a long way to become a good Scrum Master or Product Owner.
- The Scrumalliance certifies that you sat through a course. There is a multiple-choice test at the end of the Certified Scrum Master course, but it is too simple to be taken serious and your score doesn't count towards your certificate. You could even answer everything wrong and still get the certificate. I did the test just for fun and was impressed to see not only the correct answer for each question (after I hit the "Next" button), but to see that Scrumalliance links for further studies to external sources like Scrum.org, Mountain Goat Software, etc. You can only try this exam after you have taken a CSM course.
- You will sweat quite a bit with Scrum.org. The exams are difficult to very difficult and have to be taken online as well. To become a "Professional Scrum Master I", you do not have to visit a course (so far, only the PSM assessments are openly available. For PSD and PSPO you have to take a course). Instead, you can pay 100 $ for every try. 80 multiple-choice questions and one hour of time then stand between you and your PSM I certificate. You have to to right on 85% of the questions to pass. If you want to become a trainer later, you even have to reach 95%. About 80% of the applicants passes the PSM I, the rest fails. If you acquired the PSM I certificate, you are allowed to try the PSM II. This costs 500$ per try (300$ if you have previously visited a PSM course), takes 2 hours of your time and is a mixture of multiple-choice and essay questions. Again, you have to score 85% to pass and 95% to become a trainer. So far, only 106 people worldwide passed that one. Some of them not with their first try. The most difficult part here is to exactly understand what the scrum.org is asking. Sometimes you have to read between the lines. Not so nice is, that you do not get to know which questions you did wrong. This way it's really hard to prepare for this exam (which is a good thing in my opinion). It is not possible to learn questions by hard or answer them beforehand. Those certificates do not have to be renewed every two years, as opposed by those of the PMI and Scrumalliance. So you only have to pay your fees once.
- Who needs which certificate? First, some hints: Whoever wants to obtain a certificate should think hard what he wants to "prove" with it. If he wants to show that he has been to a course, all providers have good options. If you already hold a PMI certificate, you might want to look into the "PMI Agile". If you want to prove professional knowledge (at the point of time when you take the exam), then the Scrum.org is your only alternative so far. It helps that everyone can do the assessment and 100 $ are quite affordable.
- Developers (Coder, Tester, etc.): Usually professional skills are far more important than process knowledge. You should question yourself if you really need a certificate. If you do, look at the Scrumalliance and the Scrum.org, both offer developer courses with certificates. When you go for the Scrum.org you will be presented with a 3-day or 5-day course, depending on your level of knowledge. This one is streamlined, so you will receive the same quality all over the world. Both the scrumalliance and the scrum.org teach you process and developer skills.
- Product Owner: Usually, a Scrum Master course is not the right place for a Product Owner, because his main duty is Return on Invest (ROI), not the Scrum flow. You should go for a Product Owner course instead - with the attached certificates. PMI does not offer this option.
- Scrum Master: If you already are experienced and think you could pass the assessment, go for the Scrum.org. If you want a certificate but do not want to do an exam for it, go for the Scrumalliance. IMHO the PSM II certificate is the only one out there meaning anything. Only the PSM II creates some sort of "unique selling point" for you, if that is what you are looking for.
