Become a Scrum Master

Scrum is an agile framework designed to make software development projects more efficient by eliminating obstacles and tracking progress over discrete periods. If you’re a software developer or product owner interested in advancing your career and boosting the productivity of your team, consider going out for your official Scrum Master certification. To become certified, it will first be necessary to attend a 2-day Scrum Master training course or seminar offered by an accredited Scrum organization. You can then register for a specialized certification exam within 90 days of completing your training.

Steps

Receiving the Necessary Training

1. Determine which Scrum certification you want to obtain. Before deciding on a particular certification, consider which one is right for you in regards to your role in the industry. In addition to standard Scrum Master certifications like Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and Professional Scrum Master I (PSMI), there are also options tailored specifically for developers (CSD) and product owners (CSPO).
   • Most business experts recommend seeking a CSM certification through the Scrum Alliance or a PSMI certification through Scrum.org, as these are the 2 certifications looked at most highly by hiring managers and human resources directors.
   • Scrum is an adaptable project management methodology, not a proprietary technique or system. For this reason, you'll find more than one organization offering certification options, each with their own twist on the basic elements.
2. Familiarize yourself with the Scrum framework. Take some time to get acquainted with Scrum by reading up on the fundamental skills and aims at the heart of the concept. To help new developers prepare for training and examination, the Scrum Alliance has compiled a list of recommended reading materials, which you can find at https://www.scrumalliance.org/learn-about-scrum/resources. Scrum offers a unique take on product development and project management, so many of the ideas you encounter may be new to you.
   • Scrum is what’s known as an “agile framework,” meaning it’s carried out by small, organized teams with maximum efficiency and productivity in mind.
   • The Scrum framework is made up of 3 main roles: the product owner, the development team, and the Scrum Master, who is responsible for facilitating the work of the development team by presenting clear, achievable short-term goals and streamlining daily tasks.
3. Attend a Scrum Master course or seminar. Find Scrum training courses in your area by running a search for “Scrum Master training” or “CSM (Certified Scrum Master) certification training” followed by the name of your city of province. Scrum Master training courses are conducted over the span of 2 days (16 hours total) and are lead by instructors who have been licensed to teach Scrum principles to up-and-coming developers.
   • The cost of taking part in a Scrum certification training course or seminar ranges from $1,000 to around $2,000.
   • Scrum hasn’t yet gained universal acceptance as a software development framework, which means you may have to be willing to travel to another city to seek out training opportunities.
4. Register for your certification exam within 90 days of training. Any professional who wants to become officially credentialed as a Scrum Master must first demonstrate a practical understanding of the framework by passing a certification exam. The Scrum Master Accredited Certification Program (SMACP) is the title of the standardized exam used to test the knowledge of prospective Scrum Masters.
   • When you feel you’re ready, you can register for the SMACP online at https://www.scrumalliance.org/get-certified/practitioners/csm-certification, or for the PSMI by visiting https://www.scrum.org/professional-scrum-master-i-certification.
   • Once you complete your registration, you’ll be sent an Exam Access Code which you can use to take the exam online at a time and place of your choosing.

Completing Your Certification Testing

1. Pay the required testing and certification fees. You can submit a payment online at https://www.scrumalliance.org/ or https://www.scrum.org/ at the same time that you register for the Scrum Master Accredited Certification Program or Professional Scrum Master I Assessment. Currently, both organizations only accept payments via credit or debit card. Your payment covers both the cost of the exam and your proof of certification, which you’ll be awarded upon passing.
   • Note that the $49 testing fee for the SMACP does not include the cost of training or any other resources or study materials.
   • The PSMI Assessment is slightly more expensive than the SMACP at $150, and also includes 30 additional questions.
2. Begin studying for your certification exam. Read through some of the articles available at https://www.scrumalliance.org/learn-about-scrum/resources to brush up on your knowledge of Scrum’s central goals and strategies. The standard exam will focus on key principles and practices related to the Scrum interface, including project leadership and management, team building, sprints, scalability, progress reporting, and release planning.
   • Exams for some certifications may also contain questions about the history, evolution, and philosophy of the Scrum framework.
   • If you completed a training course or seminar put on by the Scrum Alliance, they’ll also provide you with study materials that will help you be successful on the SMACP.
   • Scrum.org has also compiled numerous guides, articles, glossaries and other useful resources that can come in handy for preparing for the PSMI Assessment.
3. Take and pass the exam for the certification you're seeking. The online SMACP exam consists of 50 multiple-choice questions related to various aspects of the Scrum framework or its core tenets, while PSMI Assessment contains 80. You’ll have 1 hour from the time you begin to complete either exam. In order to pass the SMACP, you must answer at least 60% of the 50 questions correctly. For the PSMI, the lowest passing grade possible is an 85%.
   • You can pull up the exam at any time by visiting https://www.scrum-institute.org/Access_Scrum_Certification_Examination.php or https://www.scrum.org/user/login?destination=/assessment-launch/start-psm-i and entering your registered email and exam access code.
   • Don’t worry too much about how you'll do—the average passing rate for the SMACP is around 98%.
   • The exam given for the Scrum Alliance’s CSM certification option contains 35 questions rather than 50. You’ll need to get 24 of the 35 questions right to pass.
4. Wait to receive your proof of certification. After successfully completing the exam, the Scrum organization you completed your training and testing through will send you a document recognizing your status as a Scrum Master. Your certification will arrive in the form of a hi-resolution PDF file, which you can access online at any time or save and print for display purposes.
   • You’ll be awarded your certification document via email immediately after your exam has been graded, which typically only takes a matter of minutes.
   • All certifications issued by The Scrum Institute and Scrum.org, including the PSMI, are internationally valid and never expire.
5. Renew Scrum Alliance certifications every 2 years. CSM (Certified Scrum Master), CSPO (Certified Scrum Product Owner), and CSD (Certified Scrum Developer) certifications expire after 730 days, and will need to be renewed in order to remain valid. You can update your Scrum Master certification online through the Scrum Alliance website with a payment of $100.
   • For a Certified Scrum Professional (CSP) certification in particular, you’ll also be required to complete 40 continuing education units and pay a fee of $250.
   • If you hold more than one Scrum Alliance certification, you can renew them all at the same time by specifying the “Combined Certified Scrum Master and Certified Scrum Product Owner and/or Certified Scrum Developer” option.

Tips

• Compare the reputations of the different organizations offering training courses to ensure that you’ll be getting your money’s worth.
• Unlike most business management systems, Scrum training is actually intended to be simple, as it revolves around making important concepts and processes less complex.
• A Scrum Master certification is a great resume builder, and can lend you more credibility as a software developer, project leader, or product owner.

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