PSM Certification: Professional Scrum Master ™ I (PSM I) certification is universally accepted as one of the most popular scrum.org certifications. Scrum.org creates and maintains standardized curriculum, context, and depth for all Professional Scrum courses and selects qualified instructors to deliver them. The Scrum Master is a servant-leader for the Scrum Team. Scrum Master focuses on ever-improving team dynamics and performance. Helps the team manage interpersonal conflicts, challenges, and opportunities for growth. This can be achieved by empowering the team, within appropriate limits. Purchase Udemy or Techagilist Paid Membership to access PSM Practice Questions with helpful explanations.

PSM Certification Subject Areas

There are Five subject areas in the syllabus. Therefore each subject area covers a specific topic. So let’s have a look at the Exam Objectives for this Certification–

PSM Certification Focus Areas

The Scrum Master is responsible for promoting and supporting Scrum. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory, practices, rules, and values as given below

• Understanding and Applying the Scrum Framework (Empiricism, Scrum Values, Scrum Team, Scrum Events, Scrum Artifacts, Done)
• Developing People and Teams (Self-Managing Teams, Facilitation, Coaching)
• Managing Products with Agility (Forecasting and Release Planning, Product Value, Product Backlog Management, Stakeholders, and Customers)

Key topics must be considered for PSM Certification

• Scrum Framework: This is foundational knowledge for every Scrum Team member. It covers Scrum theory as described in the Scrum Guide.
• Scrum Theory and Principles: this topic is more about understanding Scrum theory: empirical process, principles, and values of Scrum.
• Cross-Functional, Self-Organizing Teams: Questions here cover how Scrum Teams are different from traditional development teams:cross-functional, self-empowered, and self-organizing people promote flexibility, creativity, and productivity.
• Coaching and Facilitation: Questions here are about how the mindset and behavior of a Scrum Master are different from traditional Project Manager: by acting as a Servant Leader, the Scrum Master facilitates and coaches full organizations in understanding and using Scrum

Practice Scrum Open assessment & Scrum Guide thoroughly. Many questions require a good understanding of the Scrum concepts around Self-managing, Leadership, Product Ownership, handling issues at the periphery of the Developers’ boundary, and some practical experience in applying Scrum.

Tips and Tricks for the Exam

• Be careful with questions containing “NOT”: some questions ask, for example, “Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of…”, and many people forget about the “NOT”, and pick the wrong answer. You won’t believe how common this is; so, be careful not to miss this keyword.
• Be careful with multiple-answer questions: some questions ask you to choose multiple answers, and some people just don’t pay enough attention and pick one answer. All multiple-answer questions use checkboxes instead of radio buttons; get used to paying attention to this as a double-check. It’s a good idea to spend a few minutes at the end of the exam, going through all the questions and only checking to see if you’ve picked multiple answers where you needed.
• Be careful with “should vs. could”: e.g the sentence “Product Owner could attend the Daily Scrum” is true, while the sentence “Product Owner should attend the Daily Scrum” is false. It’s not complicated, and you surely understand it; just make sure you still pay attention to it under exam pressure.
• Be careful with “attend vs. participate”: e.g. the sentence “Product Owner can attend the Daily Scrum” is true, while the sentence “Product Owner can participate in the Daily Scrum” is false.

PSM Certification Exam Format

• Number of questions: 80
• Duration: 1 hour
• Type of questions: multiple choice (with one or more correct answers) and true/false
• Passing Score: 85% (yes, it’s really high)
• Open book: yes
• Price: $150
• Prerequisite: none
• Needs renewal: no

PSM I Certification Practice Exam – Click Here

PSM II Certification Practice Exam – Click Here

Important Links

• Read and thoroughly understand/internalize the Scrum Guide.
• Scrum Open assessment. Get to where you can take it 5 times in a row and score 100% each time, in about 10 minutes or less each time.
• Burndown Charts.
• Definition of Done.
• Definition of Ready.
• Agile Product Ownership in a Nutshell.
• Scrum Master Learning Path.
• Scrum Glossary.
• Suggested Reading.
• Professional Scrum Competencies.
• Emergent Architecture.
• Scrum.org forums.
• Scrum: A Pocket Guide
• Software in 30 Days by Ken Schwaber

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How is a PSM Through Scrum.org Different from a CSM Through the Scrum Alliance?

Answer: Scrum.org and the Scrum Alliance are separate organizations with different leadership, missions, focuses, and approaches.

• PSM Certification (through Scrum.org) requires that a student demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of Scrum through a rigorous assessment. PSM certification is detached from the course. It is not proof of attendance but rather proof of Scrum knowledge. The PSM I, PSM II, and PSM III assessments and corresponding certifications do not require attendance in a Scrum.org class. Scrum.org certificates are lifelong and do not require additional payments or renewals.Scrum.org creates and maintains a standardized curriculum, context, and depth for all Professional Scrum courses and selects only the most qualified instructors to deliver them. 
• CSM Certification(through the Scrum Alliance) requires a student to attend a course through the Scrum Alliance and then take an “exam” in which the passing score is only 69%. This certification is little more than a certificate of attendance and requires credential holders to pay renewal fees in order to keep their certifications active. The Scrum Alliance does not have any standardization for its courses or content. The course materials are created by the individual trainers and are limited by that particular trainer’s experience and opinion.

Question: Is there any pre-requisite for this certification?

Answer: No pre-requisite but Agile & Scrum knowledge is required to pass the exam. It is advisable to have prior knowledge of Scrum to understand the concepts easily.

Question: Can I Claim PDUs for Attending a Scrum.org Course?

Answer: Students of Scrum.org courses are able to claim 14 PDUs after attending a two-day Professional Scrum Foundations (PSF), Professional Scrum Master (PSM), Professional Scrum Master II (PSM II), Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO), Scaled Professional Scrum (SPS), Professional Agile Leadership Essentials (PAL-E), Professional Scrum with User Experience (PSU), or Professional Scrum with Kanban (PSK) course and 21 PDUs after attending a three-day Professional Scrum Developer (PSD) course. Please note that PMI PDUs are earned for course attendance and not for passing a Scrum.org assessment. 

Students can claim PDUs under PMI’s “Education courses provided by other third-party providers” category. PDUs can be claimed online at https://ccrs.pmi.org

Question: Does my Scrum.org Certificate Expire or Require Renewal?

Answer: Since the PSM certification would be valid for a lifetime and periodic renewal is not needed, the difficulty level of assessments has been kept higher as compared to CSM (Certified Scrum Master) assessment by Scrum Alliance. 

Question: How many levels are there in the Professional Scrum Master (PSM)?

Answer: PSM has three levels:

• People who have passed PSM I, achieving certification, demonstrate a fundamental level of Scrum mastery. PSM I certificate holders prove that they understand Scrum as described in the Scrum Guide and how to apply Scrum in Scrum Teams.  PSM I holders have a consistent terminology and approach to Scrum.
• People who have passed PSM II, achieving certification, demonstrate an advanced level of Scrum mastery. PSM II certificate holders prove that they understand the underlying principles of Scrum and can effectively apply Scrum in complex, real-world situations.
• People who have passed PSM III, achieving certification, demonstrate a distinguished level of Scrum mastery. PSM III certificate holders have a deep understanding of the application and practices of Scrum and the Scrum Values in a variety of complex team and organizational situations.  

The level II and III exams are more complex. You must be thoroughly experienced in Scrum methodology and aware of functional intricacies to get through these exams. 

Purchase PSM Practice Exams (600 Questions) from UDEMY or Tech Agilist: Click Here

Recommend Reading

• Scrum Framework – Scrum Theory
• Scrum Framework – Scrum Roles
• Scrum Framework – Scrum Events
• Scrum Framework – Scrum Artifacts
• Scaling Scrum – DoD – DoR – Scrum Framework
• Developing People and Teams
• Managing Products with Agility
• Developing and Delivering Products Professionally
• Evolving the Agile Organization – Scaled Scrum, Portfolio Planning & EBM

Disclaimer:

The statements made and opinions expressed herein belong exclusively to Tech Agilist and are not shared by or represent the viewpoint of Scrum.org.  This training does not constitute an endorsement of any product, service, or point of view.  Scrum.org makes no representations, warranties or assurances of any kind, express or implied, as to the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, availability or currency of the content contained in this presentation or any material related to this presentation.  In no event shall Scrum.org, its agents, officers, employees, licensees or affiliates be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of profits, business information, loss of information) arising out of the information or statements contained in the training.  Any reliance you place on such content is strictly at your own risk. 

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