Before I started exploring which agile scrum certification to pursue, I suspected that pretty much everyone who figured out how to make money at it, has an agile scrum course. What I suspected is that, if the course providers were able and/or willing to work with the existing, acknowledged leaders in agile scrum, meaning the experts were willing to recommended them as a training resource for the existing certs, then they did. Barring that, the course providers invented their own certification.
Villanova University offers a certificate program in agile management. The program includes 3 courses and costs a total of $6000 USD. Completing the courses and requirements (project, exam) earns the VU proprietary certification, Professional Certification in Agile & Scrum (PCAS). I’m not including that in the list below because the cost and the course provider proprietary certification puts it too costly and the cert not widely-enough accepted ($6k! Who do they think they are, Microsoft?).
The Usual Suspects
The list of Agile Scrum Master certifications I came up with is
- Agile Certified Professional (PMI-ACP), PMI.org
- Agile Scrum Master (ASM), EXIN
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), ScrumAlliance.org
- Professional Scrum Master (PSM 1), Scrum.org
- Scrum Master Accredited Certification (SMAC), Scrum-institute.org
- Scrum Master Certified (SMC), ScrumStudy.com
- SAF(e) Scrum Master (SSM), ScaledAgile.com
Note the list is sorted alphabetically; sort order is not a recommendation.
This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list. While researching the 1 I’d heard of before, CSM, I came across the others.
Yes, But What Does That Mean?
My favorite question!
To put some context around the cert providers
- EXIN probably has the best reputation as a certification provider of all of those listed; known globally, just not for Scrum
- PMI.org is the Project Management standard, as an organization, and may be more well-known in the US than EXIN
- However, A Project Manager Is NOT A Scrum Master, so does PMI’s perspective matter as much? Are they the right people to teach this course?
- ScrumAlliance.org and Scrum.org are the standard bearers, with ScrumAlliance.org being the best known for Scrum
- ScaledAgile.com is also a standard bearer, for enterprise solutions
- Scrum.org & Scrum Alliance Compared
Looking at the certs themselves
- The PMI-ACP cert is not the direct equivalent of the scrum master cert. Multiple agile methodologies are covered, not specifically scrum. Beyond that, “Agile Certified Professional” would be applicable to any member of an agile team, not just the scrum master. Is the PMI-ACP meant to certify holders as a professional in all agile methodologies? I feel like Crystal would be it’s own course and cert.
- PSM 1 doesn’t require any course attendance, or renewals. How much respect does this one actually engender?
- It wasn’t the first, but it was early on the scene
- Scrum.org has an excellent reputation
- “Training” is book-learning, from the Scrum Guide, and is not dependent on how well a specific trainer delivered a required course
Looking at the courses
- With no course requirements, no education requirements, and no need to re-certify ever, I question the value of the PSM 1. How much respect is afforded this cert?
This short series has lent itself well to tables. See the table, far below.
Conclusion
At this point, I plan to take the Professional Scrum Master™ level I (PSM I) assessment from Scrum.org, to get the PSM 1 certification. I may also take the Professional Scrum Product Owner™ level I (PSPO I) assessment. It’s an additional $200, but if Product is where I want to be, it makes sense to get a cert in that.
There are differences between the two leading texts, Scrum Guide from Scrum.org and Scrum Core from ScrumAlliance.org. If I were getting this cert for a job, I would get certified by the one to which my company adheres. Without that specific requirement, I think studying the Scrum Guide, with a view to getting the PSM 1, meets my requirements of improving my knowledge in agile scrum practices, and getting a recognized certification that I can put on my resume.
| Certification | Offered By | Exam Difficulty | Reputation | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agile Certified Practioner (PMI-ACP) |
Project Management Institute, PMI.org | Unknown; | 120 Qs, 100 of which are scored; 70% correct, scored questions to pass | PMI is the Project Management standard | |||||||||||||||
| Agile Scrum Master (ASM) |
EXIN.com | Hard; | 26 of 40 Qs to pass (65%) | EXIN probably is probably the most well respected globally, of all of the cert providers | |||||||||||||||
| Certified Scrum Master (CSM) |
ScrumAlliance.org | Easy; | 24 of 35 Qs to pass (69%); | Open book test; | 1st certification of it’s kind; | Most famous, especially in the US | |||||||||||||
| Professional Scrum Master (PSM 1) |
Scrum.org | Medium; | 68 if 80 Qs to pass (85%) | Created by 1 of the Scrum founders, after he left; | Gaining in marketshare and esteem; | Many people get PSM 1 & CSM both | |||||||||||||
| SAF(e)* Scrum Master (SSM) Scaled Agile Framework for Enterprises |
ScaledAgile.com | Unknown; | 33 out of 45 Qs to pass (73%) | The standard for what it is, Scaled Agile Framework, which I haven’t been trained in, and have worked in only occassionally | |||||||||||||||
| Scrum Master Accredited Certification (SMAC) |
Scrum-Institute.org | Unknown; | 50 out of 60 Qs to pass (83%); | Current pass rate is 98% — guessing easy | Payment can be made through a PayPal account — I’m guessing this is the degree mill equivalent among cert providers | ||||||||||||||
| Scrum Master Certified (SMC) |
ScrumStudy.com | Unknown; | Current pass rate is 95% — I’m guessing it’s pretty easy |
More Reading
- Which Agile/Scrum Certificates? is a Scrum.org article with details from the experts.
- Which is the best online scrum certification? on Quora got some good responses.
- A comparison of EXIN ASM with ScrumAlliance.org’s CSM on Quora.
- The right scrum certification on LinkedIn.
Technically Writing 
The Scrum master certifications from Scrum Alliance and Scrum.org seems to be same and it doesn’t make any sense to go after both.
PSM certifications from Scrum.org looks better in comparison if we see on all the parameters.
No consistent course material(Trainers quality)and renewal required every 2 years are big negative for CSM.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for reading and commenting.
I disagree completely. Requiring re-qualification increases the value of the certification; if you have it, and it’s up to date, then you are up to speed with the latest processes and methods in Product Management. It’s similar to the requirements for Project Managers.
PSM is a fine cert if you’re looking to add a qualification to your resume. However if the organization you join endorses different scrum training then you need the one they require/endorse. As I say in this series.
LikeLike