In March 2012, I sat the Professional Scrum Master I assessment provided by Scrum.org. I did not attend any formal training beforehand and relied only on my experience and exam preparation. In this article, I tell you how to prepare for, and pass, the Professional Scrum Master I assessment.
After 12 years as an agile practitioner, I decided that I’d like to formalise my Scrum knowledge and earn a recognised certificate for doing so. I researched the field and decided that the Professional Scrum Master certificate, provided by Scrum.org, met my needs.
One of the great things about the Professional Scrum Master I assessment is that it simply assesses your knowledge. You are not required to attend an official training course beforehand. (though it is recommended).
It costs $100 to sit the assessment so thorough preparation is recommended. I followed the advice given on the Scrum.org site to prepare for the Professional Scrum Master I assessment. I also took advice from colleagues that have sat, and passed, the assessment.
The best advice, by far, is to read and understand the Scrum Guide that is authored by Ken Schwaber (the founder of Scrum.org and co-creator of Scrum) and Jeff Sutherland (co-creator of Scrum).
Personally, I find the Scrum Guide to be an excellent document. It has condensed Scrum to only the vital elements that you MUST know to work with Scrum. At only 16 pages long, it’s easy to think that a quick 15 minute read will suffice but you’d be wrong. You’ll want to thoroughly understand the entire content of the document. Read it often.
Scrum.org also provide another hugely valuable resource by way of the free, online open assessment. You have an hour to answer 30 multiple choice questions. I strongly suggest that you do this open assessment as many times as you can until you consistently score 100%. You should also aim to complete it in less than 20 minutes. This is to prepare you for the Professional Scrum Master I assessment which consists of 80 questions and a time limit of only one hour.
Some of the questions in the open assessment also appear in the Professional Scrum Master I assessment so, every time you take the open assessment it’s an investment in getting ready for the Professional Scrum Master I assessment.
There’s one final piece of advice I have. Find out as much as you can about burndown charts. Though they’re no longer a part of the official Scrum Guide, I found that there were three or more questions in the assessment that required knowledge of them. With a pass mark of 85%, and four questions carrying a potential 5% of the result, it pays to be as thoroughly prepared as you can.
Passing the Professional Scrum Master I assessment is not easy. Even with many years experience in agile and Scrum, I found there were gaps in my knowledge. I spent considerable time on diligent research, the right preparation, revising and consistent effort. It was worth it in the end because I passed the Professional Scrum Master assessment at the first attempt.
Thanks for this advice Derek. Just what I was looking for.
Rob
Hi Rob
You’re very welcome. Have you sat the actual assessment yet? I’d be very interested in hearing how you got on.
Best
–
Derek
Only the free open assessment so far.
Scored 74% on first attempt as a baseline for my current knowledge without referring to the official guide.
I’ve just registered for the paid assessment so will let you know…
Hi Derek,
Here’s how I got on:
- What I did.
OA attempt 1 to baseline current knowledge – 74%.
Read and took notes on the scrum guide. OA attempt 2 – 90%.
Reread guide for incorrect answers.
OA attempts 3/4/5/6 – 100% (average time spent 6 minutes)
Scrum Master assessment – 89% (Pass)
- Observations.
I was surprised by the number of questions in the final assessment that I hadn’t encountered on the OA despite having taken the OA six times. I found some of these questions challenging and deliberated for some time before answering. They were not black&white answers and not covered in the guide so judgement was required. Perhaps they are covered in the book, which I did not read. The tip on burndown chart revision was useful; I saw three questions on this. I used the full hour.
Thanks again for your advice. I’m pleased to have passed but would like to improve where there are gaps in my knowledge. I understand that scrum.org won’t let me know which questions I answered incorrectly by default (http://www.scrum.org/assessmentdiscussion/post/1682281) so I will email them directly.
Hi Rob
Firstly, many congratulations on passing the assessment and welcome to the community of Professional Scrum Masters!
Thanks also for coming back and letting me know how you got on.
With regard to the Open Assessment, you’re absolutely right. It’s very much a subset of the questions asked in the full assessment. Like you, I found some of the questions in the full assessment challenging. I think the exam is designed this way to stop people from just taking the open assessment multiple times and learning answers by rote with a view to passing the exam. Scrum.org want to see that candidates actually understand Scrum and I think that’s absolutely the right approach.
I’m delighted that you found the tip on burndown charts useful. It’s one of those odd vagaries where the Scrum Guide no longer includes them as an artifact but the assessment still includes them. I suspect that the assessment is simply lagging behind the Scrum Guide in terms of content.
As you correctly state, Scrum.org won’t tell you directly which questions you got wrong. However, they will let you know which areas might benefit from further study. Hopefully this will be enough to give you the improved understanding you’re looking for.
Congratulations again!
Hi Derek,
I have a fail story , my prep was good consistently hitting 100% in OA for atleast 7 times, mastered scrum Guide, fair understanding of burn charts, TDD, planning poker etc.. but I failed by just 1 mark..very disappointing , the areas where I went wrong was scrum of scrums and running short of time ,my mind set was 60 minutes & 60 questions.
Can you please suggest books in question answer mode – I am too busy to read 100s of pages to cover my little gap
Thanks in advance.
Srini
Hi Srini
I greatly respect you for sharing the outcome with us. You embody the pillars of Scrum:
1. Transparency. Sharing your story with us.
2. Inspection. You’ve asked where you went wrong and examined it.
3. Adaptation. You’re looking at ways to adapt the current status and improve.
After reading your post, I’d like to suggest firstly that you review examination techniques, rather than Scrum itself and secondly, I’d recommend that you read a bit more on Scaling Scrum (which is usually done with the Scrum of Scrums approach).
If you need help with any of those two items, please let me know. Either way, I know we’d all benefit from hearing more about your experiences.
Best wishes
–
Derek
Derek, Thanks for the swift response, I appreciate the feedback. I am very much interested to work the missing pieces , Please help me, especially on Scaling scrum.
Thanks,
Srini
Excellent piece of advice, Derek. Thank you once again. I’ve given my open assessment yesterday. I scored in the high seventies – like you pointed out, the test may not be a piece of cake unless the preparation is thorough.
Greatly appreciate your suggestions regarding any other reading material besides the Scrum Guide.
Hi Chandra
Scrum.org make recommendations on preparing for the PSM I assessment. This includes Ken’s book on Agile Software Project Management with Scrum. However, inadvertently, it highlights a major fault with books. Scrum is evolving so fast that books often end up out of date and Ken’s is no exception. In his book, he states that “… the ScrumMaster can abnormally terminate the Sprint” but this is completely wrong now according to the Scrum Guide which states that only the Product Owner can abnormally terminate a Sprint.
So, the advice that I always give is to read the Scrum Guide every day, for up to seven days, prior to taking your assessment. Also, keep taking the free assessment regularly until you can score 100% every time.
Good job, Derek…
So…. I don’t have any knowledge of Agile or Scrum but really wanted to acquire the same. I came across the open assessment yesterday and thought to give it a try. While answering the questions, I related them with my best practices as a project manager and to my surprize, I scored 65%. Not bad, huh?
Anyway, since you’ve already researched this certificate, can you please share your opinion with me as to whether or not the companies recognize this certificate? I’m a novice here who has read a lot of postings, comparing scrum.org and scrum alliance. I’ll get to the point rightaway. Which of these two is more recognized in the market and is known to give an edge to the ‘certifieds’?
Any thoughts will be appreciated.
Thanks.
Hi Jay
A score of 65% for a first attempt at the free assessment is a good start
I have had no problems whatever getting the Professional Scrum Master certificate recognised by an employer so I wouldn’t let that concern you.
Between the CSM and the PSM certificates, the CSM is better known, mostly because it’s been around a lot longer. You can read much more detail in my article that compares the Certified Scrum Master and Professional Scrum Master certificates.
Hope that helps. Please feel free to raise any other questions that may arise.
Hi Derek,
Your advices were very useful, particularly the tip about burn down charts. Thanks a lot.
Here is how I prepared for the exam : I read some books on Scrum (Scrum & XP from the trenches (free ebook), The Scrum Field Guide) and the Scrum Guide several times (I’ve used flash card to memorize the important parts). I did the Open Assessment several time until I reach 100% at each attempt (I’m glad I did, it bought me some time to revise the most trickier questions).
I did manage to answer the exam questions in about 30 minutes or so, leaving me time to revise the trickier questions (those not in the Open Assessment). The questions that are not in either the Guide nor the Open Assessment are just common sense. Put your Scrum Master hat and you will do just fine. Keeping in mind the 3 pillars of Scrum helped me : Transparency, Inspection, Adaptation.
Final score : 94% in 50 minutes.
Thanks again Derek.
You’re very welcome, Etienne. Welcome to the community of Professional Scrum Masters!
Hi Derek
A new manager joined our company and started talking about SCRUM terminology with the team who had no idea about. But being experienced in SCRUM 6 years ago, I thought I would question the practices since I didnt see anything SCRUM related being followed. So I took the OA test and scored 97% in first attempt. So now I can challenge the manager But my goal is to take the real certification and get through. Your site really helps. As you suggested I’ll go through the SCRUM guide and the burndownchart. Thank you for putting it on the blog. Please let me know if those two resources will really be enough to take the test if I opt to go with self preperation.
Hi Nave
Scoring 97% at your first attempt at the OA is excellent – congratulations!
In answer to your question, you’ll be well prepared for the actual assessment by following the advice in the article. As you can see from the comments, a number of others have done just that and passed their PSM assessment first time.
Do please come come back and let us know how you get on.
I passed the PSM 1 last week. Now thinking about PSM II ? Is there a way we can do it without any training?
Hi Nave
I don’t know of anyone that has passed it without training so the experience tends to indicate that training is needed.
Also, last time I checked, there were over 6,000 PSM I qualified people but fewer than 200 PSM II qualified people. This tends to confirm that the assessment is more complicated and students would benefit from the formal training.
Thanks for your post! I’ve already finished the 2-day PSM course and have two weeks to pass the PSM assessement. My first attempt to the free assessement was 74% without reading the guide, then read it and got 87% and a few minutes ago I got 100% in 10 minutes. I hope your advice will help. I agree that you must think in Scrum to pass the exam, it’s not just the test. Best regards!
Hi
Sounds like you’re in good shape. Don’t forget to become a subscriber and get a free copy of my Scrum Aide-Memoire. Packed with tips and reminders for the assessment and fine-tuned purely for the Scrum Guide and Professional Scrum Masters.
I’ve consistenly scoring 100% in Scrum Open Assessment and now looking forward to to give professional scrum master I certification. However; i understood we have to answer 80 questions in 60 min. I’ve gone thru scrum guide several time and now would like to know is there any other doc which give me confidence to clear this exam in first attempt. I am worried about rest 50 questions. please guide.
Hi Yogesh
Sounds like you’re in great shape. Don’t forget to have a quick look at burndown charts. Also, if you haven’t already done so, become a subscriber and get a free copy of my Scrum Aide-Memoire.
Then, when you’re ready, apply for the online assessment. You’ll have a few days after paying for the exam before you have to take it so make sure you set aside a quiet hour where you can concentrate on the questions.
Very best of luck and do please come back and let us know how you got on.
Thank you for your information!
I also took a two day course and now I am studying for my exam, which I will have to take tomorrow.
I took the open assessment a few times now and now my score is a 100% (I copied and paste all the questions in an Excel document and then studied them).
I also was missing the burndown chart in the Scrum guide and I read that I am not the only one. Futhermore I also miss the user stories in the Scrum guide. Are there questions about this subject in the exam?
Anyway, after my exam I will provide some feedback again.
Hi Ryan
You’re very welcome and do please come back and let us know how you got along.
Firstly, thank you so much for writing this article.
I was ‘googling’ for some inputs on this certification and fumbled on this article. After reading the article I took the OA and got 74% based on my two years experience working on agile projects. I read the scrum guide and took the OA three times and managed a 97% all three times in under 7 minutes. There seems to be something or the other I goof up every other time. Though these scores seem good, I am having second thoughts about giving the exam based on what you said, “At only 16 pages long, it’s easy to think that a quick 15 minute read will suffice but you’d be wrong. You’ll want to thoroughly understand the entire content of the document. Read it often.” Do you want me to refer something else or read the scrum guide again?! When do you think I will be ready for the final assessment?
Hi Rakesh
If you follow the advice in the article, you’ll be in great shape. Keep taking the Open Assessment until you can pass it regularly with a score of 100%. Keep reading the Scrum Guide every day. Research burndown charts.
If you haven’t already done so, become a subscriber and get a copy of my Scrum Aide-Memoire.
As you’re scoring 97%, you’re very nearly there. Just take an extra couple of days and keep going through the steps in the article.
Do come back and let us know how you got along.
Derek, Followed your advice and just gave the PSM I assessment. Managed 96%. Thanks a ton.
Outstanding! Congratulations, Rakesh. Welcome to the Community of Professional Scrum Masters.
Hi Derek,
Thank you ever so much for your guide!
I guess in the end, it was your hint about spending the extra time with burn down charts that did the trick.
I did successfully pass PSM1 just recently.
I had my preparation done with the official scrum guide, 4 takes of the open assessment and a few additional external sources.
Plus I had been involved in agile environments and projects for years, albeit not in any of the Scrum roles. Which is probably the experience part you cannot learn.
Side note: I did calculate how much time I had for a question on average and was checking progress after each 10 questions. By the time I reached 40, I was a few minutes ahead.
Unfortunately, my home internet connection decided to stop working for about 10-15 minutes. Which made me check router, cables and run around like a raging little goblin. That left me with 15 minutes for about 40 questions after it worked again (ISP issue).
So for PSM2, I would try and make sure I had a backup connection, maybe my phone ready with WiFi tethering.
I wonder what scrum.org would have done if I hadn’t passed due to the technical issues…
I also found it critical to compare what your environment practises with what the theory and guides say. You could be around an experienced Scrum team, but the framework might not be updated (e.g. no “commitment” anymore) or very much adapted to the business.
Thanks again.
Hi Dom
Thanks for letting me know how you got on. I’m always delighted to hear that the site, and this article, has proved useful.
Welcome to the Community of Professional Scrum Masters (especially given your Internet connection issues!)
hello dear derek
i am preparing myself for the PSM I test. one of my friends send me few questions. i answered the questions, but there is no one here (tehran) to help and correct my answers.
my request is that you correct my answers and reply to me.
so may i have your email address to send you questions?
Hi
I’d strongly advise that you take the free assessment at Scrum.org rather than relying on questions from a friend. There’s also the added benefit that some questions appear in the actual assessment.
–
Derek
hi
thanks to your advice. there is some question that i cant find their answer (free assessment or scrum guide):
for example:
… sample questions provided and removed by site admin …
would you answer to these questions?
Hi
Thanks for supplying your list of questions. They do look familiar to me and it’s possible that your friend provided you with real questions from the actual PSM I assessment. While I am delighted to help people learn Scrum, and learn enough to pass the PSM assessment, I don’t think it would be helpful for me to provide answers to actual exam questions.
Scrum.org, and myself, are keen to help people adopt Scrum. We’re also very happy to teach Scrum and to provide information and assistance to people free of charge, as they learn Scrum.
I can tell you that the correct answers to the questions you provided are contained within the Scrum Guide. I encourage you to read the guide and follow the instructions in this article. I know from experience that doing so diligently will give you everything you need to earn your PSM I certificate.
–
Derek
hi derek
i read your usefull article about burndown charts. now i have question:
in my class material we have this sentence:
” Monitoring Sprint Progress For and by the Development Team”
in Scrum Guide on page 13 lines 30, 31 & 32 we have:
” The Product Owner tracks this total work remaining at least for every Sprint Review. The Product Owner compares this amount with work remaining at previous Sprint Reviews to assess progress toward completing projected work by the desired time for the goal”
from first sentence we figure out that the development team is responsible for prepare and update the burndown chart.
from second definition we figure out that the product owner is responsible for prepare and update the burndown chart.
now my question is: who is responsible for prepare and update burndown chart?
development team? product owner? or both of them?
Hi
The first important thing to note is that the latest edition of the Scrum Guide does not refer to burndown charts.
In the section of the Scrum Guide that you are referring to, the Product Owner is responsible for assessing progress.
I don’t know why your class material is different but, when it comes to passing the PSM I assessment, the Scrum Guide is the only reference you should use.
Hi Derek,
Thank you so much for this insightful article. I followed most of the advice and tips mentioned here during my course of preparation. The tidbit about burndown charts was very useful too. This is how I went about the exam -
Took the OA without going through the Scrum guide – Scored in the 70s
Read Scrum Guide and then took OA a few times until I scored 100 consistently.
Re-read the scrum guide and studied up a bit on scrum in general (burndown charts included) and then took the assessment.
I am glad to inform that I passed the test with 96%!
Again, thanks for sharing your valuable inputs. I wish you well in your career and life!
Cheers
Vijay
Hi Vijay
Congratulations and welcome to the community of Professional Scrum Masters! It’s always great to get feedback from people that I’ve managed to help and I’m delighted that the articles have proved useful to you.
Hi Derek
First of all, thank you so much for all your tips.
I have a few questions for you.
1. Could you please provide additional information about the certification process once you have paid the $100 fee? how much time do we have to take the test? How many attempts do we have to pass the test without repaying the fee?
2. I have been taking the OA at least 4 times and the questions don’t vary too much, I mean, I barely see 2 different questions at most each time I take the OA. I’m surprised because the website indicates those are randomly selected from a larger pool. I just want to make sure if the scrum guide, OA and burndown charts would be enough material to get ready.
Thanks
G.S.
Hi Guillermo
From memory, I think you have 14 days from paying the fee to take the test. You will get an email from Scrum.org that gives you all the latest information and it will state there how much time you have.
You only have one chance to take the test per fee paid.
The Scrum Guide, Open Assessment and information on burndown charts are indeed enough to get you past the PSM I assessment as feedback from other successful test applicants indicates. Do feel free to sign up for our newsletter though and get a free copy of the Scrum Aide-Memoire which will also help.
Do please come back and let us all know how you got on.
By the way, I downloaded your Scrum Aide Memoire, it summarizes the Scrum guide pretty good
Thanks
Hello everyone! I’ve just passed PSM I
99% I’m so excited!!!
How I did it? I have the role of Scrum Master for 6 months so I know a lot from experience. What else? PSM Course and, most of all, Scrum Guide and other web materials about Scrum.
I downloaded the cheat sheet. On top of the cheat sheet is written ” based on the scrum guide October 2011 edn”. the cheat sheet says A sprint goal is defined before sprint backlog is devised. But the scrum guide says ” After the dev team forecasts the PBI it will deliver in the sprint , the scrum team crafts a sprint goal”. The scrum guide is Oct 2011 edn. These 2 are contradicting. Which is correct????
Hi Cynthia
That’s a really good question. Whenever you’re faced with any doubt over a question such as this, ALWAYS rely on the Scrum Guide. In this particular case though, you need to really understand the Scrum Guide to know that the cheat sheet is also right. Here’s why:
Page 10 of the Scrum Guide, in the section titled ‘Part One: What will be done this Sprint?’, third paragraph, first sentence: “After the Development Team forecasts the Product Backlog items it will deliver in the Sprint, the Scrum Team crafts a Sprint Goal.”
At the top of page 14 of the Scrum Guide, in the section titled ‘Sprint Backlog’, first sentence, it reads: “The Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint plus a plan for delivering the product Increment and realizing the Sprint Goal.”
So, to create a Sprint Backlog, you do these three things, in order:
1. Select PBI’s for the Sprint
2. Devise the Sprint Goal
3. Create a plan for how you will build this functionality into a “Done” product increment
Hence why the Sprint Goal is defined before the Sprint Backlog is defined. The cheat sheet and Scrum Guide are both correct.
Derek thanks. I kept looking at it and now finally understood. Thanks for clarifying quickly.
Derek I got this question in the exam.
A software build creates executable software the can be run on a computer. Which of the following must be done to build an executable
A) compilation of all relevant source code.
B) unit testing of the executable
C) refactoring the code
D) scanning the code to ensure that it conforms to standards
What is the answer… I choose a and I think it’s wrong
Hi Cynthia
While I’m delighted to help people prepare for the exam, I do refrain from giving answers to actual assessment questions.
The reason is that I have a passion for helping others to help themselves rather than simply providing answers for set questions.
I’m sure you understand.
Hi Derek,
I was going through this forum and read this post. Understand and appreciated your passion. However Cynthia did ask very genuine question and giving your opinion on such tricky question could help others too.
By the way – In little knowledge – I would choose B as unit testing can start when it is fully coded and complied and if satisfied unit testing it will classify as done.
Please correct me, if other have different opinion on it.
Thanks
Hi Raj
My intention with this site is to help people learn Scrum, not how to pass a test. The reading material recommended by Scrum.org will give you the answers to the questions in the assessment.
I’m afraid that giving my opinion on your view won’t help you, or anyone else. I encourage you to read the Scrum Guide and other recommended reading material. If you have any questions about them, I’d be delighted to help out and clear up any ambiguity.
I hope that helps.
I agree, I think this is a tricky question. Or actually, a badly written one.
From a Scrum point of view there’s a focus on Unit Testing so I think I’d choose B. However, from a literal point of view, Unit Testing an executable can’t be a part of creating that same executable. So the only good answer is A, which is agnostic of Scrum.
So I think this question is badly written and ambiguous (if indeed it has been reproduced accurately).
So I really hope it doesn’t pop up when I take PSM I in a few days!
Derek, I was referred to your site by a friend. A ton of useful information. Thanks.
I will be taking my PSM 1 is the next couple of weeks and information on your site has been very helpful. I have been getting 75%, 100% and 100% in the free assessment.
I am certainly going to be one of the frequent visitor to your site.
Please keep up the great work!!
Hi Kavitha
I’m delighted that you have found the site useful and thank you for your kind words.
Do please come back and let us know how you got on with your assessment.
Hi
Happy to share that I passed the exam couple of week ago in the first attempt. I started a new job and coincidentally they use scrum. So the certification came in handy..
Guys. Need to pick your brain. Details around definition of DONE. Can a scrum tream decide to have a separate Sprint only to deliver the completed documents, while code is delivered in another sprint? Similarly can a Scrum team decide to only fix high priority defects? i.e. fix lower priority defects in another Sprint?
Hi Raj
The Product Owner decides the order of the Product Backlog Items. This is true whether its documentation, code, high priority defects, low priority defects or anything else. Other members of the team can influence the Product Owner but it’s entirely up to Product Owner to make the decision.
You may find the following article useful: What a Product Owner Does
Derek,
I was referring your site contents to take my PSM 1 and thanks for your valuable content and cheat sheet. Got certified today but with exactly 85% and don’t know where I was wrong
Thanks,
Subramanyam V R
Hi
Congratulations on passing the assessment! As to questions you got wrong, if you write to Scrum.org they’ll tell you what areas you should focus on to improve your understanding.
hi Derek,
I’m currently self studying for the PSM 1 exam. I’m approx 10 years out of the Software industry and I feel that having this qualification would greatly assist my chances of finding employment again in the software sector. it seems that most employers are looking for a Scrum certification. My concern is that as I don’t have any day to day experience of Scrum in a working environment at present, it is realistic for me to expect to pass the exam ? I understand that some of the exam questions relate to real life day to day activities and are not necessarily covered in the Scrum Guide. Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hi Denis
I’d say its definitely possible. I think the easiest way to answer your question is for you to sit the free Open Assessment at Scrum.org, after having read through the free Scrum Guide provided at the same site.
Hope that helps.
thanks for that Derek. Much appreciated.
Denis
Hi Derek,
Came across your website while searching for helpful resources for PSM-1. Have registered for it couple of days back and have been getting 100% consistently in OA (have taken it quite a few times now). Have also studied the Scrum Guide a few times but am not very confident about my chances.
Will read up more on the Burndown Charts as you suggested and take the test after a while. Thanks for the tips.
Hi Amit
You’re very welcome. Please come back and let us know how you got on with the assessment.
Hello Derek,
Thanks for your tips about the Burndown Chart. There were indeed 3 questions about Burndown Charts.
I just passed the test with 94%, 75 of 80 questions correct. You have to interpret the Scrum Guide correctly and it sure helps if you’re already working in a Scrum team and environment.
Thanks mate.
PS. What bothered me the most during the assesment was the stability of my internet connection, here in the outback of Germany
. It’s not always reliable.
Hi Hennie
Congratulations on earning your PSM I certificate! If you’re interested in earning your PSM II certificate, keep an eye on the site as I’ll be writing about that soon, too.
Hi Derek,
Thank you for your post and “Scrum Cheet Sheet”, they helped me to pass PSM I with a 90% score.
Fresh experience may help the ones who want to take this exam :
- Took open assessment a few times and understand all answers. This will make you gain additional time (remember that there are 80 questions; but 60 minutes).
- Know everything about 3 roles, 4 ceremonies, 3 artifacts. It is important to know answers of such questions “who is responsible, what is time-box of each, who makes, who updates, who removes etc…”
- Some questions are tricky. For example, pay attention more to Product and Sprint backlog. The responsibles of them are different so do not click Product Owner option automatically.
- I saw 3 questions about Burndown Charts. Know what it is and used for.
What is next? Maybe it is better to gain more experience especially in practice. There are many valuable books on Scrum and other agile subjects that i can understand the subject deeper.
By the way, Happy New Year!
Thanks a lot.
Happy New Year to you too, Hayri
Congratulations on passing your PSM I assessment and thanks for keeping us all up-to-date with the current status of the assessment.
If you’re interested in how to pass the PSM II assessment, keep an eye on the site as I’ll be reporting on that soon, too.
Hello Derek
Thanks a lot for your articles and your suggestions. It helped me pass the PSM – I with 94%. It was a slightly tougher than the Scrum Open Assessment. The mocks in testtakeronline were good as well and helped in the preparation.
Let me see if I can carry on this momentum and take up the PSM – II exam as well sometime soon. I will keep an eye on the website!.
Happy New Year!!!
Cheers
Srini
Hi Srini
You’re very welcome. Thanks for coming on and letting everyone know how you got on.
Thank you for this useful information. I have passed the test! I found several questions about multiple scrum teams, and I didn’t have enough information or experience in this subject. I will keep applying agile in my organization and learn more with experience.
Joe
@cafedejoe
Hi Derek,
I read through many of your posts on Monday regarding the certification test preparation. I had been studying but heard the test was difficult. I applied what you and others had posted and I passed the test today!! Thank you all.
Hi Derek,
thanks for your excellent Scrum sheet. Today I’ve passed the PSM I assessment with a score of 96%.
Kind regards,
Tom
Hi Tom
That’s excellent news! Congratulations and welcome to the community of Professional Scrum Masters
Hi Derek,
The assessment welcome letter recommends reading the book “Software in 30 Days” by Ken Schwaber. is it necessary to pass the PSM 1 assessment?
Thanks
Murali
Hi Murali
It’s been almost a year since I sat the exam (how time flies!) and Ken and Jeff’s book, ‘Software in 30 Days’ has been released since then. It’s realistic to expect that it will contain information that will help candidates.
I’d recommend reading the book in any case. It’s an easy read and well worth the effort.
–
Derek
Hi Derek,
After reading the book “Agile project management with Scrum” from Ken Schwabar, I took the open assessment but only managed to get 67%.
Plz could you suggest any reference material, book to prepare before taking up next open assessment so that I manage to score 100%.
Hi
I would avoid the book “Agile project management with Scrum” by Ken Schwaber for the simple reason that some if it has been superceded by the current version of the Scrum Guide. For example, the book says that a ScrumMaster can cancel a Sprint but the latest version of the Scrum Guide says that only a Product Owner can do this.
Your best read, without doubt, is the official Scrum Guide by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland. It’s a small document, easy to read and free of charge. Know the content of this guide really well and you’ll sail through the Open Assessment and have an excellent foundation for the real assessment.
Good luck!
Thanks Derek for your feedback. I have started reading scrum guide and hope to score better in next open assessment.
Regards,
Ashish
HI Derek,
I have attempted OA 4 times and have observed that majority of the questions are repeated with only couple (max) are added new in each test.
My scoring has been as follows;
OA – 1 => 67%
OA – 2 => 97%
OA – 3 => 97%
OA – 4 => 100%
OA – 5 => 100%
OA – 6 => 100%
Is this good enough preparation for me to go for final assessment or I need to refer to any more reference books to be totally prepared for the final test? Plz suggest.
Many thanks for your support
– Ashish
Hi Derek,
I cleared PSM1 today with 86%. I must say I found the questions tricky which can make you go wrong even if you know the concepts well.
I really appreciate your assistance through this site. You Rock!!!!
Thanks
Murali
Passed the PSM I today!!! The tips on this site were very useful. Thank you!
There were some questions from the open assessment, but also several tricky ones that I had never seen before. Reading the Scrum guide and taking the open assessment should be sufficient preparation. It would help if you’ve had the chance to implement Scrum in the past.
Reviewing other Scrum material and learning from different sources will also be useful (there are tons of material out there).