Scrum Master Certification

What is Scrum?

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_(development)

Scrum is an iterative incremental framework for managing complex work (such as new product development) commonly used with agile software development.
During each “sprint”, typically a two to four week period (with the length being decided by the team), the team creates a potentially shippable product increment (for example, working and tested software). The set of features that go into a sprint come from the product “backlog,” which is a prioritized set of high level requirements of work to be done. Which backlog items go into the sprint is determined during the sprint planning meeting. During this meeting, the Product Owner informs the team of the items in the product backlog that he or she wants completed. The team then determines how much of this they can commit to complete during the next sprint.[1] During a sprint, no one is allowed to change the sprint backlog, which means that the requirements are frozen for that sprint. After a sprint is completed, the team demonstrates the use of the software.

Scrum enables the creation of self-organizing teams by encouraging co-location of all team members, and verbal communication across all team members and disciplines that are involved in the project.

A key principle of Scrum is its recognition that during a project the customers can change their minds about what they want and need (often called requirements churn), and that unpredicted challenges cannot be easily addressed in a traditional predictive or planned manner. As such, Scrum adopts an empirical approach—accepting that the problem cannot be fully understood or defined, focusing instead on maximizing the team’s ability to deliver quickly and respond to emerging requirements.

There are several implementations of systems for managing the Scrum process, which range from yellow stickers and whiteboards, to software packages. One of Scrum’s biggest advantages is that it is very easy to learn and requires little effort to start using.

A number of roles are defined in Scrum. All roles fall into two distinct groups—pigs and chickens—based on the nature of their involvement in the development process. Amongst them, the Scrum Master (or Facilitator).

Scrum is facilitated by a Scrum Master, whose primary job is to remove impediments to the ability of the team to deliver the sprint goal. The Scrum Master is not the leader of the team (as the team is self-organizing) but acts as a buffer between the team and any distracting influences. The Scrum Master ensures that the Scrum process is used as intended. The Scrum Master is the enforcer of rules. A key part of the Scrum Master’s role is to protect the team and keep them focused on the tasks in hand. The Scrum Master is NOT responsible for the transition from traditional methods of working to Scrum or the implementation of Scrum.

Meetings: daily scrum, scrum of scrums, sprint planning meeting, sprint review meeting, sprint retrospective.

The only accepted organization providing Scrum training and certification seems to be “Scrum Alliance”.

The journey to mastery begins with a Certified ScrumMaster or Certified Scrum Product Owner course. These courses provide a solid foundation to help you make the paradigm shift to managing a project using Scrum.

CSM or CSPO course is essential for moving toward the more advanced certifications of Certified Scrum Practitioner, Certified Scrum Coach, and Certified Scrum Trainer®. Details of the program are shown below:

Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

Prerequisites: Prior to attending the CSM course, students should have read the Scrum Guide. Download a copy at no cost. http://www.scrumalliance.org/resources

Intended For: Individuals who will work on a Scrum team. The course has a strong emphasis on the role of the ScrumMaster.

Certification Process: Currently, an individual is certified when he or she has attended, participated in, and completed a Certified ScrumMaster course, and passed/completed the CSM online exam.

Certification Duration: The online Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) exam launched October 1, 2009 and is a part of the CSM course certification. It is not currently available without a course by one of our CST’s. The exam link is located within the members completed profile.

Recertification Process: To recertify, CSMs who have not previously passed the CSM exam will be required to do so. CSMs who have previously passed the CSM exam will not be required to retake it, but will be required to provide some evidence of continuing education. ( this process to be determined). The recertification fee is $150.