I was introduced to agile software development during my training at the FHNW. In countless projects, we played planning poker, interpreted burn-down charts and looked back on our (failures) successes in sprint retrospectives. The Agile Manifesto and other theories on agile working methods were also discussed in modules such as "Software Development Processes". In my working life, I have also developed agile software in various projects. So can I claim that I can do Scrum? I wanted to have this question answered by an independent test and decided to get certified!
Where, when and how?
So I did what you always do in such situations and started googling. The spectrum of tests and certifications on offer ranged from scammy to highly reputable. As there were so many potential providers to choose from, I set myself a few rules:
- The provider must have a certain legitimacy, i.e. have good references in specialised blogs or similar.
- No attendance course necessary. I did so much classroom teaching at the FHNW that I thought it must be possible to do it without a course. (Besides, these courses also cost several thousand francs).
- Budget max. 500 CHF.
After intensive research, I came across Scrum.org. The site claims to be the "Home of Scrum" - not bad at all. It is also very well rated on test portals and seems to be generally recognised. Courses for the certification exam are offered worldwide, but it is not compulsory to attend one in order to take the exam. The certification portfolio is broad, but it is still easy to find out which ones might be of interest to you. All tests can be taken online regardless of time and place.
Trial = reality check
I decided to go for the PSPO I certification (Professional Scrum Product Owner I). This was mainly because I had mostly held these or at least similar roles in my previous professional life. Cost: 200$.
Once I had decided which certification I wanted to do, I scrolled through the information provided by the provider and saw the "Product Owner Open" test. This is a mock exam with 15 questions from a large pool of questions that you can use to assess your own level. So let's go: on my first attempt I promptly achieved 75% correct answers. Some of the questions were very tricky and probably designed to ensure that you have internalised the latest version of the Scrum Guide. So I tried again and again, but never quite reached the required 85% (the questions change slightly each time and there is simply no solution).
Back to the (agile) school bench
I realised that I had to - literally - "go back to the books". Fortunately, Scrum.org offers a wide collection of resources and a compilation of what you need to have read, heard and seen for which certification in order to pass.
Following the guidelines, I was again introduced to the basics of Scrum theory including all roles and responsibilities. I would say 3/4 of the course was more of a general nature than specific to the PO role. But I struggled through the material in a weekend - admittedly sometimes rather superficially when I felt I already knew something from my training. But I ploughed through it.
The moment of truth
After the most agile weekend of my life so far, I felt ready. I created an account on Scrum.org, bought the access code for the test for $200 and off I went. There were 80 questions between me and the certificate, which I had to answer in 60 minutes. Those who answered >85% of the questions correctly passed.
The questions were wildly mixed up and didn't follow any system, either in terms of difficulty or topic. I clicked through the multiple choice questions as quickly as I could. With 37 seconds left on the clock, I completed the test and saw nothing at first. After clicking on "Show Result" I was redirected and saw my certificate ready for download - yay!
2 for 1?
After I was happy about passing the exam, I continued to browse around on Srum.org. I saw the PSM I (Professional Scrum Master I) certification and thought back to the exam I had just taken. There were a lot of general questions about Scrum, the roles and the concepts in the test. Now I'm more fit in the theory of Scrum than I have been for a long time. Should I dare to take this certification too? 30 minutes later I found myself, 150$ poorer - for some reason this certification is 50$ cheaper - but one exam code for the PSM I exam richer.
So focus again and answer 80 questions correctly at least 85% of the time in 60 minutes. I still had 3:49 minutes left on the clock when I pressed the button to complete the exam. And here, too, it was enough - yeah!
Conclusion
I can now partially answer the question: "Can I do Scrum?". In theory, I have fulfilled the requirements for the certificates and can rightly decorate my collection of diplomas with them. But during my intensive Scrum studies, I realised again that Scrum is above all a mindset: you deliver something in every sprint without exception, you deal with each other openly and transparently, you solve problems in the team, find solutions in the team, you commit to tasks and follow them through. This is what Scrum is all about and why Scrum must not only be applied, but also lived.