How I Prepared For And Passed The PSPO I Assessment
Hello Folks.
I wanted to give back since I relied on a lot of the shared feedback in this forum to prepare for and pass my PSPO I assessment.
Overview
This is possibly the most difficult certification exam I have ever attempted. I invested around sixty hours of study time in preparation for this assessment. I also took a two-day, in-person PSPO I course and don't think I would have passed without this extra knowledge. My goal was to learn more about the Agile Product Manager role and to apply my knowledge into taking the assessment. The study time and the class gave me the skills and artifacts to apply in my job and to pass the assessment. In fact, my recommendation to Scrum.org is to make the two-day class mandatory for anybody attempting to take the PSPO I and/or II assessment. The best part about the class is that even if you don't attempt or pass the PSPO I assessment, the class badge will still be visible on your public profile.
Preparation
The Scrum Guide: I slowly read and understood this about six times.
Scrum Glossary: I read and understood this about four times.
Evidence-Based Management Guide AND Evidence Based Management: I read and understood the first one twice and the second one five times.
The Nexus Guide: I read this once.
Suggested Reading for PSPO: I read and understood this page and the Professional Scrum Competencies links about three times. I didn't purchase any books.
Product Owner Learning Path: I watched and carefully read everything here once.
The Scrum Crazy Blog Study Tips by Charles Bradley: I read this post six times. I followed the advice in 1 through 13. I clicked on the links, read and understood everything in 1 through 13. Pay attention to The New New Product Owner and the Burndown Charts.
The Cone of Uncertainly: I read and understood this six times.
Open Assessments: I took the Scum Open and the Product Owner Open at least fifteen times each. I paid attention to why I got an answer wrong and read up on the wrong answers in the Scrum Guide. The last three times I scored 100% on each assessment. My advice would be that you not attempt the real assessment unless you're scoring 100% on each of these open assessments at least three times in a row.
Mikhail Lapshin: Officially, the advice is that you should not take non-scrum.org assessments through third parties because their material is out of date or doesn't prepare you well for the real assessment. The only exception to this rule that I made was this particular assessment. It's free, though I will make a donation because it helped me. I completed the Product Owner Learning Mode twice and the Real Mode six times. Pay attention to the explanation related to the wrong answers. I knew I was ready once I got 100% on the last two Real Mode attempts.
Training: I used the Find A Public Class to find and participate in a two-day, in-person PSPO training course. This was extremely helpful because the goal of this class is give you the knowledge to be a better Product Owner. There were a lot of group discussions, exercises and workshops. This type of training is how I learn best. And yes, this helped with the PSPO I assessment as well.
Assessment
Despite all of this preparation, I found at least two-thirds of the eighty questions to be challenging. The reason is that the answers weren't lifted out of everything I read and watched. I had to apply my knowledge of Scrum to the questions and answer accordingly.
Results
After five weeks of preparation, I found a quiet, late evening, one hour time window where I couldn't be disturbed by anybody and took the assessment. I had to answer eighty questions in sixty minutes. I read each question and the choices carefully, sometimes twice, to understand what was being asked and responded to the best of my Scrum knowledge. I completed the PSPO I assessment in forty-one minutes and scored 96.3 %.
I hope that my advice can help others prepare for this valuable assessment. As of October 2019, there are only 58,217 PSPO I credential-holders in the world. So this is a very valuable certification in my opinion.
Good luck!
Hi Mark,
Thank you so much for your feedback. I am currently preparing for PSPO I, and would like to understand if you read any books as part of your preparation? Example The Professional Product Owner: Leveraging Scrum as a Competitive Advantage?
Warm Regards,
Houz
Hello Houz. I did not. But as you can see, I participated in an in-person training class led by a PST (I highly recommend this). That and everything else I have listed is helpful.
Hi, I just passed mine today. I ran through your steps and they were also really helpful. Thank you for taking the time to post this.
Thank you,
Ebony
Hello,
I have just taken my steps to explore this platform, my ultimate aim is to complete PSPO II. I have some concerns and need some suggestions. Im sure someone can help
- I wanted to know if I could aim at targetting PSPO II straight away without having to complete PSPO I? Is that a possibility?
- How long does it take to prepare for the course provided I dedicate all of my time in suggested materials?
- Mark Adams, your feedback is invaluable, it gives me a better understanding.
Thank you Ebony and Eves.
Eves,
I'm pretty certain you have to do them in order, starting with PSPO I. All of Scrum.org's assessments require focus and preparation. Of all the Agile certifications out there, these are more academic and require you to understand the application of Scrum.
Good luck.
Thank you, Mark, appreciate your response.
Eves
Hello everybody,
I am preparing to take a PSPO I exam and I want your opinion on Mplaza PSPO I Exam Simulator. can I help me to prepare for an exam?
Haven't used Mplaza PSPO I Exam Simulator but used Volkerdon Exam Simulator as mentioned below with regards to my experience in passing PSPO I certification.
Passed PSPO I certification on 9MAY2020 with 92.5% in first attempt. I had passed PSM I few months ago. Lesson learnt - Attempt to take PSPO I certification as soon as possible after passing PSM I as it will be lot easier.
For PSPO exam preparation, I used Udemy courses Scrum Product Owner Certification Prep by Valentin Despa and Scrum Product Owner Exam Prep by Hiro Takashimya. Also used Practice Tests from Mikhail Lapshin website and volkerdon Exam Simulator and Scrum.org Open Assessment to practice more. Practice Tests and repeated reading of Scrum Guide helped me to pass with ease. Exam questions were mostly familiar after doing so many practice tests.
Thanks all for many inputs obtained in the forum.
Sadiq
Planning take PSPO1 in this week and have completed PSM1 4 weeks back. Have seen that practice tests for PSM1 and PSPO1 are almost same and PSPO also suggest to read SCRUM Guide. So do we need to study something extra to pass PSPO1 ?
This is an unanswerable question I know, since no body knows my exact knowledge or ability but I am interested in any feedback.
Long story short: 1 week of learning and i got 80% each on practice PSM1 & PSPO1 exams. How long should I plan on learning at 6h/day until I should be confident in passing?. How hard is that last 15-20%?
Background:
I have worked with a Scrumban like framework that I implemented based around the requirements of my boss. Nothing strictly by the book but I had read enough and tried to implement the main values & principles (turns out i reinvented Scrumban), but not a standard Scrum process so prior experience is really minimal.
Recently I became unemployed (COVID19!) so looking to add some certificates and move on from a dev role to a project manager or product owner position. Last week I was doing a lot more in-depth reading on Agile and Scrum, did a course on udemy. Not read any books all yet. I did a PSO1 practice test earlier in the week and got 80% 1st try, the questions I got wrong I had the correct answer as 2nd choice. Today I did the SM test and same result.
Question
So I am wondering how much more practice is required until I can feel comfortable in passing 1st time. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to rush through things just to get a certificate, but the sooner I get a certificate the sooner it can be on my CV. I also I am not very good at rote learning facts rather than concepts and meaning, and unfortunately like all exams the PSO does require memorizing specific figures for some Qs.
While getting 80% 1st try would suggest I am close I think the 80-20 principle probably applies, and getting 80% of the progress takes 20% of the time. I can do about 6hours a day on this. Could cram more but it becomes less productive. I have added a new udemy course specific for PSPO and intend to go through all the suggested reading/learning path at least once. IS that sufficient, so maybe 1 more week? I know the practice exams will give feedback on progress but any advice will help me plan the next for weeks as there are other certificates I want to pass, projects to work on etc.
2nd question would be the relative difficult of the PSO2 vs PSO1.
I can make an observation: you haven't mentioned the Scrum Guide even once.
Thank you for the quick reply.
I have read the Scrum guide twice all through and skim read it at least twice more (it is really short). I have also read a few different online resources and done a udemy course that largely regurgitated the Scrum Guide verbatim. Although I have only done a few practice tests, it seems to me the PSPO tests covers far more material than the Scrum Guide covers? While I have only just started my Scrum journey, I seem to think the Scrum Guide is just the tip of the iceberg and to pass the PO certification requires a lot more reading? Otherwise my, mem... I forget what its called, is worse than I, what were we talking about?
Thank you all for the great information shared here and on other forum for the PSPO certification. I went through all as mentioned and passed my PSPO 1 successfully. Below is the info i collected from the forums and reviewed that ot me through.
Product Scrum Product Owner ( PSOP 1)
- The Scrum Guide: I slowly read and understood this about six times.
- Evidence-Based Management Guide AND Evidence Based Management: I read and understood the first one twice and the second one five times.
- The Nexus Guide: I read this once.
- Focus on Product Value Maximization and Product Backlog Management
- https://www.thescrummaster.co.uk/scrum/how-to-pass-the-professional-scr…
- Read The Professional Scrum Product Owner: Guide to Pass PSPO 1 Certification by Mohammed Musthafa Soukath ( This was a good one and covers all topics for PSOP lihttps://www.amazon.com/Professional-Scrum-Product-Owner-Certification-ebook/dp/B01D73SRH4#customerReviews
- This video from Henrik Kniberg is a great summary: https://youtu.be/502ILHjX9EE
- Scrum Glossary: I read and understood this .
- Suggested Reading for PSPO: I read and understood this page and the Professional Scrum Competencies links .
- Product Owner Learning Path: I watched and carefully read everything here once.
- The Scrum Crazy Blog Study Tips by Charles Bradley: I read this post . I followed the advice in 1 through 13. I clicked on the links, read and understood everything in 1 through 13. Pay attention to The New New Product Owner and the Burndown Charts.
- The Cone of Uncertainly: I read and understood this six times.
- Practice test:
- Open Assessments: I took the Scum Open and the Product Owner Open at least 10 times each.
- Mikhail Lapshin: PSM test https://mlapshin.com/index.php/scrum-quizzes/sm-real-mode/, get all correct
- https://mlapshin.com/index.php/scrum-quizzes/po-learning-mode/ Do the LM Learning mode and see the explanation as to why the answer was wrong, then select the RM ( Real mode) and practice until you get 100% all right and practice timing as you have 80 questions in 60 minutes.
Guide to Pass PSPO 1 Certification by Mohammed Musthafa Soukath has a couple of questions to test out as well .
I passed PSPO couple of days back and the prep wasn't that different from what I did for PSM. Again, focus mainly on Scrum Guide. 80-85% of the questions will be based on your understanding of the guide. Read Evidence-Based Management Guide as well along with the articles that you will find on this website (scrum.org). If you have preped for PSM, PSPO should be a easy task for you as I see this certification as an extension to PSM. Check out what I did to prepare for PSM here --> https://www.scrum.org/forum/scrum-forum/14962/passed-psm-i-first-attempt-975-score
Do practice the open assessments multiple times (try to do all assessments - scrum master, dev, PO, etc). Mikhail Lapshin's assessments are good too.
Good luck.
Hi,
I have passed also PSPO I few days ago with 97.5%. Few years ago I've passed PSM I and I think this helped me....somehow I didn't forgot the main items.
I cannot say how many days I've spent studying. From the beggining of the year I had several tentatives but always appeared something more stringent.
I've focused on Scrum Guide, EBM (read and ubderstood well), Nexus Guide (read it 6 times and made the assesment) and the book Read The Professional Scrum Product Owner: Guide to Pass PSPO 1 Certification by Mohammed Musthafa Soukath.
I've practiced many times the open assesments (all of them, except the one for dev). Mikhail Lapshin's assessments are very good. I may say that based on his assessments I've understood better scrum. So I've practiced all of these untill I understood them and scored 100%. I've found some other tests on the internet which helped me to clarify some items.
In 2017 we had a coach who helped us implementing Scrum in our company and we had 2 days of training. But he also answered to all our questions and at that point in time I was preparing for PSM I. I think this helped me too.
So going back to PSPO I, it was not so hard. I've finished in 45 minutes and the rest of the time I used for revising some of the questions. When I had doubts I've tried to focus on what is Scrum saying related to that subject and not on what I've experienced at my job. Some of the questions were from the opened assesments, so this helped me to answer very fast and spend more time on the once more complex. The questions and the ansewers didn't have long text comparing to PSM I. So from this point of view was relaxing. You nees to understand some terms in order to be able to answer to some questions.(cone of uncertainty)
In the end I believe that it depends on how much time you invest in learning for this test and understanding the essence of SCRUM and also experience on working with Scrum.
Hi,
I cleared the PSPO I exam today (92.5%). I studied for 1 week approximately and used resources (guides, open assessments, learning path, videos, articles) on the Scrum.org site, some YouTube videos on Product Owner role and a few other important references (listed below at end of my comment).
My observations:
1) The Scrum Guide and EBM Guide formed core or base of the questions
2) Around 3-4 questions were either from or similar to the Scrum, PSPO and Agile Measurement open assessments
3) The exam is really tough and 60 mins is a marathon; it is better to note the questions on which you have doubts and move on to the next questions; then come to the doubtful questions after finishing the 80th question
4) I read the Nexus guide for knowledge / reference only; the exam did not have any questions from Nexus however the exam does talk about multiple scrum teams collaborating (2-3 questions) however more from the perspective of self-organizing and combined Increment without a reference to Nexus
5) Many questions are situational and practitioner perspective, rather than bookish
Other resources:
https://medium.com/serious-scrum/passing-the-product-owner-certification-71ffb85661b9
http://mlapshin.com/index.php/scrum-quizzes/po-learning-mode/
Regards,
Shitij
Hello all,
I passed the PSPO1 yesterday with 97.5% :-)
I really enjoyed the scenario questions. I prepared by going through the PSPO learning path on this site, reviewing other related blogs and forum posts on this site & others, taking Volkedon's free PSPO course, and reading the 'The Professional Product Owner' book (not really necessary as all info in the book can be found on this site).
I did notice a few Scrum Master related questions (what would a SM do in this or that situation) which I found a bit odd, considering the exam is supposed to be about the PO.
Below is the list of material I gathered (The txt files represent material that was covered in either the SM learning path, or the PSK / SPS suggested readings. The material with an Extra_ prefix indicate ones that I believe should be added to the PSPO LP. Material that have hypjenated numbers came from links within their parent item):
01_Understanding and Applying the Scrum Framework
- 01_Empiricism\01_Principles behind the Agile Manifesto_SM-LP.txt
- 01_Empiricism\02_Empiricism, the act of making decisions based on what is.docx
- 01_Empiricism\03_The Three Pillars of Empiricism (Scrum)_SM-LP.txt
- 01_Empiricism\04_Agile is constant change_SM-LP.txt
- 01_Empiricism\05_Escaping the Predictability Trap.docx
- 02_Scrum Values\01_ScrumValues-Tabloid_SM-LP.txt
- 02_Scrum Values\02_Updates to the Scrum Guide The 5 Scrum values take center stage_SM-LP.txt
- 02_Scrum Values\03_Case-Study_Intarlinks-Reboot_July2017v3_SM-LP.txt
- 02_Scrum Values\04_Why Tech Companies Need a Code of Ethics for Software Development.docx
- 02_Scrum Values\05_How to Build Trust to Enable Agility_SM-LP.txt
- 03_Scrum Team\01_The+Truth+About+Job+Titles+in+Scrum+-+Final_pmi_SM-LP.txt
- 03_Scrum Team\03_Characteristics of a Great Scrum Team_SM-LP.txt
- 03_Scrum Team\04_Why you Need Only ONE Product Owner .docx
- 03_Scrum Team\Extra_10 Tips for Product Owners on the Scrum Framework.docx
- 04_Scrum Events\01_5 Powerful Things About the Sprint .docx
- 05_Scrum Artifacts\02_Myth 2 The Sprint Backlog can’t change during the Sprint_SM-LP.txt
- 06_Sprint Goal\01_Scrum from the trenches - the Sprint Goal_SM-LP.txt
- 06_Sprint Goal\02_Six Reasons Why You Need to Pay More Attention to the Sprint Goal _SM-PL.txt
- 06_Sprint Goal\03_Getting to Done Creating Good Sprint Goals_SM-LP.txt
- 07_Done\01_Getting started with a Definition of Done (DoD)_SM-PL.txt
- 07_Done\02_Walking Through a Definition of Done_SM-PL.txt
- 07_Done\03_Myth 3 In Scrum, releases are done only at the end of the Sprint_SM-PL.txt
- 07_Done\04_Definition of Done Should include a Definition of Undo(ne)_SM-PL.txt
- 08_Scaling Scrum\01_NexusGuide 2021_0_SM-LP_SPS.txt
- 08_Scaling Scrum\02_Scrumorg-Nexus-Framework-tabloid (1)_SM-LP_SPS.txt
- 08_Scaling Scrum\03_An Introduction to the Nexus Framework - June 2016_0_SM-LP.txt
- 08_Scaling Scrum\04_How+NetHealth+Used+Team+Self-Selection+to+Reorganize+Their+Scaling+Initative_Final_SM-LP.txt
- 08_Scaling Scrum\06_The Nexus Framework for Scaling Scrum book_SPS.txt
02_Managing Products with Agility
- 01_Forecasting and Release Planning\01_Release planning and predictable delivery_SM-PL.txt
- 01_Forecasting and Release Planning\02_Scrum Myths There is No Planning in Scrum_SM-LP.txt
- 01_Forecasting and Release Planning\03_Myth 9 Story Points are Required in Scrum_SM-LP.txt
- 01_Forecasting and Release Planning\04_Faking It Estimates and Metrics in Scrum_SM-PL.txt
- 01_Forecasting and Release Planning\05-1_F3-Program-Board.png
- 01_Forecasting and Release Planning\05_10 Tips for Product Owners on Release Planning.docx
- 01_Forecasting and Release Planning\Extra_10 Tips for Product Owners on Agile Product Management.docx
- 02_Product Vision\01_10 Tips for Product Owners on the Product Vision.docx
- 03_Product Value\01-1_Scrum Myths Scrum projects are faster and cheaper.docx
- 03_Product Value\01-2_Managing risk_SM-LP.txt
- 03_Product Value\01-3_Scrum, luck, and product development.docx
- 03_Product Value\01-4a_Patterns for Splitting User Stories.docx
- 03_Product Value\01-4b_Story-Splitting-Cheat-Sheet.pdf
- 03_Product Value\01-5_Scrum and Hypothesis Driven Development.docx
- 03_Product Value\01_Scrum Mastery 4 Steps to Optimize Product Value.docx
- 03_Product Value\02_Empathy Driven Development Rescuing Value From the Bermuda Triangle.docx
- 03_Product Value\03_The Elements of Value.docx
- 03_Product Value\04-1_amazing-outcomes-outcome-map.pdf
- 03_Product Value\04_Outcome Mapping & Scrum The Story of Amazing Decisions .docx
- 03_Product Value\05_The Professional Product Owner Leveraging Scrum as a Competitive Advantage ( PDFDrive ).pdf
- 03_Product Value\Extra_10 Tips for Product Owners on (Business) Value.docx
- 04_Product Backlog Management\02_The Art of Product Backlog Refinement_SM-LP.txt
- 04_Product Backlog Management\03_Myth 14 Refinement is a required meeting for the entire Scrum Team_SM-LP.txt
- 04_Product Backlog Management\04_If your Backlog is not Refined then you are Doing it Wrong_SM-LP.txt
- 04_Product Backlog Management\Extra_10 Tips for Product Owners on Product Backlog Management.docx
- 05_Business Strategy\01-1_Getting started with a modern source control system and DevOps.docx
- 05_Business Strategy\01-2_You are doing it wrong if you are not using test first.docx
- 05_Business Strategy\01-3_Professional Scrum teams build software that works.docx
- 05_Business Strategy\01-4_I do continuous deliver, why should I Sprint.docx
- 05_Business Strategy\01_A Better way than Staggered Iterations for Delivery.docx
- 05_Business Strategy\02_Business Agility.docx
- 05_Business Strategy\03_What’s Driving Your Need For Agility .docx
- 05_Business Strategy\04-1_5 Beliefs That Predict Enterprise Agile Success .docx
- 05_Business Strategy\04-2_What DevOps Taught Me About Agile_SPS.txt
- 05_Business Strategy\04-3_Building a Software Start-Up Inside GE.docx
- 05_Business Strategy\04_Freeze The Pond Versus Take The Hill Two Metaphors For Enterprise Agile Change.docx
- 06_Stakeholders and Customers\01-1_story_mapping_SPS.txt
- 06_Stakeholders and Customers\01_3 Key Tactics for Scrum Teams to Connect With Customers!_SPS.txt
- 06_Stakeholders and Customers\02_10 Tips for Product Owners on Stakeholder Management .docx
03_Developing and Delivering Products Professionally
- 01_Emergent Software Development\01_Getting to Done Balancing Emergence and Delivery_SM-LP.txt
- 02_Managing Technical Risk\02_Using a Technical Debt Register in Scrum .docx
- 02_Managing Technical Risk\03_Managing risk_SM-LP.txt
- 03_Optimizing Flow\01_01-2021-Kanban-Guide-for-Scrum-Teams-English_SM-LP_PSK.txt
- 03_Optimizing Flow\02_Limiting Work in Progress (WIP) in Scrum with Kanban - What When Who How_SM-LP_PSK.txt
04_Evolving the Agile Organization
- 01_Organizational Design and Culture\01_The New New Product Development Game.docx
- 01_Organizational Design and Culture\02_Culture Change An important ingredient for organizational Agility_SM-LP.txt
- 01_Organizational Design and Culture\03_The Brave Tin Soldier .docx
- 01_Organizational Design and Culture\04_Scrum.org-White-Paper-Thales_SM-LP.txt
- 01_Organizational Design and Culture\05_AgileTransformationVodafoneTR-revised.pdf
- 02_Portfolio Planning\01_Extending Impact Mapping to Gain Better Product Insights_SPS.txt
- 02_Portfolio Planning\02_Solving Agile portfolio planning for Lawns ‘R’ Us.docx
- 03_Evidence-Based Management\01_EBM Guide 2020_1_SM-LP.txt
- 03_Evidence-Based Management\02_Empirical-Management-Explored_SM-LP.txt
- 03_Evidence-Based Management\03-1_Measure & Learn.docx
- 03_Evidence-Based Management\03-2_People & Process.docx
- 03_Evidence-Based Management\03-3_Product Owners.docx
- 03_Evidence-Based Management\03-4_Leaders.docx
- 03_Evidence-Based Management\03-5_What my father taught me about Evidence-based Management (34 years before it was invented!).docx
- 03_Evidence-Based Management\03_Evidence-Based Management Gathering the metrics .docx
- 03_Evidence-Based Management\04_Why Evidence Based Management can be hard .docx
05_Additional Practices
- 01_Practices\01-1_LeanUX_canvas_v5.pdf
- 01_Practices\01-2_LeanUX_canvas_v5.pptx
- 01_Practices\01_Lean UX Canvas V2.docx
- 01_Practices\02-1_Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything.docx
- 01_Practices\02_A Better Way to Think About Your Business Model.docx
- 01_Practices\03-1_the-value-proposition-canvas-instruction-manual.pdf
- 01_Practices\03_the-value-proposition-canvas-1.pdf
- 01_Practices\04_Thirty-Five.docx
Others
- 58 Product Owner Theses .docx
- A Balanced Product Scorecard.docx
- Are dependencies dictating your Product Backlog.docx
- Growing as a Product Owner Five Product Owner Maturity-Levels .docx
- How the Organization Can Help Empower the Product Owner Role .docx
- Ideas on How to Improve Your Product Backlog Management Techniques .docx
- Increase transparency with outcome-focused product roadmaps.docx
- Myth The Product Backlog is Maintained Exclusively by the Product Owner .docx
- Product Mindset Encouraging Ownership in a Scrum Team .docx
- Product Owner Anti-Patterns — 31+2 Ways to Improve as a PO .docx
- Product Owner vs Project Manager.docx
- Product Owner – Why your Scrum Doesn’t Work (13) .docx
- product_scorecard.pdf
- Stances of the Product Owner.docx
- Struggling with Sprint Goals.docx
- The 18 Characteristics of a Great Product Owner .docx
- The Product Owner and Scrum Master symbiosis.docx
- Three-C's Revisited.docx
- What is a Product Owner.docx
- What Product Ownership might entangle .docx
- xp123.com-INVEST-series.pdf
Passed PSPOI assessment with 97,5% this month.
Thanks everybody for the suggestions in this post i followed (+ obviously the entire "Suggested Reading" and learnt by heart Scrum Guide and EBM Guide)
I was indeed yet a Scrum Master certified, but i found this assessment tougher than the PSMI, because of the interpretation of the focus on value and for some really fuzzy answers...
In fact being a Team Leader dealing with for years dealing with business analysis, i wanted the Product Owner cert as well.
I also added 4 courses from Linkedin Learning on Product owner, paying attention that sometimes processes are slightly different in the Agile world: surely more useful on the job cause not everybody are Scrum-maniacs and to have other points of view.the new
Hoping the best value for the new Product Owners ;-)
Hi,
I cleared the PSPO I exam today (88.8%). Before I begin, I want to say that this a very challenging compare to PSM-1 so take your time before you got for it.
My Preparation (over 3 days) included:
1) The Scrum Guide and KVMs from EBM Guide. These two formed major portion of the assessment.
2) around 6% of questions were from PSM / PSPO open assessment.
3) The exam is really tough and 60 mins is a marathon; it is better to bookmark the questions on which you have doubts and move on; then come to the doubtful questions after finishing the 80th question. I finished all 80 in 35 minutes, giving me 25 minutes to focus on questions I had doubts on.
4) Found few questions related to scaling scrum but I would not rate those as tough as compare to the SPS (Obviously SPS is another level).
5) Many questions are situational and practitioner perspective, rather than bookish.
Thanks Scrum Org for providing feedback on where to focus.
Good luck everyone if you are appearing for this credential. Believe it or not, I found it worth spending my time learning for.
Cheers !!!!!
Hi,
also passed PSPO1 with 96.3 %. I would say 70-80% course (syllabus) is the same as PSM1- rest 20% - available on scrum.org
so I decided to go with it and another 3-4 days of preparation - and it went through. :)
Hi all,
I passed the PSPO1 exam today with 93.8%. I had passed PSM1 in 2020 and after working as Product Owner in a Project I decided to take this exam.
To be on the safe side I used the following practice tests:
1. Practice tests available at scrum.org
2. Practice tests available at https://mlapshin.com/index.php/scrum-quizzes/ (all questions are not updated as per latest revision of scrum guide)
3. Simulator and free course at https://www.volkerdon.com/courses/take/pspo1/texts/33169321-introductio…
4. Practiced with exam simulator at https://mplaza.training/exam-simulators/pspo/ (Paid)
I was also actively regarding the posts and answers at scrum.org
Thanks to everyone contributing to this forum.
Regards
Ramanan
Hello Everyone,
Happy to announce that I have obtained the "Professional Scrum Product Owner" (PSPO1) certification. Score: 95.0 % (76 points scored out of 80 maximum points).
Thank you to the group for sharing the information which helped me to prepare. Moreover, I would like to contribute to the group on the study material i used for my preparation.
- Scrum guide (from scrum.org)
- Evidence based management (from scrum.org)
- PO learning path (from scrum.org)
- Guide to PSPO1 book by Mohammed Musthafa Soukath Ali
- Volkerdon - PSPO1 (free assessment)
- Mikhail Lapshin - PSM and PSPO1 - learning mode | real mode
- Mplaza - Free assessment
- PO, SM, EBMGT Open assessment until you get 100% (from scrum.org)
Good luck!
Regards,
Sumeet
On 12-May-22, I attempted PSPO 1, and ended up scoring a whooping 100%. The key is to understand the Scrum Guide 2020 as well as 2017 very well. These will make you understand what changed to get the concepts clear. Also, I listened to the scrum.org webminers uploaded to youtube and spent an weekend with Scrum Pocket Guide. I went through Dan and Ralph Product Ownership Book 5-6 times, and also took a 2-day PST class.
Last but not the least, the mock tests of thescrummaster.co.uk helped me a lot to increase precision and withstanding time pressure. I have taken numerous Udemy mock tests too. Actually, I applied feedback loop to prepare - take an assessment, find out areas of improvement, study, take another mock test, repeat.
Once I scored 100% in PSPO 1, I immediately bought a PSM Key, took a cup of coffee and attempted PSM 1. Ended up scoring another 100% in PSM1.
I totally spent numerous hours for around a month to ace PSPO 1, and ended up cracking PSPO 1 & PSM 1 both with 100% on first attempt.
What I'm trying to say is that it would be easy to crack the exam if one prepares well and practices few mock tests in my opinion. The mock tests also increases overlooked concepts which helps even beyond exam.
Hope this will help few of the readers.
Thanks Mark, I followed your steps and I just passed PSPO I with a score of 95.0%!
Your post was very helpful. :D
On top of the above mentioned steps I also did the following:
- Joined a 2-day PSPO I Study Course.
The course helped me the most in understanding the Product Owner role.
- Read "The Professional Product Owner" by Don McGreal & Ralph Jocham.
I learned a lot from this book, but the book goes a lot deeper than what you actually have to know for the assessment. So I would say this was handy, but not necessary.
- Watched a few Scrum Pulse webinars on Youtube with EBM and Product Owner as topics.
Especially the webinar about EBM helped me a lot.
- Looked into what the following terms means: OKR, ROI, TCO, NPS.
In my assessment 1 or 2 questions were related to these terms, so it would good to at least know what they mean.
Hi,
I prepared for PSM I and PSPO I together.
Scrum guide along with materials from Volkerdon (their free materials & mock tests) are good enough to pass the assessment. Please get to understand the details of the explanation given in Volkerdon, those were really helpful.
All the best for people taking the certification.
udemy mock test need to subscribe and pay, right? or there are free udemy assessments?
I took under a week to prepare and scored 100% on my PSPO 1 certification.
- Read (highlighted again and again) the Scrum Guide 5-7 times. Especially after taking couple of practice tests. Read Real Close and understand it deeply. Also read EBM guide.
- Watched couple of 3+ hours scrum videos on youtube.
- Certainly my years of working in scrum/agile was key to get practical understanding.
- Most Useful tool though, to prepare+pass the exam, was "PSPO Exam Simulator" app (on Android playstore). It's amazing! It has practice sets of 20, 30, 40 or 80 questions. With detailed explanations.
- I probably took 30+ practice test attempts before taking my actual certification. Closely analyzed and understood explanation of every wrong answer
- Towards the end, I was completing 80 questions in roughly 30 minutes, with a score of 90% or more
- Also took the 3 practice tests on Scrum.org a couple of times (for ScumMaster, PSPO and Developer) a few times. Thanks to above practice, these felt easy.
- In my opinion, you dont need practice tests on Mikhail Lapshin site! I felt it's not updated to new scrum guide and kept throwing me off.
- Key is: Get real good understanding and the psyche of Scrum and Product Owner role + practice!
- For my actual test, I was done in 38 minutes. Then reviewed the 7-8 questions I had marked. Changed 1 or 2 answers (similar to my what I had seen in practice tests but worded tricky). Submitted 2 minutes before time expired. Easy!
I wrote it in other post of same kind, so let me repeat the same suggestion here
For both PSM and PSPO I exams
-If you have no practical experience with Scrum, and you have not gotten kicks and benefits of trying to implement Scrum at some enterprise, then forget passing this thing at the first take. Juts be prepared to try number of times.
In fact learning from experience is a best thing.
If you have some practical experience then you have a good chance.
- All the resources who advertise themselves as a "practice test" etc are botched in the best case scenario, and misleading in the worst.
For example Michael Lapshins blog, which some people advertise is based on 2017 Scrum guide and is plain misleading.
If you use it as practice you might actually answer some questions wrong
-Believe it or not, best feedback is the one scrum.org sends to use when you are requesting a password.
If you follow the link, and then links at the page you came onto, you will find gigabytes of useful resources which will provide you with more info when any other resource.
Most blog posts advertised there contain same info which some courses are selling for high bucks. Free of charge.
-If you want to try practice test, run the Scrum open assessment at least 3 times a day until you will get 100% result. Not only PSPO but all other assessments too, except for Developers, which is hard core pair programming oriented.
This way you have a chance to know about many questions which will appear in actual test
-Don't try to create a database of questions from Scrum open assessment-with 45 sec. for question you will have no time to fig for right answer. Memorize.
-Pay attention to trick questions. For example questions like "Is project manager only person who is accountable for product backlog?". You mind tricks you to believe that "project manager" is "product owner" but its a trick...
-Pay attention to the number of answers in the question. You may be required to give three or two answers, and if you give only one, it will count wrong
Better try to run a test fast, in 30 min or so, and control the answers after
-Read Scrum guide 5 times a day until you know it by heart. If its too boring use audioe version very time you workout, or hiking or else. In fact 50% test is based on it, and a rest on logical assumptions coming from it.
Good luck
Hi all!
First of all I would like to thank all of you for your thoughts and experiences.
I passed the exam with 96% and I can really recommend two parts:
1. Read the official Scrum Guide multiple times. This is the basis for everything.
2. Simulate the exam by using mock exams and practice multiple times until you have 90% in every test, e.g.
This worked for me and I hope for you too. Good luck!
@Marvin Glaser, I am currently in process of studying and would attempt in the next 2 weeks.
Are the questions difficult?
Is it open book exam?
Is 60 minutes enough to answer 80 questions?
Is this exam proctored?
97,5 earned yesterday…
No secrets: scrum guide, EBM, Nexus and a lot of testes. I have real experience with Scrum in the role of product owner but that can be more tricky than helpful, so be careful.
Best regards!
Hi All,
I made my second attempt yesterday, and managed to clear it out with a score of 100%.
For me the PSPO I, was harder than the PSM I, due to the fact that it included many other product related fields, which are basically not covered in the Scrum Guide, so relying only on it, would lead you to failure.
My advise would be for sure to :
1.Read and understand every word & every sentence from the Scrum Guide.
Try to develop scrum thinking when you read it, and it will make sense.
2.Read the EBM Guide, it is the 2-nd powerful document that is needed for the PSPO I preparation.
3.Going through the open assessments in scrum.org should be the base line for your preparation, so again you should not expect such questions during the assessment. (There might be 1,or 2 True/False, but nothing else).
4.Take as many mock tests as possible. Many of the mock exams have learning mode, where the correct answer is provided with a good explanation, but also keep in mind that many of the mock exams are outdated (meaning they are based on the previous scrum guide).
I was doing the Open Assessments by scrum.org ; mlapshin (outdated), but still good to have a sence of the questions, and volkerdon tests.
A bit surprising for me was seeing also some questions within the area of the Scrum Master, but since learned about PSM I, I managed to clear them out, so take a look also on some PSM I preparation docs,tests.
My last advice would be, to take the exam whenever you feel 100% ready and confident.
Take your time to read the questions and answers very well and do not try to look for them in the internet, because you will waste your time (which is precious), just rely on your knowledge.
I hope that is clear enough, so good luck to the ones, who are willing to try.