Skip to main content

PSM for Business Systems Analyst?

Last post 09:16 pm November 27, 2017 by Luiz Fabiano
3 replies
12:35 am November 15, 2017

Last year I graduated from university as BSA and so far I have been having trouble finding proper employment in my field. During my research I found several repeating job requirements such as ITIL framework or Agile methodology knowledge. After many unsuccessful job applications I studied and passed the ITIL foundations exam in order to enrich my resume. However, I am still struggling to find employment and currently considering obtaining a valid certification in Agile methodology. Therefore, I have several questions that I hope someone could clarify for me:

1. During my research I found that in general Scrum Master and Business Systems Analyst are disparate roles. My concern is that this certification might not complement my primary profession, or cause confusion when my resume is reviewed. In general, would Scrum be the way to go for me? Is there another Agile methodology that would be more useful?

2. And resume aside, how useful is Scrum for a Business Systems Analyst?

3. Would this certification conflict with the ITIL foundations certification that I have?

I would much appreciate any help or advice you could give me.


04:31 pm November 15, 2017

I’ve certainly known business analysts who have made good Scrum Masters. However, a Scrum Master is a vocation in itself, and not an enhancement for another role.

Generally speaking, most employers are likely to see business analysis skills as enhancing a product ownership role...although being a professional Product Owner is arguably also a vocation.


05:00 pm November 15, 2017

Hi Ian, thank you so much for your input. So, if I understand you right, in my case it is better to look towards the PSPO certification instead of the PSM. 

In general, I know that both of those certifications are more useful when they are backed by real experience in the field. And, after several years of work I probably will make a proper decision about where I want to head to. However, at this time my focus is to gain additional knowledge that I can at least partially use in the BSA role while not giving the a false impression to the potential employer that I am jumping from place to place.


11:58 am November 23, 2017

Hi Dennis how are you? I'm system analyst more than 15 years in Brazil in biggest banks and industrial of financial. I guess you are in the correct choose about your certification about Agile. But I believe you as business system analyst you should firstly study to certificate to PSPO and after PSM. The contents of the PSPO will be a plus to your carreers. I'm available to any question.


By posting on our forums you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.

Please note that the first and last name from your Scrum.org member profile will be displayed next to any topic or comment you post on the forums. For privacy concerns, we cannot allow you to post email addresses. All user-submitted content on our Forums may be subject to deletion if it is found to be in violation of our Terms of Use. Scrum.org does not endorse user-submitted content or the content of links to any third-party websites.

Terms of Use

Scrum.org may, at its discretion, remove any post that it deems unsuitable for these forums. Unsuitable post content includes, but is not limited to, Scrum.org Professional-level assessment questions and answers, profanity, insults, racism or sexually explicit content. Using our forum as a platform for the marketing and solicitation of products or services is also prohibited. Forum members who post content deemed unsuitable by Scrum.org may have their access revoked at any time, without warning. Scrum.org may, but is not obliged to, monitor submissions.