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Curriculum basis for PSPO 1?

Last post 01:09 pm March 14, 2019 by Eugene M
5 replies
09:22 pm February 25, 2019

Hi all,

I was under the impression the source of all material for PSPO 1 was the Scrum Guide. However, the first question on the free test concerned "technical debt limit". ctrl +F suggests this concept doesn't exist, even as a passing reference, in the Scrum Guide. It wasn't the only such question. Encouraging wider reading is all well and good, but shouldn't there be a comprehensive curriculum source for exam questions? Is there one that I have missed?

Thank you!


04:19 am February 26, 2019

Hi Paris,

The Scrum Guide, authored by Scrum co-creators Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, is the first place to start to learn about Scrum, and has been agreed upon as the definitive source of Scrum. It is available for free here.

All Scrum.org assessments use the most recent version of the English Scrum Guide as the source for questions regarding the rules, artifacts, events, and roles of Scrum. However, reading the Scrum Guide alone is not enough for someone to pass a Professional Scrum Assessment. Questions often ask test-takers to interpret information and apply it to challenging situations, so knowledge gained from personal experience and other sources is typically needed.

A great place to start you learning as a Product Owner is the Product Owner Learning Path.  You can find many good resources on the Scrum.org website for example just search Technical Debt and find a lot of great information.

Many folks on the Forum have already provided other tips as well, just searching the Forum can bring you a lot of great information like this link.

You may also take the Open Assessments at Scrum.org. These are free practice assessments that will test your knowledge of Scrum and help to prepare you for our professional-level assessments. Please be aware, however, that the Open Assessments are study tools, and will not have the same level of difficulty as the professional-level assessments. 

 


04:56 am February 26, 2019

Respectfully, if you look at the PSPO overview, it gives several suggestions for reading and study material. Here ya go...

https://www.scrum.org/resources/suggested-reading-professional-scrum-product-owner


12:53 pm February 26, 2019

Thank you both for the links. I find this to be an unusual approach; I've done four other professional  certifications / 6 exams, and have not yet found myself in a position where there isn't a single source book or set of books which comprehensively includes the syllabus. The same could be said for all of my school exams, with perhaps only my university course being a little more nebulous. Nevertheless, it is what is is, and I shall enjoy going through what has been pointed in my direction.


07:10 pm March 10, 2019

I agree both PSPO and PSM are very dishonest with type of questions. If Scrum Guide is not enough... what for have other materials? Shoudnt be one "book"a key to pass. It's really dishonest. 


01:09 pm March 14, 2019

I'm of opinion "dishonest" is actually the opposite word.

One only needs to go to the appropriate pages (1, 2) that provide all the transparency needed, including suggested reading lists. It is therefore unfair, I'd argue, for anyone to claim the exams are "very dishonest with type of questions". Yes, some questions are really difficult, and some may be questionable, but definitely not at entry level exams (PSM I, PSPO I) - rather, at second level.

 


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