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CSM Certification / Cost

Last post 05:20 pm November 9, 2017 by Rafael Medina
5 replies
10:44 pm August 17, 2016

My company recently downsized so for the first time in many years, I am back in the job market.

I have always worked to incorporate Scrum, however never became certified.

In order to become a CSM the $1,000 - 2 day course is mandatory, is that correct?

Thank you!


01:44 pm August 18, 2016

Yes, the 2 day course is mandatory for the CSM from ScrumAlliance.org.
But the course is not mandatory for the PSM I ; PSM II and PSM III from Scrum.org.


02:00 pm August 18, 2016

Hi Christopher,

Well, you are right that CSM does require you to take a class. But at Scrum.org we do not believe that certification should come from going to a class, it should be based on your knowledge and understanding of the subject and that is why our PSM assessments are decoupled from training and do not require classes although experience and study is important and training is recommended. As a matter of fact, Ken Schwaber our founder and the co-creator of Scrum has written a 3 part blog series on exactly that subject. You can find it at https://kenschwaber.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/building-an-agile-organiza…. If you are purely looking for certification, then CSM may be the way to go as you pay for a 2 day class and at the end, take an open book/computer test where all answers are "googleable" and get your certification. Now for Scrum.org, the Professional Scrum Master and other Professional Scrum assessments are independent of classes. We highly recommend that you take a class and include a free attempt if you do take one of our classes, but it is not mandatory and they are not easy assessments. Each assessment is time boxed, you must score an 85% or better to pass and truly test your knowledge and understanding of Scrum and ability to apply Scrum in the real world. We believe and this has been validated by many in the industry around the world that the PSM is much more highly regarded as a test of knowledge and understanding of Scrum vs. getting a certification for taking a class. Please read Ken's blog articles to learn more about why he created Scrum.org and this set of assessments. Thank you.


04:50 pm November 7, 2017

How do CSM exam taken. I checked scrum.org and saw nothing on this instruction to take CSM exams.Please let me know. Thanks.MS


07:56 pm November 8, 2017

Munaver,

  • The CSM certification is hosted by ScrumAlliance.org.
  • The PSM I is a comparable certification, offered by Scrum.org

The two certifications have different requirements and processes, but cover very similar material.


03:11 am November 9, 2017

Chris, Munavar,

PSM is better than CSM in many aspects. Some of them are:

- It does not require expensive training. Only the exam fee.

- It does not require paid renewals every two year. Life time free

- It is high quality. Please read this to understand its standard https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-pass-psm-first-attempt-five-steps-get-most-scrum-soukath-ali/

 

The name CSM is a lot out there because of early mover advantage, and many people prefer to get some easy certification to add to their title. 


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