I completed both the ASM (Agile Scrum Master from Exin) and PSM (Professional Scrum Master from Scrum.org) certifications. Like Andrew, I was not interested in wasting time or money on the CSM certification. It's still amazing to me that the CSM mandates a 2-day course, a huge large fee of around $1,200, has such a low pass rate, and yet is still in demand compared to the other certifications. I can only put this down to it been on the market longer.
Ok now for each certification exam from my experience. I had read from numerous sources that the PSM exam was a lot harder than the CSM. This is certainly evident from the very high 85% required pass rate. I can't comment directly about the CSM since I have not taken that exam, but many others have taken both, and all those I have read say that the PSM exam is a lot harder to pass than the CSM. There doesn't seem much point disputing this from my point of view. So, if you can pass the PSM exam, it will be a walk in the park to pass the CSM.
However, the ASM exam was another beast altogether. It was for me quite a bit harder than the PSM exam, even though it had a significantly lower pass rate. I believe this was due to the exam covering various Agile concepts outside of Scrum, such as XP, DSDM and even Crystal. If you only study Scrum and not cover other Agile methods, or the Agile mindset in general, you will fail this exam.
In closing, now that I hold both the PSM and ASM certifications, I don't know if I will ever step down the ladder and take the CSM exam. Maybe if they raise the pass rate or not make attending an expensive 2-day course mandatory, I might think about it. Or at the very least, I might just do it so that I can report back with first-hand knowledge of sitting the PSM, ASM and CSM exams, and still live to tell the tale.
Which Scrum Master certification would you choose to do, or not to do? Saving Changes...
Nikhil ChavdaRPA Project Manager| Adani Enterprise LimitedAhmedabad, Gujarat/India, India
Jan 22, 2018 8:04 PM
Replying to Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Rami,
I have only been involved in a few construction projects but I have to say I never even hear the word Agile or Scrum on those projects. I occasionally heard PMP and Prince2. Certainly It's more prevalent in IT, software, HR, consulting etc.
Some further details about each exam.
ASM - Managed by Exin. You DO need to attend a training course by a registered provider and show the certificate. The training can be done online rather than in person, and the exam fee IS included in the training course. I did mine with Simplilearn and I believe I negotiated the price down to $599 USD. I was a little disappointed with the course content, especially after sitting the exam and seeing several topics that were not covered in the training. My strong recommendation is to read the Scrum Guide, and Mike Cohn's two books "Agile Estimating and Planning" and "Succeeding with Agile" as I saw many exam questions directly from all these books, like over 50% of the exam. If you fail the exam, the re-exam fee will be $250. I studied a few weeks for this one as the topics were so broad compared to the regular Scum-only content provided in other certifications. The certification is for life, unlike CSM which you need to pay for renewal every 2 years I believe. The certification is managed by Exin, who are no slouches in technology standards. They assisted in creating ITIL and Prince2 back in the day, and they have been around a lot longer than both Scrum Alliance and Scrum.org. Having said all this, ASM is hardly known anywhere. Unlike the CSM and PSM. I know I am the first person at PM.com to register this certification on this website, only because I was the one who contacted them last week to add this certification to the the list.
PSM - Managed by Scrum.org. You do NOT need to attend a training course by a registered provider, although they highly recommend it. As Andrew Craig mentioned in his blog, all you need to do is spend around $10-15 on Udemy:
The exam fee is NOT included in the training course. The exam fee can be purchased from Scrum.org for $150 for the PSM1 exam. Each attempt thereafter costs the same price. I studied again for a few weeks, but this exam was simpler in content than the ASM, however had a higher pass rate, so it probably evens out. They have some free simulation tests on the Scrum.org website.
After sitting both exams, the ASM was harder in my view than the PSM. In an ideal world, I guess all three certifications would be nice (ASM, PSM, CSM), only to say you have XSM bragging rights.
They offer International Scrum Master certification
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1 reply by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Feb 05, 2020 2:37 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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They are not well known. Scrum in particular has way too many certifications, most of which are from institutions that carry no weight in the Scrum community.
Saving Changes...
Nikhil ChavdaRPA Project Manager| Adani Enterprise LimitedAhmedabad, Gujarat/India, India
this is insightful....will go for PSMI,II,III..... step by step Saving Changes...
Wade HarshmanScrum Master| GDITIndianapolis, In, United States
Feb 04, 2020 8:48 AM
Replying to Wade Harshman
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SAFe certifications are primarily geared towards working in the SAFe structure. They'll teach you about Scrum to some degree, because it's part of their structure, but they really want you to know where you fit in their organizational structure. Also, they've moved on to 5.0, so I don't know what that does for people holding a 4.0 certification. Most of the SAFe folks I know are scrambling to update their certifications.
I confirmed this with a SAFe coach. The SAFe certifications assume you are already well versed in Scrum. The point of the SAFe specific certifications is to ensure you know how your role fits into the larger SAFe structure.
Because of that, the 4.0 certification is specific to the 4.0 structure. The 5.0 structure has some changes and requires a new 5.0 certification. Saving Changes...
What about SAFe 4.0 Scrum Master (SSM) – from Scaled Agile?
Your thoughts please Sante Vergini...Thank you.
Hi Nikhil, SAFe certification is probably only useful if the organization you are working in is using it, and then I would say only if you have a specific role in the SAFe structure, otherwise Scrum certifications will work in both SAFe and SAFe free environments. Saving Changes...
They offer International Scrum Master certification
They are not well known. Scrum in particular has way too many certifications, most of which are from institutions that carry no weight in the Scrum community. Saving Changes...
Agilewaters Consulting is one of the best Scrum Master Certification Training provider in Pune. Enroll now for best CSM Scrum Matser Certification or CSPO Certification In Pune.
We provide Agile Coaching & Facilitation, Scrum Master, Product Owner, Kanban, SAFe, Scrum@Scale, Architecture, PMP, PMI-ACP and many more. Saving Changes...
