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...
Stefan OndekManaging Partner| POTIFOBPrague, Prague, Czechia
Mar 29, 2019 4:24 PM
Replying to Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Hi William, AXELOS handles the ITIL certifications, so they have the best reading material for ITIL. Simplilearn is good for some courses but not others. In the case of ITIL, Devops and Prince2, in these cases it's better to go to the source: AXELOS, since their training materials/books are very good.
Sante, what you say may be correct for ITIL and PRINCE2, but AXELOS does not have any DevOps products and to my knowledge are not planning to launch one either. There are muliple DevOps certification bodies (e.g. DevOps Institute and EXIN just to name two of the most known ones) - but AXELOS is not one of them.
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1 reply by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Mar 29, 2019 5:30 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Hi Stefan, they may not have a DevOps certification program (yet), but they will in time I suspect since being certified in ITIL is a natural progression to any DevOps certification.
AXELOS did partner with IT Revolution in 2017 on a DevOps training program:
Sante, what you say may be correct for ITIL and PRINCE2, but AXELOS does not have any DevOps products and to my knowledge are not planning to launch one either. There are muliple DevOps certification bodies (e.g. DevOps Institute and EXIN just to name two of the most known ones) - but AXELOS is not one of them.
Hi Stefan, they may not have a DevOps certification program (yet), but they will in time I suspect since being certified in ITIL is a natural progression to any DevOps certification.
AXELOS did partner with IT Revolution in 2017 on a DevOps training program:
So I get the feeling they are testing the waters, and when the demand is there, the certification programs will follow.
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1 reply by Stefan Ondek
Apr 01, 2019 9:47 AM
Stefan Ondek
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Yes, but that was two years ago and in the meantime Kaimar karu left AXELOS. I have the feeling the idea left with him.
Saving Changes...
Stefan OndekManaging Partner| POTIFOBPrague, Prague, Czechia
Mar 29, 2019 5:30 PM
Replying to Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Hi Stefan, they may not have a DevOps certification program (yet), but they will in time I suspect since being certified in ITIL is a natural progression to any DevOps certification.
AXELOS did partner with IT Revolution in 2017 on a DevOps training program:
So I get the feeling they are testing the waters, and when the demand is there, the certification programs will follow.
Yes, but that was two years ago and in the meantime Kaimar karu left AXELOS. I have the feeling the idea left with him.
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1 reply by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Apr 01, 2019 3:12 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Maybe so. There are other not so reputable places holding DevOps certifications, but like I said, I think it's only a matter of time that AXELOS holds their own, again because it is so tightly linked to ITIL. In the meantime I don't see many employers asking for this certification, rather people with experience in these environments.
Yes, but that was two years ago and in the meantime Kaimar karu left AXELOS. I have the feeling the idea left with him.
Maybe so. There are other not so reputable places holding DevOps certifications, but like I said, I think it's only a matter of time that AXELOS holds their own, again because it is so tightly linked to ITIL. In the meantime I don't see many employers asking for this certification, rather people with experience in these environments. Saving Changes...
Susrutha AnandSr. Project Manager - PMO| ATMECS GlobalHyderabad, Telangana, India
I plan on ASM certification. Could you help me Books, Author and edition to study for the exam.
I plan on ASM certification. Could you help me Books, Author and edition to study for the exam.
Hi Susrutha, I did mine through Simplilearn. Saving Changes...
Naveen Kumar SinghNaveen Kumar Singh| Agilemania- A preferred Agile and Scrum Training, Coaching, Consulting company.Bangalore, India
CSM gives you a superficial knowledge of the subject, whereas with PSM a comprehensive knowledge is assured. The biggest advantage is that PSM certification does not require any certificate renewal, which is not the case with CSM certification that must be renewed every two years.
https://www.agilemania.com/blog/agile-vs-scrum/
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1 reply by Wade Harshman
Feb 04, 2020 8:49 AM
Wade Harshman
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For what it's worth (perhaps not much), I just watched a college class sit through a few hours of a lecture on Scrum and then earn their PSM1. The test may be difficult for people new to scrum, but I'm not sure the PSM1 is any less superficial than the CSM.
Saving Changes...
Nikhil ChavdaRPA Project Manager| Adani Enterprise LimitedAhmedabad, Gujarat/India, India
What about SAFe 4.0 Scrum Master (SSM) – from Scaled Agile?
Your thoughts please Sante Vergini...Thank you.
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1 reply by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Feb 05, 2020 2:35 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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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.
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Wade HarshmanScrum Master| GDITIndianapolis, In, United States
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.
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1 reply by Wade Harshman
Feb 05, 2020 1:12 PM
Wade Harshman
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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...
Wade HarshmanScrum Master| GDITIndianapolis, In, United States
Jan 22, 2020 2:10 AM
Replying to Naveen Kumar Singh
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CSM gives you a superficial knowledge of the subject, whereas with PSM a comprehensive knowledge is assured. The biggest advantage is that PSM certification does not require any certificate renewal, which is not the case with CSM certification that must be renewed every two years.
https://www.agilemania.com/blog/agile-vs-scrum/
For what it's worth (perhaps not much), I just watched a college class sit through a few hours of a lecture on Scrum and then earn their PSM1. The test may be difficult for people new to scrum, but I'm not sure the PSM1 is any less superficial than the CSM. Saving Changes...
