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There is a lot of debate about the “PSM vs CSM” in the Scrum community. In fact, a typical question during one of my talk or keynotes is:
“What’s the difference between the Professional Scrum Master I certification and the Certified Scrum Master certification?“
So here is it, my take on the PSM vs CSM and how students can decide which is right for them.
The Professional Scrum Master certification was created in response Ken Schwaber’s observation that the Certified Scrum Master certification was not representative of being skilled at Scrum.
From Ken’s blog:
The CSM Scrum certification had gotten out of hand. Organizations were expecting a certification to mean that a person was certified as being able to competently use Scrum to develop software. Instead they were getting people whose only uniform qualification was attending a class. Some were competent in Scrum software development because of their experience outside and prior to the class, but many were not.
You can read more here – Building and Agile Organization Part 1 by Ken Schwaber.
Around that time, the Professional Scrum Master course and assessment was created. The PSM I, PSM II, and PSM III assessments were created to measurably demonstrate your knowledge of Scrum and your ability to develop software using Scrum at increasing levels of difficulty.
The PSM I demonstrates that you understand the Scrum Framework and how empiricism is used in a complex environment to deliver “done” increments of valuable software.
The PSM I is based on the Scrum Guide authored by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland and Scrum.org’s course material. The scrum.org course materials are created and maintained by Ken Schwaber and 200+ Professional Scrum Trainers with the support of course stewards.
As new changes and ideas emerge they added to the PSM course materials and made available to the PST community.
Below is a summary of the differences between the 2 major certifications to help you make the call between the PSM vs CSM:
Training Requirement
The Professional Scrum Master (PSM) course is OPTIONAL
The Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course is REQUIRED
Cost
$150 to take the PSM I assessment
$150 to take the PSM I assessment
Quality of Course Material
Quality maintained and monitored by Ken Schwaber and the 200+ Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainers (PST).
Varies in content and quality. Highly dependent on Certified Scrum Trainer (CST) leading course.
Assessment Difficulty Level
Intermediate / Advanced
Beginner
Assessment Difficulty Level
80 questions, 60 minute time-box. 85% passing score. 1 re-take within 14-days of taking the PSM course.
35 questions, 68% passing score, unlimited time. Re-take allowed.
Certification Renewal Policy
No renewal fees for any scrum.org certifications. EVER.
$150 USD every 2 years
Are you interested in taking a Professional Scrum Master course? Visit Ryan Ripley’s Scrum.org PST profile to see when the next PSM course is being held near you! You can also check out the training page to see when you can sign up for my next scrum.org course.