Different Scrum Master Certification Levels from Scrum Alliance

Being a Scrum Master is one hell of a job. In the Scrum framework, people might think the guy who leads the team of 10 Developers would not be that much challenging. It is widely interpreted as a very convenient job by the people who haven’t had the privilege to witness it up close. The small size of the team doesn’t make much difference when the work you are doing requires you to get things done rapidly. 

A Scrum Master has a huge amount of responsibilities to deal with in any Scrum project. He/She is responsible for keeping the work on track and takes care of any complications faced by the Developers in the process of Sprint and many more. A Scrum Master always works as the bridge between the Product Owner and the Developers. He/she leads the team from the front and is liable for any kind of problem with the project to the Product Owner.

It is important to know about the Scrum Master duties and the job specifications in the discussion about the different kinds of certification levels for Scrum Master. Then only people will understand the importance of being a certified Scrum Master. Many people have this misconception about Scrum Master certification levels that they are a waste of time. But what they do not understand is that such a sophisticated job cannot be handled by a person who does not have formal training for it. 

Why Is It Important To Go Through Scrum Master Certification Course?

As you already read about the amount of entanglement a Scrum Master’s job carries which clearly shows that proper training for this job would let people understand it in a better manner. Anyone willing to become a Scrum Master needs to know all the dos and don’ts of the job to be able to perform it right. Otherwise, there is no scope for someone to even get the gist of what a Scrum Master is supposed to do or how he/she manages all these things. 

A certification always enhances one’s knowledge about Scrum and teaches how one can do the job more conveniently and effectively. Any certified Scrum Master is always taken with a lot of respect by their team as they all very well know that this guy knows his job in the best manner and whatever he says has value to it. 

All the certification courses for Scrum Master put you on the right path to become the perfect and ideal Scrum Master for a Scrum team. Any certified Scrum Master is trusted with the transparency of the project and Product Owners usually take more reliability on them. 

The current world is quite competitive and the way every organization is rapidly adapting the Agile framework of Scrum, they are only looking for certified Scrum Masters for their teams. As they come with credibility and they are the ones who can make the best out of the organization’s money and time. 

Here Are All the Scrum Master Certification Levels
 

The Scrum Master certification levels lie in 3 different levels, CSM, A-CSM, and CSP-SM Certification. Below given is a brief discussion about each level’s course overview criteria, validity, and its renewal.
 

1. CSM Certification

• Course Overview
   

CSM stands for Certified Scrum Master. It’s the very first certification course in the multilevel certification courses for Scrum Master which teaches about the methodology used in Scrum. A detailed introduction to daily Scrum meetings, Sprint Retrospectives, and Sprint Planning is the major focus of this certification level. Every individual opting for this course is given an environment where he/she grows their mind to make it Agile. Each candidate is trained with all the necessary principles which they can use professionally in the Scrum projects. 

• Eligibility
   

One concern which every individual faces whenever they think to opt for any course is that will they fall into the eligibility criteria of this course? You don’t have to worry about that here. For CSM you just need to have basic knowledge and understanding of the Scrum framework and you are eligible for it in every possible sense. 
 

• Examination Process
   

The exam for CSM contains 50 objective-type questions. The period allotted to complete the exam is 60 minutes and each applicant has to get at least 37 correct answers to pass the exam and get the certificate. 
 

• Validity & Its Renewal
   

Yes, that’s true, CSM comes with validity, it’s not a single certificate for a lifetime. The validity for the CSM certificate is 2 years from the day you clear the exam. The certificate will be renewed for another 2 years by renewing it with merely 100 dollars and by obtaining 20 Scrum Education Units. The validity and renewal are kept in the course to keep the individual relevant to the market and the methodology of Scrum.

2. A-CSM Certification

• Course Overview
   

If you haven’t been able to crack it by its name then A-CSM stands for Advanced CSM or to be precise it’s Advanced Certified Scrum Master. This indicates that this one is an updated version of the CSM. In this particular course, you are taught the more advanced and enhanced concepts and techniques used in Scrum. Proper training for all the advanced concepts to be implemented correctly by every individual pursuing it. The advanced version introduces you to the correct form of communication you can conduct with your team members, stakeholders, product owners, and company executives. 

• Eligibility Criteria
   

Something which you might have already guessed is the eligibility for this course but if you haven’t then every individual interested in A-CSM should already be a certificate holder of CSM. It is also important to have at least one year of experience as a Scrum Master in the last five years of total experience in the field. The A-CSM adds a lot to the market value of the person as a Scrum Master and it opens a range of work opportunities for him. 
 

• Examination Process
   

There aren’t any particular exams for this certificate to go through but each applicant must complete the whole training. It is also mandatory to acquire the login credentials of the Scrum Alliance to submit your application form. 
 

• Validity & Its Renewal
   

The validity of A-CSM is no different than CSM, it is also valid for 2 years from the day you complete the training. But yes the renewal process is a bit different than CSM. In A-CSM the validity can be renewed for another 2 years by obtaining 20 Scrum Education Units and by paying 175 dollars. It is important to get it renewed before its date of expiration. 

3. CSP-SM Certification

• Course Overview
   

The CSP-SM Certification stands for the Certified Scrum Professional- Scrum Master Certification. It exposes the candidates to master their Scrum practical solutions to enhance the quality and pace of the Scrum projects they work upon. In this particular certification course of Scrum, there is an opportunity to meet highly experienced and professional Scrum Masters who have been in the business for a long time. 

They help the candidates by sharing their experience on the practical solution of several issues they faced in their career in Scrum. The certification comes with a free premium membership of the world’s biggest agile assessing and constant enhancing platform. This is the last certification course of the lot that is why every candidate pursuing this course is exposed to every professional need of the job. 
 

• Eligibility Criteria 
   

The eligibility criteria for the CSP-SM Certification are similar to A-CSM where the applicant needs to have an active certificate of A-CSM. The candidate must also have at least 2 years of professional experience as Scrum Master in the past 5 years. 
 

• Examination Process
   

In here as well the candidate does not have to go through any formal examination. Instead, they have to complete the whole training process of the CSP-SM Certification. Upon the completion of the training, the training institute will suggest the Scrum Alliance create your login. After the login is created and the candidate’s details are submitted the CSP-SM Certificate will be available for the candidate to download. 
 

• Validity & Its Renewal 
   

Like the former 2 Scrum Master certification levels, CSP-SM is also valid for 2 years. At the time of getting the CSP-SM Certificate, the candidate is given login credentials. They have to use the same credentials for the renewal of the certificate. One has to provide his earned 40 SEU credits for the renewal and the payment of 250 dollars will complete the application process. It will renew the certificate for another 2 years.
 

Conclusion:
 

All three Scrum Master certification levels carry different values and worth for people interested in leading Scrum projects. Each level of the certificate will expose people to a more upgraded and sophisticated version of techniques and practices in Scrum to overcome the issues faced in the projects. To keep growing, keeping yourself relevant and marketable one should keep upgrading himself as well. There is no better way to do that than pursuing all three of these courses one by one.