Are Scrum Certifications a Scam?

As a product manager who has obtained both CSPO from Scrum Alliance and PSM from Scrum.org, I here give my honest opinion.

While it is true that there are some organizations or individuals who may offer questionable or low-quality scrum certifications, there are also many reputable organizations that offer legitimate and valuable credentials. Below I will share some reputable organizations that offer these certifications and how the certificate can be obtained and maintained. Near the end, I will answer if I think scrum certifications are worth the time, money, and effort from my personal experience.

Scrum is a popular methodology for agile software development that emphasizes teamwork, accountability, and iteration. It is designed to help teams deliver high-quality software more efficiently by breaking complex projects into smaller, more manageable pieces and allowing team members to work on them in a collaborative and flexible manner. There are three roles in a scrum team: scrum master, product owner, and developer. A product manager usually plays the role of a product owner.

I have come across three organizations with certifications recognized by the industry: Scrum Alliance, Scrum.org, and Project Management Institute (PMI). I obtained my CSPO (Certified Scrum Product Owner) from Scrum Alliance and PSM I (Professional Scrum Master I) from Scrum.org.

The Scrum Alliance has three different “tracks” for the scrum roles: scrum master, product owner, and developer. Each of these tracks entails three levels, which you can choose to level up over time by gaining more experience and by having the certification level below as a prerequisite. Experience is tracked in SEUs, which stands for Scrum Education Units.

To receive a certificate, you must attend a course offered by coaches associated with the Scrum Alliance, which costs approximately 500 USD to 1000 USD. In addition, Scrum Alliance does require certification holders to renew their certificates by earning a certain number of SEUs and a membership fee of 100 USD biennially for the base-level certifications. The “advanced” and “professional” tiered certificates have a more expensive membership fee.

While there is a membership cost, the SEUs can be free to earn. There are two ways: self-learn or attend events. Scrum Alliance provides a library of articles and videos to read or watch. You gain 0.25 SEU per article and 1 SEU per video. Although the SEUs are free of cost, they are time-consuming since it is about 1 hour of learning for 1 SEU. The number of SEUs earned for attending events is also based on the “1 SEU = 1 hour of learning” conversion.

The certifications of Scrum.org follow a similar tier system — three levels for the scrum master and three levels for the product owner role. The selection offered by Scrum.org is more comprehensive than that of Scrum Alliance given that there are certifications for developers and even user experience designers. There is also one certificate that combines scrum with the Kanban methodology.

To obtain the certification, you would have to take a multiple-choice exam and pass with a score of 85 or higher. The cost for PSM I (Professional Scrum Master I)is 150 USD to write the exam and 200 USD for the PSPO I (Professional Scrum Product Owner I), which is the one for product owners. There are open assessments to practice. However, I found the actual exam harder and more pressed for time.

While you can write the exam without taking a course, I strongly recommend that you take a class if the scrum methodology is a new concept to you. I took a course from a local part-time studies program that provided more information about scrum than what was needed on the exam. Despite this, I scraped by with a score of 86 and would rate the exam as moderately challenging. If one only studies The Scrum Guide by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland as required by Scrum.org, it would be hard to pass.

Compared to certificates from Scrum Alliance, those of Scrum.org is cheaper to obtain if you choose to study on your own. In addition, Scrum.org does not require membership renewal every two years, which can add up to a few hundred dollars throughout your career.

The PMI is a recognized institute primarily known for its PMP (Project Management Professional) certificate. Since many project managers transition into scrum master roles, it makes sense for PMI to offer a suite of scrum master programs.

The path to these certificates is not linear but rather a web. Depending on your experience, you can choose which certificate best suits your skills. I have heard about the DASM (Disciplined Agile Scrum Master) certificate a few times in the industry. Nevertheless, from what I have seen, this certificate is lesser known compared to PSM from Scrum.org or CSM (Certified ScrumMaster) from Scrum Alliance, which is the equivalent of DASM. In addition, PMI is only focused on the scrum master role and does not offer certifications for the product owner or the developer roles in a scrum team.

The fee is a discounted 399 USD for PMI members or 499 USD for regular price. There is a 50 USD renewal fee or a 20 USD fee for members per year. Similar to Scrum Alliance, you would have to earn 7 PDUs (professional development units) through different activities, such as self-studying, attending events, or receiving more training through PMI.

Did the certificate land me a job or give me get a promotion? No. Did I use the knowledge in my day-to-day tasks and help my team to improve our development process? Yes. Were the courses expensive for what they were? Yes. Should you get certified? It depends.

I can only speak from personal experience as a product owner who works in an environment with a team that’s unique to my situation. I felt I needed to take the initiative to learn the scrum process systematically to contribute more to my team and project. Receiving the certification was an outgrowth of learning about scrum, but it was not my primary target. I pursued the CSPO because I was curious and obtained PSM because I was taking another course with adjacencies in the covered material.

Hence, whether you consider getting a scrum certification and which organization you get it from depends on your circumstances. I would recommend a certificate if you work in the field and want something to show for your understanding. If you are helping your organization transition to agile methodologies, the knowledge from these courses will also be helpful. Some organizations encourage their team to take a class and are willing to reimburse that cost, so if you are in that situation, it’s a good idea to take advantage of that benefit.

If you are looking to break into the industry, a certificate is helpful but would not guarantee a position. However, if you are currently working a job with overlapping skills that would transfer into a scrum position, getting a certificate, practicing the scrum methodologies, and showing positive results would help land that new job.

Some scum certifications or courses can be a fraud. However, after reading this blog, you should be able to avoid being scammed by choosing a credential from a well-recognized organization in the industry, such as Scrum Alliance, Scrum.org, and PMI. The initial costs are between 500 USD to 1000 USD to take the course and exam. Renewing the certificates costs approximately 50 USD annually.

Learning the scrum methodology helped me work better with my team, and I am a big supporter of lifelong learning. However, if obtaining the certificate is your sole and ultimate goal, you may be disappointed because the certification is not a golden ticket to breaking into the industry.

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