Assignment 1 Question 4
Scrum Alliance Certifications
Today we will discuss two certifications provided by the Scrum Alliance, Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO). But first, who is the Scrum Alliance? The Scrum Alliance is a membership organization that evangelizes the adoption of the Scrum methodology, a type of Agile project management.
Certified Scrum Master
What is it?
The Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certification shows that the person fully understands the Scrum methodology and its goals, enabling them to help the rest of their team to work together and learn more about Scrum. Additionally, they help to protect the team from internal and external distractions. In essenence, it is a certification you can receive for the position of ScrumMaster.
Requirements
The requirements to become a CSM are straightforward. You must take a CSM course from a Certified Scrum Trainer. Afterwards, you must take the certification test and receive a passing score. Finally, you must accept the License Agreement and complete your Scrum Alliance membership profile.
Certified Scrum Product Owner
What is it?
A Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) certification shows that you have a solid understanding of the Scrum framework, including the terminology, practices, and principles. This enables them to fullfill the role of Product Owner on a Scrum team. Generally, they are closest to the "business side" of a project, being charged by the organization to "get the product out" while doing their best to satisfy all the stakeholders. They maintain the product's backlog and ensure everyone knows the priorities.
Requirements
Like the Certified Scrum Master certification, the first step to obtaining the status of Certified Scrum Product Owner is to attend a CSPO course taught by a Certified Scrum Trainer. However, unlike the CSM certification, there is no test required to become a CSPO, attending the course is enough.
Attainable by Graduation?
I believe that both of these certifications are absolutely obtainable before I graduate in 2016. However, will I seek them? Probably not. For one, they cost a lot of money. Looking at the CSM course being taught in Boston from January 20th to the 2st, it costs $1275! The CSPO course being taught February 6th to the 7th costs $2000! That's a lot of cash I would rather spend on other things. For the cost of both of those certifications, I could take my girfriend and I on a vacation to Turks and Caicos, I could pay off a chunk of my student loans, there are a lot of better uses for the money for me at this time.
Additionally, neither of the certifications seem all that useful to me. Perhaps if I were interested in becoming a consultant or business analyst, this post would be ending differently, but since I desire neither of those careers, I am going to save my money and do something else.