Category

Courses

Search

Trending blog posts

Top-paying Scrum Master Certifications to Consider in 2020

Scrum Certification is a course and a series of exams that professionals undertake to validate their knowledge, skills and aptitude in Scrum, as well as Agile methodology and framework for managing complex projects.There are numerous accreditation bodies around the globe which provide Scrum training and certification programs, most of which are widely accepted and recognized.This article discusses a few top Scrum Training and Certification options which are available, starting right from the basics. Read along to know more!Benefits of Scrum CertificationHere is a quick list of what benefits can be attained by a Scrum Certification.Get in-depth knowledge about Scrum: Having a Scrum certification will help you attain a solid base of Scrum knowledge as well as train you with the required skills to utilize it in an effective manner.Change your mindset to think the Scrum way: It is necessary to develop an Agile mindset to work with Scrum effectively. This will help you to have a better team collaboration, make your projects more successful, and will lead to a decrease in disagreements.Scrum Artifacts: Scrum concepts like product backlog, sprint backlog, burndown, etc. act as a pillar in a Scrum project, which help organisations to deliver the project in iterations.Become more relevant and marketable: Scrum certification will provide you with an in-depth practical knowledge, which will help you become more marketable and relevant in your field or in an industry which engages with Agile values. This certification will act as a validation that you have the knowledge of Agile concepts and that you have an Agile mindset.Scrum Certification benefits your organisation: Scrum Certification trains you to use the latest tools, technologies as well as resources, which leads to business processes and a better-organised team which costs less time and money.Influence your organisation to adopt Agile methodology: Adopting Agile methodologies will help your organisation as it will ensure better yields, lesser time to the market, timely insights, improved productivity, better ROI, sellable products after each sprint and much more.Better interaction with your peers: Having a Scrum certification will help you to build a better understanding of Scrum while working with your colleagues. It helps to promote productivity while at the same time it helps you communicate and collaborate with your peers in a better manner.Prove and put Scrum knowledge into practice: The process to earn Scrum Certification requires you to go through a rigorous agile scrum master training, which helps you get a better job and career opportunities.Join the community of Scrum experts: With a Scrum Certification, you can connect with various professionals. This ensures continuous improvements that you will learn and achieve with an Agile approach.Enhance sale: Make your Scrum teamwork in a more flexible manner, ensure fast delivery and quick releases. Being Scrum Certified enables you to make this difference for your organisation.How does Scrum work?The Scrum Framework comprises of three categories, which are Scrum Roles, Scrum Events and Scrum Artifacts. The following discusses, in brief, the mentioned three categories.Scrum RolesThe Scrum framework is defined by three core roles: Development team, Scrum Master and Product Owner.Development Team: The Development team is a group of self-organised, cross-functional people, who work together to create products as well as test the incremental releases of the products at the end of each sprint.Scrum Master: The Scrum Master serves as a facilitator for his team members. It is his responsibility to ensure that the Team adheres to the Scrum practices and rules. He acts as a coach to the development team, product owner and stakeholders, and works towards removing the impediments that the team faces.Product Owner: A Product Owner is responsible for conveying the vision of the project to his team members who are building it. He is accountable for managing the product backlog and testing the increment work that is completed.Scrum EventsThe Scrum Events consists of five components, namely Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-up, Sprint Review, Retrospective.Sprint: A Sprint is a fixed time period, that is, it is a time-boxed period within which a Scrum Team completes a specific work so that it can be ready for a review. A Sprint can be as short as one week.Sprint Planning: During a Sprint Planning meeting, the tasks which have to be accomplished during a Sprint is decided upon. It discusses the product backlogs which are needed to be delivered and how it can be achieved.Daily Stand-up: It is a short meeting of 15-minutes duration which is conducted on an everyday basis. The main objective behind this short meeting is to make sure that the whole team is on the same page and is aligned to the sprint goal. The tasks covered in the previous 24 hours is discussed and the tasks to be carried out during the next 24 hours is planned out.Sprint Review: A Sprint Review is conducted after Sprint ends. The increment completed and the tasks that have not been completed are discussed during the Sprint Review.Sprint Retrospective: During a Sprint Retrospective, the whole team comes together and reflects on the Sprint process, that is, discuss what tasks were completed and what problems they faced. The main motive behind this is continuous improvement.According to The 13th Annual State of Agile Report, the top 5 Agile Techniques are:Daily standupSprint/Iteration PlanningRetrospectivesSprint/Iteration ReviewShort IterationsScrum ArtifactsScrum Artifacts include product backlog, sprint backlog and product increment.Product Backlog: It is a document which consists of an ordered list of all the product requirements. The Product Owner looks after the Product Backlog, who prioritises them as per the requirement.Sprint Backlog:The Sprint Backlog is a specific list of all the items from the Product Backlog which are to be worked on in a sprint.Product Increment:A product increment is the sum of all the completed product backlogs since the software release.Top Scrum Certifications1. Certified Scrum Master (CSM):CSM is modestly the most used Scrum Master Certification. With the help of this certification process, you can learn about the Scrum framework and get a better understanding of team events, roles and artifacts.Accreditation body: Scrum AlliancePrerequisites: The CSM® course can be taken by any professional who wants to deepen their Scrum understanding. CSM® course is usually taken up by the professionals working in IT and Non-IT industries. Therefore, it is recommended to become familiar with the basics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time.Who can take up this certification?The following individuals can take this course:Anyone who would like to build a career as a Scrum MasterTeams transitioning to ScrumManagers of Scrum teamsScrum team members such as product owners and developersIf you are already working as a Scrum Master, then taking this course will help you to strengthen your Scrum knowledge and skills.Certification Procedure: You will have to attend a training of two days duration, after which you will be required to take an online test. The two-day training is conducted by a Certified Scrum Trainer who has been authorised by the Scrum Alliance.The CSM certification has to be renewed every two years by paying a fee of $100 without any additional examination or training.Job opportunities after Scrum Master Certification: After attaining your Scrum Master Certification, you can act as a Scrum Master. Scrum Masters can opt to become mentors, coaches, managers, product owners or continue being a Scrum Master in more challenging situations.  Cost: Depending on factors like location and trainer, the cost of Scrum Master Certification comes approximately between $700 to $1500. The price bracket of the CSM certification varies across the globe, click here to know more.Average Salary: The average salary of a Certified Scrum Master ranges between $100,00 to $130,000 across the United States.CertificationScrum Master CertificationAccreditation BodyScrum AlliancePrerequisitesBasics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time.Exam InformationAnswer a set of 50   within an hour; out of which 37 should be answered correctly.Career PathScrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner.Average Salary$100,00 to $130,000Training Cost$1000Cost of Certification$700 to $1500.Average Salary$100,00 to $130,000Renewal Cost$1002. Advanced CSM:If you are a Certified Scrum Master and have a working experience of minimum one year as a Scrum Master, then you can apply for this course. This course will help you get a deeper insight of Scrum along with its practical usage and learns multiple ways to coach the Product owner and the team members.Accreditation Body: Scrum AlliancePrerequisites: As a certified Scrum Master, you should have a minimum of twelve months of working experience to become an Advanced CSM. You should also have a basic understanding of Scrum along with its usage and implementation.Who can take up this certification?The following individuals can take this course:Anyone who would like to build a career as a Scrum Master after completing the CSM courseScrum Team managersTeams which are transitioning to ScrumScrum team members such as product owners and developersAnyone who wishes to distinguish himself in the global market.Certification Procedure: You will have to attend an education offering of certified ACSM to learn techniques and skills which go beyond the basics of Scrum, like interaction, coaching, facilitation and team dynamics. Also, you will be required to have an experience of 12 months as a working Scrum Master in the last five years.The certification has to be renewed every two years by paying a fee of $175 without any additional examination or training.Job opportunities after Advanced Scrum Master Certification: Work towards becoming a more professional practitioner of Scrum Master, learn how to untap the underlying potential of your team. Work as a Scrum Master, coach, mentor or a Product Owner.Cost: Depending on different factors like location and trainer, the cost of Scrum Master Certification ranges approximately between $1295 to $1495.Average Salary: The average salary of an Advance Certified Scrum Master ranges between $100,00 to $130,000 across the United States.CertificationAdvanced Scrum Master CertificationAccreditation BodyScrum AlliancePrerequisitesBasics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time.Twelve months of working experience as a Scrum Master in the last five years.Career PathScrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner.Average Salary$100,00 to $130,000Cost of Certification$1295 to $1495Renewal Cost$1753. Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM)This course focuses on topics like lean concepts, system thinking, coaching, emotional intelligence, facilitation, deeper understanding of the Scrum Framework and scaling Scrum to big organizations.Accreditation Body: Scrum AlliancePrerequisites:An active A-CSM certification24 months of experience as a Scrum Master in the last five yearsAttend a CSP-SM workshop which is conducted by the Scrum Alliance approved ‘Path to CSP Educator’.Who can take up this certification?The following individuals can take this course:Scrum team members such as developersTeams transitioning to ScrumManagers of Scrum teamsJob opportunities after Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM) Certification: Work towards becoming a more professional practitioner of Scrum Master for big organisations, learn how to un-tap the underlying potential of different teams. Work as a Scrum Master, coach, mentor or a Product Owner. Get various opportunities to attend exclusive CSP events along with many other leaders in Scrum and AgileCost: Depending on various factors, the cost of the certification costs around $1295.Average Salary: The average salary of a Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM)is calculated to be approximately $115,000 across the United States.CertificationCertified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM)Accreditation BodyScrum AlliancePrerequisitesBasics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time.An active ACSM certification24 months of working experience as a Scrum Master in the last five years.Career PathScrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner for big organisations.Average Salary$115,000Cost of Certification$1295Renewal Cost$2504. Professional Scrum Master (PSM)Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM), is a two-day course which covers the theory and principles of the Scrum Framework and the roles of a Scrum Master. This course combines team-based exercises with instructions in order to teach the heart of the Scrum and Agile movement.Accreditation Body: Scrum.orgPrerequisites: The PSM course can be taken by any professional who wants to deepen their Scrum understanding. It is recommended to familiarize with the basics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in a shorter course of time.Who can take up this certification?This course is apt for professionals who are involved in product delivery using the Scrum Framework. It is particularly most beneficial for Scrum Master, Team members and managers, that is, those people who are accountable for getting the most out of Scrum.Job opportunities after Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM): After being a certified Professional Scrum Master, the candidate can apply for various fields, to name a few:Scrum MasterAssociate Scrum MasterProduct OwnerCoachMentorCost: Starts from  $150.Average Salary: $100,500CertificationProfessional Scrum Master Training (PSM)Accreditation BodyScrum.orgPrerequisitesBasics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time.Exam InformationAnswer a set of 80 questions within an hour.Passing score: 80 per cent.Career PathScrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner for big organisations.Average Salary$100,500Cost of Certification$1505. SAFe 4.0 Scrum Master (SSM)It is a two-day course, during which the attendees gain a proper understanding of the roles of a Scrum Master in the context of SAFe enterprise while at the same time, prepare them to plan and execute the Program Increment(PI) successfully. PI is an enabler of alignment for all the levels of a SAFe organisation, which includes the facilitation of Scrum in the enterprise and executing the Iteration Planning.This course will validate that you can now perform the role of a Scrum Master in a SAFe environment, which will help you increase your value to organisations and teams which are implementing SAFe.Accreditation Body: Scaled Agile.Prerequisites:Regardless of experience, this course can be attended by anyone. But it is recommended to have the following prerequisites for the ones who intend to take the SAFe® Scrum Master (SSM) certification exam:They should be familiar with Agile concepts and practices.Basic knowledge and awareness of Scrum, eXtreme Programming (XP) and Kanban.Proper working knowledge of hardware as well as software development processes.Who can take up this certification?This course can be taken up by Scrum Master who are new to this and need to perform the role. While this course can also be taken up by the existing Scrum Masters who wish to know about their role as a Scrum Master in a SAFe environment.Other than them, Team leads who wish to understand the roles of Scrum Master can also take up this course.Job opportunities after SAFe 4.0 Scrum Master (SSM): Based on the candidates' experience, the candidate can apply for various roles. To name a few:Scrum MasterSenior Scrum MasterAgile Scrum MasterAgile Project ManagerAgile Project DirectorAgile CoachProduct OwnerCost: The first attempt of the exam is included in the course registration fee, provided the exam is taken within 30 days after completing the course. After that, each retake costs $50.Average Salary: $114,546CertificationSAFe 4.0 Scrum Master (SSM)Accreditation BodyScaled AgilePrerequisitesFamiliarity with Agile concepts and practices.Basic knowledge and awareness of Scrum, eXtreme Programming (XP) and Kanban.Proper working knowledge of hardware as well as software development processes.Exam InformationAnswer a set of 45 questions within a duration of 90 minutes; out of which 33 should be answered correctly.Career PathScrum MasterSenior Scrum MasterAgile Scrum MasterAgile Project ManagerAgile Project DirectorAgile CoachProduct OwnerAverage Salary$114,546Cost of CertificationThe first attempt of the exam is included in the course registration fee, provided the exam is taken within 30 days after completing the course. After that, each retake costs $50.Renewal Cost$100; Every one year from the date of certification earned.6. Scrum Master Certified (SMC)The professionals who are certified as Scrum Master Certified (SMC) ensure that the Scrum team is working in an environment which helps them in completing their project successfully. The Scrum Master has the responsibility to ensure that the Scrum process is being followed. He guides the Scrum practices to everyone who is involved in the project.Accreditation Body: SCRUMstudyPrerequisites:There are no particular prerequisites for this certification, but a SDC™certified professional is more preferred.Who can take up this certification?This course is apt for professionals who are involved in product delivery using the Scrum Framework. It is particularly most beneficial for Scrum Master, Team members and managers, that is, those people who are accountable for getting the most out of Scrum.Job opportunities after Scrum Master Certified (SMC): After completion of the course, you can opt for the following job opportunities:Scrum MasterAssociate Scrum MasterSenior Scrum MasterCoach Scrum MasterProduct Owner/ManagerCost: $450 USDAverage Salary: The average salary for a Scrum Master Certified professional ranges between $100,00 to $130,00 USD.CertificationScrum Master Certified (SMC)Accreditation BodySCRUMstudyPrerequisitesThere are no particular prerequisites for this certification, but a SDC™certified professional is more preferred.Exam InformationAnswer a set of 100 questions within a duration of two hours.Career PathScrum MasterAssociate Scrum MasterSenior Scrum MasterCoach Scrum MasterProduct Owner/ManagerAverage Salary$100,00 to $130,00 USDCost of Certification$450 USDRenewal CostEarn 40 recertification credits every three years.7. Agile Scrum Master (ASM)The Agile Scrum Master certification combines scrum practices and agile methodologies with practical assignments. It tests the ability of the professional that is required to facilitate, enable and coach a cross-functional Scrum Team as a Scrum Master.Accreditation Body: Exin.Prerequisites: You are required to have successfully completed an EXIN Accredited Agile Scrum Master Training, which is mandatory.Who can take up this certification?This certification aims the managerial professionals who are in the fields of IT project management, business management, software development, and IT service management.Job opportunities after Agile Scrum Master (ASM): The professional can look forward to the following job opportunities after completing the Agile Scrum Master course:Scrum MasterAgile CoachAssociate Scrum MasterProgram ManagerCost: $260 USDAverage Salary: The average salary of an Agile Scrum Master ranges between $100,00 to $130,000 across the United States.CertificationAgile Scrum Master (ASM)Accreditation BodyEXINPrerequisitesThe candidate is required to have successfully completed an EXIN Accredited Agile Scrum Master Training, which is mandatory.Exam InformationAnswer a set of 40 questions within a duration of 90 minutes; Pass mark being 65%.Career PathScrum MasterAgile CoachAssociate Scrum MasterProgram ManagerAverage Salary$100,00 to $130,00 USDCost of Certification$260 USDWhat is Scrum?Scrum is a lightweight framework with the help of which people can address complex problems to deliver projects of the highest possible value. It is primarily used for software development processes by using iterative and incremental practices to work towards a well-defined goal.It is a subset of Agile as it follows the Agile Manifesto, which expresses a set of values and principles to help make decisions on how to develop higher-quality software in a quicker and better manner. Organisations have benefitted by Agile Scrum process as:It increases the productivity of the team.It increases the quality of deliverable products.Helps in getting a better grip of the project schedule.It provides a better estimate while less time is spent on creating themIt keeps the stakeholders and customers satisfied.How are Scrum and Agile related Scrum and Agile are related, but distinctly. Agile is a methodology that describes a set of guiding principles to build software through iterative development, which is described in the Agile Manifesto.Scrum follows a set of rules while practising agile software development. Even though these two models look similar and function in a similar manner, there are differences as well. Scrum aims for a product team with firm rules and guidelines. It is an incremental and iterative development methodology of Agile, that is, it can be said that it is an agile framework for developing software. Scrum does not state any detailed description or template of the process of software development, unlike many other software development methodologies. It states the desired outcome that is required, leaving it on the agile scrum team to determine the solutions to the problems that they are facing or will come across. It may be used for software maintenance projects or software development. Scrum increases the flexibility and speed of the process of product development. Organisations which have switched to agile processes like Scrum have experienced many benefits like higher stakeholder satisfaction, higher productivity, etc. The benefits experienced are further discussed in detail.Scrum Certifying Accreditation BodiesThe following is a list of a few Scrum Certifying Bodies.Scrum AllianceScrum.orgScaled AgileAPM Group InternationalSCRUMstudy1. Scrum Alliance: Scrum Alliance was founded in the year 2011. Being a globally renowned organisation, it supports Scrum adoption, research and networking, focusing on organisational transformations. It is the largest, most established organisation for Agile membership and certification that has trained more than 750,000 professionals worldwide.2. Scrum.org:Scrum.org provides training, assessments and certifications based on the principles of Scrum and Agile manifesto in order to improve software delivery. They empower people and organisations all around the world to achieve agility through Scrum. The global organisation was found in the year 2009 by Ken Schwaber.3. Scaled Agile, Inc. (SAI): Scaled Agile, Inc. (SAI) is the leading provider of SAFe® courses. Being a knowledge base for enterprises to adopt Agile, it uplifts the career growth of an individual as it offers various role-based courses and certifications.4. SCRUMstudy: SCRUMstudy is a globally acknowledged accreditation body for Agile and Scrum certifications. It has a large global partner network of ATPs, Authorized Training Providers, delivering training and certifications. The SBOK™ Guide has been authored by the SCRUMstudy, which is a comprehensive guide to deliver projects successfully using Scrum.5. EXIN: EXIN offers professionals certifications in a wide range of exams in the field of IT qualifications. It innovates in a continuous manner by developing exams in-house. They developed exams are both independent and with partners, which is done in order to enhance its portfolio as well as broaden the scope of the exams that are offered.Summary:Various accreditation bodies provide various Scrum Certifications around the globe. The main objective behind all the Scrum Certifications being making of a Scrum Master which will help his/her organisation achieve the goals following the Scrum framework. Choose the best certification course according to your requirements and make the best out of it!

Top-paying Scrum Master Certifications to Consider in 2020

9K
Top-paying Scrum Master Certifications to Consider in 2020

Scrum Certification is a course and a series of exams that professionals undertake to validate their knowledge, skills and aptitude in Scrum, as well as Agile methodology and framework for managing complex projects.

There are numerous accreditation bodies around the globe which provide Scrum training and certification programs, most of which are widely accepted and recognized.

This article discusses a few top Scrum Training and Certification options which are available, starting right from the basics. Read along to know more!

Benefits of Scrum Certification

Benefits of Scrum Certification

Here is a quick list of what benefits can be attained by a Scrum Certification.

  1. Get in-depth knowledge about Scrum: Having a Scrum certification will help you attain a solid base of Scrum knowledge as well as train you with the required skills to utilize it in an effective manner.
  2. Change your mindset to think the Scrum way: It is necessary to develop an Agile mindset to work with Scrum effectively. This will help you to have a better team collaboration, make your projects more successful, and will lead to a decrease in disagreements.
  3. Scrum Artifacts: Scrum concepts like product backlog, sprint backlog, burndown, etc. act as a pillar in a Scrum project, which help organisations to deliver the project in iterations.
  4. Become more relevant and marketable: Scrum certification will provide you with an in-depth practical knowledge, which will help you become more marketable and relevant in your field or in an industry which engages with Agile values. This certification will act as a validation that you have the knowledge of Agile concepts and that you have an Agile mindset.
  5. Scrum Certification benefits your organisation: Scrum Certification trains you to use the latest tools, technologies as well as resources, which leads to business processes and a better-organised team which costs less time and money.
  6. Influence your organisation to adopt Agile methodology: Adopting Agile methodologies will help your organisation as it will ensure better yields, lesser time to the market, timely insights, improved productivity, better ROI, sellable products after each sprint and much more.
  7. Better interaction with your peers: Having a Scrum certification will help you to build a better understanding of Scrum while working with your colleagues. It helps to promote productivity while at the same time it helps you communicate and collaborate with your peers in a better manner.
  8. Prove and put Scrum knowledge into practice: The process to earn Scrum Certification requires you to go through a rigorous agile scrum master training, which helps you get a better job and career opportunities.
  9. Join the community of Scrum experts: With a Scrum Certification, you can connect with various professionals. This ensures continuous improvements that you will learn and achieve with an Agile approach.
  10. Enhance sale: Make your Scrum teamwork in a more flexible manner, ensure fast delivery and quick releases. Being Scrum Certified enables you to make this difference for your organisation.

How does Scrum work?

The Scrum Framework comprises of three categories, which are Scrum Roles, Scrum Events and Scrum Artifacts. The following discusses, in brief, the mentioned three categories.

Scrum Roles

The Scrum framework is defined by three core roles: Development team, Scrum Master and Product Owner.

Scrum Roles

Development Team: The Development team is a group of self-organised, cross-functional people, who work together to create products as well as test the incremental releases of the products at the end of each sprint.

Scrum Master: The Scrum Master serves as a facilitator for his team members. It is his responsibility to ensure that the Team adheres to the Scrum practices and rules. He acts as a coach to the development team, product owner and stakeholders, and works towards removing the impediments that the team faces.

Product Owner: A Product Owner is responsible for conveying the vision of the project to his team members who are building it. He is accountable for managing the product backlog and testing the increment work that is completed.

Scrum EventsScrum Events

The Scrum Events consists of five components, namely Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-up, Sprint Review, Retrospective.

Sprint: A Sprint is a fixed time period, that is, it is a time-boxed period within which a Scrum Team completes a specific work so that it can be ready for a review. A Sprint can be as short as one week.

Sprint Planning: During a Sprint Planning meeting, the tasks which have to be accomplished during a Sprint is decided upon. It discusses the product backlogs which are needed to be delivered and how it can be achieved.

Daily Stand-up: It is a short meeting of 15-minutes duration which is conducted on an everyday basis. The main objective behind this short meeting is to make sure that the whole team is on the same page and is aligned to the sprint goal. The tasks covered in the previous 24 hours is discussed and the tasks to be carried out during the next 24 hours is planned out.

Sprint Review: A Sprint Review is conducted after Sprint ends. The increment completed and the tasks that have not been completed are discussed during the Sprint Review.

Sprint Retrospective: During a Sprint Retrospective, the whole team comes together and reflects on the Sprint process, that is, discuss what tasks were completed and what problems they faced. The main motive behind this is continuous improvement.

According to The 13th Annual State of Agile Report, the top 5 Agile Techniques are:

  • Daily standup
  • Sprint/Iteration Planning
  • Retrospectives
  • Sprint/Iteration Review
  • Short Iterations

Top 5 agile techniques

Scrum Artifacts

Scrum Artifacts include product backlog, sprint backlog and product increment.

Scrum Artifacts

Product Backlog: 

It is a document which consists of an ordered list of all the product requirements. The Product Owner looks after the Product Backlog, who prioritises them as per the requirement.

Sprint Backlog:

The Sprint Backlog is a specific list of all the items from the Product Backlog which are to be worked on in a sprint.

Product Increment:

A product increment is the sum of all the completed product backlogs since the software release.

Top Scrum Certifications

1. Certified Scrum Master (CSM):

CSM is modestly the most used Scrum Master Certification. With the help of this certification process, you can learn about the Scrum framework and get a better understanding of team events, roles and artifacts.

Accreditation body: Scrum Alliance

Prerequisites: The CSM® course can be taken by any professional who wants to deepen their Scrum understanding. CSM® course is usually taken up by the professionals working in IT and Non-IT industries. Therefore, it is recommended to become familiar with the basics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time.

Who can take up this certification?

The following individuals can take this course:

  • Anyone who would like to build a career as a Scrum Master
  • Teams transitioning to Scrum
  • Managers of Scrum teams
  • Scrum team members such as product owners and developers

If you are already working as a Scrum Master, then taking this course will help you to strengthen your Scrum knowledge and skills.

Certification Procedure: You will have to attend a training of two days duration, after which you will be required to take an online test. The two-day training is conducted by a Certified Scrum Trainer who has been authorised by the Scrum Alliance.

The CSM certification has to be renewed every two years by paying a fee of $100 without any additional examination or training.

Job opportunities after Scrum Master Certification: 

After attaining your Scrum Master Certification, you can act as a Scrum Master. Scrum Masters can opt to become mentors, coaches, managers, product owners or continue being a Scrum Master in more challenging situations.  

Cost: Depending on factors like location and trainer, the cost of Scrum Master Certification comes approximately between $700 to $1500. The price bracket of the CSM certification varies across the globe, click here to know more.

Average Salary: The average salary of a Certified Scrum Master ranges between $100,00 to $130,000 across the United States.

CertificationScrum Master Certification
Accreditation BodyScrum Alliance
PrerequisitesBasics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time.
Exam InformationAnswer a set of 50   within an hour; out of which 37 should be answered correctly.
Career PathScrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner.
Average Salary$100,00 to $130,000
Training Cost$1000
Cost of Certification$700 to $1500.
Average Salary$100,00 to $130,000
Renewal Cost$100

2. Advanced CSM:

If you are a Certified Scrum Master and have a working experience of minimum one year as a Scrum Master, then you can apply for this course. This course will help you get a deeper insight of Scrum along with its practical usage and learns multiple ways to coach the Product owner and the team members.

Accreditation Body: Scrum Alliance

Prerequisites: As a certified Scrum Master, you should have a minimum of twelve months of working experience to become an Advanced CSM. You should also have a basic understanding of Scrum along with its usage and implementation.

Who can take up this certification?

The following individuals can take this course:

  • Anyone who would like to build a career as a Scrum Master after completing the CSM course
  • Scrum Team managers
  • Teams which are transitioning to Scrum
  • Scrum team members such as product owners and developers
  • Anyone who wishes to distinguish himself in the global market.

Certification Procedure: You will have to attend an education offering of certified ACSM to learn techniques and skills which go beyond the basics of Scrum, like interaction, coaching, facilitation and team dynamics. Also, you will be required to have an experience of 12 months as a working Scrum Master in the last five years.

The certification has to be renewed every two years by paying a fee of $175 without any additional examination or training.

Job opportunities after Advanced Scrum Master Certification: 

Work towards becoming a more professional practitioner of Scrum Master, learn how to untap the underlying potential of your team. Work as a Scrum Master, coach, mentor or a Product Owner.

Cost: Depending on different factors like location and trainer, the cost of Scrum Master Certification ranges approximately between $1295 to $1495.

Average Salary: The average salary of an Advance Certified Scrum Master ranges between $100,00 to $130,000 across the United States.

CertificationAdvanced Scrum Master Certification
Accreditation BodyScrum Alliance
Prerequisites
  • Basics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time.
  • Twelve months of working experience as a Scrum Master in the last five years.
Career PathScrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner.
Average Salary$100,00 to $130,000
Cost of Certification$1295 to $1495
Renewal Cost$175

3. Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM)

This course focuses on topics like lean concepts, system thinking, coaching, emotional intelligence, facilitation, deeper understanding of the Scrum Framework and scaling Scrum to big organizations.

Accreditation Body: Scrum Alliance

Prerequisites:

  • An active A-CSM certification
  • 24 months of experience as a Scrum Master in the last five years
  • Attend a CSP-SM workshop which is conducted by the Scrum Alliance approved ‘Path to CSP Educator’.

Who can take up this certification?

The following individuals can take this course:

  • Scrum team members such as developers
  • Teams transitioning to Scrum
  • Managers of Scrum teams

Job opportunities after Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM) Certification: 

Work towards becoming a more professional practitioner of Scrum Master for big organisations, learn how to un-tap the underlying potential of different teams. Work as a Scrum Master, coach, mentor or a Product Owner. Get various opportunities to attend exclusive CSP events along with many other leaders in Scrum and Agile

Cost: Depending on various factors, the cost of the certification costs around $1295.

Average Salary: The average salary of a Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM)

is calculated to be approximately $115,000 across the United States.

CertificationCertified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM)
Accreditation BodyScrum Alliance
Prerequisites
  • Basics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time.
  • An active ACSM certification
  • 24 months of working experience as a Scrum Master in the last five years.
Career PathScrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner for big organisations.
Average Salary$115,000
Cost of Certification$1295
Renewal Cost$250

4. Professional Scrum Master (PSM)

Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM), is a two-day course which covers the theory and principles of the Scrum Framework and the roles of a Scrum Master. This course combines team-based exercises with instructions in order to teach the heart of the Scrum and Agile movement.

Accreditation Body: Scrum.org

Prerequisites: The PSM course can be taken by any professional who wants to deepen their Scrum understanding. It is recommended to familiarize with the basics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in a shorter course of time.

Who can take up this certification?

This course is apt for professionals who are involved in product delivery using the Scrum Framework. It is particularly most beneficial for Scrum Master, Team members and managers, that is, those people who are accountable for getting the most out of Scrum.

Job opportunities after Professional Scrum Master Training (PSM): 

After being a certified Professional Scrum Master, the candidate can apply for various fields, to name a few:

  • Scrum Master
  • Associate Scrum Master
  • Product Owner
  • Coach
  • Mentor

Cost: Starts from  $150.

Average Salary: $100,500

CertificationProfessional Scrum Master Training (PSM)
Accreditation BodyScrum.org
PrerequisitesBasics of Scrum to understand the overall framework perfectly in less time.
Exam Information
  • Answer a set of 80 questions within an hour.
  • Passing score: 80 per cent.
Career PathScrum Master, Mentor, Coach, Manager, Product Owner for big organisations.
Average Salary$100,500
Cost of Certification$150

5. SAFe 4.0 Scrum Master (SSM)

It is a two-day course, during which the attendees gain a proper understanding of the roles of a Scrum Master in the context of SAFe enterprise while at the same time, prepare them to plan and execute the Program Increment(PI) successfully. PI is an enabler of alignment for all the levels of a SAFe organisation, which includes the facilitation of Scrum in the enterprise and executing the Iteration Planning.

This course will validate that you can now perform the role of a Scrum Master in a SAFe environment, which will help you increase your value to organisations and teams which are implementing SAFe.

Accreditation Body: Scaled Agile.

Prerequisites:Regardless of experience, this course can be attended by anyone. But it is recommended to have the following prerequisites for the ones who intend to take the SAFe® Scrum Master (SSM) certification exam:

  • They should be familiar with Agile concepts and practices.
  • Basic knowledge and awareness of Scrum, eXtreme Programming (XP) and Kanban.
  • Proper working knowledge of hardware as well as software development processes.

Who can take up this certification?

This course can be taken up by Scrum Master who are new to this and need to perform the role. While this course can also be taken up by the existing Scrum Masters who wish to know about their role as a Scrum Master in a SAFe environment.

Other than them, Team leads who wish to understand the roles of Scrum Master can also take up this course.

Job opportunities after SAFe 4.0 Scrum Master (SSM): 

Based on the candidates' experience, the candidate can apply for various roles. To name a few:

  • Scrum Master
  • Senior Scrum Master
  • Agile Scrum Master
  • Agile Project Manager
  • Agile Project Director
  • Agile Coach
  • Product Owner

Cost: The first attempt of the exam is included in the course registration fee, provided the exam is taken within 30 days after completing the course. After that, each retake costs $50.

Average Salary: $114,546

CertificationSAFe 4.0 Scrum Master (SSM)
Accreditation BodyScaled Agile
Prerequisites
  • Familiarity with Agile concepts and practices.
  • Basic knowledge and awareness of Scrum, eXtreme Programming (XP) and Kanban.
  • Proper working knowledge of hardware as well as software development processes.
Exam InformationAnswer a set of 45 questions within a duration of 90 minutes; out of which 33 should be answered correctly.
Career Path
  • Scrum Master
  • Senior Scrum Master
  • Agile Scrum Master
  • Agile Project Manager
  • Agile Project Director
  • Agile Coach
  • Product Owner

Average Salary$114,546
Cost of CertificationThe first attempt of the exam is included in the course registration fee, provided the exam is taken within 30 days after completing the course. After that, each retake costs $50.
Renewal Cost$100; Every one year from the date of certification earned.

6. Scrum Master Certified (SMC)

The professionals who are certified as Scrum Master Certified (SMC) ensure that the Scrum team is working in an environment which helps them in completing their project successfully. The Scrum Master has the responsibility to ensure that the Scrum process is being followed. He guides the Scrum practices to everyone who is involved in the project.

Accreditation Body: SCRUMstudy

Prerequisites:There are no particular prerequisites for this certification, but a SDC™certified professional is more preferred.

Who can take up this certification?

This course is apt for professionals who are involved in product delivery using the Scrum Framework. It is particularly most beneficial for Scrum Master, Team members and managers, that is, those people who are accountable for getting the most out of Scrum.

Job opportunities after Scrum Master Certified (SMC): 

After completion of the course, you can opt for the following job opportunities:

  • Scrum Master
  • Associate Scrum Master
  • Senior Scrum Master
  • Coach Scrum Master
  • Product Owner/Manager

Cost: $450 USD
Average Salary: The average salary for a Scrum Master Certified professional ranges between $100,00 to $130,00 USD.

CertificationScrum Master Certified (SMC)
Accreditation BodySCRUMstudy
PrerequisitesThere are no particular prerequisites for this certification, but a SDC™certified professional is more preferred.
Exam InformationAnswer a set of 100 questions within a duration of two hours.
Career Path
  • Scrum Master
  • Associate Scrum Master
  • Senior Scrum Master
  • Coach Scrum Master
  • Product Owner/Manager
Average Salary$100,00 to $130,00 USD
Cost of Certification$450 USD
Renewal CostEarn 40 recertification credits every three years.

7. Agile Scrum Master (ASM)

The Agile Scrum Master certification combines scrum practices and agile methodologies with practical assignments. It tests the ability of the professional that is required to facilitate, enable and coach a cross-functional Scrum Team as a Scrum Master.

Accreditation Body: Exin.

Prerequisites: You are required to have successfully completed an EXIN Accredited Agile Scrum Master Training, which is mandatory.

Who can take up this certification?

This certification aims the managerial professionals who are in the fields of IT project management, business management, software development, and IT service management.

Job opportunities after Agile Scrum Master (ASM): 

The professional can look forward to the following job opportunities after completing the Agile Scrum Master course:

  • Scrum Master
  • Agile Coach
  • Associate Scrum Master
  • Program Manager

Cost: $260 USD

Average Salary: The average salary of an Agile Scrum Master ranges between $100,00 to $130,000 across the United States.

CertificationAgile Scrum Master (ASM)
Accreditation BodyEXIN
PrerequisitesThe candidate is required to have successfully completed an EXIN Accredited Agile Scrum Master Training, which is mandatory.
Exam InformationAnswer a set of 40 questions within a duration of 90 minutes; Pass mark being 65%.
Career Path
  • Scrum Master
  • Agile Coach
  • Associate Scrum Master
  • Program Manager
Average Salary$100,00 to $130,00 USD
Cost of Certification$260 USD

What is Scrum?

Scrum is a lightweight framework with the help of which people can address complex problems to deliver projects of the highest possible value. It is primarily used for software development processes by using iterative and incremental practices to work towards a well-defined goal.

It is a subset of Agile as it follows the Agile Manifesto, which expresses a set of values and principles to help make decisions on how to develop higher-quality software in a quicker and better manner. Organisations have benefitted by Agile Scrum process as:

  • It increases the productivity of the team.
  • It increases the quality of deliverable products.
  • Helps in getting a better grip of the project schedule.
  • It provides a better estimate while less time is spent on creating them
  • It keeps the stakeholders and customers satisfied.

How are Scrum and Agile related 

Scrum and Agile are related, but distinctly. Agile is a methodology that describes a set of guiding principles to build software through iterative development, which is described in the Agile Manifesto.

Scrum follows a set of rules while practising agile software development. Even though these two models look similar and function in a similar manner, there are differences as well. Scrum aims for a product team with firm rules and guidelines. It is an incremental and iterative development methodology of Agile, that is, it can be said that it is an agile framework for developing software. Scrum does not state any detailed description or template of the process of software development, unlike many other software development methodologies. It states the desired outcome that is required, leaving it on the agile scrum team to determine the solutions to the problems that they are facing or will come across. It may be used for software maintenance projects or software development. Scrum increases the flexibility and speed of the process of product development. Organisations which have switched to agile processes like Scrum have experienced many benefits like higher stakeholder satisfaction, higher productivity, etc. The benefits experienced are further discussed in detail.

Scrum Certifying Accreditation Bodies

Few Agile Certifying Bodies

The following is a list of a few Scrum Certifying Bodies.

  • Scrum Alliance
  • Scrum.org
  • Scaled Agile
  • APM Group International
  • SCRUMstudy

1. Scrum Alliance: 

Scrum Alliance was founded in the year 2011. Being a globally renowned organisation, it supports Scrum adoption, research and networking, focusing on organisational transformations. It is the largest, most established organisation for Agile membership and certification that has trained more than 750,000 professionals worldwide.

2. Scrum.org:

Scrum.org provides training, assessments and certifications based on the principles of Scrum and Agile manifesto in order to improve software delivery. They empower people and organisations all around the world to achieve agility through Scrum. The global organisation was found in the year 2009 by Ken Schwaber.

3. Scaled Agile, Inc. (SAI): 

Scaled Agile, Inc. (SAI) is the leading provider of SAFe® courses. Being a knowledge base for enterprises to adopt Agile, it uplifts the career growth of an individual as it offers various role-based courses and certifications.

4. SCRUMstudy: 

SCRUMstudy is a globally acknowledged accreditation body for Agile and Scrum certifications. It has a large global partner network of ATPs, Authorized Training Providers, delivering training and certifications. The SBOK™ Guide has been authored by the SCRUMstudy, which is a comprehensive guide to deliver projects successfully using Scrum.

5. EXIN: 

EXIN offers professionals certifications in a wide range of exams in the field of IT qualifications. It innovates in a continuous manner by developing exams in-house. They developed exams are both independent and with partners, which is done in order to enhance its portfolio as well as broaden the scope of the exams that are offered.

Summary:

Various accreditation bodies provide various Scrum Certifications around the globe. The main objective behind all the Scrum Certifications being making of a Scrum Master which will help his/her organisation achieve the goals following the Scrum framework. Choose the best certification course according to your requirements and make the best out of it!

KnowledgeHut

KnowledgeHut

Author

KnowledgeHut is an outcome-focused global ed-tech company. We help organizations and professionals unlock excellence through skills development. We offer training solutions under the people and process, data science, full-stack development, cybersecurity, future technologies and digital transformation verticals.
Website : https://www.knowledgehut.com

Join the Discussion

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2 comments

Ravi Kumar 18 Jun 2019

Thanks for the information. I recommend everyone to follow Knowledgehut blogs

Deeksha 18 Jun 2019

I am searching for this type of article,finally i found it from your site,thanks for the article.

SPECIAL OFFER Upto 20% off on all courses
Enrol Now

Trending blog posts

7 Things to Keep in Mind Before Your Next Web Development Interview Published 30 Jun 2020 Blogs
INFOGRAPHIC: How E-Learning Can Help Improve Your Career Prospects Published 24 Jan 2017 Infographics
Major Benefits of Earning the CEH Certification in 2020 Published 03 Nov 2020 Blogs
Exploring the Various Decorators in Angular Published 10 Nov 2020 Blogs
What Is the Purpose of AJAX in JavaScript. Published 10 Nov 2020 Blogs
How to Learn React in 2020 Published 09 Nov 2020 Blogs
Write for US

Suggested Blogs

User Stories and User Stories Examples

In this article, you will learn about User Stories, 3 C’s of a user story, who writes it, how to write it, how to INVEST in user stories and different types of user stories with examples  What is a User Story? User Story is a tool in which requirements are captured in an easy to understand plain language, and is written from the perspective of an end user. “In software development and product management, a user story is an informal, natural language description of one or more features of a software system. User stories are often written from the perspective of an end user or user of a system” In Agile software development, user stories are used to express the requirements from an end user perspective.  The format of the user story is: As a   I want to   So that   - is the end user or the role of the user in the application software – “As a net banking customer”  - the action the user is performing on the application software – “I want to add beneficiary in my account”  - outcome, desired value, the user expects out of the action performed – “so that I can transfer money to the added beneficiary”The larger sized stories are called as “Epics” which are then decomposed to “Features” and then further decomposed to a “User Story”.  Epic example: As a Bank, I want to provide net banking to customers, so that they can perform various transactions. The above Epic can then be decomposed into multiple features: few examples: As a Bank, I want to provide funds transfer feature to customer, so that they can transfer funds from one account to another account As a Bank, I want to provide account summary for all the customer’s type of accounts. As a Bank, I want to provide credit card details to customers. Now each feature can be decomposed further into multiple user stories. User stories, based on the estimate size, are taken for implementation in an iteration. User stories should be granular enough that they can be completed within an iteration and cannot be continued in the following iteration. If a story cannot be completed within an iteration, the same should be split logically. User stories are prioritized by the product owner based on business priority and are available at the top of the product backlog. The dev team pulls the stories into an iteration backlog and implements them. The Definition of Done(DOD) for user stories are decided by the team which includes acceptance criteria, processes that need to be followed like unit testing, regression testing, code review etc. The story is said to be “done” only when it meets the preset Definition of Done. Who writes user stories? So, whose responsibility is to write user stories in an agile team?  Generally, the notion is that only the Product Owners should write user stories as they are the ones who elicit requirements from the stakeholders. However, in practice, any member of an Agile team may write user stories, though the overall responsibility is that of a Product Owner. The product owner should go through the stories and prioritize them in the product backlog. Over the course of an agile project, every team member is encouraged and expected to write user stories. When are user stories written? Are user stories written at the beginning of the project in a traditional way?  User stories are written throughout the lifecycle of the project. At the start of the project, user stories are written in Sprint '0', also called as pre-sprint. Initially the product owner elicits the requirements from the stakeholder and they are stored as EPICS, Features and User Stories in the product backlog. The requirements in agile software development are progressively elaborated and hence the need for writing user stories will arise throughout the project. These are written mainly during the backlog grooming session where the product owner decomposes epics/features into granular stories. Dev team writes stories along with the product owner during this session and also gets  involved in the 3 C’s (the next section describes this). confirmation in the 3C’s of user stories “Card”, “Conversation” and “Confirmation” is a model that captures the components of a user story.  This is popularly known as the 3Cs model that helps in planning and estimating the user stories by the Agile team. Card – denotes a Post It note or physical card, typically 3”x5” size, where the important information of a user story is captured. The card should contain enough information (not too less or too much) that the team is able to understand in order to plan & estimate on the story. “Conversation” – this is the conversation that happens between the product owner and the dev team to discuss on the story and get into the details. This may also be a conversation with the users of the system. This conversation also brings out the creativity of the dev team and uncovers any unstated needs of the users. “Confirmation” – this brings out the acceptance criteria for a story based on the above conversation.  This criterion will be used to evaluate the story by the stakeholders when the user story is implemented by the dev team.  The 3 C’s of the user story generally unfold during the backlog grooming session when the dev team and the product owner discuss the stories that needs to be groomed. The user stories are written during this time as well on the card by the dev team and product owner. Just enough information is captured in the story that enables the team to discuss and get into the details, uncovering any hidden or explicit information in the process. The team then negotiates with the product owner and arrives at the acceptance criteria for the user story.  Next, the dev team estimates the user story with the available information. The conversation continues between the dev team and product owner until a consensus is reached with respect to the details and acceptance criteria and until the team can size the same. This round of conversation may happen again during the iteration/sprint planning session. The dev team then implements the story in an iteration which is reviewed by the product owner or stakeholders at the end of the iteration. They will then accept the story based on the acceptance criteria defined for the story. Why create user stories? What are the benefits that a team will get by documenting the need of the stakeholders in the form of user stories? It enables the team to understand the requirements from a user perspective. The focus is on the user to provide value to them; the user story clearly describes the expected outcome of every action performed. This manner of capturing requirements provides opportunities for the team to collaborate more with the product owner and business users. By having conversations (in 3 Cs), the team is able to uncover the hidden requirements and also come up with creative solutions. Provides a shared understanding of the requirements to the team so that everyone is aware of the outcome/goal of the story and is on the same page. User stories help the team to achieve smaller product increments. User stories are more understandable by all stakeholders (technical/non-technical/business/operations). User stories help the team to implement features in smaller iterations ranging from one week to one-month durations. User stories enable the team for progressive elaboration, where they can defer the story until more clarity is obtained. User stories help create transparency of the priorities defined by the product owner and the customer. User stories help the developers, product owner and business owners to reach a mutual consensus as they discuss the details and agree on the acceptance criteria. This helps prioritize the product features by the stakeholders and also helps to take the right decisions at the right time. INVEST in User StoriesThis is an acronym for a set of attributes or criteria that helps us to assess the quality of the user story. If any of the attributes falls short in a story, it means that the team may want to consider rewriting the user story. Independent – User stories should be independent of other stories. There should be no overlap between them. They can however follow one after the other in a sequence, in a way that makes it easy to schedule and implement them.  This is one of the challenges that the team faces especially when they have just started adapting agile ways of working. They may have a story which is dependent on something else which may be done by another team. The teams may hope that they can run the two stories in parallel and by the time the first team is done, the dependent team will also complete their part of the story.  This is not the right way of running user stories, as it can result in a lot of confusion and blame. The advantage of having independent stories is that there is no blame game across teams. It also allows to consider the dependencies and come up with innovative ways of removing them to become independent. Negotiable – The story should not be written in so much detail that it becomes a requirement document. If it is in too much detail, it does not give an opportunity for the dev team to have any conversation with the product owner or the business. The story should be written with just enough detail so that it paves the way to open discussions with the product owner or business, and helps to elicit details or come up with creative solutions. By negotiating on the story with the relevant stakeholders, teams can come to a common understanding. Valuable – The story should be valuable to the customer. It should clearly state why we are doing this? How is it going to produce value to the customer? What value will the customer realize by implementing this story?  The only reason why user stories should be part of the product backlog is that they add value to the customer, right? Estimable – The user stories should have sufficient detail for the dev team to understand and estimate them. The conversation in 3 C’s helps the team to uncover the details with the product owner and stakeholders, so that they can size the story. If the story is too big and not sizeable, then the story should be refined or decomposed further. Whatever information the team may require should be available in the story for them to estimate it. In case there is a part of the story where the team has to do research, then a “spike” story may be created while the rest of the story can be estimated and taken for implementation. Small – Good user stories should be small. This does not refer to the size or number of words written in a story. A small story is of the right length so that the implementation team can complete the story within an iteration. It should be small enough that the story is “fully delivered” during an iteration.  A small user story helps the team to develop and test quickly and easily.  Testable – A good user story should be testable in order to be “Done”. This is supported by the “Confirmation” in 3 C’s where the team comes up with acceptance criteria for every story after the detailed conversation with the stakeholders.  The customer should be clear about what he should test during the review. If he is not clear, then the story is not good enough to be implemented. The team works together in a collaborative way to INVEST in good stories. The team learns to write good user stories as they work together and also proactively think about the values and criteria that are laid out in INVEST. Types of User Stories We can classify user stories into functional and technical types: Functional – Normally, a user story is written based on the functional aspects of the application software, while focusing on the user and the value of the functionality provided to the user.  Functional stories concentrate on the product features which the customer will be testing at the end of an iteration based on the acceptance criteria defined for the story. Technical – Technical stories are written to be able to support the functional stories. Technical stories can be classified as Infrastructure stories – any infrastructure addition/modification that may be required to support the functional story Refactoring – this type of story is written to maintain the code and address technical debts. This can be used for designing and automation needs as well Spikes – stories that require research on architecture and design which may in turn help achieve the functional need of the customer. Examples of user stories Let us see some examples of user stories (Epics, Features and User Story) in this section. IDEPICSE1As a Sales Professional, I want to generate reports so that I can take a decision on the marketing strategy for the upcoming quarterE2As a Banking Customer, I want to access net banking, so that I can access my account and make transactionsE3As an Administrator of the software, I want to access master records so that I can make changes to customer dataIDFeaturesE2F1As a Banking Customer, I want to access Savings account so that I can view/make transactionsE2F2As a Banking Customer, I want to access Credit Card page, so that I can view and make transactionsE2F3As a Banking Customer, I want to access Loans page so that I can view my loansE2F4As a Banking Customer, I want to transfer funds, so that I can move my funds to different accounts within my bank and other banksIDUser StoriesE2F1U1As a Banking Customer, I want to access/view summary of my savings account, so that I know my balance and other detailsE2F2U1As a Banking Customer, I want to Login to Net banking so that I can view credit card detailsE2F4U1As a Banking Customer, I want to transfer funds within my own accounts so that I can move some balance across my accountsE2F4U2As a Banking Customer, I want to transfer funds from my account to another account in another bank, so that  I can send money to my family and friends who have accounts in other banksE2F4U3As a Banking Customer, I want to add beneficiary to my account, so that I can transfer funds to the beneficiaryTechnical StoriesE2TU1As a Net Banking Administrator, I want to have the customer’s data backed up so that I can restore it any time in case of issues  E2TU2  As a Net Banking application, I want to shake hands with another bank using a specific formatted XML so that funds can be transferred based on the customers’ needs  Conclusion Transformation of documentation on user requirements in a Functional Requirements Document (FRD) or Software Requirement Specification (SRS) in a traditional project management, towards User Stories in Agile project management, is a massive step. It helps  shift the mindset of how teams can understand and collaborate with the customer in a better way, by shifting their focus of implementation towards value that the customer may realize from the story. This shift has worked very well in terms of meeting the requirements and expectations of the customer. 
User Stories and User Stories Examples
Blogs
9429
User Stories and User Stories Examples

In this article, you will learn about User Stories... Read More

Waterfall Vs Agile – Must Know Differences

In this article, my focus is to the bring out the differences between Waterfall and Agile methodologies based on my experience as a PMP® and Agile Coach.  What will you learn in this article? In this article, you will learn the definition of Waterfall and Agile, key differences between the two, advantages and limitations of each, how to make the right choice for your project and an example on Waterfall and Agile methods. What is Waterfall Methodology?  “The first formal description of the waterfall model is often cited as a 1970 article by Winston W. Royce, although Royce did not use the term waterfall in that article….The earliest use of the term "waterfall" may have been in a 1976 paper by Bell and Thayer” This methodology describes a linear and sequential approach to Software Development. It is termed “Waterfall” as the life cycle phases in the Software Development cascade from one phase to another systematically from top to bottom. After the completion of every phase, the subsequent phase is expected to start and there is a stage-gate or kill-point review at the end of each phase. Progress of the project is evaluated during this stage-gate review and the decision is made to continue to the next phase or cancel the project. For example, the entire requirements for the project are elicited by the project team from the stakeholders and documented. The team can proceed to the next phase –Design- only after the evaluation of the requirements during the stage-gate review is completed, and a “Go” decision is made. This is also known as Traditional or Predictive approach in project management, as it applies a predictive planning strategy which uses baselines and milestones to control the project.  What is Agile Methodology? “The appearance of Agile methods has been the most noticeable change to software process thinking in the last fifteen years [16], but in fact many of the “Agile ideas” have been around since 70’s or even before. Many studies and reviews have been conducted about Agile methods which ascribe their emergence as a reaction against traditional methods” This approach of software development is also known as Adaptive approach. Agile Methodology promotes an iterative & incremental approach throughout the entire software development life cycle of the project. This focuses on the values and principles defined in the Agile Manifesto which states Agile Manifesto: Individuals and Interactions over processes and tools Working Software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan Principles: Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need and trust them to get the job done. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation. Working software is the primary measure of progress. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace, indefinitely. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility. Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behaviour accordingly. Key differences between Waterfall and Agile MethodologyRequirements: In traditional approach, an extensive business analysis is performed (typically by the business analyst) in order to meet the requirements of the product, service or result. Requirements are fully documented and signed off by the key stakeholders. The business analyst walks through the requirements to the project team which then performs the design, development and testing of those requirements. Since requirements are elicited at the beginning of the project and subsequently baselined, it is possible that requirements may decay over a period as the business dynamics keep changing in today’s world. In Adaptive approach, the requirements are progressively elaborated and stored in the requirements backlog or product backlog. They are stored in the form of Epics/Features/User Stories in the product backlog.  The entire agile team collaborates on grooming the requirements later.   Responding to Changes: Waterfall methodology tries to control the amount of change within a project. It is very rigid to any change in the project and has to go through a process of change requests. Change management plan is well defined to handle any change in a systematic manner to avoid scope creep or gold plating (doing something extra for the customer without them actually asking for it). Welcome change is a powerful tool in adaptive approach. The agile approach to planning, executing, prioritizing, grooming etc allows the agile team to respond to change quickly. Changes are considered as opportunities to provide value to the customer. Please note “responding” to changes does not mean “accepting” all the changes. It is rather “welcome changes” as the agile team collaborates with the customer more from the value perspective.  Project Team: There is no specific team size limit in the traditional approach. It can go from a few team members to hundreds in a huge project. This limits the collaboration between the individuals involved in the project, especially in a big-sized team. Team members may be allocated from different functional units and may not be seated together. In Agile methodology, team size is limited to achieve high collaboration through co-location (team sitting together in the same workspace). Each agile team comprises of a cross-functional team who can produce a working software increment in every iteration. Development Life Cycle: In Waterfall methodology, the software development life cycle goes through a series of phases like requirements, design, coding, testing and UAT, sequentially. The entire product or working software is available at the end of the project phase. In Agile methodology, the development happens in iterations/sprints, and the duration of the iterations ranges from two weeks to a month. The phases of analysis, design and development happens within an iteration and the team is able to produce a working software increment in every iteration. Feedback cycle: In Waterfall methodology, the feedback of the project is received at the end of the project when the customer conducts the validate scope process (UAT). In Agile methodology, feedback of the increment is received by the team at the end of every iteration. Multiple feedback loops provide opportunities for the team to learn quickly. Testing: In waterfall methodology, testing cycle or phase starts after the development phase is completed. Test plans are finalized at the beginning of the project and test cases are written for the product of the project while the development is in progress. Development and test teams are looked at separately within a project team. In Agile methodology, every iteration planning includes planning for test and test cases are written for those prioritized features or stories for every iteration. Testers and coders work in an integrated manner to deliver the product increment. Focus: In waterfall methodology, the focus is more on producing the project deliverable as defined and baselined. In Agile methodology, the focus is more on collaborating with the customer and welcoming changes that provide value to the customer. Documentation: In waterfall methodology, due importance is given to formalized documentation which helps in monitoring and controlling of the project for the project manager. In Agile methodology, minimal documentation is prescribed as working software is preferred over comprehensive documentation (as per Agile Manifesto). Roles: In waterfall methodology, there can be many roles defined like Project Manager, team lead, developer, tester, business analyst, design architect, quality analyst etc., In Agile methodology, roles are very limited. Especially in Scrum framework, there are only 3 roles. Scrum Master, Product Owner and Development Team (cross functional team). Project Management: In Waterfall methodology, project manager is responsible for managing the project and is accountable for the entire project. Project manager manages the project team by assigning work to the team members and getting the task done. In other words, project manager “pushes” the work to the team. In Agile methodology, the team manages the project themselves as they are a self-organizing team. The team “pulls” the work from the product backlog into the iteration backlog. Team Empowerment: In waterfall methodology, the project manager is directly answerable for the outcome of the project and team members are not empowered to take decisions. In Agile methodology, the agile team is empowered to take decisions and hence they are collectively accountable for the outcome of the project. Project Metrics: In waterfall methodology, the project team measures the project progress using techniques like Earned Value Management and Schedule compression to compress the schedule in case of any deviations. In Agile methodology, the metrics are derived in terms of velocity (how many story points the team produced during an increment cycle) and other metrics like sprint burndown/burnup charts to monitor daily progress within an iteration. Advantages and Limitations of Waterfall MethodologyAdvantages:Ability to apply due diligence in planning for well-defined requirements and scope Dependencies are managed effectively as the entire requirements are known well in advance Well defined processes pave the way for quality deliverables Phase-gate reviews allow stakeholders to eliminate any ad-hoc changes and unplanned additions to the project Works well for small projects for a well-defined requirement that is very well understood, and is not likely to change over the duration of the project Avoids scope creep with systematic implementation of change management process Simple and easy to understand Scope, time and cost baseline helps the management to monitor and control the project accordingly Limitations:Requirements are expected to be defined well prior to development which delays the project Less flexibility in changes makes it difficult to manage Feedback is received from the customer at the end of the project and hence any negative feedback or defects proves costly for the team to fix  Does not accommodate any changes due to market dynamics and its rigid approach to changes Cost of change is more as the defect is identified by the customer at the end of the project Ineffective team collaboration as the team works in silos (dev, testing etc) Integration is considered at the end and that prevents identification of any technical or business bottleneck Advantages and limitations of Agile MethodologyAdvantagesFocusses on business value as developers and business work together Stakeholders are engaged effectively in every iteration Motivated and self-organizing teams that manage themselves Predictable and ensures less variations in the project Harnesses change and is more customer centric Working software is the measure of progress. Feedback is received from the key stakeholder during every iteration and the cost of change is very less Teams retrospect every iteration to look at improvement areas and finetune themselves Provides transparency through the process Focuses on Minimum Viable Product to release to the customer Due attention is paid to specific customer needs and changes are accommodated even late in development Limitations Not suitable for all types of projects May not work well in a large traditional organization due to its flexible and less formal processes Minimal depth in requirement analysis and frequent planning may derail the end project goals Self-organizing and empowering teams solely depends on team’s maturity level at handling decisions and may backfire Working software over comprehensive documentation is misunderstood and hence teams may not focus even on necessary documentation that is required Waterfall vs Agile Methodology – Which is right for your project? A typical question that is raised before the software development starts is “which approach should we follow, Waterfall or Agile?”   The following table can be used to determine the approach (please note all the factors do not carry equal weightage)     Waterfall (works)Agile (works)Well defined scope and changes are very limitedScope/FeaturesWhen scope is not known in advance or changes are expected as the project moves onWhen uncertainty is low and low-level riskRiskWhen uncertainty is high and high-level riskWhen market is stableMarket dependencyWhen market dynamics change/evolve frequentlyWhen customer involvement is required only at certain milestonesCustomer FeedbackWhen customer is available and requires involvement throughout the projectWhen the focus is on planning, monitoring and control and predictabilityFocusWhen the focus is on innovationWhen conforming to requirements as agreed upon in the contractProduct FeaturesWhen minimum viable product (which gives more value to the customer) is implemented first and we can implement the low valued features laterWhen a large sized team with minimal collaboration or handoff is requiredTeamWhen small team with high collaboration is requiredWhen the budget is fixedFundingWhen the budget is not a constraintWhen it is less important and not urgentTime to MarketWhen it is critical, important, and urgent to meet the desired outcomeExamples of Agile vs Waterfall: How is the software developed?  Waterfall Methodology: (example) Scope: To provide an employee timesheet software having the following features: Ability to login Ability for the employees to describe the task and enter the number of hours spent Ability to submit for approval to the manager Manager Ability to login Ability to add a resource to a project Ability to link project to a resource Ability to assign task to a resource Ability to approve/reject the timesheet Administrator Ability to login Ability to add/modify/delete users  Ability to add/modify/delete projects Reports Report on individual user timesheet data for a specified period Report on project timesheet data for a specified period Report on approved/rejected timesheets for a project for a specified period Let us assume the above is the scope and timeline for completion is given as 6 months. Requirements Phase: Detailed requirements on individual features are discussed and elicited from the stakeholders until they are well understood and documented. The requirements document is then signed off by the customer. Scope is identified and baselined during this phase. Project manager comes out with the detailed plan for the entire project and assigns team members accordingly to perform the task. The scope, schedule and cost are baselined considering all the other project constraints like resources, quality, risks, stakeholders, communication etc. Design and Development Phase: Development team works on design and coding all the requirements stated above and delivers to the testing team. Testing phase: Testing team validates the deliverables to see whether they conform to the requirements. They raise defects and the development team works on them. Testing team signs off on the deliverables once they work as per the requirements. UAT Phase: Customer validates the deliverables and signs off. Raises defects in case there are issues or requirements are not meeting the expectations Agile Methodology: (example) Scope: To provide the following features for an ATM Cash withdrawal Check balance Change ATM Pin Print statements Deposit Cash Deposit Cheque Product owner elicits high level requirements from the stakeholders and documents them in the form of features/user stories in the product backlog. Product Owner then prioritizes the features based on value that can be realized by the customer. Minimum viable product is finalized. 80/20 rule may be applied to find which 20% of the features give 80% value to the customer. In this case, Cash withdrawal and Check balance features are selected as the first increment to be implemented. Agile dev team along with the Product Owner sizes the features and stories and comes up with the release planning for the MVP identified. Product owner grooms and prioritizes the user stories in the product backlog. Agile team pulls the work in the iteration backlog and starts defining goals for every iteration until the features are completed. Meanwhile Product Owner continues to progressively elaborate the requirements for other features. Key business stakeholders, along with the Product Owner review the product increment created by the agile team and provide feedback. The team retrospect after each iteration with respect to people, process and product and finetunes accordingly. This iteration cycle goes on until the first implementation is complete and then the agile team takes up the next available set of features. Summary: As we have seen, Waterfall and Agile methodologies have their own set of advantages and limitations. While waterfall approach is more methodical and predictive, agile approach is more adaptive and dynamic in nature. Depending on the project circumstances and using the table provided under Waterfall vs Agile Methodology, the project team can decide which works better for them. 
Waterfall Vs Agile – Must Know Differences
Blogs
8566
Waterfall Vs Agile – Must Know Differences

In this article, my focus is to the bring out the ... Read More

Understand the Importance of Having the Product Vision in a Scrum Team

Stories abound of products launched with much fanfare and failing miserably in the market. What does it take to build a software product that sells? Would the best technology, the best architecture and the best brains guarantee a product that will sell?A lot of energy is spent by the Engineering teams on building the product right – bug-free, scalable, reliable and secure. Throughout this journey the teams also need to be confident that they are building the right product – usable (fit for use), serves the purpose (fit for purpose), solves the customer’s problem and delivers value.A popular representation of this relationship is given belowA Product Vision is a well thought through “future state” of the product that serves the customer’s needs as well as furthers the organization’s product strategy. The product vision serves as the “guiding light” that the teams constantly refers, consults and steers towards.This article is about how a good product vision paves the way for scrum teams to build a good product. It is not the only step but definitely one of the first steps to build a product that will sell.Components of a Product Vision  A well thought through and finely articulated Product Vision includes the following components Purpose and Intent – Why are we building the product and what value it brings to the Customer? What problems is the product going to solve for the Customer? Target Market – Who is the Customer(s) / Market Segment that the product is meant for Business Goals – By building this product how are we aligning with the organization’s strategy and goals in the market. Every product offered by an organization should align with the larger goals and strategy so that it fits well with the organization’s product portfolio. Differentiating Factors – How and what features are we offering that is a differentiator in the market and which sets the organization apart from its competitors. Many a product fails to see the light of the day or serve the purpose of the customer if it has failed to justify on any one or more of the above components.  Creating the Product Vision Anyone who is connected to the Product can contribute to the Product Vision. Organizations usually have idea boards and forums to welcome innovative ideas from all employees. But the ownership of defining, communicating and nourishing the product vision lies with the Business Group or Product Management Group. Usually the vision is created through a Workshop involving the right stakeholders who have the expertise to contribute. The stakeholders represent Business, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Support, Training etc.  Various techniques such as Brainstorming, Affinity grouping, Dot Voting can be employed in the workshop to come up with the final Product Vision. Prior to the workshop findings from Market research on target customers, competitors, information on Personas are made available to the participants so that they are well informed and bring the best to the table. Product Vision Formats The Product Vision board as recommended by Roman Pichler, leading Product Management Expert. The Product Vision Board A Simple template first introduced in the book Crossing the Chasm by Management Consultant and author Geoffery More.Communicating the Product Vision  A great Product Vision will not get realized into the final product unless it is communicated well, not just once but multiple times, to all the important stakeholders – the Senior Leadership, the Engineering teams, Sales, Marketing, Documentation, Training and Support. It is the responsibility of the Head of the Business (e.g Director of Product Management) to introduce and explain the Product Vision to the rest of the organization before the product development is started. A Kickstart All-Hands meeting usually happens when a new Product Vision is ready. The road map and strategy for the immediate future (every Quarter/Release) to realize the vision is also shared in this meeting. It is important that all stakeholders who are participating in building the product gets to hear the same information at the same time from the Head of Business. This All-Hands happens at a defined cadence (every Quarter /Release) where the changes to the product vision, strategy and road map for the next quarter /release is communicated. The Heads of Engineering would also present their plans for the Quarter /Release to further the product vision.  Heads guiding the team It should not be an open and shut communication for a day, but the Product Managers and Owners need to constantly refer and draw from the vision when interacting with the Scrum Teams. When requirements are refined into Epics and User Stories and prioritized the Scrum Teams need to be able to relate them to the Vision. Changes in the Product Vision  So is a Product Vision written on stone never to change? No, because that would defy Agile Principles of continuously seeking feedback, embracing and adapting change.  A learning organization has a pulse on the market and actively seeks feedback. It adapts the product vision according to the changing market, competition and customer feedback. It has a constant sense of Urgency to Fail Fast, has the Courage to Pivot when required and Persevere on the right track as part of the Organization culture.  There are stories of many organizations that have imbibed and practiced this culture and succeeded. Significance of Production Vision within the Scrum Teams A journey without a destination sounds exciting but not practical and not always fruitful. R&D engineers would not have any dearth of imagination to build products that are beautiful and perfect. But would these products serve the customer’s needs? Understand the Larger Purpose: Scrum teams need to understand the big picture and the larger purpose of their everyday work – for whom are they building, for what and most importantly why. During Backlog Grooming sessions, the Product owners can act as ambassadors for the Product Vision helping the teams to refine user stories with end goal in mind. The questions to be constantly asked and validated include  “Are we solving the customer problem?” , “Are we adding value?”, “Are we building the right product?” Product Strategy and Vision to Plan your roadmap Contribute in Product Strategy and Roadmap: Scrum teams can contribute effectively to the product strategy and roadmap if they know and understand the product vision.  Understanding the Priorities: Understanding the Product vision helps the team to identify with the priority put forth by the Product Owner. The Product Owner and the teams can make use of the product vision in the Sprint Planning and Backlog refinement meetings to streamline user stories.  Influence in Sprint Execution: Having the product vision in the back of their minds plays an important role in the story writing, refinement, acceptance criteria, coding and testing.  Knowing the customer problems and target market helps teams to build “just enough” and stop from over engineering and manufacturing unwanted imaginary requirements. Unwanted code is a waste that can cause unwanted testing, bugs and needs to be avoided. Knowing the target Customer / market, purpose and the problems that need to be resolved, helps the teams to  Refine and write better Epics and User Stories . Helps to identify the ‘Must Have’ and ‘Good to Have’ Acceptance Criteria. Helps to architect and design better knowing the immediate priority and the upcoming roadmap. Helps to code incorporating enough customization for reuse and extensions in future. Define and formulate the appropriate test scenarios and data Collaboration: Multiple teams come together to build a product. Having a common Product Vision to refer to improves their collaboration and serves as a good point of reference to manage conflicts and dependencies.  Alignment with the Organization’s Goals: There is also another very important piece of information within the Product Vision - How the Product Vision aligns to their organization’s overall strategy. This is definitely of interest to every employee of the organization. An engaged employee always is curious about how the product he is helping to build today fits and aligns with the organization’s goals. The fact that he/she is contributing towards furthering the Organization’s goals does instil a sense of pride and confidence. Adapting to Changes in the Product Vision: The changes to the vision has to be constantly communicated to all the stake holders especially the Scrum teams who are building it. The teams need to also be told why there has been a change in the Product Vision. Only then would they appreciate and embrace the changes. Tips for your Product Vision: Ideas can come in from unlikeliest of places. Inputs should be encouraged and accepted from all stakeholders and funnelled into the Product Vision creation workshop. Prior to the workshop, sufficient Market research has to be conducted to get information on target customer, personas and the competitor landscape. A vision not shared well remains only that and does not become a reality. Communicate at every opportunity – kickoff meetings, through posters and through dedicated ambassadors -Product Owners , Product Managers , Line Managers. Seek feedback and gauge the market continuously to adapt Do not fear to pivot if needed and change course. Failing early and fast is better. Do not try to address all the “How” and “When” in product vision, but the “What” and “Why”. In conclusion, a Product Vision plays a very important role in the working of a Scrum Team providing the larger purpose of what is being built by them everyday. Only through constant communication about the vision and about the changes to it can the Scrum Teams keep relating to the vision and make the vision a reality - a good product that sells. 
Understand the Importance of Having the Product Vision in a Scrum Team
Blogs
7116
Understand the Importance of Having the Product Vi...

Stories abound of products launched with much fanf... Read More

Useful links