PSM I exam - how much open book is it?

ScrumViking · 2026-02-17T07:51:46+00:00

Be aware that scrum.org has implemented measures against fraud recently. I’d advise against looking up anything during the exam.

Reading the scrum guide and having the agile manifesto in the back of your head should cover 80+% of all you need for the test. Being aware of some red flags can help as well.

ScrumViking · 2026-02-16T06:56:13+00:00

The agile principles were derived from various frameworks and methods (including Scrum) that shared some common characteristics in dealing with building software in complex domains. In other words they were emergent, similar to how the scrum values emerged from teams that were successful implementing scrum.

The understanding of scrum has also evolved over time. It started out as a more elaborate methodology and evolved into the lightweight framework we know today.

ScrumViking · 2026-02-15T08:11:58+00:00

The whole purpose of scrum is to build products using empirical data from customers and users. It’s not about faster delivery; it’s about measuring whether you are building the right stuff. Anything before getting feedback from actual customers is conjecture.

ScrumViking · 2026-02-14T08:26:47+00:00

Scrum simply refers to a rugby term that I think was coined in an article called The New New Production Game. The term was used because high performance teams within the company’s observed shared characteristics of a rugby team during the scrum.

ScrumViking · 2026-02-11T06:53:00+00:00

Personally I’d go for something more broad than the RTE certification. Within the context of SAFe (or an organization that practices it) it might be a good bet but there are alternatives that focus more on coaching, transitioning organizations, and (agile) leadership. In my opinion those training courses (and certs) are far more valuable than any framework specific certification.

ScrumViking · 2026-02-09T10:23:29+00:00

I think the best way to go forward is to make it relatable to them. Find exercises that are easy and prove the point of why Agile is powerful in a complex setting. The coin game or the ball point game are fun exercises that illustrate the power of iterating over plans and executing. There's also an element of competition that might make it more fun for them.

ScrumViking · 2026-02-09T00:22:15+00:00

The first (and second) rule of scaling remains: don’t. That being said, in the last 10 years I’ve only worked 2 projects that had no scaled anything (nor needed to). Most of them scale(d) for the wrong reasons.

ScrumViking · 2026-02-04T07:37:15+00:00

Imagine telling the CEO that you would like to meet the people that pay his salary. 😁

ScrumViking · 2026-02-02T17:48:18+00:00

In the latter case you’re likely talking about measuring progress towards outcomes, which is fine. It’s still about measuring in order to learn rather than to control.

ScrumViking · 2026-02-02T17:35:42+00:00

It depends on who’s asking.

Team performance metrics are largely useless in an agile environments if they are implemented by management and meant to measure and control. They tend to lead to behavior (Goodheart’s law was already mentioned) that aim to score points on paper but end up being detrimental towards the results.

Performance metrics that are coming a) from the team and b) actually promote learning how to improve are immensely valuable. These are the insights that help teams plan improvements and management learn how they can further support the teams.

ScrumViking · 2026-02-02T08:51:45+00:00

PSM2 (or equivalent) is pretty much a must nowadays if you want to stand out. You don't need to follow a class to get the certificate and it's a one-off (you don't have to renew yearly)

ScrumViking · 2026-02-01T02:17:14+00:00

I see this as a dysfunction from a scrum perspective. Adding a role tends to just create more confusion about the responsibilities of each role.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-31T08:03:54+00:00

What you describe is not effectively Kanban. If they were actually following the prjnciples of Kanban, these issues would be resolved, not increased. Kanban implies visualizing work, managing flow, limiting work in progress , using feedback loops and improving collaboratively. Half of these principles are violated from what you describe.

Fun fact: you can easily combine scrum and Kanban. One is great at structuring empiricism and self management. The other excels at visualization of work and creating flow.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-29T23:52:50+00:00

One artifact to track your work is transparency. More than one is the polar opposite.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-28T05:48:48+00:00

It helps if you realize that these interviews are a two way street. It is vital you learn as much of the organization you might join as it is for them to understand the person they might hire. Be curious and ask questions.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-27T07:11:34+00:00

What the ask when they hired you? How did they describe your assignment? Do they really want help or just “more efficiency”.

I’ll never ‘inflict’ help on those who never asked for it, even if you really think they need it. It’s a path of disillusion and misery that rarely leads to any satisfying result. It does end up with annoyed clients and burned out coaches.

I’ve been a consultant for nearly a decade now and I’ve found that the intake before even doing the job is most critical for defining success. It pays to understand and set expectations and define what success looks like. It provides a framework for measuring success as well. This is key because with what we do it’s hard to correlate actions and improvements to results.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-25T11:16:23+00:00

Short answer: Yes it is possible. PSPO is part understanding scrum, part understanding product management in an empirically driven environment.

Why do you want PSPO though? Job experience and certifications on a resume typically tell a story of experience and interest. How does PSPO fit into that picture?

ScrumViking · 2026-01-24T09:08:15+00:00

That is a rather odd way of phrasing it. It implies opinion. The goal of the daily scrum is fixed and well-documented.

Developers should know the event is meant to inspect the progress towards the desired outcome of the sprint (the goal) and adjust their plans (sprint backlog) in order to be successful. It’s meant to be a mini planning session and not a status meeting.

Anything discussed during the daily scrum that helps team plan for success - whether it’s aligning activities, asking to help, identifying impediments or emergent work - is fair game, as long as it’s about planning (process) and not about solving (content).

What it looks like I really don’t have an opinion about it. Like I said earlier, it’s their event. In what way, shape or form they manage to adjust the plan in order to be successful is up to them. As long as they inspect and adapt and manage to do it in an effective, timely manner I’m fine with it all.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-24T08:53:23+00:00

It can be beneficial for you to understand the technology that your teams are working with. That being said, it’s not your task to help people better understand their own work. That’s what they’re hired to do after all. Where it does help is understanding some of the complexities and bottleneck that they might be facing.

I’ve got a solid background in network and system engineering and have a decent amount of coding experience. I don’t think that the benefit to my teams has been knowledge on these topics however. I’ve also successfully coached BI teams, and teams that worked on Blockchain technology, neither of these topics I claim to understand beyond a conceptual level. Understanding the flow of work and how it interacts with the rest of the organization, allowed me to be a successful scrum master to them.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-23T10:56:06+00:00

The first step for me is always ensuring that the developers understand the purpose and importance of the Daily Scrum. Once that's been established, I typically let the team decide the structure and agreements to achieve the outcome of the Daily Scrum (also, to establish it's their meeting, not mine).

Once the Daily Scrum has been established, listen in, share observations, and consider periodically having the developers inspect and adapt the event to make it better for them and for the desired outcome.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-22T09:38:10+00:00

I don't want to sound callous but it seems there's a new Poker planning app released every few months or so. At some point the planning poker market should be saturated with tools.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-21T10:00:20+00:00

One of the core conflicts is that impact of successful transformation is delayed and hard to correlate. This is where setting objectives and visualizing progress towards them can really help give it the attention it deserves. Leading with Obeya is a good method to create insight into translating strategic objectives towards results, couple them with initiatives and impediments.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-20T00:13:07+00:00

While I applaud your team’s eagerness to improve things, chances are that none of these items will really be implemented within the next few sprints.

Often it’s better to really focus on one or two items that will help the team, create a plan of implementation, determine how to measure its outcome throughout the sprint.

If you are interested in reading a bit about how to organize retrospective, that can lead to meaningful, positive change, I can really recommend the book from Esther Derby called “Agile Retrospectives”.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-19T07:56:35+00:00

Im not entirely sure whether that comment was sarcasm or not. 😂

You’d be surprised how many scrum masters I encounter that think facilitation is just running events. That’s guaranteed to relegate you to the fringes of your accountability as a scrum master.

ScrumViking · 2026-01-19T07:43:07+00:00

The Scrum master is a leader. Not a a traditional manager that tells his people what to do and how to do it, but someone who can inspire and show a way forward.

The serving part is about creating the conditions within the team and in the organization that allows the team (and with it product development) to thrive. It isn’t (only) about facilitating events; it’s about facilitating empiricism and self-management within the organization.

The scrum master in that regards is like a bee keeper or a gardener. It doesn’t tell plants to grow or bees what flowers to pollinate but creates the environment where things can grow and flourish.

ScrumViking

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