AGILE TOOLKIT
Scrum Master Certifications — Unlocking Your Agile Journey
From Scrum Master to Agile Mastery
Starting your career in the Agile world and pondering certification options? Feeling lost amidst the myriad choices? Fear not, for I have a guide just for you. Let me regale you with tales of my Scrum Master journey, detailing my certifications and exploring alternative paths. And don’t hesitate to challenge my views — consider this an enlightening discourse.
The Scrum Guide Jungle
When I started as a Scrum Master I only partially read the Scrum Guide. Now, it’s not that I’m adverse to a good read. But let’s face it, the Scrum Guide isn’t exactly a page-turner. Yes, I know it’s not the size of a Tolkien novel but neither does it provide an engaging story. For a newcomer to the Agile world it can be quite dense and hard to decipher in its labyrinth of jargon.
At some point I probably read it as a whole in pieces, of course. Still I remember that at work I was more following what other Scrum Masters did rather than relying on the guide. After all, who needs a guide when you’ve got a band of seasoned veterans to show you the ropes, right?
Seasoned veterans
Well, here’s how it worked out for me. At my first job as a Scrum Master, I remember joining a newly-established Daily Scrum of a task force created for some specific purpose, something very operational, important and old-school. The task force was again made up of senior team members from different teams. And the experienced Scrum Master lady was putting stickies on the wall for them. During the Daily, she was the post-it manager. She wrote them based on what they said, moved them on a wall, it wasn’t even any Kanban board, it was a wall in the middle of an open space. My understanding of the role was to call a Daily meeting, make sure people attended it and manage the post-its.
Then one day, the lady was sick and I was meant to call that meeting. Another Scrum Master came and saw me do what I learned from the lady. After the meeting he called on me for a chat. With his patient guidance, I learned that my role was more than just managing post-its. I was meant to foster collaboration and help establish good practices. People knew they had to show up to this meeting but were as lost as I was as to what was its goal. Thanks to Victor Fairen’s mentorship, I found my footing in the world of Scrum Mastery, forever grateful for his guidance.
First tip: Get a Mentor
Get a mentor who challenges and guides you, like Victor did for me.
Victor himself, also had a mentor. He learned from Jeronimo Palacios, a Scrum.Org trainer. My Agile journey began with Jero’s Professional Scrum Master training. Trust me, it’s a game-changer.
Now that I’ve shared my stories and cautioned against blindly following other Scrum Masters, let’s dive into certifications.
Professional Scrum Master (PSM) from Scrum.org
Can you be a top-notch Scrum Master without any formal training? Absolutely! It’s all about your character and determination. Yet, for me, undergoing the two-day training felt like a career leap. It’s incredible how many misconceptions I had absorbed in my first year of hands-on work. That’s why I swear by the two-day training — it lays down the Scrum foundation and reveals the “why” behind it all. To pass the PSM I exam, I read the Scrum Guide a number of times and finally got it!
What can I say, context is king. Without understanding the “why” you can’t progress from Shu to Ri in Shu-Ha-Ri. You can’t break the rules consciously until you know the rule exists.
Consider the Professional Scrum Master from Scrum.org or the CSM Certified Scrum Master from Scrum Alliance. Both are endorsed by Scrum’s founding figures. My take? Scrum.org’s certifications are tougher, thus you need to try harder.
User Center — User Stories
Mastering Agile isn’t just about knowing Scrum; it’s about embracing Kanban, XP, and DevOps nad more.There are so many techniques and practices we need to know as Agile Practitioners. That’s why I decided to craft custom courses for Agile Practitioners like Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, Product Managers, and Agile Leaders. Dive into buymeacoffe.com/agilestateofmind where I help you navigate the world of Agile skills, practices and techniques.
Now, onto Kanban, XP, and DevOps. Let’s start with user stories. Sign up for Mike Cohn’s newsletter and visit mountaingoatsoftware.com to explore User Stories (an XP concept). Don’t miss his webinar on splitting user stories — it’s a game-changer. Then, dive into Jeff Patton’s User Story Mapping to take your facilitation skills up a notch. Trust me, it’s saved my team countless times! Especially when something new come up on the backlog and we had no idea where to start. User Story Mapping is a way to map all you need to do in the form of user stories. Then you decide what needs to be done for an MVP.
Kanban, baby!
Next comes Kanban. A strategy to optimize your workflow. If you’re a Scrum Master or Agile Coach, you need to know Kanban. Especially given it’s so widely misunderstood.
Think that it goes hand in hand with Scrum. And I am not saying it just because I recently became a Professional Kanban Trainer and you can get your Kanban basics with me in the APK course. I’m saying this because for the leaders and teams, if you are a Scrum Master, you should be able to navigate both Scrum and Kanban. Take one of my most-watched videos, “Walk the Board” as an example — it’s all about infusing Kanban philosophy into your Scrum, particularly during the Daily Scrum.
What is there in Kanban that one should learn? Through simulations and flow metrics, you’ll learn to manage your workflow like a pro, applying work in progress limits and actively managing your tasks in progress. Plus, no more “magical thinking” required for estimating, as Johanna Rothman would say.
When it comes to Kanban training, you’ve got options, ProKanban.Org where I’m a trainer and Kanban University. I opted for ProKanban.Org for its simplicity and effectiveness. I used to struggle a lot with understanding what Kanban really is and how to structure the knowledge in my head.
Daniel Vacanti solved that for me by writing two Kanban Guides: “The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams” and “The Kanban Guide”. Really helps to structure your Kanban knowledge. Through Kanban training, you can put this knowledge into practice with engaging games and simulations. You’ll see firsthand how flow optimization practices can defy the chaos of software development and enhance productivity across industries.
To ensure you don’t mistake me for entirely biased, I still recommend reading “Essential Kanban Condensed” by David J. Anderson. I really enjoy the Kanban philosophy as laid out in that small book. It’s packed with wisdom, including my favorite Kanban quotes like “stop starting, start finishing” or “manage the work, let people self-organize around it.”
Ready to level up your Agile game? Check out my classes at buymeacoffee.com/agilestateofmind and hit me up on LinkedIn for private training sessions at your company. Let’s dive into the world of Kanban together!
Camino de Santiago — Learning journeys
Last but not least in the learning paths. It’s like a Camino de Santiago but for Agile learning. You know Camino de Santiago in Spain, also known as the Way of St. James? It has been one of the most important Christian pilgrimages since the Middle Ages. It’s a network of pilgrimage routes leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. You can start in France, Spanish Pyrenees, anywhere on the path or even in Portugal.
It has some similarities with the learning cohorts but with fewer blisters and more epiphanies. Learning cohorts offer hands-on, collaborative experiences with guidance over weeks or months. While a two-day training can help you learn the fundamentals, the learning path can help you bridge the gap between the knowledge you acquire and how to use it in practice.
Imagine embarking on this journey, your destination: becoming a versatile Agile Coach. Just like in the Camino de Santiago, there is not just one path in the journey. Because there is no one-size-fits-all route to mastery. There are multiple ways to get to the destination and one can start at different stages. Each cohort member crafts their own unique path, so you’re basically the master of your own destiny. How cool is that?
My personal favorite is the “Road to Mastery” by Sjoerd Nijland. You can find others too. Usually they are called cohorts and soon I am also hoping to start one. I think it’s such a great way to really learn what is needed for the role and secure your spot in the industry!
That article wasn’t your usual certification spiel, was it? I’ll be honest — it wasn’t the most objective take either. But then again, can we ever truly achieve objectivity when our experiences shape our perspectives?Opinions matter too. My hope is that this article serves as a compass to guide you toward the best-fit certification for you. Swing by my page sometime; I’d love to help you navigate the Agile chaos firsthand!
