Scrum.org certifications

PSM I and PSPO I share one format at one level: 80 questions in 60 minutes, taken online without a proctor, 85 per cent to pass, and no course, qualification or experience required. They differ in subject. PSM I tests the Scrum framework and the Scrum Master's accountability, including how the role responds when the framework comes under pressure. PSPO I tests the Product Owner's accountability and draws on Scrum.org's evidence-based management guide as well as the Scrum Guide, which is why candidates who revise from the Scrum Guide alone fail PSPO I more often. PSM I is offered in English and, through a Scrum.org partner, in Chinese; PSPO I is English only.

Lifetime validity: what it saves and what it hides

• Nothing to renew and no yearly charge. Both credentials are issued for life. The whole cost is the assessment fee, paid once, which sets Scrum.org apart from the bodies that charge on a cycle.
• No evidence of currency. A credential that never lapses shows what the holder understood on the day of the assessment, which may be years ago. Employers who want proof of recent practice have to ask for it separately.
• The pass mark is the only filter. No class is compulsory, so the assessment carries the credential's credibility on its own. That is why the threshold is 85 per cent and why each question sets out a situation instead of asking for a definition.
• A retake costs the full fee. Scrum.org gives no discount on a second attempt. Its own classes include an attempt and, if needed, a free retake within 14 days of the first.
• The study material is free. The Scrum Guide, the Open Assessments written in the style of the real paper, and the evidence-based management guide that PSPO I adds.

Scrum.org or the Scrum Alliance

The nearest alternative to PSM I is the Scrum Alliance's Certified ScrumMaster, and the two bodies work differently. The Scrum Alliance requires a two-day class before its assessment, sets an easier assessment, and expires the certificate every two years with a fee to reinstate it. Practitioners tend to rate the Scrum.org credentials higher because no amount of classroom attendance produces one; recruiters often treat the two as the same line on a CV. Where an employer pays for training and the candidate wants a classroom, the Scrum Alliance route fits better.

Who should buy which

A Scrum Master or developer already working in a Scrum team: PSM I, to formalise what the daily work has taught. Preparation is short and the credential never needs renewing. A product manager or analyst who owns a backlog: PSPO I, with the evidence-based management guide read in full, because the assessment reaches beyond the Scrum Guide. A candidate with no delivery experience: neither, as a route into the work. The questions are situational, an entry-level certificate is read as evidence of reading rather than of practice, and the money goes further on getting into a delivery team in any role and certifying from inside it.