Here are the Top 5 Best Project Management Certifications for Agile and Scrum
The 5 Best Agile Scrum Certifications for Professional Managers
In this article, we will cover what is Agile and what is Scrum, plus the five best Agile/Scrum certifications that are available for 2021. Finally, we will also discuss grants and other options you may be eligible for to help you get what you need.
Table of Contents
What is AGILE?
Agile is a set of software development methods that are based on iterative software development. This means that requirements and solutions evolve by collaboration among self-organizing, cross-functional teams. Agile processes are not used just for software development but in projects across many industries where an adaptive approach is most suitable. Agile methodologies or Agile processes promote disciplined project management that encourages frequent inspections and adaptations, a leadership philosophy encouraging teamwork, self-organization, accountability, and a set of best practices that allow for rapid delivery and alignment of development with company goals and customer needs. Agile development is any process of development that aligns with the Agile Manifesto. The Manifesto was created by a group of leaders in the software industry. It reflects their experiences of which approaches work best for software development.
Agile Scrum Certifications
Agile methodology is a flexible and collaborative approach that helps to achieve more efficient tasks. Agile methodology focuses on making teams adaptable enough to make necessary changes in projects. Scrum is an agile framework that promotes collaboration and efficiency when software development and testing.
Organizations have adopted agile principles and methods to adapt to the rapidly changing IT market and meet growing expectations.
It’s clear that Agile is an important management process and it won’t be going away any time soon. Research shows that Agile is now the norm in IT and other industries, with most enterprises using it as their primary method of communication.
Accessing Agile training is easy. You can either expand your knowledge in software development or want to excel in project management. We compiled this list of top Agile certifications for 2021. Scrum Master
- Scrum Master
- Scrum Product Owner
- Agile Master
- PMI Agile Certified Professional (PMI ACP)
- Scrum Developer
It is important to know what Agile method you want to learn before you start your search for Agile certifications. Each of these methods requires strong teams, and individuals who are able to understand their roles and responsibilities within an Agile framework.
Any professional working in an Agile environment or for an organization looking to improve their Agile proficiency should consider certification. These are just a few of the many benefits that agile certification can bring. Your salary will increase, your credibility will rise, you’ll be more visible, and you’ll be able to follow current market trends.
All this has led us to conclude that Agile certifications can help you improve your delivery predictability and speed up software delivery. It also helps to reduce the overall project cost. These certifications will help you get worldwide recognition and make your mark.
The benefits of Scrum and Agile certified professionals are not limited to the software industry. Scrum teams can be used in other industries, such as marketing, finance, manufacturing, and government agencies.
What Can Agile Do To Save You Time And Money?
Increased predictability:
Agile Projects contain 93% fewer defects
Save money:
A recent survey found that 44% of respondents considered cost savings to be the most important or most important reason they adopted Agile.
You can save time:
70% of respondents stated that Agile Projects take less time to complete
Reduce Waste:
To reduce waste and unnecessary features, overgrowth is cut.
Customer satisfaction:
To foster happy customers and flourishing relationships, it is important to maintain a positive collaboration
Increased flexibility
The adaptable frameworks help keep up with customer and market demands.
Increased visibility:
Teams can see the bigger picture with stand-ups, sprint reviews, demos, and retrospectives. A recent survey found that 84% of respondents believed Agile processes increase transparency and visibility.
What are the benefits of AGILE?
Agile Customer Benefits
Customers report that vendors are more responsive to their development requests. Short cycles are more efficient for high-value features than the long cycles used by traditional “waterfall” processes.
Benefits for Vendors
Vendors can reduce wastage by focusing development efforts on high-value features. They also reduce time-to market relative to waterfall processes because they have less overhead and are more efficient. Customer satisfaction increases customer retention and positive customer references.
Benefits for Agile Development Teams
Development work is enjoyable for team members, who like to see their efforts used and appreciated. Scrum is a tool that helps Team members reduce non-productive work (e.g. writing specifications or other artifacts no one uses), and gives them more time for the work they love. Because requirements are selected to maximize customer value, team members know that their work is valued.
Agile Product Managers’ Benefits
Product Managers are typically the Product Owners. They ensure that customers are satisfied by aligning development work with their needs. Scrum facilitates this alignment by offering frequent opportunities for reprioritizing work to ensure maximum value delivery.
Benefits for Agile Project Managers
Scrum Master Project Managers and others find planning and tracking easier than waterfall processes. Project managers have a lot of information about the status of their project. This is due to the focus on task-level tracking, daily progress monitoring, and Daily Scrum meetings. This awareness is crucial for monitoring the project and quickly identifying and fixing problems.
Benefits for executives
Scrum gives you a high level of visibility into the status of your development project on a daily basis. This visibility can be used by external stakeholders such as C-Level executives or personnel from the Project Management Office to plan more effectively and adjust their strategies based more on hard data.
What is Scrum?
Scrum is one the most widely used Agile methodologies. It’s a robust, iterative and flexible method that can deliver significant value quickly throughout a project. Scrum encourages transparency in communication and promotes collective accountability and continuous improvement. The Scrum framework as described in the SBOK Guide is designed to support product and service development across all industries and any type of project.
Scrum is characterized by the use of cross-functional, self organized, empowered teams who break down their work into shorter, concentrated work cycles called sprints.
The Scrum cycle begins at a Stakeholder Meeting. This is where the Project Vision and Scrum Vision are created. The Product Owner then creates a Prioritized Project Backlog that contains a prioritized set of project and business requirements. These User Stories are written by the Product Owner. Sprints begin with a Sprint Planning Meeting where high-priority User Stories are discussed and considered for inclusion in the Sprint. Sprints last between one and six weeks. The Scrum Team works to create shippable deliverables, or product increments. Daily Standup Meetings that are focused and brief, where team members can discuss daily progress, are held during the Sprint. The Sprint Review Meeting occurs at the end. This meeting gives the Product Owner and all other stakeholders a demonstration about the Deliverables. The Product Owner only accepts Deliverables if they meet predefined Acceptance Criteria. The Sprint cycle is completed with a Retrospect Sprint Meeting, where the team discusses improvements and performance in preparation for the next Sprint.
Scrum is a subset within Agile. It is the most popular agile development framework and lightweight process.
A “process framework” refers to a specific set of practices that must follow in order for a process or project to adhere to the framework. For example, Scrum requires that you use Sprint development cycles, while XP requires pair programming.
Lightweight means that overhead is minimized to maximize productivity and time for useful work.
Specific concepts and practices are what distinguish Scrum from other agile processes. They can be divided into three categories: Roles, Artifacts and Time Boxes. These terms and others are used in Scrum. Scrum is used most frequently to manage complex software development and product development. Iterative and incremental methods are used. Scrum is a way to increase productivity and speed up the delivery of benefits, as opposed to traditional “waterfall” processes. Scrum processes allow organizations to adapt quickly to changing requirements and create products that meet evolving business goals. The organization benefits from an agile Scrum process
- Improve the quality of deliverables
- Accept and cope with change better
- Improve estimates and spend less time creating them
- You will be able to take more control over the project’s schedule and state
What are the Scrum Roles?
Scrum’s three roles are Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Team. These roles are shared by people who work closely together on a daily basis to ensure smooth information flow and quick resolutions of problems.
Scrum Master
The Scrum Master is responsible for the smooth running of the process. The Scrum Master is responsible to ensure that the process runs smoothly and removing any obstacles that could impact productivity. He also organizes and facilitates critical meetings. The Scrum Master’s responsibilities are
- The Product Owner will be taught how to maximize the return on investment (ROI) and achieve his/her goals through Scrum.
- Facilitating creativity and empowerment will improve the lives of the members of the development team.
- Ensure that the development team is as productive as possible.
- Enhance engineering practices and tools to make each new functionality shippable.
- Keep all information regarding the Team’s progress current and accessible to all.
The Scrum Master must be able to teach and mentor other roles and to educate and support other stakeholders. The Scrum Master must be aware of the current status of the project, its progress relative to the expected progress. He or she should investigate and resolve any roadblocks and be flexible enough to address any issues that may arise. The Scrum Master must ensure that the Team is not disturbed by other people. The Scrum Master’s approach to the Team is to facilitate and encourage their problem-solving and decision-making abilities, so they can work more efficiently and with less supervision. It is important to create a team that is empowered to make decisions and does so consistently.
Scrum Product Owner
The Product Owner is responsible for maintaining the requirements. The Product Owner is the “single source truth” for the Team about requirements and the planned order of implementation. The Product Owner acts as the link between the business and customers and their product-related needs. This is also the point of contact for the Team. The Product Owner is the point of contact for all product-related questions. The Product Owner works closely alongside the team to establish the user-facing requirements and technical requirements. They also document these requirements and decide the order in which they will be implemented. The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog, which is the repository of all this information. It is kept up-to-date and maintained at the required level of detail and quality. The Product Owner sets the release schedule and decides whether the implementations meet the quality and features required.
Scrum Team
The Team is an autonomous, cross-functional group that does the actual work of testing and developing the product. The Team is responsible for the production of the product and must have the authority to decide how it should be done. Therefore, the Team is self-organizing. Team members decide how to divide work into tasks and how to assign tasks to people throughout the Sprint. If possible, the Team size should not exceed five to nine members. A larger team can make communication more difficult and lower productivity can lead to fragility and low productivity. Note: The Scrum Team is a very similar term. It includes the Scrum Master, Product Owner and the Team.T
What Are The Scrum Requirements?
Scrum doesn’t specify the form requirements, but rather states that they will be gathered into the Product Backlog. These items are commonly referred to as “Product Backlog Items” or “PBIs”. We can infer from the Sprint’s time-bound nature that each set should take significantly less time than the Sprint. Most Scrum projects use the “XP”, or Extreme Programming, practice of describing a feature as a User Story. However, a few prefer the older concept of a Use Case. Here, we will adopt the majority view and discuss three fairly-standard requirements artifacts that can be found in Product Backlogs.
User Story
A User Story is a narrative description of a feature or functional requirement. The Product Owner usually writes User Stories. They are the responsibility of the Product Owner. Although the format is not standard, it usually includes a name, descriptive text, screen shots, and references to other documents. A Story could look like the following:
Name: The planner enters a new contact in the address book so that they can later contact them by electronic or postal mail
Description: Planner enters standard contact information such as first and last names, street addresses, city, state, zip code / postal codes, etc. Enter contact-entry screen. To save the data, click “Save”, and then “Cancel” for data to be deleted.
How to test: The tester enters and saves data, then locates the name in his address book and clicks on it. One can see a read-only screen of the contact entry screen with all data previously entered.
These are the elements of this User Story:
Name: A descriptive phrase or sentence is the Name, for example, a “Role–Action–Reason” organization.
It is not as important to choose a template as to have a standard that can be used.
Description: This is a low-detail (high-level) description of what the requirement should be. The description should be written in a narrative format for functional requirements. Non-functional requirements can be described in any format that is understandable. The key to both cases is that there is no need for excessive detail. This is because details are discussed during the implementation phase with product owners and team members. This is one of the core principles of Scrum: Requirements should be specified at a level that allows for rough estimates of the work involved in implementing them.
Screens and external documents: The Story should link to or contain a prototype of any user-interface modifications that the Story may require, especially if they are not trivial. All external documents necessary to implement the Story must also be listed.
How to test: A Story can only be considered complete after it passes all accepted tests. This section gives a brief overview of the testing methods for the story. The description of the testing process is brief. We need to know the basics so we can estimate the cost.
The information on how to test the Story is included for two reasons. This information is used to help with the development of acceptance tests (test cases) for the Story. This information is important for the Team to be able to estimate the amount of work required to implement the story. Test design and execution are part of the overall work.
Story
While not all requirements for new developments are user-facing features they do require significant work. These requirements are often required to support user-facing features. These non-functional requirements are called “Technical Stories.” Although Technical Stories share the same elements as User Stories, they don’t need to be written in the narrative form if there are no benefits. Technical Stories are typically written by team members and added to the Product Backlog. These Stories must be well-understood by the Product Owner. They should also understand the dependencies between them and User Stories. This will allow him to rank all Stories (sequence) for implementation.
Defect
A bug report is a description that describes a product’s failure to behave as expected. Bug-tracking systems are used to keep track of defects. If it is not, the Product Owner (usually) must enter each defect into the Product Backlog for scheduling and sequencing.
5 Best Agile/Scrum Certifications for 2022
Scrum Master
Scrum Master Definition
The Scrum Master is a leader of the project and responsible for guiding it. They facilitate communication and collaboration between all team members and serve the business, product owner, team and individual needs. The Scrum Master helps the team focus on creating high-value increments. The Scrum Master coaches the team in self-management and cross-functionality. Team members must remove impediments to progress; all events must be positive, productive, and within the time frame. The Scrum Master helps the team understand the need for a clear and concise Product Backlog items. The Scrum Master also facilitates stakeholder collaboration as requested or needed. The Scrum Master provides help in finding techniques for effective product goal definition and management.
The Scrum Master is the coach for a project. The role of the Scrum Master is to remove barriers between stakeholders and team members, facilitate planning sessions, oversee sprints, lead training sessions with new colleagues on how to use scrum properly in an organization.
What is a Scrum Master?
Scrum is a process framework in which the team collaborates to deliver value. The Scrum Master provides guidance and support during scrum meetings, while as a coach guides team members through daily work. A Scrum master’s primary responsibility is to help the rest of the team understand how to use Scrum in their workflow effectively. Scrum master needs to have a good understanding of the rules, values, theory, and practice of Scrum.
The Scrum Master, as its name implies, is responsible for maximizing the value of Scrum’s implementation. The Scrum Master assists all stakeholders (the Product Owner, Development Team and any other relevant external stakeholders) to better understand Scrum, its values, principles, and theory.
The Scrum Master’s role is often described as leader-servant. This refers to the fact that the Scrum Master is expected to not only lead but also serve the Scrum Team members and other stakeholders in equal measures.
Although the Scrum Master will have some involvement in interactions with all those involved in the development process, they will be spending most of their time serving the Scrum Team, and more specifically the Development Team.
The Scrum Master is responsible to coach the Development Team and facilitate Scrum Events that support this. The Scrum Master will remove all internal and external impediments that may affect the Development Team. The Scrum Master will assist the Development Team with managing organizational environments where Scrum is not well understood. Scrum Master’s ultimate goal is to help the Development Team create high-value products.
The Product Owner will also benefit from the invaluable assistance of the Scrum Master. They will assist the Product Owner on a theoretical level by helping them understand agility and practice it. They can also help the Product Owner understand and practice agility. They will ensure that the Product Owner is fully informed about the details of the Product Backlog.
It is important to recognize the importance of the Scrum Master’s contribution to the Organization. The Scrum Master will oversee the adoption of Scrum in the organization and provide coaching as needed. They will plan Scrum implementations and help employees and other stakeholders to understand Scrum. They will make every effort to make Scrum Team more efficient if the Scrum Master recognizes organizational changes that could improve their effectiveness.
What is the Scrum Master Job?
A scrum master is a key role in the Scrum framework, and they help facilitate daily standup meetings by facilitating team conversations. They also help keep track of the burndown chart and set up retrospectives, sprint reviews, and sprint planning sessions. Every part of the process is being helped by their guidance as a result of their expertise in Scrum.
Scrum Masters are not the drivers of the process, but rather the mechanics that keep it running. They manage and deal with everything related to scrum, including making sure that everyone is on board and following proper guidelines for producing quality work. A scrum master makes sure that both product owners and developers follow through with what needs to be done so they can produce quality work.
Why You Should Get Scrum Master Certified?
Benefits of Being Scrum Master Certified
Scrum is a popular project management tool that allows companies and organizations to manage large projects, increase team accountability and lower costs.
Scrum Masters are professionals who help to organize and scale teams using the Scrum methodology. Scrum Master certification not only increases credibility but also makes Scrum Masters more desirable and can increase their earning potential.
Scrum Master certification not only provides training on managing large teams in multiple departments but also shows employers that the individual has the skills and experience to lead agile teams. Scrum Master certification gives them an advantage over their peers and increases their earning potential.
The demand for skilled and experienced Scrum Masters is increasing as more companies adopt Agile and Scrum methodologies for project management. Scrum Masters have a unique training that enables them to provide more expertise than traditional project managers. Although no amount of training can replace hands-on experience in Scrum Master roles, certification adds credibility and professionalism that makes them more attractive to potential employers.
We will assist you in becoming Scrum-qualified. This will improve your ability to create and deliver high-quality products, and use Scrum concepts on the job.
Scrum Master salaries
According to Ziprecruiter.com, as of Oct 13, 2021, the average annual pay for a Scrum Master in the United States is $118,353 a year.
This works out to $56.90 per hour, which amounts to be approximately $2,276 a week, or $9,863 a month.
ZipRecruiter has seen annual salaries as high at $160,000 and as low as $83,000. However, most certified Scrum Master salaries range from $101,000 (25th percentile) to $134,000 (75th percentile), with the highest earners (90th%) making $145,000 per year across the United States. The average salary for a certified Scrum Master is $33,000. This suggests that there are many opportunities to advance and receive higher pay depending on your skill level, certifications, experience, and location.
What is the difference between a Scrum Master vs. a Project Manager?
A project manager is a person who coordinates the work of many people to complete a project. In contrast, a Scrum Master is responsible for managing and coordinating various aspects of an Agile project.
A Scrum Master is a cross-functional role, whereas a Project Manager could be considered as a task manager. The responsibilities for both individuals are different and the roles have been defined by their respective companies.
A Scrum Master is responsible for the successful execution of a project, whereas a Project Manager is only responsible for managing and executing tasks on time. A Project Manager does not need to be agile-certified to do his/her job, but a Scrum Master does.
The scrum master is involved in activities that are essential to meet business requirements. A project manager is involved with the timeline, resources, etc. Scrum masters coach self-organizing development teams to be successful, while project managers often do not have this opportunity.
A Scrum Master is a person who manages the work of a Scrum team. They are responsible for ensuring that the product owner and the team follows the guidelines. The Scrum Master communicates with both parties so they can be on board with what is happening in order to complete their tasks.
Scrum Masters need to have strong leadership skills, which allows them to control and motivate people. Additionally, they must understand and use Agile principles in order to maintain an effective process within their teams and successfully complete a task.
Scrum Product Owner
Product Owner Definition
The Scrum Team’s Product Owner represents the interests and needs of the stakeholder group. The Product Owner is responsible to communicate clearly the requirements of service or product functionality to the Scrum Team, define Acceptance Criteria and ensure that those criteria are met. The Product Owner should always have a dual perspective. The Product Owner must be able to understand and support all stakeholders’ needs, as well as the workings of Scrum Team members.
Scrum Product Owners are responsible for maximizing the value of products resulting from the efforts of the Scrum Team. This may be different for individuals, Scrum Teams, or organizations.
Product Owners are also responsible for product backlog management. This includes:
- Communicating the Product Goal clearly and effectively;
- Communicating clearly and creating Product Backlog items.
- Ordering product backlog items.
- Ensure transparency, visibility and understanding of the Product Backlog.
The Product Owner can do all of the above or delegate it to others. The Product Owner is still responsible.
The entire organization must respect the decisions of Product Owners in order to achieve success. These decisions can be seen in the Product Backlog’s content and order, as well as the transparent Increment at Sprint Review.
The Product Owner is a single person and not a committee. The Product Owner can represent many stakeholders within the Product Backlog. If you are interested in changing the Product Backlog, you can convince the Product Owner.
This certification is for those who interact with stakeholders or work as Product Owners in a Scrum Team.
The Product Owner’s main responsibility is to maximize the product’s value. There are many ways to fulfill the role of Product Owner. These depend on the Scrum Team, individuals, and organizational structure.
The Product Owner is responsible for managing the Product Backlog. This is an organized list of all the tasks that must be completed in order to complete the product.
Product Backlog management is all about defining Product Backlog items and placing them in the Product Backlog to give the Development Team as much support as possible to reach their goals. It is also important that the Product Owner ensures that the Development Team has a clear understanding of the Product Backlog items. This can often be done with the assistance of the Scrum Master. This is to ensure that the Development Team’s work is maximized for maximum value. The Product Owner makes sure that everyone is aware of the Product Backlog and keeps it transparent.
Many organizations and teams use these Product Backlog management methods in collaboration with the Scrum Team. However, it is important to remember that the Product Owner remains responsible for the Product Backlog.
In most cases, the Product Owner is the most visible “external face” of the team. He or she interacts with customers and other stakeholders. The Product Owner is also the primary line of defense for Scrum Team members, as no one can force them to work on something that hasn’t been added to their Product Backlog.
Product Owner vs Scrum Master
The Product Owner oversees the Product Backlog as well as successfully predicting the work necessary to produce a successful product. On the other, the Scrum Master can be more of a strategic thinker, someone who sees problems and reacts in a way that not only removes them, but empowers the entire team.
Which is better for me--Scrum Master or Product Owner?
Here we will ask some questions. Your answers will tell you if you’d make a good Scrum Master or Product Owner.
Are you a Strategist, or a Tactician?
People who are able to think strategically and see the big picture when completing work have an advantage. Others are better at finding quick solutions and putting out fires. These are roughly the two roles that we are discussing today.
You have on the one hand the Product Owner, who needs to know the overall picture at all time, see the product in its entirety, and be able to prioritize and plan the next steps for the team. The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog, and can predict the work that will make the product successful.
The Scrum Master on the other side is more of an analyst, someone who not only notices problems but also reacts to them in such a way as to remove the obstacles and empower the whole team. The Scrum Master ensures new input is not disruptive to the team and that it’s ready to face any unexpected situations.
It is important to note that this is an assumption and that sometimes both of these roles will require an alternate approach. Generally, Product Owners who are strategic will do better than the product managers, while Scrum Masters who are more tactical will do well.
How good are your communication skills?
Agile is all about communication, no matter the role. Scrum Master is the role that requires communication skills.
The Scrum Master’s main responsibilities involve interactions with the team members and external stakeholders. The Scrum Master is responsible for coaching the team in Agile practices. He also ensures that the Product Owner understands their capabilities and that the rest of organization supports them with non-Agile requests.
This must all be done in a way that nobody feels coerced or controlled by the Scrum Masters. It would negate the purpose of Agile. The Scrum Master should communicate the messages in a calm and factual manner, giving the opportunity for the other members of the team to observe the problem and then come up with a solution.
This is the best method to help your team grow and be better.
It isn’t easy to do this, and communication skills are essential for Scrum Master success. The Scrum Master role will only be successful if you are good at communicating.
Are you able to manage the business side of software development?
Software products cannot exist for their own sake. It always has a business logic behind it. This logic includes the problem it solves, customers and end users. Two types of people exist in the software industry: those who love to think, discuss, and be involved in the business side of software development and those who don’t.
If you answered yes to any of these, the Product Owner role may be right for you. The Product Owner takes care of most of the business side. He or she interacts with stakeholders, prioritizes the Product Backlog, and makes sure that the rest of Agile understands the business logic behind each product.
You will find the role of Product Owner difficult if you are not comfortable with it.
How empathetic are you?
No matter what job you hold, empathy is essential. It allows you to see and understand others’ feelings. Scrum Masters are the most successful in Agile because they are especially empathic.
Empathetic people can see the problems in their team and share them with others. Empathetic Scrum Masters can help their team members not only to resolve the problems but also show that they are available for support.
A Scrum Master would be a wonderful choice if you are sensitive to the feelings and unspoken opinions of others.
Do You like being the boss and ordering people around?
We don’t recommend ordering people around if you like to be bossy. Agile may not suit you in this case.
Agile is all about self-organization and empowered teams. The Product Owner and Scrum Master are there to coach these teams and give them every chance of success.
Agile Master Certified
What is Agile Master Certified?
Rapid technological and market changes and expectations have led to the development and implementation of Agile principles and values in many organizations. Agile is about adaptive planning and iterative delivery. Agile is about the people. Agile Master Certified Professionals understand the concepts of Agile development. They are able compare and select the appropriate Agile methodology for a particular situation.
The Agile Master certification teaches you about Agile philosophy and practices as well as how to use various Agile methodologies. It allows students to evaluate and select the most appropriate methodology in a given situation.
Agile Masters will learn:
Agile project delivery principles and practices.
Complete knowledge and understanding about available Agile methods.
To be able choose and compare the methodologies and parts of methodologies that best suit their current and future needs.
To be equipped with the necessary tools to manage and solve Agile issues within their organizations and take the initiative in Agile projects.
Prerequisites for Agile Master Certification:
Although no prior certification is not required, Scrum Developer or Scrum Master certifications are highly recommended.
Who is the Agile Master for?
This certification is suitable for anyone who is interested in learning about Agile Project Delivery and wants to be able to work with various Agile methodologies.
Why take Agile Master?
- It is a vital skill in today’s increasingly agile-driven environment
- Learn to successfully analyze and improve agile projects
- Understand and solve business problems
Scrum Developer
What is Scrum Developer?
Scrum Developer is an entry-level certification that Scrum Team members can obtain. It also applies to those who interact with Scrum Team members. This certification is meant to ensure Scrum Team members have enough knowledge about Scrum in order to be able to contribute to Scrum projects.
What role does a scrum developer play?
The scrum developer role refers to someone who can help the team do the work. The development team needs to be able self-organize to make the decisions necessary to get work done. The development team has the responsibility to deliver the work in the sprint. Together with the rest of Scrum Team, the Scrum Developer creates project deliverables.
Scrum developers are members of Scrum Development Team. They can demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and ability to use Scrum in real-world situations. The ability to demonstrate the knowledge necessary to attain certification is a key component of its value.
Who is the Scrum Developer Certification for?
This is an excellent certification for all employees of a Scrum Team or anyone involved in any way with Scrum Teams. If you are interested in learning more about Scrum and how to use it effectively, this certification will be a great resource.
Prerequisites for Scrum Developers
This certification does not have a formal prerequisite.
What is the average salary for a Scrum Developer?
According to ZipRecruiter, as of Oct 5, 2020, the average annual wage for a Scrum Developer in America is $113.041 per annum. This works out to $54.35/hour. This is equivalent to $2.174/week or $9.420/month.
ZipRecruiter sees annual salaries as high at $170,000. And as low as $38,500. However the majority of Scrum Developers earn between $91,000 and $131,000. The top earners (90th%) make $154,000 per year across the United States. Scrum Developer pay can vary by as much as $40,000. This indicates there may be many opportunities to progress and increase your pay based upon skill, location, and years of experience.
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) certification
What is the Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Certification?
PMI offers the Agile Certified Practitioner certification (PMI-ACP). This certification certifies that you have Agile expertise and includes Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), Kanban, Test-Driven Development (TDD), as well as Agile certification. Scrum Masters and employers love the PMI ACP certification. It covers several Agile and Scrum principles.
The Project Management Institute doesn’t offer Scrum certifications. However, its PMI-ACP certification is a popular choice among Scrum Masters. This certification covers several Agile and Scrum principles. The certification officially recognizes candidates’ ability to use agile techniques and knowledge. It covers many agile approaches such as Scrum, Lean, Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), or test-driven development.
The Project Management Institute’s Agile Certified Professional (PMI-ACP), is one the most prestigious project management certifications. PMI-ACP certifications can be used by project managers who have adopted agile methodologies and practices in their projects. This certification acknowledges and maintains real-world experience.
This also shows the person’s knowledge and skills in agile subdomains like Scrum, Kanban, Lean, etc. For the annual renewal of their PMI-ACP certification, professionals need to complete 30 Professional Development Units.
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Certification Prerequisites:
PMI-ACP requirements 2,000 hours experience working in teams. The requirement is satisfied by either a current Project Management Professional or Program Management Professional (PgMP), but neither is mandatory. The requirements include 1,500 hours spent working with agile methodologies or in project teams, and 21 hours of training on agile practices. The exam is 120 multiple-choice and takes three hours. The PMI-ACP certification exam has 120 multiple-choice questions. Candidates have three hours to complete the exam.
Why Get Your PMI-ACP Certification?
A PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) certification is an extremely valuable credential for anyone working in Agile Project Management.
- This credential is for PMI-ACP certified holders. It will allow them to share their knowledge on Agile tools with current employees.
- Agile Certified Practitioner means that you have been awarded an attestation that confirms your professional ability.
- The PMI-ACP certificate will allow you to be more flexible in Agile technologies. This certification will increase your team’s productivity and improve customer satisfaction.
- This course will help you learn how to plan and estimate the cost of your project in an Agile fashion.
Who should receive the PMI-ACP certification?
The PMI-ACP is a great choice if you work with agile teams, or if your organization is adopting agile methods. The PMI-ACP is evidence of your actual, practical experience as part of an agile team.
What is the average salary for someone with a PMI-ACP certification?
According to ZipRecruiter, the average pay for a US PMI-ACP was $126.824 per annum as of October 5, 2021. This works out as $60.97 an hr. This is equivalent to $10,569/month or $2,439/week.
ZipRecruiter sees annual salaries as high $187,000 as low $31,500. But, the majority of PMI-ACP wages currently range from $115,500 (25% percentile) to $134,000. The top earners (90th%) are making $187,000 each year in the United States.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) about Agile and Scrum
What's the difference between Agile and Scrum?
Agile Development refers to a software process, while Scrum refers to a process framework that follows Agile. Scrum is a subset of Agile, but there are other Agile processes such as Waterfall.
Is Scrum Master a job title, or a role that an existing job title can fill?
Scrum Master is an individual who holds a job title. It is common for the project manager to also play the Scrum Master’s part.
Scrum Alliance vs Scrum.org vs SAFEScrum vs ScrumStudy,. Which one is best?
There are two ways you can look at this, academically and professionally. Academically, each one of these organizations will give a long list of why theirs is the best and the others are garbage. I think they are being disingenuous and that their arguments are more akin to arguing which football team is the best. They are all good. period.
Here is what really matters: Does your employer really care? Sometimes they will have a specific preference and one may be more likely to help you get promoted. If that is the case, then ignore everything else.
If you are unemployed, I have yet to see a case where a company needing a Scrum Master or Scrum Product Owner disqualifying a candidate because they got their certification from one vendor rather than another.
Can the Product Owner and Scrum Master be combined?
Because the ownership is different, no, they should not. The Product Owner is responsible for the Product Backlog, Prioritization and Validation of User Stories with the Sprint.
Are there any prerequisites to start Scrum training in order to enroll in the courses?
No. There are many levels of Scrum experience. We have found that many people choose the course because of a variety factors, such as
- Their company is moving toward Scrum/Agile.
- They want their Scrum projects to be successful
- They would like to be certified to help them move up the career ladder or take on new roles.
- They want to update their skills.
- They are interested in working with experts to remove impediments to their Scrum transformations.
- They have no experience with Scrum but are interested in learning
Who is Scrum Master Course designed for?
This course is two days long and is open to anyone who is involved in Scrum development. Scrum Masters, Scrum Masters as well as project managers and developers. The course is also beneficial for other functional stakeholders (executives/marketing/finance, HR).
What topics is covered in the Scrum Master Course and what are they?
Course topics:
- Introduction to Scrum.
- Overview of Agile
- Overview of Scrum.
- Overview of the Scrum Body of Knowledge
- Principles
- Scrum Aspects
- Scrum Phases and Processes
- Scaling Scrum
- Transition to Scrum
Who is the Scrum Product Owner course designed for?
This course is two-day long and is meant for product owners, business analyst, managers, and executives. The Product Owner Course does NOT require that students have completed Scrum Master.
What topics is covered in the Scrum Product Owner Course?
This course will provide you with the fundamentals of Scrum Product Owner.
* Scrum Overview and Agile
* Scrum Roles
* Scrum Planning
* Sprint Planning.
* Scrum implementation
* Scrum For Large Projects
Who is Scrum Agile Master Course Designed for?
This 3-day course is ideal if you are a Scrum Master and want to get more exposure to other Agile methodologies.
Who is the PMI-ACP Course designed for?
This is for expert level Agile practitioners who want a deeper understanding of the various Agile methodologies and demonstrate their expertise as an Agile practitioner
Are there any free Scrum courses I can take to learn the basics?
Yes, you can take the Scrum Fundamentals Certified course and exam for free
Why should I get certified?
Several organizations around the globe are accepting Agile (and Scrum) as a primary project management framework for their projects, especially when they operate in a dynamic business environment. Many of these jobs require that you are certified. The certification will help you stand out.
Can you tell me more about the training and what it includes?
All the classes are live remote, which means they are led by an instructor, live, but delivered remotely over the Internet so you can take them at home. The classes are recorded, so you can go back and review all or part of the class as needed. It is also free to retake the classes. Exams are included, plus you get a test pass guarantee. If you do not pass the first time, you can take it again for free.
If you are unemployed or looking for a new job, we also help with job placement assistance. This includes help with your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, Interview skills and most importantly, getting your information in front of hiring managers. We work with over 3,000 employers who use us for their training needs. Many of them also recruit from us. Over half the jobs we have placed people in are not advertised.
What is the difference between Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) and Scrum Master certifications?
You should first find out which certification your employer prefers before you make a decision about which career path to take – PMI-ACP or Scrum Master certification. If you are looking to be promoted, and your employer chooses one, then go for it. Period.
Project Management Institute sponsors PMI Agile Certified Professional (PMI-ACP). This certification enables project managers to prove that they understand the fundamentals and principles of Agile Methodology.
Scrum Master Certification certifies that you’re an expert in Scrum. This certification is solely about Scrum and managing Scrum based projects.
Again, if you are working and want to move up, your employer’s preference should be the number one deciding factor. If everything else is equal, here are the factors to consider:
The PMI-ACP has prerequisites so you may not qualify to take the exam:
- 2,000 hours of general project experience working on teams. (If you have a current Project Management Professional (PMP) or Program Management Professional (PgMP) credential it will satisfy this requirement. However, neither of these certifications are required for you to take the PMI-ACP exam.)
- 1,500 hours working on Agile project teams or with Agile methodologies. (These hours are required in addition to the 2,000 hours of general project experience.)
- 21 contact hours of training in Agile practices.
For the Scrum Master exam, just take the two-day class.
For most people, the Scrum Master exam is significantly easier and the course is less expensive.
Is Scrum Just for Software Development or IT?
No! Scrum can be used if you have a to do list and a team that must accomplish a goal. Scrum can be used to manage projects. It is a social-engineering framework that can make your team more efficient.
Scrum doesn’t work for all projects. An adaptive framework isn’t necessary for building an office building that uses traditional construction methods. Scrum is great for requirements that are likely change over the life of the project. Also, Scrum can help you to understand the technical details of how the work will go.
Scrum is great for software development projects. Because software development is growing at an accelerating pace, Scrum continues being popular. Scrum’s origins are in software development. However, Scrum can be used to manage many types and types of projects.
The benefits of being Agile in All Environments
It limits unnecessary upfront planning. Scrum’s focus is on “doing.” Scrum is a short-term approach that encourages team members to start working immediately and avoid long-term planning. The plan can then be built over time, based on data about the events.
Addresses shifting/changing priorities. It is easier to focus on the important work when you prioritize short-term tasks over long-term planning. Each sprint cycle sees the team prioritize the most important items with reckless abandon. This allows team members to adapt to market changes, customer demand, or changing business needs.
A predictable path to your progress. The sprints are usually one week or less in length. There is always a deliverable at sprint’s end, which gives you a predictable path to progress. Projects with an uncertain deadline are not a good idea. It can lead to frustration and cause delays.
Hey!
I Am Dewey McGuirk
With over 20 years of education and career coaching experience expertise, I have helped hundreds of unemployed and under-employed people get back to work. It is my mission to help unemployed and under-employed individuals get the skills they need to get back to work. If you are unemployed, you may be able to do this at no cost to you! If you qualify, the grant will pay for you to get trained, certified, and placed in your field. This is a grant. you pay nothing.
Why Our Courses
Help Get Trained, Certified and Placed in your field
No Cost if you qualify
If you qualify for the WIOA grant for unemployed or under-employed workers, there is no cost to you. Even the exams are covered. Click for more information about this program.
No risk Options
If you do not qualify for the grant, you might qualify for a no risk alternative to a student loan. Click to learn more
Job Placement Assistance
We have a full-time Career Services Director who works with you to help you with your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile and getting your information in front of hiring managers.
Some Feedback
What people are saying
