A Scrum Master is a valuable addition to any organizational team. The plain reason for this is the fact that the Scrum Master does just what the organization needs in terms of teamwork, project planning and organizing, iterative progress, and accountability. A Certified Scrum Master is the rightly qualified person in doing this. Let us get some more ideas about the CSM certification in this blog.
Who is a CSM? What is the role of a Certified Scrum master’s in project management?
A Certified Scrum Master is one who is certified so by a recognized certifying authority such as the Scrum Alliance. A CSM is an entry-level certification that equips a person who starts off as a Scrum practitioner with a grasp of Scrum.
The primary role of the Scrum Master is to instill into the team the core Scrum values, practices, and principles, all of which engender teamwork and productivity in a congenial environment in the organization.
The role of the CSM
The Certified Scrum Master is a project manager who deploys Scrum across projects. Now, why is this approach necessary? Why not traditional project management concepts? It is because Scrum has the fluidity and resilience to adapt to changes seamlessly in the software project during the course of its development. Unless organizations can bring in this element, projects can easily get grounded, because traditional project management was rigid, which meant having to wait for one task to get completed before moving on to the next.
This used to result in huge delays and resultant cost overruns. In being team-based and iterative, Scrum, the most robust application of the Agile methodology, ensures that Agile is built into the project and runs smoothly by organizing and prioritizing tasks at every stage, with the requisite flexibility. It is not hard to guess who makes this happen in the organization. Who better than the CSM for this, given CSM training and certification in it
Getting Scrum Master certified
Unlike many other certifications, CSM does not require strict prerequisites in terms of experience and training. All that being a Certified Scrum Master requires are:
- They have to attend an in-person course taught by a Certified Scrum Master trainer;
- They have to pass an exam by scoring at least 66% marks (i.e., getting 24 out of 35 answers right);
Finally, in order to maintain their certification, they have to accept the license agreement and fulfill their Scrum Alliance membership profile.
A couple of lines about the Scrum Alliance
The Scrum Alliance is the world’s largest Agile and Scrum certification and membership organization. A nonprofit, member-driven alliance, it is considered the gold standard for Agile certification and is tasked with bringing more and more organizations across the world into the Scrum and Agile fold. It seeks to do this primarily through member advocacy. It also fosters Scrum and Agile research, education, and networking.
Who can become a Scrum Master?
Although primarily aimed at project managers, business analysts, and software engineers, a Scrum Master can also fit into any industry or activity that calls for fresh thinking towards problem-solving. A Scrum Master can also work in cross-functional areas such as marketing, HR, etc.
