In the past few weeks I’ve noticed a worrying up tick in the number of people asking questions around how to pass their upcoming Agile/Scrum XXX test (i.e. PMI-ACP, PSM, CSM, CSP). They want to know what to read and what magic incantations to invoke.
Scrum (Agile, Lean, Kanban, …) aren’t something you really learn or understand by reading books. These are things you learn by doing or practicing. The focus shouldn’t be on certifications, it should be on delivering valuable software.
My promise: If you take my ScrumMaster Training we will focus on learning by doing, and not on slides. The focus is on the successful use of Scrum to build working software, not passing a test.
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But they also have to pass the test, right? Otherwise they won’t get what they’ve paid for—what you are offering them.
I’ll challenge you by saying it is incongruous and disingenuous to offer CERTIFIED training and yet claim the focus shouldn’t be on certification. How do you justify the incongruity?
Tobias thanks for the comment. They’re paying to receive an excellent introduction to Scrum, the certification is benefit but not the primary goal. From recent experience only about 20% of my attendees list the certification as a core objective.
In addition even if the Scrum Alliance stopped offering certifications others would fill the gap. My goal is to help make the world of work and specifically software development better. If certifications help us down that path so be it.
You could… perhaps, hold public courses without the certification.
Peter – the certification cat is out of the bag. If not the Scrum Alliance then others will offer certifications. The question I ask on daily basis is how can I make my offering better.
Cheers
Mark