Two years ago I decided to step up and formalize my Scrum Master experience. There are two worldwide organizations that are most respected and authoritative when it comes to Scrum certifications - Scrum.org and Scrum Alliance. After some research I went with the later because it is, in my view, less rigid and more practical in its offerings and exams.
The first step was to attend a two days long course. I was lucky to choose an excellent mentor Kim Brainard from the Agile Brain Group. Over 16 hours of quite intense and practical learning she installed the Scrum values and Agile Mindset approach in a group of four avid pupils. Along the way, Kim also told us her fascinating journey into the world of Agile and Scrum.
The next step, immediately after the course, was to attend the exam. Better not postpone it while all the learning and information is still fresh in your mind.
I passed the exam with 98%, one wrong answer, and received the coveted Certified Scrum Master certificate.
Along with it, and paid within the course fee, was also a two year membership to Scrum Alliance and all its benefits.
Now, with two years passed, it is time to renew the membership. The renewal fee is twofold:
- 100 bucks
- 20 SCUs or Scrum Education Units
For my role at the company it is not really imperative to have this badge. Yet, we do endorse Agile ways of working and thus I want to renew the membership for several reasons:
- to show my loyalty and commitment
- to continue my Scrum & Agile journey
- to be able to use all the resources which are at disposal to Scrum Alliance members
- and, maybe some day, to pursue the next certificates on the certification path
Yet the main reason is to continue to act as a qualified Scrum Master and Agile Facilitator and to bring value to the team.
With the intro behind us, here is the process of renewing the CSM cert. First the status dashboard.
I gathered needed 20 SEU with the initial course, attendance on Agile meetups, and with some online material.
After the payment, the dashboard show the new renewal date, two years in future, and 0 SEUs. Great.
Time to learn some more, time to apply the knowledge, time to be transparent, helpful, empathic, trustful, time to enable teams and its members to perform at their best and have fun while at it.
better and better
:ervin :lemark