Who Can Take Scrum Master Certification?

Introduction

The Scrum Master is the servant leader in a Scrum organization. He is the champion who leads from the front whether it is the Scrum Team, or collaborating with the Product Owner to ensure top performance, productivity boost, and value-driven work. The Scrum Master is the change leader in the enterprise context responsible for planning and implementing Scrum principles within the enterprise.

With a certified Scrum Master around, Scrum teams can work to leverage the full potential of Scrum principles and values, harnessing the potential and the power of a robust Agile Methodology framework like Scrum. The Scrum Master plays a pivotal role in addressing the distractions and disruptions existing in the internal and external environment.

Who is the ideal candidate for getting certified as a Scrum Master? This content explores the same in detail.

Who Can Take Scrum Master Certification?

Comprehending the principles and rules of Scrum is not that difficult but using them in real-life scenarios can be challenging and tough. This is why it is essential to get certified by an accredited professional organization. Doing so has several benefits, especially the right certification can empower the Scrum Master to bring about an Agile revolution in the enterprise through his in-depth knowledge and understanding of the practical applicability of Scrum values.

Which professionals must go for Scrum Master certification?

A certification in Scrum Master can be done by anyone interested to work within the Scrum Framework and drive Agile practices in the enterprise. Ideally, the target audience comprises of people currently working in the following roles:

• Project Managers
• Product Managers
• Software Developers and Engineers
• QA analysts
• Testers
• Business Analysts
• Team leaders

A case in hand is a Danish company that ensures that employees across all levels - starting from the front office executives to middle and senior-level managers are all given the Scrum training and certification - the focus being, giving an equal platform in the organization to get acquainted with Scrum rules and values and apply the same in their day-to-day functioning.

Anyone who intends to gain know-how about the practical and theoretical insights of Scrum starting from knowing what is the Scrum Framework, how to build a backlog, learn about the different elements of the framework - events, artifacts, and team roles; how to do project estimation and ways to improve team productivity are all part of the learning exercise during the certification process for the Scrum Master.

The requirements for doing the certified Scrum Master certification vary from one certifying body to another. However, there are few similarities - most certifying bodies make it mandatory for candidates to undergo compulsory training from a certified Scrum trainer or Agile Coach. The top certifying bodies providing scrum master certification are-

Scrum Alliance

Scrum.org

Project Management Institute

To get this certification, the candidates need to appear for the exam. The process is as follows-

Attend training as per the requirements of the certifying body.

Register for the exam.

Take a test and score the minimum score as per requirements.

Get Certified.

To maintain the certification, most certifying bodies make it mandatory for the candidate to keep earning a certain specified number of points and pay the renewal fee after the expiry of the previous certification.  

The benefits of Scrum Master Certification

1.Personal fulfillment 

A certified Scrum Master can look forward to availing numerous opportunities in his career spanning different industrial domains because of his expertise in the application of Agile practices. The certification offers a respectable background to the Scrum Master to showcase his skills and knowledge about Scrum to his enterprise and interact with other Agile practitioners to drive through a valuable life experience of being a certified Scrum Master.

2. Professional expertise

Understand how to efficiently work with Scrum - with a certification, one gains the required insight to plan and implement Scrum effectively within the organization and the team. 

Working on addressing, reducing, and removing obstacles faced by the Scrum Team with more effectiveness.

Helps optimize the collaborative effort of the Scrum Team and even cross-functional teams within the enterprise. The Scrum Master becomes the go-to person in the entire Scrum Framework for individuals, guiding and coaching them to effectively apply Scrum values to their work.

The credibility of becoming a certified Scrum Master

More and more companies today are moving out of the realm of the conventional product development model and embracing Agile practices because of the obvious role that Agile plays in offering an enhanced product to customers and value to the enterprise. Scrum being one of the most powerful and popular Agile frameworks is one of the top choices for organizations to shift to.

In such a scenario the demand for Scrum Masters is ever increasing; especially for certified Scrum Masters. Most organizations today want to appoint a trained and certified Scrum Master because this is the person who is going to lead the change in the enterprise and implement Agile Methodologies for all-around enhancement. 

In this ever-evolving background, the credibility of the Scrum Master has a lot of critical importance in the organizational setup as well as team performance. With a certification in hand from a recognized certifying body the individual can prove his commitment to the process of continued learning in his area of expertise. Every Agile organization today looks forward to having onboard dynamic and self-motivated leaders. Also, with the learnings, the Scrum Master can evolve a strong ecosystem within the enterprise consisting of Agile team members. This is a good sign for a progressive enterprise that needs self-driven and motivated individuals to help achieve organizational goals.

Conclusion

The best part about getting certified as a Scrum Master is that the principles of Scrum apply to any type of organization and industrial domain. The future is bright for a certified professional. In 2017, LinkedIn published a report called the "Most promising jobs of 2017" where it was reported that within a year the job offers for Scrum Masters grew by almost 104% while the score for career advancement was 8 out of 10. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics published a report in 2018 where it was shown that the demand grew by about 24% for certified Scrum Masters in the previous year.

If the above role excites you, you will be one of the top-paying professionals. Become the most credible and skilled Scrum Master with a certification course and get benefited from all industry and employee benefits.

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