What’s a Scrum Master Certification?
Whether you’re considering a Scrum Master Certification from the International Scrum Institute for you or one of your employees, you’ll no doubt have some questions to tackle first (excuse the pun).
You’ll need a basic understanding of The Scrum Framework, Values, Events and Roles in order to get clarity on the Scrum Master’s role in Scrum. So let’s start by asking and answering these fundamental questions.
What is the Scrum Framework?
Based on the rugby scrum, scrum is a framework that assists agile software development teams to work together, similar to a rugby team. Scrum teams are encouraged to:
- Train for the game
- Learn through practice
- Self-organize when tackling an issue
- Reflect on their losses or wins in order to keep improving
Scrum is a modest process to develop and deliver software that focuses on increasing the productivity of teams by reducing unnecessary tasks.
Scrum is founded on the fact that product development is multifaceted and extremely unpredictable. The Scrum Framework helps teams address intricate problems by fostering team co-operation and creativity to deliver top-notch multifaceted products.
What is Scrum? Values, Events and Roles
There are 5 Scrum Values that form the basis of the Scrum Framework.
The 5 Scrum Values
1. Courage
Scrum team members have the courage to work on tough problems and do the right thing.
2. Focus
Everyone focuses on the goals of the scrum team and doing the work of the sprint (sprints are cycles of work activities to develop shippable software products).
3. Commitment
Each member of the team, including the Product Owner and Scrum Master, personally commits to achieving the goals of the scrum team.
4. Respect
The Scrum Master and all team members respect each other to be capable, independent people, all doing their part.
5. Openness
The Scrum team agree to be open about the work and their challenges in performing the work.
The 5 Scrum Events
- Scrum Grooming (Backlog Refinement)
- Sprint Planning Meeting
- Daily Scrum Meeting
- Sprint Review Meeting
- Sprint Retrospective Meeting
The 3 Scrum Roles
1. Product Owner
The role of the product owner is to maximise the value of the product and manage the Product Backlog.
They represent stakeholders and customers to the development team.
The product owner also chooses which products to release and when.
2. Scrum Master
The Scrum Master’s role is to promote and support the scrum team.
The Scrum Master also provides guidance, helping everyone on the team and in the organization understand the scrum rules, theory, values and practices as defined in the Scrum Guide.
3. Development Team
The role of the scrum team is to create product increments through a series of sprints and ultimately create quality products.
(The increment is the sum of all the product backlog items completed during the sprint. The product is the sum of all the increments).
The team organises itself and its work.
The development team collaborates with the product owner to maximise value.
What makes a great Scrum Master?
Great scrum masters are great coaches, trainers or facilitators.
Their core role is teaching and guiding, rather than leading and managing because their goal is to create a team of self-organised members who take ownership of their work. Great scrum masters encourage leadership within the development team.
So… What is a Scrum Master Certification?
The Scrum Master Accredited Certification (SMAC) is recommended for anyone who wants to understand the Scrum Framework, whether you’re the Scrum master or not in your Scrum team.
It’s a highly recommended certification for anyone involved in Agile Software Engineering from the Architect to the Programmer to the Tester.
Are you interested in obtaining a scrum master certification for yourself or one of your staff members?
*This post was sponsored by the Scrum Institute, a leading independent institute that helps IT companies and professionals get accredited in Scrum Framework. You can download their free 112-page training guide from their website at scrum-institute.org to learn more.
