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Agile organizations have evolved in the last few years where Scrum has been the most implemented framework. As the information technology sector moves from the traditional software methodologies to Agile Methodologies, it becomes crucial for all the professionals related to the IT sector to update their knowledge and skills according to the market. They have to change their way of work and learn the new trends and techniques that are ruling the market. With Scrum gaining more popularity among the Agile organizations, the recruiters in such companies look for individuals who know thoroughly about the Scrum Framework and can help the organization to implement it without any hassle. Scrum consists of various roles and opportunities for professionals that offer them a good salary package and many other incentives. Apart from these benefits, Scrum also helps the members to develop both technical and soft skills that help the person to achieve their inner potential and become an expert in the Scrum Framework. 

To understand more about how to become a Scrum Master, we should first understand what Scrum is and how it is helpful for the organization. Scrum is an Agile framework that helps the team to address complex and adaptive problems such that they are creative and productive while delivering the product and the product value is the highest possible. It is said that Scrum is simple to understand, lightweight, and difficult to master. Scrum should be seen with the perspective of a framework where several processes and techniques are employed so that the product developed is at its best. Scrum has three primary roles called the Developer, the Scrum Master, and the Product Owner. In this article, we would know more about the roles and responsibilities, requirements, and process of becoming a Certified Scrum Master. 

What is a Scrum Master?

A Scrum Master is a professional that acts as a servant leader to the Scrum Team. The primary role played by the Scrum Master is to communicate the process of product development from inside to outside of the team. The outside of the team such as various Stakeholders may give various ideas to the team. A Scrum Master has to make sure that which of the ideas may be helpful and which are not. Apart from that, the Scrum Master also helps the Developer whenever they are stuck with any impediments during the process. Before understanding how to become a Scrum Master, one has to understand the roles and responsibilities of a Scrum Master so that they are thorough with expectations from the role of Scrum Master.

These are a few of the important roles and responsibilities of a Scrum Master:

Services to the Product Owner

• Making sure that the product scope, goals, and domain are fully understood by all the members of the Scrum Team.
• Discovering innovative techniques for Product Backlog management.
• Making sure that the team understands the importance of a concise and clear Product Backlog item.
• Knowing about product planning in an empirical environment. 
• Facilitating various Scrum Events as needed or requested. 

Services to the Developer

• Training the Developer to become a cross-functional and self-organized team.
• Removing any impediments that hinder the process Developer
• Guiding the Developer to develop high-value products.
• Coaching the team members in an environment where Scrum is implemented recently and not developed fully.

Services to the organization

• Introducing changes that help the Scrum Team to increase the productivity of the Scrum Team.
• Planning and organizing the implementation of Scrum within the organization. 
• Helping the Stakeholders and the Scrum Team to understand the concept of empirical product development technique.
• Working with several other Scrum Masters so that an effective plan can be devised to fully implement Scrum in the organization without any hassle. 

Process of Becoming a Certified Scrum Master

In order to become a Certified Scrum Master one has to get to attend the CSM Course and fulfill the requirements.

The Certified Scrum Master course is a professional course offered by Scrum Alliance that proves to the world that a person is well-versed in Scrum knowledge and techniques. This certification course trains individuals to become a capable and creative Scrum Master which most of the organizations are looking for. The course teaches the participants to create a high-performing Scrum Team that would contribute to the success of the Agile project. The CSM course also boosts the confidence of the individual and enhances their critical thinking ability which is used in implementing the Scrum Framework effectively in the organization. 

Requirements for the CSM certification process

There are few requirements that the candidate has to fulfill to gain the Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certification. The candidate has to complete the following requirements. 

• The individual is required to attend a face-to-face or online course which is instructed by a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST). However, the candidate also has the liberty to receive private coaching from a Certified Agile Coach. A CAC may be a Scrum Alliance Certified Team Coach (CTC) or a Scrum Alliance Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC).
• The course duration for various modes of training is different. The candidate has to complete 14 hours of live online training, or receive 16- hours of in-person training, or complete a 25 hour face to face interaction with the CAC. 
• The participant enrolled in the CSM course should complete the course and has to take the 50 question CSM test which is available in 13 languages in one-hour time frame. 
• When the candidate answers 37 questions out of 50 questions correctly within the 60-minutes time limit, the candidate has passed the exam and needs to accept the License Agreement provided by Scrum Alliance. 

CSM certification Process

After understanding a step by step process of the CSM certification process, a more thorough look could be given about the details.

The process of getting certification from the Scrum Alliance for the Certified Scrum Master course is very simple and hassle-free. As the importance of the CSM course is highlighted, the participants have to be clear with the Scrum Master certification process. Any person who is interested in being the Scrum Master may apply for this course as this is an entry-level course. The CSM certification marks the beginning of the journey of the individual in becoming a Scrum Master. The process starts with the candidate finding the right institution for the CSM course. The institution which teaches the individual has to be affiliated with Scrum Alliance so that they have updated study material and also relevant details about Scrum could be shared with the participant. Enrolling in the right institution also has benefits as few institutes offer the best faculty, training materials, etc. 

Once enrolled, the institute usually guides the participant into the forthcoming steps that include two days of training the participants consisting of the basics of Scrum Framework, team roles, Events, and Artifacts. The training is given by a Certified Scrum Trainer who would have years of experience in grooming individuals to become Scrum Masters. They teach the technical and soft skills required for a person to shape into a great Scrum Master. The participants are taught about maintaining the Scrum Team and thoroughly facilitating the Scrum Events. Once the individual completes the course, they have to create their login credentials which are sent by Scrum Alliance. The candidates have to attend a one hour test which is based on the training given to the individual. The test has to be accessed by the login credentials created. The candidates have to answer at least 37 questions correctly out of 50 questions. The questions are in a format of multiple choice questions. When the individual clears the test, a license agreement would be sent by the Scrum Alliance team which has to accept it. Once accepted, the candidate will receive the designation of the CSM along with a two-year membership to the Scrum Alliance platform. The CSM certification has to be renewed once every two years. 

How to Renew the CSM certification?

The CSM certification has to be renewed once every two years. The process of renewal has certain requirements such as 20 SEUs and $100. SEUs are Scrum Education Units that a candidate has to collect by watching webinars, volunteering in the Agile community, participating in local user groups, attending Scrum community gathering, writing Scrum blogs, etc. The SEUs are certain points awarded to the candidate that make sure that the candidate is learning continuously and constantly striving to become a better Scrum expert. These are the steps the candidate has to follow to renew the CSM certification:

Step 1: Log-in to the certification account.

Step 2: Click on the certification dashboard where settings can be found.

Step 3: Pay the renewal fee by scrolling to the actions window and click the renewal link. 

Conclusion

The Certified Scrum Master Certification process is a hassle-free process when the individual enrolls themselves in the right institute. The CSM certification is an excellent course for professionals who want to become a leader in the field and manage the Scrum Team. It is the perfect opportunity to expand the career opportunities across all the sectors of the industry that are implementing Agile. Participants learn the core Scrum knowledge by taking this course and learn the foundation of Scrum and the scope of various roles in Scrum. Also, the Scrum Alliance membership helps the candidate to network with other professionals all over the world and increase their market value in the industry. 

References:

1. https://www.Scrumalliance.org/get-certified/Scrum-master-track/certified-Scrummaster
2. https://www.Scrum.org/resources/what-is-a-Scrum-master
3. https://Scrumguides.org/Scrum-guide.html