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Get an overview of agile certifications and all the important information about them. Your first choice for in-depth certification knowledge.
Guide to certification
To help you decide which certificate is right for you, answer the following questions:
Is the certificate a mandatory requirement for a specific development step for me or a bonus for building up knowledge?
In what context do I work, how agile or classic is the project management?
Is Scrum already being used or should the existing process be adapted in small steps with the help of agility?
Which organization are my colleagues certified with?
Are costs a factor for me when choosing a certificate?
For newcomers and beginners with little experience in agile projects, Scrum in practice (SP) or CSM (with certification) is worthwhile as an introductory seminar. For experienced users, the context in which the knowledge is to be applied is much more important. If the environment is possibly limited to one organization, then you should be certified by the same organization.
If the certificate is an important building block in your professional life, an advanced certification is recommended. If you are already certified, you can take the next step and check whether you can obtain an advanced certificate from your organization. If the environment is more traditional and you may hold the Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate, it is worthwhile becoming a PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP). With the PMI-ACP, you are not restricted to Scrum and can therefore more easily introduce agility into your projects in small steps. If cost is the deciding factor, there is no way around Scrum.org. A certificate with Scrum.org has the lowest costs and is valid for life.
Basic knowledge of Scrum and agility
We recommend reading the Scrum Guide as an introduction to Scrum. Here you can find the Scrum Guide in German or the English original. Scrum is currently the best-known framework for an agile process. Agility is based on the agile manifesto and the associated principles (here manifesto and principles in English original). On the Scrum.org website you will find a detailed look at the changes in the new Scrum Guide from 2011.
Information on the certifications
Scrum Alliance
The standard entry-level certification of the Scrum Alliance is the Certified Scrum Master (CSM). The CSM serves as the basis for obtaining the advanced certification of Certified Scrum Professional (CSP). To obtain the Certified Scrum Master, a seminar must be attended by a certified trainer from the Scrum Alliance. Following this, the exam can be taken online at a certification center. You can find more information about the CSM seminar here.
Scrum.org
Scrum.org offers the Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) as an entry-level certification. The advanced certification Professional Scrum Master II (PSM II) then builds on this. Other valuable resources include the PSM exam overview, the scrum.org brief overview and the open letter from Ken Schwaber, in which he explains his reasons for founding scrum.org and splitting from the Scrum Alliance. Seminar participation is not required for the first level of certification, but is highly recommended. Our Scrum Training (ST) covers all topics relevant for the certification.
Project Management Institute (PMI)
The PMI offers the advanced certification as Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP). We have summarized an FAQ about PMI-ACP for you. The PMI has provided all important information about what PMI-ACP offers and for whom it is relevant on an overview page. On this page you will find links to the PMI-ACP handbook, the exam content guide and the bibliography.
oose offers a preparation seminar for PMI-ACP which, unlike most other courses, is not designed as a "bootcamp" for exam preparation. Instead, the participants and trainers exchange their in-depth agile skills, among other things, and thus expand and structure their knowledge. In addition, the participants create their individual learning plan to support their self-study in preparation for the exam.