About this course

Certified Scrum Master® (CSM®) is a widely recognized certification for professionals who coach teams and apply the Scrum framework.

CSM certification from Scrum Alliance helps team coaches learn how to maximize the potential of product development teams.

Scrum Alliance is a nonprofit organization based in Colorado, USA, that provides education, resources, and support to Agile and Scrum practitioners.

Snapshot of the training

The workshop is designed to help participants get started as a Scrum Master. The topics are sequenced according to the sequence of events that would happen when the participants are hired as a Scrum Master.

Pre-workshop Preparation:

We want you to make the most of your time with our trainers and other participants. Learning is enriched by the perspectives of others, so we ask you to review online articles and videos before the workshop. The online material includes:

• Learn Agile Manifesto
• Learn basic Scrum Framework
• Go through Scrum Guide
• Learn about the CSM test process

What will you learn and do at the training

The workshop is designed to help you learn what a Scrum Master needs from day one on the job. You will explore the role through practical exercises and role-play. The course is divided into four Sprints, each focusing on the following topics:

Sprint 1: Why do we need Scrum and Scrum Master?

The goal of this Sprint is to understand why organizations use Scrum and why they hire Scrum Masters.

Mental Model

• What is Mental Model?
• How are they formed?
• How do mental models change?
• Why is it important for Scrum Master to understand Mental Models?

Incremental Delivery

• What is the Cost of Delay (CoD) and Cost of Production (CoP)?
• What are the factors that cause CoD and CoP?
• How do CoD and CoP impact an organization’s ROI?
• How does Scrum improve ROI by reducing CoD and CoP?

Agile & Empirical Process

• What is Agile and Empirical Process?
• What are the different ways to work in an Agile way?
• How do I decide which process is appropriate for my product?

Sprint 2: How to introduce Scrum in an organization

The goal of this Sprint is to explore Scrum Master’s role in helping an organization adopt Scrum.

Scrum Master as a Systems Thinker

• What is a system, and why is an organization a system?
• What is Systems Thinking?
• Why is it important for Scrum Master?
• How to develop Systems Thinking?

Scrum Master as a Change Agent

• How to create a shared need for change?
• How do we explore why organizations adopt Scrum and measure their progress?
• How to identify various stakeholders required to support adoption?
• How do we identify the structural, policy, and process changes required to adopt Scrum?
• What are the different techniques to facilitate change?

Scrum Master as a Facilitator

• What is facilitation – Basic vs Developmental facilitation?
• Different facilitation techniques – Advocacy vs Inquiry
• What are the different focus areas of Scrum Master
• How does Scrum Master’s role change over a period of time?

Sprint 3: Coaching the Product Owner to build a product incrementally

The goal of this Sprint is to explore Scrum Master’s role in coaching the Product Owner to deliver a product incrementally. In the process, participants will learn what is required to begin the first Sprint.

Forming Scrum Team

• What are the responsibilities of Scrum roles?
• What are the skills required to play Scrum roles?
• How to transform your teams into Scrum teams?
• What are the practical difficulties in forming Scrum teams and how to overcome them – distribution and scaling?

Class Project

• Identify a product to work on
• Identify roles
• Understand the product vision.

Building Product Backlog

• What is vertical split vs horizontal split?
• What are the various techniques for splitting Product Backlog Items (PBIs)?
• What is Scrum Master’s role in teaching the PO about splitting techniques and building Product Backlog?
• Practice splitting techniques on a class project.

Identifying MVP

• Why is it not possible to fix things upfront for complex projects?
• What is Technical Debt and how fixing things upfront and focusing on estimation causes Technical Debt?
• How to overcome Technical Debt?
• Why is it good to focus on value delivery instead of fixing the estimation problem?
• What is MVP?
• How can a Scrum Master help the Product Owner identify an MVP?
• Apply Story Mapping on a class project to identify MVP.

Sprint 4: Coaching teams to become learning teams.

The goal of this Sprint is to explore Scrum Master’s role in coaching the Development Team to become a learning team. The participants run a couple of Sprints on the class project to understand Scrum from end to end.

Sizing Product Backlog

• What is a Release?
• What is relative estimation and #NoEstimates?
• How do we forecast a release date?
• Why should release plans remain flexible and iterative?

Refining Product Backlog

• What is Backlog Refinement?
• What are the helpful practices for Backlog Refinement?
• Refine the Product Backlog of the Class Project.

Sprint Simulation

• Run a couple of Sprints for the class project.
• Simulate and discuss issues that a team may face during Sprint and learn how Scrum Master can help the team

Workshop Benefits

• Two-day online training led by an experienced CST.
• Training from an experienced education provider.
• A community of more than 46,000 members that supports continuous learning.
• Scrum Alliance certificate and two-year membership.

Complimentary offerings

Post-workshop Mentoring After the workshop, we provide mandatory and optional activities to help you begin applying your Scrum Master skills. Scrum Master Case Studies

• Work through 15 case studies covering situations you may face as a Scrum Master.

Career Counseling by a Coach

• Receive optional mentoring from a coach to help you introduce Scrum in your workplace.

On-the-job mentoring

Training prerequisites

There are no specific prerequisites, but participants who meet the criteria below may pursue the certification:

A Scrum Master is a team coach. Complex product development requires collective wisdom. When cognitive work is involved, command-and-control management can limit creative thinking. Teams need support to become self-organizing and self-aware. This change takes time and persistence, and empirical frameworks such as Scrum can help. Scrum Masters act as systems coaches with expertise in systems thinking, organizational change, and implementation. They focus on the people, interactions, and relationships that shape team performance.

To take on this organizational responsibility, a Scrum Master should develop skills in systems thinking, facilitation, process design, and coaching. Professionals from any role can work toward becoming a Scrum Master. Comparable enabling roles include Six Sigma Black Belts, executive coaches, team coaches, and project management office professionals.