Several times back in 2009 I wrote posts on “Why the Scrum Master Certification Exam is a Positive Step Towards Credibility of the Scrum Master” and “ScrumMaster Training: Does the Exam Really Matter?”
The debate rages on. There is an incredible blog post over at XProgramming.com that shows just that. It is a bit of a bear to read, but after reading Ron Jeffries post, make sure you look through all of the comments.
For full disclosure, ASPE is a training firm. We offer Agile and Scrum courses, and are a Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) with the Scrum Alliance. Coming from that environment, I am biased towards the value of certifications. Simply look at the salary surveys done in the Agile community (and outside) that show the salary increases seen by those with certifications. I hate to harp on money, but at the end of the day some of us, myself included, are lucky enough to do what we love to do for a living, however without a steady cash flow we would not be able to devote ourselves 100%.
That is all I’m going to say to justify certifications. This is a battle that will rage on as long as certifications exist, and not just in Agile/Scrum but in any industry.
What I want to present is a challenge to all the Agile/Scrum evangelists out there that are harping on this certification debate. As Ron makes evident in his post, the Agile community is divided and worse for it. I point to people like Ken Schwaber who say that the Scrum Alliance has “gone astray” (you made your opinion clear when you left to start Scrum.org), and has broken off to compete with the Scrum Alliance… by offering the exact same products? John Sonmez has a great post explaining how Scrum.org and the Scrum Alliance are the same beast with different bank accounts (“Scrum for the Money“). But the reason ASPE, and myself, have remained partners and become more involved with the Scrum Alliance is because they have stayed true to their goal of furthering the Scrum community. It is because of people like Tobias Mayer that devote themselves to the cause that we sponsor things like the Scrum Gathering. We must remember that what was once only a grass roots campaign has now grown to the point where money is an issue. I believe the new management and board members will make sure this money is used to advance the Scrum community and not individual’s wallets.
What the certification skeptics are missing, is their own commitment. I think this is the point Tobias was trying to make in his comments on Ron’s blog. Those involved in the Scrum Alliance have started a path, but it is the community’s job to continue that path in the direction most beneficial to the group. Scrum is founded on building a product in iterations and delivering usable work. Let’s consider our present time as one of those iterations, and work towards bettering the next.
To dive deeper, personally I think the term ‘Scrum Master’ is part of the problem. There is a connotation implied by ‘Master’ that I think is inconsistent with the amount of knowledge that is being assessed by the CSM certification. If this is both the initial course and certification for Scrum, then something like ‘practitioner’ is a better designation in my mind. From there you would need to prove a level of knowledge beyond the ‘practitioner’ level to become a ‘Scrum Master’. The Scrum Alliance could go this direction in filling in lower levels of knowledge before someone reaches CSM designation or they could fill-in at the higher-levels leaving CSM as the first tier. Either way, those new ‘certifications,’ if that is what they are deemed, need to again be taken as works in progress, and later polished and refined by the Scrum community through the Scrum Alliance.
Here’s the cohesive conclusion, the purpose of the Scrum Certification has been lost. The Meaning has been Lost. It has divided the Scrum community, instead of bring it together. A community certification should bring those passionate community activists together under the flag of their common beliefs (and practices). The real challenge will be for the Scrum Alliance to recognize this division and work to resolve it. Use this certification to get people involved and working together. Take it one iteration at a time.
