The year 2020 was full of exploring possibilities, learning, adapting and never giving up. A year which will also be remembered for completing 25 years of Scrum and for bringing us a new version of The Scrum Guide.
In this article, the focus is on 2 things:
1. What has changed in Scrum Guide 2020?
2. Sharing my learnings and experience on taking the PSM 1 exam.
Part 1 : What has changed in Scrum Guide 2020?
If you quickly want to know what has changed in Scrum Guide 2020, below are the 3 highlights .
1. Simpler, shorter and better
Scrum Guide 2020 is now elaborated in 13 pages when compared to Scrum Guide 2017, which was 19 pages in length. It nowhere compromises on it’s standards and looks more refined. The more details less contents approach, enables any team or an organization to be more confident in practicing Scrum.
2. Effective and more details in each section
To put this in a critics view point : Following are the instances where scrum guide breaks Single Responsibility Principle 😛.
The best part is, when you read The Scrum Guide 2020, you will notice each section providing a lot of details as we read, answering lot of questions without having to navigate to specific sections.
One such example, Definition of Scrum.
“In a nutshell, Scrum requires a Scrum Master to foster an environment where..”
The emphasis on the role Scrum Master, Product Owner and the Scrum team in the Scrum definition clearly indicates the accountability of each role in boundaries of Scrum.
In the Scrum guide 2017 this is clear when we read about the roles.
Eg: Scrum Master (page no 7) : “The Scrum Master is responsible for promoting and supporting Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide.”
3. Adaption based on implementation and feedback
In the new Scrum Guide, there are several updates which are made based on feedback received by implementation of Scrum.
One such example is: Removal of capacity or timebox for Backlog Refinement
In Scrum Guide 2017, it states: “Refinement usually consumes no more than 10% of the capacity of the Development Team.”
This statement is removed in Scrum Guide 2020. This in my opinion, provides the scrum team the ability to decide the required time to refine the Product Backlog Items.
However, it is now scrum team’s responsibility to ensure that the time spent on the refinement meeting is not long enough to hamper the team’s velocity.
Deep dive
In this section, lets take a deeper look into changes in the 2020 Scrum Guide
Table of contents
- Uses of Scrum
This section is now removed in Scrum Guide 2020. However, when you look carefully this is well integrated in the “Purpose of the Scrum Guide”.
To elaborate further, have a look at page number 1 is Scrum Guide 2020 : “As Scrum’s use spreads, developers, researchers, analysts, scientists, and other specialists do the work” - Scrum Team
a. The essence of Scrum
In the Scrum Guide 2020 this is re-written as — The fundamental unit of Scrum is a small team of people, a Scrum Team.
b. Team size
Scrum Guide 2017 only talks about the development team size which was recommended to be between 3–9. However, in the Scrum Guide 2020, we see this has changed and the whole of Scrum team is recommended to be “typically 10 or fewer people”. - The Development Team is renamed as Developers
Usually the term “Developers” is used in a context which doesn’t include test engineers (QA), automation or any other domain expertise.
However, to look at it in the Scrum Guide 2020’s perspective, the group of people working towards creating an increment is called as “Developers” (meaning those responsible for developing and delivering the working increment)
(Note : just take a look at the accountability of the developers mentioned in the scrum guide 2020 page no 5. and I am sure this will answer all your questions) - Inclusion of Product Backlog in the section “During the Sprint” (Scrum Guide 2020 Page No 7)
In the Scrum Guide 2017, even though the Product Backlog Refinement was mentioned in detail, it was not mentioned as a part of “The Sprint”. Thus raising a confusion, how to plan without refining and why is there not much emphasis on the activity which is beneficial.
However, in Scrum Guide 2020, this is now addressed: “The Product Backlog is refined as needed; and,…”. Thus, making it more clear about the activity. - Sprint Planning — Why?
Without Scrum Guide 2020, it was left to our perception as “why is sprint planning valuable?” and for a team practicing Scrum for a while would definitely figure this out.
However, now this is officially added under Sprint planning as Topic One: Why is this Sprint valuable? making it more clear and avoids any false interpretation. - Daily Scrum —
a. Removal of the possible pattern
As Scrum Guide evolved, we can see that there is no more any imposition or even an example pattern or a structure for performing the Daily Scrum. To help the scrum teams a 3 questioned pattern was mentioned in The Scrum Guide 2017.
However, many teams blindly followed the structure without trying to understand and implement what better suits them.
Since it was found that most of the teams starting to implement Scrum are most likely to follow what’s written and not explore the viable possibilities,
the example is now removed to ensure the scrum team has the liberty to do it the way they feel is beneficial for the team.
However, it still has the 15 minute time box and should be done inside the boundaries of the other applicable conditions as mentioned in The Scrum Guide.
b. Product Owner and Scrum Masters also as Developers
Scrum Guide 2020 also clearly mentions the possibility of Product Owner and Scrum Masters being part of development team (now referred as Developers)
(Refer Page no 9 Scrum Guide 2020: “If the Product Owner or Scrum Master are actively working on items in the Sprint Backlog, they participate as Developers.”)
c. Developers decide the structure not the Scrum team.
Scrum Guide also makes it clear as who decides how the Daily Scrum should be conducted. (Refer Page no 9 Scrum Guide 2020: “The Developers can select whatever structure and techniques they want”) - Commitment for each Scrum Artifact
Scrum Guide 2020 brings one of the best changes which is extremely beneficial for the Scrum team and the stakeholders.
The artifacts remain the same but each artifact is associated with a corresponding commitment.
a. For the Product Backlog it is the Product Goal.
b. For the Sprint Backlog it is the Sprint Goal.
c. For the Increment it is the Definition of Done.
That’s all about the changes I noticed and I am sure there will be more differences as we explore more. Let me know in the comment section if I have missed any.
Part 2: How I cleared PSM 1 exam?
- Scrum Guide: Read it at least 3 times .
One thing you can’t ignore is the Scrum Guide.
In the real PSM 1 exam, you will encounter multiple questions that are tricky and confusing. You can only answer those correctly, if you have clearly understood what is written in the Scrum Guide and its meaning. - Open assessment.
https://www.scrum.org/open-assessments/scrum-open — |
The open assessment in free and you can take as many times as you wish.
There is no prerequisite or any criteria to attempt this assessment.
I recommend everyone to try this even before starting your preparation.
This will give you a very clear picture about your understanding of Scrum and where do you stand.
In the real PSM 1 exam, you will notice few questions from Open assessment but the exam is tricky and requires deep understanding of Scrum Guide.
The key is to practice. Try the assessment, focus on the wrong answers and read the Scrum Guide, repeat the process till you consistently score 100% in open assessment. - Online quiz:
Below are the links for free online assessments which which helped me boost my confidence and are worth trying.
https://mlapshin.com/index.php/scrum-quizzes/sm-learning-mode/
https://www.thescrummaster.co.uk/assessments/professional-scrum-master-i-psm-i-practice-assessment/
https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=psm-1-mock-test-open-assessment - Udemy Course, if you have no practical experience as Scrum Master.
If you are lacking practical experience as Scrum Master, I would highly recommend you to take this or similar online course : https://www.udemy.com/course/scrum-master-certification-preparation-mock-exam-questions-psm-i/
(Please note : I do not endorse third party paid trainings or services and my suggestions are purely based on my experience)
I took this course long back and I have to admit, the author has done an amazing job. The author is also PSM 1 certified and the course has received very positive reviews.
I would also suggest you to explore similar trainings and choose whatever you find beneficial as at present there may be several alternatives.
Conclusion: With very little prospect about the PSM 1 based on Scrum Guide 2020, here are my recommendations.
- Should I wait or take the exam now?
In general the Scrum Guide 2020 is much more refined but not entirely changed. Thus, there is no real benefit in waiting if you are prepared and fully confident.
However, if you are new to the role with less experience and planning for PSM 1, I would recommend you to spend some more time and then take the exam based on Scrum Guide 2020 (post January 9th) - Read both Scrum Guide 2017 and 2020. This will broaden your knowledge and bring more confidence in you.
- For people having real-time experience in the role, clearing PSM 1 is not a big challenge if not easy, a few hours of dedicated study and consistent marks in Open assessment would be enough.
For those who are new to the role with less or no practical experience, I recommend you read the Scrum Guide multiple times, if possible research and take a good course or training, read blogs. Other than these it is also very beneficial to have a mentor or be part of a community that can help you connect with Scrum Masters within your organization or any Community Of Practice, or outside organization build network with other Scrum Masters, Agile coaches who can help as mentors and show you the right direction, provide plausible and credible information. - Understand the terminologies, focus on smaller details and know what are the DO’s and DONT’s (recommended practices vs antipatterns).
That’s all for now. I hope this article helped you in getting better insights on both PSM 1 exam and in general presenting you a better idea on what changed in Scrum Guide 2020.
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