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PSM I PASSED - 92% - My tips

Last post 01:48 pm October 1, 2018 by Andy Spamer
9 replies
06:41 pm January 8, 2017

Hello everyone,

I've just passed my PSM I with 92%. I found the exam quite easy, half of the questions have the same complexity of the Open Assessments, whereas the other half necessitate an real understanding of Scrum principles.

I used the following resources to prepare:
- Read Scrum Guide 3/4 times (this is your Bible)
- Took a Udemy course (useful but maybe not necessary)
- Read "Scrum. A pocket guide" by Gunther Verheyen (fantastic resource, it gives you a great perspective on why things are done in scrum)
-Read "Our iceberg is melting" (nice book that has a tremendous impact on understanding change management)

For test practice:
- Scrum Open Assessment
- Product Owner Oper Assessment
- Mikhail Lapshin test - http://mlapshin.com/index.php/psm-quiz/learning-mode/

Before the exam I scored always 95%+ in less than 10 minutes.

In total I focused for 1 week on the exam training, but I already had a good understanding of the framework having practiced scrum for years.

Hope this will work for you.

Good luck.
Giorgio


06:55 pm January 12, 2017

Congratulations Giorgio! Practicing Scrum for several years puts you in a really good place to take the PSM I which tests your knowledge and theory of the Scrum framework. Knowing the Scrum guide in and out is definitely of primary importance, and I would concur that "Scrum. A pocket guide" is an excellent resource.

When you are ready for it, you could consider studying for the much harder PSM II that tests your ability to take the knowledge you have just proven and apply it to complex real world situations.

Best wishes.


08:46 am January 19, 2017

Hi,

Just passed PSM 1 with 95%.

For me the best assets in achieving this were
1. The scrum guide (naturally) http://scrumguides.org/
2. The audiobook version of the scrum guide https://www.implementingscrum.com/scrum-guide/
3. The scrum open assessments for scrum master, product owner and Nexus.
4. The training exam by Mikhail Lapshin http://mlapshin.com/index.php/psm-quiz/
5. The scrum master training manual by management plaza http://mplaza.pm/downloads/Scrum%20Training%20Manual.pdf

I read all the reading material from cover to cover about 4 times, listened the audiobook every day for the last week prior to the exam and did the training exams so that I could hit minimum 93% in all of them every time.

Finally I took all of this information and created a powerpoint deck with "flash cards" on all of the things I considered important for the exam. I would recommend this exercise to all as it really helped me to understand the meaning behind the content as I needed to consider what is really relevant and what is not.

Finally searching information from this forum was really helpful to get deeper understanding in some of the topics I was struggling.


08:08 am February 3, 2017

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all information and tips.

I just passed my PSM I with 98.8%. So happy right now.

Thank you once more.

Lekan


03:39 pm February 8, 2017

Hi,

I passed with 95%.
I used
- the scrum guide
- the preparation exams of management plaza. This really was very helpful to gain speed and understanding as I am not a native english speaker. It really is low cost compared to a second attempt. (https://mplaza.pm/professional-scrum-master-certification-preparation-p…)

good luck


11:27 pm February 8, 2017

I cleared it few days back with 94% i will be writing a blog as well. Thanks for your advice


02:44 pm September 28, 2018

Hello all,



I have completed any testing simulation I could find (scrum open assessments along with any free simulation exam) related to Scrum and Product Owner and I score >95% on any of those.



I plan to take the real exam for Product Owner in the following days (I guess I could also get the Scrum Master one) but I need the following clarification as well:



Based on certification's page (https://www.scrum.org/professional-scrum-product-owner-i-certification) the recommended open assessments are:

  • Professional Scrum 
  • Product Owner

Is Nexus or any other open assessment's knowledge area (i.e scaled) also included in PSPO certification exam?

Do I need to master these areas as well in order to get the PSPO certification. 



Thanks in advance,

Thodoris


03:50 pm September 28, 2018

Hello Thodoris,

The PSPO I assessment does not ask any questions on the Nexus Framework, though you might encounter a few questions about using Scrum with multiple teams. For these questions, it is important to keep in mind that scaled Scrum is still Scrum, so it's helpful to keep the core fundamentals and values of Scrum in mind. Understanding of Nexus is not necessary to pass the PSPO I, but reading the Nexus Guide and taking the Nexus Open may help you grasp some of these concepts at a deeper level and give you a more comprehensive understanding of fundamental Scrum, as it draws on the same core concepts and values.

I hope I was able to answer your questions. We wish you the best of luck, and hope you enjoy your day.


12:09 pm September 29, 2018

Thank you for the immediate and accurate response.

Luckily, I am at this level already but I wouldn't feel confident for the Nexus or Scale Assessement yet; thus I have asked for this clarification.



I will post again once I pass the PSPO and will list any additional material that helped me through.



Best Regards,

Thodoris


10:13 am September 30, 2018

Just passed with 97.5% (2 wrong answers).

 

While I am an experienced Scrum Master, I found the exam a little stressful.  Mainly due to the time allowed;  80 questions in 60 is very challenging even for experienced practitioners.   My tips would be;

 

- Run the open assessments 4 or 5 times so you get a mix of random questions. 

- Run the test at http://mlapshin.com/index.php/scrum-quizzes/sm-learning-mode/  Lots of questions here, and more like an exam.

- Scrum Guide (obviously!)

- Some questions have multiple answers.  Watch for answers requiring multiple selection (e.g. pick 2 or 3).

- Watch for negatives ("Which of the following are not ....")

- Use the bookmark option on questions you are not 100% certain on.

- Use any time at the end to review your answers (I spotted 2 silly mistakes I'd made)

- Don't be surprised to see the same question asked two of three times in slightly different ways.

 

Good luck!

 

I'm looking towards PSM II and PSM III now!


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