Learning for PSM I: More on “How” than “What”

As a freshly certified Professional Scrum Master I would like to share my experience on how I've learned for the assessment.

To get a comprehensive guide on how to prepare for the PSM I exam, one just has to google for respective articles. After 20 minutes of browsing and reading you might get overall feeling that all the suggestions converge to the point of reading the Scrum guide, doing open assessment and quizzes of Mikhail Lapshin. They might recommend various books and further readings, but in general there is little I could add on it as the list is already pretty comprehensive. In this article I'd rather focus on “how” part of the preparation.

1.     Know the format

Be aware of timing and answer management: A countdown as well as the question number will be displayed. You will be also able to navigate back and forwards and bookmark questions. You will be warned about the fact, that the “Submit -> Forward” button will be replaced by “Save and Finish” button once you reach the 80th question. To avoid automatically pressing it, watch for the question number. Bookmarking appeared to be a good measure against it, since a red disclaimer, reminding you about your bookmarked questions appears on the page with the last question. Mind that switching between questions might be slower as in open assessment. You will get either 0 or 1 point, no doubles. Thus, make sure you tick all appropriate options in multiple choice questions. In the majority of cases the number of correct answers is indicated. Learn to deal with this format to avoid unpleasant surprises. For example, once I started the full length tests I noticed how my concentration went down in the middle of it, so I was aware of this fact during the real test.

Why is it important – the knowledge of the given frame helps you to manage uncertainty and stay calm.

2.     Speed up

So, PSM I assessment requires you to answer 80 questions in 60 minutes. This means you have to reach a certain level of automatism while answering “easy” questions. Hence one purpose of your preparation has to be “how to speed up?”. You can do this by doing quizzes and open assessments again and again. Continue till you manage to answer all question of the scrum.org open assessment in 4-5 minutes while constantly reaching 100%. Train to react automatically on specific key words, e.g. differentiating between Sprint and Product Backlog. Speaking of “react automatically” I don't mean blindly clicking on some answers, but rather put your mind in a specific mode, focusing on this particular aspect, knowing exactly what part of Scrum the question is about. So the key to speeding up is repeating sample tests again and again.

Why is it important – some part of open assessment questions will repeat in the real assessment, so you will speed up on them saving time for more sophisticated/unknown questions.

3.     Maximize coverage

Do not expect the Scrum Guide to contain all the necessary answers to complete the assessment. This means you have to look somewhere else. But where? Here come all the quizzes that you can have grab on into play. Like with math exercises, it is easy to solve an equation with known pattern and just new numbers. However, it is crucial to learn new patterns to maximize your chances to succeed. The only way to learn it – have as many varying exercises as possible. Coming back to our use case it means doing as many different quizzes and tests as possible. Bearing in mind that their quality might vary, I would not recommend memorizing the answers until you verify them. The only quizzes that I avoided were those which did not even included the actual right answer. Again: all tests might potentially be wrong. You are looking for patterns and inputs, not answers. Try to relate new patterns to the Scrum guide and your overall picture of Scrum. If it does not fit, change your picture or ignore the question.

Why is it important – the more question types you've seen the less surprises you'll get during the assessment.

4.     Understand

Thank you, cap! Well yes, this advice is rather obvious. However, my point here is more about working with the Scrum guide. Indeed, you have to work with it, not just read it. Do take notes, underline important parts and visualize relationships. I would recommend making a mind map (not googling it, but doing it yourself as you learn most when crafting it) to make sure for instance, what is an artifact and what is not or how rules relate to roles and events. Pay attention to repeating words, as they might stress important concepts. Since Scrum is not a narrowly defined methodology, pay close attention to the underlying ideas and values, make sure you relate them to the content (e.g. pillars and events). And once you've got the spirit of Scrum, try to apply it while answering new questions. One advice that many participants find helpful – to answer questions as if you were authors of the Scrum guide.

Why is it important – it will help you to master questions that you haven't been prepared for.

 Take aways:

• Maximize the number of questions you've already seen (and know the answer)
• Speed up on questions you've already seen and know the answer (make sure you know the answer)
• Pay attention to formal staff (how many answers have to be chosen? What questions am I at? Is it already the last one? Are there negations in the question?)
• Manage your time and be aware of possible delays when switching between questions.

And here comes my personal list of websites and tests. I haven't paid for any trainings or sample exam sets.

• Scrum Glossary | Scrum.org - make sure you understand the language of the assessment
• PSM I – Learning Mode – Mikhail Lapshin
• Professional Scrum Master - PSM I preparation practice exam
• Scrum burndown chart | WebGate International
• ScrumCrazy - Scrum.org PSM I Study Tips
• How to prepare for the Professional Scrum assessments - Scrumorakel - Blog
• Scrum Training Series: Free Scrum Master Training from Seattle
• Scrum Forum | Scrum.org - look for quesitions people ask and ask your questions
• How to pass Professional Scrum Master (PSM I) Certification? – Manas Bhardwaj's Stream
• HOW TO SELF STUDY AND CLEAR PSM-I IN YOUR FIRST ATTEMPT ? ~ Prashant's Testing blog
• Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) Practice Assessment - TheScrumMaster.co.uk
• Ways To Learn About Scrum | Scrum.org