Failed first attempt of PSK1 with 84,7%. (85,5 points scored out of 101 maximum. Need some information before buying/trying second attempt.

I passed the PSK I exam last night. I studying the Kanban guide (read it around 15 times), read Daniel's book and practiced using the Open assessment on the scrum site as well as the mplaza questions that are tailored to this exam. I think the mplaza option is one you should consider if you didn't use it.

Experience wise, I've been using Lean/Kanban since 2006 for some of the teams I've worked with. There are differences between Lean//Kanban as described by David Anderson and Scrum with Kanban however there are also many simularities so I believe that helped as well.

In the case of all three scrum.org exams I've now passed (PSM1, PSM2, PSK1) I've found that the Open Assessment exams aren't really a good indicator of readiness to write the exam. The questions are too easy and not as potentially confusing /tricky as the ones on the actual exam. In my humble opinion these exams should be updated to give a more realistic and helpful appreciation of the preparation needed for the actual exams.

Hi René, have a look at Daniel’s 2nd book, https://leanpub.com/whenwillitbedone. I remember it as an improved version and easier to understand compared to “ Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability “.

Hello @james Noble and @Lars Devocht,



Thank you for your answers.



I've used the MPlaza option, but I even feel that those questions are not difficult enough compared to the real exam, they are head and shoulders above the difficulty level of the open assessment, so still a beter training tool.



I had bought Daniel's second book in bundle with his first book, but hadn't read it. So I'll read it this time.



What about the Nexus guide and EBM guide?



With kind regards,

René

No, I wouldn't say you need to understand Nexus or EBM. Although I took the exam more than a year and a half ago, so there's a chance that my advice isn't fully up to date.

More important is to understand the Scrum Guide and be aware that whatever you add onto Scrum, be it Kanban or something else, nothing in the Scrum Guide is invalidated.

For instance, the rules of the events are not relaxed, the roles don't change, nor do the artifacts or who is responsible or accountable for them.

For what it's worth I failed my first attempt at PSM2 by a similar amount. Very annoying however after some more study and focus I think I learned more great stuff to make me better at what I do.

I noticied that your lowest area is around the metrics. Have you considered studying a sprint or two, identifying those metrics (even if not being used by team) and then trying to interpret what the metrics are telling you? It could be that doing a practical exercise of this type will go someway to polishing your preparation.

~Jamie N

Rene

Sorry to hear that. I know you were so close to passing and its frustrating but don't feel discouraged. What I did benefit from most at the time I took the exam were the blog posts. Below is an example of one of them: 

https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/limiting-work-progress-wip-scrum-kanban-what-when-who-how

Many of the blog posts contain very valuable information that will boost your knowledge especially about the metrics. 

On another note, I noticed you scored fairly low for the Understanding of Scrum so maybe you need to go through the scrum guide again and read an additional resource like Scrum Pocket Guide by Gunther Verheyen.

Hope this helps.

RK

Hello Everyone,



My apologies for the late reply, there were some private problems I had to deal with the last couple of weeks.



Thank you all for the information/advice, this weekend I'll start with my new game plan and once I'm satisfied I'm going for a second attempt.



With kind regards,

René Gysenbergs

An update:



Until last month I was in a mental dip, I hadn't started studying for a second attempt or even for any other certificate...

and then I won on LinkedIn a seat in the PSK I online training course by Edinburgh Agile Training & Consultancy that starts this Monday, completely out of the blue.



This gave me a mental boost, so first I did an EF Language test (baby steps) to see if my English level was higher than the C1 determined four years ago and it was (C2), than I followed this with the ITIL 4  Foundation (AgileITSM) course and exam, which went very well, so now I'm eager again for the PSK I course and my second attempt.



With kind regards,

René

All the Best Rene, and I hope you will do good in your next attempt.