Enhanced Level III assessment Scoring and Feedback
The Professional Scrum Master™ III and Professional Scrum Product Owner™ III assessments have evolved significantly in the years since their introduction.
Consistent with Scrum.org’s efforts to continually inspect and adapt, we released an updated version of the PSM III and PSPO III certification tests on July 18, 2023. The goal behind the updated tests is to provide additional learning feedback and ensure that the assessments continue to validate the most relevant knowledge and skills while maintaining a high level of consistency throughout the grading process.
What did not change?
- The PSM III and PSPO III certification tests still validate an expert level of understanding around the accountabilities of the Scrum Master and the Product Owner, respectively.
- Anyone who has already earned their PSM III or PSPO III certification is not impacted, your certification remains intact.
- Any unused PSM III or PSPO III assessment passwords remain valid and can be used to take the newest version of the test. Note that the learning objectives, Scrum, and the ideas of agility remain the same.
What changed?
- Every question, grading criteria, and test-taker feedback has been reviewed, simplified, and updated. New questions have also been added.
- The results email you receive, regardless of whether you pass or do not pass, will contain additional insight into the learning objectives for the questions you did not answer correctly.
- Each of your responses will be evaluated to determine whether they meet, exceed, or do not meet the expectations required for that question.
- After all responses are scored individually, the entire test is reviewed to determine whether a passing score was earned by meeting or exceeding the minimum number of questions.
- The score will now indicate whether you Passed or Did Not Pass. A percentage score is no longer expressed.
- Both the PSM III and PSPO III certification tests have 24 essay response questions. We have removed multiple choice and multiple answer questions.
- The timebox of 2 hours and 30 minutes is now the same for PSM III and PSPO III.
Earning a PSM III or PSPO III certification is not simply based on the math of having answered a few questions exceptionally while answering poorly on others. The final decision to award a passing or not passing score is decided on whether the assessment-taker demonstrates the expected knowledge and values throughout their responses.
The following is an example of the email you will receive once your test has been graded.
Assessment: Professional Scrum Product Owner III (PSPO III)
Date Completed: January 1, 1903 (GMT)
Result: Passed
Dear Test Taker,
Congratulations! You have passed the PSPO III assessment. You have demonstrated advanced knowledge of Professional Scrum Product Ownership.
Even with a passing score we believe there are opportunities to learn and improve; with that in mind feedback has been provided for you below.
A downloadable PSPO III badge, certificate, and link to manage your badge at Credly will be added to your Scrum.org user profile within the next hour. You will also receive an invitation to highlight and share your achievement at Credly.
Within the next 24 hours we will add your name to our list of PSPO III certificate holders
Scoring Summary
Breakdown of how each answer was scored.
| Not attempted | 0 |
| Did not meet expectations | 1 |
| Met expectations | 21 |
| Exceeded expectations | 2 |
Your responses were scored by a team of Scrum experts. Each response was evaluated to determine whether it met, exceeded, or did not meet our grading criteria. After all questions were scored individually your entire test was reviewed to determine whether a passing score was earned.
Question-Specific Feedback
Below, you will find the learning objective and feedback specific to each question that did not meet expectations.
| Learning Objective | Feedback |
|---|---|
| Understand the role of the Sprint Goal when dealing with complexity. | Research the concept of Sprint Goal in the Scrum Guide, especially its importance within the Sprint. |
| Articulate how risks are managed within Scrum Theory and the various tactics teams can use to make risks transparent. | Research the importance of a Timebox in Scrum and how it helps manage risk. |
| Demonstrate how to describe and measure value. | Research the concept of Product Value. How would you define value? Can value mean different things to the users and to the organizations? Are there different target audiences when it comes to value delivery? |
| Demonstrate an understanding of how transparency impacts Scrum Theory. | Consider what makes Scrum artifacts transparent and how you can use the Scrum Guide and your experience with Scrum to support theory with practical examples. |
| Understand the challenge of managing conflict while keeping aligned with the Scrum Values and Scrum Theory. | How can a Product Owner leverage Scrum Values when facilitating in a conflict situation? |
| Demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between the three accountabilities and the three Artifacts. | What is the Product Owner’s accountability when it comes to producing valuable Increments, as part of the Scrum Team? |
Additional Feedback
Unfortunately, there were cases where you lost points because you did not answer the entire question or did not have enough details in your answer.
There were numerous times in which your answers were vague and did not connect to a specific Scrum concept that was being asked about. Clarity is important for Product Owners to help others understand the reasons behind Scrum.