Becoming a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) is an excellent way to expand your project management expertise. However, I think there’s a misconception that scrum masters and project managers perform the same duties. While some of the overall goals of a project manager and scrum master are similar, the essential duties are very different. Project managers own the success or failure of a project. They also manage and track budgets, timelines, stakeholders and more.

Project managers use the waterfall approach to manage projects that are more predictable.  Although waterfall is widely used in the project management profession, agile remains the go-to methodology for many industries. With that in mind, understanding more than one project management methodology is the way to go as it sets you apart from the competition and widens your overall knowledge base.

Be sure to tune in to our monthly certification workshops every 2nd Friday of the month where we discuss all things certifications! This week, Stella Ihenacho will be giving us all the scoop on scrum! 

Below, I’ll walk you through what scrum is, the responsibilities of a scrum master, and how to get certified.

What is Scrum?

Agile is a methodology that uses an iterative approach to project management. It’s more about team collaboration and continuous improvement. Scrum is an agile framework that is commonly used in software development and product development. The scrum framework works best for projects that are unpredictable and where change is inevitable. Kanban and Extreme Programming are also agile frameworks that work best in constantly changing environments. 

Responsibilities of a Scrum Master

The responsibility of a scrum master is to ensure the scrum team is following the agile and scrum framework. A scrum team consists of the scrum master, the product manager, and the development team. In product and software development, a product manager manages the backlog, which is a list of user stories that help the development team understand what to build based on the user’s needs.

It’s the scrum master’s responsibility to conduct daily standups to discuss the progress of the development and to identify any impediments the team is facing. The scrum master is the bridge between the product owner and the development team.  

Getting certified

Obtaining a scrum master certification is a big win and a great opportunity to transition into a more technical role. Because scrum is used mainly used on tech-related projects, earning a CSM certification shows employers that you have knowledge of how technology projects are managed. It’s also a great opportunity to earn PDUs.

The exam consists of 50 questions and is administered through the Scrum Alliance. You’ll need to attend an in-person 2-day (16 hours) boot camp style course led by a certified scrum trainer and answer 37 of the 50 questions correctly.

By, Airess Rembert, PMP, Member of Women Of Project Management & Blogger at The Nerd Bae

Join.

Join the full discussion inside the Women Of Project Management Membership. Listen to part of our conversation on the Women Of Project Management Podcast.

If you're new to our community, Women Of Project Management is the only community created to support & amplify the voices of women & women of color in every specialty of the project management industry worldwide. We support women in every stage of their career, learn more at Women Of Project Management.