CSM and PSM are the two recognized Scrum Master certifications. What's the difference? We offer you an honest comparison - written by a Scrum Alliance and a scrum.org trainer.
-> Follow this link to read the english version of the article.
Scrum Alliance
The Scrum Alliance was the first organization to offer a certification program around Scrum and its Certified Scrum Master (CSM) is the best known certification.
Scrum.org
One of the founders of the Scrum Alliance, Ken Schwaber, left and founded a new organization called Scrum.orgwhich has introduced a competing certification called Professional Scrum Master (PSM).
Which certification is better?
There is no "better" certification. What you prefer depends on what you expect from the certification and what your personal goals are. I am a Scrum Alliance trainer, but I also know good colleagues from scrum.org. Many thanks at this point to Dominik Maximini (Scrum.org trainer), with whom I wrote this comparison.
The main difference between CSM and PSM certification
The major difference between Scrum Alliance (Certified Scrum Master - CSM) and Scrum.org (Professional Scrum Master - PSM) is the basis of the certification. At Scrum Alliance, the certification is based on an interaction with a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST) or a Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC). At Scrum.org, certification is based on a test.
While the Scrum Alliance's unique position is the unity of interaction and certification, Scrum.org's position is exactly the opposite, namely the separation of training and certification. Because of these different philosophies, the two organizations have also separated ...
A Certified Scrum Master of the Scrum Alliance must therefore always have attended an official training course. A Professional Scrum Master from Scrum.org has passed the test - they do not need to have had any training.
The main difference between licensed and unlicensed Scrum training
The requirements for licensed trainers are extremely high. At the Scrum Alliance, this is a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST). At Scrum.org, this is a Professional Scrum Trainer (PST). To become a trainer requires several years of experience, co-training and an examination in front of a committee. To remain a licensed trainer requires continuous training. Typically, licensed trainings are interactive workshops with a "Training from the back of the room“.
Training courses without licensed trainers (i.e. without a CST from the Scrum Alliance or a PST from Scrum.org) are not subject to any quality checks. Often the trainers also do not have several years of practical experience. As a result, the content is often incorrect (e.g.: "In the sprint review, the product owner accepts the increment") and the training is didactically questionable (slide cinema). If this were not the case, the trainer would probably have been certified.
The main difference between CSM training and PSM training
In an official training course with a licensed trainer, the content taught by the Scrum Alliance and Scrum.org is largely the same. The demands on the licensed trainers are also similar.
However, CSM training must always be conducted by a licensed trainer from the Scrum Alliance. A "CSM training" is therefore a certain seal of approval for the quality of the training.
The risk with apparent "PSM" training is that it is not necessarily official training. As the exam can be taken without training, there are many unlicensed trainers who simply offer the PSM exam as well. It is often not clear to laypeople whether it is a "PSM training course" or a "training course with PSM test". So you have to take a close look here.
Point by point comparison
Here is a point by point comparison of the training and certifications of the two Scrum organizations.
| Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) | Professional Scrum Master (PSM) or Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO) | |
|---|---|---|
| Certification | Through interaction and testing.
The philosophy of Scrum Alliance is that the Certification as CSM is based on an interaction (typically a training), the experience of Scrum and a test. |
Through a test.
The philosophy of scrum.org is that the Certification as PSM from participating in a Training is independent. |
| Training | As a Certified Scrum Master, the person has always attended licensed training by a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST). | The training is optional and does not lead to certification on its own.
As a Professional Scrum Master, the person does not need to have attended any training. |
| Criticism | There are Certified Scrum Masters who have simply done the training and passed the exam la-la. | There are Professional Scrum Masters who have never experienced Scrum. Either because they only took the exam, or because they attended an unlicensed slide training course and then took the exam. |
| Basis | Official Scrum Guide - this is published jointly by both organizations (Scrum Alliance and Scrum.org). | Official Scrum Guide - this is published jointly by both organizations (Scrum Alliance and Scrum.org). |
| Costs of training and certification | Between EUR 1,200 - EUR 1,600 for official training (incl. test).
Since certification and course are one unit, the CSM course also includes the costs of certification. |
Between EUR 1,200 - EUR 1,600 for official training (incl. test).
The test alone costs 150$. Official training includes the cost of the test. Low prices indicate that it is not a certified PST trainer and not an official PSM training, but any training followed by a PSM I exam. |
| Materials of an official training | The "what" of the training is standardized, but not the "how".
There are detailed standards for what must be covered in a training course (the "Learning Objectives"). These standards leave open how the knowledge is conveyed. There are training courses that do without any slides and are presented like an interactive Workshop work - and there are some with foils. Each trainer has their own material (slides, exercises, books). However, this must be checked and approved by other trainers. |
The "what" and the "how" are standardized.
There are predefined slides that must be handed out to each participant. There are a number of exercises that must be carried out and only a few additional slides may be included in the documents. Trainers can also convey the content interactively. |
| Quality check of the trainers | The trainers must be Certified Scrum Professional for several years, train together with several already certified trainers and receive a recommendation from them, and appear before a commission. | The trainers must have at least four years of practical Scrum experience, they must have passed the PSM III exam with 95%, attend a train-the-trainer course and appear before a commission.
Here are all the criteria for the Professional Scrum Trainer. |
| Advanced certifications | At the Scrum Alliance, all certifications are inextricably linked to a learning path and always include interaction with a Certified Scrum Trainer or Certified Enterprise Coach. This also applies to the advanced certifications.
The steps are:
|
At Scrum.org, all certifications are independent of the Learning path.
The steps are:
PSM I is a multiple choice exam that tests whether someone has understood the basics. PSM II are case studies with multiple choice questions and test whether someone can apply the basics to practical cases. PSM III are case studies with free text questions and test whether someone has understood why Scrum is the way it is. |
| Re-certification | At the Scrum Alliance, further development is necessary to maintain certification - true to the motto: to be able to do Scrum, you have to do it. Therefore, every 2 years a Re-certification for which further training and experience must be demonstrated.
Re-certification with the CSM or CSPO currently costs $100. Advanced certifications (see next paragraph) always include the re-certification of the "lower" experience levels. So if you become an A-CSM, you are also a CSM. |
There is no re-certification. |
| Market share | approx. 2/3 | approx. 1/3 |
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