Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM)

These are the actual certification courses. You do the course work and submit the assignments and attend the live sessions. When you are all done we will submit your certification.

The assignments included in the respective course will validate your learning so there are no additional official tests to pass to be certified.

Yes, you have to have a CSM^® on file to process the A-CSM^®. Once the A-CSM^® is processed we can then move forward with CSP-SM^®. You have enough experience but you also need to update your profile with scrum alliance including your work history AND – on your job entry there is a checkbox at the bottom that says PATH TO CSP – you need to check that box and enter your scrum experience there in order for the certifications to process.

People who work diligently generally finish the individual courses in 4-6 weeks. It’s self-paced so it depends on how diligently you work. I have mentoring sessions weekly on Thursdays and Saturdays and a minimum of 4 are required to complete the course work.

The learning experience goes deeper since there is no time constraint. This gives you time to practice what you learned with your team before trying to grasp another concept. This way helps you retain more of the learning you gain. Also, 12 hours live with a qualified mentor where you can bring the problems and challenges you are having in your real world and get help.Also, it includes up to 12 hours of live mentoring sessions with a qualified mentor where you can bring the problems and challenges you are having in your real world to get help.

Due to technical limitations, all courses listed on the SA website show as two-day course. However, this course is self paced and the live mentoring sessions are scheduled by you as best fits your schedule. So, you can start the coursework immediately and meet with your mentor as soon as you are ready.

During live mentoring sessions, the group builds the backlog of topics to discuss. Please come prepared with any questions, challenges, or situations you would like thought partnership and mentoring for.

Yes, there are mentoring sessions options that work for all timezones worldwide.

The learning objectives for the CSP-SM class fall into 6 broad categories as described below:

1. Lean, Agile, and Scrum

Lean Thinking

1.1. describe the roots of Lean Thinking.
1.2. define a kaizen mindset.
1.3. relate at least five wastes in product development to the seven wastes in Lean manufacturing.
1.4. explain the five core concepts of Lean Thinking and how they can be applied to Scrum.
1.5. relate at least three Agile development practices to Lean practices.

2. Scrum Master Core Competencies

Facilitation

2.1. differentiate at least three alternatives to open discussion.
2.2. identify at least one action the facilitator can perform to support meeting participants
during divergent thinking, integration, convergent thinking, and closure that will
support the development of an inclusive solution.
2.3. apply at least five visual facilitation techniques for a collaborative session.
2.4. identify at least three practices for facilitating remote meetings.

Coaching

2.5. describe at least five elements of a fundamental coaching agreement.
2.6. discuss the importance of at least two fundamental coaching assumptions.
2.7. list at least three fundamental psychological concepts that help understand
and transform individual behavior.

Training

2.8. develop and practice teaching at least one topic on Scrum or Agile.

3. Service To The Development Team

Team Dynamics

3.1. apply at least two different models for team development and appraise their
effectiveness in supporting team growth.
3.2. apply at least five techniques for improving team effectiveness.

Starting New Scrum Teams

3.3. explain at least three reasons why the start of a new Scrum Team should be handled
differently from a traditional project kickoff or charter.
3.4. outline at least three elements to position a new Scrum Team for success.
3.5. describe at least three responsibilities each for leadership, Product Owner,
and Development Team members when starting a new Scrum Team.3.6. plan the launch of a new Scrum Team.

Software Craftsmanship

3.7. define software craftsmanship.
3.8. describe the acceptance criteria for a Product Backlog item using a format suitable
for automated testing.

Coaching the Development Team

3.9. create a coaching agreement with the Development Team.
3.10. demonstrate at least two techniques for raising team accountability.

4. Service To The Product Owner

Coaching the Product Owner

4.1. apply at least two techniques for moving from product vision to Product Backlog.
4.2. appraise at least three criteria that can be used for structuring a complex or
multi-team Product Backlog.

5. Service To The Organization

Organizational Development

5.1. describe the nature of complex systems.
5.2. explain the importance of taking a systemic view.
5.3. describe at least two systematic methods for helping organizations improve
their Scrum adoption.
5.4. describe at least two frameworks for catalyzing organizational change.
5.5. describe your approach to a complex intervention that addresses the root cause(s)
of an organizational dysfunction and analyze the long-term impact.
5.6. demonstrate at least two tangible examples of how you developed and changed
the culture of your team (or organization) from a command-and-control to an Agile mindset.
5.7. identify at least three ways the cultural change from a command-and-control to an Agile
mindset added value to the Development Team, Product Owner, and eventual product.

Scaling Scrum

5.8. describe at least one organizational design that enables multiple-team Scrum.
5.9. contrast at least two patterns for scaling the Product Owner role.
5.10. describe at least five techniques to improve inter-team collaboration and experiment
with at least two of them.
5.11. explain at least three benefits of supporting strong development practices when
working with multiple teams.
5.12. organize and facilitate at least one large-scale, participatory meeting format to scale
Scrum events.
5.13. differentiate the impact of feature teams versus component teams on the delivery of value.

6. Scrum Mastery

6.1. analyze your fulfillment of the five Scrum values.
6.2. illustrate at least two concrete examples of how you actively applied a Scrum value(s)
in your work.

This online class explores team dynamics and ways of how to build successful teams. We take a deep dive into Scrum Master services to the Development Team, Product Owner, and the organization as a whole.

Under the guidance of the Guide Level Scrum Alliance coach the students explore ways to initiate and support organizational change and the ways to scale Scrum beyond a team and across the whole organization.

You can take our course at any time, fulfilling training requirements Scrum Alliance has for the CSP-SM^® applicants.
In order to apply for the CSP-SM^® certification you should hold an active Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM^®) certification with Scrum Alliance. If your A-CSM^® certification expired, you can reach to Scrum Alliance and reinstate it before applying for your CSP-SM^® certification.
You also should have at least 24 months of proven work experience as a Scrum Master or in a role that holds Scrum Master accountabilities. These 24 months of experience should be acquired over the course of the last 5 years of your work history.

• Hold an A-CSM^® certification.
• Successfully complete training requirement of a CSP-SM^® training course.
• Accept the CSP-SM^® license agreement from Scrum Alliance
• Validate at least 24 months of work experience specific to the role of Scrum Master within the past five years. This experience can precede yours taking the training.

You should expect receiving your certification within two weeks after you meet all the requirements and Tandem Coaching submits the proof of the course completion to Scrum Alliance.

This time can be longer depending on the Scrum Alliance review process at the time of submission. Any review comments or follow ups may hold up your certification.

Tandem Coaching Academy does not guarantee any timelines for your certification.