Top Scrum certifications: Which path to choose

The top 7 Scrum certification paths

Several accrediting bodies and certification paths for Agile practitioners exist. The following is a list of the most popular and most valuable certifications and certification paths for those who are interested in proving their Scrum mettle:

1. Scrum master path.
2. Product owner path.
3. Scrum developer path.
4. Agile at scale path.
5. Scrum with user experience path.
6. Agile coaching, training and leadership path.
7. Boutique certifications.

1. The Scrum master path

The top of any Scrum certification list has to be the Scrum master certification. There are three highly reputed organizations that offer Scrum master certifications that range from introductory to advanced levels:

• Professional Scrum Master (PSM) level I, II and III certifications from Scrum.org.
• Foundational, Advanced and Professional Scrum Master certifications from the Scrum Alliance.
• SAFe Scrum Master and SAFe Advanced Scrum Master certifications from Scaled Agile.

Within the Scrum community, the PSM III tends to hold the highest standing, as it is exceptionally difficult to achieve. Specifically, in the realm of those who work with the Scaled Agile framework, the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master designation is widely coveted.

2. The product owner path

While the Scrum master role sounds commanding and influential, the true success of a Scrum team is often tied tightly to how committed the product owner is to a project.

The product owner works with clients, interacts with stakeholders and often deals with less technical aspects of a project. It's a role many Scrum masters and developers seek to transition to in order to move away from the day-to-day development tasks that often consume them.

In a similar vein to the Scrum master certification, both the Scrum Alliance and Scrum.org offer three tiers of product owner certification. Scaled Agile puts their own twist on the product owner certification by offering only one offering that is a combined product owner and product manager certification.

3. Scrum developer path

A Scrum team only ever has one product owner and one Scrum master but it will always have multiple developers. As such, Scrum developer certification is a popular path to pursue as well.

Scrum.org offers only the Professional Scrum Developer certification, but it is widely respected in the community as it is exceptionally difficult to obtain. The exam not only requires in-depth knowledge of the Scrum Guide but test-takers are also challenged on their understanding of SOLID principles, behavior-driven design, continuous delivery and evolving architecture. It's a tough exam to pass.

In contrast, the Scrum Alliance offers three levels of certification in this space, while Scaled Agile offers the Agile Software Engineer certification. Currently, the Agile Software Engineer certification is only available for version five of the SAFe framework, although there is a SAFe Architect Certification for those who are interested in the more up-to-date version six track.

4. Agile at scale

Scaled Agile places the concept of scaling work across teams and managing sub-projects at the heart of its framework. All Scaled Agile certifications presuppose knowledge of Agile release trains and collaborative efforts in events like the Scrum of Scrums. Every SAFe certification is a certification about Agile at scale.

In contrast, the Scrum Guide -- and the certifications that are based largely upon it -- take a small team approach to software development. For certifications that prove an understanding of how to scale Scrum across an organization, there are two options to choose from:

• The Scrum Alliance's Agile Scaling Practitioner exam.
• The Scaled Professional Scrum Certification from Scrum.org.

The Scaled Professional Scrum Certification from Scrum.org is particularly interesting because it focuses on the Nexus framework, which explores ways to expand upon the Scrum framework to support large, distributed projects with work split up across multiple Scrum teams.

5. Scrum with user experience path

The software development lifecycle often clashes with the process of design and user experience management. However, it doesn't have to, and Agile practitioners in the Scrum community insist that it shouldn't. However, to get design and development to work as one, certain strategies are necessary.

Scrum.org offers a special designation called the Professional Scrum with User Experience Certification to attest to the knowledge of individuals who know how to make UI, UX and development work collaboratively and productively on a single Scrum team.

6. Agile coaching, training and leadership path

The Scrum Guide says the Scrum master is a "leader who serves." As such, the following Agile leadership certifications are very popular:

• Scrum.org offers two Professional Agile Leadership certifications.
• The Scrum Alliance offers two Certified Agile Leader designations.
• For the Scrum Alliance, leadership is a big part of their Advanced Scrum Master Certification.

Don't be afraid to paint outside the box a little bit when it comes to seeking out Scrum certifications.

However, Scrum doesn't have a monopoly on leadership skills, and this is an area where candidates might want to look beyond the most popular Scrum vendors to other organizations that offer leadership training. A designation such as a Google or AWS technical trainer is a nice complement to existing designations from Scrum.org or the Agile Alliance. When it comes to coaching and training, don't be afraid to expand your horizons.

7. Boutique certifications

The big three vendors in the Scrum space certainly have a stranglehold on the certification space. However, there are some very highly rated individuals and organizations offering boutique certifications that help develop a very specific set of skills, so don't limit your Scrum horizons to just Scrum.org and Scaled Agile.

For example, upon completion of Michael Lloyd's Dysfunction Mapping course, learners earn a certification. It may not be as widely recognized as the others mentioned in this category, but the course does allow participants to curate a unique set of skills that can become a talking point at a job interview or an annual review.

Don't be afraid to paint outside the box a little bit when it comes to seeking out Scrum certifications. Look at the course reviews, determine if the skills each certification validates coincide with your Scrum-related career goals. If everything lines up, you should go for it.

Darcy DeClute is a technical trainer and Agile coach who helps organizations apply Scrum-based principles to adopt a modern DevOps stack. She is a certified Professional Scrum Master, Professional Scrum Developer and Professional Scrum Product Owner as well as author of Scrum Master Certification Guide.