Professional Scrum Master – Advanced (PSM-A) Certification Training

About Course

This 2-day course is all about taking your Scrum mastery to the next level. We’ll dive deep into the core ideas behind Scrum, like the values that guide your decisions and how to create the perfect environment for an agile team to flourish.

The thing about Scrum Masters is, you’ve got to wear a lot of hats. Sometimes you’ll be the teacher, explaining the Scrum framework to the team. Other times, you’ll be the coach, guiding them through challenges. You might even find yourself as a facilitator, helping the team work together smoothly. You’ll also act as a mentor, providing support and advice to team members as they grow in their roles. Another critical role is that of an impediment remover, identifying and eliminating obstacles that hinder the team’s progress. But the coolest hat? The change agent. You’ll be the one showing everyone in the organization how Scrum and Agile can make things awesome.

That’s why this course is packed with everything you need to be a credible change agent. Our trainers will share their war stories, give you practical exercises, and even teach you facilitation techniques like “Liberating Structures”. Plus, there’ll be plenty of time to chat with your classmates and the trainer about any roadblocks you’re facing, so you can all learn from each other.

By the end of these 2 days, you’ll be a Scrum Master who’s ready to lead your team to agile victory!

What Will You Learn?

What practices, tools, skills and stances make an effective Scrum Master
How the Scrum principles and values help guide Scrum Masters in the decisions they make
How the Scrum Master acts as a servant-leader and improve their ability in this role
What the Scrum Master can do to support Developers and Product Owners to become more effective
Ways that the Scrum Master can help to change the environment making it more conducive for Scrum Teams to be successful with greater agility
Provide tips and techniques for the Scrum Master to work with the rest of the organization in support of their Scrum Teams
Improve effects on the organization of a successful Scrum Master
Dealing with team conflict
Removing impediments
Communicating the importance of a "Done" Increment
How to support the Scrum Team
Understanding the challenges of middle management

Material Includes

All participants completing the Professional Scrum Master - Advanced course will receive a password to attempt the Professional Scrum Master II (PSM II) assessment.

Course Curriculum

Scrum Recap
We dive into empiricism in Scrum and its role in tackling complex problems. It also revisits the Scrum Values and their importance in fostering an effective Scrum environment.

Scrum Master as a Teacher
The Scrum Master acts as a teacher to educate team members on Scrum principles, practices, and events. This might involve explaining the Scrum framework, or providing guidance on specific topics.

Scrum Master as a Mentor
The Scrum Master also mentors individual team members, providing guidance and support on their professional development. This could involve helping them to set goals, develop new skills, or overcome personal challenges.

Scrum Master as a Facilitator
The Scrum Master facilitates Scrum events as needed or requested but the role of a Scrum master goes well beyond the events. The Scrum master sets the stage and provides clear boundaries in which the team can collaborate for arriving at decisions or navigating conflicts. This involves ensuring that meetings are productive and focused, and that all team members have a chance to participate.

Scrum Master as a Coach
The Scrum Master performs the role of the coach to help the client understand themselves better so that they can make the most of their potential. Scrum master coaches not just the individual team members but also the teams and the organization to maximize their capabilities.

Scrum Master as an Impediment Remover
Anything that blocks the team to deliver value or gets in their way of self managing is an impediment and needs to be removed. The Scrum master removes such impediments without getting in the way of self management.

Scrum Master as a Change Agent
The Scrum Masters are change agents who help the organization adopt Scrum and improve its overall agility. This could involve educating stakeholders on the benefits of Scrum, helping to remove cultural barriers to change, and supporting the implementation of Scrum across the organization.

Service to the Scrum team
This topic explores what makes a Scrum team successful. It covers characteristics like focusing on completing work (Done increment), celebrating achievements, and learning from mistakes. We also dive into how a Definition of Done (DoD) impacts a project's transparency and releasability. Finally, it explores the importance of goal setting for Scrum team success.

Service to Product Owner
The Scrum Master acts as a valuable partner to the Product Owner. They achieve this by helping the Product Owner find effective techniques for defining product goals and managing the product backlog. This includes ensuring the Scrum Team understands the importance of clear and concise backlog items. In complex environments, the Scrum Master can also assist in establishing empirical product planning, which relies on learning from past experiences to guide future decisions. Additionally, the Scrum Master can facilitate collaboration with stakeholders whenever the Product Owner requires it.

Service to the Organization
This topic dives into how Scrum impacts organizations, particularly middle management. Grasp Scrum's impact on work and navigate middle management concerns for a smooth Scrum transition. Additionally, we'll examine Evidence-Based Management (EBM) that measures the right things to promote agility and value delivery, moving away from traditional metrics that prioritize outputs and individual efficiency.