Certified Scrum Master comes as the first choice for Professionals seeking a career in Scrum and agile. To get a CSM certificate, you have to attend a two days in person classroom training with a Certified Scrum Trainer.
Based on my experience of talking to thousands of Certified Scrum professionals, there are two kinds of people who get CSM certified after two days of classroom training.
One, who make maximum by participating in the class activities; they not only get CSM certified but also develop a practical understanding of Scrum which helps them implement, adapt and appreciate Scrum as a philosophy.
Second are those who are clueless for two days, unable to participate thanks to their inner barriers, they get certified but end up being critical of Scrum as a philosophy.
As discussed in our guide to selecting a CSM provider, all Scrum trainers are well qualified and come after a rigorous selection process which ensures they have a great quality of communication, a deeper understanding of Scrum philosophy and an interactive approach to delivery.
In this blog, I wanted to list out the approach taken by people who make most out of a CSM Class. Your preparation for a CSM class should start two weeks before the actual class, goes through scrum guide once; understand Scrum fundamentals via self-study. We have created an online scrum master program for our participants.
1. You can go to youtube and check for good content on Scrum. You may encounter two problems, one; there is not so much organized content for beginners, two; the popularity of video does not directly translate to the correctness of concept explained. Going through a structured online program makes it easy to understand Scrum fundamentals, you may explore our online scrum master program; we offer this complimentary to our CSM participants; you may buy it if you have already joined a class.
2. If you want to understand the definition of the scrum and various scrum roles like Scrum master, product owner, team member and other stakeholders, the underline principles which guide them, then scrum guide is your best source of information. Read it once before joining the class to increase your scrum awareness.
| 3. Have a list of questions ready. Discuss your questions with your peer participants and the trainer, having clarity on learning objectives help you focus. |  |
4. Participate in group activities, hunt for volunteer opportunities. It’s a practical class; your learning is directly proportional to your participation. Don’t worry about mistakes, treat the class as a practice ground before the big match
5. Network with your peer participants, not with the objective of sharing your CV the next day, but to understand how they use and view scrum. Use all your tea, coffee, and lunch breaks as an extension of the class and gain insight on context and implementation of The Scrum in the real world.
6. Every trainer has a way of tackling participant queries, make sure you align to that. Get your queries answered but take others along. It’s a participative learning; you get most by explaining it to the person sitting next to you.
7. Connect with people on social channels and stay in touch beyond the class. We at iZenbridge create a common forum like WhatsApp or a Slack group to facilitate learning beyond class. Enquire about any such initiative and be part of it, in case the trainer does not do it, you can lead this activity.
| 8. Most often CSM classes happen in good hotels with delicious food menus :). Ensure you don’t end up overeating and sleeping the class. Post lunch sessions on both the days are very important for you. In case the food is really good, you can plan to enquire about the buffet and come back later with your team or spouse. |  |
These tips are based on my understanding during my own CSM class and interaction with other participants, in case you have some tips to share, do comment below. If you are planning to attend a CSM class, let us talk further, we will be happy to help.
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