psm ii

Preparation Guide for PSM II Certification

Professional Scrum Master is one who is expert in working with Scrum framework. He is mainly responsible for the whole Scrum team.  The duties of a Scrum Master are to perform as a supporter as well as a leader. He helps his team members to work with the best of their skills and motivates them to finish tasks meeting deadlines.

Earlier, we’ve covered PSM I Preparation Guide. In this article, we are presenting the preparation guide for PSM II exam, so let’s start with the exam information and details.

PSM II Certification Exam

PSM II certification exam of today is simply the old Professional Scrum Practitioner Exam. This is an advanced level of Scrum mastery. Purpose of this exam is to find whether the candidate is able to apply Scrum to resolve advanced and complex problems of the real world. This exam has same subject matter and exam objectives as that of the PSM I. Difference between the two are that PSM I focus more on textbook type questions and PSM II focuses more on real-life situational questions. PSM 2 certification exam involves the questions related to practical applications of the scrum. Please note that these questions are austere to answer unless you have actually performed on the scrum.

Therefore, if you have passed PSM I and wants to validate your ability to apply Scrum framework to solve advanced, complex problems from real-life scenario then Professional Scrum Master Level I (PSM I) certification is right for you. Once you pass the PSM II, you will get the industry-recognized PSM II certification and your name will be listed on scrum.org. Clearing PSM 2 certification exam makes you eligible for the PSM III exam.

Why Take PSM II Certification Exam?

There is a huge demand for certified Scrum professionals. So, it becomes important to take PSM II certification exam if you want to boost your career as a Scrum master. It’s not only that this certification brings more opportunities and better salary but extends your knowledge of Scrum. Here are a few important reasons why you should take PSM II certification exam.

  • To stretch and improve the understanding of Scrum
  • To earn Professional Scrum Master Status
  • To show your knowledge of Scrum
  • To get recognized throughout the industry
  • To get better job opportunities
  • To increase your salary status

PSM II Certification Exam Information

Number of Questions: 30

Exam Duration: 1.5 Hours (90 Minutes)

Exam Fee: US$250

Prerequisite: None

Exam Pattern: Multiple Choice Questions, Multiple Answer Questions, and True-False type Questions

Passing Score: 85% (Candidate with score equal to or above 85% is considered Pass, below 85% is Fail)

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Language: English Only

Renewal: Not Required

Eligibility: The candidate must satisfy the criteria mentioned below to take PSM II certification exam:

  • Required Course: None
  • Recommend Course: Professional Scrum Master
  • Recommended Certification: PSM I

PSM II Certification Exam Focus Areas

  • Coaching and Facilitation
  • Scaling Fundamentals
  • Cross-functional, Self-organizing Teams
  • Product Backlog Management
  • Maximizing Value
  • Scrum Framework – Rules and roles of Scrum
  • Scrum Theory and Principles(PSM II)
  • Scrum values and Agile Principles

PSM II Preparation Guide

If you are preparing for PSM II, then you should have advanced Scrum knowledge. PSM II is very tough and consists of multiple choice questions based on Scrum. This exam also checks how you would handle complex real-world problems.

6 Steps to Pass PSM II on First Attempt

So, if you have decided to become a Professional Scrum Master but don’t know how to prepare for the certification exam, these tips are for you. The followings are the recommended steps you should follow while preparing for the PSM II certification exam.

Scrum.org: Scrum.org did a really good job by creating this exam. So, let’s start your preparation with scrum.org itself. Read the study guide from scrum.org

Participate in the in-depth Scrum Master Courses: You should take participation in the exhaustive PSM courses as these courses withstand many real-life problems and help you to pass PSM II exam.

Review PSM I Exam: Before taking the exam, you should take a second look at PSM I. You should be very confident with PSM I while preparing for PSM II exam. The Level I certification exam is based on official scrum guide and helps to pass PSM II certification exam.

If you haven’t yet passed PSM I certification exam, prepare and pass it now with PSM I practice tests.

Read the Excellent Books and Articles on Scrum: It is recommended to get into reading books and articles on the scrum to enhance your knowledge of the Scrum. Some recommended books for the PSM II preparation are –

  • Software in 30 in Days by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland
  • “Scrum: A Pocket Guide” by Gunther Verheyen

Attend Scrum and Agile Meetups: Attend scrum and Agile meetups, it will keep you informed about the latest news, updates, and trends. So, whenever possible go and join Agile and Scrum meetups.

Experience as a Scrum Master: It is recommended that you should have considerable working experience as a Scrum Master. Although it is not compulsory, it will help you pass the exam as a significant number of questions depend on the real-world situations.

Practical Tips to Follow During Preparation

Along with the above-mentioned preparation guide, there are some suggestions you should follow while taking the PSM II exam

  • Read all the questions and answers carefully before selecting an answer.
  • Don’t spend more than a couple of minutes on a single question as it will waste your time.
  • Join PSM 2 online training courses and complete your preparation through PSM 2 practice test.
  • Bookmark that question that takes much time to get solved, and after completing the assessment, you can come back to it. But remember to go back to bookmarked questions.
  • If you are not sure about a question during preparation then go to a local scrum user group, ask the mortals to discuss that question with you. This will give you some intuition whether you are on the right track or not.

PSM II certification from scrum.org has intense, competitive and well-earned stature which is considered the substantial Scrum certificate. Although it’s not easy to crack Professional Scrum Master Certification, just remember this –

Whizlabs Quotes

So, the final words are, if you want to match with the technological world of the Agile and Scrum, the PSM certification is an important and highly recommended skill to add. This will allow you to stand out of the crowd, and become a successful Scrum professional.

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Have you any query/doubt? Just write below in comment section or please write here, our expert team will be happy to answer!

About Pavan Gumaste

Pavan Rao is a programmer / Developer by Profession and Cloud Computing Professional by choice with in-depth knowledge in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform. He helps the organisation figure out what to build, ensure successful delivery, and incorporate user learning to improve the strategy and product further.

8 thoughts on “Preparation Guide for PSM II Certification”

  1. Thanks for your tips. It’s difficult to find a PSM 2 online training course. Did you have any suggestion?

    1. Vasili Shymanski

      Hi, Marcelo!
      You won’t be able to find a course that is dedicated for the passing the PSM 2 certification as it is designed by the questions in the manner of case studies and you need to decide what is better to do. There were even answers and I liked no one from them, however just took the best possible. The best way to prepare is to have a scrum master experience (around 1 year) and go through books recommended by Scrum.org for passing this exam.
      The PSM II training also does not give you guarantee that you will pass the exam as it does not give you the right answers, however, it helps to discover the areas you need to work on!
      Regards,
      Vasili

  2. Hello Neeru,

    First I would like to appreciate the details on this website, they are comprehensive and relevant. I have recently cleared my PSM I certification exam and was able to complete on my first attempt. However, I am seeking more materials, courses, sessions, question dumbs to clear PSM II. I am definitely following which share here but would like to have maximum contents.

    Regards,
    Parth

  3. I recently cleared PSM2 and this article was one of the helpful sources for me. Thank you Neeru Jain. I also found the scrum.org blogs and the book Scrum narrative and psm exam guide providing strong foundation on basics.

    1. HI Veer,

      Congratulations !!

      I am preparing for the PSM – II certification. Could you shred some light on how to prepare and also the exam topics coverage ?

      Thanks in Advance.

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