Why did you choose the Scrum.Org track rather than the Scrum Alliance track?
The initial decision to go with www.scrum.org or with www.scrumalliance.org wasn’t really a decision at all, I kind of fell into the scrum.org track and pursued my skills development from there.
A few months after Ken Schwaber left Scrum Alliance to launch Scrum.Org, I participated in scrum training with Richard Hundhausen, who created the Professional Scrum Developer course, which led to me being inspired to become a Professional Scrum Trainer with Scrum.Org.
I loved the experience, I loved the curriculum, and I loved being a part of such a powerful team who were creating valuable experiences in scrum training and scrum capability development.
Why have I chosen Scrum.Org.
The reason I have stayed with Scrum.Org rather than pursue alliances with other certification bodies or professional industry bodies, is because of their business ethos.
I don’t personally like working with organizations that don’t respect the subject matter, the people, and the professional elements of working with scrum.
I feel like Scrum.Org do a great job with that, and they have consistently met that standard of professionalism and integrity over the course of my relationship with them. They are quick to respond to challenges, and they consistently look to improve what they offer, how they offer that product or service, and the capabilities of the Professional Scrum Trainers who deliver those products.
Certification Renewals
A big criticism I have of the Scrum Alliance is that they insist that every person who has ever attended a scrum course, and achieved a Scrum Alliance certification, must pay $50 every two years to keep that certification.
If you have 4 certifications through Scrum Alliance, you are paying $200 every two years simply to keep a certification that you have already earned. Already paid for. If you have 4 certifications through Scrum.Org, it doesn’t cost you a penny to keep them.
That focus on money to keep something that you have already earned and paid for doesn’t sit well with me. The idea that you would take away recognition and validation of someone’s achievement simply because they aren’t paying you every two years feels out of alignment with agile values and principles, as well as scrum values.
Locking people into an ecosystem
Another sticky point is progression.
If you have completed a Professional Scrum Master course and achieved the certification from Scrum.Org, you cannot achieve an Advanced Certified Scrum Master certification from Scrum Alliance.
You would need to repeat your original course with Scrum Alliance, in the form of the Certified Scrum Master course before you could progress.
With Scrum.Org, you don’t even need to attend the course to validate your skills and knowledge, you can simply write the examination. If you have a Certified Scrum Master credential from the Scrum Alliance and want to progress to the Advanced Professional Scrum Master level, you can simply sign up for the course, write the exam, and increase your value to potential employers and clients with a more advanced qualification.
Again, something that doesn’t sit well with me. I don’t think we should be locking people into a specific ecosystem if we are focused on growing the capabilities and competence of people who use, deploy, and implement scrum around the world.
Community Development
One of the things I love most about Scrum.Org is that they really develop their community of PSTs (Professional Scrum Trainers). Scrum.Org work hard to improve the curriculum and customer experience and encourage trainers to contribute to the curriculum and shared courseware.
If someone has developed a great exercise, great, that gets shared with the community and integrated into classes all around the world.
If a PST wants to learn from another Professional Scrum Trainer, they can reach out and request a co-training session to grow their experience and capability. They will often receive feedback and tips from the more experienced PST and improve the quality of the experience they can deliver to their training clients.
It is great that Scrum.Org embody the scrum values. It really is about continuous improvement and creating a repository of knowledge and capability that lifts the whole community, improves the whole experience for everyone involved.
These are the primary reasons why I have chosen to partner with Scrum.Org rather than explore opportunities with Scrum Alliance.
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