How to Become a Scrum Master

Table of content:

What is Scrum?

Through the Scrum framework, teams can self-organize and work towards a common objective using management. It outlines a series of gatherings, resources, and job descriptions for effective project delivery. Scrum techniques allow teams to self-manage, learn from experience, and adapt to change, much like a sports team rehearsing for a big game. Scrum is a methodology used by software teams to efficiently and sustainably address complex issues.

What is a Scrum Master?

A scrum master is the scrum team leader and takes charge of handling the project, guiding the team as well as the product owner, and ensuring that team members follow agile values and practices. A scrum master enables communication and collaboration between the business, the product owner, the team, and other individuals involved who work behind the scenes and are not included in product ideation or strategy.

Roles and responsibilities of a Scrum Master

The title of Scrum Master comes with certain roles and responsibilities that one has to fulfil.The scrum masters are required to take care of many things in the workplace, some of the major roles and responsibilities are mentioned here:

Implementing the best practices in the workplace, to improve productivity
Keep all Parties on Track and Informed
Maintaining a record of everything, resources, deadlines, targets achieved, drawbacks and basically all the important things.
Introducing and applying agile practices.
Mentoring the team members
Host time-to-time sessions.
Identifying the barriers and working towards overcoming them
Teaching Scrum Practices and Principles to the rest of the team.

Skills Required to become a successful Scrum Master

The team becomes self-serving and independent under the Scrum Master. It is required of a successful Scrum Master to inspire and develop the team members. Scrum Masters must acquire certain talents for this, which they should work on personally. He will benefit from these abilities as his career develops. The following Scrum Master Skills are necessary for one to succeed as a Scrum Master and smoothly transition into the Scrum Master role:

Simple, clear and effective communication
Adaptability and open to change
Optimum Leadership
Observation and good listening skills
Team player
Quick decision maker

How to become a Scrum Master?

Scrum master certification was officially started in the year 2002 when three software developers Ken Schwaber, Mike Cohn, and Esther Derby formed Scrum Alliance. Since then, every company has begun to recognize and accept the certification as a valid qualification for a scrum master. Until 2009, Scrum Alliance was the only provider of certification courses. Today, there are several globally recognized scrum master programs available such as Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Agile Scrum Master (ASM), Scrum Master Certified (SCM), and Professional Scrum Master (PSM I). However, one of the most popular certifications is CSM certification. There are no prerequisites for CSM course. Therefore anyone can apply for the course. To become a Scrum Master you need to follow these certain steps:

1. Conduct a detailed analysis: Research from all the resources available, go through the basics of scrum, its implementation, and all the perks and benefits and then finalize a SCRUM MASTER programme that suits you the most and make sure you full the eligibility criteria of the chosen programme. This will help you brush up on your skills and give you a basic idea of what you exactly will do.

2. Take Formal Education: Undergo 2 days (16 hours) of professional training by an authorised SCRUM training partner, this training will give you SEU’s that you need for your certification. Training with an authorised training partner has several benefits, this will build your network by getting you in touch with industry experts, prepare you for exams, and may provide you with a membership of the Scrum Alliance, which depends on where you choose to get trained.

3. Register For the Exam: To acquire a Scrum Master accreditation you must register for the exam, the registration process is simple and the exam fee is usually covered by the training partner but not always necessary, depending on what exam you are applying for and the training partner you choose.

4. Go for the Exam: After the completion of the training course, apply for the exam when you are confident enough that you can clear it. Prepare well for the exam and try to score between 60-85% so that you are on the safer side.

5. Accept License Agreement: After clearing the exam you have to accept the license agreement and you will receive your SCRUM MASTER certificate by email and officially become a SCRUM MASTER.

6. Renew your certification: After becoming a SCRUM master, you need to renew your certification every two years, the validity expires. You can renew your certification simply by going to the scrum alliance official website and paying a renewal fee of 100$.

How will the scrum master certification help you?

A Scrum master certification opens various doors of opportunities. It expands your professional network, increases job potential, boosts leadership abilities and makes a huge impact on organizational change. There are many key areas where a Scrum Master Certification will help you, some of them are:

A scrum master certification will help you remain relevant in the ever-changing IT industry. Certification will give you access to network with other certified professionals, which makes it easier to exchange ideas, agile best practices, and understand the challenges in the industry. Collaboration is the new way to success.
The certification will help you understand the challenges of your company better and resolve them more efficiently. Adopting a new methodology is difficult for every company. Scrum Master Certification will help you to guide your company through this change seamlessly.
Having a scrum master certification also plays a huge role in winning a qualified client. Clients prefer to work with companies that practice agile methodology and have Scrum Master Certification. Your certification will be a huge boost in gaining the trust of the client.

Why Should I Choose Scrum as a Career

Scrum is becoming a very popular career choice for candidates day by day. There are many factors which one keeps in mind before choosing scrum as a career, some of them are:

1. In Demand

Scrum Masters have a huge demand in the industry, according to a survey there will be 25% job growth in the industry and this will result in creating a demand for around 22 million scrum masters. Around 71% of the companies in the United States are using it, and 60 per cent of the companies in the other 76 countries use Scrum and the numbers are increasing.

2. Pay Scale

The Scrum Masters positions are very highly paid, but it totally depends on the years of experience, the expertise the quality of work and everything one has to offer.

3. Increase in ROI (Return On Investment)

One of the primary factors contributing to a scrum project's improved return on investment, to the client as well as to the Scrum Master. Utilizing scrum improves ROI (return on investment) in addition to time-to-market advantages for the following reasons:

Regular feedback from stakeholders, including consumers, through sprint reviews allows for project adjustment early in the process, which is less expensive and time-consuming than doing it later.
Lowers the expense of failure. Scrum projects fail more frequently and earlier than waterfall projects if they are going to fail, which saves time and resources.

Salary of a Scrum Master

The scrum masters have a very handsome pay scale, their earnings might be dependent on various factors like your experience, location client and many more, but we have summed up all of it and the average data is made available.

Based on a recent survey the average annual salary of a scrum master is around $ 110,500 per year.
This career discipline opens doors to work with major top companies around the globe and has applications in almost every tech giant.
The hike in the salary of an individual is around 25-30 per cent after undergoing a SCRUM MASTER Certification.

Conclusion

Scrum framework is very widely used in the industry, not only in the IT and software world but in a wide range of industries like construction, robotics, manufacturing, designing and in many more. So, now you know what is a scrum, what is a scrum master and also got understood how to become a scrum master. If you wish to get into management and leadership feels like your cup of tea, then scrum master is an ideal choice for you

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to become a scrum master?

It usually takes around 2 days to complete the training and after that, you need to go through and pass the exam to become a successful scrum master on the second day.

What qualifications do you need to be a Scrum Master?

There is no such qualification that is needed to become a scrum master you just need to undergo training and get the certification. However, candidates with a bachelor's degree are preferred.

Can anyone become a scrum master?

Anyone who has formal 14 to 16 hours of formal training and clears the exam can become a certification.

How do I start a scrum master career?

Gain experience by working in scrum framework in other roles, develop relevant skills, build a network, go for training, get certified and you are good to go.

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