Advanced Certified Scrum Master Certification against the classic Scrum Master. What exactly the Advanced Certified ScrumMaster is versus the BVOP™ Senior professional role (explained).
In the report, we carefully explain the different courses, as well as the popular modern SM role in software companies.
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Advanced Certified Scrum Master Certification Training Course Free and Online
Advanced Certified Scrum Master Certification is a very popular topic today among many Agile professionals who want to obtain a certificate and further develop their careers in the field.
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Certification for the classic role seems to be inadequate for the current industry offering courses and certification.
Today many training companies offer advanced courses because they see a lot of potential for new clients driven by a desire for professional development. They will pay for a course or a whole certification program.
The Advanced role against the classic SM
However, the difference between the “Advanced” and the classic Scrum Master is unclear, with no details or details.
Professionals are not surprised by the fact that the original guide is still 13 pages long. All new and advanced courses are based on repetitive knowledge that is rewritten and reread over and over again.
Nothing new is offered by the certification industry.
If you need to ask a professional who is certified as an Advanced role and a classic Simple SM (PSM for example) at the same time, you will not receive an adequate answer to the benefits of his document and training as a whole.
The difference is again based on the organization that provided the training.
The term”Advanced” attracts attention
Many professionals in the field claim that this is the most common marketing trick. Attracting potential aspirants for the modern position that would actually pay for the word Advanced and ignore classic traditional courses.
Everyone wants to impress potential employers or simply raise a little ego.
This marketing trick succeeded. Many people are searching online for popular phrases in search engines.
What do the Advanced training courses offer?
More materials on Scaled processes are included in the training and more interactions with teams and departments are mentioned. But that does not mean you’ll find anything more than Large-scale Scrum (LeSS), Scaled agile framework (SAFe), [email protected], The Nexus™ Guide and etc. Everything else is based on classical teachings.
Let’s recall something familiar but forgotten:
Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka introduced the term scrum in the context of product development back in 1986.
Many years passed. For many years, Scrum has become from product management slowly to project management. The real reason for this is that product management does not sound serious to the software industry bosses. Employers want to hear about Project Management. That sounds more serious.
In fact, at the end of the day, this old teaching remains unchanged, and no one has actually contributed new useful practices, principles, and rules.
BVOP™ changes the role
The BVOP™ role is not based only on classical practices. The classic old Scrum is something unique and they are millions of fans out there.
The BVOP™ Scrum Master role is really senior. The organization dared to expand the role and incorporate Product Management, Human Resources (yes, even modern Human Resources knowledge), Project Management, and many business and technology trends. Reference: “Best Scrum Master Certifications for 2021 and 2022”, (EduWiki.me), https://eduwiki.me/best-scrum-master-certifications-for-2021-and-2022/
BVOP™ FREE training course
The BVOP™ Ultimate Guide is a free guide to business, human, product, and project management. This means that you can learn the knowledge and principles freely when you want and as much as you like. The BVOP™ Scrum Master role is intended to be an advanced one. That is why professionals who want to develop as BVOP™ seniors have to learn all the disciplines of the BVOP Ultimate Guide. Read more: “Free preparation for the Scrum Master certification exam (CSM, PSMI, PSMII, BVOP)”, https://brightonbot.com/preparation-scrum-master-certification-exam/
We believe that modern professionals need this knowledge to be able to be adequate in real-world situations. Out there, a lot of skills and knowledge are required to satisfy dynamic businesses, consumers, and products.
BVOP is designed to change the thinking of people, teams, and management and to create new principles in the project, product, and people management. Do not forget that. The most important principle of BVOP is that business and people must be equally valued by all. This is what the modern Scrum Master has to preach everywhere and with all his might. Reference: “Free training to prepare for the Scrum Master Certification exam”, https://www.islandjournal.net/scrum-master-certification-exam/
This article is not intended to impose opinions or to highlight specific certification programs. Real differences and peculiarities in the roles as real knowledge and requirements for working in real projects are described.
Here’s what you need to know about using this Agile framework
When to include the framework in the production processes?
- There is a high probability of many changes in the process of working on a particular project.
- The initial requirements are not defined in detail.
Fast results are required and possible, which can be checked, corrected, and upgraded. - There is a Product Owner fully committed to the process.
- The team is suitable – as the size and available skills for self-management, as well as the attitude to the continuous improvement of the process and quality of work, last but not least, adopted in sync with the principles of Scrum.
- The project itself is appropriate – agreed on the basis of time/materials, not the exact scope, as well as depending on the stakeholders – how appropriate their culture is for innovation and adaptation to change.
The benefits of using Scrum
Scrum speeds up and improves workflows and real results. The team regularly receives feedback from the customer and thus improves the functionality of the product, increases its capabilities.
The Framework improves communication. Sometimes a client comes up with a specific long-standing problem, but cannot always articulate the task clearly. A flexible working model allows one to better understand what product and what functionality it needs.
Scrum increases transparency. Using Scrum, the team produces a finished product after each iteration, while if the development is done according to Waterfall, the customer does not know at what stage the contractor is at the moment.
This Agile methodology improves the psychological climate in the team. When team members see that they have developed something important, it stimulates them for further success and achievement. The team adapts its way of working when obstacles arise as a result of inspections. Adapts to constant changes. This adaptability is key to achieving greater value.
Using empirical practices through which decisions are made based on experience and real situations. Ideas are tested in experiments and then perceived, rejected, or changed into something better or more valuable, this ensures continuous improvement of work processes and real results.
It is not appropriate to include Scrum in the production processes of the organization when:
- The process or project has a detailed scope that does not change.
- The organization already has similar implementations and there are no serious challenges for the implementation of a current similar project.
- The team is not appropriate, including not understanding / unwilling to accept Scrum’s principles.
- Stakeholders are not appropriate, for example, coordination of certain documentation or project stages is required.
- The implementation of the scope within a certain deadline is essential, for example, due to regulatory requirements.
More reasons
The teams of the organization are not sufficiently disciplined, motivated, and experienced, do not know how to set priorities, and do not have a clear understanding of the requirements of the project.
Outsiders such as customers, superiors, or any other type of management are not ready to give up making decisions instead of the team, they want to manage the work, tasks, even the people of the team.
Also, your company has real constraints on deadlines and funding for project implementation.
The business is dominated by teams consisting of different roles and professions.
The organization purposefully does not strive for transparency, denies transparent processes where problems are discussed and brought to light.
Possible difficulties of the organization in the implementation of Scrum
The management of the organization should get acquainted with the basic principles of Scrum, and it is important:
Unrealistic expectations that Scrum will solve all current problems.
Thinking that this Agile framework is a cheaper and faster way to achieve certain goals. To support and provide resources for the work of Scrum teams, encouraging their self-management and self-improvement.
It is also necessary to invest in learning about Scrum and Agile practices in the organization and among potential stakeholders and partners.
In case of a negative attitude or misunderstanding towards Scrum, look for ways to overcome the reasons for this.
Careful decision-making on which projects to work on Scrum and which not.
Top management
When it comes to the top management level, one of the main difficulties of the organization in implementing Scrum arises when managers continue to behave like project managers, making most of the project decisions themselves, as a result of which the Scrum team is not able to fully performs its functions.
Not every boss will prefer transparent processes where problems are discussed and brought to light. As a result, transparency will be lacking, which will not allow the team to inspect its work and progress and to adapt. It is likely that some team members, realizing that their level of strength and authority in the project will decrease if Scrum is used, may tell their managers that this approach will not work in the company and will not lead to any results.
The modern software/IT companies today
In today’s real world, many products and organizations have to deal with rapidly changing requirements, customers, users, needs. Scrum is adaptable and agile, and to achieve this, to produce a product that has high business value, a company must have a constant relationship with the public, it must understand the changing trends and requirements. You can become part of the Development team. Furthermore, feedback means that when we have a minimal product, we will be able to see the reaction of consumers and customers. Whether they like it or not, whether it is useful for them or not. On this basis, research and work continue, costs and risks are reduced.
Workflows
Scrum speeds up and improves workflows and real results. The team regularly receives feedback from the customer and thus improves the functionality of the product, increases its capabilities.
Improves communication. Sometimes a client comes with a specific long-term problem, but cannot always articulate the task clearly. The agile working model allows to better understand what product and what functionality it needs.
Transparency
Scrum increases transparency. Using Scrum, the team produces a finished product after each iteration, while if the development is done according to Waterfall, the customer does not know at what stage the contractor is at the moment.
Improving the psychological climate in the team. When team members see that they have developed something important, it stimulates them for further success and achievement.
In conclusion, the team adapts its way of working when obstacles arise as a result of inspections. Adapts to constant changes. This adaptability is key to achieving greater value.
The framework uses empirical practices to make decisions based on experience and real situations. Ideas are tested in experiments and then perceived, rejected, or changed into something better or more valuable, this ensures continuous improvement of work processes and real results.
The role of the Product Owner
He is responsible for maximizing the usefulness of the product and the work of the Developer Team. The way this is achieved can vary widely across organizations, Scrum Teams, and people. The Product Owner is the only person responsible for managing the Product Backlog. In conclusion, Product Backlog management includes:
- A clear description of the elements of the Product Backlog;
- Arranging the elements in the Product Backlog to achieve the set goals and missions in the best possible way;
- Optimizes the usefulness of the work that the Development Team performs;
- Ensures that the Product Backlog is visible, transparent, and clear to all and shows what the Scrum Team will be working on first;
- Ensures the Developer Team understands the elements in the Product Backlog to the required level of detail.
The Product Owner can do the above work himself or the Developer Team can do it. However, the Product Owner is the one who is responsible. Reference: Certified Product Owner, PMA, https://pma.bg/po/
Scrum is not easy to understand, and the processes of development, product work, and ensuring quality increment are not elementary and require in-depth knowledge in the field of activity and product.
Also, you need to assess whether you are competent enough to do this job, whether you are willing to accept the rules of Scrum, and whether you understand the difference between a leader and a boss. This is a must and without these things probably not much will be achieved.
Conclusion
There are no other roles in Scrum, nor varieties or positions. A scrum team is a cohesive unit of professionals focused on one current goal – Product Goal. Scrum teams are multifunctional, which means that members have all the skills needed to create value in each Sprint. They are also self-governing, which means that they decide for themselves who does what, when they do it and how to find more effective ways to work and then test these ideas in practice. Having a project manager in the team will be contrary to the principle of Scrum’s work.
Furthermore, If you still don’t believe in Scrum and want to control the process, a compromise can always be found. The new external project management role can be outside the team, you can communicate explicitly with the scrum master and product owner, we will create common metrics for all countries and you will report on the development.
Do you think an Advanced role should have skills in programming, database design for example, and other software architectural solutions?
In my opinion, programming skills and various software competencies are necessary for every professional. How will the leader understand the problems of the team if he does not know their technologies and daily obstacles. On the other hand, true leadership should not be about specific hard skills. However, in my opinion, the balance between skills is essential.
Dear Kirylo M.,
Thank you for your comment. No doubt you share important experience and professional conjecture. Also, our readers will appreciate it. You ask important questions about leadership.
Kind regards,
The ScrumTime.org team