85% Pass Mark for the PSM 1 Assessment! First Attempt! No Prior Scrum experience!
I recently took the PSM 1 exam and very well cleared the exam missing only 1 question I presume considering the score I obtained (79/80 i.e 98.8%).
I remember reading the scrum guide a couple of months back and at the time feeling, I was well prepared for the exam. However the comments online on different platforms opened my eyes to the technicality of the real exam (which is more technical than the scrum open assessment) and since I was not willing to throw away $150USD, I very well took those comments seriously. I quickly realised that to pass the PSM 1 exam which requires you to score 85% and above, you must understand what the authors of the scrum guide mean by every key statement made in the guide. For example; “Scrum is immutable”, this single statement was one of the litmus tests I subjected almost every question in the PSM 1 assessment to. Having a critical understanding of that statement alone will help you in eliminating options in the assessment that favour the modification of scrum with respect to its roles, rules, events and artefacts.
The moral of this story is that certifications like this test your understanding of the subject matter so don’t sit for the exam if you have not prepared well enough.
This for instance might require spending more on additional aids like textbooks and past questions which I was honestly reluctant to do (at the beginning) but like one of my previous bosses would always imply when the option of spending more on a project or just “letting sleeping dogs lie” stares us in the face; “wisdom is making an additional investment(s) to safeguard your initial investment (s)”.
This was my very first attempt at the PSM 1Exam (without any prior scrum exposure) and this experience further re-emphasized a common truth which is that the key to success is preparation. Therefore it would be correct to say that he who fails to prepare properly for the PSM 1 exam and any other exam has already planned to fail.
Wish you all success as you prepare for your certification exams.
