With the New Year upon us, a lot of annual thoughts are swirling through my head, and one of them is regarding professional training. Last year I became a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) through the Scrum Alliance. As I am thinking of what to take to continue my Scrum training, I am also thinking of where to take it, as the world of Scrum training changed in 2020.

In a departure from my typical posts of offering advice, this time I am seeking it. Please read on and I welcome your thoughts on my training journey.

That Was Then

My decision on the CSM course I did take was relatively straightforward. In discussion with colleagues I was advised the courses and certification from the Scrum Alliance were the most recognized. The other factor was location – I chose the closest course to me, and that was one being offered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I signed up for the April course in February, not knowing what was coming down the pike.

Shortly after the state shutdown order happened in Wisconsin, I got an email from the vendor offering the course that it would still be happening, and they would provide more details. As the date of course drew closer on the horizon, I was concerned with taking what could be a virtual course – no Scrum training to that point was offered online and was always in-person, and that was my preference. Several emails to the vendor went unanswered until I finally got a terse response – the course would be offered virtually, and as it was within the no-refund cancellation window I had no option to change it whatsoever. Cancellation windows were not a consideration when I signed up for it – I was going to take it no matter what, and that included driving the hour from home to the venue.

In the end, it was a great course. The instructor Mike Stuedemann of agilityIRL (a firm separate from the vendor) was very knowledgeable and ran a great virtual 2-day session. The class was composed mostly of people from Wisconsin, plus one from New York and another from Paris, France, which added nicely to the mix. I was well armed to take the certification exam, which I passed and gained the CSM title. Though my preference was still to take the course in a live setting, this was a perfect Plan B.

This is Now

Today most all Scrum training courses continue to be offered virtually. As well, my knowledge of the Scrum community has broadened since I became a member of it, and have learned of other organizations offering the courses, all virtually. Needless to say this opens up a whole potential for taking courses, including ones from Scrum Inc. taught by none other than Dr. Jeff Sutherland, the co-creator of Scrum.

How to Proceed?

With all of these opportunities, I am curious how to proceed. Should I continue taking courses through Scrum Alliance? I have no issues per se with the training I received or the organization as a whole. Or should I look to other organizations that offer the training, like Sutherland’s Scrum Inc. or Scrum.org, a firm led by Ken Schwaber, the other co-creator of Scrum? There are also other firms offering courses and certifications as well.

Does continuing with one firm make more sense? Is looking to other firms a good or bad thing? Are there approaches to the instruction of one better than the other, overall or course-by-course?

The answers to these questions I don’t have, and I am putting this out to the greater community for advice. Where I have seen comparisons of various firms and their courses, I am also interested in the experience of people who have first-hand knowledge.

I welcome your thoughts here in the comments of this blog post, and I thank you in advance.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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