CSM or CSPO: Which course is right for you?

Workplaces and strategies have changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Companies are driven by inspiring innovation, creating customer happiness, and accelerating their ability to deliver.

Employees are now aspiring to take risks, be creative, and change the world for the better. Working faster and better has shifted into overdrive. Some companies have adapted and others have not.

The result is that entire markets have shifted into high gear. “Move fast and break things” is more than just a saying… it’s become a Silicon Valley mindset.

At HyperdriveAgile, we help professionals elevate their knowledge and career paths by offering them the tools to master the Agile framework and to learn how Agile can improve practices, behaviors, mindset, and culture.

Agile’s successful growth has gained recognition from a variety of industries and helps us see how the framework can improve how we lead and manage our companies in the 21st century.

A common question we receive from people who are interested in earning a Scrum certification is: “Which course should I take first? CSM or CSPO?”

Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM) and Certified Scrum Product Owner® (CSPO) certifications are both beneficial to leading an Agile team, however, there are some differences that could be more beneficial to an individual and their career growth versus the other.

CSM Certification - Master the Basics

The Certified ScrumMaster certification is a highly interactive, two-day course designed to give you the foundations of understanding how and why Agile and Scrum works. This course gives you the ability to experience first-hand what it’s like to be part of a Scrum team and see how Scrum works.

In many ways, consider this a course in learning how and why Agile as an Operating Model is helping companies beat the competition.

This course is beneficial to those wanting to gain an understanding of Scrum methods (what, why, and how), confront the challenges of a ScrumMaster and leave with knowledge of how to tackle those situations.

Upon completing this course, you will be equipped to return to your organization with the insight to immediately apply the Scrum framework to achieve success.

More importantly, you’ll discover how Agile is more expansive than a framework. You’ll learn how areas of leadership and culture are deeply integrated into Agile.

If you have a leadership or management role at any level in your company, the CSM training will provide you with the know-how of how to leverage Agile using Scrum so you can more effectively organize your teams, prioritize your work, and deliver faster and smarter.

People who are executives, managers, project leaders or team leaders should absolutely enroll in this class. Professionals seeking to change their current career path could also benefit from this certification to project their interest in Agile.

CSPO Certification - The Business Side of Agile

The Certified Scrum Product Owner certification is a two-day course that equips attendees with the knowledge to fulfill the role of Product Owner for a Scrum team.

You will learn the “business” skills and techniques used by successful Scrum Product Owners to guide their teams and build successful products at Agile speed while creating customer delight. CSPO’s understand stakeholder and team interests and can successfully lead a project from conceptualization to deployment.

Whether you’re responsible for business strategy or product strategy, you’ll learn how to create an effective approach on Vision, Roadmap, and a Delivery Plan for how to get the most value from both your delivery teams.

More importantly, you’ll learn how to connect business strategy with a business plan to create your products and services that you customers love.

By combining your new skills as a Product Owner with the teams’ skills on Scrum, your team will become exponentially more effective.

Class attendees participate in numerous exercises where they will encounter real-world challenges, learn how to build and deliver Product Vision, and learn techniques for responding to challenges.

You’ll leave this course with the knowledge to help your organization deliver higher ROI with greater quality.

People who are product managers, business analysts, senior business leaders, architects or anyone else that has responsibility to help teams understand “what and why” on what they are building should take this course.

Last, if you’re planning a long-term career in Agile in roles such as a ScrumMaster, Agile Coach, or Agile Leader, consider taking both the CSM and CSPO!

This ensures that you build your new professional capabilities so that you can lead the company of the future.

Whether you become CSM and CSPO certified, choosing to invest in your professional knowledge and growth is the best decision of all! Visit Hyperdrive’s website for upcoming course dates and timezones.