PSPO I
The Professional Scrum Product Owner I certification, commonly known as PSPO I, is Scrum.org’s second most common certification.
Those awarded with it are certified:
- a fundamental understanding of product ownership in Scrum
- a fundamental understanding of value maximization
BASIC INFO
- Duration: 60 minutes
- Questions: 80; multiple-choice, multi-select, true/false
- Passing score: 85%
- Number of certification holders: 80,000+
ABOUT THE QUESTIONS
The PSPO I exam is similar to the PSM I, as both share an overlapping question pool of an estimated 80%. Therefore, most questions revolve around an immediate and literal understanding of the Scrum framework as described in the Scrum Guide. Additionally, questions more specific questions are asked about the role and responsibilities of the Product Owner in Scrum.
Almost all questions in PSPO I have clear answers based directly on the Scrum Guide. Only a few questions require abstract knowledge transfer.
Questions with multi-select options, i.e. those where many answers are correct, will inform you how many answers to select, for example stating (choose the best three answers).
HOW TO PREPARE FOR PSM I
PSPO I is a basic exam and one can pass it well without attending a dedicated PSM I training session, for example by preparing with my book, which contains all the necessary preparations for the exam.
Read the Scrum Guide a few times until you are comfortable with its terminology and the concepts it describes. Special focus should be placed on the roles, artifacts and events. Additionally, reviewing the Scrum Glossary is recommended.
Take the free Scrum Open and Product Owner Open assessment. The questions presented in it are part of the exam pool for the PSPO I and representative of the questions overall in terms of formulation and style. A good rule of thumb is to practice both enough until you can pass each with a perfect score three times in a row, using less than 10 minutes per test.
The most crucial point for the PSPO I exam to bear in mind is, of course, the role of the Product Owner. For the exam, this can be summarized by the following cornerstones:
- The Product Owner is a value-maximizer, using his Product Backlog ordering to maximize the value that the work of the Development Team generates for the stakeholders, most of all the end-users.
- The Product Owner is not a manager for the Development Team. The Product Owner decides on the direction of the product but has no say over how the Development Team implements Product Backlog items.
- Therefore, the Development Team does not report to the Product Owner, especially not during the Daily Scrum!
Use the practice quiz provided below.
PSPO I Practice Exam
Coming soon…