My Experience Taking a Scrum.org PSM II Training Class

Last week I participated in a Scrum.org PSM II course led by Todd Miller and Ryan Ripley, co-authors of the book Fixing Your Scrum. This was my first live training with Scrum.org and it did not disappoint!

In this post I’ll be explaining my experience taking the PSM II training. I’ve also included a doodle note highlighting what I believe to be some of the standout ideas from this course course.

Class Setup

The course took place over two days providing a total of about 16 hours of instruction. Due to the current state of the world, the class was held virtually but I didn’t feel as though I was getting any less of a quality experience. The class was highly interactive including numerous breakout sessions and activities. To keep us entertained during breaks Ryan played DJ, spinning (well, actually clicking) tunes from Metallica to the Dave Matthews Band.

As for the virtual environment, Zoom and Mural were used throughout the course. Personally, prior to the class I had only used Zoom a handful of times and had no experience with Mural; however after using these tools for just two days I’ve become a fan. I experienced a few minor hiccups with Zoom and took a little while stumbling my way through Mural but overall the tools weren’t a distraction, rather they were an important asset.

Learning Modules and Activities

The course was organized into four main learning modules: (1) Scrum Master, (2) Services to the Development Team, (3) Services to the Product Owner, and (5) Services to the Organization. Each section of the course included several interactive activities many of which were liberating structures. One of my favorite activities from the course, which occurred near the end of the class, was Troika Consulting. For this exercise we were divided into groups of three. Two of us played the role of consultant while the third person in the group acted as the client. The “client” had three minutes to talk about a situation they were currently facing. Next, the “consultants” had a discussion about the client’s challenge and potential solutions while the “client” listened silently. After four minutes of silent listening the “client” was allowed to rejoin the conversation, ask any clarifying questions, and share what he/she gained from the experience. This process was repeated three times allowing each person in the group a chance to play the role of client.

Other activities from the course included sorting exercises related to roles and responsibilities and the Definition of Done, creating recipes for what makes a successful team, Min Specs for Product Owners to achieve their purpose, crafting 15% solutions, completing an empathy map canvas, and so many more. (Did I mention that the class was interactive?)

A Hands-On Learning Experience

What I found most invaluable about this course was the interactions. Being a Scrum Master requires a lot of soft skills such as communication and emotional awareness, so brainstorming, conversing, and experimenting with other Scrum Masters and Agilists was an excellent hands-on learning experience. Moreover, I had the pleasure of meeting several new people form all across the globe. I’m currently the only Scrum Master at my organization so I was extremely grateful to be able to nerd out with others on Scrum for two days.

Now that I’ve taken the PSM II training, my next step is to take the PSM II assessment (a free attempt at the assessment is included with the cost of the course). I’m excited to hopefully add a second badge to my Scrum.org profile!