Since this post was written, Scrum.org has renamed Professional Scrum Foundations (PSF) to Applying Professional Scrum (APS), and Professional Scrum Developer (PSD) to Applying Professional Scrum for Software Development (APS-SD). The content, the learning, and the related assessments and certifications are unchanged. The renaming better communicates the intention and positioning of the courses, so everything below still stands.
Some people take the word "foundation" in Professional Scrum Foundations to mean simple or basic. In truth it means a course for everybody, one that builds a solid base of knowledge, understanding and practical application of Professional Scrum.
Everyone in your Scrum Team, and the managers and leaders who interact with it, should be able to answer:
- What is complexity? How does the Scrum framework help us develop and sustainably deliver complex products?
- What is empiricism? How do the Scrum accountabilities, events and artefacts enable and protect the empirical process?
- What is self-organisation? How does the Scrum framework help an organisation and its teams become self-organising?
Who should attend?
- Are you curious about what Scrum can bring to your products and organisation?
- Do you support Scrum Teams as a leader, stakeholder or in another capacity, and want to understand how Scrum works and how to collaborate with them?
- Are you considering a career change with no Scrum experience?
- Are you doing Scrum in name only, with no change in mindset, culture or agility?
- Are you not delivering a Done, releasable Increment at least once per Sprint, with the transparency, trust and agility that brings?
- Are you not getting better customer outcomes and business benefits?
- Is Scrum not helping you manage risk and complexity?
The course is the perfect introduction, reboot or refresher. It is for organisations, teams or anyone who wants to experience the Scrum way of working, and it gives you the base knowledge for the role-focused courses that follow.
How does it work?
Over two days you experience Professional Scrum by applying it. Students work together as a team through a series of Sprints to build a product, and face real-life problems along the way. The rules, accountabilities and principles of Scrum are put to use in the exercises. Because the emphasis is on practical application, the course exposes the common missteps and misunderstandings, so you develop a sharper awareness of the symptoms. It also gives prescriptive guidance for staying on track and keeping Scrum healthy.
What previous students said
We ran a small experiment. Students who had attended a PSM course with little or no prior knowledge of Scrum were offered a place on a PSF the following week, in exchange for answering one question: "Which would you recommend, PSF or PSM, to someone with the experience and knowledge you had before taking either course?"
"I enjoyed both courses honestly, but if I had the opportunity to choose which to take first I would take the PSF first. My reason is that the PSF is broad and covers all areas of Scrum, and obviously has a lot of fun exercises. It's fun to work as a Scrum Team in Sprints to deliver a product, and the exercises to learn Scrum. The PSF is also more laid back on the second day, which relaxes everyone. The PSM on the other hand is more specific and detailed compared to the PSF. It would greatly benefit someone who has some knowledge of what Scrum is. My recommendation is the PSF first."
Fortunate Ngwang, changing career
"As with the PSM course, the PSF was fantastic! I will be suggesting that people take this one before they decide to take on either PSM or PSPO. Despite being a virtual class, the level of interaction was amazing, and your teaching style speaks volumes in terms of the number of people, including myself, who crack the not-so-easy assessments with flying colours. Thank you!"
Abhijeet Basu, project manager
What you get
- Facilitation and coaching from highly experienced Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainers.
- Myths debunked, misconceptions dispelled, and a true understanding of Scrum.
- The knowledge and direction to start using Scrum and its practices immediately after the class.
- A transformation plan for adopting Scrum in your organisation or team, built in class with the trainers' transformation experience behind you.
- Two attempts at the Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master I certification, and a 40% discount on the Professional Scrum Master II certification.
If you are ready to take the next step, get in touch and we will tell you when the next class runs.