Suggested Reading: Professional Scrum Master™ II

Prove Your Advanced Knowledge of Scrum and the Scrum Master Accountabilities

We have gathered content on this page which we suggest you utilize when preparing for the PSM II. These are suggested resources, and you may find additional resources not mentioned on this page helpful, along with the application of your own experience using Scrum.

The PSM II certification is advanced and relies heavily on your own experience using Scrum, and how you would apply Scrum in particular circumstances.  While it is not required we recommend that before taking PSM II you have a passed PSM I and may find it beneficial to review the PSM I Suggested Reading page during your preparation for PSM II.

PSM II includes questions from the following Focus Areas as defined in the Professional Scrum Competencies.

• Understanding and Applying the Scrum Framework:
  • Empiricism, Scrum Values, Scrum Team, Events, Artifacts, Done
• Developing People and Teams:
  • Self-Managing Teams, Facilitation, Leadership Styles, Coaching and Mentoring
• Managing Products with Agility:
  • Product Backlog Management, Stakeholders & Customers
• Developing and Delivering Products Professionally:
  • Managing Technical Risk
• Evolving the Agile Organization:
  • Organizational Design & Culture

Prior to taking the PSM II certification a great way to prepare is to attend a Professional Scrum Master II training course, taught by a Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer.

Where to begin

• Refresh your knowledge by visiting the PSM I Suggested Reading page.
• Know which agile practices you may have seen or used that are NOT part of the Scrum framework. Teams need to pull in the complementary practices that fit their ever-changing needs, but it is important to know what is and is not required by Scrum.
• Take the Scrum Open Assessment to get a baseline of your knowledge and take it again until you are comfortable with the content. The Scrum Open assessment is a learning tool, and thus feedback is provided during the test.
• Valuable series of articles, blogs, videos and more that pertain to the 2020 version of the Scrum Guide released on November 18, 2020.
• Continue your Scrum Master journey with the Scrum Master Learning Path
• Read the material suggested in the next few sections of this page.

Blogs and Articles

• There is value in the Scrum values
• How to kickstart a great Scrum Team?
• The 10 commandments of egoless programming
• Scrum from the trenches - the Sprint Goal
• Liberating Structures: Unleash and Involve Everyone
• 14 stances of highly effective Product Owners
• The evolution of the Agile Manager
• The Scrum Master as the change agent
• 17 Common Scrum Myths

Videos and Podcasts

• What a Product Owner should be

Books

• Mastering Professional Scrum: A Practitioner s Guide to Overcoming Challenges and Maximizing the Benefits of Agility by Stephanie Ockerman and Simon Reindl
• Adapt by Tim Harford
• Team of Teams by Stanley McChrystal
• Servant Leadership by Robert K. Greenleaf
• Scrum Mastery by Geoff Watts
• Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins
• The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures by Henri Lipmanowizc and Keith McCandless
• The DevOps Handbook by Kim, Debois, Williz and Humble
• The Professional Product Owner by Don McGreal and Ralph Jocham
• The Product Samurai by Chris Lukassen
• Product Mastery by Geoff Watts
• Lean Change Management by Jason Little
• Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Laloux
• Creating Great Teams by Sandy Mamoli and David Mole
• The Serving Leader: Five Powerful Actions to Transform Your Team, Business, and Community by Ken Jennings and John Stahl-Wert
• Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet

Practice

• Take the Scrum Open Assessment until you are comfortable with the content. The Scrum Open assessment is a learning tool, and thus feedback is provided during the test.
• We also suggest that you take the Scrum Developer Open Assessment and the Product Owner Open Assessment as a way to gain additional perspective on the other accountabilities of a Scrum Team.
• Apply Scrum in your workplace. As you do, stop to reflect on whether you’re taking advantage of all the opportunities that the Scrum framework offers, or if you’re using ScrumBut.
• Be conscious of your decisions as you adapt and evolve with projects complexity and team member's old habits. Think about why Scrum is structured the way it is, and how the Scrum framework differs from traditional management practices

Additional Scrum Resources

• Familiarize yourself with the Scrum glossary.
• Read articles on our Blog, written by our expert Professional Scrum Trainers.
• Join the Scrum.org Forum discussions.
• View the Scrum.org Resources page.
• View the What is Scrum Resource page.
• Build your Scrum muscle memory by engaging in discussions and practicing Scrum fundamentals with your team.