The SAFe Scrum Master (SSM) certification is a sought-after and widely-recognized credential for professionals interested in understanding the role of a scrum master and scaling Agile frameworks within an organization. The certification covers the core competencies of scrum-agile methodologies through a comprehensive exam.
As part of SAFe, Scrum Masters guide their teams toward achieving their delivery objectives. They mentor teams in self-management and self-organization and facilitate their participation in Agile Release Train events, promoting the efficiency of SAFe throughout the organization. As a vital component of an Agile Team, SAFe Scrum Masters share responsibilities for the team's overall success.
What is the SAFe Scrum Master (SSM) certification?
The SAFe Scrum Master (SSM) certification demonstrates your proficiency in fulfilling the role of Scrum Master within a SAFe environment. It equips you with the skills to train Agile teams in self-management, prioritizes delivering business value, advocates for the Scrum process, and effectively works with distributed teams. The certification is ideal for those interested in learning about the Scrum Master role in a SAFe organization, becoming a team leader, or working as a Release train engineer. By obtaining the certification, you gain the knowledge to lead teams in your organization through planning, performance improvement, and execution of work during PI using servant leadership principles.
About the exam
The SAFe Scrum Master exam is a multiple-choice and multiple-select exam. The duration of the SAFe SSM exam is 90 minutes. The exam has 45 questions you must complete within the given time frame. To pass the SSM exam, a score of 73% is required. The exam is conducted in English, and the cost for the first attempt is included with the course registration fee if taken within 30 days of completing the course.
Topics covered
- During the program, we'll go into the following topics:
- Introducing Scrum in SAFe
- Characterizing the role of the Scrum Master
- Experiencing Program Increment planning
- Facilitating Iteration execution
- Finishing the Program Increment
- Coaching the Agile team
Who should take the SAFe Scrum Master certification?
- New or existing Scrum Masters
- Team Leads
- Release Train Engineers
- Managers
- Agile Coach
- Developers
What does SAFe Scrum Master do?
- Understand the responsibilities of the Scrum Master.
- Discover how to plan and carry out the Program Increment (PI).
- Gain insight into the essential elements of Agile at scale development.
- Promote the framework across the organization.
- Facilitate Iteration Planning.
- Mentor Agile teams to deliver significant business value at scale.
Learning objectives
- Discuss Lean-Agile leadership to help the team embrace SAFe core values
- Articulate and describe the Scrum in SAFe enterprise
- Explore team facilitation skills for the team's progress toward team goals
- Articulate and teach problem-solving techniques to the team for the relentless improvement
- Facilitates meetings and team learning events
- Present how Scrum Master supports the product owner in managing the backlog
- Explore how SAFe Scrum Master supports SAFe adoption
- Present SAFe Scrum Master responsibilities on the Agile Release train
- Illustrates team coordination with other teams
- Perform facilitation for preparation and readiness for ART events
- Present significance of supporting estimation activities
Grow your enterprise-level Scrum Master skills
Acquire the skills of a Scrum Master to deliver maximum value at scale by taking the SAFe Scrum Master certification. You will learn how to effectively plan and carry out the Program Increment (PI), which aligns the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) across all enterprise levels.
You will become proficient in the critical elements of Agile at scale development, learn how to effectively implement Scrum across an organization, and develop high-performing Agile teams by adopting a servant leadership approach. The SAFe 5.1 Scrum Master (SSM) certification is earned by passing the SAFe SSM certification exam and demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of SAFe.
Why become a certified SAFe Scrum Master professional?
Many well-known companies worldwide, such as Bosch, Lockheed Martin, PepsiCo, Anthem, Cisco, Standard Chartered, CapitalOne, Thales, FitBit, and AstraZeneca, utilize SAFe to enhance time-to-market, boost productivity, improve quality, and enhance employee engagement and job satisfaction. The need for SAFe expertise is rapidly increasing, creating a high demand for Scrum Masters who can lead high-performance teams at the enterprise level. Enhance your SAFe Scrum Master abilities, become a highly-skilled SAFe 5 Scrum Master and take advantage of the high demand across various industries.
Characteristics of a SAFe Scrum Master
The primary responsibility of a SAFe Scrum Master is to assist the team in reaching its objectives. They do this by instructing and mentoring in SAFe ScrumXP and SAFe, implementing and maintaining SAFe principles and practices, and identifying and removing obstacles to flow.
SAFe Scrum Masters come from different backgrounds and positions and are in high demand. However, what qualities make a good Scrum Master? Though they are not typically in a management role, they are influential members of an Agile Team. Therefore, it is essential to understand the characteristics that make a good Scrum Master.
Empathetic: SAFe Scrum Masters need to demonstrate genuine empathy and care for team members' perspectives and emotions so that they can build stronger relationships, leading to increased collaboration and performance. To accept and benefit from coaching, team members must demonstrate empathy, which is a foundational component of trust.
Conflict Navigator: The SAFe Scrum Master assists team members in resolving interpersonal conflicts, making decisions, and solving problems. According to Agile Coach and author Lyssa Atkins, "navigators of conflict are helping teams move from conflict to constructive disagreement as catalysts for high performance." Servant Leader: To align the organization's values, principles, and business objectives, the Scrum Master prioritizes the needs of the team members and those they serve.
Mentor: The role of the SAFe Scrum Master is to help team members adopt a mindset of continuous learning by guiding them to find solutions to their problems independently rather than providing answers.
Transparent: Transparency is a fundamental principle of SAFe and an essential element of Scrum empiricism. The Scrum Master promotes transparency by being open and encouraging it in others. They facilitate transparency by inspecting artifacts, detecting differences between expected and actual results, and recognizing anti-patterns.
Coach: SAFe Scrum Masters are responsible for understanding and educating their teams on several methods beyond Scrum, such as SAFe, Team Kanban, Flow, Built-in Quality, and others, in order to build a high-performance team.
The conclusion
The SAFe Scrum Master certification not only provides an understanding of the team-level fundamentals of SCRUM but also offers insight into the role of the Certified SAFe Scrum Master in an enterprise. It enables you to plan and execute the Program Increment (PI) effectively. This training equips you with the skills to deliver maximum business value at scale as a SAFe Certified Scrum Master.
You will learn the significance of Scrum and how it is implemented across the enterprise. With the SAFe Scrum Master certification, you will develop high-performance skills as an Agile Release Train (ART) member and be trained to facilitate team and program events.
