Certified SAFe Agilist(SA) Vs Certified SAFe Scrum Master(SSM)?
As organizations strive to achieve business agility, they find they are quickly outgrowing small-team Agile and need to decide on an approach to scale to the enterprise.
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) for Lean Enterprises is a knowledge base of proven, integrated principles, practices, and competencies for achieving business agility using Lean, Agile, and DevOps.
Due to its scalability and its number of roles and ceremonies, companies are increasingly expecting team members to not only be trained in SAFe® but also become certified. Since SAFe® is the most popular form of Scaled Agile, it is wise to consider becoming certified in this framework.
This article will compare and contrast two certifications – Certified SAFe® Agilist and Certified SAFe® Scrum Master.
This is the certification that I acquired when I first started venturing into SAFe®. My certificate says “A Certified SAFe® 5 Agilist (SA) is a SAFe® enterprise leadership professional who is part of a Lean-Agile transformation. Key areas of competency include the application of Lean-Agile principles, execution and release of value through Agile Release Trains (ARTs) and building an Agile portfolio with Lean-Agile budgeting.”
So, while it is a very good entry point and covers SAFe® thoroughly, there is no specific prescribed role other than ‘leadership’ and being part of the team, especially one involved as part of a Lean-Agile transformation.
Leading SAFe® /SAFe® Agilist Certification Course; 5+ years’ experience in software development, testing, business analysis, product, or project management; experience in Scrum.
Leading SAFe® is two-day course. Prices vary but they tend to be less than $1,000 USD.
Attendees discuss how to establish team and technical agility and organize and re-organize around the flow of value. There are also exercises for supporting a key ceremony called PI Planning. Students also begin to understand how to implement a Lean Portfolio Management function in their enterprise.
In the author’s experience, the exam is difficult but not as difficult as, for example, the Project Management Professional Exam. Some questions may be situational but overall, they want to ensure that you understand the framework and its underlying principles.
The exam can be taken any time after the class is completed but ideally should be taken within 30 days. It is a non-proctored, closed-book, multiple-choice exam. It can be accessed on-line within the SAFe® Community Platform.
Candidates have 90 minutes (1.5 hours) to complete the exam. There are 45 questions and passing score is 77% or 35 correct. Currently the exam is only provided in English. The first exam attempt is included as part of the course registration fee if the exam is taken within 30 days of course completion. Each retake attempt costs $50 USD.
Retake policy – Second attempt on exam (first retake) can be done immediately after the first attempt. The third attempt requires a 10-day waiting period. The fourth attempt requires a 30-day waiting period. (It is not unusual for companies providing such exams to impose longer waiting periods if you fail. They want to give you more time to study.)
Several sample questions are provided online by Scaled Agile Framework. This is a typical SA question:
What does SAFe® Principle #3, “Assume variability; preserve options,” enable?
The answer is ‘Better economic results.’
Certification includes:
Unlike the SA certificate, which is more general, the Certified SAFe® Scrum Master (SSM) has a specific role. He or she is a professional responsible for integrating Scrum practices into an organization. The role is very much analogous to – but not exactly the same as – the corresponding role in Scrum. As with the SA certification, you must first attend a two-day course. You cannot ‘test out.’ Certification expires one year from the date is earned.
SAFE® Scrum Master course; experience working in a Lean-Agile environment.
SAFE® Scrum Master is a two-day course. This course explores the role of the Scrum Master in the context of the entire enterprise. The planning and execution of a Program Increment (PI), the core enabler of alignment across the various levels of a SAFe® enterprise, is discussed in detail. The curriculum also includes understanding the key components of Agile development at scale, facilitating Scrum throughout the enterprise, and executing Iteration Planning.
The exam can be taken any time after the class is completed but ideally should be taken within 30 days. It is a non-proctored, closed-book, multiple-choice exam. It can be accessed on-line within the SAFe® Community Platform.
Candidates have 90 minutes (1.5 hours) to complete the exam. There are 45 questions and passing score is 73% or 33 correct. Currently the exam is only provided in English. The first exam attempt is included as part of the course registration fee if the exam is taken within 30 days of course completion. Each retake attempt costs $50.
Retake policy – The second attempt on exam (first retake) can be done immediately after first attempt. The third attempt requires a 10-day waiting period. The fourth attempt requires a 30-day waiting period.
Several sample questions are provided online by Scaled Agile Framework. This is a typical SSM question:
The answer is Release Train Engineer. Release Train Engineer is a role exclusive to SAFe®.
Becoming a Certified SAFe® Scrum Master requires an exceptional range of skills and is a career path for many Scrum Masters. Certification includes:
There is no one ‘right’ answer to this. Not all students are the same. When the time came to learn more about SAFE®, I asked myself the same question. Since I wasn’t seeking a specific role within a SAFe® team but was trying to attain a broader understanding of the framework, the SA certificate was sufficient, at least as an entry point. I found it gave me an excellent overview of the framework and I would feel poised to work in a SAFE® environment.
However, if your goal is to be a Scrum Master or take your current Scrum Master skills to the enterprise level, then the SSM would seem to be a better choice.
You can no longer renew your certification on an individual level. As of January 2021, Scaled Agile has moved to a membership model for the SAFe® Community Platform. With this transition you will now be able to renew your membership at one of three tiers, two of which will include a bundle renewal of all your SAFe® certifications. If you don’t need or want to include renewal of your certifications, you have the option to simply renew your membership to continue access to all the assets, tools, and resources to help you grow as a SAFe® professional. Information on this can be found on the SAFe site here.
Professional Development Units (PDUs) and Scrum Education Units are useful to maintain certifications So for example, a PMP is required to gather 60 PDUs in various categories every three years in order to maintain certification. The following tables detail how many are provided as a result of this course for each PMI certification.
Conclusion
Business agility is a crucial component in the ability of organizations to stay ahead of the competition in a fast-paced business world. Studies show that Scaled Agile Framework is by far the leading method of scaling agile. For Agilists, it is crucial to not only understand how agile scales but to also be certified in it so that your team (not to mention hiring managers) know that you are staying conversant with it.
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