CSPO i.e. Certified Scrum Product Owner is a certification provided by Scrum Alliance that promotes usage and implementation of SCRUM across all the organizations and sectors.

Among the different roles that are included in the framework of SCRUM, the role of a product owner is the most challenging and crucial as a PO (Product Owner) is responsible for making key business decisions when it comes to products.

A PO has to gather inputs from all the key stakeholders and they also need to convey their suggestions to the team members. They must acquire skills such as smart thinking, managing conflicts, facilitation, etc. and these skills can be acquired by completing the CSPO Certification.

A Certified Scrum Product Owner is referred to a person who is an expert in SCRUM techniques, practices, terminologies, and principles as he/she is trained by a CST i.e. Certified Scrum Trainer.

 

 

Let us look at some of the key responsibilities and duties performed by a CSPO:

  • The Product Owner has to handle the product backlog and has to act as a medium of communication between the development team and stakeholders.
  • He/she has to handle the priority and various aspects of the activities/tasks that get proposed during every iteration or sprint. Similarly, he/she also needs to decide to list down the user stories based on their priority after defining them.
  • The Product Owner also holds the authority of accepting or rejecting the outcome of each task.
  • It is his/her duty to inform the status of a product/project to the clients. Also, he/she needs to take their feedback, understand, and convey them to the development team.

Eligibility for becoming a CSPO

  • There are no such eligibility criteria for becoming a CSPO as anyone with a basic understanding of the Agile concepts can undertake a training program to obtain the CSPO certification. However, the aspiring candidates will need to attend the two-day training program to complete this course.
  • Therefore, project managers, software developers, product managers, software testers, coders, software architects, or anyone interested in gaining knowledge of Scrum can be a part of this training program or course.
  • This certification also makes them aware of the skills that are required for leading projects that run on Agile principles.

Why earn the CSPO Certification?

  • By becoming a Certified Scrum Product Owner, you will double your chances of getting hired by top organizations since most of the processes (especially in the software companies) have adopted Agile technologies today.
  • Also, you don’t have to clear any exam to obtain this certification as a 2-day training program will be enough for earning it.
  • You will get an opportunity to engage with renowned Scrum practitioners and it also lets you know the basic principles of Scrum.
  • It verifies your expertise in Scrum practices and terminologies and also helps you to achieve significant growth in your career.

How to obtain the CSPO Certification?

For obtaining the CSPO Certification you will need to follow this process:

  • Firstly, you need to attend the 2-day course of CSPO that is organized by an institution that is registered with Scrum Alliance under the supervision of a CST i.e. Certified Scrum Trainer.
  • After that, you will have to log in to your account of Scrum Alliance, accept the license agreement, and download the CSPO Certificate. This certification will make you a Certified Scrum Product Owner.
  • Also, you need to renew it every two years as this certification remains valid only for two years. For renewing your CSPO Certification you will need to follow the below steps:
  • Login in your account of Scrum Alliance again and find the ‘Certification Dashboard’ that is present below the ‘Settings’ section. Click on this option, go to a window called ‘Actions’, and select the ‘Certification Renewal’ link to renew your CSPO Certification.
  • You will need to pay a fee of $100 for completing this process.

Let us now discuss some of the benefits of obtaining the CSPO Certification:

  • As a Certified Scrum Product Owner, you become eligible to lead teams that work on Agile technologies.
  • Your communication skills will improve and you can use that to motivate and encourage your team members.
  • As a CSPO, you will need to act as an intermediary between your team members and other stakeholders to ensure that the end product will be good enough to meet the requirements of the client.
  • Your duty will be to enhance the overall productivity of your team by reducing the risks and managing conflicts. Therefore, you will be directly responsible for improving the ROI of the business.
  • After obtaining the CSPO Certification you will receive 14 to 16 PDUs (Professional Development Units) and SEUs (Scrum Education Units).
  • This ensures that you remain relevant with the latest practices and do not just depend on your experience while tackling various challenges and issues while developing a product.
  • After earning the CSPO certification you will also be eligible for growth in your annual compensation. Also, you can apply for higher positions as you become fit to undertake new responsibilities and duties.

Conclusion

Candidates who have the right communication and management skills and those who are willing to handle the business aspects of a project should acquire the CSPO Certification. It will enable you to plan the vision of a product and satisfy the customers by providing the best solutions to their needs. After obtaining this certification, you can also plan to obtain the CSP-PO i.e. Certified Scrum Professional-Product Owner Certification or A-CSPO (Advanced Certified Product Owner) in the future.