Total overview: Online Scrum Master Certification
Scrumstudy
This organisation offers a wide range of exams, including Scrum Master Certified (SMC®). This certificate qualifies you as a professional, which ensures that the Scrum Team is offered an environment conducive to the successful completion of the project. In addition to the exam, it also offers two-day training courses, which, although not a requirement for the exam, are recommended. It is interesting to note that Scrum Study offers the longest exam; no fewer than 100 questions must be answered within a period of two hours. This is quite a big-time investment for a certificate that expires within three years.
APMG International
APMG is a well-known international player in the field of certifications. They have compiled their own Scrum Guide in collaboration with Agile Business Consortium as study material for the APMG Scrum Master certificate. If you obtain the certificate, you will not only receive the title of Scrum Master, but also a year-long membership in the Agile Business Consortium and a digital badge. To achieve this, you must attend a training course before you can take the exam digitally or in writing. Finally, you can take the exam in English, Chinese and Polish.
Scrum Alliance
The establishment of the Scrum Alliance was a joint effort of the creators of the Scrum Method. It is based in the United States, where one of the best-known certifications, the Certified Scrum Master (CSM), is offered. To obtain this certificate, you must follow a training course and take an exam afterwards. Scrum Alliance is the only institution where you are given two opportunities to successfully complete the exam, which would then give you the right to call yourself a Scrum Master for two years. In addition, you can take two exams for the price of one and you can choose between 12 different languages.
Scrum.org
Scrum.org was created when the two Scrum ‘creators’ were no longer able to share the work floor with each other. Scrum Alliance was then split up and gave rise to Scrum.org, which grew bigger on the other side of the ocean. A lot of Scrum Master certifications are coming into the Netherlands in particular; this is all the more remarkable, as the exam is not available in the Dutch language. In addition to the European reach, they have also reduced the price, doubled the number of questions, reduced it to one language, disconnected the training course, and cancelled the expiry date of the certificate.
IIABC.org
Finally, the International Institute for Agile Business Certification (IIABC) is the only certification and accreditation body in this list that focuses exclusively on Scrum in a non-IT environment. IIABC also has a broader view of the role of Scrum Master in the form of the integration of other Agile methodologies, such as Kanban. IIABC offers Agile Business Advanced – Facilitating the Process certification to make it possible to apply for the Scrum Master role in a non-IT environment. The exam must be completed within 45 minutes, after which you have the opportunity to take a peek at the course material: Agile Business Body of Knowledge (ABBoK). The exam does not have to be preceded by a training course and you can obtain your certificate digitally anywhere in the world.
See also our infographic Decisionboard, to choose a type of certification.