I started filling out my CSC (Certified Scrum Coach) application almost a year ago and then I stopped due to fear, uncertainty, and doubt. I had been using Scrum for quite a while and successfully transitioned a number of teams, but didn’t understand the process and have any context around it to understand how to be successful and even if I should bother.

(Part 4 of 5 blogs on the Scrum Gathering in Orlando)

I signed up for help in the Dialog Room’s Scrum Clinic (thanks Gerry Kirk and Michael de la Maza) the Scrum Gathering.  Roger Brown was kind enough to sit outside by the pool with me and fill in the missing meta-data around the CSC application process. The mind-map below is my effort to capture his perspective on this topic.

The big take aways for me were:

  1. Now that I know the process, criteria, expectations and outcomes, I feel comfortable proceeding.
  2. A submission needs to be business professional and may take 10-30+ hours to prepare.
  3. Three reviewers will score each section to arrive at an overall score (like an exam). No minimum for any section.
  4. Agile work is OK, but Scrum is preferred and will score higher.
  5. I need to publish an article on the Scrum Alliance website.

Thanks also to Bob Hartman for reviewing and offering his time to help.

Caveat: this is not official Scrum Alliance policy – this is just my understanding of a discussion on this topic.

At the Scrum Gathering Open Space, there was a great session on this with even more details on the CSC program; please check it out.