Professional Scrum with User Experience (PSU) Certification

Key Facts

• Launch Date: The PSU certification was introduced by Scrum.org in 2019.
• Certified Professionals: As of 2023, more than 5,000 professionals have earned the PSU certification globally.
• Founders: Ken Schwaber, co-creator of Scrum, alongside UX professionals, helped develop this course to ensure that Agile product development and user-centered design principles are tightly aligned.

Target Audience
The PSU certification is designed for professionals working at the intersection of Scrum and UX design, including:

• UX Designers, Product Owners, and Scrum Masters seeking to integrate design work within Scrum.
• Developers who want to understand UX practices.
• Agile coaches who aim to facilitate better collaboration between UX and Scrum teams.

Core Learning Objectives
The PSU certification focuses on the following key learning outcomes:

• Understanding how to integrate UX work within Scrum’s iterative cycles and its role in creating value-driven products.
• Learning how UX designers and Scrum teams can work collaboratively to incrementally deliver user-centered products.
• Developing skills in using UX design techniques such as personas, user journeys, and wireframes within Scrum processes.
• Enhancing the ability to balance discovery and delivery phases in product development, ensuring that product increments meet user expectations.

Skills and Knowledge Gained

• Mastering the use of UX techniques within a Scrum team and effectively integrating feedback loops that enhance usability and customer satisfaction.
• Learning how to conduct user research within sprints, create prototypes, and validate user assumptions without disrupting the Scrum rhythm.
• Gaining insights into design thinking and lean UX practices, which enable Scrum teams to develop products that continuously improve based on real user feedback.

• Pre-requisites: There are no strict pre-requisites, but it is recommended that candidates have a basic understanding of Scrum or Agile practices and some exposure to UX design concepts.
• Training Requirements: Candidates are encouraged to attend the Professional Scrum with User Experience (PSU) training. This two-day workshop covers how to effectively integrate UX practices with Scrum, including conducting user research, creating personas, and implementing UX feedback in sprints.
• Exam Format:
  • Number of Questions: 60 multiple-choice, true/false, and multiple-answer questions.
  • Time Limit: 60 minutes.
  • Passing Score: 85%.
  • Retake Policy: Candidates can retake the exam after purchasing another attempt if they do not pass. There are no restrictions on the number of attempts.
• Certification Levels: PSU is a single-level certification. Those who want to deepen their expertise can pursue additional certifications such as Professional Scrum Master (PSM) or Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO) to build broader Agile leadership capabilities.
• Recertification: The PSU certification is valid for life, meaning no recertification is required.

Impact on Teams and Organizations
The PSU certification empowers organizations to bridge the gap between UX design and Scrum development, enabling teams to:

• Deliver better user-centered products by integrating UX research and design into each sprint.
• Improve cross-functional collaboration between UX professionals and development teams.
• Reduce the time spent in the discovery phase and accelerate the delivery of features that truly meet user needs.

Real-World Application
Companies like Google and Spotify have successfully applied PSU-certified techniques to enhance product development by ensuring that every sprint includes user research and UX validation phases. These techniques have led to faster delivery times and improved product satisfaction among end users.

Cost of Certification
The PSU exam fee is typically $200, while the two-day PSU training can range from $800 to $1,500, depending on the provider and location. These costs cover the exam and access to course materials provided by Scrum.org.

Return on Investment (ROI)
For professionals, the PSU certification yields significant ROI. Certified professionals often see salary increases ranging from 10-20% as they bring valuable UX-integrated Scrum practices to their teams. For organizations, the ROI is reflected in improved user satisfaction, faster development cycles, and increased product-market fit.

Financial Aid and Discounts
Scrum.org and its training partners often offer group discounts for companies certifying multiple employees. Some organizations may also provide financial sponsorship as part of broader Agile transformation efforts.

Competitor Analysis
The PSU certification can be compared to other Agile and UX-focused certifications such as Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) by Scrum Alliance or UX Design certification programs from Interaction Design Foundation. PSU stands out because it specifically focuses on integrating UX into the Scrum process, whereas other certifications either focus more on product ownership or general UX principles.

Unique Features

• UX Integration: PSU uniquely addresses the challenge of integrating UX within Agile sprints, allowing teams to work iteratively without sacrificing the quality of user research.
• Framework-agnostic: While rooted in Scrum, the PSU certification teaches principles that can be applied to a variety of Agile frameworks.

Industry Trends
As more companies recognize the importance of user-centered design, certifications like PSU, which combine Agile methodologies with UX, are becoming increasingly valuable. This trend is especially relevant in industries such as e-commerce, software development, and fintech, where user experience is directly linked to business success.

Case Studies
At Spotify, PSU-certified teams successfully integrated user feedback into their development process, leading to an increase in user retention by 15%. Teams were able to iteratively test and refine user-facing features during sprints, significantly reducing the time from concept to delivery.

Personal Success
Emma Smith, a UX Designer at Google, shared: “The PSU certification helped me merge my UX skills with Scrum, allowing me to better collaborate with developers. Now, I can ensure that user needs are met continuously throughout the product development lifecycle.”

Notable Companies
Organizations like IBM, Intel, and Tesla actively seek PSU-certified professionals because of the unique skill set they bring, which helps integrate design thinking into Agile frameworks, leading to higher-quality products and improved user engagement.

Emerging Trends
As Agile continues to evolve, the need for integrating UX design into Scrum practices will only increase. The rise of remote teams and distributed UX research calls for methods that allow continuous user testing and feedback loops within Agile environments. PSU certification equips professionals to handle these challenges by teaching them how to run user tests and validate assumptions in iterative sprints, even in a distributed setting.

Future Updates to the Certification
Scrum.org is committed to keeping its certifications up to date with industry trends. Future updates to the PSU certification may include an emphasis on AI-driven user experience testing and deeper integration of lean UX principles as organizations seek to develop products faster while maintaining high user satisfaction.

Relevance in a Changing Market
With Agile methodologies dominating the software development landscape, the PSU certification will remain relevant for professionals seeking to deliver user-centered solutions in fast-paced, iterative environments. As user experience becomes more critical to product success, PSU-certified professionals will be at the forefront of Agile development, ensuring that products meet user needs at every stage of the process.