How To Pass PSPO II Certification
I have passed PSPO II certification on 10th May 2020 with 92.5% (148 points scored out of 160 maximum points). This certification is tricky and a lot of knowledge and experience is needed. There are 40 questions that need to be answered in 60 minutes. You have to score 85% to pass the exam. On passing you will receive a certificate as below.
I have prepared this certification exam by studying, practicing below books and links.
Official Training from Scrum.org
If your company sponsors you or it is financially viable for you, I recommend official Scrum.org training. This helps in gaining knowledge quickly and also makes things easy in your preparation. Attending training alone is not enough to pass the exam. You must still go through the below material. Training provides an opportunity to meet like-minded people and explore things. I have participated in the official Scrum.org two-day PSM II training in London conducted by Simon Kneafsey. It was a great experience and I made some good friends globally!
Attending official Scrum.org training is an advantage as the training badge is added to your scrum.org profile, https://www.scrum.org/user/311844 . Image shown below. This gives a slight edge over others if every attribute is equal between you and others. Attending training gives you 2 free attempts to pass the certification.
Also you will get an email from Scrum.org as below
PSPO III Discount
If you decide to take the more challenging PSPO III assessment, Scrum.org offers a discount as a result of your participation in the PSPO II class. Please contact us for the PSPO III coupon code.
Links & Books to go through
1. Please read scrum guide & EBM Guide
Scrum Guide — https://www.scrumguides.org/docs/scrumguide/v2017/2017-Scrum-Guide-US.pdf#zoom=100
EBM Guide — https://www.scrum.org/resources/evidence-based-management-guide
This is very important. You have to read multiple times. After learning or practicing the Scrum concepts you have to revisit the above 2 guides. Every time I read, I learn more and derive new outcomes.
2. Free Scrum.org open tests & TheScrumMaster.co.uk
https://www.scrum.org/open-assessments/scrum-open
https://www.scrum.org/open-assessments/product-owner-open
https://www.scrum.org/open-assessments/nexus-open
Please make sure you attempt each test thrice and aim to finish each one in 6–7 minutes. Ideally less than 5 minutes is better.
Also if you want to challenge yourself more, please attempt PSM I, PSM II, PSPO I, PSPO II created by Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) Simon Kneafsey.
https://www.thescrummaster.co.uk/scrum-org-practice-assessments
You get only a few questions but those are of high quality.
3. Free mlapshin questions
Practise Scrum Master, Product Owner & Scaled Professional Scrum questions at
https://mlapshin.com/index.php/scrum-quizzes/
Also go through these questions
https://mlapshin.com/index.php/blog/scrum-questions/
4.Books
1. Scrum — A Pocket Guide by Gunther Verheyen
This book is a must to pass all certifications from PSM I/PSPO I to PSM III/PSPO III. You will gain knowledge to apply in real life at work.
This book takes you through pre-scrum to scrum days.
2. The Professional Product Owner: Leveraging Scrum as a Competitive Advantage by Don McGreal & Ralph Locham.
If you really want to apply some best practises in product management please go for this book. It enlightened me and made me a better product owner. Helps a lot in preparing for certification as well.
3. Product Mastery: From Good To Great Product Ownership by Geoff Watts
Another must have book. Geoff’s story telling is awesome. You will see real life examples at work. This book helped me to understand product owner role better.
5. Blogs & Links
Blogs from Robbin Schuurman.
These will definitely help in gaining knowledge and also passing the exam.
https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/stances-product-owner
And go through all of his blogs at
https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog?uid=303
6. Product Owner Learning path from Scrum.org
https://www.scrum.org/pathway/product-owner-learning-path
The below link has some overlap with the above links.
https://www.scrum.org/resources/suggested-reading-professional-scrum-product-owner-II
I wish you good luck. The above study material makes you to pass the PSPO II exam. More importantly you will become a much more improved Product Owner.
This will also lay foundations for PSPO III journey.
