While knowledge is primary, the certification is also equally important for anyone to grow in their career. Certifications help to enhance their knowledge, improve their skills so that their productivity can be maximized. However, selecting the right certification is also crucial, because the amount of time and money spent for the certification should be justified. There are several certifications for Product Owners in the market from various organizations. This article helps to understand the differences between two well known certifications: Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) and Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO).
Parameter | CSPO | PSPO | Remarks |
Certification Body | Scrumalliance.org It is a “NOT FOR PROFIT” Organization | Scrum.org It is a “FOR PROFIT” organization | Both are international Scrum certification bodies |
Age of Certification | Started in 2001 | Started in 2010 | CSPO is the oldest Scrum Product Owner certification in the world |
Certification Levels | 3 Levels: CSPO A-CSPO CSP-PO It is mandatory to go through the levels in the same order. | 3 Levels: PSM – 1 PSM – 2 PSM – 3 It is not mandatory to follow the levels, anyone can directly go for PSPO – 3 without doing PSPO – 1 and PSPO – 2 | Both have similar levels but with varied content. However, Going through all 3 levels of CSPO will help to build the knowledge gradually and methodically. |
Recognition | Globally recognized | Globally recognized | Both have recognized by organizations |
Training | Training is mandatory to become CSPO certified. The Trainer must be a Certified Scrum Trainer. | Training is optional to become Professional Scrum Product Owner | The mandatory training will help you learn the insights of Product Ownership concepts of Scrum through a certified Scrum Trainer and gives you a deeper understanding about practical implementation. |
Curriculum | Will be prepared based on Learning objectives prepared using bloom’s taxonomy. So the Trainers can prepare content as per the Learning Objectives using various activities, games and case studies | Standard content given to all Trainers and they have to run the content. So the trainers have to follow a predefined content. | The scope of learning is wide in CSPO due to the activities, case studies and real-time scenarios discussed in the Training. |
Assessment | There is no exam for CSPO certification. Certification will be issued based on the practical hands-on learning happens in the mandatory trainer led training. | Open book exam with 80 questions, 60 minutes and 85% to pass. | PSPO will have 4 options for each question and there may be multiple correct answers. For PSPO test time management is also challenging. |
Number of Attempts | Not applicable as the CSPO does not have any assessment exam | Only 1 Attempt. If the first attempt is failed then another attempt should be purchased | Every attempt in PSPO is chargeable and due to the complexity of the exam it is difficult to pass the PSPO in the first attempt. |
Focus and Deoth | Focuses more on the role of the Product Owner in collaborating with stakeholders, managing the product backlog, and working with Scrum teams. | Has a stronger focus on Scrum principles and the Product Owner’s role within Scrum, emphasizing empirical process control and business value delivery. | CSPO focuses more on the Product Development and management concepts beyond Scrum also. |
Renewal | Every 2 years the CSPO has to be renewed. This renewal will ensure that you are focusing on improving your knowledge with Scrum. You can renew the CSPO through 100 USD and 20 Scrum Educational Units (SEUs) or if you do next level certification it will be automatically renew the CSPO | Renewal is not required, PSPO does not expire. | Because of renewal, one will focus on continuous learning and improving their knowledge with the CSPO path. You can anyway save the renewal fee (100 USD) when you do the next level CSPO certification. |
Cost of Certification | Various countries will have different pricing for CSPO training. In India it typically ranges from 18K to 21K INR. | Various countries will have different pricing for PSPO Training also. In India it will cost around the same amount as CSPO. However,Training is not mandatory for PSPO. If you attend a training, only one attempt of the PSPO exam is included in the training fee. If you want to go for the PSPO certification directly without training then each attempt will cost USD 200 (INR 17000 approximately) | From the Training cost point of view, both CSPO and PSPO will be almost similar. But with CSPO, you will get trainer led training. If you directly go to PSPO without Training, and if you cannot pass the exam in first attempt then you have to spend another 200 USD for every subsequent attempt. |
Which should you choose, CSPO or PSPO?
While both CSPO and PSPO have their own supporting benefits, you have to choose the one which is most suitable for your career growth based on the parameters explained above.
CSPO: If you are new to Scrum and Product management and Product development, or prefer learning through structured courses through a trainer led training and do not want to take an exam.
PSPO: If you prefer a more rigorous exam-based approach, value lifelong certification, and have a strong understanding of Scrum already.
Learnovative offers CSPO certification training in hyderabad and A CSPO certification training in hyderabad through in person and live virtual modes.
