How difficult is the Professional Scrum Master I (Fundamental) Assessment?

Question

I have been considering taking the Professional Scrum Master I (Fundamental) Assessment? I am considering paying the $100 and taking the assessment without attending a course. scrum.org Suggests that: "This course is recommended but not required for those who feel they are prepared to take the Assessment."

I live in Cape Town, South Africa and Africa does not even have its tab on the list showing the course schedule :-). There are one or two companies here that offer training, but they are also quite expensive.

I guess what I am really asking is: How realistic is the self-study option? And how will I know if I am ready to write the exam as each registration only allows for 1 attempt?

Answer 1

I asked a co-worker of mine who has taken the test (not the course). Essentially if you've read up on Scrum (e.g. Schwaber's various books) and have read through the guide you should be able to pass the initial assessment.

There is a practice test on the site that you could use to gauge how much you currently know.

Answer 2

This is not specially difficult if you read and practice before. And I am completely sure that you have already certificated, however if not, a strong preparation could mitigating the possible dificult level of the exam.

1. Obtain real experience in Scrum Projects: This point is invaluable, because it is easier understand concepts and ideas if you have had experience in the real world.
2. Read the Scrum guide.
3. Read the The Definitive Guide to Scrum: The Rules of the Game to take more concepts.
4. Practice a lot the open assessment provided by Scrum.org. Please pay attention to your wrong answers, and learn why you felt them.
5. Request feedback within forums and scrum community.

There is a lot of books equally interesting that you can read to help yourself in visualize how to manage a project using Scrum, one of them is "Scrum and XP from the trenches"