How to Pass the Scaled Scrum SPS™ Exam on your first try in 2022
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This exam tests your understanding and application of Nexus Framework, which has been created by Ken Schwaber (co-creator of Scrum) and Scrum.Org.
Preparation for Exam
Nexus Guide: SPS is around Nexus framework. Read it multiple numbers of times. Try to find out where Nexus roles, events, rules, artifacts are different than Scrum. Key areas to focus are Nexus Sprint Planning, Nexus Retrospective, Nexus Integration team formation.
Open Assessments: Take as many open assessments possible. Don’t just limit yourself to Nexus Open Assessments. Take some Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Developer open assessments as well. These would be really useful during the SPS test as few questions especially True/False will be same as open assessments. Completing these questions quickly in the exam will save time for you to think about other complex questions.
Blogs: Blogs really helped in getting a better understanding of scaling the scrum. As there are millions of blogs out there, I decided only to read Scrum.org blogs. It gave me enough points to thinks about.
Practical Experience: I was also trying to co-relate Nexus with my own experiences and how it could have helped me if I would have applied it. I was focusing on thinking about minimising dependencies through functional decomposition and transparency.
A community of Practice(CoP) or Meet Ups: I also attended some CoPs and meetups, where I discussed my doubts. This also gave me the confidence to take the test.
Scrum Guide: Don’t forget that you can’t scale scrum without the understanding of the Scrum. So read it again along with Nexus guide. This will help in understanding the Nexus better.
Type of Exam Questions
40 Questions in 60 mins. It seems easy for someone who has taken PSM I (80 questions in 60 mins). But the difficulty level of SPS is very much higher than PSM I.
Most questions were scenario based and having two right answers. I can recall that there were 3 scenarios that had multiple answers, almost 10. However, these questions were not in a sequential manner which made it more difficult as you have to read the scenario again.
True/False: These can be your key factor in passing the exam. As these will be quick to answer and as I said above, the majority of such questions were similar to open assessments. So, do take these open assessments as much as possible.
Don’t spend much time on complex questions. First, apply the rejection approach. Opt out options which are easy. Write the questions where you have confusion and also note the options that are confusing you. Revisit these later. Opting out approach can help while revisiting questions.
Good Luck!