Free PSM I practice: how to prepare without buying a course

The Scrum.org PSM I exam is 80 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, and you need 85 percent to pass. Every question is grounded in the 2020 Scrum Guide, which is free. You do not need a paid course to prepare, and thousands of people pass without one every year. Here is exactly what to do.

The only source that matters

Download the 2020 Scrum Guide from scrumguides.org. Read it. Then read it again. Then a third time. The exam does not test outside opinions, older Scrum Guide versions, SAFe, LeSS, or general Agile lore. If a study source contradicts the current Scrum Guide, trust the Scrum Guide.

The free assessments to grind

Scrum.org publishes four free assessments that use the same question style as PSM I:

• Scrum Open, 30 questions, general Scrum knowledge. This is the closest to PSM I in style.
• Product Owner Open, 30 questions, backlog and value focus.
• Scrum Master Open, 30 questions, coaching and impediment focus.
• Developer Open, 30 questions, Sprint execution and Done focus.

Take each one until you score 100 percent, three times in a row, without guessing. When you can do that on the Scrum Open, you are almost certainly ready for the paid exam.

Where free practice usually falls short

The Opens are excellent but limited. Two things they do not drill well:

• Applied judgement. The paid exam has a chunk of "what would the Scrum Master do?" style questions where two answers are defensible and one is more aligned with the Scrum Guide. The Opens have fewer of these.
• Time pressure. 80 questions in 60 minutes is 45 seconds per question. The Opens don't have that cadence.

Fix the first with applied scenario practice. Scrumling's Scrum Master role games put you into the same style of decisions the paid exam tests, and grade your call against the Scrum Guide.

Practice the applied Scrum Master decisions →

Or start with the Foundations module →

Fix the second by timing yourself. Set a stopwatch, do the Scrum Open, and refuse to go over 20 minutes on a 30-question test. If you can do that scoring 95 percent or higher, the paid exam's time pressure won't surprise you.

A one-week free study plan

• Day 1: Read the Scrum Guide end to end. Do not stop to research anything.
• Day 2: Read it again, this time noting every word you'd struggle to define (empiricism, Sprint Goal, Definition of Done, self-managing).
• Day 3: Take the Scrum Open once, review every miss against the Scrum Guide.
• Day 4: Play through the Foundations and Scrum Master role games. Review the explanations.
• Day 5: Take Scrum Open, Product Owner Open, Scrum Master Open. Score 90+ on all three.
• Day 6: Re-read the Scrum Guide a third time. This pass should feel obvious.
• Day 7: Take the Scrum Open three times, timed, and score 100 percent each time. If you can, buy the exam. If you can't, wait a week and repeat.

When to actually book the exam

PSM I is $200 and never expires. Do not book it until you can score 100 percent on the Scrum Open three sittings in a row without guessing. Once you can, book it that day, before the confidence fades.