I just wanted to pass on my experiences preparing for and succeeding in passing the PSM I (95%) and PSPO I (90%) assessments in the same week.
First off, I have more history as an agile PM than a business analyst. The PSM I assessment was more 'logical' for me because of my background. My challenges on the PSPO I assessment I think were more to lack of experience. But I work at a place where the lines between agile PM and BA are blurry, and while they are not scrum (yet), I knew the certifications would help my thinking and focus. (and I chose scrum.org over the other certification groups for the obvious, well documented reasons)
Anyway, preparing for the exams, I followed all the good words of advice on this forum, and by extensively searching. I spent a month of my free time, reading the recommended books and articles many times, taking the open assessments at scrum.org and at a few other places (search for them) and taking them repeatedly until I scored 100% on at least 3 attempts. After taking the open assessments at scrum.org and reading materials, you do get a sense of which other assessments out there are good and which are not so good.
I chose to take the PSPO exam right away because a) it was going to have many questions be very similar to the PSM I exam, b) the study resources were very similar, c) the material was all fresh on my mind, so why not, and d) I could afford the $200.
In preparing for the PSPO I exam, I knew I needed to find different materials to help me study than for the PSM exam. I found a great checklist of PSPO I study tips at scrumcrazy.com (Charles Bradley, who contributes on here frequently). He has a really helpful article called 'The New New Product Owner'. I read it many times and it helped me focus and made the PSPO assessment easier. (Also, it's a great, well-written read, and useful even if you don't take the exam or as reference material later or for prepping for a job interview, which I did).
There is a lot of helpful material out there, and so spending time for a month at least preparing for the exams, reading, absorbing, digesting, letting info stew, was real helpful to learn the material well, reduce the stress during the assessment which can lead to poor choices, and use each confident answer to your benefit. Good Luck!
First off, I have more history as an agile PM than a business analyst. The PSM I assessment was more 'logical' for me because of my background. My challenges on the PSPO I assessment I think were more to lack of experience. But I work at a place where the lines between agile PM and BA are blurry, and while they are not scrum (yet), I knew the certifications would help my thinking and focus. (and I chose scrum.org over the other certification groups for the obvious, well documented reasons)
Anyway, preparing for the exams, I followed all the good words of advice on this forum, and by extensively searching. I spent a month of my free time, reading the recommended books and articles many times, taking the open assessments at scrum.org and at a few other places (search for them) and taking them repeatedly until I scored 100% on at least 3 attempts. After taking the open assessments at scrum.org and reading materials, you do get a sense of which other assessments out there are good and which are not so good.
I chose to take the PSPO exam right away because a) it was going to have many questions be very similar to the PSM I exam, b) the study resources were very similar, c) the material was all fresh on my mind, so why not, and d) I could afford the $200.
In preparing for the PSPO I exam, I knew I needed to find different materials to help me study than for the PSM exam. I found a great checklist of PSPO I study tips at scrumcrazy.com (Charles Bradley, who contributes on here frequently). He has a really helpful article called 'The New New Product Owner'. I read it many times and it helped me focus and made the PSPO assessment easier. (Also, it's a great, well-written read, and useful even if you don't take the exam or as reference material later or for prepping for a job interview, which I did).
There is a lot of helpful material out there, and so spending time for a month at least preparing for the exams, reading, absorbing, digesting, letting info stew, was real helpful to learn the material well, reduce the stress during the assessment which can lead to poor choices, and use each confident answer to your benefit. Good Luck!