How to pass the PSM II exam
The PSM II is application exam — it tests whether you can use the Scrum Guide (2020) and Scrum.org's Professional Scrum Competencies, not whether you've memorised it. This guide gives you the official blueprint, a realistic study plan, and the exact way to practise so you walk in ready.
⚡ The short version
- The exam: 30 case-study & scenario questions, 90 minutes.
- The trap: it rewards judgment, not recall. Real-world experience alone isn't enough; you must apply the standard across tasks.
- The plan: read the Scrum Guide (2020) and Scrum.org's Professional Scrum Competencies → drill questions by area → run full timed mocks until you hold 80–85% → review every miss. Budget commonly reported 20–40 hours for practitioners already experienced as Scrum Masters.
- Where to focus: Developing People and Teams is 30% of the exam — study it hardest.
What the PSM II exam actually is
30 scenario-based questions — multiple choice, multiple answer and true/false, some with partial credit — in 90 minutes, requiring 85% to pass. Taken online, unproctored, via Scrum.org; the certification is lifetime with no renewal fee.
The official exam blueprint (focus areas)
Scrum.org publishes exactly how the exam content is distributed. This is your single most useful planning fact — weight your study to match it:
| Area | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| Developing People and Teams | 30% | |
| Understanding and Applying the Scrum Framework | 20% | |
| Managing Products with Agility | 20% | |
| Evolving the Agile Organization | 20% | |
| Developing and Delivering Products Professionally | 10% |
Source: Scrum.org Professional Scrum Competencies — Scrum.org publishes no official weights; the split shown is an estimate based on emphasis in official prep materials. Developing People and Teams alone is 30% — most candidates under-weight it.
Eligibility & cost (the quick facts)
Before you book, you have to qualify and apply:
- No formal prerequisites.
- Scrum.org strongly recommends holding PSM I first (or equivalent hands-on Scrum Master experience) — PSM II assumes and builds on that foundation.
How long should you study?
For most working analysts, commonly reported 20–40 hours for practitioners already experienced as Scrum Masters is the realistic range. With a structured prep course and strong existing BABOK fluency, some pass faster; treat "I crammed it in a weekend" stories as outliers built on years of hands-on experience.
What matters more than the hour count is how you spend them. Passive re-reading plateaus fast. The candidates who pass comfortably shift most of their time into answering questions and analysing why each option is right or wrong.
What's the PSM II pass rate? (the honest answer)
Scrum.org does not publish official pass rates — so any site quoting an exact "PSM II pass rate" is guessing or repeating someone else's guess. Here's what we can say honestly:
- Community-reported first-attempt figures vary widely and can't be verified — treat them as noise.
- What is knowable: candidates who consistently hold 80–85% on realistic, full-length mocks before booking overwhelmingly report passing; candidates who book on gut feel are the ones writing "failed by a hair" posts.
- The exam is deliberately passable for prepared candidates — Scrum.org wants competent certified professionals, not a lottery. Preparation quality, not luck, is the variable you control.
The core strategy: application beats memorisation
This is the one idea every PSM II-holder repeats: the exam tests judgment, not recall. Questions rarely ask "what is technique X?" — they describe a messy, realistic situation and ask what you should do next. Several answers look reasonable; only one is best given the approach in the Scrum Guide (2020) and Scrum.org's Professional Scrum Competencies.
So your job isn't to memorise every input and output — it's to understand how the pieces relate: what feeds what, when you'd choose one approach over another, and what "good" looks like at each step. Memorise the skeleton; understand the joints.
A study plan that works
Adjust the pace to your timeline, but keep the shape: build understanding first, then convert it into exam reflexes through questions.
Read the standard + take a diagnostic
Read the Scrum Guide (2020) and Scrum.org's Professional Scrum Competencies once for the map — how the areas connect. Take a free diagnostic to see where you stand and seed your error log.
Study area by area
Work one area at a time, heaviest first (Developing People and Teams → Understanding and Applying the Scrum Framework). Read that area, then drill questions on it with explanations for every option. Don't move on until you're at ~80%.
Drill the traps: techniques, terms & calculations
Attack whatever the diagnostic marked weakest — exact definitions, look-alike terms, and any calculation-style items.
Run full-length timed mocks
Sit complete 30-question, 90-minute simulations under exam conditions. Review every wrong answer; spaced repetition resurfaces misses on a 1 → 3 → 7 → 16-day schedule.
Reach readiness & book
When you hold 80–85% across all areas on fresh mocks — not one lucky run — schedule the exam while you're sharp.
The week-by-week plan
The same shape, laid out as a calendar. Studying part-time (commonly reported 20–40 hours for practitioners already experienced as Scrum Masters)? Follow it as written. More time? Compress two weeks into one — but keep the order and the goals.
| When | Focus | You're done when… |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Re-read the Scrum Guide critically — this exam tests nuance, not recall. Free diagnostic to find gaps. | You can defend each Guide rule with its 'why' |
| Week 2 | Developing People and Teams (30%) — coaching, facilitation, conflict scenarios where several answers look right. | You pick the servant-leadership answer consistently |
| Week 3 | Framework application (20%) + Managing Products with Agility (20%) + Evolving the Agile Organization (20%). | 80%+ on scenario sets |
| Week 4 | Timed mocks at the 85% bar; error log; book. | 90%+ held on fresh mocks |
Falling behind? Cut scope from the lightest blueprint areas, never from mocks or error-log review — those two convert knowledge into a pass.
Practice questions: how to actually use them
Do
- Read the explanation for every option — wrong answers teach the most
- Track accuracy per knowledge area, not overall
- Re-attempt misses on a spaced schedule
- Sit full, timed 30-question mocks before booking
Don't
- Use "exam dumps" — stale, often wrong, against Scrum.org's policies
- Grind questions without analysing why
- Judge readiness on one good run
- Assume job experience covers the whole syllabus
That's exactly how ExamDeck's PSM II bank is built: original, expert-reviewed questions, an explanation linked to the source for every option, per-area readiness scoring, and a spaced-repetition error log — no dumps, no ads.
See the quality — a real PSM II question
Exam-day tactics
- Read every scenario twice. The detail that changes the answer is usually in the last sentence.
- Pace yourself — about 3.0 minutes per question. Don't sprint, don't stall.
- Mark-and-skip the hard ones. Bank the easy marks first; return with the time you saved.
- Never leave a question blank. There's no penalty for guessing — answer everything.
- Pick the best answer per the Scrum Guide (2020) and Scrum.org's Professional Scrum Competencies, not the real-world-fastest. They're often different.
- If you're online-proctored, prep your room early: clear desk, ID ready, one monitor, break planned.
Why candidates fail (and how to avoid it)
- Under-studying. "I've done BA work for years" isn't a plan — the exam covers areas your job may not.
- Memorising instead of understanding. Recall fails on "what next?" questions.
- Ignoring the blueprint. Spreading time evenly when Developing People and Teams is 30% leaves the biggest area under-prepared.
- Relying on dumps. Stale, often wrong, and a code-of-conduct risk.
- Poor pacing. Six minutes on one question means rushing the last twenty.
Start preparing for PSM II today
6 free questions in study mode · per-area readiness · no card, no dumps, no ads.
Create your free account →PSM II exam — frequently asked
Is PSM II harder than PSM I?
Significantly — PSM II tests scenario-based judgment on leadership, facilitation and organizational impediments rather than Scrum Guide recall. Answer options are longer, more nuanced, and several usually look plausible.
Do I need PSM I before taking PSM II?
There's no formal requirement, but Scrum.org and most practitioners strongly recommend it — PSM II assumes the same foundational knowledge and builds directly on it.
How should I prepare for PSM II?
Re-read the Scrum Guide 2020 closely, retake the free Scrum Open until consistently 100%, study the Professional Scrum Competencies, and practise applying them to messy real-team scenarios — recall alone won't clear 85%.
How many questions is the PSM II exam and how long is it?
30 scenario-based questions — multiple choice, multiple answer and true/false, some with partial credit — in 90 minutes, requiring 85% to pass.
What is the passing score for PSM II?
The passing score is 85%. Aim for a consistent 80–85% on realistic practice exams before booking.
What is the PSM II pass rate?
Scrum.org does not publish official pass rates, so any exact percentage quoted online is unverified. The readiness signal that actually predicts passing: consistently holding 80–85% on realistic, full-length practice exams before you book.
What are the PSM II eligibility requirements?
No formal prerequisites. Scrum.org strongly recommends holding PSM I first (or equivalent hands-on Scrum Master experience) — PSM II assumes and builds on that foundation.
How much does PSM II cost?
$250 per attempt (verified on scrum.org 5 Oct 2026). The purchased password never expires but covers one attempt only — each retake needs a new password.
How long should I study for PSM II?
For most candidates, commonly reported 20–40 hours for practitioners already experienced as Scrum Masters. What matters most is practising questions and analysing why each option is right or wrong — not just reading.
Does the PSM II certification need recertification?
None — valid for life, no annual renewal fee.
Are ExamDeck's PSM II questions exam dumps?
No — every question is original, written to test the concepts and reviewed before it ships, with an explanation linked to the source for every option. Dumps are stale, often wrong, and against Scrum.org's policies.