PSL N41 study guide
PSL N41 · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The PSL N41 is a professional certification exam for people who work with Scrum teams and want to demonstrate a deeper, practice-oriented understanding of the framework. It suits Scrum Masters, aspiring coaches, team leads, and delivery practitioners who already know the basics and are ready to be assessed on how they apply Scrum theory in real situations. The published domain outline emphasizes Scrum theory and principles, the Scrum Team, Scrum events, artifacts and their commitments, facilitation and team effectiveness, and coaching, mentoring, and servant leadership. That mix means the exam rewards judgment, not memorization: expect to reason about trade-offs, diagnose team dysfunction, and choose the most appropriate next action rather than recite definitions. The PSL N41 study guide has 6 sections and about 1,922 words.
01Scrum Theory and Principles
Scrum is founded on empiricism and lean thinking . Empiricism says knowledge comes from experience and decisions are made on what is observed; the three pillars are transparency, inspection, and adaptation .
323 words, about 2 min02The Scrum Team
A Scrum Team is cross-functional (all skills needed to create value each Sprint) and self-managing (decides who does what, when, and how). It has no sub-teams or hierarchies and is typically 10 or fewer people .
311 words, about 2 min03Scrum Events
All events are timeboxed and exist to enable transparency and inspection/adaptation. The Sprint (one month or less) is the container; the others occur within it.
344 words, about 2 min04Scrum Artifacts and Commitments
Artifacts represent work or value and maximize transparency. Each has a commitment that reinforces focus: Product Backlog → Product Goal.
330 words, about 2 min05Facilitating Scrum Events and Team Effectiveness
Facilitating is not chairing. The Scrum Master designs the conditions for effective events: clear purpose, right participants, timeboxes respected, and psychological safety so people speak honestly.
306 words, about 2 min06Coaching, Mentoring, and Servant Leadership
The Scrum Master is a true leader who serves . Three modes: Coaching - asking powerful questions, raising awareness, helping the team find its own answers; non-directive.
308 words, about 2 min