Passing the PAL I: five mistakes allowed, and Scrum is not the subject

The PAL I has 36 questions, and the threshold stays at 85%. So you need 31 correct answers: five mistakes, not one more. That is the narrowest margin in the whole catalogue, and it is not the main difficulty. A candidate preparing for this certification by rereading the Scrum Guide is revising beside the point. The exam covers accountabilities and artifacts only lightly. It covers an executive's stance, and above all the management reflexes that have to be unlearned. ## The format, as published The figures come from the official PAL page, checked in September 2026. - 36 questions in 60 minutes. - Passing threshold: 85%, so 31 correct answers and five mistakes at most. - $200 per attempt. - Single choice, multiple choice and true or false. - English only. Thirty-six questions give you nearly a hundred seconds each. Time is not the problem here; the margin is. ## Five areas, the broadest syllabus in the catalogue Where the other certifications announce two or three, the PAL I covers five. Understanding and applying the framework, pared back to the essentials: empiricism, the values, the Scrum Team, the events. Developing people and teams, with self-management, facilitation, and above all leadership styles. Managing products with agility: forecasting, product value, stakeholders. Delivering professionally, from the angle of emergent development. Evolving the agile organisation, with organisational design, culture, and Evidence-Based Management. That last area exists nowhere else in the foundation catalogue. It implies a second official text, the EBM Guide, alongside the Scrum Guide. ## The central trap: the right practice, the wrong reason Here is the subtlest pattern in this exam, and it resembles no other. The question offers a practice that is genuinely recommended. Dedicating a person to one team, for instance, or keeping team composition stable. You recognise it, it is correct, you tick it. Except the answer attaches the wrong justification to it. It defends team stability in the name of utilisation rates. The real reason is team coherence and the value delivered. This trap does not test whether you know the practice. It tests whether you know why it is good. An experienced manager falls for it more easily than a beginner, because they recognise the practice and stop there. ## "Value, not X" A second pattern comes back in several forms, with a different X each time. Value, not speed. Value, not cost. Value, not respecting the time, budget and scope triangle. That repetition is deliberate. The message is the same, the dressing changes, and missing the first occurrence does not condemn the rest once you have spotted the pattern. Hold on to the underlying question: who determines value? The market and the customer, not the executives and not the team. ## The reflexes to unlearn This is the heart of the exam, and the official syllabus makes an area of it in its own right. Utilisation rate. Keeping people a hundred per cent busy does not produce more value. It lengthens lead times and degrades quality. Velocity as a productivity measure. It exists to forecast, not to compare teams or appraise performance. Spreading people across several teams. It looks efficient and costs dearly in context switching. The time, budget and scope triangle. Holding all three is not the definition of success. A project delivered on time with no value is still a failure. These four reflexes are those of competent traditional management. That is what makes the exam hard for a serving executive. ## What the manager becomes One fear comes up repeatedly among candidates, and the exam addresses it: the manager's role does not disappear in an agile organisation. It changes in nature. It carries the development of people, the design of the organisation, the removal of impediments beyond any one team. It no longer directs the work, and it no longer shields the organisation from change. The manager is not a Product Owner either, and the reverse is just as wrong. The line between accountabilities remains the Scrum Guide's. ## Preparing in three moves ### 1. Read the EBM Guide as much as the Scrum Guide The organisational area rests on Evidence-Based Management. Know what it measures and why it separates the value the market perceives from the organisation's ability to produce it. Hold on to the overall logic rather than the lists. EBM exists to decide under uncertainty, from evidence rather than opinion. ### 2. Work on stance, not on definitions Leadership styles form a maturity model, from the most combative to the most catalytic. No shortcut exists: an organisation does not jump straight to the last one. For each situation, ask yourself what an executive brings about rather than what they decide. ### 3. Hunt down your own reflexes This is the most profitable exercise, and it has no equivalent on any other certification. Take the indicators you track today and ask what they actually measure. With five mistakes of margin, one misread question is worth three percentage points. Aim for three consecutive runs above 85% before booking. The ten traps common to Scrum exams hold here too, in a managerial guise. ## Frequently asked questions ### How many correct answers does the PAL I need? 31 out of 36, the threshold being 85%. Five mistakes at most, the narrowest margin among the certifications we cover. ### Is the PAL I aimed at Scrum Masters? It is aimed first at managers and executives, those who do not belong to the Scrum Team. A Scrum Master can take it, as long as they understand the questions will be about a leadership stance, not about running a team. ### Do you need to know the Scrum Guide? Yes, but it is not enough. The framework is assumed and little tested for its own sake. The bulk is about leadership, organisation and measuring value. ### Should you read the EBM Guide? It is strongly advised. A whole official area covers Evidence-Based Management, and no other foundation certification tests it. ### Does the PAL I expire? No. Scrum.org states that its certifications do not expire and require no renewal, and carry no later fees. ## Key points - 36 questions, 60 minutes, 85%: 31 correct answers, so five mistakes at most. - Five official areas, the broadest syllabus in the foundation catalogue. - The Scrum framework is assumed and little tested for its own sake. - A correct practice paired with a wrong justification is a wrong answer. - "Value, not speed, not cost, not the triangle" comes back in several dressings. - Utilisation rate, velocity as productivity, spreading people thin: three reflexes to unlearn. - The manager's role does not disappear, it changes in nature. The free PAL I trial uses the official conditions, with the answer explained straight away. No account to create.