Hire proven Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) experts in Essen, matched in minutes from over 15,000 CVs with the power of AI.
PSPO I shows that a freelancer can shape product vision, manage value-driven backlogs, and work with stakeholders in a Scrum environment. It fits product discovery, sprint planning support, and day-to-day decisions about what to build next. Find vetted PSPO I professionals fast and with precision.
About the certification
What PSPO I means
Professional Scrum Product Owner I, often shortened to PSPO I, is Scrum.org’s entry-level product owner certification. It shows that a person understands the Product Owner role in Scrum and can use it in real product work, not just in theory. For companies, it is a signal that the freelancer can help turn business needs into clear product direction.
Core product owner skills
The certification focuses on the practical side of product ownership. A PSPO I holder is expected to understand how value is created, how priorities are set, and how decisions are made when there is more demand than capacity.
- Product vision and product goals
- Ordering and refining the Product Backlog
- Stakeholder communication and expectation setting
- Value-based prioritization
- Working with Scrum Teams on scope and direction
Knowledge behind the badge
PSPO I is grounded in the Scrum framework and the Product Owner accountabilities described by Scrum.org. It also touches on topics such as product value, empirical thinking, release planning, and how to use feedback to adapt direction. The exam is known for asking candidates to think through situations, not just repeat definitions.
- Scrum theory and the Product Owner role
- Product Backlog management
- Forecasting and product delivery trade-offs
- Working with evidence, feedback, and goals
- Decision-making in complex product settings
Who usually holds it
This certification is common among product owners, product managers, business analysts moving into product work, and consultants who support agile product development. In Essen, it can be a useful signal for companies that need local support for workshops, stakeholder alignment, or hybrid team collaboration, while many PSPO I freelancers also work fully remote.
What it tells a company
A freelancer with PSPO I should be able to contribute to product discovery, backlog clarity, and practical Scrum collaboration from day one. The certification does not replace domain knowledge or senior product judgment, but it does show a shared Scrum vocabulary and a solid understanding of the Product Owner’s responsibilities.
- Can speak clearly with business and delivery teams
- Understands how to maximize product value
- Knows how to support transparent prioritization
- Can fit into Scrum-based product work quickly
Preparation and fit
People preparing for PSPO I usually study the Scrum Guide, practice Product Owner scenarios, and learn how the role differs from project management or delivery leadership. Scrum.org does not frame the certification as a hands-on workshop badge; it is a knowledge-based proof of understanding. Companies hiring in Essen should look for candidates who can connect the certification with real product work in German or international teams, depending on the setting.
Meet FRATCH Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I)
Felix Bauchspiess
Program, Portfolio & Transformation Management
Last position:
Digital Consultant and Solution Manager at Vorwerk SE & Co. KG
Introduction of a new digital product in the Chinese market as part of a global growth strategy.
Point of contact and coordinating interface between central product management, local Chinese teams, and international stakeholders.
Management of the full program management effort to coordinate complex digital projects.
Successful launch of a digital product in China (including successful certification for the Chinese market).
Balancing local requirements with global priorities while taking tax and regulatory conditions into account.
Introduction of a new way of working to improve cross-site collaboration and steering.
Development and implementation of a scaling strategy for the digital business model in China.
Used Jira, Confluence, Miro, Scrum, Agile work, SAFe.
Project language: English.
Ali Catak
Strategy Consultant
Last position:
Founder & Strategist at Wants & Needs UG (limited liability)
Focus areas:
- Strategy & Business Development
- CRM & Retention
- Customer Experience & Journey Management
- Customer Value/CLV
- Growth & Go-to-Market, as well as Business/IT Transformation
- Strategic analysis, target operating models, assessments, business cases, and concept development and implementation management
Henok Abraham
Founder and Managing Director
Last position:
Founder and Managing Director at Afworki GmbH IT-Consulting
The goal of Afworki GmbH IT-Consulting is to make small and medium-sized companies more competitive by overcoming challenges in digitalization, automation, and data management.
Tailored technology, strategy, and specialist consulting designed to meet the individual needs of each company.
Analyzing the company's current situation and developing the best possible solution together with the client.
Using both agile and classical IT project management methods to deliver projects on time and within budget.
Focusing on automating and orchestrating all data flows in a data warehouse to create a unified and standardized data foundation.
Considering the dependencies between IT and business to achieve sustainable positive effects.
Employing modern strategies and tools specifically tailored to the company's needs.
Supporting digitalization, the introduction of agile working methods, and the creation of up-to-date reports and analyses.
Objective: streamlining management and enabling well-founded, data-driven decision-making.
Felix Maas
AI Trainer
Last position:
AI Trainer at AKIA Academy for AI & Automation
- Led the 12-week training program to become an AI and automation specialist
- Created training materials & video courses on "AI Fundamentals", "Working with ChatGPT", "Prompt Engineering", "AI Agents with N8N", "Automations with Make.com" & AI-generated marketing content (images, videos, blog posts & social media posts)
- Conducted workshops on the above topics
- Tools: Loom, N8N, Make.com, ChatGPT, Midjourney, Gamma.app, Canva, Kling AI, Magnific AI
- Result: Participants learn the technical and business know-how to successfully build a business as AI and automation specialists
Mesut Yilmaz
Solution Architect Computer Vision Store
Last position:
Solution Architect Computer Vision Store at Schwarz IT (Lidl/Kaufland)
- Expansion and support of the product portfolio for video analytics and computer vision
- Requirements gathering and engineering
- Consulting, project management and coordination of the pilot and international rollout
- Tools: IP-based camera and video systems, Citrix administration, OneNote, Microsoft Teams, Node-RED, Office 365, Age Verification, Qognify Umbrella, ThingsBoard, Xovis 3D sensors, AXIS cameras, GK checkout software, Atlassian JIRA
Kamal Tarik Rana
Professional Scrum Product Owner I
Last position:
Design and development of a requirements verification tool based on the INVEST principle at Ranasoft Internet Technologies
- Design of requirement verification based on the INVEST principle
- Implementation of the prediction model with scikit-learn and BERT
- Implementation of the web client with ReactJS and FastAPI
- Adaptation of the T5 model to improve user story generation according to the INVEST framework
- Certification of NLP and scikit-learn
- Technologies: Python, NLP, Scikit-Learn, BERT, T5, ReactJS, FastAPI, Cursor Visual Paradigm, Visual Studio, Draw.io, NSIS, vite, Electron
Jan Palagaschwili
Agile Coach
Last position:
Agile Coach at Vitagroup AG
- Provided systemic Agile coaching across multiple teams and program-level contexts in a remote-first environment.
- Redesigned planning, prioritization, delivery, and measurement policies to improve end-to-end flow and decision quality.
- Established explicit WIP limits, service classes, and pull policies to stabilize flow and reduce uncontrolled work intake.
- Introduced flow metrics and probabilistic forecasting to replace deterministic, commitment-based planning.
- Supported rolling-wave planning and hypothesis-driven decision-making at team and program level.
- Built custom scripts, dashboards, and analytical tooling to expose flow behavior, variability, and risk not visible in standard Jira reports.
- Applied a proprietary 7-system organizational performance model to identify constraints and structure targeted improvement experiments.
Matthias Flaschel
Independent Business Consultant
Last position:
Independent Business Consultant
- Consulting services for SMEs and skilled trades
Yunus Sakar
Product Management Consultant
Last position:
Product Management Consultant at Self-Employed
- Strategic Product Leadership: Manage end-to-end product lifecycle for diverse clients, acting as a strategic partner to align digital transformation with business goals.
- Full-Cycle Development: Successfully launched two mobile applications and a fully functional e-commerce platform from concept to release, overseeing roadmap, design, and development.
- Operational Efficiency: Developed a custom logistics application focused on supply chain optimization, directly solving client pain points through data-driven operational strategies.
- Knowledge Sharing: Hosting the Productman Podcast, discussing product culture and market trends.
Daniel Jüntgen
Information Security Consultant
Last position:
Information Security Consultant
- Enhanced quality assurance of documents, processes and required evidence in preparation for the upcoming KRITIS audit 2025.
- Reviewing and commenting on all relevant documents.
- Advising authors and document owners on inquiries and during the creation process.
- Supporting departments with IT security inquiries.
- Used tools/Frameworks MS Office, SharePoint, Jira, Confluence, ISO27001+, NIS-2 (EU 2022/2555), B3S (Statutory Health & Private Health Insurance), BSIG / IT-SIG 2.0, BSI-KritisV, BSI-C5, BSI Baseline Protection (200-2, 200-4), ServiceNow, RCE (EU 2022/2557), SGB, GDPR
Miguel Angel Jimenez Rodriguez
Agile Sub Project Manager
Last position:
Agile Sub Project Manager at Cognizant Mobility
- Contact person for the client for all matters related to delivery of services from the subproject
- Responsible for delivering the subproject and coordinating the deliverables to be achieved (project planning)
- Validating sprint planning of the teams against the project plan
- First escalation point if estimates cannot be agreed
- Resource management for 17 project staff
- Continuous process improvement
- Risk management of any kind that can threaten delivery
- Reporting results internally and to the client, e.g. project execution and milestone achievement
- Responsible for the budget in his subproject (revenue, profit)
- Identifying and implementing financial optimization needs
- Ensuring that Jira items are maintained according to financial and agile guidelines in his subproject
- Building an Informatica core team
- Project management for various migration projects
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) statistics
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
18 years
Position duration
2.2 years
Positions per freelancer
14
Top business areas
Information Technology, Product Development, Project Management
Top industries
Information Technology, Professional Services, Retail
Certification focus areas
Project Management, Information Technology, Product Development
Bachelor's degree or higher
100%
Master's degree or higher
56%
Doctorate
11%
Certifications per freelancer
7
Most common languages
German, English, Turkish
Speak two or more languages
100%
Daily Rate Distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers holding this certification are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Average rates for Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) & Seniority distribution
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Frequently Asked Questions
Got questions? Learn key details about FRATCH right now
Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) validates a practical understanding of the Product Owner role in Scrum. It shows that the holder knows how to order the Product Backlog, focus on value, and work with stakeholders and developers around product goals. For a company, it is a sign that the freelancer understands how product decisions are made in a Scrum team.
PSPO I is focused on product ownership, not on team facilitation or coaching. Compared with Scrum Master certifications, it is more about product direction, value, and backlog decisions. Compared with higher PSPO levels, it is the foundation level, so it signals solid core knowledge rather than deep expert mastery.
PSPO I fits freelancers who work as Product Owners, Product Managers, agile business analysts, or consultants supporting product teams. It is especially relevant when a company wants someone who can translate stakeholder needs into a clear backlog and make prioritization decisions. In Essen, it can matter for both on-site collaboration and remote product work.
Most candidates study the Scrum Guide carefully and learn how the Product Owner role works in different product situations. A strong preparation plan also includes scenario practice, because the exam tests understanding, not memorized phrases. People with hands-on experience in backlog management or stakeholder work usually find the content easier to connect to real projects.
Scrum.org does not require a formal prerequisite to take PSPO I. That said, the exam is easier to approach if the candidate has worked with product ownership, Scrum teams, or agile product delivery before. Companies should treat the certification as evidence of knowledge, not as a substitute for domain experience.
Professional Scrum Product Owner I is part of Scrum.org’s assessment-based certification path. In practice, holders should keep their knowledge current by staying close to Scrum.org guidance and by using the Product Owner role in real work. The certification is not built around classroom attendance alone; it is tied to demonstrated understanding.
PSPO I is useful anywhere product decisions need structure: software products, digital services, internal platforms, and transformation programs. It matters most when teams must manage changing requirements, prioritize work by value, and keep stakeholders aligned. In Essen and across Germany, it is particularly relevant for hybrid and remote product teams that need clear Scrum collaboration.
When a company sees PSPO I, it should expect a freelancer who understands the Product Owner accountabilities in Scrum and can work in a value-focused way. The certification suggests a good fit for backlog refinement, stakeholder alignment, and product goal work. It does not guarantee the right business judgment on its own, so domain knowledge and communication skills still matter.
The average hourly rate for freelancers with Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) in Essen is 100 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 797 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers with Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) in Essen, 100% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 56% hold at least a Master's degree, and 11% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers with Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) in Essen have 18 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 2.2 years.
The most common languages among freelancers with Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) in Essen are German (100%), English (100%), and Turkish (27%).
The most common industries among freelancers with Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) in Essen are Information Technology (91%), Professional Services (82%), and Retail (55%).
The most common business areas among freelancers with Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) in Essen are Information Technology (91%), Product Development (82%), and Project Management (82%).
FRATCH Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) main locations
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
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Philipp Thomaschewski
FRATCH CEO
