Certifications are widely used by individuals to demonstrate and show-off their expertise in any particular field. With fierce competition in the job markets, the go-to first level filtering criteria for most jobs is to choose candidates who have the relevant certifications. The field of Software Project Management has always recognized (and continues to value) the PMP Credential but with the industry evolving and moving toward a more Agile development methodology, the field of Project Management needs to Evolve as well. Agile Methodologies like Scrum have become very popular and have started offering their own certifications. Being the pioneer in the field of project management, PMI jumped on the agile bandwagon and introduced its own certification to credit project managers who are practicing Agile thereby creating the “Agile Certified Practitioner”
Why this Article/Series?
Many years ago when I prepared & passed the PMP Certification exam, I wrote a series of articles on the certification including Exam Prep, Tips & Tricks etc. This helped me understand the concepts that were required to be understood in order to crack the certification examination in my first attempt. I have been helping out this blog’s readers over the last 5-6 years in preparing and passing the PMP as well as PMI-RMP certifications.
As I am trying to crack the next certification on my to-do list, I thought why not help out others who are preparing for the certification as well. Hence this series.
Why are PMI’s Certifications Valued so much?
Much of the Aura around PMI’s certification is twofold – The strict entry criteria that need to be satisfied including years of relevant experience as well as a very complex examination that will further filter out candidates who do not have the expertise in the subject matter.
Many of the Agile certifications in the market expect the candidate to attend a 3-4 day training and then sit for a medium-complexity examination before awarding them the certification. As a result the distinction between someone who is a newcomer to the field of agile project management and someone who has spent years managing agile projects is kind of blurred. The PMI ACP certification would help you stand-out as an experienced practitioner with solid real world experience.
What makes the PMI ACP Exam different from other certifications?
Most people are under the misconception that Scrum is the only agile project management methodology. The Scrum Master certifications that test your knowledge of Scrum alone is very popular these days. However, when PMI came up with the course contents or syllabus, they wanted to cover agile project management in general without affiliation to any one particular technique. So, you will learn about Scrum, eXtreme Programming, Lean, Kanban and a few other agile techniques over the course of this series.
Exam Tip: Thinking that years of Scrum experience and knowledge of Scrum is enough to pass the ACP Exam is one of the main reasons why people fail the ACP Exam.
Why Take the PMI-ACP Exam?
Simple – To gain the PMI ACP Credential, isn’t it?
What are the Eligibility Criteria for the PMI ACP Credential?
According to PMI’s official web page for the certification the pre-requisites are as follows:
- 1. 2000 hours or more of experience in general project management
- 2. 1500 hours or more of experience working on Agile Projects
- 3. 21 contact hours of Agile Training
Note: The 1500 hours of Agile experience is over and above the 2000 hours of regular project management experience.
You can check out PMI’s official page for PMI ACP exam if you need more information.
Examination Pattern
The PMP exam has 120 multiple-choice questions with four answers to each question. Total exam duration is three hours. Just like the PMP Exam, Twenty of the 120 exam questions are not counted toward your final score. As exam takers, there is now way for us to find out what those 20 questions are. So, answer all 120 as if your life depends on it…
Each correct answer fetches you one mark and there is no negative marking for incorrect answers. As it is an online exam, results will be shown right after you finish the exam.
Exam Tip: The PMI ACP Exam is not a test of your ability to memorise a guide like the PMBOK. The syllabus is vast and most questions in the exam are situational in nature. Even if you buy the best ACP Exam prep guide and memorise it cover to cover, you wouldn't be able to answer the questions unless you understand the agile principles and apply the same in your projects.
I hope you find this series of articles useful in your preparation for the PMI ACP Examination.
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