“Experiments with learning are keys to discover success”. Agile is also based on this principle. PMI agile certified practitioner (PMI-ACP) is new certification from PMI expecting those candidates to practice agile in the upcoming future. It is based on the principles and practices of agile. Firms are looking for Agile Certified professionals (PMI-ACP) to lead their Agile Development efforts. PMI-ACP defines various methodologies of agile like kanban, scrum, extreme program and test-driven development. The result is to turn them into versatile agile certified professionals.

Benefits of PMI-ACP certification-

1. To understand agile values and principles.

2. To earn 8 SEUs

3. To develop an agile mindset.

4. Understanding of Agile methodologies such as Kanban, Scrum, XP and TDD.

5. Master level coaching of agile.

6. To build self-organized agile team.

7. To manage stakeholder and schedule agile meeting.

8. Understanding of agile factors like user stories, retrospective meetings, time boxing and burn-down chart.

9. To pass PMI exam.

Requirement for eligibility of PMI-ACP-

There are overall four requirements that must be met in order to be eligible for PMI-ACP exam. The first requirement is to have secondary degree or high school diploma. Then Second requirement is to have 2000 hours of general project experience and it should be documented. The general project experience should be minimum last 5 years and it not compulsory to be agile-related. Already having an active project management professional (PMP) or program management professional (PgMP) certification can satisfy requirement of general project documentation without additional documents. The third requirement stands that documentation of 1500 hours of experience is required for working on agile team or following agile practices for last 3 years. The last requirement includes that candidate must earn at least 21 contact hours covering Agile-related topics including agile philosophy, methodologies, principles, or practices. All these are requirements for eligibility of PMI-ACP.

Contact Hours-

If candidates are willing to apply for the PMI-ACP certification exam, they need to attend a 21 contact hours training program in agile methodologies. It is recommended to take an online program for candidate to earn 21 contact hours.  As online programs are affordable candidate can join them with convenience from anywhere. There are important things to be remembered in case of contact hours that one training hour tends to be equal with one contact hour and it most focus only on agile-related topics.

PMI-ACP Exam Application Process-

Before starting with PMI-ACP application process one glance is required whether candidate is eligible to apply for PMI-ACP. There are few things when it comes about documentation for general and agile project. Like both 2000 hours of experience of general project should be different from 1500 hours of agile project. Means candidate cannot claim working hours of both project together. Moreover, experience of documents in terms of months cannot be overlapping. Suppose 1st project ends in month April and second project also starts in month of April then they would be considered as one month instead of two months. Means experience hours in terms of months should not be overlapping in case of project experience. 21 contact hours should be completed as stated above with respect to agile practices. Also as a part of application process candidate is required to read and agree PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and the Certification Application/Renewal Agreement.

PMI-ACP Exam Application Audit-

After submission of PMP_ACP Exam application an audit can take place for candidate's application. So it is very important to save the copy of all experience and contact hour documentation until candidate has at least received notification that he or she is eligible to take the PMI-ACP exam. If candidate is selected for audit then there are 90 days given for submission of audit materials and it requires 5 to 7 days for audit process.

Agile Project Management Certification-

After application is submitted and reviewed then application fee is required to be paid. After that date within one year candidate can attempt for PMI-ACP exam. Candidate is allowed to attempt PMI-ACP exam for 3 attempts in a year for passing. The PMI-ACP exam contains 120 questions to be solved in three hours. Questions are divided in two topics as Agile Tools & Techniques and Agile Knowledge & Skills. Computer based test is one on standard method for taking PMI-ACP exam.

Following are PMI-ACP domains-

Domain 1: Agile Principles and Mindset-

It has 16 percent of weightage in an exam having 9 tasks. This domain is based on methodologies like agile manifesto and 12 agile manifesto principles, agile project management fundamentals, agile methodologies and self-organization. The approach of domain is to enhance visibility of real project progress by using transparent radiators to share the status. It also enhance use of common terminology and making sure people understand what those agile terms mean in the organization. It also allows team members to experiment new things and learn from mistakes. It also motivates for changes at all level of organization for efficiency.

Domain 2: Value-driven Delivery-

It has 20 percent of weightage in an exam having 14 tasks. This domain includes methodologies as value-based prioritization, value prioritization scheme, minimal viable product, earned value management for agile products. It focuses on two values for priority as-

1. Customers can benefit through early profits with more valuable features they need before project ends.

2. Stakeholder would satisfy early, generating buy-in and engagement throughout the project lifecycle.

PMI-ACP certification exam will test candidate on the key tools and techniques which include test-driven development and refactoring.

Domain 3: Stakeholder engagement-

It has 17 percent of weightage in exam having 9 tasks. This domain includes methodologies as stakeholder management, knowledge sharing, participatory decision models, active listening and conflict resolution. This domain is about how to work with other people throughout the project. The approach lies to collaborate with customer by negotiating contract and respond to change over in a plan. Key activities relevant to this domain include iteration planning meetings, iteration reviews, retrospectives, day-to-day project status sharing with transparency.

Domain 4: Team Performance-

It has 16 percent of weightage in exam having 9 tasks. This domain includes methodologies as team formation stages (formation, storming, formation, performing, adjourning), building empowering teams, tabaka’s model for high-performing teams, high-performing vs. low-performing team. This domain is all about team formation, empowerment, collaboration and commitment. Key tools and techniques for this domain include facilitation and communication, cross-skilling and up skilling individuals, velocity tracking, to measure capacity of the team for work, forecasting and estimating tasks.

Domain 5: Adaptive Planning-

It has 12 percent of weightage in exam having 10 tasks. This domain includes methodologies as agile planning stages, agile planning artifacts and meetings, agile planning teams, agile modeling.  Adaptive Planning domain is based on levels of planning, adaptation, agile sizing and estimation. The important skills to consider as part of this domain include facilitation skills, ability to analyze and decompose data with a continuous focus on delivering value, mentoring and coaching, leadership.

Domain 6: Problem Detection and Resolution-

It has 10 percent of weightage in exam having 5 tasks. This domain includes methodologies as risk management, problem detection, and problem resolution. It aims around finding a sustainable working ‘flow’ as a team. Activities give the information about problem detection and other part is thinking of problem before it happens. This domain also states about which roles on agile teams are responsible for which aspects of this process. Key tools and techniques practitioners use include metrics like defect rate, the risk-adjusted backlog, variance analysis, root cause analysis, problem-solving techniques.

Domain 7: Continuous Improvement (Product, Process, People)-

It has 9 percent of weightage in exam having 6 tasks. This domain includes methodologies as integration, testing, and experiments, review and retrospective, value stream analysis and mapping. This domain based on improving the processes and work environment to increase team efficiency. Though weightage of this domain is less in exam but still it is very important. It has approach like to learn from past and progress in future. Key activities and tools related to this domain include product surveys and demonstrations, root cause analysis via tools like the 5 Whys and fishbone diagrams, lessons learned and feedback mechanisms, knowledge sharing and value stream analysis.

So it is cleared all about PMI-ACP with its benefits, eligibility, exam application, audit, certification along with domains and there approach. This exam has wide range because it challenges practitioner to show that they can work on various tools and techniques. To practice agile an agilest need to have toolbox of options to pick right tool at right time for the project. Organization in upcoming future for management has demand for more agile expert professionals who are expected to be PMI-ACP certified.  Many firms are favoring agile due to flexibility it provides for customer satisfaction.  Moreover, it is iterative and quick to provide solution for problems for efficiency of process. So Monks Learning Lab is providing the best course of PMI-ACP training to develop professionals in all industries under the guidance of experts in those respective firms with experience. Already Monks Learning Labs have given rise to many milestones in this career. It's a knocking opportunity for those who want to be professionals to practice agile in upcoming industry demands.