As the organizations are increasingly going Agile, the demand for Agile certified professionals is also on the rise. There are several Agile certifications, but PMI’s Agile Certified Practitioner certification has gained more popularity in recent years. The PMI – Agile Certified Practitioner certification is special in its aspects as it covers a whole lot of Agile methods. It teaches you many Agile skills, tools & techniques required to plan, execute, and effectively complete the projects in an Agile way.
Top Five Facts About PMI-ACP Agile Certified Practitioner Certification:
- Requirements: One-year of Agile experience and 21 hours of Agile education
- Cost: US$ 435 for PMI members and USD 495 for non-members for the exam fee
- Training: 21 Agile hours PMI-ACP Training, which would cost around US$ 500
- Preparation Time: Approximately four to six months
- Renewal: 30 PDUs every three years
These days, an increasing number of people are taking interest in the PMI-ACP certification. The reason for this is its increased demand by organizations worldwide, the high PMI-ACP salary that it attracts, and the PMI-ACP benefits. Previously, Agile was used mostly in the IT industry but now other industries too have started to use Agile in their projects.
The PMI-ACP certification is a very important certification these days. No matter which continent you live in, its importance is everywhere. If you are interested in learning more about the Agile Certified Practitioner certification, we have created this post to give you valuable information about this certification. So, continue reading this post for the top five facts about the PMI-ACP Agile Certified Practitioner certification.
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We will go through each of these Agile Certified Practitioner facts in detail in this post.
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Agile Certified Practitioner – Top 5 Facts You Should Know
Being an Agile Certified Practitioner implies that you have gained the skills necessary to deal with Agile projects. This certification teaches you a whole lot of new techniques on how to manage projects effectively through every phase. From this certification training, you will learn about iterations and releases, backlog, user stories, story maps, road maps, and many more Agile related things. These skills are proving to be more productive at work than the traditional project execution techniques, hence it increases its demand.
As the Agile methods of doing projects have gained recognition, so has the PMI ACP Agile Certified Practitioner certification. The next headings will give you more insight into this certification. You will also learn many things about it that you may have been looking for.
PMI-ACP Requirements
Since the Agile Certified Practitioner certification is meant for professionals, PMI has set out eligibility requirements that you must meet. If you meet the requirements, you can then take the PMI-ACP exam. These certification requirements are developed to ensure that you have adequate experience, knowledge, and skills to be PMI-ACP certified. The PMI-ACP certification exam requirements are mentioned below:
- 21 hours of Agile training. This training must cover the PMI-ACP exam content online that is mentioned on the PMI website.
- A high school diploma or a degree. If you hold something that is equivalent to it, that may also be acceptable by PMI.
- General project experience. If you are holding a high school diploma, then you need to have 12 months of general project management experience. This experience must have been gained in the last five years. If you have a degree or hold the PMI-PMP certification, then you don’t need to fulfil the 12-month experience requirement.
- Agile project experience. You also need to possess 8 months of agile project experience. This experience must have been gained within the last three years.
If your work experience overlaps, it will not count. For example, you worked at a company from January to December. From October to December, you worked part-time in another company also. In this case, for the month of October, November, and December, you can only claim one work experience. This condition applies to both agile and general project experience. You can read more about PMI-ACP requirements.
Agile Certified Practitioner Exam Cost
The Agile Certified Practitioner exam cost varies in different scenarios.
If you are a PMI member, the PMI-ACP certification exam fee is US$ 435. If you are not a member, then the fee will be US$ 495. And in case, you could not pass the exam in your first attempt, the re-examination fee would be US$ 335 for PMI members and US$ 395 for non-members.
The exam fee remains the same as mentioned above, both for the online exam and for the center-based exam. However, there is an obvious advantage in taking an online exam over the center-based exam. You will save time on traveling to the testing center. You will take the exam from the comfort zone of your house. Another advantage is that you will be on your own during the exam; unlike the exam center, where a whole lot of people could be around you doing their exams. Read more about PMI-ACP certification cost.
PMI-ACP Training
When you are looking for a suitable Agile Certified Practitioner training provider, you must choose one carefully. There may be so many PMI certification training providers in your area as well as on the Internet. You must make sure that the training is beneficial for you in many aspects. It should be easy to understand and it should help you pass the exam easily.
What you should look for in PMI-ACP Training?
There could be many factors when choosing an Agile Certified Practitioner training center. For example, the qualification and experience of the trainer matter a lot and you must consider it. The best trainer would not only be a good Agile trainer but she or he would possess practical Agile project experience also. And if this person is a regular PMI-ACP trainer, it would even be better. It is because regular trainers would have improved their training material enough over time. They will be able to relate many examples and scenarios to help you better understand the Agile concepts. So, an experienced PMI-ACP trainer is a must.
Watch PMI-ACP Certification Training – Two Hours Sample Video
The PMI-ACP certification training provider must have received many positive reviews from their past students. You can find reviews of the past students on the training provider’s website. You can also find reviews on several review websites like Indeed and ProjectHipo. Past students’ reviews of the training are proof of the quality of the training that they have received. In fact, in our opinion, past student reviews are the number one factor to determine the value of the training. So, read what people have written about the PMI-ACP training that they have received in order to understand its actual worth.
One another important factor when selecting PMI-ACP training is determining its extensiveness. A good Agile Certified Practitioner training must include mock exams and practice questions. Such training will also provide you useful material to easily understand the topics being taught. For example, you should expect to be provided a cheat sheet, mind maps, tips, and tricks to pass the exam and additional material.
Agile Certified Practitioner Exam Prep Duration
The average time to get ready for the PMI-ACP exam is four to six months. How much time you will need to get ready for this exam really depends on many factors, such as your:
- Prior project management experience
- Prior experience in managing Agile projects.
- Competency level to understand Agile and the things that revolve around it.
- Ability to quickly and fully understand the teaching and the learning material.
- Availability to study for the exam every day.
- Your interest in the subject!
As you see, the time that you need to fully get ready for the PMI-ACP exam depends on many factors, as described above. It is possible that you will complete your exam preparation within a month or two. But for some people, even six months may be less. So, it depends!
You may ask a question, is PMI-ACP certification a difficult thing to achieve, given that it takes quite a lot of time to get ready for the exam? Well, it is not difficult at all! You see, the PMI-ACP exam preparatory content is not little. There are many things to understand and many things to memorize also. That is the reason it takes some time to fully prepare for the exam.
PMI-ACP Renewal
Once you have earned the Agile Certified Professional certification, you will need to renew it after every three years. PMI requires PMI-ACP credential holders to earn 30 Professional Development Units (PDUs) in a period of three years. These PMI PDUs are basically hours that you spend working, learning, teaching, creating, reading, working, or volunteering in project or Agile project management.
You can earn 30 PDUs from the following PDU categories:
1. Giving Back
There are many things that you can do in this category to earn PDUs. For example, you can volunteer at a charity or a non-profit organization in their project management activities. Or you can publish articles online on different project management subjects. If you like mentoring someone, you can mentor your colleague or a friend or give a lecture on project management. Working as a professional also counts towards the Giving Back category of PDUs. Doing any of these activities will earn you PMI PDUs.
2. Further Education
In this category, you have the options to learn something new or enhance your existing knowledge. You are allowed to fulfil this requirement easily by doing many different activities. For example, you can read a book on Agile/project management, take a short course online or in class.
If project or Agile project management events, seminars, or workshops are held in your area, you can attend these too to earn some PDUs. You can even invite your friends or colleagues over lunch for a discussion on different project management topics. All such activities will contribute towards the 30 PDU requirements.
So as you see the PMI-ACP renewal requirements are easy. By doing the PDU activities mentioned above, you not only fulfil your certification’s renewal requirement but also do something productive for yourself or others.
Once you have earned the required 30 PDUs, you will need to submit them on PMI’s website and pay the certification renewal fee. The current PMI-ACP renewal fee for PMI members is US$ 60 and it is US$ 150 for non-members.
Summary
Earning the Agile Certified Practitioner certification is an asset. A lot of organizations worldwide value this certification. Talking about the Fortune 500 companies also, they too utilize the knowledge and skills in their work from many PMI-ACPs. So, if you are holding the PMI-ACP certification, it will give you an advantage over the competition in the high-demand job market.
This certification will prove to the employers that you possess the Agile skills needed in the changing project environment. The Agile skills that you will learn from this certification will also help you to get onto some senior roles. Some of the roles you can take on with this certification include Agile Coach, Scrum Master, Project Manager, and Team Lead.
In this post, we mentioned the top five facts about the PMI’s Agile Certified Practitioner certification. You learned about the benefits of the Agile Certified Practitioner certification. You also learned about the ACP certification training, its cost, the eligibility requirements to be PMI-ACP certified, the certification exam fee, and the certification renewal process.
These facts will encourage you to consider doing the PMI-ACP certification and be among the experts and professionals in the Agile field. Remember that the PMI-ACP Agile Certified Professional certification is not difficult to earn after all. If you are committed to learning something new and improve your CV with a popular certification, you can easily put your effort into this certification and be successful.