PMI-ACP® Certification Training
Prepare for Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Certification while learning to lead Agile software projects that adapt to change, drive innovation and deliver on-time business value. Today, more and more organizations and companies are adopting the Agile Approach over the traditional Waterfall Methodology and many more are progressively making this essential transition. It is increasingly important that Project Management professionals demonstrate true leadership in today's software projects. Our Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP)® CertificationTraining will prepare you to lead your next Agile project and help you prepare for the Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Certification Exam.
We at Course Highlights follow a Practitioners' Approach towards training. We focus on:
- Providing experienced Faculty to teach and transmit The PMBOK® Guide, content.
- Making participants oriented to globally accepted Project Management methodology.
- Helping participants to improve their Project Management Skills.
- Fostering continuous improvement in project performance.
- Instilling confidence to manage projects of various complexity and size.
- Preparing participants for the PMP® examination.
- Assisting in expediting professional advancement.
- Increasing the corporate bottom line.
- Enabling participants to pass the PMP® exam on their first attempt. We have a 96% first-time success rate!
- Aspiring Professional Project Managers who have a College Degree and a minimum of 3 years working as a Project Manager.
- Aspiring Professional Project Managers who have a High School Diploma (or equivalent) and a minimum of 5 years working as a Project Manager.
- Anybody who is interested in Project Management.
Guidelines to help you successfully gain PMI-ACP® Certification:
Eligibility
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Educational Background | Secondary School Certification (High School Diploma or Equivalent) |
| General Project Management Experience | 2,000 hours of project team work experience. These hours must have been earned within the last 5 years. If you already hold a PMPR credential, you have already fulfilled this requirement |
| Agile Project Management Experience | Agile Project Management Experience 1,500 hours working on Agile project teams or in Agile methodologies. These hours are in addition to the 2,000 hours required for general Project Management experience. These hours must have been earned within the last 2 years. |
| Agile Project Management Training | 21 contact hours earned in Agile Project Management topics (PMI-ACP® PDUs) |
| PMI-ACP® Examination | Tests knowledge of Agile Fundamentals and the ability to apply that knowledge to basic projects. |
| PMI-ACP® Maintenance | Once you pass the exam, it is required that you earn 30 Agile PDUs, or 3 Agile CEUs every 3 years, in order to maintain your PMI-ACP®® Certification. These contact hours can concurrently count toward your PMI-ACP® and/or PMP if you hold both designations. |
PMI-ACP® Application Fees
| PMI-ACP® Exam Administration Type | PMI Member | PMI Nonmember |
|---|---|---|
| Computer-based testing | $435 | $495 |
| Reexamination CBT | $335 | $395 |
| CCR Certification renewal | $90 | $130 |
PMI-ACP® Application and Renewal Process
- Once the PMI-ACP® application process has been initiated then it must be completed within 90 days.
- We advise that you complete the online PMI-ACP® application if possible. It is much quicker than other methods and only takes 5 business days to process.
- Please note, it is not possible to schedule your PMI-ACP® Exam until your application has been approved by the governing body, PMI, and all fees have been paid.
- If you are audited (possibly up to 25% of applications are randomly audited), you have 90 days to respond. You will not be considered eligible to appear for the exam unless you have successfully completed the audit.
- You have one year to take the PMI-ACP® exam after application approval. You can retake the PMI-ACP® exam up to three times during the approval year.
- Your PMI-ACP® Certification cycle starts the day you pass your Exam, and your cycle is 3 years. You need to earn 30 PDUs during that cycle.
- You complete the renewal process once you have 30 PDUs and pay the renewal fee.
- PMI-ACP® Certification suspension happens on the third anniversary of the day you actually passed the exam. You have 1 full year to renew your Certification.
- Your PMI-ACP® Certification expires one year after the suspension period begins.
PMI-ACP® Exam Pattern Overview
| No. of Scored Questions | 100 |
| No. of Pre-test (not scored) Questions | 20 |
| Total PMI-ACP Exam Questions | 120 |
|---|
PMI-ACP® Exam Content Overview
3hrs. - Examination is preceded by a tutorial and followed by a survey both are optional
| PMI-ACP® Exam Blueprint | |
| Agile tools and techniques | 50% |
| Agile knowledge and skills | 50% |
| Total | 100% |
|---|
| Empirical Process Introduction to AGILE and PMI Prerequisites for the PMI-ACP® Exam About the AGILE Exam; Procedure, Format and its Content Question Answer Session Agile Information Radiator Agile Team Space Agile Tooling Osmotic Communications for collocated teams Osmotic Communications for distributed teams Agile Daily Stand-ups Quiz |
| Agile Planning, Monitoring and Adopting Agile Retrospectives Agile Task and Kanban boards Agile Time Boxing Agile Iteration and Release Planning Agile WIP limits Agile Burn Down/up Charts Agile Cumulative Flow Diagrams Agile Process Tailoring Quiz |
| Agile Estimation Agile Relative Sizing/story Points Agile Wide Band Delphi Agile Planning Poker Agile Affinity Estimating Agile Ideal Time Agile Process Tailoring Quiz |
| Agile analysis and design Agile Product Road Map Agile User Stories and Backlog Agile Story Maps Agile Progressive Elaboration Agile Wire Frames Agile Chartering Agile Personas Agile Modeling Quiz |
| Product Quality Agile Frequent Verification and Validation Agenda for the Session Agile Test First Development Agile Acceptance Test-Driven Development Agile Definition of Done/Complete Agile Continuous Integration Quiz |
| Soft skills Negotiation Agile Emotional Intelligence Agile Collaboration Agile Adaptive Leadership Agile Negotiation Agile Conflict Resolution Agile Servant Leadership Quiz |
| Risk management Agile Risk-Adjusted Backlog Agile Risk Burn Down Graphs Agile Risk-based Spike Quiz |
| Value-based prioritization Agile Return On Investment (ROI) Agile Net Present Value (NPV) Agile Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Agile Compliance Agile Customer-Valued Prioritization Agile Minimally Marketable Feature (MMF) Agile relative Prioritization or Ranking Quiz |
| Agile Metrics Agile Velocity Agile Cycle Time Agile Earned Value Management (EVM) for agile projects Agile Escaped Defects Quiz |
| Agile value stream analysis Agile value Stream Mapping Agile Flow Charts Agile Spaghetti Diagrams Quiz |
| Agile Knowledge and Skills (Level-1) Active listening Agile Manifesto values and principles Assessing and incorporating community and stakeholder values Agile Brainstorming techniques Building empowered teams Coaching and mentoring within teams Agile Communications management Feedback techniques for product (e.g., prototyping, simulation, demonstrations, evaluations) Incremental delivery Agile Knowledge sharing Agile Leadership tools and techniques Prioritization Agile Problem-solving strategies, tools, and techniques Project and quality standards for Agile projects Stakeholder management Agile Team motivation Time, budget, and cost estimation Value-based decomposition and prioritization Quiz |
| Agile Knowledge and Skills (Level-2) Agile frameworks and terminology Building high-performance teams Agile Business case development Collocation (geographic proximity)/distributed teams Agile Continuous improvement processes Elements of a project charter for an Agile project Agile Facilitation methods Agile Participatory decision models (e.g., input-based, shared collaboration, command) PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct Process analysis techniques Self-assessment Value-based analysis Quiz |
| Agile Knowledge and Skills (Level-3) Agile contracting methods Agile project accounting principles Applying new Agile practices Compliance (organization) Control limits for Agile projects Agile Failure modes and alternatives Globalization, culture, and team diversity Agile Innovation games Principles of systems thinking (e.g., complex adaptive, chaos) Regulatory compliance Variance and trend analysis Variations in Agile methods and approaches Vendor management Quiz |
What is Agile?
Agile is a philosophy that uses organizational models based on people, collaboration and shared values. The Agile Manifesto outlines the tenets of Agile philosophy. Agile uses rolling wave planning, iterative and incremental delivery, rapid and flexible response to change, and open communication between teams, stakeholders and customers. There are many agile methodologies that adhere to these tenets, such as Scrum, XP, Lean and Test-driven Development (TDD).
Here are definitions for some common terms associated with agile principles and practices:
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Agile Manifesto | A public declaration of the philosophy and principles of agile software development,created in February 2001 in Snowbird, Utah, USA. Visit the Agile Manifesto to learn more. |
| Agile Methodologies | Frameworks and processes whose practices support the Agile Manifesto principles. Examples include:Scrum,Extreme Programming (XP),Crystal, Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM Atern), Feature Driven Development(FDD). |
| Agile Practices | Activities that are the application of agile principles. |
| Agile Principles | Fundamental truths and shared values that drive behavior in agile methodologies. |
| Incremental and Iterative | The approach of implementing a work product in successive pieces (increments),while also gradually refining the work product through targeted improvements (iterations). |
What are some examples of agile principles and practices?
Agile principles and practices include:
- Early, measurable return on investment through defined, iterative delivery of product increments.
- High visibility of project progress allows early identification and esolution or monitoring of problems.
- Continuous involvement of the customer throughout the product evelopment cycle.
- Empowerment of the business owner to make decisions needed to meet goals.
- Adaptation to changing business needs, giving more influence over requirement changes.
- Reduced product and process waste.
What value do agile principles and practices bring to an organization?
Organizations who use agile principles and practices have documented the value they see from these techniques:
- Adaptive to changing business needs, giving the organization more influence over adding, changing, or removing requirements.
- Early and continuous customer feedback improves communication and empowers business owners who can receive and review critical information necessary to make decisions to steer the project throughout the development process.
- Early measurable return on investment.
- High visibility and influence over the project progress leading to early indications of problems.
- Incremental delivery rather than a single complete delivery at the end of the project. Reduces product and process waste.
How is the PMI-ACP® different from the Project Management Professional(PMP)®credential?
The PMI-ACP® certification specifically validates a practitioner’sability to understand and apply agile principles and practices. The PMP®credential recognizes demonstrated competence leading and directing project teams.
Why did PMI develop the PMI-ACP® certification?
Agile is a topic of growing importance in project management. PMI market research shows that project management practitioners are embracing agile principles and practices for successfully managing projects. Additionally, the following points show the increasing demand for an agile certification:
- PMI members,credential holders, and individuals who embrace agile principles and practices are looking to PMI for certification, recognition, and educational opportunities.
- Many project professionals experienced in traditional techniques are seeing the demand for agile principles and practices in many industries and organizations. These practitioners are eager to add agile principles and practices to their project management skillset.
- Organizations that use project management to serve both internal and external clients are seeing value in agile principles and practices to deliver projects more quickly, with less waste and cost due to misunderstood or poorly defined requirements.
Do this Scrum Alliance course qualify for the education eligibility requirement of CSM certification?
Yes, Scrum Alliance courses qualify for the education eligibility requirements. Only hours of training in agile practices will meet the certification eligibility requirements. One hour of education equals one contact hour of education eligibility.
What is (PMI-ACP)® certification?
PMI-ACP® is a single certification that provides the brief details of umbrella of all Agile frameworks in one workshop, along with Agile project Management practices, including engineering / technical practices. This helps participants under the expectations from each of the other roles in addition to his/her role. The coverage is comprehensive.
Who can attend (PMI-ACP)®training?
This 3-day training workshop is ideal for all agile aspirants such as PMO Leaders, Project Directors, Project Heads, Project Leads, Project Consultants, Project Analysts, Project Managers, Program Managers, Delivery Managers, Product Managers, Business Analysts, QA Analysts, Project Stakeholders, Project Coordinators and all other professionals who are involved in projects. The most benefitted are the traditional Project Managers working with agile developers; and Project Managers looking for more successful ways to facilitate a project’s success.
PMI® Agile Certification Practitioner Eligibility Requirements
PMI-ACP® Exam Content Overview
3hrs. - Examination is preceded by a tutorial and followed by a survey both are optional
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| General Project Experience | • 2,000 hours working on project teams • These hours must be earned within the last 5 years • Active PMP® or PgMP® will satisfy this requirement |
| AgileMethodologies | • 1500 hours working on agile project teams or with agile methodologies • These hours are in addition to the 2,000 hours required in “general project experience” • These hours must be earned within the last 3 years |
| Training in Agile Practices | • 21 contact hours • Hours must be earned in agile practices |
What are the fees?
Once again, please refer to the PMI-ACP® handbook: PMI-ACP® Handbook for details.
The fee for PMI members is $435 and non-member fee is $495. PMI membership cost is $119 per year and there is a $10 joining fee.
What is the certification process?
The process is you complete the application online and upon review and confirmation; you will be able to pay the fees as above. Once the fee is paid your application may optionally be selected for audit. If it is, you follow the instructions to complete the audit and proceed to schedule the examination.
Exam format
- The examination consists of 120 multiple choice questions and each question has only one correct answer. There are no negative marks.
- Out of 20 questions, 100 questions are actually counted towards your final score.
- Upon completing the examination, you will be able to see your result immediately.
How do I prepare for this examination?
You should enroll yourself for Agile training, which in any case is one of the pre-requisites for the examination. The training should provide you with guidance about Agile methodologies and what to study for the examination.
In addition, you should go through the list of suggested references by PMI (see link:http://www.pmi.org/en/Certification/~/media/Files/PDF/Agile/PMI000-GainInsightsAIGLE418.ashx). If you are not a PMP or not otherwise familiar with the Project Management Body of Knowledge, you may want to read the PMBOK to familiarize yourself with general Project management concepts. You would also need to read the PMI code of ethics document.
You must also get sufficient practice of solving exam questions including few “full-length” examinations under simulated conditions.
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Excellent training by Signup Training trainer. Thank you.
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Signup Training has amazing customer service and I really appreciated the continuous support before and after training. The prep tools are also excellent. Excellent overall.
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Great training! Keep me updated on other training programs you offer, would love to attend. Thanks.
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Course was good and I really appreciate all that I've learned. Thank you.
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The training program was organized in an effective manner by Signup Training.
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Overall good. Thanks.
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Appreciated all the insight provided by the instructor and the additional material suggestions to help pass the certification.
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Very good training. Excellent trainer and good follow up.
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Trainer made it easy for us to follow. Training was organized in a professional manner. Excellent overall!!
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Instructor was great. Very knowledgeable and thorough. Taking the practice tests and then walking through each question was very helpful in assimilating the theoretical knowledge we learned from the PMBOK.
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Signup Training's coach was excellent! Professional and helpful. He offered suggestions on a game plan for studying for the PMP exam and passing the first time!
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Excellent training overall
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Best trainer!! Great communication and easy to follow. Great overall!!
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Signup Training online training format was good. I enjoyed learning in this format.
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Great course. Was well organized and easy to follow the training instructions.
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The training was a great experience overall and I feel comfortable now going into the exam .
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The course was well taught. I appreciated the test preparation tips. having the recorded classes have made test preparation easier.
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Pro. Rodney was Great!, Support Team like "Jenny Thomas" was amazing, she sent me all the info asap, and even called, I'd like to take the future courses from Signup Training.
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Signup Training's instructor is very professional and courteous. In my opinion, he goes over and above the typical instructor, with a strong focus on what to expect.
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It was a good experience overall.
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For me I have found that a short break every hour helps me learn better. Our instructor was a trooper - for teaching 4 days straight, otherwise it was a good experience.
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Great training.
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Good instructor. There were a few things that were rushed by but talking to the instructor during breaks helped fill in the areas rushed over. Great overall experience.
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Great instructor, good follow up. May take up future courses.
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Good instructor, easy to follow instructions. Great overall.
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Great course. Excellent overall.
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Great Instructor! Very interactive and easy to understand.
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Really happy with the course. Thank you.
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I wish we would have been able to have a hard copy of the slides to take notes as we took the class. I understand that the items are in the book, but it would've been nice to have to make notes on. With such an intense course, every little bit will help. Excellent overall though.
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Instructor was great. Excellent overall.
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I honestly think with the test changing next month, and trying to complete the application, and study this might be a little to much to accomplish. Good training.