PMI-ACP Certification
The Project Management Institute (PMI)R launched its new Agile Certification in 2011, the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) SM. This designation was built with the same rigors as the rest of the PMI certification family, and will provide comparable credibility for professionals who practice Agile methodologies in their organizations and during their projects.
In order to achieve and maintain the PMI-ACP designation you must:
- Get PMI to approve your PMI-ACP application (which means meeting all the application requirements)
- Have 21 Agile PMI PDUs in advance of filling out the application
- Pass the certification exam
- Maintain your certification by earning 30 Agile PDUs over every three years
PMI-ACP Certification Process
Here is the process you must follow and some helpful details to help you successfully gain the PMI-ACP certification:
Certification Resources- PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Handbook
- PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Examination Content Outline
- Reference Materials List
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Eligibility Requirements
| Requirement | Description |
| Educational Background | Secondary degree (high school diploma or equivalent) |
| General Project Management Experience | 2,000 hours working on project teams. These hours must be earned within the last 5 years. If you already hold a PMPR credential, you have already fulfilled this requirement |
| 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 be 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 your exam, you must maintain your PMI-ACP certification by earning 30 Agile PDUs or 3 Agile CEUs every 3 years. These hours can simultaneously count toward your PMI-ACP and PMP if you hold both designations. |
PMI-ACP Application Fees
| PMI-ACP Exam Administration Type | PMI Member | PMI Nonmember |
| Computer-based testing | $435 | $495 |
| Paper-based testing | $385 | $445 |
| Reexamination CBT | $335 | $395 |
| Reexamination PBT | $285 | $345 |
| CCR Certification renewal | $90 | $130 |
What you need to know about the PMI-ACP application and renewal process
- Once you start the PMI-ACP application process you have 90 days to complete
- Do the online PMI-ACP application if at all possible. It takes five business days to process as opposed to waiting for the mail to get to the right person
- You can't schedule your PMI-ACP exam until the application is approved and fees are paid
- If you are audited (possibly up to 25% of applications are randomly audited), you have 90 days to respond. You are not eligible until the successful completion of the audit
- You have one year to take the PMI-ACP exam after application approval. You can retake the PMI-ACP exam three times during that year
- Your PMI-ACP certification cycle starts the day you pass your exam, and your cycle is 3 years. You need 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 passed your exam and you have yet to renew (1 year period)
- PMI-ACP certification expiration happens one year after the suspension period begins
PMI-ACP Exam Content Overview
PMI-ACP Exam Information
| No. of Scored Questions | 100 |
| No. of Pretest (Unscored) Questions | 20 |
| Total PMI-ACP Exam Questions | 120 |
Alloted PMI-ACP Examination Time
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% |
Tools and Techniques detail (50% of exam)
| Communication | Information radiator, team space, agile tooling, osmotic communications for colocated/ditribute dteams daily standups |
| Planning, Montioring and Adaptinig | Retrospectives, task/kanban boards, timeboxing, iteration and release planning, WIP limits, burn down/up charts cumulative flow diagrams, process tailoriing |
| Agile Estimation | Relative sizing/story points wide band Delphi/planning poker, affinity estimating, ideal time |
| Agile Analysis and Design | Product roadmap, user stories/backlog, story maps progressive elaboration wireframes, chartering personas, agile modeling |
| Product Quality | Frequent verification and validation, test-driven development/test first development, acceptance test-driven development definition of done, continuous integration |
| Soft Skills Negotiation | Emotional intelligence, collaboration, adaptive leadership, negotiation, conflict resolution, servant leadership |
| Value-Based Prioritization | Return on investment (ROI)/net present value (NPV)/internal rate of return (IRR), compliance, customer-valued prioritization, minimally marketable feature (MMF), relative prioritization/ranking |
| Risk Management | Risk adjustment backlog, risk burn down graphs, risk-based spike |
| Metrics | Velocity cycle time, earned value management (EVM) for agile projects, escaped defects |
| Value Stream Analysis | Value stream mapping |
Knowledge and Skills detail (other 50% of PMI-ACP exam)
| Level | % of Knowledge and Skill Content / % of Exam |
| Level 1 (18 Knowledge/skills areas) | 65% / 33% |
| Level 2 (12 Knowledge/skills areas) | 25% /12% |
| Level 3 (13 Knowledge/skills areas) | 10% / 5% |
Level 1 (33% of total PMI-ACP exam questions)
- Active listening
- Knowledge sharing
- Agile Manifesto values and principles
- Leadership tools and techniques
- Community and stakeholder value
- Prioritization
- Brainstorming techniques
- Problem-solving strategies
- Building empowered teams
- Project & quality standards for Agile
- Coaching and mentoring within teams
- Stakeholder management
- Communications management
- Team motivation
- Feedback techniques
- Time, budget and cost estimation
- Incremental delivery
- Value based decomposition/prioritization
Level 2 (12% of total PMI-ACP exam questions)
- Agile Frameworks and terminology
- Facilitation methods
- Building high-performance teams
- Participatory decision models
- Business case development
- PMI's code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
- Colocation / distributed teams
- Process analysis techniques
- Continuous improvement processes
- Self assessment
- Elements of project charter for an Agile project
- Value-based analysis
Level 3 (5% of total exam questions)
- Agile contracting methods
- Innovation games
- Agile project accounting principles
- Principles of systems thinking
- Applying new Agile practices
- Regulatory compliance
- Compliance (organization)
- Variance and trend analysis
- Control limits for Agile projects
- Variations in Agile methods and approaches
- Failure modes and alternatives
- Vendor management
- Globalization, culture and team diversity
Reference List (books and information used as basis for the PMI-ACP exam)
- Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great Esther Derby, Diana Larsen, Ken Schwaber ISBN #0977616649
- Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game - 2nd Edition Alistair Cockburn ISBN #0321482751
- The Software Project Manager's Bridge to Agility Michele Sliger, Stacia Broderick ISBN #0321502752
- Coaching Agile Teams Lyssa Adkins ISBN #0321637704
- Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products - 2nd Edition Jim Highsmith ISBN #0321658396
- Becoming Agile: ...in an imperfect world Greg Smith, Ahmed Sidky ISBN #1933988258
- Agile Estimating and Planning Mike Cohn ISBN #0131479415
- The Art of Agile Development James Shore ISBN #0596527675
- User Stories Applied: For Agile Software Development Mike Cohn ISBN #0321205685
- Agile Project Management with Scrum Ken Schwaber ISBN #073561993X
- Lean-Agile Software Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility Alan Shalloway, Guy Beaver, James R. Trott ISBN #0321532899
Agile Project Management Certification (PMI-ACP) Workshop
To stay relevant in the competitive, changing world of project management, it's increasingly important that project management professionals can demonstrate true leadership ability on today's software projects. The Project Management Institute's Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) certification clearly illustrates to colleagues, organizations or even potential employers that you're ready and able to lead in this new age of product development, management and delivery.
Prepare for your Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)R certification while learning to lead Agile software projects that adapt to change, drive innovation and deliver on-time business value. This class is a stimulating combination of class interaction, active learning exercises and group collaboration. Each is designed to allow you to learn through practice so that you will be able to apply what you have learned in your work immediately.
VIDEO: PMI-ACP Certification
Frequently asked questions
How do I know
what type of training I need?
Take a look at our
Agile course map. We've organized courses both according to specialty and career progression.
I am mainly interested in certification. What are my options?
ASPE has several, and which
you pursue depends upon what type of Agile credential you need. For those seeking the PMI-ACP credential from PMI (the global governing body for project management) we offer our Agile Project Management Certification Workshop, which carries an exam pass guarantee.
We were one of the first organizations to offer training and preparation for this credential.
Another option from ASPE is our Executive Certificate in Agile methods (an accredited certificate offered in conjunction with Saint Louis
University.) This is a fast-track certificate designed to demonstrate understanding and competency in the use of Agile in industry.
Finally, ASPE is an approved Scrum Alliance Registered Education Provider (REP). We provide Scrum training courses that are designed to help professionals earn the Scrum Certifications available through the Scrum Alliance. All Scrum courses are taught only by Certified Scrum Trainers (as designated by the Scrum Alliance). There are three programs available, depending on your job description and career goals: The Certified
ScrumMaster Workshop, the Certified Scrum Developer (CSD) Workshop, and the Certified Scrum
Product Owner Workshop.
I think I need training or certification, but I need to make the business case to a superior.
If you are familiar with the information presented on our website and are not ready to approach this, we have training advisors who are happy to help. Email us at training@aspeinc.com or call us at 877.800.5221.
