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PMI-ACP Primer Web Seminar Presented by David Mantica
PMI-ACP Primer Web Seminar
Presented by David Mantica
Agenda
• Vision for new certification• Demographic• Application requirements • Fees• Exam content overview• Domains and tasks• Training options • Connection with Scrum Alliance accreditations
Resources
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Handbook (last updated June 2011)Handbook (last updated June 2011)
• PMI Agile Certification Exam Content Outline (April 2011)
Why Agile for PMI
• The question on the minds (and responses on the Blogs) of professionals on either side of the fenceBlogs) of professionals on either side of the fence
• It is simple– PMI recognizes that Agile is of growing importance in project management
– With any business, PMI had to acknowledge this and doing something or nothing… they decided to do something
Vision for New Certification
• If it has ties to project management, PMI wants to be a part of it. They see project management above any specific of it. They see project management above any specific method or practice. So their spin on this cert:– Certification recognizes individual expertise using Agile practices
and shows professional versatility through Agile tools and techniques
– Certification carries a higher level of professional credibility through its requirements
– Certification supports individuals in meeting the needs of organizations using a diversity of methods
Demographics
• Employers—PMI wants to know:– Certification demonstrates to employers the practitioner’s level of
professionalism with Agile practices of project management
• Employees—PMI wants to give you:– A tool to show professional versatility in both project management
tools and techniques– Both “traditional” PM and Agile PM experience and understanding
Application RequirementsPMI-ACP Requirements
Eligibility Requirements: Description:Education Level Secondary degree (high school or equivalent) or
higher
General Project Management 2,000 hours working on project teams. These hoursExperience must be earned within the last 5 years. PMP is acceptable
to fulfill these requirements
Agile Project Management 1,500 hours working on Agile project teams or in Agile Experience methodologies. These hours are in addition to the general
project management experience requirements. These hoursmust be earned within the last two years
Agile Project Management 21 contact hours; hours must be earned in Agile project managementTraining topics **ACP PDUs**
Examination Tests knowledge of Agile fundamentals and ability to apply to basicprojects
Maintenance 30 PDUs or 3 CEUs every 3 years in Agile project management Note: these hours would count toward fulfilling PMP requirement if individual holds both certifications
Fees
PMI-ACP Certification Fees
Exam Administration Type PMI Member PMI Non member
Computer-based testing $435 $495 Computer-based testing $435 95
Paper-based testing $385 $445
Reexamination CBT $335 $395
Reexamination PBT $285 $345
CCR certification renewal $90 $130
Things to Know• Once you start the application process you have 90 days to complete• Do online application if at all possible (takes five business days to process• Can’t schedule exam until application is approved and fees paid• If you are audited (possibly up to 25% of applications are randomly audited) you have
90 days to respond, no eligibility until successful completion of audit90 days to respond, no eligibility until successful completion of audit• You have one year to take exam after application approval and you can retake the
exam three times during that year• Your certification cycle starts the day you pass your exam and your cycle is 3 years.
You need 30 PDUs in that cycle• You complete renewal process once you have 30 PDUs and pay renewal fee• Certification suspension happens on the third anniversary of the day you passed
your exam and you have yet to renew (1 year period)• Certification expiration happens after suspension period if you do not fulfill your
recertification requirement
CCR Snap-shot
• CCR (Continuing Certification Requirements– Must follow to maintain an active certification– Must follow to maintain an active certification– PMI-ACP certification cycle is three years from date of exam pass
– No less than 30 professional development units (PDUs)• Use the onsite CCR system to report PDUs• Complete online application for renewal
– Reaffirm PMI code of ethics– Reaffirm PMI certification application/renewal agreement– Submit the credential renewal fee
Exam Content Overview
PMI-ACP Exam Information
Scored Questions Unscored Questions Total Exam Questions100 20 120
Alloted Examination TimeAlloted Examination Time3 hoursExamination is preceded by a tutorial and followed by a survey both are optional
PMI-ACP Exam BlueprintAgile tools and techniques 50%Agile knowledge and skills 50%
100%
Tools and Techniques detail
Tools and Techniques 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 tailoriingPlanning, montioring and adaptinig cumulative flow diagrams, process tailoriing
Agile estimationrelative 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
Tools and Techniques (continued)
Soft skills negotiation
emotional intelligence, collaboration, adaptive leadership, negotiation, conflict resolution, servant leadership
return on investment (ROI)/net present value (NPV)/internal rate of return (IRR), compliance, customer-valued prioritization, minimally marketable feature (MMF), relative
Value-based prioritizationmarketable feature (MMF), relative prioritization/ranking
Risk managementrisk adjustment backlog, risk burn down graphs, risk-based spike
MetricsVelocity cycle time, earned value management (EVM) for agile projects, escaped defects
Value stream analysis value stream mapping
Knowledge and Skills (50% of exam)
Knowledge and Skills Content
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 exam questions)
Active listening Knowledge sharing
Agile Manifesto values and principles Leadership tools and techniquesAgile 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 exam questions)
Agile Frameworks and terminology Facilitation methodsAgile 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 thinkingAgile 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
Domains and Tasks
• Domains and tasks were NOT used in the construction of the certification examination, but they are important. the certification examination, but they are important. They provide guidance for professional development
– Domain I: Value-Drive Delivery
– Domain II: Stakeholder Engagement– Domain III: Boosting Team Performance Practices– Domain IV: Adaptive Planning– Domain V: Problem Detection and Resolution– Domain VI: Continuous Improvement
Reference list
• 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 #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
Training Options
• Before September 2011– Agile Boot Camp (21 PDUs)– Agile Essentials + Agile Project Management – Agile Essentials (7 PDUs) + Agile Project Management (14 PDUs)– No test prep option
• September 2011 and beyond– Agile Project Management Certification Workshop
• Preparation course for PMI-ACP Certification Exam• 3-day program• 2 days of in-depth Agile PM skills and tools training, 1 full day of exam test prep• Includes study guide (November 2011 time frame)
Connection with Scrum Alliance Designations
• Anyone’s guess?• Most likely it will be seen as more valued than CSM
certification and possibly on par with current CSP (Certified Scrum Practitioner)– CSM has no application or exam (just training requirement)– CSP has difficult application no training requirement or exam (at
least for now)
• The reality is that it is different. PMI is positioning it as showing a Practitioners versatility and experience, not their Agile“ness”
Claim Your PDU• Visit https://ccrs.pmi.org/certificants/claimPDU.aspx• Log in using your PMI username and password• Select "Report PDU"• Select PDU Category A and select Find an Activity (course or event) for
Activity TypeActivity Type• Provider Name: ASPE Provider Number: 2161• Activity Number: WS062311• Follow the on-screen prompts and then select submit
