PMI-ACP Exam Prep – 3 Months

PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®

PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® exam formally recognizes the candidates knowledge of agile principles and your skill with agile techniques. PMI-ACP certification recognizes an individual’s expertise in using agile practices in their projects, while demonstrating their increased professional versatility through agile tools and techniques.

Who Should Apply for PM)-ACP Exam? 

If you work on agile teams or if your organization is adopting agile practices, the PMI-ACP is a good choice for you. Compared with other agile certifications based solely on training and exams, the PMI-ACP is evidence of your real-world, hands-on experience and skill.

Key Changes to the PMI-ACP Exam:

Exam Date Change: The last day to take the current exam format is November 7, 2024. The new format begins on November 8, 2024.

New Exam Domains: The exam now covers four domains instead of seven: Mindset, Leadership, Product, and Delivery.

Increased Training Hours: The required training hours increase from 21 to 28. The 21-hour requirement will still be accepted until March 31, 2025.

Experience Requirements Update:

• New Requirement: 2 years of agile project experience in the last 5 years. The old requirement was 12 months of general project experience in the last 5 years and 8 months of agile project experience in the last 3 years.
• Reduced Experience Option: If you have a third-party agile certification or completed a PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC) program, the experience requirement is reduced to 1 year.
• No Experience Needed: If you have an active PMP certification.

Exam Format: The exam remains 3 hours long with 120 questions.

Updated Question Types: New question formats, similar to the current PMP exam.

PDUs Remain Unchanged: 30 PDUs are needed to maintain the PMI-ACP certification.

Key Changes in the PMI-ACP ECO

The most notable change is the reduction in the number of domains from seven to four. This streamlined approach allows for a more focused examination of essential agile competencies. Below is a comparison of the old and new domains:

Understanding the New Domains

Let’s delve deeper into each of the new domains and how they differ from their predecessors:

1. Mindset

This domain emphasizes understanding and embodying the agile mindset. Candidates will need to demonstrate knowledge of agile values, principles, and their practical application across various projects. This shift encourages a broader understanding beyond just practices, focusing on fostering a culture of collaboration and adaptability.

The Mindset domain focuses on the principles and values that underpin agile methodologies. It emphasizes understanding the why behind agile practices

• Topic: Agile Principles and Mindset (Domain 1: Mindset)
  Why Use Agile?
  Knowledge Work Projects Are Different
  Defined versus Empirical Processes
  The Agile Mindset
  Personal, Team, and Organizational Agility
  The Agile Triangle
  The Agile Manifesto
  The Four Values
  The Twelve Principles
  Agile Methodologies
  Scrum
  Extreme Programming (XP)
  Lean Product Development
  Kanban
  Feature-Driven Development (FDD)
  Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
  Crystal
  Agile Process Overview
  Agile Leadership
  Management versus Leadership
  Servant Leadership
  Twelve Principles for Leading Agile Projects
  Agile Leadership Practices
  Leadership Tasks
  Module Review

2. Leadership

The new Leadership domain highlights the importance of effective leadership in agile environments. This includes empowering teams, facilitating communication, and fostering team dynamics. The focus here is on building trust and promoting active engagement among stakeholders, which was less emphasized in previous versions.

The Leadership domain emphasizes effective leadership in agile environments, including fostering collaboration and facilitating team dynamics.

• Topic : Stakeholder Engagement (Domain 2: Leadership)
  Taking Care of Stakeholders
  Stakeholder Stewardship versus Stakeholder Management
  Educating Stakeholders about Agile
  Keeping Stakeholders Engaged
  Why the Big Focus on Stakeholders?
  Principles of Stakeholder Engagement
  Establishing a Shared Vision
  Agile Chartering
  Definition of “Done”
  Agile Modeling
  Wireframes
  Personas
  Communicating with Stakeholders
  Face-to-Face Communication
  Two-Way Communication
  Knowledge Sharing
  Information Radiators
  Social Media
  Working Collaboratively
  Workshops
  Brainstorming
  Collaboration Games
  Using Critical Interpersonal Skills
  Emotional Intelligence
  Active Listening
  Facilitation
  Negotiation
  Conflict Resolution
  Participatory Decision Making
  Module Review
• Topic : Team Performance (Domain 2: Leadership)
  Why People Over Processes?
  Agile Team Roles
  Building Agile Teams
  Benefits of Generalizing Specialists
  Characteristics of High-Performing Teams
  Models of Team Development
  Adaptive Leadership
  Team Motivation
  Training, Coaching, and Mentoring
  Creating Collaborative Team Spaces
  Co-Located Teams
  Osmotic Communication
  Global, Cultural, and Team Diversity
• Distributed Teams
  Tracking Team Performance
  Burn Charts
  Velocity
  Module Review

3. Product

In this domain, candidates will explore product management aspects such as defining value, managing backlogs, and ensuring alignment with stakeholder needs. This change reflects an integrated approach to product management, emphasizing continuous delivery of customer value.

The Product domain delivers products or services that provide real value to customers. It involves understanding customer needs, managing priorities, and ensuring that the team is working on the most valuable features.

• Topic : Adaptive Planning (Domain 3: Product)
  Agile Planning Concepts
  Adaptive Planning
  Agile versus Non-Agile Planning
  Principles of Agile Planning
  Agile Discovery
  Progressive Elaboration
  Value-Based Analysis
  Value-Based Decomposition
  Timeboxing
  Estimate Ranges
  Ideal Time
• Topic: Adaptive Planning (Continued) (Domain 3: Product)
  Sizing, Estimating, and Planning
  Decomposing Requirements
  User Stories
  User Story Backlog (Product Backlog)
  Refining (Grooming) the Backlog
  Relative Sizing and Story Points
  Affinity Estimating
  T-Shirt Sizing
  Story Maps
  Product Roadmap
  Wideband Delphi
  Planning Poker
  Release and Iteration Planning
  Types of Iterations
  Spikes
  High-Level Planning (Visioning)
  Release Planning
  Iteration Planning
  Daily Stand-Ups
  Module Review

4. Delivery

Focusing on agile delivery processes, this domain covers planning iterations, managing risks, and ensuring quality throughout development cycles. The consolidation of delivery-related topics into one domain promotes a cohesive understanding of how to execute agile projects effectively.

The Delivery domain is the execution of work in an Agile setting. It covers planning, executing, and delivering products or services efficiently. The focus is on producing high-quality results through iterative development and continuous improvement.

• Topic: Value-Driven Delivery (Domain 4: Delivery)
  What is Value-Driven Delivery?
  Deliver Value Early (Eat Your Dessert First!)
  Minimize Waste
  Assessing Value
  Financial Assessment Metrics
  Earned Value Management
  Agile Project Accounting
  Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
  Managing Risk
  Regulatory Compliance
  Prioritizing Value
  Customer Valued Prioritization
  Prioritization Schemes
  Relative Prioritization/Ranking
• Topic: Value-Driven Delivery (Continued)
  Delivering Incrementally
  Minimal Viable Product (MVP)
  Agile Tooling
  Low-Tech, High-Touch Tools
  Task/Kanban Boards
  Work in Progress (WIP)
  WIP Limits
  Cumulative Flow Diagrams (CFDs)
  Bottlenecks and the Theory of Constraints
  Agile Contracting
  Agile Constraints and Contracts
  DSDM Contract
  Money for Nothing and Change for Free
  Graduated Fixed-Price Contract
  Fixed-Price Work Packages
  Customized Contracts
  Verifying and Validating Value
  Frequent Verification and Validation
  Testing and Verification in Software Development
  Module Review
  PMI-ACP Practice Exam Questions
• Topic : Problem Detection and Resolution (Domain 4: Delivery)
  Understanding Problems
  How Problems Impact a Project
  The Cost of Change
  Technical Debt
  Create a Safe and Open Environment
  Failure Modes
  Success Modes
  Success Strategies
  Detecting Problems
  Lead Time and Cycle Time
  Defects
  Variance Analysis
  Trend Analysis
  Control Limits
  Managing Threats and Issues
  Risk-Adjusted Backlog
  Risk Severity
  Risk Burndown Graphs
  Solving Problems
  Engage the Team
  Some Problems Can’t Be Solved
  Module Review
• Topic: Continuous Improvement (Domain 4: Delivery)
  Kaizen
  Multiple Levels of Improvement
  Continuous Improvement-Process
  Process Tailoring
  Systems Thinking
  Process Analysis
  Value Stream Mapping
  Project Pre-Mortems
  Continuous Improvement- Product
  Reviews
  Product Feedback Loops and Learning Cycles
  Feedback Methods
  Approved Iterations
  Continuous Improvement-People
  Retrospectives
  Team Self-Assessments
  PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
  Module Review
  PMI ACP Mock Exam Questions
  Wrap-up and Adjourn