1. How do I get the PMI-ACP® certification?

The following is the step-by-step process to acquire PMI-ACP® certification:

a) Register as a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI).

  • The benefits of becoming a member of the prestigious PMI are:
    • Fee concessions on all PMI certifications. The PMI membership costs you $139, which saves you $60 on the examination fees. The PMI-ACP® exam fees for non-members is US$495, whereas it costs just US$435 for members.
    • Access to several research papers published by PMI.
    • Discount on diverse project management books at a discounted price.
    • Entry to PMI local chapter meetings at a concessional price.

b) Take up our PMI-ACP Certification Preparation Training Course to satisfy the mandatory prerequisite of 21 contact hours (PDUs).

c) Fill up and submit your PMI-ACP® application on the PMI website.

  • PMI® would review and respond to your application within 3 to 5 business days.
  • As soon as your application is approved, you will get an invite to schedule the date of the exam along with making payment of the exam fees.
  • We will guide you through the application process as part of the PMI-ACP® exam preparatory training. 

d) Attend and Pass the PMI-ACP® examination

  • Examination Format:
    • The examination consists of 120 questions in total (100 scored and 20 unscored)
    • Duration – 3 hours.
  • Conditions:
    • You have a period of one year to take the exam from the date of the approval of the application.
    • You are allowed up to three times to take up the examination during the eligibility period.

2. What is the structure of the PMI-ACP® Exam?

  • Domain I – Agile Principles & Mindset – 16%
  • Domain II – Value-driven Delivery – 20%
  • Domain III – Stakeholder Engagement – 17%
  • Domain IV – Team Performance – 16% 
  • Domain V – Adaptive Planning – 12% 
  • Domain VI – Problem Detection & Resolution – 10% 
  • Domain VII – Continuous Improvement (People, Process, Product) – 9%

3. How long is the PMI-ACP® certification valid?

  • The PMI-ACP® certification is valid for 3 years from the date of issuance of the certificate. 
  • To maintain your certification status, you should accumulate Professional Development Units (PDUs) by spending your time regularly on learning, teaching, or volunteering over the next three years.

4. Is the PMI-ACP® exam hard?

The PMI-ACP® certification examination is not as tough as the PMP® examination, however, it does demand an extensive range of knowledge, acquaintance with the topics, Firstly, to thoroughly familiarize yourselves about PMI-ACP® certification, PMI recommends that you read the PMI-ACP Handbook completely. It contains information regarding applying to the examination, modes of payment, procedures and policies for acquiring and maintaining the certification. Secondly, you may try solving practice questions and attending mock tests. If you are not satisfied with the results of your mock tests, then you should certainly consider taking a PMI-ACP preparatory training course. Our training school is amongst the top institutions in Auckland, New Zealand that provides exceptional project management training and examination support.

5. Which is better – PMP® or PMI-ACP®?

It is being noticed that the PMI-ACP certification offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) is gaining credence among employers in the technology space. But the same industry is witnessing organizations that are looking for PMP certified professionals who also have experience in Agile methodologies. Instead of going through the dilemma of choosing between PMP® and PMI-ACP®, you should consider which course should be taken first out of the two. The reason is that by completing both certifications, you would become well versed in the deep ocean of Agile. There are a few key factors you should consider before settling your priority.

  • Your future aspirations – You should figure out how you want to see your future self – as a project manager or an agile practitioner. Based on your priority, you would realize which one would be a better pick.
  • Your organization’s needs – If your organization is newly shifting to work in an Agile environment, you would be better off choosing PMI-ACP® as there is a sudden surge in demand for Agile practitioners within your current company. If your company is engaged in several projects at the same time, but the availability of project managers is limited, then you may opt for PMP®.
  • Knowledge horizons – The PMP® certification includes all aspects of project management, whereas the PMI-ACP® focuses only on the Agile approach. In a nutshell, PMI-ACP® is a subset of PMP® which explores certain Agile components too.

6. What are the benefits of obtaining a PMI-ACP® certification?

  1. Huge Demand – PMI-ACP® is the most comprehensive and highly demanded certifications offered by the PMI. Companies are rapidly moving away from traditional project management methods towards alternatives such as the Agile approach. But the number of certified Agile practitioners is far less than the demand in the market. Obtaining an Agile certification would fill the industry’s gap between the demand and supply of Agile practitioners.
  1. Wide scope – PMI-ACP® is not confined to a single methodology but comprises a wide range of Agile methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean, PDD, XP, DSDM, Crystal, and so on.
  1. Marketability – PMI-ACP® showcases the employers that the candidate has first-hand work experience in an Agile environment. This boosts the marketability and the value of your resume. With  PMI-ACP certification you will instantly become more attractive to employers, which will help you advance your career. It enables you to gain recognition in your own company as well as other organizations and provides better prospects for career development.

7. Is Agile still relevant?

The future is Agile, irrespective of the industry you are in. If you prefer working in an environment where the scope and needs of a project are predetermined ahead of time and the cost can be accurately calculated, then PMI-ACP® is not for you. This is the traditional waterfall method of project management which is currently diminishing at a fast pace. But Agile will remain forever. Agile is a mindset that encourages change. Under the agile approach, it is presumed that all project stakeholders are not completely sure about everything that is required for a project to be built successfully. So agile promotes the idea of planning shorter tasks and division of work into small chunks and communicating about its development regularly with the client. This reduces the risk of client dissatisfaction and running out of funds at the end of the entire project. Surveys by McKinsey and Deloitte show that more than 90% of the senior executives of top organizations give high preference for shifting to agile, while less than 10% of the compares are now highly agile.

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