Project management is essential as it plays a vital role in any organization’s success. In fact, a report by Gartner says that the project failure rate is roughly 50% which is quite shocking. It is all because most of the projects are subjected to unrealistic planning, inefficient resource allocation, and poor prioritization. These causes indicate the demand for a good project management team that can take a project to a successful completion with high profit and a good success rate. Actually, project management provides leadership and direction for projects. It also ensures that organizations have control over running projects and make sure that they are on the right track within the budget and time limits. It also coerces project managers into creating efficient workflows that can minimize operational costs and maximize productivity. Therefore almost every organization understands the growing importance of good project management and is willing to implement it successfully for their business goals.
Ultimately it also has increased the demand for certified, experienced, and skilled project managers. So many people and professionals are seeking certification courses provided by PMI, such as PMP Certification, PMI ACP certification, etc., that can gear up their skills and career to new heights of growth and success. So this article is here to tell you about PMI ACP certification and the best ways to prepare for this certification exam to clear it on the first attempt.
What is PMI ACP Certification?
PMI ACP Certification refers to PMI Agile Certified Practitioner certification that can demonstrate your agile team experience while experiencing agile approaches. PMI (Project Management Institute) offers this specialized certification, which is created by agilists for agilists. It spans several methods like Scrum, Lean, Kanban, test-driven development (TDD), Extreme programming ( XP), etc., that can enhance candidates’ versatility to tackle all the project issues.
PMI ACP certification is the fastest-growing certification that has been updated with the addition of the Agile Practice Guide. It is specially designed to empower candidates to become skilled professionals along with a wide range of agile methodologies. It includes tools, methodologies, and technologies to provide real-life experience throughout the course. The main attraction of this course is that it comes with the 2017 PMI guidelines to help you pass the PMI ACP exam. This certification is evidence of your hands-on and real-world experience and skills as part of an agile team.
As prerequisites, it requires one to three years of project management experience and some other requirements( educational, experience, and certification maintenance requirements) to apply for this exam. PMI ACP is an exam of 3 hours and 120 multiple-choice questions that one has to pass with fixed minimum marks.
How to Prepare for PMI ACP certification?
PMI ACP is considered one of the top agile certifications globally. So preparations to gain this certification must be unique in their own way. Here are some of the important ways to prepare for the PMI ACP exam.
- Eligibilities- PMI ACP certification requires some of the eligibilities to be fulfilled in categories such as-
Education– A high school diploma, a secondary degree, or an equal degree.
General Project Experience– To Pass PMI ACP certification requires 2000 hours which is as equates to 12 months of practical experience working on project teams in the last five years.
Experience On Agile Project- It is also required 1500 hours which is equal to around 8 months of practical experience working on projects team through agile approaches on top of your general project experience.
Agile Training- Candidates can achieve agile training during the agile certification course of 21 formal contact hours based on agile practices.
- Application Process- After fulfilling eligibility, now is the time to apply for the application process for PMI ACP certifications. One can complete this process online, which is a must step to appear in the exam.
- Exam Preparation- It is the primary step to get a clear PMI ACP exam on the first try. There are several small and big steps to getting perfectly prepared for the exam, as mentioned below.
Study Plans– It is the very first and essential step to clear any exam. Approach the exam preparations like a project so it will be easy for candidates to prepare like a project manager.
Go Through PMBOK Guide- To go through this PMBOK guide can also help candidates in a much better way to consider for Agile environment that can be found at the end of each of the knowledge area chapters. PMBOK is a guide to the Project management Body of Knowledge that can help you have a solid grasp of the general approaches.
Along with PMBOK, candidates can also study for the Agile Practice guide, which will also be a great option to get a deep knowledge of the agile approaches.
Use PMI ACP Examination Content Outline- This content outline is a detailed document published by the PMI on its website that involves all the domains and study material one can require to prepare for the PMI ACP exam. It also provides you with information on agile tools and techniques that are essential for the exam.
Solve Sample Questions- Solving sample questions can be a great help to pass any exam. It gives candidates confidence for ongoing exams to achieve certification. So start spending some time-solving sample questions to save your time and effort during the main exam.
Join PMI ACP Study Circle/Group- Besides the above-mentioned preparation steps, candidates must join relevant study groups on reputed social media platforms that can help them solve their queries and problems. It provides you with several helpful tips and plans to go with your PMI ACP exam preparations.
Go Through Practice Tests and Exam techniques- Practice tests are the best way to get self-prepared for the main PMI ACP exam. A large number of PMI ACP practice questions are available on the internet that can help you test yourself on your exam preparations. Candidates are required to practice at least 120 to 150 practice tests which contain around 50 questions in each test.
So these are some simple steps to get prepared for the PMI ACP exams that one should follow and try to pass this exam on the first attempt.
