I recently had the opportunity to take up the newly launched PMI-ACP Agile certification beta/pilot exam. The exam is pretty much straight forward (the registration part was a bit of a pain though) and I feel if you are well prepared, it will be a cake walk to clear the exam. Below is a generic over view of the exam and my experience of tackling it.
The exam comprises of 120 questions, but only 100 of these are counted towards your final score and the remaining 20 are part of the pre test questions. You will get an additional 15 minutes (this is in addition to the 3 hours) prior to the start of the exam which I feel could be well utilized for revisions (I used the time for de-stressing myself).
However, one drawback (according to me) was regarding the result of the exam; you will be notified on a later date (December) and hence this leaves me a bit anxious. Along with the pass/fail result, you will also receive a domain score sheet which will include the scores that you have achieved in each of the domains. The domain scores are nothing but your strongest and weakest areas and are rated in terms of 1) Proficient, 2) Moderately Proficient and 3) Below Proficient.

I found the below set of books particularly helpful:

• “Succeeding with Agile” by Mike Cohn
• “User Stories Applied” by Mike Cohn
• “Art of Agile Development” by James Shore
• “The Software Project Manager’s Bridge to Agility” by Michele Sliger and Stacia Broderick

The exam had several questions from the following topics, so it will be wise to concentrate more on these topics which could help improve your score.

• Agile methodologies including XP, Kanban, Scrum, and Lean
• Agile Values and Principles
• Lean Portfolio Management
• Osmotic communication
• Empowerment and collaboration

All in all, I was pretty satisfied with the topics and questions that were covered in the exam as it tests your overall knowledge around the agile methodologies. I found AgileExams.com to be particularly useful in preparing for this exam as the questions on the site are very similar to those on the real exam. I am sure I passed the exam and I am looking forward to updating my resume with my new designation in December.

• Requirement gathering techniques
• Continuous Integration
• Testing and,
• Bug tracking System

PMI-ACP Agile Certification Pilot was recently launched by the Project Management Institute. The exam covers agile methodologies which helps demonstrate a person’s knowledge and capabilities relating to Agile project management practices. There is very few information available on the internet related to the certification and so in this article we will try and cover some of the basic doubts that might arise in the mind of any PMI-ACP certification aspirant.

• Exam Fee:The pilot exam currently costs around $435 for PMI members and $495 for non-members.
• Eligibility: You would need to meet all of the below criteria in order to be eligible to appear for the exam,

1. You need to have at least Secondary degree, high school or equivalent
2. One year of Project Management experience with at least 2,000 hours of experience working with project teams.
3. 1,500 hours of experience spread over minimum of eight months working with project teams using agile methodologies.
4. Mandatory 21 hours Agile Project Management Training

• Exam Topic: The 3 hour long exam consists of 120 multiple-choice questions and is aimed at testing your knowledge and skills in the application of Agile project management techniques. The exam comprises of two parts,

1. Agile tools and techniques

2. Agile knowledge and skills.

• Benefit: By becoming a PMI-ACP you can,

1. Demonstrate to employers your level of professionalism in Agile practices of project management.
2. Increase your professional versatility.
3. Hold a certification that is more credible than existing entry-level, training or exam-only based offerings.

• Target Audience: The exam is mainly useful for people working in the following roles

1. Project Managers
2. Product Owners
3. Business Analysts
4. Developers
5. QA/Testers
6. IT Leaders
7. Project Stakeholders

• Tips for passing the exam: Some of the important topics one needs to cover to clear the exam with flying colors are:

1. XP practices, techniques & roles
2. Value Stream Mapping
3. Lean Portfolio Management
4. Estimations using story points and velocity
5. Understand information radiators, and focus on burn-down charts, their
   value and what do they represent.
6. Agile manifesto and principles
7. Pareto’s Law
8. Risk management and risk burn-down

I’ve heard from many people who have said that they are waiting for Andy Crowe’s PMI ACP prep book before sitting for the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner pilot exam. It appears that the study plans of many aspiring Agile Certified Practitioners will have to change. Andy Crowes book will not be released in October 2011 as planned. The book is now scheduled for late February 2012 – no where near being in time for the pilot test. See the letter from Amazon.com below:

Hello,

We’re writing about the order you placed on September 13 2011 (Order# 104-0709239-4690658). Unfortunately, the release date for the item(s) listed below has changed, and we need to provide you with a new delivery estimate based on the new release date:

Andy Crowe PMP  PgMP “The PMI-ACP Exam: How To Pass On Your First Try (Test Prep series)”
Estimated arrival date: February 17 2012

We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this delay.

*****
WHY WAS MY ORDER DELAYED?
While we do our best to adhere to our delivery estimates, our inventory is constantly changing based on information we receive directly from our suppliers. Occasionally, unexpected fluctuations in supply, delays during shipping, or changes in release dates for new products will add time to our original delivery estimate.

*****
WHAT IF I WANT TO CHANGE OR CANCEL MY ORDER?
If your order hasn’t entered the shipping process, you can change or cancel it in Your Account:

https://www.amazon.com/your-account

If the order is “shipping soon” or “completed”, you won’t be able to make any changes as it’s on the way out the door; we apologize for any inconvenience.
*****
WHAT IF AN ITEM HAS SHIPPED AND I NO LONGER WANT IT?
If your shipment arrives too late, you may either refuse delivery or return it to us for a refund. For returns instructions, please visit our Returns Center at www.amazon.com/returns.

*****
HOW DO I CONTACT YOU ABOUT MY ORDER?
If you have more questions about this order, you can e-mail or phone Customer Service by clicking the “Contact Us” button on the right side of any Help page (www.amazon.com/help).

Sincerely,

Customer Service Department

http://www.amazon.com

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Luckily there are great exam preparation materials such as AgileExams.com, which is already receiving great reviews from members that have already taken the PMI-ACP exam. Good luck on the test!