PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) - Best Study Guide?

QuantumstateQuantumstate Member Posts: 192 ■■■■□□□□□□
in Project Management Certifications
Has anyone got their Agile? I've just discovered this, and have alot of confidence in PMI, so will probably go for it.

News release:
http://www.scrumalliance.org/blog/129-pmi-develops-agile-certification

Homepage:
http://www.pmi.org/en/Certification/New-PMI-Agile-Certification.aspx

Oh, and what might be the best study guide?
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • universalfrostuniversalfrost Member Posts: 247
    agile and risk management from PMI are out there. if you are going the agile route, i would personally recommend getting your scrum master certification instead of the agile cert from PMI.. scrum master cert is more recognized (especially in the software industry).

    also good idea to understand the different agile methodologies. for me, i did my masters thesis on agile methodologies, so in the few interviews i have had that were PM related I actually brought up the agile methodologies and literally blew them away with my knowledge.

    sometimes having a very solid understanding of the methodologies and being able to convey that knowledge is more important than a cert...

    as a closing note, i do plan on getting the scrum cert, but later on after a few others.
    "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (when all else fails play dead) -Red Green
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • QuantumstateQuantumstate Member Posts: 192 ■■■■□□□□□□
    I find that for the PMI cert I need 21 contact hours of training. I just don't know that it's worth it, given the low employer response I've gotten to my PMP. I guess I really should get a job before I spend anymore money or time on a PMI cert.

    I'd considered the ScrumMaster, but that's only about a portion of Agile methodologies. The PMI cert is about the full scope. But under the circumstances I guess I will take a close look at the SM.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • universalfrostuniversalfrost Member Posts: 247
    the response to any given cert will depend greatly on the position you are applying for...

    certs mean that you have the knowledge you are claiming and have successfully proved this on an exam (well at least it proves that you knew the information at one point in time)....
    "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (when all else fails play dead) -Red Green
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • QuantumstateQuantumstate Member Posts: 192 ■■■■□□□□□□
    OK, Certified Scrum Master is a helluvalot easier than the PMI-ACP. You just take a two day course and their rinky-dink online exam. Their in-person training is mandatory, but the good news is they are all over the world (except 'stan).

    Now, their Certified Scrum Professional is more like PMI-ACP. For that you have to prove 2,000 hours (one year) of experience (compared with PMI's 1500 hours). I'd take PMI's any day over the CSP.

    Since CSM is dumbly more widely recognized, it's a no-brainer. You pay for the class, and the instructor pays for your test and cert out of class fees. Each hour in this course counts toward one contact hour for PMP continuing education under Plan B (uncertified), so 14 PDUs. The CSM course in Seattle costs (holy sh1t) $960. And that's Early Bird. (first 10 registrants) My only other option is $1,300! Wow, after self-study for the PMP and CEH, this is a shock.

    FAQ:
    http://www.scrumalliance.org/pages/faq_training_and_certification
    Search here for courses:
    Scrum Alliance - Transforming the World of Work
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • QuantumstateQuantumstate Member Posts: 192 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Well I was wavering on the value of the Certified Scrum Master. Compared with the PMP it's a warm bucket of spit. I would like the training, but being unemployed, $960 is a helluvalot of money.

    But then I discovered that the CSM training hours (which are mandatory for the cert) are applicable to the ACP, which I value. 14 hours in CSM plus 7 more hours in ACP give my required 21 hours for ACP.

    PMI Agile Certified Practitioner Training | Agile Training | Agile Consulting | SolutionsIQ

    That cinches it. I'm signing up today for CSM Oct 17-18. I'll take ACP later when I have a job. (IF I get a job...)

    Edit: Oookay, SolutionsIQ claims that 10 people have already signed up, so now I have to pay $1,200 for the course. Not gonna happen. I'm going to my State job training bureau to see if I can get them to pay it. The nice thing about SolutionsIQ's course is that they also offer the additional day of training for ACP. This would total 21 hours (PDUs for my full requirement of ACP, although it costs $1,800. Looks like the State will pay for it under their WorkSource WPI program here in Washington state. That way I can immediately test for and get CSM, and when I'm ready ACP.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • QuantumstateQuantumstate Member Posts: 192 ■■■■□□□□□□
    It is starting to look like I'm going to be homeless. I've been unemployed for six months, and constantly applying for jobs. You'd think that here in Seattle there would be lots of tech jobs, and I've applied for over 200, but I have never gotten a single interview. I am just about out of hope.

    I can tell you right now though I will end it, before I am homeless. I have done my best and tried everything I can think of, and nothing works. I must not have something that these 200+ other new project and program managers have, who were hired in the past three months.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • tousignanttousignant Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
    If anyone is still interested in a PMI-ACP study guide. I created one while I was studying and posted it here:
    Free PMI-ACP Study Guide | Agile Project Management Training

    I passed by the way :)

    Dan Tousignant, PMI-ACP, PMP
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Sign In or Register to comment.