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Exam Information
Official specifications published by PMI
Exam Format
180 min
Psychometrically determined
Professional
Registration
$495 USD
Pearson VUE or online proctoring
English, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, French (by March 2025) +6 more
Validity
3 years
Earn 30 PDUs (Professional Development Units) every 3 years; PDUs must be in agile-related topics; Can earn PDUs through training, giving back, and working as practitioner
PMI-ACP Exam Topics and Domains
PMI-ACP is organized into 4 weighted domains. Expect to work with Culture transformation, Feedback systems, Team coaching, Team facilitation, and more.
1
Mindset
28%
Experiment Early
Build Product Increments
Build an increment of the product to validate solution and/or market need
Embrace Agile Mindset
Innovation EnvironmentAgile Values and PrinciplesComplexity Theory
- Create an environment to innovate, learn, and grow
- Use agile values and principles
- Apply the appropriate complexity method/domain to the complexity theory system
- Identify the application and importance or risks of each complexity system theory
- Interpret the output of agile suitability tools
- Integrate agile models based on needs
Promote Collaborative Team Environment
Team Vision and Working AgreementsHigh-Performing TeamsRetrospectives and ImprovementCollaboration and SilosInter-team Coordination
- Establish team vision and working agreements
- Form and develop a high performing team
- Use retrospective findings to improve the team
- Use collaboration practices to breakdown silos
- Commit to the team's decisions even in disagreement
- Evaluate the team's understanding of agile to tailor the agile approach
- Identify key factors for inter-team coordination approaches
Build Transparency
Information RadiatorsCommunication Strategies
- Make status, progress, process, risks, impediments, and learning accessible to all
- Establish a feedback loop for team
- Define communication strategies for co-located and distributed teams
Foster Psychological Safety
No-Blame CultureConstructive Feedback
- Promote a no blame culture by encouraging objectivity
- Encourage dialogue over debate
- Solicit and provide constructive feedback. Act on it
- Encourage challenging the status quo
Shorten Feedback Loops
Early Stakeholder InclusionFeedback Tools and Techniques
- Include the stakeholders from day one
- Maximize value given a specific timeframe
- Use tools and techniques to shorten feedback
Embrace Change
Growth MindsetCross-functional Skills
- Promote a growth mindset to respond to change
- Embrace process adaptation by responding to changing requirements and priorities
- Encourage and model cross skills
- Adapt to product needs based on the learning and feedback
2
Leadership
25%
Empower Teams
Team Motivation and TrustCoaching and MentoringEmotional Intelligence
- Motivate team members to experiment and take risks
- Coach and mentor team members
- Promote collective ownership of goals
- Establish an environment of trust
- Recognize differences between training, coaching, and mentoring
- Apply emotional intelligence techniques
Facilitate Problem Resolution
Root Cause AnalysisResolution Strategies
- Ensure problems are resolved in a timely manner
- Investigate the root cause of problems
- Determine resolution strategies with the team
Promote Knowledge Sharing
Knowledge CaptureOrganizational Knowledge
- Create environment to capture and share knowledge
- Leverage organizational knowledge assets
- Allocate time for knowledge sharing
Promote Agile Mindset
Agile Values and Principles
- Create awareness around agile values and principles
- Foster environment for continuous improvement
- Recognize, celebrate, and encourage agile behavior
Promote Shared Vision
Vision and Purpose
- Define common understanding of purpose and vision
- Ensure product alignment to vision and goals
- Continuously communicate vision and purpose
Facilitate Conflict Management
Conflict Resolution
- Identify the root cause and level of conflict
- Promote collaborative approach to solve conflict
3
Product
19%
Refine Product Backlog
Backlog Management
- Clarify the backlog items
- Prioritize backlog items with customer/stakeholder
- Decompose backlog items as needed
Manage Increments
Sizing and GoalsValue Demonstration
- Use tools and techniques to collectively size work
- Ensure increment is aligned with business priorities
- Define the increment goals
- Demonstrate increments of value for early feedback
- Measure the delivery of value
Visualize Work
Work Visualization
- Educate work visualization techniques
- Establish process to update data/stats
- Continuously share information
Manage Value Delivery
Value DefinitionValue Optimization
- Define what value will look like
- Ensure value increments are optimized
- Ensure targeted results are achieved
4
Delivery
28%
Seek Early Feedback
Feedback Collection
- Evaluate customer satisfaction
- Deliver work in small increments
- Collect and incorporate stakeholders' feedback regularly
Manage Agile Metrics
Metrics Selection
- Determine appropriate metrics for audience
- Radiate metrics across relevant audience
- Review and analyze metrics
- Use metrics insights for decision making
Manage Impediments and Risk
Risk and Impediment Management
- Proactively identify risks and impediments
- Engage team to find appropriate course of action
- Prioritize impediment removal and risk mitigation
- Monitor/control risks and impediments
- Use lessons learned to avoid recurrence
Recognize and Eliminate Waste
Waste Identification
- Visualize end-to-end flow of value
- Use metrics, tools and feedback to identify waste
- Prioritize waste reduction activities
- Iterate on identification and reduction
Perform Continuous Improvements
Improvement Process
- Obtain metrics and feedback to drive improvements
- Implement improvement actions
- Evaluate effectiveness of process improvement
Actively Engage Customers
Customer Engagement
- Identify and analyze customer needs
- Validate iteration deliverables meet acceptance criteria
- Encourage collaboration between customer and team
Optimize Flow
Flow Management
- Limit work-in-progress at all levels
- Shield team from interruptions
- Use metrics to analyze and improve flow
How do I earn this certification?
Passing PMI-ACP earns the PMI-ACP certification. It sits in the Agile track.
Current Level Exams
Next Level Options
- PMP - Project Management ProfessionalBroader project management certification
- PgMP - Program Management Professional Program-level management
Alternative Paths
- DASM - Disciplined Agile Scrum MasterEntry-level DA certification, no experience required
- DASSM - Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum MasterAdvanced agile practices with DA toolkit
- DAC - Disciplined Agile Coach Coaching and consulting focus
- CSM - Certified ScrumMasterScrum-specific certification
- SAFe Agilist - SAFe Agilist Enterprise-level agile scaling
- PSM - Professional Scrum Master Alternative Scrum certification
Practice with Precision
The PlanetCert Simulator mirrors the real exam environment with authentic questions and timed pressure.
How to study for this exam?
The most effective way to prepare for PMI-ACP is by using the PlanetCert Simulator to practice questions and review detailed explanations.
What's changed on this exam?
Current Status
- ACTIVE
- Last content update: 2024-11-08
- Announcement date: 2024-06-01
Updates
- AI in Agile Emerging Future ECO updates may include AI-assisted agile practices • Release date: 2024-ongoing
- Remote Collaboration Tools Post-pandemic standard Distributed team management emphasized in Leadership domain • Release date: 2020-ongoing
- DevOps Integration Mature Continuous delivery and CI/CD covered in Delivery domain • Release date: Ongoing
Who should take this exam?
This exam is typically taken by Scrum Masters and Product Owners.
- 2-3 years of agile project experience
- Experience with multiple agile frameworks
- Understanding of agile values and principles
- Exposure to scaled agile environments