Christopher HealySR IT Program Manager| General MotorsBerkley, Mi, United States
I am thinking about taking the PMI-ACP exam and I am looking for feedback on level of difficulty, so I can plan out the right time to take the test. For those who have taken the test, how much time did you put into preparation? How would you compare the test to other PMI exams (like PMP) Saving Changes...
Dinah YoungProject Manager / Software Asset Manager| Prince William CountySpringfield, Va, United States
I took my time and prepared for about 4 months. Part of that time was to take the online training. Then I did the application and submitted it.
The exam itself was not as hard as the PMP. It did not have the "trick" questions. There were quite a few scenario based question. A lot of them were in regards to the different roles.
Sante Vergini just wrote up his journey in obtaining the ACP - https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog-pos...P----My-Journey . Check it out. Saving Changes...
Really depends on how much your mindset is aligned with the Manifesto's values & principles. If you are already being agile, it's a fairly simple exam to pass as it does not challenge you with advanced scenarios for any specific agile framework or methodology although you will want to be comfortable with basic Scrum concepts and (to a lesser degree) XP, Lean & Kanban.
I probably studied no more than a day or two of effort over a period of two weeks (elapsed time) using Andy Crowe's prep book and wrote and passed the exam in under an hour.
Kiron
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2 replies by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD and Wade Harshman
Apr 10, 2018 7:49 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Kiron is a super computer :-)
Jun 18, 2019 8:22 AM
Wade Harshman
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This is good to know. I don't mean to sound cynical, but I wondered if the ACP was in agreement with actual Agile values and principles. I always feared that the ACP represented a PMI-flavored version of agility that favored management and planning over empowerment and adaptation. Knowing that the ACP is aligned to generally accepted agility principles makes me want to take the exam.
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
I think from what Sante wrote, it seems the new exam is a bit different as he only got 2 questions related to Scrum and he was the first I now who sat for the new updated exam.
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1 reply by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Apr 10, 2018 7:48 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Yes Rami, from memory 2 on Scrum, a few on Lean and Kanban, zero on XP, Crystal, DSDM etc. It's not so much the fact there was none on XP etc. it was the fact that there was so little on all the frameworks over all. I guess they are really focusing in Agile's umbrella rather than frameworks. I just thought since Scrum is the most popular way to deliver Agile projects, they would have a lot more on Scrum. Scrumians will be disappointed :-)
Yes I found the exam harder than the PMP, so who knows if the level of difficult went up after the March 26 date. The content itself wasn't difficult, it was the wording of the questions, which 1/3 had what I thought was 3 correct answers. I have two other colleagues who failed the exam since the cut-off date (one of which has been working in Agile for years), so how I got above targets in all domains I will never know.
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1 reply by Mahdi Alami Hamedane
Jun 11, 2019 5:35 PM
Mahdi Alami Hamedane
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I totally agree that exam is harder than PMP. Cleared it today and it indeed was one of the most confusing exams I ever took. Everything is situational where memorization with no firm grip of the agile mindset will be of no value.
I think from what Sante wrote, it seems the new exam is a bit different as he only got 2 questions related to Scrum and he was the first I now who sat for the new updated exam.
Yes Rami, from memory 2 on Scrum, a few on Lean and Kanban, zero on XP, Crystal, DSDM etc. It's not so much the fact there was none on XP etc. it was the fact that there was so little on all the frameworks over all. I guess they are really focusing in Agile's umbrella rather than frameworks. I just thought since Scrum is the most popular way to deliver Agile projects, they would have a lot more on Scrum. Scrumians will be disappointed :-) Saving Changes...
Really depends on how much your mindset is aligned with the Manifesto's values & principles. If you are already being agile, it's a fairly simple exam to pass as it does not challenge you with advanced scenarios for any specific agile framework or methodology although you will want to be comfortable with basic Scrum concepts and (to a lesser degree) XP, Lean & Kanban.
I probably studied no more than a day or two of effort over a period of two weeks (elapsed time) using Andy Crowe's prep book and wrote and passed the exam in under an hour.
2 replies by Rami Kaibni and Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Apr 11, 2018 10:30 AM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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A breathing super computer? ;-)
Apr 11, 2018 12:06 PM
Rami Kaibni
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This means that you will always keep breathing :D
They will start making Agile Oxygen Tanks for under water.
Saving Changes...
Christopher HealySR IT Program Manager| General MotorsBerkley, Mi, United States
If you were to buy 1 book for studying would you recommend:
1) Andy Crowe's book
2) Mike Griffith's book
3) something different
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2 replies by Boon Siang Tay and Najam Mumtaz
Apr 11, 2018 9:20 AM
Najam Mumtaz
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I prepared from only one source and that was Mike Griffith's book BUT it was before the exam change. You might have to check if a newer version is available.
Apr 11, 2018 10:09 PM
Boon Siang Tay
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I bought the Sybex textbook by J Ashley Hunt of Stormwind Studios. It's a 2018 first edition as I wanted to be different from the crowd. Good prep book.
If you were to buy 1 book for studying would you recommend:
1) Andy Crowe's book
2) Mike Griffith's book
3) something different
I prepared from only one source and that was Mike Griffith's book BUT it was before the exam change. You might have to check if a newer version is available.
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1 reply by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Apr 11, 2018 10:31 AM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Najam, Mike's book is up to date for the 2018 exam change.
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