The Scoop on the new PMI® Agile Certification

***Update***  Exciting news:

we’ve rolled out our new PMI Agile Certified Practitioner PMI-ACP class!

In case you haven’t heard yet, PMI has announced a new Agile Project Practitioner certification. The goal of this certification is to validate a practitioner’s ability to understand and apply Agile principles and practices on basic projects. PMI is responding to an increased demand by its members to move towards this direction as Agile practices and methods have gained large popularity and crossed the chasm into mainstream development. Gartner has predicted that by the year 2012 “agile development methods will be utilized in 80% of all software development projects”. Agile methods are known for delivering in shorter time-boxed schedules, more collaborative teams, higher customer satisfaction and improved quality.

This certification is one of the several steps PMI has taken towards recognizing the value delivered by Agile practices and helping promote them within the PMI member community. To learn more about this certification, we have asked Rory McCorkle, the Product Owner for the certification, to answer a few community questions. The remaining questions will be discussed during a live interview webinar with Rory on March 17^th at 12pm EST on the Learning and Education CoP.  Follow our discussion on twitter with #pmiagilecert for those who can’t access the PMI site.

Community Questions & Answers from the Certification Product Owner – Rory McCorkle:

1.      What is the key driver behind this certification and current timing? Who is exactly targeted for this certification?

The key driver behind this certification is the project management community. The community has been telling us for some time that Agile practices are increasingly being demanded of them on projects. This led to the development of Agile training offerings, such as the Agile SeminarsWorld and eSeminarsWorld courses, as well as the development of the Agile Community of Practice (CoP). Key leaders in the Agile space also showed us the need to develop a certification that would not be methodologically specific, but focus on the core principles and practices of Agile.

The certification targets “Joe PM” – the project practitioner who is looking to use Agile principles and practices to produce better results on their projects. What PMI’s research found was that many practitioners were being asked to draw on many project management tools, including Agile, as part of their work. This certification seeks to provide a baseline of knowledge in these practices to better equip practitioners to incorporate Agile practices into their project management ‘toolbox’.

2.      What kind of testing is it going to involve?

In addition to a review of the candidate’s experience and training, the certification will involve a multiple-choice examination.

3.      How will people be able to prepare for testing?

We have already begun extensive work with our REPs, as well as training organizations currently outside PMI but interested in becoming REPs because of this new program.

4.      What kind of certification will they get at the end? What information do you have on PDUs needed to maintain it? Will it have a renewal fee similar to the PMP^®?

This information can be found in the FAQs document at www.pmi.org/agile. However, it will require 30 PDUs / 3 years, with a similar (but different) renewal fee

5.      What is the future of this certification with relation to the PMP^®? Will it be an APMP or will it replace the PMP^®?

At this time, we envision this certification as an excellent complement to the PMP.

6.      How will the PMI^® Agile Certification relate/differ/compete with the ScrumAlliance certifications?

They will differ in that the Scrum Alliance certifications build knowledge of Scrum – the PMI^® Agile Certification will examine a practitioner’s knowledge of Agile core principles and practices and will not be limited to any one specific Agile approach.

7.      What does this certification say about PMI’s view of Waterfall? PMBOK^® had never officially endorsed waterfall but seems to endorse Agile now through this certification.

This does not change PMI’s view of waterfall or any other methodology for that matter. Different projects require different approaches – and it is critical to PMI to ensure that our practitioners are equipped to handle these different approaches.

8.      Does PMI feel this certification applies all industries not just Software development?

Yes. While we found the most interest coming from the Information Communications Technology (ICT) function, a high level of interest was also found in Consulting and Manufacturing.

9.  Any special consideration for folks already having existing Agile certifications such as CSM, CSP, CSC, CST?

Individuals who have obtained other existing certifications will be able to use the training hours from these certifications toward the training requirement for the PMI Agile certification.

10. Will the PMBOK^® Guide be updated to include Agile principles? Will it be an AgileBOK?

The purpose of the PMBOK^® Guide is to address generally accepted project management practices. While Agile practices have and continue to grow, they still comprise a minority of projects being conducted around the globe. Thus, I would expect to see elements of Agile continue to growth within the standard; however, this will take time as the practices continue to become more accepted.

Please register for the upcoming webinar with Rory as you will also have the opportunity to submit live questions! To learn more about Agile, we have developed a series of webinars as part of the Learning and Education CoP. You may also join our linkedin group to stay informed with the planned webinar and learning opportunities schedules.

We will ask Rory some more interesting question about how the benefit of this certification to folks already experienced in Agile, how it impacts the PMO folks, future plans for bridging the gap between the Agile and traditional cultures and much more! Have a question for Rory? Joined our linkedin group and let us know about it. We may just include it in our webinar!

About Rory McCorkle, MBA: As a Product Manager of Credentials at the Project Management Institute (PMI), Mr. McCorkle is responsible for the Project Management Professional (PMP)^® credential, the most recognized project management certification in the world with over 420,000 credential holders in more than 180 countries. In this role, Rory supports the adoption of the credential by practitioners and organizations, while being responsible for the credential’s brand, structure, and quality.