How to Pass Your PMI-ACP Exam with Flying Colours
As a PMI-ACP applicant not so long ago I was searching the net to see if there are any useful articles on how to pass the exam that might help me with my education plan and preparation activities. However, there was not so much material available. In this article, I would like to share my experience of passing the PMI-ACP exam and hope it will help other applicants who might feel challenged and not that confident about what should be done to get certified.
At first, make sure that PMI-ACP is the certification you need to satisfy your professional requirements to educational needs. The PMI-ACP will be a good choice for you If you work on agile projects with agile teams and if your organization is adopting or supporting agile practices. The PMI-ACP certification would be nice evidence of practical, hands-on experience and skill in Agile principles and methodologies and will help with structuring your theoretical and practical knowledge.
In order to gain your PMI-ACP certification, you will have to answer 120 multiple-choice questions within the course of three hours. To maintain your PMI-ACP, you must earn 30 professional development units (PDUs) in agile topics every three years. There are several steps you need to take on the way to passing your PMI-ACP exam on the first attempt.
Step 1.
At first, make sure that you meet the experience and education requirements.
The prerequisites are as follows:
2,000 hours of general project experience working on teams. If you have already obtained a current PMP or PgMP certification, they will also satisfy this requirement but are not required to apply for the PMI-ACP.
1,500 hours working on agile project teams or with agile methodologies.
21 contact hours of training in agile practices.
Step 2.
When you have validated you meet the certification requirements, you should create an account at pmi.org and start the application. You will have 90 days to complete it. The application consists of multiple tabs you will have to fill in with the information about yourself and your professional experience, including projects you worked on and the overall number of hours spent. You will be able to complete the application after you earn your 21 contact hours of training in agile practices. This is an obligatory requirement. When the application is completed and submitted it may be randomly sent for an audit. Not all applications are being audited. If your application is chosen for an audit, you will have to follow the instructions, print out the application form, have it signed by your supervisors and send it over to the PMI for approval. When the application is approved, you will be eligible for an appointment to pass the exam as soon as the exam fee is paid.
Step 3.
The sooner you start the education process, the better.
When I was preparing for my exam, I have used the following resources:
PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Updated Second Edition: A Course in a Book for Passing the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Exam Updated Second Edition Edition by Mike Griffiths. You can easily buy this book on Amazon or any other online resource.
PMI-ACP Exam Prep for PMBOK 6 by Joseph Phillips on Udemy.com. You will be granted a certification upon the course completion and will be able to submit the 21 professional development units. There are also plenty of other online courses that you may choose from to get the 21 PDUs required for the application.
PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition by PMI. Every project manager in the field has hopefully heard about this book and followed its principles. It has a lot of useful information when you need to clarify the processes. There is a detailed explanation of formulas and use cases that can become handy at the exam.
Step 4.
When you have completed your application and filled in all the necessary information including the 21 PDUs that are required for submission, you will have to receive an application confirmation, make a payment and schedule the appointment date. Just follow the instructions sent to your email, find the closest test center to you and book the date and time that works. You can also pass this exam online in the comfort of your home or office while being monitored by an offsite proctor in case it’s troublesome to get to the test center. You will have one year to pass your exam but I wouldn’t recommend procrastinating. As soon as you have completed your education plan, you should pass the exam.
In order to feel confident and process the information well, I had to read the PMI-ACP Prep book three times. It helped me to pay attention to details and get a better understanding of different terminology and practices. You can also use a highlighter every time you read the book and highlight those sentences or keywords that seem important which will help you when rereading the book multiple times.
I’ve also listened to the video course twice and used PMBok Guide as an additional source of information in case I came across any terms I needed more clarification on.
Overall it took me around two and a half months to get ready to pass my PMI-ACP on the first attempt. It’s a bit hard as it takes time and effort to study daily for at least several hours, but it is definitely worth it. If you have any additional questions, feel free to post them beneath the article. I will be happy to help and wish you to pass your PMI-ACP with flying colors!
