TSE039 PMI-ACP® Exam Prep

PMI® Agile Certified Practitioner Exam Prep

Course Description

As Agile project methods become increasingly prevalent in many industries, there is a growing demand for agile practitioners, including Project Managers, Scrum masters, Scrum Product Owners, and team members with proven credentials.  Administered by the Project Management Institute, PMI®, the PMI-ACP® Certification exam is intended to provide experienced Agile practitioners with a credential that attests to their familiarity with Agile methods, tools and skills.  More and more companies are requiring PMI certifications for newly hired staff and even their existing project teams as a way ensuring their staff possesses the desired capabilities. The PMI-ACP certification extends this practice to the fastest growing trend in project management – Agile Projects.

In this workshop we make the same assumption as the PMI-ACP exam itself, that participants already have the required Agile project experience.  This course therefore prepares participants to take the PMI-ACP Certification exam using a highly focused approach - that is, you learn more of what you need to know and do in order to pass the exam, rather than what you need to know to be an Agile Project Manager.  To learn the effective project management tools and techniques, we also offer and recommend our TSE036-P6 MANAGING AGILE PROJECTS. 

As a PMI Global R.E.P., upon completion, this course provides all 21 of the PDUs – “Contact Hours” which are required to sit for the PMI-ACP exam. 

Upon completion of this workshop, each participant will be able to:

♦    Understand the PMI test taking process and manage their test taking experience to maximize their test scores.

♦    Answer questions from any of the six Agile domains of practice.

♦    Answer questions regarding Professional Responsibility.

♦    Understand the Agile tools and techniques and knowledge and skill areas which the exam covers.

♦    Identify knowledge shortfalls to facilitate individual test preparation efforts.

♦    Confidently sit for the PMI-ACP Certification Exam!

Instructional methods for this three-day module are lecture, discussion, individual and team exercises, and sample test questions.  It is recommended that all participants consult the recommended readings provided by PMI prior to attending this workshop.  Further, it is strongly recommended that participants plan to sit for the PMI-ACP exam within 30 days of attending this program.

Course Outline

  1. Introduction And Course Objectives
  2. The PMI-ACP Certification and the Exam
    1. Certification Requirements
    2. Exam Contents
    3. PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility
  3. Agile Concepts
    1. What is an Agile Project?
      1. Agility
      2. Characteristics of Projects
      3. Stakeholders
      4. Project success
      5. The Total Systems Pentagon
      6. Negotiation
    2. PMI Project Processes
    3. Agile Philosophy and Principles
    4. Motivation for the Agile Approach
    5. What All Agile Methods have in common
    6. Agile vs. traditional projects
    7. Comparing Agile Methods
      1. SCRUM
      2. Kanban
      3. Extreme Programming
    8. Determining which projects are suitable for Agile Methods
    9. Choosing the right Agile methods and tailoring them for a particular project
    10. Impact of Agile methods on the organization
  4. Value-Driven Delivery
    1. Define Positive Value
      1. Maximizing Stakeholder Value of Project Deliverables
      2. Optimizing Value by Incorporating Feedback
      3. Determining Acceptance Criteria – Defining “Done”
      4. Selecting and Tailoring Project Methodology
    2. Incremental Development
      1. Incremental Delivery
      2. Frequent Product Releases
      3. When to Terminate the Project
      4. Continuous Design Improvement - Refactoring
    3. Avoid Potential Downsides
      1. Identifying Project Risks
      2. Mitigating Risk through Regular Reviews and Stakeholder Feedback
    4. Prioritization
      1. Prioritizing Deliverables based on Stakeholder Value and Risk
      2. Reprioritizing Requirements
  5. Stakeholder Engagement
    1. Stakeholder Needs
      1. Identifying and Empowering Stakeholders
      2. Knowledge Sharing Among Stakeholders
    2. Stakeholder Involvement
      1. Promoting Stakeholder Collaboration
      2. Maintaining Stakeholder Involvement
    3. Stakeholder Expectations
      1. Gaining Agreement on Success Criteria and Project Trade-offs
      2. Communicating Team Progress
      3. Managing Stakeholder Expectations
  6. Boosting Team Performance
    1. Team Formation
      1. Setting Team Ground Rules
      2. Getting The Right Skills on the Project
      3. Identifying Generalizing Specialists
      4. Ensuring a Common Understanding of Agile Values and Methods
    2. Team Empowerment
      1. Empowering Self-Organizing Teams
      2. Creating a Safe Team Environment
      3. Motivating the Team
    3. Team Collaboration
      1. Group Decision Making
      2. Facilitating Communication
    4. Team Commitment
      1. Protecting the Team from Outside Distractions
      2. Aligning Project and Team Goals
      3. Enabling the Team to Measure its Capacity
  7. Adaptive Planning
    1. Levels of Planning
      1. Planning at Multiple Levels (Strategic, Release, Iteration, etc.)
      2. Engaging the Team and Customer in Planning Activities
      3. Managing Sponsor Expectations
    2. Adaptation
      1. Coaching Team Planning Activities
      2. Adapting Project Plans to Reflect Change
    3. Estimation
      1. Team Estimating Techniques
      2. Refining Team Estimates
    4. Velocity/Throughput/Cycle Time
      1. Measuring Completed Work
      2. Avoiding Team Over-commitment
  8. Problem Detection and Resolution
    1. Creating an Environment that Encourages Early Identification of Problems
    2. Engaging the Team in Identifying Risks
    3. Removing Impediments
    4. Risk Resolution
    5. Communicating Risks and Impediments
  9. Continuous Improvement
    1. Tailoring Project Processes
    2. Retrospectives
    3. Adjusting Team Composition and Work Practices
    4. Removing Wasteful Process Elements
    5. Disseminating Knowledge Across Project Boundaries
    6. Improving Team Member Knowledge and Skills
    7. Evaluating Work
    8. Experimenting with New Techniques
  10. Review and Test-Taking Hints
    1. Identifying Areas for Further Study
    2. Test Taking Strategies
    3. Summary
    4. Participants Critique the Workshop
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