PMI-ACP® Exam is not easy compared to PMP. The PMI-ACP® exam is designed for experienced project managers with at least three years of experience in leading and directing projects. It covers a wide range of topics, so it’s essential to do your research and understand the exam expectations before you register.
In this blog post, we will discuss the PMI-ACP® exam difficulty level in detail. So that you can be better prepared for what to expect on test day!
PMI-ACP® Overview:
The PMI-ACP® (Project Management Institute – Agile Certified Practitioner) credential is one of the newest additions to the PMI family of certifications. It was released in late 2011 and is designed to recognize an individual’s expertise in leading. And directing agile projects and their ability to apply agile principles and practices to business situations. The PMI-ACP® exam is based on the PMI Agile Practice Guide, which guides using agile methods within a project management framework.
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PMI-ACP® Domains:
There are four PMI-ACP® domains:
- Agile Principles and Mindset
- Agile Planning, Monitoring, and Adapting
- Value-Driven Delivery
- Stakeholder Engagement
Each domain contains a set of tasks. That you need to be familiar with to pass the PMI-ACP® exam. The tasks are grouped into categories, and each type is assigned a weight. The weights indicate the importance of each type on the PMI-ACP® exam.
Here’s a breakdown of the PMI-ACP® domains and their respective weights:
- Agile Principles and Mindset (15%)
- Agile Planning, Monitoring, and Adapting (27%)
- Value-Driven Delivery (24%)
- Stakeholder Engagement (34%)
As you can see, the PMI-ACP® exam covers a wide range of topics. Then to pass the exam, you need to have a good understanding of all four domains.
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PMI-ACP® Task Categories:
PMI-ACP® covers many topics from various PMI process groups. So, to ensure that PMI-ACP® candidates are well-rounded, the PMI-ACP® tasks have been organized into the following categories:
- Initiating processes – 12%
- Planning processes – 23%
- Executing processes – 30%
- Monitoring and Controlling Processes – 20%
- Closing processes -15%.
PMI-ACP® Knowledge Areas:
The PMI-ACP ® Exam contains questions based on the following knowledge areas:
- Agile principles and foundation: You will be expected to understand the agile principles and how they are applied in various situations.
- Business value analysis: You should know how to analyze the business value of potential projects and features and make decisions accordingly.
- Stakeholder engagement: You will need to demonstrate your ability to manage stakeholders’ expectations and keep them engaged throughout the project.
- Requirements management and discovery: You should understand how to elicit, document, and manage requirements using various agile techniques.
- Planning and monitoring: PMI-ACP® candidates need to plan and monitor agile projects effectively. This includes creating iteration plans, release plans, product roadmaps, etc.,, as well as tracking progress against these plans.
- Team performance: PMI-ACP® candidates should be able to manage and motivate agile teams effectively. This includes understanding team dynamics, conflict resolution, etc.
- Agile tools and techniques: PMI-ACP® candidates need to be familiar with a wide range of agile tools and techniques such as user stories, story maps, backlog grooming, iteration planning, continuous integration, test-driven development, etc.
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- Service management: You should understand service management concepts and how they can be applied in an agile environment.
- Stakeholder engagement: PMI-ACP® candidates need to be able to manage stakeholders’ expectations and keep them engaged throughout the project.
- Facilitation: PMI-ACP® candidates should know how to facilitate agile ceremonies such as sprint planning, iteration demo, retrospective, etc.
- Agile estimation and planning: PMI-ACP® candidates need to estimate the effort required for various agile tasks and activities and create accurate plans based on these estimates.
PMI-ACP® Skills
PMI-ACP®skills are a must for anyone aspiring to be a project manager. There are nine PMI-ACP®skills. So, they are:
- integration management
- scope management
- Project time management
- cost management
- Project quality management
- human resource management
- Project communications management
- Risk management
As you can see, the PMI-ACP® exam will not be a walk in the park. In addition, You will need to have strong skills. And knowledge in all of the above areas, to pass this exam. If you need more help, consider enrolling in a PMP course. Or finding a PMP tutor. With the right support, you can ace the PMI-ACP® exam and take your career to the next level.
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PMI-ACP® Weighting By Domain:
- The Domain I: Agile Principles and Framework (27%)
- Domain II: Agile Planning, Monitoring, and Control (16%)
- The Domain III: Agile Practices for Quality Assurance and Control (14%)
- Domain IV: Agile Development Practices (43%)
As you can see from the PMI-ACP® Exam Content Outline, domains I, II, and III focus on agile principles, practices, tools, and techniques. Moreover, The PMI-ACP® exam is not a simple multiple-choice test. You will be asked to apply your knowledge to case studies and real-world scenarios. There are also essay questions on the PMI-ACP® exam. The PMI-ACP® is a challenging exam, but with the proper preparation, you can pass it.
If you are looking for more information on the PMI-ACP® exam. Then I suggest checking out the PMI-ACP® Exam Prep course from PMI. This course will help you prepare for the PMI-ACP® exam. And learn more about agile principles and practices. Good luck on your journey to becoming a PMI-ACP®!
PMI-ACP® Passing Score:
The PMI-ACP® certification requires a minimum score of 80% on the 200-question. However, your score is not simply based on the number of questions you answer correctly. The PMI-ACP® exam is adaptive. This means that the difficulty level of each question is based on your previous answers.
If you answer the first few questions correctly. Then the following questions will be more difficult. If you answer a question incorrectly, the next question will be more straightforward. The PMI-ACP ® exam is designed so that the average passing candidate will get a score of about 70%. Once you get a score of 80% or higher. You are doing better than average.
Conclusion:
Based on the information PMI has released and the experiences of those who have taken the PMI-ACP® exam.It can be concluded that the PMI-ACP® exam is difficult. However, you can increase your chances of passing the PMI-ACP® exam with proper preparation.
If you are thinking of taking the PMI-ACP®. Then Give yourself enough time to prepare. Many resources are available to help you prepare for the PMI-ACP®. However, using multiple resources will provide you with a better chance of success. In addition, don’t forget to take practice exams to get an idea of what to expect on test day.