Agile Certification
Discover Agile Project Management Certifications
What is Agile?
Agile is a project management and software development methodology that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and rapid iteration. Agile was originally developed as an alternative to traditional, more rigid project management methodologies, which often emphasized strict control, top-down decision-making, and lengthy planning and design phases.
What is the Aim of Agile?
Agile approaches aim to deliver software products or other projects in small, incremental stages, with a focus on frequent feedback and the ability to adapt quickly to changing requirements or circumstances. Agile certification is sometimes required to join a project management team.
What are Agile Key Principles?
Key principles of Agile methodology give priority to:
• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan
Agile teams often use specific frameworks, such as Scrum or Kanban, to organize their work and manage their progress. These frameworks typically involve short, regular meetings, such as daily stand-ups, and emphasize continuous delivery and continuous improvement. Having an Agile certification is a good way to facilitate an applicant’s entry into Agile teams.
What is Agile Project Management?
Agile project management consists in applying Agile methodology in the management of projects. This type of management emphasizes flexibility and collaboration. It is based on the Agile Manifesto, a set of values and principles for software development that prioritize individuals and interactions, working software, and customer collaboration.
Agile project management uses more and more Scrum, a specific framework for implementing Agile, which includes roles such as the Scrum Master and Product Owner, and ceremonies such as Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective. Agile project management is often used in software development, but can be applied to other types of projects as well.
What is Agile Certification?
Having an Agile certification demonstrates that the professional detains solid knowledge and experience in applying Agile principles. And actually there are several certifications available for Agile project management. Some of the most popular include the following:
• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM): This Agile certification is offered by Scrum Alliance and is aimed at individuals who want to become a ScrumMaster, a key role in the Scrum framework. Read more …
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO): This certification is also offered by Scrum Alliance and is aimed at individuals who want to become a Product Owner, another key role in Scrum. Read more about Scrum Alliance.
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP): This Agile certification is offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and is aimed at individuals who want to demonstrate their knowledge of Agile practices and principles across multiple frameworks. Project Management Institute (PMI).
• SAFe 4.0 Agilist: This certification is offered by Scaled Agile, and it is designed for executives, managers, and Agile change agents responsible for leading a Lean-Agile enterprise. Read more about Scaled Agile.
• ICAgile Certified Professional in Agile Project Management (ICP-APM): This Agile certification is offered by the International Consortium for Agile (ICAgile) and is aimed at individuals who want to demonstrate their knowledge of Agile project management principles and practices. Read more about ICAgile.
It crucial to understand that these Agile certifications have different requirements, such as training and experience, and they have different expiration period, so it’s important to review them before choosing one to pursue.
How to Prepare for an Agile Certification?
Preparation for an Agile certification will vary depending on the specific certification you are pursuing, but generally, it will involve a combination of the following steps:
• Understand the certification requirements: Review the requirements for the certification you are pursuing, such as training and experience requirements, and make sure you meet them before you begin preparing.
• Study the material: Acquire the necessary knowledge of Agile principles, practices, and frameworks. Depending on the certification you are pursuing, this may include studying the Agile Manifesto, Scrum framework, or other Agile methodologies.
• Take a training course: Many certifications require or recommend that you take a training course to prepare for the certification exam. This can be an in-person or online course.
• Get hands-on experience: It is important to have practical experience working in an Agile environment. This will help you understand the concepts better and also help you to pass the certification exam.
• Practice with sample exams: Many certifications offer sample exams or practice questions that you can use to test your knowledge.
• Get a mentor or join a study group: Consider getting a mentor who is experienced in Agile or joining a study group to help you prepare for the certification exam. This will help you to stay motivated, ask questions, and learn from others.
Finally, take the exam.
Remember that some certifications require you to renew your certification after certain period, so make sure you understand the certification’s expiration policy and what is required to maintain it.