Agile Project Management certification (Agile PM)
More about Agile Project Management certification
Agile Project Management certification
The APMG Agile PM certification scheme announced by the APM Group (APMG) in 2010 was developed in conjunction with the Agile Business Consortium (formerly the DSDM Consortium).
Since its launch in 2010, AgilePM has fast established itself as the leading agile project management certification scheme and framework.
Many professionals eager to add a UK agile project management certification to their CV choose an Agile Project Management course.
In December 2018, the APMG announced that the total number of AgilePM examinations sat worldwide had reached 100,000.
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AgilePM Foundation | 612 | 1,677 | 3,032 | 6,481 | 8,986 | 12,104 | 16,851 | n/a | n/a |
| AgilePM Practitioner | 540 | 1,308 | 2,114 | 3,791 | 4,864 | 6,130 | 7,850 | n/a | n/a |
| Total | 1,152 | 2,985 | 5,146 | 10,272 | 13,850 | 18,234 | 24,701 | n/a | 100,000 |
| % year on year increase | n/a | 159% | 72% | 100% | 35% | 32% | 35% | 31% | n/a |
By the end of 2018, approximately 65,000 AgilePM Foundation exams and over 35,000 AgilePM Practitioner exams have been sat worldwide. As more and more professionals learn about the new qualifications scheme, these numbers are set to rise.
In 2017, approximately one third of AgilePM Foundation exams taken were sat in the UK.
Global pass rates in 2018 for the Foundation exam were 98.5% and 94.7% for Practitioner.
Why is Agile PM certification so popular?
There are 6 key factors why Agile Project Management certification is proving to be a popular agile project management certification.
AgilePM provides governance and agility
Based upon the Agile Project Framework (APF) which was established over 20 years ago, AgilePM blends both corporate governance aspects with key agile concepts and is specifically aimed at project managers. The authors of the APF were the ones who developed DSDM, one of the founding signatories to the agile manifesto.
That is why sometimes AgilePM is also known as AgilePM DSDM.
AgilePM never compromises quality
Never compromising quality is an underlying principle of AgilePM. This is achieved by agreeing high-level acceptance criteria throughout the full project lifecycle.
Risk management
A starting point in AgilePM for understanding risks is the Project Approach Questionnaire. This enables a shared understanding of project risks and how to mitigate them.
Goes beyond product development approaches
Whereas common agile methods such as Scrum offer product development approaches, they do not address project management. AgilePM goes further than Scrum by offering an agile project management approach based upon DSDM, and its proven Agile Project Framework.
Clear roles and responsibilities
AgilePM assigns clear roles and responsibilities to individuals from the business, user, technical and management areas so that effective stakeholder collaboration can occur.
Incorporates popular agile practices
AgilePM incorporates key agile practices such as MoSCoW, timeboxing and iterative development to support effective product development.
Who is Agile Project Management certification for?
APMG Agile Project Management qualifications are for professionals working in an agile environment who want the discipline which more structured project management approaches can offer.
With the demands on businesses ever increasing, there is pressure on project managers to deliver products faster, cheaper, and more efficiently than ever before.
APMG Agile PM certification is also for project managers from a traditional background who want to improve their understanding of managing agile projects.
How to get Agile PM certification
To gain APMG Agile Project Management certification requires you to pass one of the two Agile PM exams: Foundation and Practitioner.
Usually, students either attend a classroom Agile Project Management course or an Agile Project Management course online. Classroom Foundation courses last 3 days with a further day for the Practitioner course.
AgilePM Foundation online courses requires 20 hours study time. AgilePM Practitioner online courses requires 15 hours study time.
AgilePM examinations
Both examinations are in multiple-choice formats with a pass mark of 50%. The Agile PM Foundation examination contains 60 questions to be answered in one hour. This exam is closed-book, and tests students’ ability to recognise and distinguish between the main elements of the AgilePM DSDM approach.
Agile project management training courses at Foundation level are aimed at people who are already practising agile project managers, or members of agile project teams who are seeking to step up into agile project management.
The Practitioner exam paper contains 80 questions. It is an open book exam lasting 2.5 hours and tests students’ ability to apply and tailor the AgilePM guidance to a given project scenario. It is designed to test a candidate’s competence to begin working as an Agile Project Manager on a non-complex project.
AgilePM examination pre-requisites
AgilePM Foundation examination -no pre-requisites.
AgilePM Practitioner examination – you must already have passed either the AgilePM Foundation exam or either of the DSDM Atern Foundation or Practitioner exams.
Summary
Agile Project Management certification, along with the framework learned on an AgilePM course, can be an extremely valuable asset to project managers wanting to manage projects in an agile way.
Whilst the number of professionals with Agile Project Management certification remains far less than the number of PRINCE2 certified practitioners, this is an advantage for those professionals willing to put the work in to get their Agile PM certification.
Having Agile PM certification is a great way to stand out from competitors in the jobs market when applying for agile project manager roles.