Should I do PMP or Agile certification?
Key takeaways
Choose certification based on the environments and delivery constraints you expect to work in.
- Waterfall suits stable requirements, up front forecasting, and industries where change is costly.
- Agile suits uncertain requirements, frequent customer feedback, and incremental releases every few weeks.
- Most real projects are hybrid, blending predictive planning with iterative delivery and adaptation.
- PMP remains widely recognised and can carry extra weight due to stricter eligibility and exam difficulty.
- Holding both traditional and agile credentials can broaden roles, improve judgement, and strengthen marketability.
Introduction
For a long time, the only type of certification that carried with it an undisputed level of expertise has been traditional project management qualifications such as PRINCE2 or PMI. In the UK, Australia and Europe PRINCE2 has been the dominant qualification. In the USA and the rest of the world, PMI qualifications dominate.
This article is really aimed at people who are based outside of the UK, Europe and Australia who might be considering a PMI qualification.
In recent years, with the emergence of agile project management certifications, it can be difficult to choose which certification to obtain. This article seeks to answer this question.
Waterfall vs. Agile
To find which type of certification is best for you, you must first determine what kind of career you are seeking in the project management profession. Suffice to say that if you are considering the PMI-PMP® you have a few years of project management experience under your belt. So, what’s next?
Organizations choose either waterfall or Agile project management frameworks (see Agile vs Waterfall
The Project Management Professional (PMP)® syllabus is based largely on waterfall methods as described in the PMBoK® Guide, while the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP)® and other agile certifications are based on Agile principles
The project management profession
There’s no ‘right’ answer when it comes to project management certifications , they’re all valid. Having said that, outside of the UK, Europe and Australia, if you are eligible for a PMI-PMP ® or PMI-ACP ® certification, they’re likely to make you more marketable than others simply due to the law of scarcity – there aren’t a lot of PMI certified project managed around because not everyone makes the cut. This makes PMI qualification holders really stand out in a crowd.
There’s no harm in acquiring both a PMI-PMP ® and Agile qualification . In fact, we’d recommend it. As you may have noticed, both agile and traditional methods have their own strengths and weaknesses. When used together however, the strengths of one can help ‘cancel out’ the weaknesses of the other and vice-versa.
This doesn’t just apply to the application of project management frameworks in product development, having a good understanding of both traditional and agile methods can help you determine and address your own weaknesses as a project manager!
In summary, start out with a PMI qualification if you’re eligible. Then go on a to acquire an agile certification . PMI offers the PMI-ACP ® which is equally renowned. If you’d like something a little more practical, an Agile PM course or Scrum training course will teach you an applicable agile framework and practices as opposed to a general education in agile methods .