Agile courses and certifications

The right agile qualification depends on your role, your organisation’s ways of working, and what you want to be able to do differently after training.

Use the decision criteria below to find a starting point:

• AgilePM – best for project professionals who want a practical, end-to-end approach to planning and managing agile projects, with clear roles and control mechanisms.
• PRINCE2 Agile – best for project professionals who need structured governance and reporting while working alongside agile delivery teams.
• Scrum.org certifications – best for Scrum Masters, Product Owners, or developers who want a rigorous, assessment-based credential and flexible preparation.
• Scrum Alliance certifications – best for learners who prefer a trainer-led classroom experience and a widely recognised Scrum certification route.
• APMG Scrum – best for individuals or teams who want a clearly structured Scrum pathway (Scrum Essentials, Scrum Master, Scrum Product Owner) with formal exams backed by APMG accreditation.
• AgileBA – best for business analysts working in iterative delivery environments who want to strengthen how requirements are explored and prioritised.
• Kanban – best for professionals who need to improve workflow, reduce bottlenecks, and increase delivery predictability without overhauling existing processes.
• Lean Six Sigma – best for professionals focused on process improvement, waste reduction, and measurable performance gains using data-driven methods.

If you are unsure which route fits your situation, Knowledge Train offers instructor-led and self-paced delivery formats across most qualifications, so you can also factor in how you learn best.

AgilePM and PRINCE2 Agile are both qualifications for project professionals working in agile environments, but they suit different situations depending on whether you need a dedicated agile project management method or a way to blend structured governance with agile delivery.

Here is how the two qualifications compare:

• AgilePM is best suited to project professionals and aspiring project managers who work directly with agile delivery teams. It provides a practical, end-to-end approach to managing agile projects, covering roles, planning and control. Choose AgilePM if you want a method built specifically around agile project management from the ground up.
• PRINCE2 Agile is best suited to project professionals who already operate – or need to operate – within PRINCE2-style governance structures. It focuses on how to combine PRINCE2’s reporting, decision points and controls with agile ways of working. Choose PRINCE2 Agile if your organisation expects clear project governance alongside agile delivery.

In short, AgilePM works well for those whose primary focus is managing agile delivery, while PRINCE2 Agile works well for those who need to maintain structured governance around an agile team. If your organisation already uses PRINCE2, PRINCE2 Agile is likely the more natural fit.

The right choice between Scrum.org and Scrum Alliance depends mainly on how you prefer to learn and which certification your organisation recognises.

Both bodies offer widely respected Scrum certifications for roles such as Scrum Master and Product Owner, but they differ in their approach to learning and assessment.

• Scrum.org suits learners who prefer an assessment-first route with flexible preparation. Scrum.org certifications are earned by passing a rigorous online assessment, and the preparation route is less prescriptive. This works well if you are self-directed, confident in Scrum theory, or if your team or organisation already uses Scrum.org credentials.
• Scrum Alliance suits learners who value a structured, trainer-led learning experience alongside peers. The certification route is built around attending a course with a qualified trainer, making it a good fit if you prefer guided instruction, practical discussion, and cohort-based learning, or if your organisation prefers Scrum Alliance certifications.

A third option worth considering is APMG Scrum, which offers a clearly defined syllabus with aligned training and formal exams. APMG Scrum is backed by the Agile Business Consortium and may appeal if your organisation values APMG accreditation or prefers a structured exam pathway with defined Scrum Master and Product Owner routes.

If you are unsure which route fits your role, team, or organisation, reviewing the specific course outcomes for each qualification is a useful starting point.

Kanban and Lean Six Sigma are both improvement methods, but they target different problems and suit different roles. Kanban focuses on making work visible, managing flow, and reducing bottlenecks in ongoing delivery. Lean Six Sigma focuses on eliminating waste, reducing process variation, and improving quality using data-driven tools and structured problem-solving.

Kanban – best for improving flow and visibility

• Designed for teams that want to manage work in progress, spot bottlenecks, and improve delivery predictability.
• Works well without requiring a full process overhaul – changes can be introduced incrementally.
• Well suited to operational teams, IT, and agile delivery environments where continuous throughput matters.

Lean Six Sigma – best for measurable process improvement

• Designed for professionals who need a structured method to solve quality problems, reduce variation, and remove waste.
• Uses data, measurement, and defined improvement cycles to drive results.
• Well suited to operations, manufacturing, finance, and any environment where process performance needs to be measured and improved systematically.

If your priority is making work flow more smoothly through a team or service, Kanban is the more focused choice. If your priority is diagnosing and fixing underlying process problems with measurable outcomes, Lean Six Sigma is the stronger fit. Both qualifications are available as part of the specialist and improvement pathways at Knowledge Train.

Whether you need AgilePM or PRINCE2 Agile alongside a Scrum qualification depends on your role and the environment you work in. Scrum certifications focus on team-level delivery – roles such as Scrum Master or Product Owner – but they do not address project governance, structured planning, or end-to-end project management in the way that AgilePM and PRINCE2 Agile do.

Consider adding one of these qualifications if any of the following apply to you:

• You manage projects, not just delivery sprints. AgilePM is designed for project professionals who need a practical framework for planning, controlling, and governing agile projects from end to end.
• You work in an organisation that uses PRINCE2-style governance. PRINCE2 Agile is built specifically for project professionals who need structured reporting, clear decision points, and formal governance wrapped around agile delivery teams.
• Your organisation operates at scale or in regulated sectors. Scrum alone may not satisfy the governance or audit requirements that some organisations place on project delivery.

If your work is primarily team-based delivery within a Scrum framework and governance sits with someone else, an additional project management qualification may not be essential right now. However, professionals who want to move into project management or take on broader accountability often find that AgilePM or PRINCE2 Agile meaningfully extends what a Scrum certification covers.

An agile business analyst and a Scrum Product Owner are related but distinct roles, each with a different primary focus and skill set.

An agile business analyst concentrates on exploring, defining, and prioritising requirements in environments where delivery is iterative and fast-moving. The role is concerned with understanding business needs, facilitating communication between stakeholders and delivery teams, and ensuring the right things are built. The AgileBA qualification from the Agile Business Consortium is designed specifically for professionals in this role.

A Scrum Product Owner is a defined role within the Scrum framework. The Product Owner is accountable for the product backlog – deciding what gets built and in what order – and for maximising the value delivered by the Scrum team. Scrum Product Owner certifications are available through bodies including Scrum.org, Scrum Alliance, and APMG.

In practice, the two roles can overlap. A business analyst working in a Scrum team may take on Product Owner responsibilities, and many of the analysis techniques used by an agile BA support effective product ownership. However, the roles are not interchangeable:

• AgileBA is best suited to professionals who want to strengthen business analysis skills in agile environments.
• Scrum Product Owner qualifications are best suited to those accountable for product direction and backlog management within a Scrum team.

If you are unsure which path fits your role, considering your day-to-day responsibilities is a useful starting point.

AgileBA Practitioner is worth pursuing if you want to apply agile business analysis techniques in real project scenarios, not just understand the theory.

The AgileBA Foundation certificate demonstrates that you understand the core concepts, principles, and terminology of Agile Business Analysis within the DSDM framework. The AgileBA Practitioner qualification goes further by testing your ability to apply those concepts to realistic, scenario-based situations – making it a stronger credential for practising business analysts who work on active agile projects.

Key reasons to progress to Practitioner:

• Practical application: The Practitioner course focuses on using AgileBA techniques – including MoSCoW prioritisation, stakeholder engagement, and iterative planning – in complex, real-world contexts.
• Stronger credential: Passing the Practitioner exam confers Registered Practitioner status, awarded by APMG International, which is valid for five years and signals a higher level of competence to employers.
• Career relevance: The qualification is particularly suited to practising business analysts, product owners, business change managers, and project managers who need to demonstrate applied AgileBA capability.
• Combined option available: If you have not yet taken Foundation, the combined four-day course covers both levels and includes both exams, which can be a more efficient route.

The Practitioner exam is open book (AgileBA Handbook only), lasts 2.5 hours, and requires a pass mark of 50%. AgileBA Foundation is a prerequisite.