Simplify Your PMI-ACP Application Process: Expert Tips for Agile Certification

Understanding the PMI-ACP® application process required to qualify for taking the PMI-ACP® exam can save time and prepare you for other Project Management Institute certification applications including the PMP.

What is PMI-ACP

The professional certification known as “PMI-ACP®” stands for “Project Management Institute-Agile Certified Practitioner.” It is earned through meeting all requirements and passing the exam and is maintained through continuing education efforts. PMI-ACP is a Project Management Institute (PMI®) project management certification, such as Project Management Professional (PMP®). The PMI states that those with PMI-ACP® designation have proven their skills and knowledge:

• Understanding and applying multiple agile approaches, including Scrum, Lean, Kanban, and Test-Driven Development.
• Engaging stakeholders effectively to gather requirements, incorporate feedback, and ensure project success.
• Delivering value to customers through iterative development cycles and employing agile metrics for informed decision-making.

As with the PMP process, you need to submit your PMI-ACP application to qualify to sit for the PMI-administered PMI Agile Certified Practitioner exam.

What are the eligibility requirements to apply for the PMI-ACP

To apply for the PMI-ACP® certification, you must meet these requirements (as of March 2024):

• Secondary degree
• 21 contact hours of agile practice training
• 12 months of general project experience within the last five years (a current PMP® or PgMP® satisfies this requirement but is not mandatory)
• 8 months of agile project experience within the previous 3 years

Following your acceptance of your PMI-ACP® application, the Project Management Institute (PMI®) will provide the information needed to schedule your PMI-ACP certification exam.

Guide to Filling Out Your PMI-ACP Application Successfully

You cannot schedule your PMI-ACP exam until the PMI provides you the acceptance of your PMI-ACP application. To achieve a successful PMI-ACP exam, follow these steps:

• Review the PMI-ACP application agile project management experience requirements
• Document your agile experience using PMI guidelines
• Document your education and contact information
• Create a PMI.org account (at no cost)
• Go to the PMI-ACP certification page and select the PMI-ACP application form.
• Complete all PMI-ACP application form fields
• Submit your completed form

How to access the PMI-ACP certification application

To access the PMI-ACP application within the PMI.org website:

• Create your free PMI.org account.
• Login into your account and go to ‘Dashboard.’
• Under “Certifications,” select “PMI ACP.”

Or, with your PMI account, you can access your PMI-ACP application from the “PMI ACP certification” page. You can also access your PMP status using the PMI.org website.

Documentation Checklist for the PMI-ACP Application

For the PMP or PMI-ACP application, you must have specific documentation ready. PMI will ask you to provide:

• Educational institutions from which you earned a certificate or degree
• Training providers for courses you have completed in the field of project management
• Contact information
• Work history, including company name and contact information
• Listing of applicable project management experience in a professional setting

Personal Information including Email Contact Information

Upon creating your PMI.org account, you will need to provide your legal:

• First name
• Last name
• Primary email
• Country of residence

Your government-issued photo ID used to enter the exam center must match your PMI.org account personal information. If you need to change your primary email, log into PMI.org and, from the dashboard, update your contact information.

Education Background

Once logged into your PMI.org account, you can access the PMI-ACP certification page to start or open your in-progress ACP application. To meet the certification requirements, you must submit academic and professional education experience.

What is Required for Every Agile Project Experience Entry

Set up a template so that every project over the years will take you to earn the experience, and you can ensure that you always capture the required information. For every agile project you are submitting towards your required work experience:

• Project name
• Project team size (how many people)
• Project start and end dates (or the dates within which you are claiming work experience)
• Organization you were working for
• Industry the work was completed within (e.g., IT, Manufacturing, etc.)
• Your job title during the work
• Functional area within which the work occurred (e.g., Finance, IT)
• Agile framework used
• Project description with objective and outcomes, your role and responsibilities

Agile Project Description of the Application

PMI-ACP candidates must provide a project description of a 100-word minimum and 500 maximum. In this section, you will need to outline your project objective (goal statement), outcome, role, responsibilities, and deliverables.

Do not exaggerate your role or responsibilities or the duration of your work on the project. Doing so is a violation of the code of ethics, and if your application is audited, it will be rejected.

PMI-ACP Application Example

As you embark on the journey to complete your PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® application, it’s crucial to present a genuine and accurate representation of your agile project experience. The purpose of this application is to showcase your hands-on experience with agile methodologies, demonstrating your understanding and application of agile practices in real-world scenarios.

Each submission needs to be concise, with a word count ranging between 200 and 500 words.

Project Title:

Agile Website Development for E-commerce Platform

Duration:

January 2023 – June 2023 (6 months)

Organization:

Tech Solutions Inc.

Role:

Agile Team Member (Software Developer)

Project Description:

Developed a dynamic e-commerce website to enhance online sales for our client, RetailWorld Inc. The project aimed to create an intuitive user interface, integrate payment gateways, and ensure high performance and security for online transactions. Employed Agile Scrum methodology to accommodate changing requirements and facilitate quick releases.

Agile Methodologies Used:

• Scrum: Participated in daily stand-ups, sprint planning, sprint reviews, and retrospectives to continuously improve processes and product quality.
• User Stories: Collaborated with the product owner to write and estimate user stories, ensuring they were clear and actionable.
• Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): Worked within a CI/CD pipeline to automate testing and deployment, allowing for faster iterations and feedback.
• Test-Driven Development (TDD): Adopted TDD practices to ensure code quality and facilitate refactoring, which helped in minimizing bugs in production.

Responsibilities:

• Developed front-end and back-end components of the e-commerce website using JavaScript and Python.
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams (UI/UX designers, testers, and product owners) to refine project requirements and ensure alignment with customer expectations.
• Actively participated in agile ceremonies, providing constructive feedback and insights to improve team performance and product quality.
• Led the integration of a secure payment gateway, adhering to industry standards and ensuring a seamless checkout experience for users.

Outcomes/Results:

• Successfully launched the e-commerce platform within the 6-month timeframe, resulting in a 25% increase in online sales for RetailWorld Inc. in the first quarter following launch.
• Improved team agility by introducing a Kanban board for better visibility of tasks and priorities, reducing the average cycle time by 15%.
• Enhanced product quality through rigorous TDD practices, reducing bug rates by 40% in comparison to previous projects.

This example is intended to serve as inspiration and guidance on how to structure and detail your project experiences. It is imperative to use your own words and experiences when filling out your application. Each project and individual’s role within that project is unique, and the PMI is interested in your personal journey and contributions to the agile projects of which you have been part.

PMI-ACP Application Prep Best Practices

In preparation of the application review process, and a potential audit, the following tips can streamline the documentation.

• include only the number of projects needed to fulfill the minimum experience hour requirement to streamline the time investment of verifying it|
• include only work experience completed in the past eight years|
• get written consent from your supervisor to document hours for the application|
• select larger projects if you have them to reduce the complexity of your application| and
• use general terms and standard business language instead of industry jargon.

PMI-ACP Application Common Mistakes

Many project management candidates fall into these common traps:

• failing to collect application-required information for your projects during the project,
• trying to avoid an Audit,
• submitting working experience during which you are not working on project management (e.g., staffing or operations),
• submitting the supervisor’s contact information without their consent or knowledge,
• submitting project descriptions that are not detailed enough, or
• plagiarism of any part of the application.

There are many PMI-ACP application examples online; do not use them for your application only as guidance for how to enter your own data.

Review and Submit

Before you submit, review every section of your online application and verify all information is accurate and has supporting documentation. It is important that you only submit accurate and documented information.

After Submission: Prepare for the Exam

About ten business days after submission, you will receive confirmation from the PMI with denial (for unacceptable or missing information), audit selection notification, or acceptance. You will need to pay the exam fee to schedule the exam date within one year of your accepted application.

Conclusion

Project Managers seeking to earn PMI-ACP® credentials need to do more than learn core Agile principles. They need to review PMI-ACP application examples to know the type of Agile work experience information they must document to qualify for the PMI-ACP exam.