Should I become PMP® Certified or Agile Certified?

Learning Mudra, Category - PMP


In today’s time when professionals withmore certifications and experience are in demand, people are confused which certification should they go for. The Project Management Institute (PMI) administers various certifications related to project management. As the times are changing the project development methodologies are also getting advanced and the professionals are expected to have knowledge about these methodologies. The major point of confusion for a professional nowadays is whether they should go for PMP certification or agile certification that are offered by PMI. To discuss more about this let’s first understand the difference between them.

PMP Certification

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification is considered as one of the prestigious certifications in the world of project managementand has a global acceptance since its inception. This certification delivers value to your career because it proves that you have the desired specific skills and experience that employers seek. As per PMI, the professionals who are PMP certified have a great edge over those who are not certified. Even if you are not a project manager but have a considerable experience of leading projects then you can go for this title.

PMI-ACP Certification

PMI- ACP stands for PMI Agile Certified Practitioner. This certification is for those professionals who have experience of working with the agile approach. This certification recognizes your knowledge and skills of agile principles and techniques. PMI-ACP is created by practitioners who have expertise in agile and has received tremendous response from the people who want to gain expertise of this methodology. As the demand for agile is growing organizations are also looking forward to hire the candidates who have more relevant knowledge of the field. If you also have knowledge of agile and want to grow further then this certification is for you.

The basic difference

PMP certification demonstrates that you have right education, experience and competency to direct and lead projects. Whereas, PMI- ACP is a formal agile certification helps. This will help you improve the knowledge and understanding of the updated and latest methodologies of project management that has practical application in the process oriented organizations in the highly adaptable workplace of todays. Both of these certifications have their distinctive places and values in project management field.

For more information on whether you should become PMP® certified or agile certified, get in touch with us at +91-987-123-7360 or email us at info@learningmudra.com

Difference in terms of eligibility criteria

For PMP certification you are required to have a 4 year graduate degree along with a minimum of 36 months of experience in leading projects or a secondary degree (high school diploma or associate degree) along with a minimum of 60 months of experience of leading projects. Then you should also have completed a minimum of 35 hours of training or course. For PMI- ACP you are required to have secondary degree along with a minimum of 21 contact hours of agile practices training, 12 months of general project experience and 8 months of agile project experience.

Difference in terms of project oriented role

If you are unsure about the project roles that you will get after completing PMP or agile certifications, then you must have a fair idea about the roles before going for any of the certifications. If you get PMP certified and get a role of project manager then you will be expected to have enough knowledge and experience about the specific methodology that you would need to adopt when you undertake a particular project. Your role would not be only related to directing and leading projects but you will be also responsible for regulating and controlling all the aspects of the project.

Also, management of all the constraints like scheduling, budgeting, etc. becomes the responsibility of PMP manager whereas, for a PMI- ACP the job role would be of an agile practitioner who would require to be well versed with agile techniques and tools that you would use according to the changing needs and preferences of the ongoing project. As an agile practitioner you are also expected to be able to attain lean management with the other teams of planning, documentation, designing, development and testing which would be working in cohesion. The way you use your understanding of agile methodology, would affect the most.

Conclusion to the Topic: Should I become PMP® Certified or Agile Certified?

The PMP certification would help you in understanding the overall world of project management from macro and micro view. However, the PMI – ACP is more of a subset of project management which is getting famous for its flexibility and always up for changes. This means that PMI- ACP has main focus only on agile methodology whereas PMP certification gives higher level of knowledge about project management. So which certification is right for you depends completely on which path do you want to choose as your career. Ask yourself whether you want to work on an incremental development of projects or you have the focus on integrating various components while managing a project. If your choice is the first option then agile is the one and if your choice is second option then PMP will be right for you. Also, do not neglect the eligibility criteria as your work experience also matters.

The Author : Learning Mudra


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