PMI Agile Certified
Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®
E X A M I N A T I O N C O N T E N T O U T L I N E
PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner
(PMI-ACP)®
Examination Content Outline
REVISED DECEMBER 2014
Published by:
Project Management Institute, Inc.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1
PMI-ACP Examination Content Outline ....................................................................................... 3
Domains and Tasks for PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® ....................................... 4
Domain I: Agile Principles and Mindset ................................................................................. 5
Domain II: Value-Driven Delivery ......................................................................................... 6
Domain III: Stakeholder Engagement ..................................................................................... 8
Domain IV: Team Performance .............................................................................................. 9
Domain V: Adaptive Planning .............................................................................................. 10
Domain VI: Problem Detection and Resolution ................................................................... 11
Domain VII: Continuous Improvement (Product, Process, People) ..................................... 12
Tools and Techniques .................................................................................................................. 13
Knowledge and Skills .................................................................................................................. 16
Appendix A: Role Delineation Study (RDS) Process ................................................................ 17
INTRODUCTION
The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers a professional certification for agile
practitioners, known as the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®. PMI’s professional
certification examination development processes stand apart from other project management
certification examination development practices. PMI aligns its process with certification
industry best practices, such as those found in the Standards for Educational and Psychological
Testing1.
A key component of this process is that organizations wishing to offer valid and reliable
professional certification examinations are directed to use a Role Delineation Study (RDS) as the
basis for the creation of the examination. This process utilizes knowledge and task-driven
guidelines to assess the practitioners’ competence, and determine the level of salience, criticality,
and frequency of each of the knowledge, tasks, and skills required to perform to the industry-
wide standard in the role of an agile practitioner—that is, professionals who use agile principles,
methods, and approaches when working on or leading agile teams.
The Role Delineation Study ensures the validity of an examination. Validation assures that
the outcome of the exam is, in fact, appropriately measuring and evaluating the specific
knowledge and skills required to function as an agile practitioner. Thus, the Role Delineation
Study guarantees that each examination validly measures all elements of agile practice in terms
of real settings.
PMI-ACP® certification holders can be confident that their professional certification has been
developed according to the best practices of test development and based upon input from the
practitioners who establish those standards. Please see Appendix A for a detailed description of
the process.
The PMI-ACP examination is a vital part of the activities leading to earning a professional
certification, thus it is imperative that the PMI-ACP examination reflect accurately the practices
of the agilist. All the questions on the examination have been written and extensively reviewed
by qualified agile subject matter experts and are supported by current published references in
agile topics. These questions are mapped against the PMI-ACP Examination Content Outline to
ensure that an appropriate number of questions are in place for a valid examination.
PMI retained Professional Examination Service (ProExam) to develop the global PMI-ACP
Examination Content Outline. Since 1941, ProExam has provided a full range of assessment and
advisory services to organizations across a broad range of professions, in support of professional
licensure and certification, training, and continuing professional education. ProExam is dedicated
to
a mission-driven,
not-for-profit organization.
public welfare
promoting
the
through
credentialing
as
1 American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on
Measurement in Education (2014). Standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: American
Educational Research Association.
©2014 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Examination Content Outline
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Candidates studying for the PMI-ACP examination are urged to use the PMI-ACP
Examination Content Outline as a guide to the areas included on the examination. Further,
trainers are urged to use the PMI-ACP Examination Content Outline to structure their training.
Candidates are also encouraged to study current references in agile, such as those on the PMI-
ACP examination preparation reference list.
©2014 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Examination Content Outline
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PMI-ACP® EXAM CONTENT OUTLINE
The PMI-ACP® examination will consist of 100 scored items and 20 unscored (pre-test)
items. The unscored items will not be identified and will be randomly distributed throughout the
exam. The allocation of questions will be as follows:
Domain
Domain I. Agile Principles and Mindset
Domain II. Value-driven Delivery
Domain III. Stakeholder Engagement
Domain IV. Team Performance
Domain V. Adaptive Planning
Domain VI. Problem Detection and Resolution
Domain VII. Continuous Improvement (Product, Process, People)
Percentage
of Items on
Test
16%
20%
17%
16%
12%
10%
9%
©2014 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Examination Content Outline
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DOMAINS AND TASKS
Domain I. Agile Principles and Mindset (9 tasks)
Explore, embrace, and apply agile principles and mindset within the context of the project
team and organization.
Domain II. Value-Driven Delivery (4 sub-domains, 14 tasks)
Deliver valuable results by producing high-value increments for review, early and often,
based on stakeholder priorities. Have the stakeholders provide feedback on these increments,
and use this feedback to prioritize and improve future increments.
Domain III. Stakeholder Engagement (3 sub-domains, 9 tasks)
Engage current and future interested parties by building a trusting environment that aligns
their needs and expectations and balances their requests with an understanding of the
cost/effort involved. Promote participation and collaboration throughout the project life
cycle and provide the tools for effective and informed decision making.
Domain IV. Team Performance (3 sub-domains, 9 tasks)
Create an environment of trust, learning, collaboration, and conflict resolution that promotes
team self-organization, enhances relationships among team members, and cultivates a
culture of high performance.
Domain V. Adaptive Planning (3 sub-domains, 10 tasks)
Produce and maintain an evolving plan, from initiation to closure, based on goals, values,
risks, constraints, stakeholder feedback, and review findings.
Domain VI. Problem Detection and Resolution (5 tasks)
Continuously identify problems, impediments, and risks; prioritize and resolve in a timely
manner; monitor and communicate the problem resolution status; and implement process
improvements to prevent them from occurring again.
Domain VII. Continuous Improvement (Product, Process, People) (6 tasks)
Continuously improve the quality, effectiveness, and value of the product, the process, and
the team.
©2014 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Examination Content Outline
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