Agile Certification Options Primer

Presented by: David Mantica – ASPE President

Presentation Agenda• What is Agile – High‐Level Look• High level Model for Agile and the flavors that drive implementations• Certification versus Certificate programs• Elements of a quality certification program

– Authorizing body creditability – Application requirements– Exam depth and breath– Recertification requirements – ISO standards

• What employers look for from certifications• What employees look for from certifications• Currently available Agile Certifications

– Scrum: including Scrum Alliance and Scrum.org– Agile: including PMI‐ACP, IC Agile – Lean:  including Six sigma certifications– Accredited Kanban Training: Lean Kanban University 

• Questions 

Agile in a Nutshell

• Transformational way of work• Built a foundation of values and principles

– No 1 inch thick rule book

• From those values and principles come practices– Like daily stand up, retrospective, story points, etc.

• Practices are organized into flavors– Agile “flavor” model on next slide

Highly extendable – very similar to open source Scrum is to Agile, as Red Hat is to Linux 

Agile Core Values

Individuals and interactions over processes and toolsWorking software over comprehensive documentationCustomer collaboration over contract negotiationResponding to change over following a plan

agilemanifesto.org

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

Agile Flavors

Certificate vs. Certification• Certificate

– Accredited – Over a period of time– Role specific– Focus on the training

• Certification– May or may not be ISO compliant – Tied to product, role or process – Focus on experience and knowledge – Usually sizable supply chain 

Examples• Certificates

– St. Louis University Executive Certificate in Agile Development

– Villanova’s Master Certificate in IS/IT Project Management– George Washington’s Master’s Certificate in Project 

Management

• Certifications– Certified Scrum Master– PMI ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner)– PMP (Project Management Professionals)– CCNA (Certified Cisco Network Associate) – VMWare, Microsoft, Net App, other vendor certifications

Elements of a High Quality Certification

• Respect of authorizing body and the though leader impact on the certification objectives

• Pre certification requirements– Training– Experience – Previous certifications

• Exam– Third party hosted and managed– Security/ integrity of questions 

• Recertification– Continuing education requirement– Re certification requirement

Employers value of Certifications• First filter in hiring

– Can reduce hiring process time– Reduces risk of “failed” hire

• Employee compensation– Great non‐cash benefit – Also used as part of individual development plans

• Increase rate potential for consultants– Certificates increase billable hours for staff

• Meeting regulatory requirements

Employees value of Certifications• Recognition / resume builder

– Quantifies skills and experience • Compensation increase

– Most likely comes with next employer not current• Prestige within industry

– Increase awareness at industry events• Very helpful if going independent 

Agile Certification Universe

• Certification Tree– Certified Scrum Master (CSM) – Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) – Certified Scrum Developer (CSD) – Certified Scrum Practitioner (CSP) – Certified Scrum Coach (CSC)– Certified Scrum Trainer (CST)

• Structure of the Certification– Body of Knowledge

• Pros and cons• Future 

Scrum Alliance

• Over 200,000 people have this certification– In demand certification right now

• Critical coverage is on 19 points of Scrum– But no Body of Knowledge

• Must actively attend the class– Instructor makes the call

• Must pass on‐line assessment– need a 24 out of 35, have two attempts to take– Pay $25 to take it again

• Must recertified after two years but renewing Scrum Alliance membership fee

Certified Scrum Master

• New Certification• No body of knowledge• There is a training perquisite 

– Two day of training, CSM, Agile Boot camp, Agile Testing or Agile Requirements satisfies the perquisite 

• Must take 3‐day CSD course• Must pass assessment exam and pay a $150 fee

Certified Scrum Developer

• Certification Tree– Professional Scrum Master I (PSMI),– Professional Scrum Master II (PSMII), – Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPOI), – Professional Scrum Product Owner II (PSPOII), – Professional Scrum Developer I (PSDI)

• Structure of Certification– Body of knowledge

• Pros and cons• Future 

Scrum.org

• Certification Tree– Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP)

• Structure of the certification– Body of Knowledge

• Who the certification covers• Pros and cons• Costs• Future 

PMI

Application RequirementsPMI‐ACP Requirements

Eligibility Requirements: Description:Education Level Secondary degree (high school or equivalent) or

higher

General Project Management 2,000 hours working on project teams.  These hoursExperience must be earned within the last 5 years.  PMP is acceptable

to fulfill these requirements 

Agile Project Management  1,500 hours working on Agile project teams or in Agile Experience  methodologies. These hours are in addition to the general

project management experience requirements.  These hoursmust be earned within the last two years

Agile Project Management 21 contact hours; hours must be earned in Agile project managementTraining topics **ACP PDUs**

Examination Tests knowledge of Agile fundamentals and ability to apply to basicprojects

Maintenance  30 PDUs or 3 CEUs every 3 years in Agile project management Note: these hours would count toward fulfilling PMP requirement if individual holds both certifications

• Certification Tree– ICP (IC Agile Professionals) was called CIP– CEC (Continuing Education Certification) role based– ICE (IC Agile Expert)– ICM (IC Agile Master)

• Structure of the Certification– Learning objectives – Certification road map– Assessment and application review at gate points

• Demographic for the certification• Pros and cons• Future

International Consortium for Agile (IC-Agile)

• DSDM Consortium• Lean Kanban University • IASSC• Six Sigma 

Others

Questions?