1. Scott W. Barnes, MBA, PMI-ACP, PMP, CSM, CSPO
Agile Overview & Current Practices Memphis PMI 2013 Professional Development Day September 27, 2013
Scott W. Barnes, MBA, PMI-ACP, PMP, CSM, CSPO
Proprietary & Confidential
Information from this presentation should not be used without permission of the author as covered in the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

2. Agenda Introduction What is “Agile” ? Common Agile Methodologies
Agile Characteristics & Concepts
Agile Manifesto
Twelve Principles of Agile
Common Agile Methodologies
Agile Certifications
PMI-ACP®Certification & Exam
Upcoming Training Opportunities
Memphis PMI Agile Overview
Memphis PMI/GR8PM’s PMI-ACP® Exam Preparation Class
Question/Answer Opportunity

3. What is “Agile?”
Foremost, it is important to note that the question isn’t if you are “doing agile;” rather, it is “Are you agile?” or “How agile are you?”
Everyone wants to define what “Agile” is in a nice, neat box; however, you can’t really define the concept of agility but you CAN define the characteristics and principles behind what it means to be agile?

4. Agile Characteristics & Concepts
Three pillars of Agile development: Transparency, Inspection & Adaption
Maximize Value for the customer by Maximizing the Work NOT Done
Iterative Development focused on Continuous Delivery of Working Software
Empowered, Self-Organizing & Cross-Functional Teams
Facilitation versus Command & Control through Servant- Leadership
Face-to-Face communications & Co-Location
Welcome Changing Requirements
Common Definition of Done via a set of agreed upon artifacts and processes

5. Manifesto for Agile Software Development
Agile Manifesto
Manifesto for Agile Software Development
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

6. 12 Principles of Agile
Figure 01: 12 Principles of Agile

7. Common Agile Methodologies
Most Common:
Scrum
XP (eXtreme Programming)
Kanban
Figure 02: Agile Adoption Rates

8. Agile Certifications Two Approaches for Agile Certifications:
Methodology Specific (I view as “depth” approach)
Scrum is most common:
Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
Certified Scrum Developer (CSD)
Certified Scrum Professional (CSP)
Certified Scrum Coach (CSC)
Certified Scrum Trainer (CST)
Generalized Certification (I view as “breadth” approach):
Project Management Institute
PMI-ACP® Certification

9. PMI-ACP® Certification & Exam
Qualifying to take the PMI-ACP® Exam:
Always pull the latest information from
Education: Secondary Degree (High School Diploma or Equivalent)
General Project Experience1: 2,000 hours of working on project teams within the last 5 years.
Agile Project Experience: 1,500 hours working on project teams using agile methodologies within the last 3 years which are in addition to the 2,000 General Project Experience hours.
Training in Agile Practices: 21 Contact Hours earned in Agile Practices
Apply online at
1 Active PMP® and/or PgMP® holders will be accepted as already fulfilling the general project experience requirements.

10. PMI-ACP® Certification & Exam
PMI provides information regarding PMI-ACP® exam content in the PMI Exam Content Outline document on their website.
50% of the exam covers Agile tools & techniques across 6 specific domain groups.
The other 50% of the exam content tests your knowledge and skills of Agile topics.

11. PMI-ACP® Certification & Exam
Just because you may know a particular Agile methodology extremely well doesn’t mean you know the “PMI-isms” about that methodology.
Advice - Put on your PMI Hat and you Agile Sunglasses!!!
The PMI-ACP® exam really focuses a lot on understanding the difference in the traditional Project Management role versus the Agile Practitioner role.
In my experience, the challenge is knowing WHAT to study, ie: 11 recommended books covering approximately 4,000 pages of material plus a vast amount of other reputable and sometimes obscure publications and articles.

12. PMI-ACP® Certification & Exam
PMI provides a list of suggested reference materials useful in preparing for the PMI- ACP® exam:
/Agile/PMI000-GainInsightsAIGLE418.ashx

13. PMI-ACP® Certification & Exam
Pass/Fail Exam
120 Questions:
100 Questions Count
20 “Experimental” Questions
Multiple Choice Format: A, B, C, & D
Time Limit: 3 Hours

14. Upcoming Training Opportunities
Memphis PMI Agile Overview
3 PDU Course with Overview of Agile Concepts and Methodologies
October 16, 2013 at 6:00 PM
Memphis PMI/GR8PM’s PMI-ACP® Exam Preparation Class
Detailed, in-depth material targeting how to pass the PMI- ACP® Exam (similar to the Memphis PMI PMP® Prep Course).
November 7-8, 2013

15. Question & Answer Opportunity
QUESTIONS?

16. Citations & References
Figure 01: 12 Principles of Agile:
Alleman, Glen B. (2011, February 10). Herding Cats [Chart] Retrieved from
Figure 02: Agile Adoption Rates
House, D. (2012). Sixth Annual State of Agile Survey: State of Agile Development. Atlanta, GA. VersionOne.