1. A Deep Look at Agile Certifications
Richard Cheng
Tony Solomita
Agile Center of Excellence

2. Introduction
Tony Solomita
Agile Center of Excellence

3. Introduction
Richard K Cheng
Agile Center of Excellence

4. Certifying Bodies 4

5. The Agile Manifesto
“Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more. “ - The Agile Manifesto

6. Agile Principles
Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.
Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face- to-face conversation.
Working software is the primary measure of progress. Agile processes promote sustainable development.
The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.
The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
Note the highlights about delivery, this puts the business in control

7. Agile Principles
Satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery
Welcome changing requirements
Deliver frequently, preferring a shorter timescale
Business & technical work together daily
Pick the right team & trust them
Face-to-Face Communication
Working software is the primary measure of progress
Sustainable pace
Technical excellence and good design enhances agility
Simplicity, maximizing the amount of work not done
Best results emerge from self-organizing teams
The team regularly reflects
to become more effective

8. Agile Methodologies
Agile
Scrum
Kanban
FDD XP
DSDM
BDD
Lean
RUP …

9. Project Management Institute
Most recognized project management certification organization
One Agile certification available
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
Developed by Agile thought leaders
Just completed pilot program
Pilot exams began in October
Pilot ended November 30, 2011
Results send out January 9, 2012
PMI-ACP testing begins January 31, 2012

10. PMI-ACP
Requirements
General Project Management Experience – 2000 hours within last 5 years.  If you have an active PMP, you meet this requirement.
Agile Project Management Experience – 1500 hours within last 2 years.
Agile Project Management Education – 21 contact hours.
Application
Exam – Application must be approved.
Maintenance – 30 PDU's every 3 years. These hours count towards fulfilling PMP requirements as well.
Costs
$435 for member, $495 for non-member to take exam.
Cost of classes/seminars (~$1500) before exam and after for maintenance. 10

11. PMI-ACP Exam Pilot
120 questions, 20 pretest questions that are thrown out
Passing scored not yet published
Unofficial numbers (from LinkedIn PMI-ACP group):
7654 Applications Opened
1404 Applications Submitted
827 Exam Applicants Paid
557 Exams Taken
515 PMI-ACP Certificates awarded during the Pilot Program 11

12. Exam Results 12

13. Official Reference Agile Estimating and Planning Mike Cohn
Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great Esther Derby, Diana Larsen ISBN # Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game – 2nd Edition Alistair Cockburn ISBN # The Software Project Manager’s Bridge to Agility Michele Sliger, Stacia Broderick ISBN # Coaching Agile Teams Lyssa Adkins ISBN # Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products – 2nd Edition Jim Highsmith ISBN # Becoming Agile: ...in an imperfect world Greg Smith, Ahmed Sidky ISBN #
Agile Estimating and Planning
Mike Cohn
ISBN #
The Art of Agile Development
James Shore
ISBN #
User Stories Applied:
For Agile Software Development
ISBN #
Agile Project Management with Scrum
Ken Schwaber
ISBN # X
Lean-Agile Software Development:
Achieving Enterprise Agility
Alan Shalloway, Guy Beaver, James R. Trott
ISBN # 13

14. Content Distribution 14

15. Tools & Techniques (50%) Priority Item Question* 1 Communications 10.92
Planning, Monitoring, and Adapting
9.8 3
Agile Estimation
8.7 4
Agile Analysis and Design
7.6 5
Product Quality
6.5 6
Soft Skills Negotiation
5.5 7
Value-Based Prioritization
4.4 8
Risk Management
3.3 9
Metrics
2.2 10
Value Stream Analysis
1.1
Total Questions 60
*source Jesse Fewell PMI-ACP Prep 15

16. Knowledge & Skills (50%) Level 1: 33% = 40 questions
Active listening
Agile Manifesto value and principles
Assessing and incorporating community and stakeholder values
Brainstorming techniques
Building empowered teams
Coaching and mentoring within teams
Communications management
Feedback techniques for product (e.g. prototyping, simulation, demonstrations, evaluations)
Incremental delivery
Knowledge sharing
Leadership tools and techniques
Prioritization
Problem-solving strategies, tools, and techniques
Project and quality standards for Agile projects
Stakeholder management
Team motivation
Time, budget, and cost estimation
Value-based decomposition and prioritization
Level 2: 12% = 15 questions
Agile frameworks and terminology
Building high-performance teams
Business case development
Colocation (geographic proximity/distributed teams)
Continuous improvement processes
Elements of a project charter for an Agile project
Facilitation methods
Participatory decision models (e.g., input-based. Shared collaboration, command)
PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
Process analysis techniques
Self assessment
Value-based analysis
Level 3: 5% = 6 questions
Agile contracting methods
Agile project accounting principles
Applying new Agile practices
Compliance (organization)
Control limits for Agile projects
Failure modes and alternatives
Globalization, culture, and team diversity
Innovation games
Principles of systems thinking (e.g. complex adaptive, chaos)
Regulatory compliance
Variance and trend analysis
Variations in Agile methods and approaches
Vendor management 16

17. Helpful references
Scrum Guide PMI-ACP Web Page LinkedIn PMI-ACP Exam Prep Study Group PMI Agile Community of Practice Agile Exams Blog Post - PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner) Study Tips 17

18. Scrum Alliance CSM Certified Scrum Master CST Certified Scrum Trainer
CSPO
Certified Scrum
Product Owner
CSP
Certified Scrum Professional
CSC
Certified Scrum Coach
CSD
Certified Scrum
Developer 18

19. SA - Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
Program started in 2002
Requirements
Two day class
Online evaluation
135,551 students have taken the class (8/31/11)
Over 95,000 CSMs (7/21/11)
Costs
Class costs $1000~$1600
$50 renewal fee every two years 19

20. SA - Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
Program started in 2007
Requirements
Two day class
16,950 students have taken the class (8/31/11)
Over 10,000 active CSPOs (as of 7/21/11)
Costs
Class costs $1000~$1600
$50 renewal fee every two years 20

21. SA - Certified Scrum Developer (CSD)
Program started in 2010
Requirements
Five days of training
Three days of technical training
Two day of Scrum training (CSM or CSPO will qualify)
Formal assessment
Application
980 students have taken the CSD class (8/31/11)
Over 250 active CSDs (7/21/11)
Costs
Training costs $2000+
$150 fee after application has been approved
After two years, must go through application and approval process again 21

22. Scrum Alliance CSM Certified Scrum Master CST Certified Scrum Trainer
CSPO
Certified Scrum
Product Owner
CSP
Certified Scrum Professional
CSC
Certified Scrum Coach
CSD
Certified Scrum
Developer 22

23. SA - Certified Scrum Professional (CSP)
Program started in 2002
Used to be called Certified Scrum Practitioner
1862 CSPs (12/31/11)
Requirements
Active CSM, CSPO, or CSD
2000 hours of Scrum related work in the past two years*
Maintain a current Scrum Alliance membership*
150 question 3 hour exam (80% passing score)*
PDUs will be introduced sometime prior to 2013*
Costs
$300 fee once eligibility is confirmed (if you do not pass the exam, you can re-take after 3 months)*
Renewal every two years (PDUs to be introduced sometime prior to 2013)*
Renewal of CSP automatically renews your lower level certifications (CSM, CSPO, CSD)
Resources*
CSP Candidate handbook,
35 question practice exam ($20),
*new as of January 1, 2011 23

24. CSP Exam 24

25. SA - Certified Scrum Coach (CSC)
Program started in 2007
Requirements
Active CSP
1500 hours of Scrum coaching over the past five years
Two client references
Three years of contribution to the Scrum community
Application
Certification Review Committee recommendation
Scrum Alliance Board approval
Total count 47 (as of 12/31/2011)
Costs
$100 application fee
$750 per year to maintain certification
Reapply every 3 years 25

26. Certified Scrum Trainer (CST)
Program started in 2004
Total count 129 (as of 12/31/2011)
Requirements
Application
Course materials and exercises
At least five recommendations from current CST’s
Approval process
Costs
$250 application fee
$7500 per year to maintain certification
$50 per student taught 26

27. 27

28. Scrum.org
Relatively new Scrum certification organization (founded in 2009)
Founded by Ken Schwaber because…
“Why did you found Scrum.org? Are you still with the Scrum Alliance?” I’ve been asked these questions countless times since I left the Scrum Alliance and created Scrum.org last fall. This is the story of my journey with Scrum, starting with its creation, moving through the establishment and evolution of the Scrum Alliance, and ending with my work with Scrum.org. This journey has been shaped by two opposing forces: the desire to do the right thing, and the desire to make money. I formed Scrum.org to refocus my efforts on doing the right thing.
Strong Microsoft backing
Five different Scrum certifications available
Professional ScrumMaster I
Professional ScrumMaster II
Professional Scrum Product Owner I
Professional Scrum Product Owner II
Professional Scrum Developer 28

29. Scrum.org 29

30. Scrum.org - Professional Scrum Master30

31. Scrum.org - Professional Scrum Master I
Program started in 2009
Requirements
Fundamental understanding of Scrum
60 minute exam – 85% is a passing grade
Costs
$100 fee to take the exam (one time only)
Professional Scrum Foundations course, ~ $1000-$1400 (not required) 31

32. Scrum.org - Professional Scrum Master II
Program started in 2009
Requirements
Active Professional Scrum Master I
Intermediate understanding of Scrum
120 minute exam – 85% is a passing grade
Costs
$500 fee to take the exam (one time only)
Professional Scrum Master course, ~ $1000-$1600 (not required) 32

33. Scrum.org - Professional Scrum Product Owner33

34. Scrum.org – Professional Scrum Product Owner I
Program started in February 2011
Requirements
Professional Scrum Product Owner course (two days)
60 minute exam – 85% is a passing grade
Costs
Professional Scrum Product Owner course, ~ $1000 34

35. Scrum.org – Professional Scrum Product Owner II
Program started in February 2011
Requirements
Active Professional Scrum Product Owner I
120 minute exam – 85% is a passing grade
Costs
$500 fee to take the exam (one time only) 35

36. Scrum.org – Professional Scrum Developer
Program started in late 2009
Requirements
Five day course
Java and .NET tracks
60 minute exam – 90% is a passing grade
Costs
Professional Scrum Developer course, ~ $2500 36

37. Scrum.org 37

38. International Consortium for Agile (ICAgile)
Relatively new Agile certification organization (launched late 2009)
Founded by Alistair Cockburn, Ahmed Sidky and Ash Rofail
Three different Agile certifications available
Certified ICAgile Professional
ICAgile Expert
Master Agilist 38

39. ICAgile 39

40. Certified ICAgile Professional (CIP)
774 CIPs (as of 1/19/2012)
Requirements
Fundamentals of Agile course (two or three days)
Costs
Fundamentals of Agile course, ~ $1000-$1600 40

41. ICAgile Expert Five specialty tracks Requirements Cost
Agile Business Analysis and Value Management
Agile Project Management
Agile Facilitation and Coaching
Agile Software Design and Programming
Agile Software Testing
Requirements
Pick a track, attend courses (topics), receive topic certifications
Attend several classes on a track to apply for Expert certification
Cost
Classes cost ~$1000-$1500
Several classes needed for Expert certification
Overall cost ??? 41

42. ICAgile Expert – Example*
Janet Marqueson
ICAgile CIP, 2011
ICAgile Testing Certification, 2011
ICAgile Test Automation Certification, 2012
ICAgile Expert: Testing, 2012
*from ICAgile.com 42

43. Master Agilist Requirements Cost
Show evidence of having learned multiple approaches to your work, either a second methodology or alternative techniques within the specialty.
Provide a portfolio of work, references, and arrange for a preliminary screening.
Perform work in front of a panel of experts.
Cost
??? 43

44. ICAgile Master Agilist – Example*
Janet Marqueson
ICAgile CIP, 2011
ICAgile Testing Certification, 2011
ICAgile Test Automation Certification, 2012
ICAgile Expert: Testing, 2012
Master Agilist, 2014
*from ICAgile.com 44

45. Summary Agile Certifications Scrum Certifications PMI-ACP
PMI Agile certification
Test based
ICAgile
New offering, very preliminary structure
Specialized focus
Scrum Certifications
Scrum Alliance
Most widely recognized Scrum certifications
Entry levels are class based
Scrum.org
PSM based on assessment without required class
Assessment based 45

46. Contact Information
Richard K Cheng Tony Solomita 46