How David Bland helped my PMI ACP workshop

After each PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) workshop that I offer, I refine the format to make it better.  I learn some new content from the ACP Support team at the PMI Agile Community of Practice and some I learn directly from the students in my class.  Originally, my key objective for the class was to provide an introduction to Agile; strictly positioning the class as a knowledge-based learning workshop.  The 3-day workshop was a learning experience filled with lecture, group discussions, hands on exercises, and videos.  Based on feedback through formal course evaluations and talking with the students, I actually added performance-based learning as an additional key objective. (ie. getting a passing score on a certification exam versus just learning new approaches to deliver value to customers). It's been an interesting progression.  The name of the workshop started as "Agile Fundamentals: PMI-ACP Prep".  The feedback from the classes was there was not enough exam prep.  I didn't want to create a PMI-ACP Bootcamp but I did want to help my students.  I changed the name to  PMI Agile Certified Practitioner Workshop and then scattered relevant questions throughout the 3-day course.  I also added an ACP Practice exam so people could get a real idea of what the test is like.  The last thing I did was give each person attending my class a free Premium account with my tool AgileFlashcards.com.

The results from my latest class were very positive with comments like I liked the fact that this course provided great learning about Agile practices, fundementals and not ONLY ACP prep. Great amount of balance. 

I give David Bland some of the credit for getting my class where it is today.  I used his Course Canvas to visualize my course and make it better.  I'm sure you could use this visual tool to improve all kinds of things.  Just remember that you don't need to reinvent the wheel to make improvements.  You just need to find the right tool for the job.  I found such a tool, with the Course Canvas.

Official PMI-ACP Numbers

The PMI-ACP pilot has concluded and the Agile Certified Practitioner certification is officially one month old.  The numbers are in!  Per PMI Today, January 2012 concluded with 542 PMI-ACPs.  Not too shabby for its first month.  The PMP is still PMI's shining star, at 4047 new PMPs.  What surprised me were the numbers of PMI's other certifications.  Only 11 people got the PMI-SP in January.  It makes me wonder, what is the PMI-SP certification's value and longevity in the PMI ecosystem?  I ask because the PMI-ACP reached a number in one month that took the other certification a few years. And so it begins.  Will PMI-ACP be the next PMP?  What do you think?

MVP for PMI Agile Exam Flashcards

With the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) exam celebrating its first month in the wild, I am sure you are already seeing a lot of study aids and prep courses being offered.  Full disclosure, I do offer ACP prep courses and I also offer PMI Agile Exam flashcards.   Wait, did you read that correctly?  Yes, you did.  I want to ensure there is a source of relevant study material available to the masses so I created the PMI Agile Flashcards website and have an iPhone app (that needs to be submitted to Apple for approval). As a co-lead for the PMI ACP support team, we are tasked with creating a knowledge base of relevant information for the ACP exam.  Think of it as a Wikipedia for the PMI-ACP but within the PMI.org website.  Though that's all well and good, creating a glossary for both trainers and certification aspirants is not a study aid.  I still see the need for things like study guides and exam prep tools.  I think back when I was preparing for the PMP.  Reading the PMBOK Guide was a wealth of information but I needed something to put it into context.  It wasn't until I read Rita Mulcahey's book that it all made sense to me.  I also created a deck of flashcards for myself to help me prepare for the PMP exam.

Fast forward to today, for those of you who are looking for a study guide for the ACP, Mike Griffiths (the other PMI ACP support team co-lead) has just completed his ACP Exam prep book. I am releasing my Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for my PMI ACP Exam Flashcards. If that combination worked for me to prepare for the PMP, I hope it works for you for the ACP.

If you are wondering what I mean by MVP, I got the term from the Eric Ries book The Lean Startup.  I knew that I needed to get something out there now, get feedback from customers, and iterate the product.  The good news is, I know the questions and answers on the flashcards are relevant to the exam.  All I needed was to get something out there that people could use.

My MVP

1. The first 75 flashcards loaded

I have loaded 75 flashcards into the database.  I know they are all relevant because I took (and passed) the ACP exam and because I have been involved during the certification development and am now involved to support it.  I've been involved in the Agile and PMI communities for a while now.  I want good quality prep materials made available to people. I don't want them to just pass the exam.  I want them to learn something.

2. All flashcards map to one of the six domains

• Value Driven Delivery

• Stakeholder Engagement

• Boosting Team Performance Practices

• Adaptive Planning

• Problem Detection and Resolution

• Continuous Improvement (Product, Process, People)

3. All flashcards map to the two areas you will be graded on

• Tools and Techniques

• Knowledge and Skills

4. 20 free flashcards to view without login

I figure you'll know if this product has value for you within 20 flashcards.  After that, you'll probably want to create a login so you can keep track of your progress.

5. 20 free flashcards with progress tracking with login

So, you created a free account.  You'll now be able to visualize your progress as you go.  By navigating to the progress screen, you'll be able to navigate back to cards that you got incorrect or skipped earlier.  Since you're still using a free account, you'll have access to 20 flashcards.

6. Access to all flashcards with paid account

This is where we wrap it all together.  The goal is to have a few hundred flashcards in the system.  You can get started now with the first 75.  As the database grows, random flashcards will appear as "unviewed".  Just check your status before you begin and you know where you stand.

What is next?

• Add more flashcards

• Make some changes in the User Interface to make it easier to navigate

• Get feedback from customers

• Refine the product or pivot

• Get the iOS and Android versions completed

Note: A few of the links are Amazon affiliate links.

Ready and Done

When leading development teams, I see most of the wasted activities happen during the development phase.  If work is not ready, before the team begins development, there can be delays waiting for clarifications from the business.  If acceptance criteria is not clearly defined, before the team begins development, work can go on and on trying to appease the customer.  What your team needs is a clear definition of "Ready to Work" and a clear definition of "Done with Work".  Though definitions vary from team to team and organization to organization, it's imperative that you do it.  It's also imperative the team writes the definitions, not someone in an ivory tower. As with all of our clients, I stress the need to have a minimal agreement on both definitions before work is started.  When defining both the entrance and exit criteria, all major parties within the team need to be involved, to lower risks that something will be missed.

Below are examples of the definitions or ready and done.  Notice that we consulted Analysts, Testers, and Developers.  For your team or organization, you may consult UX designers, DBAs, Architects or others.  Don't make your definitions overly onerous.  Just create something that is just good enough and go from there.

Example of a Definition of Ready

• Analyst – User story sufficiently defined and mapped from requirements

• Tester – Acceptance criteria developed

• Developer – User story is estimated and no known blocking dependencies exist within the sprint

Example of a Definition of Done

• Analyst – Working system reviewed and User Story accepted via Automated Test or Manual Inspection

• Tester – Test cases pass. All critical and high severity bugs fixed and other bugs identified and tracked

• Developer – Deployed to test environment and Code Review complete

So, what does your team require as part of your definition of ready or done? Do you have definitions?

As a side note, if you're preparing for the PMI-ACP exam, remember the team is responsible for the definition of done.

Image Sources: Pictofigo

PMI Agile Contact Hours versus PMI-ACP PDUs

I get asked on a regular basis what the difference between a contact hour and a PDU is. When people come to my PMI-ACP exam prep class, they qualify to claim 21 Agile contact hours.  If they currently have another PMI credential, they could choose to apply those 21 hours as a PDU.

PMI Agile Contact Hours

When completing your PMI-ACP application, you are required to report (among other things) your "Agile" education. They will be referred to and measured as contact hours. To qualify to sit for the ACP exam, you need 21 contact hours.

 Professional Development Units (PDUs)

PDUs can only be applied if you have a PMI credential.  If you try to claim a PDU and you don't have a credential, PMI will politely either tell you don't have permission to that area of the website (where you claim the PDU) or they will send you a friendly email. The image below is only viewable if you have at least one PMI credential.

Hope this brief overview helps. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

The Dark Side of Agile Exams

This morning I read a very interesting post over at the AgileScout website titled Agile exams fact check. Peter Saddington (AgileScout) voiced his concerns about a PMI-ACP exam prep website called AgileExams.com.  Concerns ranged from questionable pass rates (97%) to testimonials from people who appeared to not be  PMI-ACPs. Now, I believe in capitalism.  I believe in building products that have value and can help people.  So, this morning, I went onto the AgileExams website and took a practice exam.  Per my involvement with the PMI Agile Community of Practice, my involvement with the PMI-ACP exam, and someone who actually took the exam, in my opinion, these questions are not relevant to the exam.  I'm not saying they are not accurate.  They speak very specifically to content within the PMI recommended reading list.  But the exam is not written that way.

If Agile Exams commented on the Agile Scout blog, answering the questions of its readers, perhaps this would have faded into the background rather quickly.  Instead, I was cc'd on an email from Agile Exams Customer Service to Peter.  Rather than, reading "Peter, we hear you and the community and we'll make things right.  We'll be transparent. We'll iterate our product.  We'll be agile",

this is a snippet of what I read

Kindly remove the post or make serious revisions to it to reflect that you were wrong in your baseless attack. I warned you earlier that you were border-lining on defamation/libel. In fact, you aren't just throwing into question the integrity of agileexams.com but also the integrity of Ravi, who does not deserve this negative attention at all! If I do not see satisfactory updates on your site, legal means will be considered.

I just saw Jesse Fewell also posted something about AgileExams.  I'm also getting emails from people I know and respect in the Agile community asking questions.  Curious to see how this plays out.

The Agile Scout blog post now has 29 comments and counting.

Image Source: Pictofigo

PMI-ACP Proficiency

I received a notification that I passed the PMI-ACP exam.  But I was curious how well I did.  I logged into the PMI website and viewed my Exam Report.  It's nice to know I am Proficient in both of the defined domains. How did you do on the exam?  I'd love to hear about it.

How to Claim PMP PDUs as a Non-PMI Member

Claiming PDU

How would I claim PDUs if I'm not a PMI member? This question keeps coming up in conversation.  I offer the hypothetical situation where someone sees value in the new PMI-ACP certification but is hesitant to become a member of PMI.  I guess it would be complete fantasy if not for the fact there are about 100,000 more PMI credential holders than PMI members*. PMI reported as of November 2011, there were 370,744 PMI members and 469,051 PMPs.  Add the CAPM, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, and PgMP and I think we get to our 100,000.

100,000 people realized you don't need to be a member of PMI to maintain a PMI credential, particularly the PMP.  They save a $119 membership renewal fee in exchange for being charged more for PMI events and products or not having access to the Communities of Practices.  Granted, if they aren't really engaged in the Project Management or Agile community, maybe it's worth saving the $10. For the record, I think being a member of the PMI Agile Community of Practice is worth the cost of membership.  Seriously, it's only $10 a month!  But I digress.

The focus of this post is for those 100,000.  The key to claiming PDUs is having a PMI.org account. Yes, the glue that holds this all together is a free account, not a paid membership.  Your potential membership and credentials will be linked to this account.

If you're applying "project management" educational credit toward exam eligibility, there is a different way to claim those hours.  For example, if you take my PMI-ACP class, you can apply 21 PDUs toward any of the current PMI credentials and also apply 21 contact hours toward ACP eligibility.

But you still don't need to have a paid membership.

*Source: December 2011 issue of PMI Today