I passed the PMI ACP exam yesterday!
Like a previous poster, I found the question to be situation based and focused on Scrum. There was a sprinkling of XP and Lean. Here is my retrospective:
What Went Well:
- The Agile Prep Cast: I used the PMP prep case 5 years ago to pass and so it was a no brainer to use the Agile Prep cast. I used this to satisfy the 21 Agile hours required to take the exam. I recommend this to everyone I know who wants to get PMP or ACP certified.
- PMI ACP Exam Prep by Mike Griffiths: I read through the guide once, answered every quiz and then referred back as needed
- TrainAgile Exam Simulator: I picked this exam simulator because they had a lot of practice exams and provided metrics of your performance so I was able to tell what areas I needed extra review on.
- Don't Drag it Out: When I started averaging 83-87% on the tests and I realized that I knew as much as I possibly could I sat for the exam. There is no letter grade - all you have to do is passed. Unlike with the PMP - I did not stress myself out about the ACP. The day before I did not study and I did not take a practice exam. The day of I worked on my brain dump just to build some more confidence.
What Could Have Gone Better:
- In Person Class: In person ACP classes are tough to find. I found one local, but then they cancelled on me - 4 times! I called another instructor and he explained it is really difficult to get enough attendees for these specialized PMI certifications. Although it was three years ago, I feel that that the Certified Scrum Master course I took was of great benefit to this exam. Also those classes are much easier to find. And you would get another certification to boot!
- Test Scheduling: I had 2 big issues with the company PMI uses to schedule the exam. One is that they tried to tell me my test window was up in February when I really had until August. Second was the address of the test center was wrong on the confirmation they gave me.
Good luck to all of you who are studying!
