I passed my PMI-ACP yesterday, scoring Above Target in every area! Yay, yay, yay!!!
The exam itself was exhausting. I went in feeling fairly confident, like I really understood the material and had prepared well. That said, by the end of the exam my brain felt like mush! Most of the questions are scenario based and require you to pick the best answer by applying the concepts you've learned. Many of the questions have multiple "good" answers. It is not as easy as memorization or plug and chugging formulas. You really have to work hard to keep your mentally engaged and focused. Comparing the PMP to the PMI-ACP, I would say learning the Agile mindset and concepts is easier ( and more modern to current management philosophies especially when leading younger employees) to learn than all the memorization you need to do for the PMP. That said, I honestly felt the PMI-ACP exam was A LOT harder. It literally took me the entire time allowed to complete the exam. I took 1 quick (4-minute) bathroom break, but only finished with about 7 minutes to spare and run through the questions I had marked for review.
How did I prepared? I love and highly recommend PrepCast materials! I have used their training and simulator for completing both the PMP and PMI-ACP exams. I went through all podcasts at least once. I did all 4 of the complete practice exams in the simulator, plus spent hours on end doing shorter quizzes. Much of my improvement came from reviewing questions I got wrong to really understand the detailed explanations. By the end I had both completed all 480 questions and retested all the ones I got incorrect on the first try. I highly recommend doing as many practice questions as possible. This really helps prepare you for the exam. I also downloaded and went through the PMBOK AGILE guide available on member site. I also checked out many of the supporting websites recommended during the Prepcast podcasts. (Agile manifesto, scrum, crystal methods, etc...) I tried some of the questions available in free apps but did not care for them. In the end, I stuck with PrepCast materials and worked my plan. I highly recommend their tools; they served me well. I also have years of first hand experience as a practitioner of Kanban, Scrum, Lean plus various hybrid approaches. So invaluable!
I also would highly recommend this certification. The Agile methodologies are so relevant to today's workforce and will help you grow professionally and as a leader. Learning the information alone will serve you greatly, in addition to adding a credential to your resume.
Hope this helps those working towards this goal!
