How much does it cost to get PMI ACP Certification?
Certified agile practitioners have become more important for managing successful projects as the agile techniques have shown an entirely new way of managing projects. Therefore, professionals working in agile project management greatly benefit from earning PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Certification. The certificate is the most widely used agile project management credential worldwide. It has met the demand of the agile community for standardized agile processes.
As per PMI Institute, ACP is the fastest growing certification and has been in high demand recently. The certification covers a variety of agile concepts and practices, such as Kanban, Scrum, Lean, Extreme Programming (XP), and Feature Driven Development (FDD). Therefore, PMI-ACP certification allows agile practitioners to apply their diverse skill sets to a wide range of projects.
How Much Does ACP Certification Cost?
ACP is the most sought-after certification globally and many project professionals are willing to be certified to advance their agile expertise. Therefore, if you are one of them, it is crucial to have insights into the current ACP Certification cost and other fees related to it. This enables you to plan and invest more effectively while aspiring to be certified.
How Much Is The ACP Exam Fee?
PMI offers both Computer Based Test (CBT) and Online Proctored Test (OPT) for the PMI ACP Certification. ACP Exam fee is mandatory, fixed, and non-negotiable. It also depends on a candidate's membership status with PMI. ACP Exam fee for PMI members is USD 435 and for non-members is USD 495.
What Would Be The Cost Of ACP Training?
ACP Training fee is an important component in obtaining the ACP Certificate. As candidates need 21 contact hours to fulfill the eligibility requirements training session aids in developing a thorough understanding of agile principles and practices. Trainees also gain hands-on experience using advanced agile tools and techniques to identify issues and derive solutions. ACP Training typically costs between USD 1500 and USD 1700.
What is the Maintenance Fee For ACP Certificate?
Even after candidates are certified with ACP, the certification cycle continues. Maintainin the credential as per PMI rules necessitates candidates to fulfill certain requirements. Every three years, applicants need to renew their ACP Certificate by paying renewal fees and earning PDU . The renewal fees vary for PMI members and non-members. PMI members pay USD 60 while non-PMI members pay USD 150 to renew it.
How Much Will It Cost To Acquire Resources For ACP Exam?
Resource costs are entirely dependent on individuals. For exam preparation, some applicants may spend money on the PMBOK Guide, online practice exams, and other ACP study resources. These expenses fall under resource costs. The price might vary between USD 30 and USD 80 based on the resources purchased by ACP aspirants.
Is a PMI Membership Worth the Cost?
It is not necessary to be a PMI member to earn an ACP certification. However, obtaining a PMI membership has several perks. These include discounts on PMI certification exam fees, free downloads of various PMI standards, PDUs for continuing certification, subscription to PMI magazines, and access to numerous PMI research papers.
To attain membership, an individual needs to pay membership fees annually to PMI. There is an additional joining fee of USD 10 which is incurred only in the first year. As a result, in the first year membership will cost USD 139. However, the renewal cost for individual membership for the subsequent years is USD 129.
In addition to individual memberships, PMI also provides retiree and student memberships. Student Membership is for students and the initial joining fee of this membership is USD 42. Candidates need to pay 32 USD annually to renew their membership. Retiree membership is available for those who are PMI members for 5 consecutive years and have retired. They can become a member by paying a 65 USD renewal fee.
Among the aforementioned cost, ACP Exam fees, training fees, and maintenance fees are mandatory for ACP Certificate holders. Resource fees and membership fees are not compulsory and totally depend on the candidate’s needs. As a result, ACP Certificate typically cost between USD 2100 and USD 2400.
Why investing in ACP Certification a smart move?
Due to organizations shifting toward agility, agile certifications have become popular in the market lately. PMI-ACP is one of the top agile certifications that has gained popularity among agile professionals. It combines an examination of agile practices and concepts with Agile training and work experience in an Agile environment. The certificate acknowledges candidates' knowledge of Agile principles and proficiency with Agile techniques. Candidates may question if it is worthwhile to spend their time and money on the ACP certificate despite the fact that it is a popular certification. In order to weigh them, they must first be aware of the advantages certificates provide to individuals.
Prepare for agile roles: Organizations worldwide are shifting to an Agile way of working. By holding the PMI-ACP credential and working in an Agile environment, candidates feel confident and easily integrate with the Agile practices being used there. Moreover, they have adequate knowledge of Agile tools and techniques making it easy for them to successfully complete the projects.
Bigger coverage: The PMI-ACP certification covers more concepts than other agile certifications, which tend to concentrate on only one or a few types of agile techniques. For example, PMI-ACP covers Agile methodologies such as scrum, XP, lean, and kanban. The education and experience needed to earn this certification also greatly enhance the holder’s profile.
Understand agile language: Agile Communication is typically used by an agile project team during iteration planning and retrospectives. Therefore, having an ACP makes it easier to comprehend Agile project activities and terminology used in project communications. It also enables professionals more capable of understanding and speaking with confidence to their Agile peers.
Professional Growth: In addition to aiding candidates in obtaining the job of agile manager, the ACP Certificate also offers a variety of roles, including Scrum Master and Agile trainer. Due to its widespread popularity and high demand, the certificate also has the potential to increase experts' salaries by 28%.
Obtaining the PMI-ACP is undoubtedly a very wise choice. owning this credential helps in earning rewards in the form of higher pay, better career prospects, and more recognition in the job market. It also has a significant impact on professional development and in the workplace while managing agile projects.
Starting from the different agile planning stages to team performance, this certification teaches it all. It is worth its cost since it makes professionals adept at conducting frequent experiments and retrospectives to maintain continual improvement. Problem detection, resolution, and risk management are the key takeaways of the training course. Aspirants become educated in agile estimation and sizing. Besides, they learn to create product and iteration backlogs.
Certified individuals are well-versed in the terms of agile adaptation and planning. They possess equal knowledge of process tailoring, agile modeling, and sprint retrospective. Training endows them with thorough understanding of agile planning artifacts including agile smells and themes. Aspirants learn to continuously adapt to the project plan to concentrate on the changes regarding project priorities and environmental factors. The certification empowers them to maximize value creation and conduct periodic reviews and retrospectives.