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Agile Certification Options Primer

Tuesday, January 8th , 2013Presented by David Mantica and Tom McGraw

Presentation Agenda• What is Agile – High‐Level Look• High level Model for Agile and the flavors that drive implementations• Certification versus Certificate programs• Elements of a quality certification program

– Authorizing body creditability – Application requirements– Exam depth and breath– Recertification requirements – ISO standards

• What employers look for from certifications• What employees look for from certifications• Currently available Agile Certifications

– Scrum: including Scrum Alliance and Scrum.org– Agile: including PMI‐ACP, IC Agile – Lean:  including Six sigma certifications– Accredited Kanban Training: Lean Kanban University 

• Questions 

Agile in a Nutshell

• Transformational way of work• Built a foundation of values and principles

– No 1 inch thick rule book

• From those values and principles come practices– Like daily stand up, retrospective, story points, etc.

• Practices are organized into flavors– Agile “flavor” model on next slide

Highly extendable – very similar to open source Scrum is to Agile, as Red Hat is to Linux 

Agile Core Values

Individuals and interactions over processes and toolsWorking software over comprehensive documentationCustomer collaboration over contract negotiationResponding to change over following a plan

agilemanifesto.org

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

Agile Flavors

Certificate vs. Certification• Certificate

– Accredited – Over a period of time– Role specific– Focus on the training

• Certification– May or may not be ISO compliant – Tied to product, role or process – Focus on experience and knowledge – Usually sizable supply chain 

Examples• Certificates

– St. Louis University Executive Certificate in Agile Development

– Villanova’s Master Certificate in IS/IT Project Management– George Washington’s Master’s Certificate in Project 

Management

• Certifications– Certified Scrum Master– PMI ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner)– PMP (Project Management Professionals)– CCNA (Certified Cisco Network Associate) – VMWare, Microsoft, Net App, other vendor certifications

Elements of a High Quality Certification

• Respect of authorizing body and the thought leader impact on the certification objectives

• Pre certification requirements– Training– Experience – Previous certifications

• Exam– Third party hosted and managed– Security/ integrity of questions 

• Recertification– Continuing education requirement– Re certification requirement

Employers value of Certifications• First filter in hiring

– Can reduce hiring process time– Reduces risk of “failed” hire

• Employee compensation– Great non‐cash benefit – Also used as part of individual development plans

• Increase rate potential for consultants– Certificates increase billable hours for staff

• Meeting regulatory requirements

Employees value of Certifications• Recognition / resume builder

– Quantifies skills and experience • Compensation increase

– Most likely comes with next employer not current• Prestige within industry

– Increase awareness at industry events• Very helpful if going independent 

Agile Certification Universe

• Certification Tree– Certified Scrum Master (CSM) – Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) – Certified Scrum Developer (CSD) – Certified Scrum Professional (CSP) – Certified Scrum Coach (CSC)– Certified Scrum Trainer (CST)

• Structure of the Certification– Body of Knowledge

• Pros and cons• Future 

Scrum Alliance

• Certification Tree– Professional Scrum Master I (PSMI),– Professional Scrum Master II (PSMII), – Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPOI), – Professional Scrum Product Owner II (PSPOII), – Professional Scrum Developer I (PSDI)

• Structure of Certification– Body of knowledge

• Pros and cons• Future 

Scrum.org

• Certification Tree– Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP)

• Structure of the certification– Body of Knowledge

• Who the certification covers• Pros and cons• Costs• Future 

PMI

• Certification Tree– Certified IC‐Agile Professional (ICAgile CIP),– IC‐Agile Topic Certification (i.e., ICAgile Test Automation 

Certification), IC‐Agile Expert Track Certification (i.e., ICAgile Expert: Testing),

– Master Agilest

• Structure of the Certification– Body of knowledge– Certification road map

• Demographic for the certification• Pros and cons• Future

International Consortium for Agile (IC-Agile)

• DSDM Consortium• Lean Kanban University • IASSC• Six Sigma 

Others

Questions?

If we run short on time, we will provide a written response to the remaining questions and post them on the ASPE-SDLC blog:

www.aspe-sdlc.com/blog

PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® WorkshopTake this agile project management training course to prepare for your Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI‐ACP)℠ certification while learning to lead Agile software projects that adapt to change, drive innovation and deliver on‐time business value.

http://aspe‐sdlc.com/courses/agile‐project‐management‐certification/

The Executive Certificate in Agile Development from Saint Louis University

ASPE has partnered with Saint Louis Universityʹs AACSB accredited John Cook School of Business to provide continuing education Executive Certificate programs on the most critical SDLC job roles.

http://aspe‐sdlc.com/certificates/agile‐development.php

aspe-sdlc.com/agile-training/

How to Claim Your PDU

• Go to aspe‐sdlc.com/pdu/ for instructions on submitting your PDU.

• You can submit your PDU by mail or electronically.

• The Activity code for today’s presentation is WS010813 and ASPE’s REP number is 2161.

• The seminars are Category A for one PDU