PMI ACP vs Scrum Master
PMI-ACP Vs. Scrum Master Certification
If you are looking for agile certification then a question may come to your mind which agile certification? There are many certification bodies and every certification body has 3-5 certifications based on the agile team role.
Knowledge of agile methods, collaboration skills, and flexibility to adapt the complexity are the high demand skills for managing projects. Now, you must be wondering which certification will help you in developing these skills. The most well-recognized and popular agile certifications are those developed by the PMI, Scrum Alliance, Scrum.org, and ScrumStudy. It is not necessary to earn all the certifications of all these organizations. Here, we are going to discuss only project management certifications of PMI, Scrum Alliance, Scrum.org, and ScrumStudy, so that based on your need you can make an informed decision to earn a valuable certificate for yourself.
What is the difference between PMI-ACP and Scrum Master Certification?
The PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® formally recognizes your knowledge of agile principles and your skill with agile techniques. It requires a certain amount of hands-on, practical experience using the Agile methodology. The PMI-ACP covers many approaches of agile such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean, extreme programming (XP), and test-driven development (TDD.) So it will increase your versatility, wherever your projects may take you. It also helps you in making decisions about a particular method or mix of practices from different methods required for your project based on the need.
Scrum is one of the many methods to manage agile projects. It is a management support method and does not include the detail of practices for development, testing, and requirement management. The primary focus of Scrum is on delivering the product in increments that satisfy customer requirements. To deliver the greatest amount of value in the shortest amount of time, Scrum promotes prioritization and Time-boxing over fixing the scope, cost, and schedule of a project. An important feature of Scrum is self-organization, which allows the individuals who are actually doing the work to estimate and take ownership of tasks.
About PMI-ACP Certification:
The PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® tests your skills on a range of agile methods. To pass this exam you need to familiarize yourself with all agile methods in practice. For this, you need to read 11 books recommended by PMI. You can read this list of these books from here.
About Scrum Master Certification:
Scrum master certification training discusses the role of only the Scrum master in detail. Here, more management practices are discussed and engineering practices are not dealt with in detail. There are 3 organizations that offer Scrum Master Certification and more or less they discuss the same practices and all those 3 different Scrum Master Certification training. Three organizations that provide Scrum Master are Scrum Alliance, Scrum.org, and ScrumStudy.
What are the prerequisites of PMI-ACP?
- 2,000 hours of general project experience working on projects. A current PMP® or PgMP® will satisfy this requirement, therefore these certificate holders are exempted from this requirement.
- 1,500 hours working on agile project teams or with agile methodologies. This requirement is in addition to the 2,000 hours of general project experience.
- 21 contact hours of training in agile practices.
What are the prerequisites of Scrum Master Certification?
There is no formal prerequisite for this certification. However, it is preferable to complete the Scrum Developer Certified (SDC™) certification before applying for the Scrum Master certification. It is also highly recommended to attend the SMC™ classroom training provided by the SCRUMstudy/Scrum Alliance approved Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.)
What is the exam format for PMI-ACP?
- Multiple Choice
- 120 questions per exam
- One mark awarded for every right answer
- 3-hours duration
- The proctored online exam is held in the Prometric center.
- Schedule the exam date/time by visiting www.prometric.com
What is the exam format for Scrum Master Certification (SCM) by ScrumStudy?
- Multiple Choice
- 100 questions per exam
- One mark awarded for every right answer
- No negative marks for wrong answers
- 120 minutes’ duration
- Proctored online exam.
What is the exam format for Certified Scrum Master (CSM) by Scrum Alliance?
- The test comprises 35 multiple-choice questions
- you must get 24 or more correct to pass the exam.
- You will not take the test during the two-day course. It is recommended to write the exam within the next one week of the training.
Benefits of PMI-ACP
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) Certification is beneficial to your profession in the field of Agile Project Management.
- It helps you to gain knowledge on Agile tools, skills, and practices in general.
- Being an Agile Certified Practitioner implies that you have earned an attestation that shows your professional ability.
- It increases your adaptability in an Agile project environment. This will lead to higher team productivity and enhance customer satisfaction.
- This course helps you to learn practical techniques for planning, estimating the cost of the project in an Agile way.
- The PMI-ACP® exam provides an edge mainly because of three big reasons – Career options, Salary, and Improving job comprehension.
Benefits of Scrum Master Certification
Scrum Master Certification is beneficial to your profession of Agile Project Management:
- A Scrum certification will expand your career opportunities across all industries. A Scrum Master certification shows that you have an Agile mind.
- Scrum is an Agile methodology and to use it effectively you’ll need to get into an Agile mindset.
- Training and certification will have a positive effect when it comes to working with your team. You can help those people in getting certification who work with you and together you can build a team and reinforce the same vocabulary and understanding of scrum.
- Your certification gives the management confidence that you are capable of implementing an Agile Methodology.
Comparison between PMI-ACP and Scrum Master Certification
| Certified Scrum Master® (CSM) | Scrum Master Certified (SMC™) | Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certification body | Scrum Alliance | ScrumStudy | PMI |
| Topics covered | Scrum terminology, practices, and principles | Scrum concepts, terminology, advantages, and challenges of Scrum methodology. | Tools, techniques, principles, many approaches of agile such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean, extreme programming (XP), and test-driven development (TDD.) |
| Prerequisites | No prior experience required. | No prior experience required. | - 2,000 hours of general project experience.1,500 hours working on agile project teams21 contact hours of training in agile practices |
| Duration of class | 2-days class | 2-days class | 3-days class |
| Reference book | Tailored course material provided by the trainer in the class | A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK™) | 11 books recommended by PMI as mentioned earlier in this article. |
| Exam Format | - 35-question must get 24/35 correct. - The CSM Test fee is included in your course fee; however, if you fail the test a second time, you will need to pay a $25 exam fee to Scrum Alliance. | - Multiple Choice - 100 questions per exam - One mark awarded for every right answer - No negative marks for wrong answers - 120 minutes’ duration - Proctored online exam. | - Multiple Choice - 120 questions per exam - One mark awarded for every right answer - 3-hours duration - The proctored online exam is held in the Prometric center. - Schedule the exam date/time by visiting www.prometric.com |
| Maintaining Certification | Must be renewed after 2 years. | 40 Recertification units every 2 years | Credential holder will need to earn 30 PDUs in Agile project management per each 3 years cycle. |
PMI-ACP training companies in India
PMI-ACP training is conducted by PMI REPs (Registered Education Provider) and PMI-ACP credential holders who are experts in agile project management and training domains. PMI REPs give you a category “A” certificate and the others give you a category “B” certificate after the training. These are 21 prerequisite PDUs required to apply for the exam. Both certificates are equally valid for your PMI-ACP exam.
Scrum Master certification training companies in India
Scrum Master certification training is conducted by ATOs (Accredited Training Organization) globally. ATOs interns are authorized by certification bodies. ATOs also conduct the proctored exam with the help of either certification bodies.