PMI-ACP Certification Exam Syllabus

Mindset – 28%

• Build an increment of the product to validate solution and/or market need
• Create an environment to innovate, learn, and grow 

• Use agile values and principles
• Apply the appropriate complexity method/domain to the complexity theory system (i.e. CAS, Stacey Matrix, Cynefin) to classify scenarios
• Identify the application and importance or risks of each complexity system theory given a specific scenario
• Interpret the output of agile suitability tools
• Integrate agile models based on needs (e.g., use case, team, project, organization) 

• Establish team vision and working agreements
• Form and develop a high performing team
• Use retrospective findings to improve the team
• Use collaboration practices to breakdown silos
• Commit to the team’s decisions even in disagreement
• Evaluate the team’s understanding of agile to tailor the agile approach
• Identify the key factors to consider when determining the appropriate inter-team coordination approach (e.g., scrum of scrums, team of teams) 

• Make status, progress, process, risks, impediments, and learning accessible to all (e.g., using information radiators)
• Establish a feedback loop for team
• Define communication strategies for co-located and distributed teams

• Promote a no blame culture by encouraging objectivity
• Encourage dialogue over debate
• Solicit and provide constructive feedback. Act on it
• Encourage challenging the status quo

• Include the stakeholders from day one
• Maximize value given a specific timeframe
• Use tools and techniques to shorten feedback (e.g., design thinking and lean startup)

• Promote a growth mindset to respond to change
• Embrace process adaptation by responding to changing requirements and priorities
• Encourage and model cross skills (e.g., generalizing specialists)
• Adapt to product needs based on the learning and feedback 

Leadership – 25%

• Establish an environment of trust (e.g., enable transparent communication)
• Motivate team members (e.g., to experiment and/or take risks)
• Coach and mentor team members
• Promote collective ownership of goals
• Recognize the differences between training, coaching, and mentoring and when to apply each approach
• Apply emotional intelligence techniques to support the team, increase empathy, resolv-e conflict and support positive influence
• Interpret non-verbal cues during team interaction
• Interpret the output of self-assessment tools and techniques to help teams develop their capabilities 

• Investigate the root cause of problems (e.g., root cause analysis, Ishikawa)
• Determine the resolution strategies with the team that will add the most value
• Ensure the problems are resolved in a timely manner 

• Create environment to capture and share knowledge (e.g., Lessons Learned for continuous improvement, retrospectives, communities of practice)
• Leverage organizational knowledge assets (e.g., from other similar initiatives, people and processes)
• Allocate time for knowledge sharing and making required updates

• Create awareness around the agile values and principles
• Foster an environment for continuous improvement
• Recognize, reward, and encourage agile behavior 

• Define and ensure there is a common understanding of the purpose and vision with all stakeholders
• Ensure product is always aligned to the vision and organizational goals
• Continuously communicate the vision and purpose 

• Identify the root cause and the level of the conflict
• Promote collaborative approach to solve the conflict

Product – 19%

• Clarify the backlog items
• Prioritize the backlog items with the customer/stakeholder
• Decompose the backlog items as needed
• Use tools and techniques to collectively size work

• Ensure increment is aligned with business priorities
• Define the increment goals
• Demonstrate increments of value for early feedback
• Measure the delivery of value

• Educate work visualization techniques
• Establish a process to update the data/stats
• Continuously share information

• Define what value will look like (e.g., success criteria, sustainability, security, privacy, regulatory, compliance)
• Ensure the value increments are optimized
• Ensure that the targeted results are achieved (e.g., Customer satisfaction, increase in sales)

Delivery – 28%

• Evaluate customer satisfaction
• Deliver work in small increments
• Collect and incorporate stakeholders’ feedback on a regular basis 

• Determine which metrics are appropriate for a given audience
• Radiate metrics across the relevant audience
• Review and analyze metrics
• Use metrics insights for decision making 

• Proactively identify risks and impediments
• Engage the team to find the most appropriate course of action
• Prioritize impediment removal and risk mitigation activities
• Monitor/control risks and impediments
• Use lessons learned to avoid risks/impediments recurrence 

• Visualize the end-to-end flow of value in the system (e.g., value added, non-value added)
• Use metrics, tools and feedback loops to identify waste
• Prioritize waste reduction activities
• Iterate on identification and reduction of waste

• Obtain metrics and feedback to drive continuous improvements
• Implement improvement actions
• Evaluate the effectiveness of process improvement 

• Identify and analyze customer and their needs
• Validate that iteration deliverables meet acceptance criteria
• Encourage collaboration between customer and team 

• Limit work-in-progress at all levels
• Shield team from interruptions (e.g., create team interfaces)
• Use metrics to analyze and improve flow