Are you looking for a compact reference to help you answer questions about the different Agile methods on the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Exam? Then why not download the FREE Comparison of Agile Methods cheat sheet from the Agile PrepCast?

Understanding the major differences between the 8 most popular Agile methods is a must for becoming PMI-ACP^® certified. And we’ve made it easy for you since we have already performed the work of organizing how to understand and study these differences by creating a comparison table based on 10 specific criteria. The goal of this cheat sheet is to help those who are preparing for the exam by providing a much needed “quick reference” of the most popular Agile methods.

Although there are numerous preparations you can make before the day that you sit for the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Exam, there are also some things you can plan to do ahead of time on the actual day of the Exam to help maximize your chances of successfully passing and obtaining your certification. One of the most important things you can do is to ensure that you are comfortable and relaxed on the big day, and dressing properly will help you achieve this goal.

As a project manager some of your most important activities involve risk management and scheduling. To aid in the risk management and scheduling of your PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Exam Prep project, you should plan on scheduling the date to sit for your exam immediately after you have met all of the eligibility requirements. This will help make your exam prep project date-driven in that all preparation must be completed before the actual exam date. Now you have deadline - a big red "X" on your calendar - and this will motivate you in your studies. If you don't have the date scheduled you can always find excuses for not studying and delaying things. But having the date both on your mind and on your calendar will help to guide you through the specific activities necessary for success on the big day.

In addition to 1,500 hours of actual Agile project management experience, the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® requires you to complete 21 Agile Contact Hours of formal educational training in Agile practices. Many PMI-ACP candidates confuse contact hours with PDUs. Contact hours are required and recorded when you are applying for the certificate—they essentially document your ‘Agile education’ and include coursework or training on Agile philosophy, methodologies, principles, and practices. PDUs, on the other hand, are applied to an existing PMI credential or certification as a form of continuing education and professional development. Contact Hours are submitted once; you’ll submit PDUs during each certification renewal cycle.

Although Agile is a relatively new project management framework (compared to Traditional/Waterfall project management), there are countless resources available to help you study for the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® certification. As a result, you could potentially spend weeks or even months reading different materials to study for the PMI-ACP^® Exam. You might find, however, that all you are likely doing is duplicating your efforts — simply reading the same information over and over and, to some extent, wasting your time.

The PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® certification requires 1,500 hours of actual Agile project experience. This should tell you right away that the certification holds your personal Agile experience in high regard. Although you will need to provide proof of your ‘Agile education’ by means of documenting your Agile Contact Hours, the PMI-ACP certification places great emphasis on demonstrating your experience and ability to apply Agile methodologies in real project settings.

The material covered by the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Exam is extensive, detailed, and spread throughout many sources of reference material. This is not an examination you can “cram” for in a couple of weekends or simply rely upon your experience in order to pass. The best way to conduct your studies for successfully passing the exam is to treat it like a project and create a project plan.

Like any project, your study plan has project constraints that you will have to manage in order to be successful. First of all, you need to determine your project budget by determining how much you have to spend on training and materials to prepare to sit for the PMI-ACP^® Exam. Although the best study plan will include a combination of written, audio-visual and live training, this will all be dependent on your budget. Using a combination of a PMI-ACP Exam Prep Study Guide and a series of podcasts, such as the Agile PrepCast can be just as effective as attending a live class.