Category Exam information

The Agile Project Management (AgilePM) certification aims to address the needs of those working in a project-focused environment who want to be Agile.

Based on the proven fundamentals within DSDM Atern, the certification provides the ability to deliver Agile Projects in organizations requiring standards, rigour and visibility around Project Management, while at the same time enabling the fast pace, change and empowerment provided by Agile.

The course will:

• Explain how to lay the foundations for successful agile projects
• Explain how an agile project is managed
• Clarify the different management styles needed for successful agile projects (compared to “traditional” projects)
• Provide integration with PRINCE2®.

Benefits for Individuals

• Develop a more advanced, applied level of knowledge to gain an understanding of agile and the ability to apply relevant project management methods, leading to successful agile projects.
• Clarify different management styles needed for successful agile projects compared to traditional projects and be able to tailor these to the situation.
• Actively promote trust and close co-operation between the business and developers and gives the business ongoing visibility into what is happening.
• Combine knowledge of more traditional management methodologies with agile to better adapt to a changing business environment.
• Improve time-to-market and project success rates while simultaneously accelerating results by encouraging stakeholder involvement, feedback and effective controls.

Benefits for Organizations

• Deliver change faster, at a lower cost and with lower risk by continually validating project milestones against business objectives.
• Complements and works with existing corporate processes such as PRINCE2®, quality and audit processes which improves rigour and visibility around project management, leading to a proven track record of successful delivery in a corporate environment.
• Simply adopt a tried and tested approach rather than developing and integrating a company-specific agile management process.
• Achieve better communication and control over projects and adapt project plans without disrupting the project budget, timescale and scope.
• Develop professionalism in employees and include agile certification in employee professional development schemes.

Foundation Level

The foundation AgilePM certification lives up to its name by providing the users of the method with the core principles needed to facilitate a successful project, while allowing a degree of scope and agility that not many other methodologies provide. With a clear, concise and detailed perspective on project productivity, the AgilePM certification is useful to all candidates and competency levels ranging from highly experienced project managers to those new to the industry.

Exam Format

• Multiple choice format
• 60 questions per paper
• 30 marks required to pass (out of 60 available) – 50%
• 60 minutes duration
• Closed-book.

Practitioner Level

The practitioner level empowers, encourages and equips you with an in-depth knowledge of not just the certification, but also how to apply and implement these principles into the life of a project manager on a daily basis. Pre-requisites accepted to be eligible to take the Practitioner examination:

• AgilePM Foundation Certificate, or
• DSDM Atern Foundation Certificate, or
• DSDM Advanced Practitioner Certificate.

The practitioner examination is in the “Objective Testing” format of scenario, question and answer booklet.

Exam Format

• Objective testing
• 4 questions per paper, 15 marks available per question
• 30 marks required to pass (out of 60 available) – 50%
• Two hours duration
• Open book (restricted to the manual only) examination.

PRINCE2® (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a process-based approach for project management providing an easily tailored and scalable method for the management of all types of projects. The method is the de-facto standard for project management in the UK and is practiced worldwide.

The continued international development of PRINCE2 examinations, training and course material is contributing significantly to the recognition of PRINCE2 as a truly international standard. More and more people are having the opportunity to benefit from the training courses and certifications that are available worldwide.

Benefits for Individuals

• Learn how to manage projects or to work in a project environment using the most internationally recognized project management method.
• Ensure that team members focus on the viability of the project in relation to its business case objectives – rather than simply seeing the completion of the project as an end in itself.
• Promote consistency of project work and the ability to reuse project assets while facilitating staff mobility and reducing the impact of personnel changes/handovers.
• Design plans and reports to meet the needs of each level in the project team and Project Board, improving communication and control.
• Mitigate perceived problems and issues and focus on the viability of the project throughout.
• Evaluate the project portfolio to bring clarity and allow improvements in reviewing projects.

Benefits for Organizations

• Benefit from a shared and thoroughly understood language and approach to reporting which will save time and effort.
• Increase staff awareness of their roles and responsibilities in the project management life cycle.
• Utilize an invaluable diagnostic tool, facilitating the assurance and assessment of project work, troubleshooting and audits.
• Ensure stakeholders (including sponsors and resource providers) are properly represented in planning and decision making.
• Enable more effective engagement of stakeholders in the process of project approval and management.

Foundation Level

The purpose of the foundation level is to confirm you have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the PRINCE2 method to be able to work effectively with, or as a member of, a project management team working within an environment supporting PRINCE2. The foundation level is also a pre-requisite for the practitioner certification.

Exam Format

• Multiple choice
• 75 questions per paper
• 5 questions to be trial and not counted in scores
• 35 marks required to pass (out of 70 available) – 50%
• 60 minutes duration
• Closed book.

Practitioner Level

The purpose of the practitioner level is to confirm you have achieved sufficient understanding of how to apply and tailor PRINCE2 in a scenario situation.

Exam Format

• Objective testing
• 8 questions – 10 question items per question, each worth one mark
• 44 marks or more required to pass (out of 80 available) – 55%
• Two-and-a-half hours (150 minutes) duration, no additional reading time
• Open book exam (official PRINCE2 manual only).