PMI-ACP®EXAM

PREP COURSE

Session 1

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INTRODUCTION

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Falcon Training

Welcome!

Falcon Training provides project management delivery

and training services.
– PMP and CAPM

– PMI-ACP

– Introduction to Project Management

– Tailored offerings
 The Course

Three days

Based on;
– The PMI-ACP Exam Content Outline

– PMI-ACP Exam Prep by Mike Griffiths

Tutor:
– Mike Roberts, PMP, CAPM, PMI-ACP

Some additional revision is required outside of the course

4
The Textbook
The Student Guide

Contains summary of all the relevant course information

Includes the Domain Tasks game for you to refer to.

Any Questions?
INTRODUCTION TO
PMI, PMBOK and PMI-ACP

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Project Management Institute (PMI)

World’s leading project management association

Approximately 700,000 members and credential

holders in over 200 countries

“Making project management indispensable for

business results”
PMINZ

Active and growing New Zealand chapter

Active and growing South Island, Central and Northern

branches

www.pmi.org or www.pmi.org.nz for full details

The PMBOK Guide ®

Standard reference from the PMI for managing projects

Collection of 5 processes and 10 knowledge areas

Generally accepted as best practice in project

management

Internationally recognized standard and aligns with

ISO21500
PMI-ACP

Global recognition of expertise in Agile practices

The only Agile certification that requires a combination

of training, experience and an exam.

It bridges Agile approaches such as SCRUM, XP,

LEAN and Kanban. It doesn’t focus on just one.
PMI-ACP

PMI-ACP certification does not expire if you keep in

good standing

The exam is based on the results of an Agile Job

Analysis

The exam covers 7 Domain Areas.

You must earn at least 30 professional development

units (PDUs) over three years to retain the credential
THE PMI-ACP EXAM
®

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PMI-ACP Exam ®

120 multi-choice questions (of which 100 are scored)

3 hours total (90 seconds per question!)

Pass mark is a bit of a mystery

It is not an easy exam

If you don’t study, you won’t pass

Exam Results

You will be told whether you pass or fail

You will not be given a percentage score

In each of the 7 domains, you will be told whether you

are;

– Proficient

– Moderately Proficient

– Below Proficient
PREPARING FOR AND PASSING
THE PMI-ACP ® EXAM

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BEST PRACTICE STUDY
TECHNIQUES

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How Much Do We Remember?

90%
80%

50%

30%
20%
10%

Read Hear Read & Hear Discuss Experience Teach

How you will learn on this course
If we could implant the information directly
into your brain we would – but we can’t so
instead we have the following:
– Trainer knowledge and presentation
– Slides
– Notes
– Mock exams
– Text books
– Games
– Self study
How you will learn on this course
This course will focus on teaching you:
• The content and knowledge needed to answer
exam questions
• How to read and answer a typical question

The course isn’t designed to teach Agile project

management but it’s a wonderful by-product.
Effective Learning Takes Time

Learning takes time and you will go through the

following steps:

– Accumulation

– Incubation

– Inspiration

To make best use of your time, spread study over

several weeks
Study Tips

Take brief breaks (5–10 min) after 50 minutes study

Vary tasks and topics during lengthy study periods

Find one special place for studying, and use only for
that

Try to eliminate distractions in this location

If you’re daydreaming, walk away for a few minutes

Study Tips

Avoid ‘escape’ syndrome of fretting and talking more

about studying than actually studying

Make a realistic appraisal of priorities:

– What has to be done
– How much time there is to do it
– When it will be done
– Then … just do it!
Memorising

Mix your styles of study as much as you can

Retention of information improves dramatically if you

touch each concept at least 3 times

Go over each concept at least once before, once during,

and once after class

Your brain retains information better if repeated within

24 hours and then again within 7 days
Memorising

Study big ideas first. Understand the big picture, then fit
in the details.
– Easier to remember details if they can be fitted into a
framework

Memorise formulas and terms which will be needed on

the exam
Test Yourself

Think of questions that might be on the exam

– Find a variety of ways to test yourself as you review
– Act of formulating questions helps discriminate
between important and less important information
– During this course, we will ask you to create your own
questions and try to stump your colleagues

– Creating exam questions keeps you alert and thinking

actively
Be a Teacher

Reciting is most powerful way to learn and remember

– Constantly practice restating, repeating, putting into
your own words
Learning Styles

Everyone learns differently. Be aware of the way you

learn best and follow it

Homework: visit www.vark-learn.com and do the

survey
VARK and this Course
• Diagrams • Trainer
• Charts talking
• Pictures • Talking with
others

Visual Aural

Kinaesthetic Reading

• Sharing • Text book

stories • Slide text
The proven best learning technique . . .

Is simply hard work . . .

Please be prepared to put in the time and effort

necessary to be successful
AGILE PRINCIPLES AND MINDSET

CHAPTER 1
16% = ~19 Questions

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Overview

High

Medium

Low

Difficulty Memorisation Exam Importance

Introduction

 Underlying principles behind the concept of agile.

 Comparing Agile vs Traditional.

 Agile Manifesto, Scrum, Extreme Programming, Lean,

Kanban.
Why Agile Methods?
 Agile was created for Knowledge Worker
projects.
 Knowledge work is invisible, changing, less
structured and more innovative than traditional
‘industrial’ projects (i.e construction).
 The need for a focus on Communication and
Collaboration.
The Agile Triangle

Traditional Projects Agile Projects

Scope Fixed Variable

Time Variable Fixed

Cost Variable Fixed

The Agile Manifesto

 The Agile Manifesto sets out the

approach and principles of the agile
concept.
 www.agilemanifesto.org
More Important . . . . . . Important

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

Responding to change over following a plan

Guiding Principles
1. Early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in

development.

3. Deliver working software frequently.

4. Business people and developers must work together.

5. Build projects around motivated individuals.

6. Face-to-face conversation is best.

Guiding Principles
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.

8. Agile processes promote sustainable development.

9. Technical excellence and good design.

10. Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not

done--is essential.
Guiding Principles
11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs
emerge from self-organizing teams.

12. At regular intervals, the team reflects and adjusts its

behaviour accordingly.
 The Declaration of Interdependence
• ‘Be Agile’, don’t just ‘Do Agile’.

• The DOI is not tested within the exam, but it does

accurately reflect the mind-set of being agile.

• See PMI-ACP Exam Prep - Page 22

 The Declaration of Interdependence
1. We increase return on investment by making
continuous flow of value our focus.

2. We deliver reliable results by engaging customers in

frequent interactions and shared ownership.

3. We expect uncertainty and manage for it through

iterations, anticipation, and adaptation.
 The Declaration of Interdependence
4. We unleash creativity and innovation by recognizing
that individuals are the ultimate source of value, and
creating an environment where they can make a
difference.

5. We boost performance through group accountability for

results and shared responsibility for team effectiveness.

6. We improve effectiveness and reliability through

situationally specific strategies, processes and practices
Agile Methods

Kanban Lean

SCRUM
Extreme Programming
Feature Driven Development
DSDM
Crystal
Scrum
Three Pillars of Scrum

Transparency

Inspection Adaption
Extreme Programming (XP)
Lean Product Development
Eliminate
Waste

Amplify Empower
Learning the Team

Lean
Defer Deliver
Decisions Fast

Optimise
Build
the
Quality In
Whole
Waste reduces value
 Popendieck’s Seven Software-Related Wastes
Waste Description Example

Partially done work Work started, but not complete Code waiting for testing
Requirements specifications
waiting for development
Extra processes Extra work that does not add value Unused Documentation
Unnecessary approvals
Extra features Features that are not required, or thought of as ‘nice-to- Gold-plating
haves” Technology features
Task switching Multi-tasking between several different projects People on multiple projects

Waiting Delays waiting for reviews/approvals Waiting for prototype reviews

Waiting for document approvals
Motion The effort required to communicate information. Distributed teams
Increased when teams are not co-located Handovers to other teams
Defects Defective documents or software that need correction Requirements defects
Software defects
Kanban Development
Backlog Design Develop Test Accept Deploy
(4) (4) (2) (3)
Feature Driven Development (FDD)

Develop a
Build a Plan by Design by Build by
high-level
feature list feature feature feature
model
Dynamic Systems Development Method
(DSDM)
DSDM is centred around 8 principles;
1. Focus on the business need
2. Deliver on time
3. Collaborate
4. Never compromise quality
5. Build incrementally from firm foundations
6. Develop iteratively
7. Communicate continuously
8. Demonstrate control
Crystal

Life
(defect cause loss of…)

(L) L200

Essential
Criticality

Money E20 E40 E100 E200

(E)
Discretionary
Money D6 D20 D40 D100 D200
(D)
Comfort
C6 C20 C40 C100 C200
(C)

Clear Yellow Orange Red Magenta

1-6 7-20 21-40 41-100 101-200

Number of People Involved

Servant Leadership

Shield the team from interruptions

Remove impediments

Communicate the project vision

Carry food and water

Agile Process Overview Chart

PMI-ACP® Exam Prep page 64

Practice Questions…

PMI-ACP® Exam Prep page 75

VALUE-DRIVEN DELIVERY

CHAPTER 2
20% = ~24 Questions

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Overview

High

Medium

Low

Difficulty Memorisation Exam Importance

Introduction

 Delivering Value is a cornerstone of Agile methods.

 Projects are undertaken to provide businesses with

additional value.

 Value Driven Delivery is the aim to maximise value

throughout the life of the project
- “Will it make the boat go faster?”

 Negative risk reduces or removes value = “Anti-Value”

Assessing Value

 There are several mathematical ways to

assess value
 Return on investment (ROI)
 Net present value (NPV)

 Internal rate of return (IRR)

Return on Investment (ROI)
 A way to consider profits in relation to capital
invested. The return gained from money spent.
4000

3000

2000

1000

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
-1000

-2000

-3000
Cumulative Spending Cumulative Income Net Cash Flow
Net Present Value (NPV)
 Provides a way of calculating the value of a future amount
in today’s terms.

 Takes into account the upfront investment and ongoing

returns and depicts them in present value terms.

Upfront
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Cost

-$200K $50K $0 $100K $0 $150K

-$250K $0 $200K $50K $100K $250K

Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

 Uses duration and payback information

to calculate a suitable interest rate.
 The higher the interest rate, the better
the project is.
Agile Earned Value Management
300 $300,000

250 $250,000

200 $200,000

150 $150,000

100 $100,000

50 $50,000

0 $0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Actual Spending Actual Progress

Agile Earned Value
300 Analytics $300,000
Blog

250 $250,000
User Survey

200 $200,000
Contact and Profiles

150 Company Services $150,000

100 Online Store

$100,000

50 $50,000
Home Screen and Theme Setup

0 $0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Actual Spending Actual Progress

Agile Earned Value
300 Analytics $300,000
Blog

250 $250,000
User Survey

200 $200,000
Contact and Profiles

150 Company Services $150,000

100 Online Store

$100,000

50 $50,000
Home Screen and Theme Setup

0 $0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Actual Spending Planned Spending
Actual Progress Planned Progress
So how are we performing?

Those PMP’s and CAPM’s in the room may remember

these formulas…

Schedule Variance SV = 100 – 90 = 10 points

SV = EV - PV (We’ve created 10 more story points
(SV) than what we planned)
Schedule
SPI = 100 / 90 = 1.11
Performance Index SPI = EV / PV
(111% of the rate planned)
(SPI)

CV = $100k - $200k = -$100k

Cost Variance (CV) CV = EV - AC
(We’ve spent $100K more than what we planned)

Cost Performance CPI = $100k / $200k = 0.5

CPI = EV / AC (We are only getting 50c worth of value
Index (CPI) for every $1 we spend)
Planning Value

 Plan to ensure that the customer receives the most

value at all times.

 Value planning is on the forefront of;

- The Product Backlog

- Change Requests

- Risk Management

- Defect Fixes
Customer-Valued Prioritization

 Determining what holds the greatest value for our

customers.

 MUST involve the customer

 Prioritised work packages are arranged in a Product

Backlog (SCRUM) or Feature List (FDD).

 Prioritisation Schemes

 This is an ongoing process (and relationship!)

Prioritization Schemes

 Simple

 MoSCoW

 Monopoly Money or 100 points

Relative Prioritization/Ranking

 Prioritising the backlog from 1-n.

 Is Activity A more or less valuable than Activity B?

Incremental Delivery

 Build in phases

 Simple first, complex second

Confirming Value

www.businessballs.com
Gulf of Evaluation

….the gap between an how something was described

and how it was understood.

Very common issue in Knowledge Worker projects

 Prototypes

Confirming Value

Demonstrations Simulations
Agile Tools

• Low-Tech – High Touch

• Simple and easy to use/update

• Avoids the perception that the outputs from flashy

tools implies accurate data!
Task and Kanban Boards
Backlog Design Develop Test Accept Deploy
(4) (4) (2) (3)
WIP Limits
Backlog Design Develop Test Accept Deploy
(4) (4) (2) (3)
Cumulative Flow Diagrams (CFD’s)
700

600

Little’s Law
500 A: Queue Duration
(time)
400

A B: Queue Length
300 (units)
B
200 Reduce these as
much as possible!
100

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Completed In Progress Total

Cumulative Flow Diagrams (CFD’s)
300

250

200

150

100

50

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
UAT Test Build Analysis Total
Agile Contracting

 Traditional Contracting vs Agile Contracting

 Types of Contracts

- Money for Nothing, Change for Free

- Graduated Fixed Price Contract

- Fixed Price Work Package

Frequent Verification and
Validation
▪ Validation : Are you building the right thing?

▪ Verification : Are you building it right?

Iteration Demos
Quality Assurance
Planning Meetings

Stand-up Meetings
Pair Programming
User Stories
Continuous Integration
Developers

CodeX
CodeY

CodeZ
Source
Control
System Fail Pass

Integration

Build and Test

Fail Pass
85

Test-Driven Development (TDD)

▪ Also known as Test First Development (TFD)

Run Run Feature

Create Tests Tests Write Code Tests Complete?

(RED) (GREEN)

Refactor

(CLEAN)
86

Acceptance Test-Driven
Development (ATDD)
▪ Similar to TDD however with a focus on defining
acceptance criteria with the customer as part of
planning.

Discuss Distill Develop Demo

Practice Questions…

PMI-ACP® Exam Prep pages 139

1 day closer to the exam!