8 Tips To Pass PMI-ACP Exam In 30 Days

Editorial Team

pmi-acp success

Project Management Institute’s Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) is offered by world-renowned PMI Institute, which stands at the top position for Project Management. PMI-ACP is the credentials on Agile methodologies. PMI-ACP Certification increases your job prospects, and you can become a Scrum Master, Agile Trainer, or Agile Project Manager. As PMI-ACP offers a wide range of principles and methodologies, it has multiple favors to offer such as Scrum, XP, Lean, and Kanban. With PMI-ACP Certification in your hands, a handsome amount increases in your salary.

PMI-ACP is not at all hard if given the right time and concentration for the preparation. However, if you were not able to prepare for it beforehand and are left with a month only, there are several ways that can help you with right preparation on time along with 21 hours online training course. Following are the 8 simple tips to help you pass the PMI-ACP exam in 30 days:

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1. Prepare And Stick To A Good Routine Plan For Study

As a project manager, you must be aware of the importance of scheduling a plan and time management. To prepare for the PMI-ACP exam, the first and foremost task is to prepare a good routine study plan that makes sure other important daily chores are fulfilled too. Good PMI-ACP preparation needs 100-150 hours.

According to this, you would require taking out 4 to 5 hours a day to complete your preparation on time. When it comes to exam questions and practice tests, there is a need to invest some more time. Therefore, make sure you take 5 hours out from your daily routine for good preparation.

If you feel the need that 5 hours are not enough, add another hour. This will help you going through practice tests and some difficult questions conveniently. With no rush, you can prepare very well. As you are left with a month only, make sure you have skipped on all the extra tasks and plans you used to make daily or weekends. When you prioritize your tasks and set a goal, you are good to follow your routine study plan.

Divide your study plan in 25 days. The last five days are solely for practice tests and revision. Divide 25 days according to 7 domains of PMI-ACP. Spends 5 hours at least daily to read and practice through these domains with your online course, reference books, and other material. In this way, you can come up with a good routine plan.

2. Read PMI-ACP Handbook Before You Start Preparation

The most helpful material to help you through the guidelines and requirements of the PMI-ACP exam is PMI-ACP Handbook, which is available on the PMI website. It includes the foundational information you will need to increase your exam success chances.

Therefore, the PMI-ACP Handbook has to be the first document you must read before starting PMI-ACP exam preparation. It will take a maximum of two hours to read the first 22 pages, and you will have a good idea of what’s next.

The first portion of this handbook covers the use of best agile practices as most important in project management. It helps with expert understanding and implementation of agile practices.

The handbook further outlines the eligibility requirements for sitting in a PMI-ACP exam. If you are not aware of these eligibility requirements, make sure you go through them. It is followed by exam blueprint that has an overview of domains and question allocation for PMI-ACP exam prep. It also includes detailed information regarding the application process and date schedule to sit in the exam.

In the last portion, some healthy instructions are available to maintain your PMI-ACP certification after you pass the PMI-ACP exam. As for now, leave this portion for later view.

This means reading PMI-ACP handbook gives you a good head start for your preparation.

3. Use PMI-ACP Examination Content Outline To Guide You Throughout

PMI-ACP Examination Content Outline is a detailed document published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) itself on its website. It includes all the domains and study material you need to prepare for the PMI-ACP exam. It covers information regarding Agile tools and techniques which are important for the exam. Not only this, it comes with Agile knowledge and skills that will be covered in your PMI-ACP exam.

It is better to use this content outline to save you from the extra rush of study material the reference books and study guides come with. When you have a good idea of the relevant material you need to understand and memorize, you can better focus on the required study rather than wasting time on scamming through everything you come across.

Therefore, the PMI-ACP examination Content Outline is the best way to be sure what you have to prepare for the exam and what not. 

4. Attend 21 Hours PMI-ACP Training

21 hours of PMI-ACP training and training certification are one of the eligibility requirements for the PMI-ACP exam. Therefore, it is a compulsion rather than a tip to go for PMI-ACP training. The tip here is that make sure you attend those 21 hours of PMI-ACP training with full attention and concentration. Do not let your mind wander away.

The concepts you cannot comprehend during self-study can be easily understood here. PMI-ACP Training is the best way to clear all your confusions and get answers to all your questions.

However, there are two kinds of PMI-ACP training courses you can opt for. One is the classroom training while other is online training.

Classroom training is a better option as long as:

  • You want to complete it in a go
  • You need a strict schedule to stay on track
  • If you get lazy as the lecture once lost cannot be taken again so you will make sure you attend it.
  • If you need someone else to define the study pace for you.

For other people, online training courses are the better option because:

  • With online training courses, you invest less and get more.
  • It saves you from the tiresome activities of going and coming back from the classroom.
  • There is no fear of missing on a lecture or some important topic if you are not able to make it to the lecture today.
  • If you are not a fast learner, the online training course is a perfect option as you decide the pace yourself.

The thing is to complete 21 hours training and ensure that you make the most out of it. Therefore, you can choose the type of training course that suits best to your needs and requirements.

Master Of Project Academy and GreyCampus offer some best PMI-ACP Online Training Courses.

5. Refer To PMI-ACP Exam Prep Books

Another helpful thing to get you going through your PMI-ACP exam preparation is exam prep books, often referred to as study guides. There are many reading materials available online and in markets that are good and enhances your understanding.

One thing you need to make sure before getting a book is that it includes the specific areas of knowledge you need to comprehend. If a book offers extra material, make sure you study the required material first. If you are left with extra time, you can skim through the other material as well.

However, sticking to the PMI-ACP examination content outline and referring books for those topics is the ideal way to utilize PMI-ACP exam prep books. There is a lot of reference material and books recommended by PMI itself. The three best of them are:

  1. PMI-ACP Exam Prep by Mike Griffiths
  2. Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn
  3. Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products by Jim High Smith

You can find all the relevant and required material in here with great convenience.

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  5. Agile Estimation Explained with Examples

6. Join PMI-ACP Study Group On Facebook and LinkedIn

If training courses, online lectures, reference material, and prep books are not able to solve any of your problems or answer to any of your queries comprehensively and easy language, consulting someone who has gone through the exact entire process is the best idea. You learn to get the most from other people’s experience.

The best platforms for this purpose are the study groups and discussion forums. You will find several people there who are at your stage and many others who have already gone through these bitter stages. There are a number of study groups and discussion forums on Facebook and LinkedIn.

You will come across several helpful tips and plan to go with your PMI-ACP exam prep. If you are lucky enough, you might come across some PMI-ACP professional and professor in the group. Thus, posting your questions and confusions there and getting a readable and understandable answer is an easy way to go through the complete exam prep.

PMI-ACP Study Group, PMI-ACP Exam, Questions & Discussion Forum, PMI-ACP (Agile) are some very best Facebook groups for any of your queries relating to PMI-ACP.

LinkedIn also offers several PMI-ACP study groups. PMI Agile Certified Practitioner PMI-ACP Exam Prep Study Group is the best place to post questions, get beneficial answers, and go through other people’s PMI-ACP success stories that will keep you motivated.

7. Take A Lot Of Practice Tests

Practice tests are the main key to do self-assessment. If you keep on reading through the study material and memorizing the concepts and formulas but do not practice them to see how good your preparation is going, it all goes to waste.

A large number of PMI-ACP practice questions are available on the internet from various sources. PMI website itself has a lot of practice questions for you. You need to practice at least 120 to 150 practice tests are new and updated to make sure you are following the trend and preparing accordingly. Each practice test must contain about 30 to 50 practice questions.

Whenever you are done with one topic, take a practice test to see if you have a command over it. In this way, you will be able to identify the areas you lack in. Once the mistakes are recognized, improving them becomes easier.

Free practice tests are a good way to start, and so, some helpful sites for free exam questions are:

  1. Master Of Project Academy
  2. PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Practice Test
  3. SimpliLearn.com
  4. WhizLabs.com
  5. Project Management Prepcast

8. Keep Repeating Practice Tests Until You Get Desired Percentage In The Last Two Tests

How would you know if you are doing well in the practice tests? The best way is to take as many practice tests as you can and set the desired percentage for it. When you are on the last stages of preparation or are done with 25 days of your preparation, start taking full exam sample practice tests. Aim for the PMI-ACP passing percentage you need while attempting practice tests.

If you get the desired percentage in one test and lack behind in the next one, there is a need to take another practice test. So, keep repeating practice tests until you get the desired percentage in two tests consecutively. A better idea is to keep practicing until you reach your exam date. It helps you clear as many confusions and improves as many mistakes as you can. With each practice test, you might get something new and helpful to learn.

Apart from free practice tests, you do need to go for some paid courses and sample questions to get to the highest quality. Project Management Prepcast, GreyCampus, and TestCollections.com have a lot of practice tests you can get on affordable rates. Go through these sites to see which one suits best to your budget.

Conclusion

Thus, these are the 8 simple yet efficient tips that cover the entire PMI-ACP exam prep procedure for you. Following these tips will help you get desired results out of your PMI-ACP exams in 30 days. You will be thanking us when you have passed your exam.

Best of luck!