How Long Does It Take to Get Agile Certification

What is Agile Certification?

In this period where conventional project development methods are not enough, Agile in the need. The demand for agile certified people has gradually increased in the IT industry. If you are doing agile certification you will learn ways to enhance the project performance by getting to know about the concepts of Agile and how those are implemented. If you have learned about Agile or you are such a practitioner who wants to check the skills in this domain and wants to upward your career then you need to get Agile Certification. You need to check the right certification that would stand you out from other people.

You will see many institutions are offering different agile certification. It is not easy to choose an agile certification that would be good for upskilling & moving ahead in your career. In this article, I will discuss why to do the agile certification and different certifications that are available today.

Why do Agile Certifications?

Agile is almost the same as other provinces like Project Management & Service management. But the organization looks for people who are certified in this domain. This is the main reason why such agile professionals go certification courses so that it is easy for them to make a career in this domain. There are advantages of doing such certifications that include better salary, recognition, etc.

What are the top Agile Certifications?

Different institutes and certifications are in the market today offering such certification courses to help people in this domain. When you have so many people offering the same things then you get confused while choosing the best for you. Because you are going to invest your money, you need to check the most beneficial certification for you that will help you enhance your career in this domain.

Scrum is the agile methodology that is easy to understand is considered to be the most popular. Many case studies are there under a scrum, so many different certifications are based on scrum.

Here are a few of the best Agile certifications that can be done by the people who want to build a career in Agile-

1. PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Professional).
2. Scrum Alliance (Certified Scrum Master/Certified Scrum Product Owner/Certified Scrum Developer).
3. Scrum Alliance (Certified Scrum Professional).
4. Professional Scrum Master/Professional Scrum Product Owner/Professional Scrum Developer -1.
5. SAFe Scaled Agilists.

How to choose the best agile certification for you?

As you are aware that multiple certifications are present and many are scrum-based. Because it is the often-used form of agile. You may be still confused about picking up the right certification for you.

Let’s have a clear idea of how to proceed?

• Step 1: Anyone how wants to gain knowledge about agile should start from scratch of Agile/Scrum.
• Step 2: Once you are done basics of Agile are cleared you should move forward to advance knowledge.
• Step 3: Scaling is considered to be the last step.

Many other agile certifications are there in the market apart from the five that are mentioned above. People have to make a good call while choosing what is best for them. If your sole aim is of changing the job then you can go with “PMI-ACP & CSM” that is more popular. If your aim to gain whole knowledge from scratch to expert then “PSM-I” is best. So, you need to look wisely at what is the best certification for you which would help you to shape your career. You need a lot of research on the course before investing your money.

How Do I Get Agile Certification

Today being Agile is the practice that businesses tend to follow to improve their efficiency and productivity. If you want to thrive in an Agile world then you must have practical knowledge of being Agile, work experience and certain foundations in the right kind of Agile concepts. These practices are best learnt at a number of different educational and training institutions like Imarticus Learning. So let’s get you started off in learning and attaining the certification.

Why Agile Certifications Are So essential

With the rapid pace at which technology and data have evolved in the last decade, organizations have had to find newer practices in management too. Cross-functional teams and Agile practice too have made a mark in domains like Service Management, Project Management and such.
Whether you wish to make a career, switching jobs or aspiring for a promotion, organizations want to know before recruiting that the aspirant has sufficient experience and certification in agile practice. This is where they need a measurable validation of your Agile experience and Agile Certification from a reputed institution provides them with exactly this information.
Certifications besides being a goal achieved can also provide you with a number of other benefits like
• Builds your confidence and adds to your resume.
• Visibility in a pool of aspirants in the job market.
• Salaries that are probably better and account for a better experience in Agile practice.
• Credibility that you know, implement and practice the techniques of Agile frameworks.
• Match market and technological trends that are current and in demand.
Thus from the above diagram, you will see that certification in Agile is a right career step that can enhance your resume, build your confidence and help with landing those jobs with the best payouts.

Best Agile Certifications

The Agile domain is not a single technology or certification. Rather it speaks about the concepts of such practices within and on an Agile framework. Hence you can choose the right certification depending on the size of the organization, its needs, technology and culture.
To leverage your ROI you can use the above diagram to choose the right certification for you. While Scrum is really the most popular Agile platform we can briefly look at all of them to help you decide the best. Obviously, you will spend money, time and effort in gaining these certifications. Hence a bit of research does help.
1. PMI-ACP or PMI’s Agile Certified Practitioner.
Offered by the Project Management Institute this certification is best for Project Managers. It helps you understand the basic concepts of Agile methodologies, LEAN, KANBAN and SCRUM among others while endorsing your measurable skills in them. You will need work experience or 30 PDUs considered equivalent to having the appropriate training and experience required for certification annually to renew the certification. Regular practice of your learning is the key practice in Agile.
2. CSPO/CSM/ CSD/CSP from Scrum Alliance.
Agile projects run well with the Scrum framework of management practices. Scrum is popular for software projects and offers certifications as a developer, scrum master or product owner. The training for this certification lasts 2 days for the CSPO and CSM certifications and 5 days for the CSD programs. This certification is an advanced and professionally-oriented certification that demonstrates proficiency in Scrum concepts, procedures, roles, artifacts and practices. The CSP certification can be directly attempted.
3. PSM/PSPO/PSD from Scrum.org:
These three-levelled professional certifications are certifications that are considered more difficult to attain and rely on passing the exams. However, the exams itself thoroughly check practical applications of scrum practices on the Agile platform and may require real-world experience and learning to implement. Course training is not mandatory but preferred for the PDUs they earn and assistance in industry-related situations and mentorship.
4. SAFe/ Scaled Agilist
The 2-day certification training is mandated and certification will need a minimum of 5-experience years in software testing, business analysis, development, project management, and practice of scrum techniques. Learn to launch SAFe in an agile environment and practice techniques in leadership using Lean-Agile principles for continuous value-added releases of software and improving productivity. Cash in on the many companies to transition teams as an Agilist or Coach.
Parting notes:
Agile Certification is essential to launch agile careers and for professional growth bring with them many career and financial benefits. Choosing the right training partner is half the battle won. Try Imarticus Learning for an Agile experience with benefits like assured placements, reasonable fees, certified mentors and instructors and many more. Hurry!