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!
