PMI® Authorized PMI-ACP® Exam Prep Course Syllabus

Mindset

Experiment Early

• Engage in the process of early experimentation and building a product increment, conducting validation activities, and making informed decisions based on the obtained results.

Embrace the Agile Mindset

• Express the core values of the Agile Manifesto and how they shape the guiding principles in adaptive approach frameworks.
• Differentiate and use the various agile mythologies, showing how each aligns with the agile mindset incorporating unique practices.
• Learn to apply the principles of systems thinking, specifically the Cynefin framework to classifying scenarios based on factors such as predictability and causality.
• Recognize each classification of systems thinking, along with their associated risks.
• Explain the output generated by agile suitability tools, along with an ability to evaluate the information and make informed decisions with it.
• Describe common hybrid patterns and be able to use the information at hand to determine the most suitable hybrid approach.

Promote Collaborative Team Environment

• Establish a team’s vision using agile vision approaches.
• Be able to identify the phases of the Tuckman Model.
• Identify the purpose of retrospectives in adaptive team environments with a focus on their importance and the conducting of an effective retrospective.
• Recognize the purpose of collaborative practices, contributing to breaking down silos, promoting cross-functional teamwork, and improving overall team dynamics.
• Discuss how to support team decisions by applying motivational theory principles.
• Identify areas of strength and potential improvement in the team’s knowledge of tailoring an adaptive approach in the context of agile principles and methodologies.
• Define agile scaling and team synchronization, using one of the various inter-team coordination approaches.

Build Transparency

• Implement effective communication strategies by applying the lean principle of “make process explicit.”
• Express how each of the agile methodologies adopts shorter feedback loops.
• Differentiate the types of communication and feedback mechanisms for colocated and distributed teams.

Foster Psychological Safety

• Be able to define the foundational principles of psychological safety.
• Recognize how fostering a sense of belonging and encouraging a learning mindset supports a psychologically safe environment.
• Develop a recognition of the psychological safety continuum, with a particular focus on the final two stages—Contributor Safety and Challenger Safety.

Shorten Feedback Loops

• Discern the importance of the customer in the development process.
• Consider what constitutes value in project development, being sure to consider both economic and non-economic factors.
• Understand the principles of Design Thinking and Lean Startup.

Embrace Change

• Define and recognize the principles of a growth mindset.
• Explain the Agile Manifesto principle “responding to change over following the plan.”
• Describe agile team dynamics, with a focus on cross-functional teams.

Leadership

Empower Teams

• Recall the key concepts of transparency.
• Identify the key elements of a product retrospective checklist.
• Remember the key concepts in Lyssa Adkins’s coaching graphs and phases.
• Identify the key components of collective empowerment.
• Recognize the distinctions defined by Lyssa Adkins between training, coaching, and mentoring.
• Describe the foundational concepts of emotional intelligence (EI), focusing on the key components related to empathy and social skills.
• Understand the significance of non-verbal cues in team interactions.
• Identify the key self-assessment tools and techniques used for team development.

Facilitate Problem Resolution

• Discuss the key quality management tools and understand how to use them to create effective problem-resolution strategies.
• Differentiate and use the various agile mythologies, showing how each aligns with the agile mindset incorporating unique practices.
• Learn to apply the principles of systems thinking, specifically the Cynefin framework to classifying situations based on factors such as predictability and causality.

Promote Knowledge Sharing

• Develop the ability to create an environment conducive to knowledge sharing.
• Be able to effectively leverage organizational assets to share knowledge.
• Apply time management techniques for knowledge sharing and making required updates.

Promote Agile Mindset Principles and Practices

• Review and create awareness among your team around the agile mindset.
• Analyze the methods that promote and sustain a culture of continuous improvement.
• Demonstrate how to communicate a compelling project or product vision that resonates with stakeholders.

Promote Shared Vision and Purpose

• Discuss how to effectively promote a shared vision and purpose among the team and stakeholders in agile projects and initiatives.
• Analyze your team’s vision and purpose to ensure that it is always in alignment with the organization’s vision and goals, ensuring effectiveness.
• Formulate effective ways to communicate and reinforce the organization’s vision and purpose.

Facilitate Conflict Management

• Analyze conflict within the team and become proficient in facilitating conflict management.
• Promote a collaborative approach to resolving team conflict and achieving satisfactory solutions.

Product

Refine Product Backlog

• Discuss effective ways to refine and clarify the product backlog.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of prioritization efforts in achieving project goals and meeting stakeholder expectations.
• Demonstrate the concept of decomposing backlog items and be able to effectively understand the impact of the exercise.
• Compare the various techniques available to collectively size the team’s work.

Manage Increments

• Discuss the concept of business value and its importance in prioritization.
• Recognize the purpose of defining increment goals and their relation to release and sprint planning.
• Remember the concept of increments of value and its significance in agile project development.
• Explain the concept of measuring the delivery of value.

Visualize Work

• List the key concepts and principles of the various work visualization techniques.

Manage Value Delivery

• Define the key components and considerations for defining success criteria.
• Relate the concepts of the principles of value optimization for product increments.

Delivery

Seek Early Feedback

• Demonstrate the ability to apply critical thinking skills and practical knowledge to develop a tailored approach for evaluating customer satisfaction.
• Apply stakeholder feedback methodologies to refine and improve the work delivery process.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of various stakeholder feedback collection methods and integration techniques to ensure timely and iterative refinement of project outcomes.

Manage Agile Metrics

• Analyze the criteria regarding agile metrics selection and application.
• Apply effective communication strategies for disseminating agile metrics to the appropriate stakeholders by integrating principles and techniques.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of various agile metrics in the context of project performance and stakeholder needs to improve decision-making and project outcomes.
• Assess insights derived from agile metrics to inform decision-making processes within project management contexts.

Manage Impediments and Risks

• Evaluate potential risks and impediments in project management contexts to enable proactive risk mitigation and impediment resolution strategies.
• Compare the different sources of insight to support collaborative decision-making to be able to analyze complex situations and generate innovative solutions with their project team.
• Interpret risk-related information to make more informed judgments to prioritize mitigation activities.
• Apply acquired knowledge and skills to establish effective risk and impediment monitoring and control systems.
• Examine experiences to identify recurring risks and impediments.

Recognize and Eliminate Waste

• Analyze the end-to-end flow of value within a system to critically evaluate the current workflow to identify areas of waste and inefficiency and develop strategies for eliminating waste and improving value delivery.
• Apply various metrics, tools, and feedback loops to systematically identify waste within project delivery processes.
• Evaluate waste reduction activities based on their impact on goals and overall value delivery.
• Design iterative processes for identifying and reducing waste within project delivery.

Perform Continuous Improvements

• Demonstrate how to collect relevant metrics and feedback, analyze them to identify areas for improvement, and implement iterative changes to improve project outcomes.
• Use applied knowledge and skills to implement improvement actions in project delivery processes.
• Engage in critical analysis by evaluating the effectiveness of process improvements.

Actively Engage Customers

• Analyze the requirements and preferences of customers to critically evaluate customer feedback.
• Measure iteration deliverables against predefined acceptance criteria.
• Develop the skills necessary to foster open communication, mutual understanding, and shared decision-making between customers and team members.

Optimize Flow

• Employ the principle of limiting work-in-progress (WIP) at all levels of the project to help constrain the amount of work undertaken simultaneously to optimize flow.
• Examine the various methods for shielding the team from interruptions and develop the ability to identify the appropriate practices for your team.
• Explain key metrics such as cycle time, lead time, throughput, and work-in-progress (WIP) limits to assess and improve project flow.

Check out the available schedule for instructor-led classes here.