Agile Project Management
An introduction to Agile
and the new PMI-ACP
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About Dimitri Ponomareff
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Dimitri Ponomareff (www.linkedin.com/in/dimka5) is a Coach.
Whether it's a sports team, software products or entire
organizations, Dimitri has that ability to relate and energize people.
He is consistently recognized as a very passionate and successful
change agent, with an overwhelming capacity to motivate and
mobilize teams on their path to continuous improvements. He is a
master facilitator, as well as a captivating speaker with consistent,
positive feedback regarding his ability to engage an audience.
As a certified Coach, Project Manager and Facilitator of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People", Dimitri brings a full spectrum of knowledge in his delivery of methodologies. Through
teaching by example, he is able to build teams of people who understand where to focus their work
to generate the most value.
He has coached and provided tailor-made services and training for a multitude of organizations.
The short list includes, American Express, Charles Schwab, Bank of America, Morgan
Stanley, Best Western, Choice Hotels, JDA Software, LifeLock, First Solar, Infusionsoft and
Mayo Clinic. Dimitri enjoys his work, and does everything to ensure he shares his knowledge with
others who seek it.

Agile Overview
● Agile Manifesto
● Flavors of Agile and timeline
● Prescriptive vs. Adaptive
● Sequential vs. Overlapping
● Envision / Explore cycles
● Scaled Agile Framework - Big Picture
● Project noise level
● Why, What and How
● PDCA
● Visualizing the work
● Empowerment & self-organization
● PMI-ACP's 6 major domains of practice
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The Agile Manifesto
We are uncovering better ways of developing
software by doing it and helping others do it.
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on
the right, we value the items on the left more.
Source: www.agilemanifesto.org
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12 Principles of Agile Software
1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the
customer through early and continuous delivery
of valuable software.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in
development. Agile processes harness change for
the customer's competitive advantage.
3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple
of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to
the shorter timescale.
4. Business people and developers must work
together daily throughout the project.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals.
Give them the environment and support they need,
and trust them to get the job done.
6. The most efficient and effective method
of conveying information to and within a
development team is face-to-face conversation.
7. Working software is the primary measure of
progress.
8. Agile processes promote sustainable
development. The sponsors, developers, and
users should be able to maintain a constant
pace indefinitely.
9. Continuous attention to technical
excellence and good design enhances agility.
10. Simplicity the art of maximizing the amount of
work not done--is essential.
11. The best architectures, requirements, and
designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on
how to become more effective, then tunes and
adjusts its behavior accordingly.
Source: www.agilemanifesto.org
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Flavors of Agile
Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM)
Dane Faulkner
Extreme Programming (XP)
Kent Beck
Feature Driven Development (FDD)
Jeff DeLuca
Scrum
Ken Schwaber
Lean Software Development
Mary Poppendieck
Adaptive Software Development (ASD)
Jim Highsmith
Crystal Clear
Allistair Cockburn
Behavior driven development (BDD)
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Agile Timeline
1970 1980 1990 2000
Waterfall
Spiral, RAD, RUP
Scrum, XP
Predictive: phases, documentation-centric, functional handoffs, get it right the first time
Iterative: process framework, phases, tool driven, artifact heavy
Adaptive: iterative, self-organizing teams, value driven, transparent
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Prescriptive vs. Adaptive
(roles, activities & artifacts)
Source: Kanban and Scrum, making the most of both. Henrik Kniberg & Mattias Skarin
120+
13 9 6
RUP XP Scrum Kanban Do
Whatever
More
Prescriptive
More
Adaptive
0
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Waterfall
Predictive Process
The plan creates cost and
schedule estimates
Constraints
Estimates
Scope
(requirements)
Cost Time
Plan
Driven
Prescriptive vs. Adaptive
Agile
Adaptive Process
The vision creates
feature estimates
Cost Time
Scope
(features)
Value/Vision
Driven
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Sequential vs. Overlapping development
Source: “The New New Product Development Game” by Takeuchi and Nonaka. Harvard Business Review,
January 1986.
Rather than
doing all of
one thing at a
time...
Agile teams do
a little of
everything all
the time.
Requirements Design Code Test
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Software development process
50% complete?
0% usable
Analysis
Design
Code
Test
Time
Traditional
25% complete
100% usable
Time
Analysis
Design
Code
Test
Agile
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Envision / Explore cycles
Constant
User
Interactions
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Scaled Agile Framework - Big Picture
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Project noise level
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Why, What & How
● WHY are we doing this?
Voice of the stakeholder (Stakeholders)
● WHAT needs to be done?
Voice of the user (Product Owner, Subject Matter Expert)
● HOW do we build it?
Voice of the developer (Scrum Team)
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PDCA - Plan, Do, Check, Act
ACT
PLAN
DO
PDCA
Cycle
CHECK
Continuous Improvements
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Visualizing the work
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Empowerment & self-organization
● leadership and management are two
very different things
● set your own rules - do what works
best in your environment
● identify and remove bottlenecks
● focus on continuous improvements
● achieve your full potential
● be agile (adaptive, iterative)
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PMI-ACP's 6 major domains of practice
Domain 1: Value-driven delivery
● define positive value
● incremental development
● avoid potential downsides
● prioritization
Domain 2: Stakeholder engagement
● stakeholder needs, involvement and expectations
Domain 3: Boosting team performance practices
● team formation, empowerment, collaboration and commitment
Domain 4: Adaptive planning
● levels of planning
● adaptation
● estimation
● velocity/throughput/cycle time
Domain 5: Problem detection and resolution
Domain 6: Continuous improvement (product, process, people)
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What you need to know about the PMI-ACP
● Who should apply?
● Eligibility requirements
○ Experience
○ Training
○ Examination
● Tips to help you prepare for the exam
● Reference materials
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PMI-ACP - Who should apply?
If you are working in organizations using agile to manage projects, the PMI-ACP can provide an
opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of agile practices. The PMI-ACP is not limited to project
managers or Project Management Professional (PMP)® credential holders; individuals with
experience working on agile project teams can apply.
Practitioners who are seeking to:
○ Demonstrate to employers their level of professionalism in agile practices
of project management
○ Increase their professional versatility in both Waterfall and agile
techniques
○ Hold a certification that is more credible than existing entry-level, training
or exam-only based offerings
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PMI-ACP Eligibility Requirements
Designed for practitioners who utilize
Agile approaches to project management in their projects
Requirement Description
General Project Management Experience 2,000 hours working on project teams. These hours must be earned within the last 5 years.
Note: for those holding a PMP® credential, PMI has already verified that the candidate has exceeded these
requirements. Thus, a PMP will be accepted to fulfill these requirements.
Agile Project Management Experience 1,500 hours working on agile project teams.
These hours are in addition to the 2,000 hours required in general project management experience. These
hours must be earned within the last 2 years.
Agile Project Management Training 21 contact hours; hours must be earned in agile project management topics
Examination Tests knowledge of agile fundamentals
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PMI-ACP Exam
120 questions
100 scored and 20 unscored (randomly distributed)
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Agile tools and techniques - 50%
Communications
information radiator, team space, agile tooling, osmotic
communications for collocated and or distributed teams, daily
stand-ups
Planning, monitoring and adapting
retrospectives, task/kanban boards, time-boxing, Iteration and release
planning, WIP limits, burn down/up charts, cumulative flow diagrams,
process tailoring
Agile estimation
relative sizing/story points, wide band Delphi/planning poker, affinity
estimating, ideal time
Agile analysis and design
product road map, user stories/backing, story maps, progressive
elaboration, wire-frames, chartering, persona, agile modeling
Product quality
frequent verification and validation, test-driven development/test first
development, definition of done, continuous integration
Soft skills negotiation
emotional intelligence, collaboration, adaptive leadership, negotiation,
conflict resolution, servant leadership
Value-based prioritization
return on investment (ROI)/net present value (NPV)/internal rate of
return (IRR), compliance, customer-valued prioritization, minimally
marketable feature (MMF), relative prioritization/ranking
Risk management
risk-adjusted backlog, risk burn down graphs, risk-based spike
Metrics
velocity, cycle time, earned value management (EVM) for agile
projects, escaped defects
Value stream analysis
value stream mapping
Agile knowledge and skills - 50%
Level 1 (33%)
Active listening, Agile Manifesto value and principles, Assessing and
incorporating community and stakeholder values, Brainstorming
techniques, Building empowered teams, Coaching and mentoring
within teams, Communications management, Feedback techniques
for product (e.g. prototyping, simulation, demonstrations,
evaluations), Incremental delivery, Knowledge sharing, Leadership
tools and techniques, Prioritization, Problem-solving strategies,
tools, and techniques, Project and quality standards for Agile
projects, Stakeholder management, Team motivation, Time, budge,
and cost estimation, Value-based decomposition and prioritization
Level 2 (12%)
Agile frameworks and terminology, Building high-performance
teams, Business case development, Co-location (geographic
proximity)/distributed teams, Continuous improvement processes,
Elements of a project charter for an Agile project, Facilitation
methods, Participatory decision models (e.g., input-based. Shared
collaboration, command), PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional
Conduct, Process analysis techniques, Self assessment,
Value-based analysis
Level 3 (5%)
Agile contracting methods, Agile project accounting principles,
Applying new Agile practices, Compliance (organization), Control
limits for Agile projects, Failure modes and alternatives,
Globalization, culture, and team diversity, Innovation games,
Principles of systems thinking (e.g. complex adaptive, chaos),
Regulatory compliance, Variance and trend analysis, Variations in
Agile methods and approaches, Vendor management,
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Tips to help you prepare for the exam
Regardless of your experience and education, you should still prepare vigorously for the exam.
Successful candidates will typically use multiple study aids including courses, self-study and study groups.
● Review the PMI-ACP Handbook
● Use the PMI-ACP Examination Content Outline to guide your study
● Review the current PMI-ACP reference list
● Enroll in a formal study course offered by PMI chapters or Registered Education Providers
(R.E.P.s). You can also review self-study books published by R.E.P.s and other reputable training
organizations
● Form a study group with colleagues or friends; you can meet in person or virtually
● Read the AgileBOK - www.agilebok.org
● Practice taking the exams - www.agileexams.com
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Reference Materials for PMI-ACP
Agile Estimating and
Planning
Mike Cohn
ISBN #0131479415
Agile Retrospectives:
Making Good Teams Great
Esther Derby, Diana Larsen,
Ken Schwaber
ISBN #0977616649
Agile Software
Development: The
Cooperative Game – 2nd
Edition
Alistair Cockburn
ISBN #0321482751
Agile Project
Management: Creating
Innovative Products – 2nd
Edition
Jim Highsmith
ISBN #0321658396
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Reference Materials for PMI-ACP
Agile Project Management
with Scrum
Ken Schwaber
ISBN #073561993X
Coaching Agile Teams
Lyssa Adkins
ISBN #0321637704
Lean-Agile Software
Development: Achieving
Enterprise Agility
Alan Shalloway, Guy
Beaver, James R. Trott
ISBN #0321532899
Becoming Agile: ...in an
imperfect world
Greg Smith, Ahmed Sidky
ISBN #1933988258
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Reference Materials for PMI-ACP
The Software Project
Manager’s Bridge to
Agility
Michele Sliger, Stacia
Broderick
ISBN #0321502752
User Stories Applied: For
Agile Software
Development
Mike Cohn
ISBN #0321205685
The Art of Agile
Development
James Shore
ISBN #0596527675
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PMI-ACP - Certification Training
(3 days - 21 PDUs)
Contact us to schedule a private training,
or attend an upcoming public training.
Agile Exams will be included in your PMI-ACP Prep Workshop.
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Thank You
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