Edward Chung, PMP, PMI-ACP PMI-ACP Study Notes Covering the latest PMI-ACP Exam Syllabus © 2017 Edward Chung Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Domain I Agile Principles and Mindset 3. Domain II Value-Driven Delivery 4. Domain III Stakeholder Engagement 5. Domain IV Team Performance 6. Domain V Adaptive Planning 7. Domain VI Problem Detection and Resolution 8. Domain VII Continuous Improvement (Product, Process, People) 9. More PMI-ACP Free Resources Introduction I am indebted to many PMI-ACP holders who helped me a lot during my certification journey. This free study notes and sharing on my blog is my contribution to the Agile project management community. Hi, I am Edward Chung. I passed the PMI-ACP exam with proficient in all domains ("Proficient" is the best grade given by PMI indicating the domain knowledge is above the average level). I am also PMP certified. In this book, I have included my PMI-ACP exam study notes which has been updated to align with the most recent PMI-ACP exam syllabus (for those taking the exam after July 2015). And if you need additional tips and resources on your PMI-ACP exam prep, application and exam taking, I have documented my PMI-ACP Certification Exam process in much details on my personal blog at edward-designer.com. It is hoped that my blog will be able to remove some roadblocks for fellow PMI-ACP aspirants in the quest of the PMI-ACP Certification (as 'correct' information on PMI-ACP is difficult to find on the internet). WWiisshh yyoouu PPMMII--AACCPP ssuucccceessss!! Edward Chung, PMP, PMI-ACP Domain I Agile Principles and Mindset The PMI-ACP Exam consists of 120 questions which can be categorised into seven domain. The first domain: DDoommaaiinn II AAggiillee PPrriinncciipplleess aanndd MMiinnddsseett is the knowledge about "how to explore, embrace, and apply agile principles and mindset within the context of the project team and organization" (source: PMI- ACP Examination Content Outline). Domain I Agile Principles and Mindset accounts for 1166%% of all questions in the PMI-ACP Exam (i.e. ~1199 qquueessttiioonnss among 120 PMI- ACP Exam questions) According to the PMI-ACP Exam Content Outline, Domain I Agile Principles and Mindset consists of nine tasks: 1. AAcctt aass aann aaddvvooccaattee ffoorr AAggiillee pprriinncciipplleess with customers and the team to ensure a shared Agile mindset 2. Create a ccoommmmoonn uunnddeerrssttaannddiinngg of the values and principles of Agile through practising Agile practices and using Agile terminology effectively. 3. EEdduuccaattee the organization and iinnfflluueennccee project and organizational processes, behaviors and people to support the change to Agile project management. 4. Maintain highly visible iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn rraaddiiaattoorrss about the progress of the projects to enhance transparency and trust. 5. Make it ssaaffee to experiment and make mistakes so that everyone can benefit from empirical learning. 6. Carry out eexxppeerriimmeennttss as needed to enhance creativity and discover efficient solutions. 7. Collaborate with one another to enhance knowledge sharing as well as removing knowledge silos and bottlenecks. 8. Establish a safe and respectful working environment to encourage emergent leadership throughsseellff--oorrggaanniizzaattiioonn aanndd eemmppoowweerrmmeenntt. 9. Support and encourage team members to perform their best by being a sseerrvvaanntt lleeaaddeerr. PMI-ACP Study Notes: Domain I Agile Principles and Mindset Below is a collection of the key knowledge addressed in Domain I Agile Principles and Mindset and the nine tasks related to the domain: AAggiillee MMaanniiffeessttoo aanndd 1122 AAggiillee MMaanniiffeessttoo PPrriinncciipplleess Individuals and interactions over Processes and tools Working software over Comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over Contract negotiation Responding to change over Following a plan AAggiillee PPrroojjeecctt MMaannaaggeemmeenntt FFuunnddaammeennttaallss Users Involvement Team Empowerment Fixed Time Box Requirements at a High Level Incremental Project Releases Frequent Delivery Finish Tasks One by One Pareto Principle Testing – Early and Frequent Teamwork AAggiillee MMeetthhooddoollooggiieess The following are the common Agile methodologies in practice these days, these are listed in order of importance for the PMI-ACP Exam. An understanding of the process and terminologies of these Agile methodologies will help ensure Agile practices to be carried out effectively. Scrum XP (eXtreme Programming) Kanban LSD (Lean Software Development) Crystal Family FDD (Feature Driven Development) ASD (Adaptive Software Development) DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method) Atern IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn RRaaddiiaattoorrss Information radiators are highly visible charts and figures displaying project progress and status, e.g. Kanban boards, burn-down charts. These shows the real progress and performance of the project and team which enhances transparency and trust among team members and other stakeholders. AAggiillee EExxppeerriimmeennttaattiioonnss Agile projects make use of empirical process control for project decisions, ongoing observation and experimentation are carried out during project execution to help and influence planning Introduce spike (including architecture spike) to carry out a technical investigation to reduce risks by failing fast SShhaarriinngg ooff KKnnoowwlleeddggee Ideally, Agile teams are best to be co-located (working within the same room with seats facing each other) to enhance pro-active support, free discussion, open collaboration and osmotic communication Face-to-face communication is always encouraged Practice pair programming if feasible Make use of daily stand-up, review and retrospectives Make use of Agile tooling to enhance sharing of knowledge: Kanban boards white boards bulletin boards burn-down/burn-up charts wikis website instant messaging – Skype, web conferencing, etc. online planning poker Since documentations are not encouraged, co-located teams can share tacit knowledge more readily SSeellff--oorrggaanniizzaattiioonn aanndd EEmmppoowweerrmmeenntt Self-organizing teams are the foundation for Agile project management Self organization includes: team formation, work allocation (members are encouraged to take up works beyond their expertise), self management, self correction and determining how to work is considered “done” Agile team is given the power to self-direct and self-organize by making and implementing decisions, including: work priority, time frames, etc. as they believe “the best person to make the decision is the one whose hands are actually doing the work” In Agile projects, the project manager/Coach/ScrumMaster practice servant leadership to remove roadblocks and obstacles and to enable the team to perform best Domain II Value-Driven Delivery The PMI-ACP Exam consists of 120 questions which can be categorised into seven domain. The second domain: DDoommaaiinn IIII VVaalluuee--DDrriivveenn DDeelliivveerryy is the knowledge about "delivering valuable results by producing high-value increments for review, early and often, based on stakeholder priorities and collecting feedback from the stakeholders on these increments, and using this feedback to prioritize and improve future increments" (source: PMI-ACP Examination Content Outline). Domain II Value-Driven Delivery accounts for 2200%% of all questions in the PMI-ACP Exam (i.e. ~2244 qquueessttiioonnss among 120 PMI-ACP Exam questions) According to the PMI-ACP Exam Content Outline, Domain II Value-Driven Delivery consists of 14 tasks grouped within 4 sub-domains: Define Positive Value 1. Deliver work iinnccrreemmeennttaallllyy to gain competitive advantage and early realization of value. 2. MMaaxxiimmiizzee vvaalluuee delivered to stakeholders while at the same time mmiinniimmiizzee nnoonn--vvaalluuee aaddddeedd wwoorrkk. 3. Reach consensus on the aacccceeppttaannccee ccrriitteerriiaa of the deliverables. 4. RReeffiinnee pprroojjeecctt pprroocceesssseess based on factors like team experience and organization preferences. Avoid Potential Downsides (Control Risk) 1. Make use of the concept of mmiinniimmaallllyy mmaarrkkeettaabbllee ffeeaattuurreess ((MMMMFF)) / mmiinniimmaallllyy vviiaabbllee pprroodduuccttss ((MMVVPP)) to deliver releasable increments fast. 2. Solicit ffeeeeddbbaacckk from stakeholders and review frequently to enhance value. 3. FFaaiill ffaasstt by carrying out experiments / spikes early on to reduce risk. Prioritization 1. CCoollllaabboorraattee wwiitthh ssttaakkeehhoollddeerrss to prioritize features in order to realize value early on. 2. RReevviieeww tthhee bbaacckklloogg pprriioorriizzaattiioonn with stakeholder frequently to optimize value delivery. 3. Identify and prioritize ccoonnttiinnuuoouussllyy the various changing factors affecting the project in order to enhance quality and increase value. 4. Both value producing and risk reducing work are prioritized in into the backlog in order to bbaallaannccee vvaalluuee aanndd rriisskkss (non-value). 5. Non-functional requirements (e.g. security, operations) will need to be considered and prioritized in order to minimize the likelihood of failure. Incremental Development 1. DDeevveelloopp tthhee pprroodduucctt iinnccrreemmeennttaallllyy to reduce risk and deliver value fast. 2. Inspections, testings and rreevviieewwss wwiitthh ssttaakkeehhoollddeerrss are carried out periodically to obtain feedback and make corrections as necessary. 3. Retrospectives allow overall iimmpprroovveemmeennttss to be made to the project process. PMI-ACP Study Notes: Domain II Value-Driven Delivery Below is a collection of the key knowledge addressed in Domain II Value-Driven Delivery and the 14 tasks related to the domain: VVaalluuee--ddrriivveenn ddeelliivveerryy is an overarching principle for Agile projects. Projects are carried out to realize values (e.g. economic benefits, competitive advantages, reducing risks, regulatory compliance, etc.) In terms of Agile project management (and the PMI-ACP exam), prioritization is the process where customers oorrggaanniizzee // sseelleecctt product backlog / user stories for implementation based on the perceived vvaalluueess VVaalluuee--bbaasseedd PPrriioorriittiizzaattiioonn is to organize things so that the most important ones that deliver values are to be dealt with first Return on investment (ROI) / Net present value (NPV) / Internal rate of return (IRR) are metrics to assess prioritization based on mmoonneettaarryy vvaalluueess rreettuurrnn oonn iinnvveessttmmeenntt ((RROOII)) – the values a project realized (using pprreesseenntt vvaalluuee) compared to the investment; a positive ROI means the project is profitable nneett pprreesseenntt vvaalluuee ((NNPPVV)) – the net future cash flow (pprrooffiitt –– eexxppeennddiittuurree) in terms of today’s value (adjusted for future inflation, etc.); a positive NPV means the project is profitable iinntteerrnnaall rraattee ooff rreettuurrnn ((IIRRRR)) – this is somewhat like the interest rate of the investment; the higher the positive IRR, the more profitable the project CCuussttoommeerr--vvaalluueedd PPrriioorriittiizzaattiioonn deliver the hhiigghheesstt vvaalluuee to the customers as eeaarrllyy as possible the backlog should be customer-valued prioritized while taking into accounts technical feasibilities, risks, dependencies, etc. in order to win customer support VVaalluuee PPrriioorriittiizzaattiioonn SScchheemmeess simple schemes – rank from high to low (priority 1, 2, 3, …) MMoSSCCoWW prioritization scheme – MMust have, SShould have, CCould have, WWould like to have, in future MMoonnooppoollyy mmoonneeyy – ask customers to give out (fake) money to individual business features in order to compare the relative priority 110000--PPooiinntt mmeetthhoodd – customers are allowed to give, in total 100 points, to various features DDoott vvoottiinngg // MMuullttii--vvoottiinngg – everyone is given a limited number of dots (~20% of the number of all options) to vote on the options KKaannoo aannaallyyssiiss – plot the features on a graph with axes as Need Fulfilled /