Agile project management course (Agile PM)

Agile PM (Agile Project Management) is a certification scheme developed by the Agile Business Consortium and APMG International. It covers agile philosophy, processes and techniques which help both project managers and development team members.

Accredited Agile Project Management training courses and certifications such as the ones listed on this page are based on DSDM.

There are 2 levels of Agile PM certification, each with an exam.

Agile PM Foundation

• Prerequisites: None
• Duration: 40 minutes
• Questions: 50 multiple-choice
• Pass-mark: 50%
• Suitable for: Current/aspiring Agile project team members.

Agile PM Practitioner

• Prerequisites: AgilePM Foundation
• Duration: 150 minutes
• Questions: 80 multiple-choice
• Pass-mark: 50%
• Suitable for: Current/aspiring Agile project team members and managers.

The easiest and most popular route to Agile PM certification is by attending a combined Agile PM Foundation and Practitioner course.

Does Agile PM certification help my career?

Employers globally recognise an AgilePM Agile Project Management qualification, especially those in the UK. By 2021 over 150,000 people had gained AgilePM qualifications.

If you are seeking an Agile Project Manager role, there is no better certification than AgilePM. If you are an agile developer perhaps with Scrum experience, AgilePM will give you a different but practical perspective on those elements that are missing from Scrum.

Traditional projects

Traditionally, project managers seeking governance and control on projects would use methods such as PRINCE2 and apply some of the techniques described in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (The PMBOK Guide) to help them manage projects.

Agile Manifesto

In 2000, agile proponents came together to publish the Agile Manifesto and has formed the guide for everything ‘agile’ ever since.

The authors of the manifesto wanted to address the common problems on traditional projects such as late delivery, over budget and quality problems. They argued this could be done by developing iteratively, embracing change, and closely collaborating with customers.

Scrum

Scrum is the most popular agile method. Many agilists believe that Scrum is a project management method. It is not.

Scrum is a development method used to help teams iteratively develop software, although recently Scrum has been used to deliver many more types of products than software.

Scrum has no project management capability

Delivery methods such as Scrum entirely lack a core project management capability. Specifically, Scrum does not address what comes before or after a project. It only focuses on what happens during a project. Decisions about whether to invest in project is lacking from Scrum.

That is why in recent years there has been an increasing desire to find methods that can be applied to the management of agile projects. One such method is DSDM.

Is AgilePM the same as DSDM?

DSDM is one of the earliest and best-known agile methods and was a signatory to the Agile Manifesto. DSDM is a proven, best-practice agile approach for managing projects and covers the entire project life cycle. DSDM is fully scalable for use on projects of any size and type.

DSDM differs from all other agile methods (including Scrum) because it integrates project management and product development into a single process. Many organisations just use DSDM, although some gain value from integrating DSDM with approaches such as PRINCE2.

AgilePM is based upon DSDM, and it incorporates the Agile Project Framework from DSDM. The key difference between DSDM and Agile PM is that DSDM does not have a certification scheme, whereas AgilePM does have.

Agile Project Management Handbook

Every Agile Project Management course follow the Agile PM syllabus which is based upon the guidance given in the Agile Project Management Handbook v2.

The handbook describes a practical and repeatable methodology that achieves a balance between the standards, rigour and visibility required for good project management, and the fast-pace, change and empowerment provided by Agile.

The handbook describes a practical and repeatable methodology that achieves a balance between the standards, rigour and visibility required for good project management, and the fast-pace, change and empowerment provided by Agile.

Scrum has no project management capability

The handbook is based on the Agile Business Consortium’s Agile Project Framework (established for over 20 years) which is the most up to date version of DSDM.

The handbook brings together the many different elements found in a project but in an Agile context. These are:

• Principles (the behaviours)
• People (roles and responsibilities)
• Process (the life cycle)
• Products (what is produced and when)
• Practices (timeboxing, modelling, iterative development, prioritization and facilitated workshops).

In short, it offers a structured and scalable corporate Agile framework based on proven practice.

Agile Project Management Handbook

Choosing the best agile project management course can be tricky. Some people get confused when choosing between an Agile Project Management course, or a PRINCE2 Agile course.

The simple advice is this. If you have already passed a PRINCE2 exam, then choose a PRINCE2 Agile course.

If you don’t already have a PRINCE2 qualification, then take an Agile Project Management course in London, or in virtual classroom format.

Or take an Agile Project Management course online using our interactive elearning course.

You have 3 ways to take an agile project management course, and the best option depends upon your individual situation.

Agile Project Management course – classroom

Take a virtual classroom Agile Project Management course if you can afford to spend 3 or 4 days in a classroom.

Agile Project Management course – online self-study

Take a self-study elearning Agile Project Management course online if you cannot afford to spend 3 or 4 days in a classroom, or you prefer to study on your own in your own time.