What can you expect on the PMI-ACP exam?

• There were few questions that asked for a specific theory (e.g. Little's Law, or points of the Agile Manifesto)
• In many cases, 1-2 options could be excluded from the answers, but there was minimal variation between the rest. In this case, it may be a good tactic to evaluate the options along the agile principles and make choices based on that.
• Many (10+) questions dealt with some kind of change situation. For example: during an iteration, we are approached by a client to stop the current tasks immediately because a more important need has been identified. What do we do in this situation?
• In several questions, the specific methodology used had to be identified from the description of the task and could be used to answer the question correctly (e.g. scrum master vs. agile coach, or PO vs. customer).
• There were also quite a few questions about team dynamics, team development. We had to identify the best tools to support the team at a given stage and in a given situation.
• There are 3-4 questions about the applicability and purpose of information radiators.
• Several questions addressed WIP and kanban tables, but only one question asked for cycle times.
• Apart from the above, there was barely any calculation involved, such as estimating when the team was expected to finish the work based on a burndown chart.
• There were 4-5 questions about refactoring, with technical debt being at the centre of most of these questions.
• There were a few questions focusing on the differences between traditional and agile approaches.
• 4-5 questions asked about team composition, location and infrastructure.
• Time seems to be a lot and although the questions are a bit shorter than in the PMP exam, it still takes a lot of time to interpret the question and situation, with many of the "least, best, except" terms appearing, which fundamentally change the correct answer.
• A serious psychological pressure remains the constant counter and the sometimes unnecessary information that appears during the questions, which must be filtered out quickly.
• We need to replace the concept of agile project manager, in many cases describing otherwise real-life situations, with the right answer in this role.
• The exam does not focus on a specific methodology, in several cases the way of work or customisation, even the applicability of hybrid solutions, is included, where the solution considered best by the PMI has to be selected based on the partial information provided.

Location, environment

The exam can be taken in BME Building "Z", Bertalan Lajos Street, District XI. The examination system continues to work well, smoothly and without any disruptions. During the summer period, 5 people took the exam in different subjects at the same time, but participants are still called in and checked one by one, so the last candidate's start can be delayed by up to 20 minutes. As the proctors were already in at 8:30am, there was no need to wait for the 9am start. Food, drinks, watches and bags are still not allowed in the room, and everything, apart from ID cards and the paper and pen you have been given, must be put in a lockable cupboard. 3 hours is a long time, although the clock does not stop, a break is recommended. Overall, what is necessary for the exam is provided, but nothing more.