When requirements change faster than your project plan, as a project manager you can quickly lose track of time, become disoriented and appear unreliable. Our working world is becoming more complex, and developments are increasingly difficult to predict.
This is precisely where agile project management comes in.
Working on projects requires a clearer focus on business value, innovative strength and shorter, more reliable planning horizons. Agile project management certifications help you gain the right qualifications and strategically plan your career development.
What you will find out in this article:
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Agile is not your thing? Read about traditional project management certifications.
Did you know that Scrum Master and increasingly Product Owner are turning into fully-fledged job titles?
Originating in the name of a role in the Scrum team, these terms are explicitly used in job advertisements more and more often. Moreover, companies are including these terms in the career path for employees.
As in every field, the candidate’s experience is key. It must not be underestimated. Beyond professional experience, Scrum Masters require the below skills in their highly mediatory and supportive role:
In and around Scrum, there are countless misunderstandings. The successful introduction of the methods is also hugely dependent on the participants’ stock of knowledge.
This is why the basics of agile project management certifications, such as the Professional Scrum Master I by Scrum.org or the Scrum Alliance’s Certified Scrum Master, can be very helpful.
These two certifications are meant for those starting out in agile methods. Certificate holders indicate that they have understood the fundamental principles of the Scrum Framework and have demonstrated this in an exam.
By means of one of the above certifications, they furthermore show their readiness to:
The last point is particularly relevant if you are still at the beginning of your Scrum career.
Your agile project management certifications will demonstrate that, as a Scrum-Master-to-be or an active Scrum Master:
Excellent Scrum Masters do not limit themselves to Scrum alone. There is a variety of agile methods and approaches. They can be combined and have many aspects in common. For example, many methods are based on the following:
If in doubt whether a project needs an agile, traditional or hybrid approach, read this article.
Moreover, there are environment issues in organizations to which agile methods often pay little attention. For instance, we could name the following here:
All this takes us back from product development at individual team level for which Scrum was primarily developed to project management issues. This requires a more holistic and higher-level perspective on things.
This is where the PMI-ACP® (“Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner”) comes in.
The PMI-ACP certificate is geared towards people with experience of agile methodologies. It does not limit itself to a single framework but covers various agile approaches and methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean and SAFe.
The focus is on agile mindset, leadership, project development and delivery. It claims to gather the ideas of all agile methods and consolidate them in a standardized way.
The Project Management Institute (PMI)® is actually very serious concerning this goal: after all, its standard manual for the project management industry, the “Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge” (PMBOK® Guide) in the 6th edition was published in a bundle together with the new Agile Practice Guide in 2017.
The PMBOK® Guide is now in its 8th edition – the Agile Practice Guide has been available in its second edition since July 2026.
Apart from the consideration of individual agile methods, the Agile Practice Guide also contains guidelines and assistance for situational method selection. In addition, it bridges the gap between agile and traditional project management methods.
These are still very much needed in all the situations in which agile approaches are not sufficient to tackle problems.
The contents of the Agile Practice Guide are the result of the collaboration of the PMI with the Agile Alliance (an association of many promoters of agile ideas, not to be confused with the Scrum Alliance).
This indicates a solid expert base for the new Agile Practice Guide.
Since March 2018, this guide has also been the official exam reference for the PMI-ACP – but only as one of many relevant sources from the catalogue of agile literature.
As of late, the popularity of the Agile Certified Practitioner certificate has risen sharply. Hence, there is a demand for high quality material to prepare for the exam.
To prepare for the exam, the current PMI-ACP Examination Content Outline (ECO) is particularly important. It describes exam domains, subject areas as well as the knowledge, tools and techniques relevant to the exam.
The Agile Practice Guide – currently available in its second edition – can serve as supplementary reading to help understand agile approaches.
By the way, the PMI-ACP certificate and the traditional PMP® (Project Management Professional) of the PMI are an excellent combination of certificates.
Interested in hybrid project management? Learn how to combine agile and traditional methods in this article.
A valid PMP® certification makes it easier to get access to PMI-ACP certification, as it fulfils the requirement of agile work experience. Yet, proof of the required 21 hours of formal training in agile practices, frameworks and methodologies will be requested all the same.
Since January 2021, the PMP® exam has included additional questions on the following three project management approaches:
This means that even prospective PMPs must be familiar with a few agile ideas and methods now, e.g. Backlog maintenance, estimation methods or Retrospectives.
Below, you will find a comparison of the agile project management certifications mentioned in this article. In addition, we have included information on the certifications Certified Scrum Practitioner (CSP) for advanced agile project managers and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) for agile scaling.
Alternative: Online proctored exam (online exam with webcam monitoring by an offsite proctor)
Languages include English and German.
Tip: At TPG, we offer a Scrum company seminar with the option of taking the exam directly after. After only three days, participants will be able to hold their PSM I certificate in their hands.
Participation in the course is also possible without meeting these prerequisites. However, in this case no certificate will be acquired.
Since 2026, the exam syllabus has also included content on AI-empowered SAFe, prompting and responsible AI.
You are familiar with the most important agile project management certifications now. Yet, how do you know which one is right for you? Initially, it makes sense to begin with the basics of Scrum – thus, you create a good basis for the majority of the above certifications. Afterwards, you have the option to expand your knowledge as shown in the following figure:
This article has introduced you to agile project management certifications. You have also found out where the application of agile methods can make sense. Particular emphasis was placed on Scrum.
You have become familiar with the following agile certifications:
This will make it easier for you to judge which path would be most advisable for you and your employees.
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