PMP (Project Management Professional) and ACP (Agile Certified Practitioners) are the two certifications that are being offered by PMI in two different sectors. PMP is considered more towards traditional project management with a bigger horizon, whereas ACP is having the focus towards the agile. Even though these are two separate dimensions, aspirants are often confused, selecting amongst the two. We would be discussing the two in detail. Still, if you are looking forward to going for any of the certifications mentioned above, you must opt for the training courses at the SPOTO Club.

Dimensions
There would be multiple aspects of one should look at while selecting from one certification in the place of others. Let’s have a look at these aspects, one after another, for adequately understanding the dilemma.

Future Aspirations
One driver for any certification is considered to be the future aspirations as well as career goals. E.g., a team leader would be aspiring to become a Project Manager after a while and wish to equip himself for the same with certification. Similarly, a developer would be willing to move towards the scrum master role.

Current Organization Needs
The current organization is considered to be the first preference always to grow for anyone as you would be already having a good track record for showing, and you have known people around who would have seen your work. The organizations also have requirements. If your organization is having a demand for qualified Project Managers, then you should give your preference to PMP as PMP would give a full overview of all it would be taking to manage a project end to end. Still, on the other hand, if your organization has a requirement of an agile environment and roles such as managers, which either aren’t there or are reduced day by day, you should opt for the ACP to be able to grow in agile practitioners track.

Knowledge Horizons
PMP definitely would be having a bigger horizon from the knowledge perspective as it would be covering all dimensions of Project Management, whereas ACP would be concentrating only on agile. In a nutshell, ACP is considered to be the subset of PMP, where sharp details would be discussed. The interest of an individual towards these knowledge horizons would help in selecting one out of others. It is considered to be essential for keeping in mind that if you work what you would love to do, you tend to be most efficient.

Mindset changes
Traditional Project Management, as well as an agile way of working, is a mindset change from managing to leading/coaching from controlling to self-organizing. Choosing a path depends on the organization’s mindset or target to go in, as for the customer and yourself. Few people would be having a mindset that work couldn’t be executed without a central controlling body. In contrast, another set would be saying that the more you give responsibility and accountability to individuals, the better they will be. Before concluding a career path, it is essential to check his thought process towards one of these and, accordingly, decide to go further.

Hence, you would be now aware of the difference between both the certification programs and would be having a proper mindset about which certification would be useful for which criterion. Thus far, if you are willing to go for any of the certifications, you must have a right and reliable training provider to help you out in your journey of achieving the same. To help you and support your mission, SPOTO Club is considered to be the best.