How do I become agile certified?
There are as many ways to become agile certified as there are agile qualifications (i.e. there are a lot of ways). How you choose to become agile certified depends on your career goals and what you think employers will expect from you.
Take some time to do your research. If you have a specific employer in mind, send them a message and ask which agile framework they use. Agile methodologies are largely interchangeable as they are all based on anthropocentric values (that is to say, they focus on people rather than things).
But, some industries may still prefer one agile method over another. For example, if you want to work in the software development industry, you might be working in an agile Extreme Programming (XP) environment. That’s because XP was made specifically for programmers and software development.
If you’re unsure which agile methodology is best for you and your career, you should probably invest in a more general course like AgilePM® or study an online course to learn an overview of agile (e.g. PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®. These courses will give you a broad understanding of agile methods and most importantly, the frameworks they use can be tailored to suit different contexts.
For the most part, one agile course won’t certify you as an agile practitioner. Most qualifications require you to complete two or more courses and pass their exams. There are some exceptions to this, but those courses are generally reserved for working professionals with at least a few months of agile experience under their belt.
