SAFe-Agilist action - SAFe-Agilist Updated: 2024

An Agile business is able to adapt quickly to changes in the market and uses its resources at maximum efficiency. While Agile is most popular with software development teams, it can be beneficial to other organizations and departments.

An Agile certification allows project managers to develop the skills to use Agile philosophy in their work. There is no shortage of project management certifications on the market. However, Agile certifications are a bit limited. To help you narrow your search, we have rounded up the best Agile project management certifications of 2023.

SEE: Learn where you can put your upcoming Agile skills to the test with these top software development project management software.

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PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP): Best for experienced project managers

The PMI Agile Certified Practitioner certification is ideal for project managers with Agile experience and want to take their career to the next level. This certification is designed to help project managers become more efficient in Agile methods such as Kanban, Lean and Scrum.

Required skills

To qualify for the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner certification, participants must have:

• Secondary degree.
• Eight months of Agile project management experience in the last three years.
• Twelve months of general project management experience in the last five years. If you have a PMP or PgMP certification, you don’t need to show project management experience.
• Twenty-one contact hours of training in Agile methods.

Key skills taught

• Agile framework and terminology.
• Agile project accounting principles.
• Applying new Agile practices.
• Control limits for agile projects.
• Regulatory and organizational compliance.

Key differentiators

• Global recognition.
• Deep understanding of Agile approaches.
• Higher salary boost compared to other Agile certifications.

Duration of training and exam

To earn the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner certification, participants must answer 120 multiple-choice questions in three hours.

Cost of training and exam

• PMI Member: $435.00
• Nonmember: $495.00

ICAgile Certified Professional (ICP): Best for professionals new to Agile

The ICAgile Certified Professional certification is a widely recognized Agile certification that demonstrates a thorough understanding of Agile mindset, principles and values. Rather than focusing on a single Agile methodology, ICP helps project managers develop a well-rounded focus on several Agile frameworks, including SAFe, DSDM, Scrum and Kanban.

Required skills

No prerequisites are required for the ICP. However, participants are encouraged to have a decent working knowledge of the Agile framework.

Key skills taught

• Principles of Agile and Scrum.
• Widely applied frameworks of Agile.
• Using a combination of Agile frameworks and methods.
• Planning and estimation.

Key differentiators

• Focus on developing an Agile mindset.
• Well-rounded understanding of several Agile principles.
• Covers Agile fundamentals.
• Foundation-level certification.

Duration of training and exam

There is no exam for ICP. The certification requires a two-day course by a certified ICAgile instructor.

Cost of training and exam

Pricing starts at around $700, including ICP certification.

Certified ScrumMaster (CSM): Best for professionals leading teams in Scrum framework

A Scrum master is a professional that leads a team using an Agile project management approach and ensures the team adheres to the Scrum framework. The Certified ScrumMaster certification demonstrates the project management professional’s ability to serve as a coach through the tasks. The certification also helps professionals master the skills to assign and manage tasks in a dynamic environment.

Required skills

There are no fixed eligibility requirements for Certified ScrumMaster; however, it’s recommended that participants have a basic understanding of Scrum principles.

Key skills taught

• Scrum life cycle.
• Sprints.
• Agile methodologies.
• Scrum team accountability.
• Scrum terminology.

Key differentiators

• Focus on Scrum framework.
• Works for professionals from several industries.
• Requirement for some Scrum master jobs.

Duration of training and exam

The CSM course is expected to take 16 hours with two days of training. Once the course and training has been completed, participants can take the certification exam.

The duration of the exam is two hours, and it has 50 multiple-choice questions. Participants get two free attempts to pass the CSM test, after which there is a $25 test attempt fee.

Cost of training and exam

The price for training, exam and certification starts at $599.

AgilePM Foundation — APMG: Best for aspiring Agile leaders

The AgilePM Foundation certification — APMG — is designed for current project managers, but it’s most suited for Agile team members who are aspiring to become leaders or managers. With this certification, you learn a complete range of Agile methodologies ranging from basic to advanced.

Required skills

AgilePM Foundation has no prerequisites. The candidates must complete pre-course reading.

Key skills taught

• Assign the right Agile technique to the scenario.
• Managing Agile projects.
• Agile governance.
• Measure progress across projects.

Key differentiators

• Ideal step up for Agile team members to become Agile project managers.
• Deep knowledge of the Agile project management methodology.

Duration of training and exam

The training course for the AgilePM Foundation certification is five days. Once completed, participants can take the certification exam, which will require them to complete 50 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes.

Cost of training and exam

The cost for training and the exam for the AgilePM Foundation certification is $515.

Certified SAFe Agilist (Scaled Agile):Best for top-level executives and product managers

The Certified SAFe Agilist certification is designed for business owners and product managers who want to learn a scaled Agile framework, which is a set of Agile practices at the enterprise level. This certification will help managers learn how to Boost product quality, boost team productivity and increase employee engagement.

Required skills

To qualify for the Certified SAFe Agilist certification, participants must have:

• Working experience in Scrum.
• Five or more years of work experience in project management, business analysis, software development or product management.

Key skills taught

• Scaled Agile framework.
• Lean-Agile transformations.
• Building an Agile portfolio.
• Business transformation using Agile.

Key differentiators

• Geared towards business owners, top-level executives and product managers.
• Focused on Scaled Agile concepts.

Duration of training and exam

The training period for the Certified SAFe Agilist certification is two days. Participants must then take an exam, which means answering 45 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes.

Cost of training and exam

• Cost of training and exam starts at $599.
• First two exam attempts are free. exam retake fee is $50

Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO): Best for Agile product owners

The role of the product owner is to decide what their team will create next to deliver more value to the customer. The Certified Scrum Product Owner certification demonstrates the ability of a product owner to ensure their team stays on target. This certification teaches the principles and framework to manage Scrum teams and how to get the maximum return on investment out of a project.

Required skills

There are no eligibility requirements for the Certified Scrum Product Owner.

Key skills taught

• Managing product backlog.
• Hands-on practice in creating product vision.
• Learning new ways to generate value for the product.

Key differentiators

• Designed for existing product owners.
• No exam.
• More advanced compared to the CSM and several other Scrum certifications.

Duration of training and exam

There is no exam to earn the CSPO certification. Instead, participants must take a two-day course that involves around 14 to 16 hours of training.

Cost of training and exam

You can expect to spend around $795 for this certification.

What are the benefits of Agile project management certifications?

Agile project management certification provides the training, ability and confidence to build and manage efficient teams. It teaches how to deliver value consistently and react and adapt to change with ease. With an enhanced understanding and knowledge of Agile methodologies, project managers can Boost project outcomes through better planning and collaboration.

At a personal level, the Agile project management certification helps create greater career opportunities and advanced potential. It also helps boost networking opportunities and provides access to online resources for continued learning and development.

How do I choose the best Agile project management certification?

Using an Agile project management philosophy offers several benefits, as highlighted above. You need certified Agile project managers to implement agility in your organization. Fortunately, there are several certifications to choose from. You can get advanced certification from experienced project managers, who want to take their skills to the next level, or you can get more foundational courses that help aspiring Agile leaders develop their skills.

Along with the level of expertise or experience, you will have to consider what type of skills you want to learn and demonstrate through the certification. For example, if you are a product manager wanting to adopt Agile project management into your work, you should focus on certifications geared towards product management, such as the Certified SAFe Agilist or Certified Scrum Product Owner certification.

Review methodology

For the best Agile project management certifications for 2023, we wanted to not only offer the best certifications but also provide a variety in the type of certification. To choose the best certification, we looked at multiple factors, including whether the certification is well-recognized across the industry and whether the certification providers are reputable. In addition, we looked at the certification websites to gather information about the learning material, training, exam and cost of each certification.

Ready to put your training and skills to the test? Check out our list of the best Agile project management software.

As the demand for SAFe expertise accelerates globally, there is a growing focus on SAFe Agilists and the critical role they play in a SAFe implementation and successful delivery of value at the team and program level. The SAFe^® 5 Agilist (SA) credential is a must have certification for individuals looking to boost their value in today’s career marketplace.

• Executives and Leaders, Managers, Directors, CIOs, and VPs
• Development, QA, and Infrastructure Management
• Program and Project Managers
• Product and Product Line Management
• Portfolio Managers, PMO, and Process Leads
• Enterprise, System, and Solution Architects

All are welcome to attend the course, regardless of experience. However, the following prerequisites are highly recommended for those who intend to take the SAFe^® 5 Agilist (SA) certification exam: 5+ years’ experience in software development, testing, business analysis, product or project management; experience in Scrum.

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When your organization begins using Agile methodology for projects in the development pipeline, success hinges of many things, but none more important than the team members themselves — their success and their buy-in. And in an Agile environment, if your software engineers are the players, then the Scrum Master is the team manager and is instrumental to achieve the results you want from your newly streamlined pipeline. With that in mind, let’s explore some of the skills and traits that make a world- class Scrum Master.

What Makes a Great Scrum Master?  
A great way to think of a Scrum Master is as the coach of the Scrum team. They are there to help the players succeed and to help the team win — where winning is understood to be achieving the business goals for whatever software development is underway while helping the individual team members get better. In a well-designed team, the two go hand-in-hand: individual and team success. Team cohesion and empowerment are the core of what great Agile teams do.

Scrum Master Skills
A Scrum Master needs to have many of the core skills expected in technical and leadership roles:  communication, adaptability, technical capability, and flexibility. These are important, but they are not what differentiates a good Scrum Master from a great one. What does differentiate a great Scrum Master is a strong analytical mindset and superb facilitation skills.

Facilitation skills are the close cousin of communication skills, but they are different in important ways. The Scrum Master should lead the Scrum process and offer ideas on how to Boost the effectiveness of meetings, discussions and Scrum events. They should also increase the transparency of the processes within the team. The Scrum Master advises teams on which techniques are helpful and which aren’t. Sometimes, the Scrum Master must take on the role of psychologist to manage the stress level of the team or to resolve conflicts.  Conflict resolution expertise is an added benefit in these situations.

The Scrum master provides support and coaching to team members. Scrum Masters help their dev teams, product owners and the entire organization understand what Scrum is and when (and how) it works best. Remember, the Scrum Master is not a manager. A Scrum Master is a servant-leader and should be an example of persuasion, the right approach, and process discipline (though with a firm grounding in the real world). Scrum Masters should push the team to maximize their efforts as a part of the team, through persuasion, and not using authority or ‘because I said so’ mentality.

Scrum Masters are typically not the technical mentor for software developers. This should be done by either a technical lead or software architect who is part of the team.  If an organization has a separate architect group or innovation team, these groups can also provide technical mentorship. Technical mentorship is something that every developer wants and eventually aspires to provide. The Scrum Master does not need to provide it, but if they know there is a vacuum, they should be helping to address it for the sake of the individual, team, and success of the business.

How to Acquire Scrum Master Skills
With all this expertise, you might be wondering how to acquire this unique skill set. Part of this is about practice and experience, where you can see first-hand how to become a more intuitive facilitator and leader. When it comes to Scrum specifics, the best ways to gain this expertise are continuous education (reading, classes, certifications, blogs, etc.) and practice. The best way to completely digest the Scrum Master’s roles and responsibilities is to read the “Scrum Guide” from the authors of the Scrum framework, Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland.

If possible, you should also seek the advice of experienced Scrum Masters within your organization. Large organizations may find it beneficial to employ not just one but multiple Scrum Masters. Seeking the mentorship of those more experienced than you can provide valuable insights. It can be advised to run training classes for aspiring Scrum Masters that teach both theory and practical insights from those doing the job day-to-day in a consulting setting.

Some of the more experienced Scrum Masters might have a certification attached to their title. The question is if certification is necessary to be a good Scrum Master or to acquire a Scrum Master position. In short, the answer is no, but it is highly recommended. Even the best self-taught or highly experienced individuals can benefit from certification.

The primary benefits of certification are a comprehensive understanding of fundamentals and fully articulating the ‘why’ of something. Knowing the ‘why’ is particularly important when you begin working with an individual or organization who is new to Scrum.

Often, people are attached to the benefits of earlier development methodologies. For these individuals, it is very helpful and important to articulate ‘why’ the Scrum Master (or product owner or team members) do what they do and why the Scrum Master recommends things be done a certain way.

However, if you decide to take the self-education route, you need to strategically select your educational resources in the appropriate way. Today, there is a bounty of Scrum courses, but not all of them are of high quality.

If you would like to save time, take a look at the courses from the founders of Scrum, found here. However, if you would like to save money, you can study independently and read “The Scrum Guide,” complete the  Scrum open assessments and read “Scrum and XP from the Trenches.” The quickest way to get up to speed is to read the books and to take a certification course of your own.

Scrum Master Skills are Every-Role Skills
Once you have acquired the skills and the certification, there may be concerns about pigeon-holing yourself into the Scrum Master role. However, the skills that are necessary to be a great Scrum Master are highly transferable to other roles. In fact, they are directly transferable in the sense that even non-software projects can be run with Scrum. They are also indirectly transferable, in that encouraging participation, commitment and buy-in are at the core of any team, regardless of the nature of the work.

Core principles, such as ownership or inspect and adapt, have universal value, as does the concept of servant-leadership, which has been espoused by many organizations, methodologies and leaders across the world in many different industries and pursuits.

However, don’t worry about needing to look for new positions any time soon, as the long-term outlook for a Scrum Master role looks promising. Software and technology are essential to nearly every business and Agile is at the core of most companies that develop software (whether that is a by-product of what they do). As a result, enterprises need Scrum Masters, many medium-sized businesses need Scrum Masters, and high-tech companies of all sizes need Scrum Masters.

Thus, experienced Scrum Masters with good knowledge and practice in Scrum should consider learning various Scaled Scrum approaches, such as SAFe, less, Nexus and Scrum@Scale. This will allow them to work and apply their knowledge on much bigger projects.

Once you’ve mastered Scrum, it can also be worthwhile to study other alternatives. By knowing about multiple Agile methodologies, you can easily try alternative strategies as needed for a project or support effort when the situation itself does not lend itself to Scrum.

Being a Scrum Master tends to attract a specific type of employee, but in studying the methodologies of Scrum and learning the tactics for facilitating and leading an Agile organization, anyone up to the challenge can take advantage of all the benefits that Scrum has to offer.

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The U.S. Supreme Court gave universities, employers and international students a victory by declining to review a long-litigated case on practical training and work authorization. A group argued DHS could not expand Optional Practical Training (OPT) from 12 to 36 months in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. However, several court decisions found that the Department of Homeland Security possessed the authority to expand STEM OPT to 36 months.

Educators consider OPT and STEM OPT essential because practical training benefits students’ education and encourages them to enroll in U.S. universities. The additional 24 months in STEM OPT also allows employers a better opportunity to secure an H-1B petition for students. Business trade associations were permitted to participate in the case as “intervenors” due to their interests in the litigation’s outcome. Even with OPT and STEM OPT, it is much easier in Canada and elsewhere to transition from international student to temporary work status and permanent residence than in the United States.

Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (Washtech) filed a petition for writ of certiorari to ask the Supreme Court to review a D.C. Circuit decision in favor of DHS’s authority. On October 2, 2023, the Supreme Court denied the petition for writ of certiorari. That means no further review of the D.C. Circuit’s earlier decision in favor of STEM OPT will occur.

The 2022 D.C. Circuit Decision

On October 4, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decided 2-1 in favor of DHS, affirming a November 2020 order and a January 2021 opinion.

“Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (Washtech) argues that the statutory definition of the F-1 visa class precludes the Secretary from exercising the time-and-conditions authority to allow F-1 students to remain for school-recommended practical training after they complete their coursework,” according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit opinion. “But that argument wrongly assumes that, beyond setting terms of entry, the visa definition itself precisely demarcates the time and conditions of the students’ stay once they have entered. Congress gave that control to the Executive.

“The F-1 definition tethers the Executive’s exercise of that control, but by its plain terms does not exhaustively delimit it. We hold that the statutory authority to set the time and conditions of F-1 nonimmigrants’ stay amply supports the Rule’s OPT program.

“The practical training opportunities the Rule permits reasonably relate to the terms of the F-1 visa. The INA’s text and structure make clear that Congress intended the Secretary’s time-and-conditions authority to be exercised in a manner appropriate to the types of people and purposes described in each individual visa class—a constraint that the Secretary’s overarching administrative-law obligations confirm. To be valid, the challenged post-graduation OPT Rule, including its STEM extension, must reasonably relate to the distinct composition and purpose of the F-1 nonimmigrant visa class. We hold that they do.

“The Rule closely ties students’ practical training to their course of study and their school. OPT is time-limited, and the extension period justified in relation to the visa class. The record shows that practical training not only enhances the educational worth of a degree program, but often is essential to students’ ability to correctly use what they have learned when they return to their home countries. That is especially so in STEM fields, where hands-on work is critical for understanding fast-moving technological and scientific developments.

“Finally, Washtech sees another lack of statutory authority for the Rule: In its view, the Executive cannot authorize any employment at all, including for Optional Practical Training. That argument fails, too. As Congress itself has recognized, the Secretary’s statutory authority to set the ‘conditions’ of nonimmigrants’ stay in the United States includes the power to authorize employment reasonably related to the nonimmigrant visa class. Authorizing foreign students to engage in limited periods of employment for practical training as their schools recommend according to the terms set out in the Rule is a valid exercise of that power.”

Implications Of The Court Decisions

Attorneys applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to deny the petition for writ of certiorari.

“This gives some much-needed peace of mind to STEM students and graduates so they can plan out their immigration status,” said Dan Berger of Curran Berger & Kludt. “This will also help the Biden administration move forward with its 2022 STEM immigration initiatives with the knowledge that all immigration tools available are being used to attract and retain STEM talent.”

In April 2023, a federal judge cited the STEM OPT case when ruling in favor of the Department of Homeland Security’s regulation to allow the spouses of H-1B visa holders to work.

In that case, Save Jobs USA argued Congress never gave DHS the authority to provide work authorization to H-4 spouses and other foreign nationals. “But as the D.C. Circuit has recently explained, that contention runs headlong into the text of the INA, decades of Executive-branch practice, and both explicit and implicit congressional ratification of that practice,” according to District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan’s opinion. “The Circuit’s analysis in Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. United States Department of Homeland Security is directly applicable to this case.”

The D.C. Circuit “squarely rejected” the argument that “DHS lacked statutory authority to authorize employment” as part of Optional Practical Training after an international student graduates from school, noted the judge.

“The decision of the Supreme Court was not a surprise, seeing as how the government had won at every lower level,” according to Lynden Melmed, a partner with Berry Appleman & Leiden (BAL) and a former chief counsel of USCIS. “But it brings much-needed certainty to a program critical to retaining talent in the United States.”

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