Why the PMI Agile Certification is a Good Thing

So by now the PMI Agile Certification is probably old news to most folks. There have been plenty of blog posts on the topic. One of my favorites was that of Dennis Stevens, found here.

I was thinking about the bigger picture of what the certification can mean. Back when I got my PMP certification (about 10 years ago now), not a lot of people knew what it was. Now most jobs for project managers ask for the PMP certification. With PMI's large membership and reach, I think this will help agile project management become more mainstream.

As a case and point, I started a new project the other week. The project included IT folks on the client side, plus some consultants (from one of the big firms). They talked about doing the project using agile and iterative techniques. I even spent time walking them through the agile methodology my company developed. However, two days later, they were asking when I would provide the "detailed project plan." It was clear that in spite of their words, they really didn't get what agile was.

Now that PMI is doing agile, it's going to get more attention among main-stream project managers. My hope is that people will at least take a few minutes to understand some of the principles (Dennis's post laid them out nicely). Now I know agile is not the right approach for every project. However, I think in order to make an informed decision, you need some facts. And when you find yourself in an agile project, you at least know the right questions to ask.