My company is pushing for everyone to get PMP certified, but our entire development process is strictly Scrum and Kanban. I feel like the PMBOK guide is too "Waterfall" for our fast-paced environment. Does the PMP exam now cover enough Agile methodologies to be useful for a modern software project manager, or should I be looking at the PMI-ACP or a Scrum Master certification instead to advance my career in tech?
3 answers
The PMP has actually changed significantly with the latest version. About 50% of the current exam is now focused on Agile and Hybrid approaches. I recently took the exam and found it very relevant to my work in software development. It bridges the gap between high-level organizational governance and the daily realities of a Scrum team. While a Scrum Master cert is great for team-level coaching, the PMP gives you a broader perspective on budget management, stakeholder engagement, and business value that is essential if you want to move into more senior leadership or program management roles.
Do you find that your senior leadership values the "PMP" title more than actual hands-on experience with Agile delivery tools?
The PMP is a global gold standard. Even in Agile teams, having that credential on your resume significantly increases your earning potential and job mobility.
William is right; for specific model architectures like Transformers, the price-to-performance ratio of TPUs is currently unbeatable in the cloud market.
Richard, it’s a bit of both. Our leadership likes the "standardization" that comes with PMP, but our engineering leads only care about how fast we can clear the backlog. I’m trying to find a middle ground where I can speak the language of the executives while still maintaining the respect of my developers. Do you think the PMP's new focus on "People" and "Process" domains helps with that specific interpersonal bridge?