Hi Richard, I agree with Sameer's thorough assessment.
If you decide to pursue the PMI-ACP, do it with the right expectations - it will give you a good overview of all the agile concepts, make you intimately familiar with the agile-speak (language and way of thinking), which are all useful.
But it can often be quite different from what is practically applied in most organizations today, so some amount of mental gymnastics are required to reconcile theory and practice.

Hello Richard,

Congrats on the promotion!! Let me try to answer your question "Is PMI-ACP the right next step?"

Where It helps:
- PMI-ACP is not just about Scrum. It covers Kanban, XP, Lean, and hybrid models — so you get a more holistic view.
- As a new leader, especially at a larger org, this cert gives you some professional weight when coaching teams or working with PMs or execs.
- It standardizes your Agile vocabulary and thinking.
- It helped many folks in shifting from “running agile ceremonies” to actually “coaching agile behaviors.” That's a key leadership evolution.

Where it is less Useful:
- PMI-ACP is more conceptual than practical. If you’re looking for deep tool or engineering-focused Agile (e.g. CI/CD, DevOps pipelines), this won’t cover that.
- It is not a Game-Changer if You're Already Agile-Literate.

To summarize, PMI-ACP is a great move if you're early in your leadership journey and want to solidify your Agile fluency. If you're already well-versed and looking to go deeper, you might explore other paths.

Hope this helps.

Hey everyone,

I've been promoted to lead engineering teams. While I'm relatively new to the company, I've been applying some Agile principles like running retros, adjusting delivery pipelines, and managing flow via Kanban.

Recently, I started wondering if this certification is the right next step. For learners or passers, did it challenge or change the way you lead?

Looking for honest insight