APMG-International the leading examination institute, the very same people that are responsible for accrediting PRINCE2 and Managing Successful Programmes (MSP), have now launched (October 2010) the Agile Project Management (AgilePM) certification.

Although AgilePM is brought to us by APMG-International; it is the end result of an effective collaboration between two authorities, APMG-International and The DSDM Consortium. [The DSDM Consortium is the authority in DSDM and the organization that drives best practice and learning in Agile project delivery.]

This new certification is supported in the same way as PRINCE2, MSP, etc. through an APMG-International controlled accreditation and certification process.

It appears that AgilePM is a hybrid of DSDM Atern, aimed to complement and work with existing corporate processes, expressly PRINCE2. Its guiding principles are focused on facilitating successful projects, but allowing agility that few other methodologies can touch. Whilst based on the proven fundamentals that DSDM Atern affords, AgilePM moreover provides the ability to deliver agile projects where project management standards and rigor are demanded, but concurrently facilitating the empowerment, rapid pace, and flexibility provided by Agile.

Excellent news for PPM practitioners. Although PRINCE2 is firmly established as one of the world’s leading project management methods, there are times when a more agile approach is necessitated.

Previously, PRINCE2-based organizations that required (or had customers demanding) their projects to be executed in a more agile way (but unhappy with the uncertainty of embracing pure agile project delivery), have adopted and adapted DSDM Atern. Certainly, this approach has been beneficial when either the project faced rigid deadlines, or was subject to unclear or moving requirements, resulting in changes later in the project life cycle. Regulatory compliance projects would be a fine example; in these instances, deliverables need to be delivered by fixed dates (these externally imposed deadlines are immovable, and failure to comply would result in the organization incurring penalties, often hefty ones!), also that the regulatory requirements, although set in principal, would often require interpretation by specialists and SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) and this can result in late changes to those requirements and subsequent change to project deliverables.

APMG-International states that AgilePM is “based on the proven fundamentals within DSDM Atern, the certification provides the ability to deliver agile projects in organizations requiring standards, rigor and visibility around Project Management, while at the same time enabling the fast pace, change and empowerment provided by Agile”, it “Complements and works with existing corporate processes such as PRINCE2®, quality and audit processes which improves rigor and visibility around project management, leading to a proven track record of successful delivery in a corporate environment.

More information is available on APMG-International’s Agile Project Management (AgilePM) section

What are your thoughts on this development?