Agile Manifesto values, the 12 principles, servant leadership, and an agile mindset
Domain Weight
Agile Principles and Mindset accounts for 16% of the PMI-ACP exam.
This domain tests the philosophy behind agile rather than a single framework. Questions typically describe a team situation and ask which agile value or principle it reflects, or which mindset shift is needed to resolve it.
Four Values of the Agile Manifesto
Valued More
Valued Less
Individuals and interactions
Processes and tools
Working software
Comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration
Contract negotiation
Responding to change
Following a plan
Key Principles to Recognize
Highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software
Welcome changing requirements, even late in development
Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months
Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project
Build projects around motivated individuals and trust them to get the job done
Working software is the primary measure of progress
Promote a sustainable pace that sponsors, developers, and users can maintain indefinitely
Simplicity, the art of maximizing the work not done, is essential
The best architectures and designs emerge from self-organizing teams
At regular intervals the team reflects on how to become more effective, then adjusts
Servant Leadership
The leader serves the team by removing impediments, protecting focus, and coaching rather than directing. Authority is used to enable the team, not to assign tasks.
Self-Organizing Teams
The people closest to the work decide how to do it. The team owns its process, estimates, and commitments instead of waiting for instructions.
Cynefin Framework
Cynefin helps match approach to context: Clear (best practice), Complicated (expert analysis), Complex (probe, sense, respond), and Chaotic (act, sense, respond). Agile fits complex work where cause and effect are only clear in hindsight.
Exam Focus Areas
The Manifesto still values items on both sides; it simply values the left side more when there is a tradeoff
For mindset questions, choose the option that trusts the team and responds to change over one that adds control
Servant leadership means removing impediments and shielding the team, not assigning work
Sustainable pace is a principle, so overtime is not an acceptable agile answer
Practice This Domain
Test your understanding with free practice questions at /certifications/pmi/acp/practice — focus on: Agile Manifesto (4 values, 12 principles), Servant leadership, Self-organizing teams.
