Best Project Management Certifications for Software Development and Cloud Projects in 2024
- Jacinth Paul
- Jan 3, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Aug 2, 2024
There are a variety of project management certifications available, and it might be challenging to choose the right one for you. As a software engineer, scrum master, or project manager, you will find a lot of certifications available and its overwhelming. This blog helps you choose which one suits you best. These certifications will give an edge over the competition for aspiring project managers:
Project Management Professional
Certified Scrum Master
Professional Scrum Master
Agile Coaching Certification
Agile Certified Practitioner
Kanban Management Professional
SAFe Agilist Certification
Prince2 Practitioner Certification
ITIL 4 Foundation
Certified Scrum Product Owner
Why is it important to have professional certifications?
Certifications are valued in the software industry for several reasons. .
Certifications give a recognized standard evaluation of a person's knowledge, skills, and competencies in a certain field or area.
Certifications enable individuals to acquire new information and abilities in a specific area and remain current on the latest trends and best practices in the sector.
Certifications can demonstrate to employers and others that a person is dedicated to their job and prepared to invest in their own development and advancement.
Certifications can be a useful networking and professional development opportunity, allowing people to engage with others in their sector.
In this blog post, we'll talk about the different types of project management certifications and what they involve, so you can choose the one that's best for your job.
These project management certifications are best suited for entry-level professionals with approximately 5 years of software industry experience to senior project managers with up to 10 years of experience in project management field managing multiple projects.
Note:
The pricing details provided for below project management certifications is indicative and mostly varies as per the certification training institute and geographic location.
1. Project Management Professional
PMP (Project Management Professional) is a certification offered by PMI (Project Management Institute), USA. PMP provides project managers the recognition and qualification necessary to succeed in your project management career.
It covers project management principles and domains covering topics from Planning, Project Life Cycle, Value Delivery, Monitoring & Reporting, Risk Management, Quality Management, Communication, Scheduling etc to manage complex projects effectively.
Eligibility
To qualify as a Project Management Professional, an individual must be a graduate, have at least three years of experience leading multiple projects, 35 hours of project management education/training.
Further information regarding PMP can be found on official website of Project Management Institute - pminstitute.org.
Certification Link
Cost
For a PMI Member: ₹23,459.00 (284 USD) and for Non-Member: ₹42,863.00 (520 USD)
Project Management Professional certification will be highly beneficial for those who intend to pursue career opportunities in project management in software development and web3 projects.
This is considered one the the toughest of certifications to crack. It requires formal project management training and one the the most reputed in the industry.
PMBOK7 covers the concepts of both traditional and agile development approaches.
Other popular certifications in related path
Program Management Professional (PgMP)
Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)
2. Certified Scrum Master
The Certified Scrum Master certification (CSM) from Scrum Alliance is a valuable credential for any aspiring or current Scrum Master.
Eligibility
To be eligible, you must have completed the 2 Days CSM training from a certified and authorized training provider followed by a written exam.
The cost of taking CSM will depend on the level of instructor-led training, virtual instruction, and self-paced eLearning that you choose.
You can find out more about CSM by visiting scrumalliance.org.
Certification Link
Cost
Typically INR 18,000 (218 USD) to INR 25,000 (300 USD) depending on the institute and the geographic location.
This is a basic certification for anyone who wishes to be a Scrum Master. The certification is much simpler than PMP, but tougher than the PSM issued by Scrum.org.
Anyone who is leading agile teams or wishes to move into agile roles will greatly benefit to have either a CSM or a PSM.
Other popular certifications in related path
Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM)
Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM)
3. Professional Scrum Master
A Professional Scrum Master (PSM 1) certification from Scrum.org is a great way for experienced Agile practitioners to demonstrate their knowledge and competence as a Scrum Master.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for the PSM 1 certification, applicants must have a minimum of one year’s experience managing projects and serving as an actively involved Scrum Master.
The PSM certification exam administered by Scrum.org costs $150 USD.
You can directly attend the PSM exam and score 85% in a 1-hour time limit to get the certificate, but it is recommended that you take the 2-day PSM training offered by certification institutes.
You can find out more about PSM 1, 2 and 3 certifications for scrum masters by visiting https://www.scrum.org/
Certification Link
Cost
Only exam fee INR 12,300 (150 USD)
2 Days training + Exam fee INR 25000 (300 USD)
Other popular certifications in related path
Professional Scrum Master (PSM 2)
Professional Scrum Master (PSM 3)
4. Agile Coaching Certification
This Agile Coaching Certification (ICP-ACC) is intended for scrum masters, agile coaches, and aspiring coaches who wish to learn and practice facilitation, professional coaching, mentoring, and teaching in support of agile project team members.
Only a 3 Day training needs to be attended and there is no exam for ICP-ACC certification.
You can find out more about IC Agile certifications for by visiting https://www.icagile.com/
Eligibility
There are no prerequisites for the ICP-ACC certification training, however a fundamental grasp of Agile and experience working with Agile project team members and managing projects is recommended.
Certification Link
Cost
Pricing highly varies as per the training institute from INR 20,000 (240 USD) to INR 1,64,000 (2000 USD)
Other popular certifications in related path
Agile Team Facilitation (ICP-ATF)
Enterprise Agile Coaching (ICP-ENT)
5. Agile Certified Practitioner
The Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) is a certification offered by PMI (Project Management Institute). ACP provides project management professionals the recognition and qualification necessary to succeed in Agile practices and frameworks.
Eligibility
To qualify for PMI-ACP an individual must be a graduate, have at least One year of cumulative project management experience and 8 months in agile, 21 hours of agile project management education, not to mention the required exam fee.
Further information regarding Agile Certified Practitioner can be found on PMI's official website - pminstitute.org.
Certification Link
Cost
For a PMI Member: ₹25,196.00 (305 USD) and for Non-Member: ₹38,229.00 (463 USD)
This project management certification will be highly beneficial for those who intend to pursue career opportunities in Agile software development and web3 projects.
This is one of the best project management certifications on agile practices which covers multiple frameworks like Scrum, Kanban, XP including agile planning and estimation, risk management etc. It enhances overall agile project management skills.
Agile Practice Guide from PMI covers the concepts required for this certification
6. Kanban Management Professional
The Kanban Management Professional (KMP) is offered by Kanban University. This requires completion of two trainings on Kanban system design and Kanban Systems Improvement.
This certification equips candidates with the fundamentals of Kanban, flow, and how to create a Kanban system, how to adapt, improve, and scale a Kanban system.
Eligibility
There are no prerequisites for attaining this certification. It is expected that attendees will have read "Kanban" by David J. Anderson or "Kanban from the Inside" by Mike Burrows. Students completing both courses;
Kanban Systems design and
Kanban Systems Improvements course
will receive the Kanban Management Professional (KMP) credential.
Certification Link
Cost
INR 35,000 including the trainings and exam fee. However the fee in dollars is 1200 USD. (Source - KnowledgeHut)
Other popular certifications in related path
Team Kanban Practitioner (TKP)
Kanban Coaching Professional (KCP)
Kanban boards are used is many teams even following other frameworks. having a certification in Kanban helps in a structured implementation approach.
7. SAFe Agilist Certification
The SAFe Agilist Certification (Leading SAFe) is intended for management professionals working in or looking to work in scaled agile teams which are distributed and many times global in nature.
A two day training and an exam of 90 minutes with 45 questions needs to be cleared (77% passing percentage) to attain the certification.
Good information on scaled agile and in general agile concepts can be found here on the official website - https://www.scaledagileframework.com/
Eligibility
There are no prerequisites for availing this certification, however, prior experience in scaled agile teams, scrum and lean will be beneficial.
Certification Link
Cost
INR 59,000 (USD 715) including the trainings and exam fee. Discounts are not included here. Normally most of the institutes offer discounted pricing which sometimes comes upto INR 42,000 (USD 500).
Other popular certifications in related path
SAFe Scrum Master (SSM)
SAFe Program Consultant (SPC)
SAFe Release train Engineer (RTE)
8. Prince2 Practitioner Certification
Prince2 Practitioner is a certification offered by Axelos, UK. Prince2 Practitioner certification provides project managers the recognition and qualification necessary to succeed in the field and is similar to PMP.
Prince2 project management certification is more popular in the European Union projects and the certification exam is simpler compared to Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
Eligibility
To qualify for Prince2 Practitioner certification, an individual must have cleared the foundational certifications or equivalents with the project management basics.
Further information regarding Prince2 Practitioner can be found on Axelos's official link: https://eu-assets.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt637b065823946b12/blt305391567d3df119/PRINCE-pre-recognition.pdf
Certification Link
Cost
In India the certification cost for only Prince2 Practitioner starts from INR 30,000 (360 USD). The cost differs from region to region and institute to institute ranging upto 1000 USD.
In case if your looking to do both Prince2 Foundation (pre requisite for Practitioner ) and Prince2 Practioner, the cost would be starting from around INR 45,000.
Other popular certifications in related path
PRINCE2 Agile Foundation
PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner
9. ITIL 4 Foundation
ITIL foundation is a certification offered by Axelos, UK. ITIL Foundation certification is beneficial to project managers working on complex projects in a IT service management setting.
This certification helps to understand the basics, terminology, concepts of ITIL framework and to pursue any other advanced certifications in ITIL.
Eligibility
There are no prerequisites for availing this certification. Further information regarding ITIL certifications can be found on Axelos's official website: https://www.axelos.com/
Certification Link
Cost
In India the certification cost for ITIL Foundation starts from INR 30,000 (360 USD). The cost differs from region to region and institute to institute ranging upto 400 USD. The cost includes both training and exam fees.
Other popular certifications in related path
ITIL 4 Managing Professional
ITIL 4 Strategic Leader
10. Certified Scrum Product Owner
The Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) certification from Scrum Alliance is a valuable credential for any software management professional.
This is a product management related certification and not a project management certification. However, as Project Managers, Program Managers or Scrum Masters there would be a close collaboration with Product roles as you manage projects and having this certification will help develop a product mindset and better understanding on value prioritization and delivery.
Eligibility
To be eligible, you must have completed the 2 Days CSPO training from a certified and authorized training provider followed by a written exam.
The cost of taking CSPO will depend on the level of instructor-led training, virtual instruction, and self-paced eLearning that you choose.
This is a basic certification for anyone who wishes to be a Product Owner (a product management role in scrum framework).
Anyone who is leading agile product teams or works regularly with product roles will greatly benefit to have a CSPO. You can find out more about CSM by visiting scrumalliance.org.
Certification Link
Cost
Typically INR 20,000 (240 USD) to depending on the institute and the geographic location upto 500 USD in the US..
Other popular certifications in related path
Advanced Certified Scrum Product Owner (A-CSPO)
Factors to consider while choosing a certification
When selecting among the project management certification programs, it is essential to examine the following factors:
The certification organization's standing and reliability: Choose a project management certification that is well recognised and respected. Look for certifications issued by organisations that have been accredited.
The certification's compatibility with your career objectives: Consider the certification's specific skills and knowledge and whether or not they correspond with your present position or desired career path.
The certification requirements and qualifying criteria: Ensure that you comprehend the certification's requirements, including any experience or academic prerequisites, and that you meet them.
Consider the cost of the certification as well as the time and effort required to complete it, and ensure that you are willing and able to devote the necessary resources.
Value and recognition of the certification: Investigate the value and recognition of the certification in the job market and consult with others in the field to determine its worth.
Conclusion
Hope the information on various project and program management certifications and project management education providers will be helpful in your decision making. With the right certification, you enhance your project management skills, can legitimize your experience, elevate your career, and boost your earning potential.
Selecting the best project management certification depends on your experience level, project context and where you are in your career in software development or blockchain related web3 projects. Good luck!
If you have any questions about these project management certifications on which project management or program management certification is right for you, please reach out or leave a comment below.
References
Agile Certified Practitioner | PMI. (n.d.). Www.pmi.org. https://www.pmi.org/certifications/agile-acp
Agile Coaching Certification | ICP-ACC. (n.d.). ICAgile. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://www.icagile.com/certification/agile-coaching
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) Course | Scrum Alliance. (n.d.). Www.scrumalliance.org. https://www.scrumalliance.org/get-certified/product-owner-track/certified-scrum-product-owner
ITIL 4 Foundation Certification | Axelos. (n.d.). Www.axelos.com. https://www.axelos.com/certifications/itil-service-management/itil-4-foundation
Kanban Development Path | Kanban University. (n.d.). Kanban.university. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://kanban.university/kanban-development-path/
Leading SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework Training. (n.d.). Scaled Agile. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://scaledagile.com/training/leading-safe/
PRINCE2 Practitioner Project Management Certification | Axelos. (n.d.). Www.axelos.com. https://www.axelos.com/certifications/propath/prince2-project-management/prince2-practitioner
Professional Scrum MasterTM I Certification. (n.d.). Scrum.org. https://www.scrum.org/assessments/professional-scrum-master-i-certification
Project Management Institute. (2021). PMP Certification | Project Management Institute. Www.pmi.org. https://www.pmi.org/certifications/project-management-pmp
Scrum Alliance. (2019). Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®) Certification Course. Scrumalliance.org. https://www.scrumalliance.org/get-certified/scrum-master-track/certified-scrummaster
