Announcing Atlassian Certified Associate: Build Your Cert Stack 🥞

[#1]

Today is a really good day: First off, stateside, it is national pancake day 🥞 (good tidings to all who celebrate). 

You might wonder, how do pancakes relate to training & certification? We'll get to that answer below. ⬇️

But also, today are we launching a new certification —  — and along with it, an entirely new tier of certification.

It’s called Atlassian Certified Associate, and I sat down with Atlassian’s senior manager of credentials and certifications, @Suzanne Veljanoski, to learn more about what this new tier means for learners, how best to prepare for the exam, and what makes her most excited about the Atlassian certification roadmap. 👀

As I always say with a plate of pancakes in front of me: let’s dig in!

Tell us about this new tier of certification. Why is Atlassian expanding to certifications for end users?

This new tier of the Atlassian Certification program is going to serve as entry-point validation for users in the Atlassian ecosystem looking to validate product and solution skills. By creating this new program we’re providing top-to-mid-funnel Atlassian users an opportunity to get their feet “wet” in the community & learning ecosystem, validate their proficiency, and be globally recognized as Certified Atlassian individual.

What can folks expect from Atlassian Certified Associate exams in general?

This program was designed to be approachable for users looking to validate their skills. Test takers will notice exams are shorter (only 25 questions!) and more importantly affordable. Each certification costs $100 and as they are earned you’ll find you can mix and match your cert stack 🥞 around the skills most relevant to your work.

Who is this particular certification — Jira Software Essentials — for? Who should consider taking this exam?

Jira Software Essentials is for users who want to power their career growth by proving they know the essentials that will allow them to collaborate and work efficiently in Jira Software, including:

• Performing needed user tasks including working with issues and boards

• Navigating in Jira Software

• Understanding Jira Software and agile concepts

Atlassian recommends zero to six months experience using Jira Software and a mixture of hands-on experience, review of technical documentation, self-study, and our free on-demand or live team training options.

What kind of topics are covered?

This certification focuses on what’s essential to collaborating and working efficiently in Jira Software. The exam is broken down into the following topics:

Basic Concepts - 28%
Jira Navigation - 16%
Working with Issues - 44%
Issue Lifecycle, Workflow, and Boards - 12%

Have you taken the exam yet? If so, got any tips?

Not yet! I will be scheduling to take the exam ASAP. To prepare, I will definitely using our free on-demand learning path to study: Jira Software Essentials Certification Learning Path

 What makes you most excited about the certification roadmap at Atlassian?

I am most excited about the opportunity for the Atlassian community to have the opportunity to validate their expertise in more ways than one. Through our established professional program and new associate program we’re offering individuals the chance to boost their resumes based on their experience with Atlassian products and solutions. More certified people means more learning and more Atlassian expertise all around —and more opportunity for our customers.

There you have it, folks! Grab yourself a pancake stack — and then get started on your cert stack.

Atlassian Certified Associate - Jira Software Essentials 

📢 Update as of 10/18/23: now there's a second certification for you to start building your stack with LIVE!

Check out ACA - Jira Software Board Configuration 

[Jimmy Seddon]

This is a super exciting announcement @Jaime Netzer!  Thank you for sharing!

[Kate Pawlak [Appsvio]]

Since I no longer have any certificates to obtain, as I have already passed all of them 😅, there is great news! I think this can also be a great opportunity when someone starts their adventure with Atlassian certifications.

P.S. My lunch today:

I had no idea today was National Pancake Day! Apparently my stomach was better informed 😉

[Tomislav Tobijas]

Sound cool! Looking forward to taking these new certs :)

One thing though, given links end up with "Bad Request"

[Jaime Netzer]

Hmm we tried it out from a couple of different browsers and aren't having that issue @Tomislav Tobijas !  👀

[Jimmy Seddon]

I was having issues logging in earlier myself, but that seems to have been resolved now.

[Tomislav Tobijas]

@Jaime NetzerI was still getting displayed error this morning (on Firefox). However, I tried to access it via an incognito window and other browsers and it worked fine. After clearing browser cache & cookies all is good 👌

[Taranjeet Singh]

This sounds interesting! Thank you for sharing, @Jaime Netzer !

[Benjamin]

Awesome. Thanks for. sharing @Jaime Netzer !

[Summer.Hogan]

This is wonderful @Jaime Netzer! I enjoyed hearing about this in Caroline's last Coffee Chat for Leaders! It looks great! I can't wait to start! 

[Sagar]

Thanks sharing @Jaime Netzer 

I can see that these certifications are for beginner to intermediate learners, but wanted to check if these certifications will count for Atlassian Certified Expert title? 

[Martin Runge]

Hey Sagar,

as far I can see here: https://university.atlassian.com/student/page/844004-atlassian-certified-expert the Atlassian Certified Associate certifications do not count as a credentials towards the Atlassian Certified Expert.

[Marie Kent]

Hi @Sagar the ACE logic is under review as we build out the program. More news to come on that!

[Sagar]

Got it, Thanks for the reply @Marie Kent 

[Ravina]

This is cool, it will be very beneficial to the Atlassian newbies to validate their knowledge against these exams, looking for more such exams in future. Thanks for sharing @Jaime Netzer  

[Jonathan Santos]

Hello everyone ! I wanted to tell you that taking the Certification, I passed!!!
I think it is a certification with good guidance for users who are starting out in Jira Software, and I recommend it.

[Preetha Roseline]

This sounds interesting !  @Jaime Netzer 
Thanks for sharing ... 

[Andrew Hatton]

Hello - is the exam easy to pass after just taking the JIRA Software Essentials free learning path courses, or does anyone think it requires additional studying?  If so, are there any free studying materials available such as sample exam questions? 

Thanks 

[Marie Kent]

@Andrew Hatton After taking the course, be sure to experiment with any features you are unfamiliar with. The exam has 25 questions and the passing score is 75%.