The ACP-300 has proved to be difficult for me to pass.

[Kat]

Any advice? The scenarios on the test are obviously wanting Atlassian Best Practice answers; however, I have found there are no real-case best practices represented in the Jira documentation. I use JIra every day on the job -- fullfilling roles as the ScrumMaster, Project Manager, Board and Project Admin, and Site Admin (depending on what's needed since our team is small). My company paid for the training; however, I found the training for the ACP-300 and the test prep course to be woefully inadequate. I have read a lot of the documentation, but we use Jira differently (obviously) on a case-to-case basis in the real world. I've passed the PMI-PMP, PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner, AWS Certified Practitioner, and COMPTIA Sec+ exams with no issues, but there are a multitude of practice exams and guides to help you learn to think the PMI and AWS way -- meaning best practices in multiple scenarios. I have found nothing for the Atlassian ACP-300 (software) exam that has successfully helped me think the "Atlassian" way. Now, obviously some questions have a right answer...no arguing; however, many fall in the gray area of how business could be done vs how Atlassian wants it done. I've been very disappointed with the amount of time and money I, and my company, have spent to get this certification that I still do not have; despite relentless studying and practicing. Any thoughts or advice? Any sources where I can find real-life scenarios with product owners and teams with best practices? Thanks!

[Brody]

Hey Kat, did you ever get an answer to help, and have you passed the exam? I will be taking it soon, and am having a hard time finding good study material as well. 

[Kat]

Hi Brody! Yes, I did finally pass...on the 4th try! This test was the most difficult test I've taken. As you said, it's difficult to find good study material and there are no test banks for practice. The Atlassian practice tests are fine, but the spectrum of the test is so wide that you may not run into anything remotely similar on the actual test. I passed by:  1) Failing the test several times -- sounds crazy, but at least I became used to the way the questions would be asked and I learned that even the most obscure questions are up for grabs. I also learned the best test centers -- at one test center, the equipment was ancient and the monitor was so tiny that I needed my glasses (which I didn't bring, because I never need them). Find a good test center--one that you feel comfortable in and has adequate equipment and headphones to block out noise.  2) I tried to remember every question I had a difficult time with and came back to my Jira instance at work and practiced every single day learning new things and incorporating what I learned into my work. I'm the Jira Administrator and the ScrumMaster, so I've been learning on the job anyway (Jira is new to our workplace). 3) Learn EVERY SINGLE CHART, and practice on your own instance with fictional data (sign up for a free instance in your own name). Know how to read them. Learn the colors of every single line in every chart and what each chart tells you. Know the scenario you would use for each chart. 4) Set up sample projects -- over and over again. Use Kanban, Scrum, every flavor of project, and practice. See what happens when you start, run and complete a sprint. Look at the charts, and remember what each one tells you. (I went in and memorized everything that I could -- especially the left-hand menus...releases, issues/filters, components, project settings....drill down into EVERYTHING and memorize and use as much as possible so that you know what Jira Software is capable of. 5) Know the Board settings...how to get to them...how to manipulate the board...how to display the information you need, what card colors, quick filters, swimlanes, estimation and Issue Detail View are for. Know those boards (KanBan and Scrum) inside and out. 6) Udemy has some good practice courses that are inexpensive. They will help you go thru each menu item and explain what it does and why you use it. 7) Knowing Agile methodologies also helped. Learn the basic principles of Agile. 

Most of all -- PRACTICE !  That was the best teacher. I learned a lot at work...simply by having something go wrong and learning how to fix it...or how to do it better. Google what you don't know...that's a quick way to search Atlassian's Jira SW Help materials. Good luck!! This seems to be a relatively rare cert...I work for a large company and I'm the only one with an Atlassian Jira cert, so it's a nice thing to have on your resume. But you definitely have to know the app inside and out to pass the test.

[Brody]

Thanks for the advice Kat!

[Tanwa Arewa]

@Kat thanks for the wealth of information.  This is very useful information will be taking the ACP 300 exam soon.  I can imagine how challenging the questions were, it was like that when I took the ACP 600, but I hear ACP 300 is even more challenging.  I am up for the challenge though.  The more certifications the better positioned you are.  If one passes an Atlassian exam than its evident one knows their stuff as practice questions are rare.

[Rajesh Ramanutty]

@Tanwa Arewa @Kat @Brody 

I need to take this exam can anyone tell how to prepare for this exam any study materials you have means can you provide me.

[Tanwa Arewa]

Practice, practice Practice with a trial Jira Instance

[Lasse Langhorn]

Hi all,

@Tanwa Arewa just replied with the word practice. That is so true. You will need to create many Kanban and Scrum boards and learn to read reports in Jira Software. 

I wrote an article about my ACP-300 certification preparation and the exam.
https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Training-Certification/Tips-for-ACP-300-exam/m-p/1512842#M399

Regards

Lasse Langhorn