1. I've now reviewed the three PMI-ACP exam prep books by Andy Crowe, Mike Griffiths, and Stenbeck et al.(i.e., the first one was a short collection of PMI-ACP concepts, the second is the most comprehensive PMI-ACP exam prep guide available, and the third is an esoteric, strange, and somewhat confusing collection concepts, agile crossword puzzles, and quizzes): a. The PMI-ACP Exam: How To Pass On Your First Try (Andy Crowe) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982760833 b. PMI-ACP Exam Prep Guide (Mike Griffiths) http://www.amazon.com/dp/1932735585 c. ACP Exam Prep Plus Desk Reference (John Stenbeck, et al.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0984669302 2. These books reinforce my theory that the PMI-ACP is a collection of ideas, notions, and concepts about APM (vs. a set of knowledge areas, activities, and prescriptive, formulaic step-by-step procedures). a. There is a formulaic approach to APM (because there are over 15 books out on APM with their own formulas). b. Again, there are a plethora of better textbooks with formulaic APM approaches (i.e., "Agile Project Management with Scrum by Ken Schwaber, "Planning Extreme Programming" by Kent Beck, "Agile Project Managment" by Jim Highsmith, "Agile Project Management for Dummies" by Mark Layton, etc.). c. However, PMI is yet to move beyond a conceptual primer of agile methods (and into a set of recommended formulaic guidelines similar to the PMBoK). 3. APM trainers have to decide whether to use a prescriptive step-by-step model (or simply expand upon the PMI-ACP concepts): a. Trainers should be bold and adopt a formulaic approach as illustrated by the big three (i.e., Kent Beck, Ken Schwaber, Jim Highsmith, etc.). b. Trainers can still pepper in PMI-ACP concepts to show how a mainstream formulaic approach supports them (or vice versa illustrate how the concepts support the formula). c. In other words, as trainers present a formulaic APM approach, they can use call-outs to illustrate how a particular activity supports a PMI-ACP concept. 4. PMI-ACP prep courses may require a different approach altogether (i.e., teach-to-the-test vs. an APM formula): a. Trainers have to simply expose the students to enough of the PMI-ACP concepts to pass the exam. b. This is a challenge because the PMI did not construct an agile body of knowledge (with enough precision and depth to authoritatively teach every concept on the PMI-ACP exam). c. This ambiguity and uncertainty presents a challenge to people like myself who are steeped in formulaic APM approaches and "core" agile concepts (which is why I struggled with the PMI-ACP exam and was fortunate enough to pass). (The PMI-ACP prep course which I took tried to do both, i.e., teach the formulaic Scrum APM approach as well as the PMI-ACP concepts, which sort of confused me a bit, because I didn't know whether the PMI-ACP exam was about Scrum or a loose set of agile concepts as assembled by PMI -- In actuality, the PMI-ACP Exam is more of the latter -- That is, a loose collection of agile concepts ...) 5. Three new PMI-ACP exam prep books have appeared (of which I have not reviewed): a. PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Exam Preparation Self-Study Courseware: Part of The PM Instructors Self-Study Series (Volume 1) http://www.amazon.com/dp/146996418X b. Agile Practices for Waterfall Projects: Shifting Processes for Competitive Advantage http://www.amazon.com/dp/1604270837 c. PMI-ACP Exam Prep: 1000+ PMI-ACP Practice Questions with Detailed Solutions http://www.amazon.com/dp/098947030X