ACP-420 Managing Jira Service Projects Certification
I’ve been using Jira Service Management for a while now, and, like many systems, I never had any official training on it. Instead, I learned how to use it by doing, asking questions, and tripping over mistakes. This approach isn’t a bad one as it helps cement in lessons and gave me a great deal of confidence in figuring things out on my own.
It does, however, have a weakness - there’s a lot of aspects of Jira Service Management that I never get exposed to, or I only learn partially. This might be because the group I work with doesn’t use specific features so I never get exposed, or it could be because I figure out a way to do something that doesn’t include aspects of Jira Service Management. Regardless, it has resulted in gaps in my knowledge of how this system works - and by extension my ability to support my team.
What is this certification for?
So, to help plug those holes I’ve decided to pursue the ACP-420 Managing Jira Service Projects certification that Atlassian offers. ACP-420 is concerned with ensuring folks know how to manage and configure Jira Service Management for Cloud (sorry Data Center folks!) and covers a wide range of topics, including:
Translating business requirements - Knowing what a business is trying to do is critical in provided proper support. This includes taking their needs and translating them into things Jira Service Management can do.
Setting up project features like request types and SLAs - Jira Service Management has a ton of features. Understanding what they all do, how they impact the team, and how to configure them is paramount.
Managing permissions and notifications - Two of the most frustrating areas of Jira Service Management are being able to access things, and getting notified properly. As admins we need to know all about these.
Setting up dashboards and reporting - Providing teams with insights on how to improve their process or identify bottlenecks is a big part of knowing the system.
Setting up the intake portal - Tickets have to get into Jira Service Management somehow! Knowing how the portal works, and how to configure it, is important.
And more!
Why should I get certified?
I find there’s a few reasons to get certified. First, it helps improve our knowledge. Second, it may be required for our jobs, and third it can open a door for us.
I find the first reason the most interesting as I’ll learn more about the topic. As I noted above I tend to learn by doing or by necessity which means I end up with gaps in my knowledge. Earning a certification forces me to learn things I may not have otherwise had exposure to, resulting in a wide range of knowledge
Depending on your job a certification may also be required. Not having a certification like ACP-420 can mean not being considered for possible roles, or not attaining a promotion at work. The effort put into earning the certification can be well worth it (and many company’s will even cover the cost of the exam!).
Holding a certification also signals to others that you know a bit about that topic. While having a certification doesn’t mean you know everything about a topic, it does signal you know a certain amount. Having a certification can then mean you’ll have more opportunities open to you as others will see it as proof of your skills. This can make it easier to get interviews - after which your experience takes over.
Join me to study for the ACP-420
The biggest challenge earning a certification for me isn’t usually the content - it’s making the time to actually study! Between work, family and other things it’s incredibly hard to find time to go through the training materials (all of which are provided free by Atlassian). So, to help me get this done I’m hosting free, live, study sessions every Tuesday morning at 6 AM PST.
These sessions will be a shared time for us all to prepare for the ACP-420. We’ll go through Atlassian’s training, as well as help answer each other’s questions. I’ll also be summing up my study notes and sharing them here for folks to use.
Additionally, I’ve got 3 free exam vouchers I’ll be giving away. If you win you’ll be able to take the ACP-420 for free (provided you take the exam by June 1st, 2025!).
