ACA-900 Jira Software Essentials

October 3, 2023

2 minute read

Atlassian announced in September 2023 a new tier of certifications, the Atlassian Certified Associate. Now, there are two plus one Certification Types:

Atlassian Certified Associate (new)
These are entry-point certifications into the ecosystem, intended as your first credentials while you become skilled in different Atlassian products. The exams are designed for beginner to intermediate learners. PSI also does the third-party exam proctoring for the new exams onsite or remotely.
Atlassian Certified Professional
Role-based Certifications that reflect and validate your expertise & require product experience and studying.
Atlassian Certified Expert
The highest and elite standing requires multiple credentials. More in my post “Becoming an Atlassian Certified Expert“.

The first Atlassian Certified Associate exam and certification is the Jira Software Essentials ACA-900 or ACA-JSWE, published at the end of September 2023. There is a free On-Demand Training at Atlassian University as “Jira Software Essentials Certification Prep” covering many topics.

Jira Users in roles such as Developer, Product Owner, or Scrum Master can power with this certification their career by proving they have basic Jira knowledge.

Topics

The exam covers these entry-level topic areas:

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

I took the exam in the first days of October, and my questions covered, for example the responsibilities of different Scrum roles & Kanban Basics. Of course, most of the exam questions covered how to use search, dashboards, issue types, links & mentions in Jira. I also like the Idea at this level to make people aware of the different Jira project types (company-managed and team-managed).

Exam details

Exam: ACA-900
Name: Atlassian Certified in Jira Software Essentials (ACA-JSWE)
Price: $100 USD
Length: up to 28 questions
Time limit: 60 minutes
Passing score: 72 percent (number by Atlassian)
Expire: after 2 years
Test Centers: PSI Exam Center (OnSite) & PSI Web Delivery (Remote)

More Information

Author

Martin Runge

Martin has been working for more than 15 years with Atlassian products as a contractor and Managing Atlassian Consultant for customers from different industries. He founded a German consulting company in 2009 and sold it in 2022. At the Moment he has one standing as an Atlassian Certified Expert, 7 active Atlassian Certifications, 15 Atlassian Skill Badges, ITIL 4 Managing Professional, Certified SAFe6 Practice Consultant and more.