CIPSA Success Story: From CHAMP to CIPSA – Taking Agile to the Next Level with Scaled Scrum and Scaled Kanban

By Ravi O’Reilly, CIPSA, CHAMP

After completing my CHAMP certification, I wanted to take Agile to the next level. The CIPSA journey gave me the tools and confidence to scale Scrum and Kanban across teams, making me a stronger planning professional.

Introduction

Before starting the CIPSA certification, I had already gone through the CHAMP journey with Satya, and it gave me a strong foundation of Hybrid-Agile Management using MS Project Agile. 

Naturally, my next step was to expand my knowledge into scaling frameworks, and the CIPSA certification felt like the right choice.

It wasn’t just about adding another certificate — I wanted to really understand how to apply scaling with Scrum and Kanban, using practical MS Project Agile tools. The fact that it’s a niche and credible certification made it even more appealing.

Own Study – CIPSA Certification

To prepare, I dedicated daily time in the evenings after work and weekends. On average, I studied 1–2 hours per day, and I followed a roadmap similar to CHAMP:

• Watching the videos in sequence
• Reviewing handouts and exercises
• Going through the .mpp solution files
• Revisiting tricky topics until they made sense

Overall, it took me about 6–7 weeks of consistent study. I also took mock exams which helped me gauge my readiness and highlighted weak areas I had to revisit.

“The mock exam was a game changer — it showed me exactly where I stood and what I needed to focus on.”

The course material is very detailed, and the videos are short and clear — which makes it easier to digest. The lesson-end questions were especially helpful in making sure I really understood each topic before moving forward.

Review – CIPSA Certification Course

This course is niche and unique, just like CHAMP certification course, but it goes deeper into scaling Scrum and Kanban. The USP of the course is how it takes you from single-team agile to scaled environments, and all of it is tied back to MS Project Agile views.

The topics that helped me most were:

• Scaled Scrum (especially Sprint Planning, Reviews, Retrospectives at CIPSA level)
• Scaled Kanban meta-events (Kanban Planning, Stand-ups, Reviews, Retros)
• Scaled backlog refinement and reporting views
• Resource management and over-allocations in scaled projects

The exercises and solution files were a big plus — you can follow along, check your own work, and immediately see how theory applies in MS Project.

The solution files were invaluable — they helped me bridge the gap between theory and practical application.

CIPSA Exam Experience

I scheduled the exam once I felt confident with the mocks. The exam has 40 questions in 1 hour, and my strategy was simple:

• Read carefully, don’t rush.
• Mark tricky ones, come back later.
• Watch out for trap questions that mix Scaled Scrum vs. Scaled Kanban events.

The exam standard is tough but fair. In the exam, questions included graphs, burndowns, CFDs, situational problem-solving, and some tricky overlaps between scaled Scrum and scaled Kanban.

When I got my result and saw I had passed, it was a huge relief. The evaluation report and certificate came through soon after, which made it all feel real. 

Suggestions for CIPSA Aspirants

Dos:

• Be consistent with daily study, even if it’s just an hour.
• Do every exercise file — they make the difference between knowing theory and applying it.
• Use the mocks to spot weak areas and go back to the lessons.

Don’ts:

• Don’t skip the scaled Kanban videos — they are equally important as the Scrum ones.
• Don’t assume CHAMP knowledge alone will carry you through; this course builds on it but goes much further.
• Don’t underestimate reporting questions — they will come.

Conclusion

The CIPSA certification has given me a solid understanding of scaling frameworks and how to apply them using MS Project Agile. I can now confidently guide teams and managers on both Scrum and Kanban at scale.

“CIPSA is not just another certificate — it’s a niche, high-value skill that is already making a difference in my role.”

This certification is not just another “add-on” — it’s a niche, high-value skill that has already started helping me in my professional role. I plan to keep applying these learnings in my day-to-day projects and use them to drive real delivery improvements.

Brief Profile: Ravi O’Reilly, CIPSA, CHAMP

Programme Planning Manager, working in UK Government programmes across Transport, Civil Engineering, and IT, with a focus on applying industry best practices and planning standards. 

CIPSA Certification Course:

• Certified In Practical Scaled Agile (CIPSA)

CHAMP Certification Course:

• Certified Hybrid-Agile Master Professional (CHAMP)

CHAMP Success Story: A Niche Certification – Never Seen Anything Like This Before

 By Ravi O’Reilly, CHAMP

Introduction

Before getting into CHAMP certification, I had a face-to-face, virtual meet-up with Satya, where I asked what I should pursue first. As per his suggestion, I started my journey by first completing the MS Project Agile course.

The CHAMP certification was a natural progression and I also really wanted the full certification for its credibility as it is a niche skill.

Own Study – CHAMP Certification

To achieve my CHAMP credential, I diligently followed the videos in the order set out and made time whenever I could. They are nice and short; hence it makes it easily digestible. 

In the course, all the videos are clearly explained and they are very thorough so you get to repeat the steps in subsequent videos. 

Review – CHAMP Certification Course

The course is very niche, extremely detailed and uses MS Project tools. The certification is a unique selling point (USP) in itself. I have not seen anything like this before and it truly gives you all the learnings.  

Once you get to grips with adding the data and setting up the Hybrid Agile plan, I found the reporting topics were useful, as you get to slice and dice the data in different ways i.e., how to report on earned value management (EVM), the baselines for the traditional part and resourcing.

Throughout the course, there are lots of opportunities to recap and take the short tests. After completing the whole course, a full set of questions and answers (Q&A) helped me to see how much I learned and what parts I needed to go over again. 

CHAMP Exam Experience

After completing the course, I believed I was prepared for the CHAMP exam. I asked Satya to provide me with the online link for the test. The exam has 50 questions to be taken in 1 hour (60 minutes). 

For the exam, my strategy was simple. I just made sure I read the questions properly and not rush them. I knew some of the questions straight away. However, for some of the others, I needed to go back and check on them.

After completing, I thought I didn’t clear the exam and thought I have to retake the test. But Satya informed me that I’ve cleared as I have scored 70%, which is needed to be CHAMP certified!  I received my certificate afterwards.

Suggestions for CHAMP Aspirants

Dos 

• If you like this style of learning (hands-on) and also want to get certified in a niche skill, then I would suggest you just go for it.

Don’ts

• If you are not managing Agile/Hybrid-Agile projects, you may not need it. 

Conclusion

The CHAMP certification is of high standard and to be a CHAMP, you need to be well prepared. The course is so practical! You can apply your learnings in your day-to-day projects in a hands-on manner.

Brief Profile: Ravi O’Reilly, CHAMP, Programme Planning Manager, UK Transport and Govt. related projects.

You may also like:

• CHAMP Success Story: One of the Best Hybrid-Agile Certification Courses I Ever Attended
• CHAMP Success Story: A Niche Certification – Never Seen Anything Like This Before

Management Yogi's CHAMP Certification:

• Certified Hybrid-Agile Master Professional (CHAMP)

Mastering MS Project Agile Course Review–An Absolutely Delightful, High-Quality Course At A Very Low Cost!

By Ravi O’Reilly, CHAMP

Why this Course?

I decided to purchase this course after a lot of extensive research for a specific purpose after being tasked with building and managing a programme plan with Agile methodologies. I could not find any examples, templates, or learning anywhere and I was absolutely delighted when I came across ManagementYogi’s Mastering MS Project Agile course. 

My task was to create an MS project plan template for my team which shows all aspects of agile and traditional waterfall and then from that provide a rolled-up view of a programme plan. When I contacted Satya, he advised me to start with this course. I am so pleased I made the decision to take this course, it has met over and above my basic requirements.

Unique Selling Point (USP)

This entire course is so unique. It starts from the beginner steps right the way through to where you become comfortable with how MS Project agile tools actually works and gets you into advanced concepts practically and theoretically.

The course covers in detail all the different boards and views available, how to get in and out, how to input the data, how to remove data, where it appears, how to sort the tasks, how to move them, how to create the custom views, all the reporting views, the terminology, there are many, many aspects to it. 

Basically, the course takes from a beginner level to an advanced level and to the level of an expert.

What I Learned and How It Helped?

I’ll highlight the following things that I learned so far from the course:

• I really now understand what agile projects are and what my team is working on. Nothing is missed out which means you really get to know the MS Project agile tool inside out.
• I got a good grip on the various board and sheet related views of Scrum and Kanban, which view is used for what and how to get to them, various Agile/Sprint/Kanban fields and associated functionalities. 
• I learned how to build burn-down charts, burn-up charts. I learned how to create charts and how to make them presentable using all the extra tools and tips. It is very detailed which means you can very quickly become proficient and an expert in this.
• It is definitely practically-led, nothing is left out. In my opinion, if someone is learning this for the first time or even if they know how to use the MS project software with Agile functionalities, it is still worth doing.
• It has really empowered me. I can confidently speak about how the Agile plan(s) should be put together. I know when project managers themselves are not understanding how to plan their own deliverables with MS Project (Agile). I can definitely help guide them and apply best practice and industry standards after doing this course.
• Providing all the exercise files were so helpful for me. You can easily follow along with the video and see how it should look in the actual file. And then can create your own files. This course’s solution files will give you the foundations to build your learning.
• Agile in a hands-on manner with MS Project is a niche skill. I am in a Planning Manager role and MS Project Agile is a highly sought-after skill. This course definitely fast-tracked my skill set. It will make you stand out in whatever project management field you are in.
• The explanations are simple, clear and understandable and one can grasp all the technical terms as well. The videos are well presented, everything is organised, neatly structured. You get all the materials, a course structure guide, which helps to know where you are and how many lessons and videos you have left. I really absorb Satya’s teaching style and format.
• I received helpful answers to my queries when I had questions and I continue to get support for my learning. ManagementYogi’s work is such a useful resource for me and he has got me out of what was thought as an impossible task and I have definitely impressed upon my team.
• I’m revisiting all I learned. Now I am finishing the last part of the course, i.e., Advanced Scrum and Advanced Kanban.
• It is such a great investment in many aspects, in terms of your own time, your own learning, your own career path, nothing is rushed, you can pace yourself, and you can go over things. If you don’t get it in the first few videos, you soon start to pick it up as the steps and learning are repeated.

I really appreciate the full value and I am very much grateful to management yogi for sharing his expertise, knowledge and experience and for going into so much depth and making the user comfortably know what they are doing.

Recommendations

I am surprised at the very low cost for the high quality and amount of training one receives. You basically get more out of it than you would expect. In my opinion it seems too good to be true, but it is true. It covers the entire length and breadth of MS Project Agile. 

Whilst you are learning you get all these extra tips, when something can’t be done in MS Project Agile, the bonus is that there is a way and there is always a work around and this course gives you that as well. 

You are likely to come across in real life work and at least then you have a way to fix things and you are not left stranded. So, everything is covered in this course and again I am grateful to Satya for covering this in the course. Thank you so much ManagementYogi.

Wherever you are in your professional journey, I thoroughly recommend this course and would encourage you to just go for it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

Brief Profile:

Ravi O’Reilly: Planning Manager Role, Working in UK Government and Transport related programmes and projects and application of industry best practice planning standards.

You May Also Like:

[1] Master Course: Mastering MS Project Agile, by Satya Narayan Dash.

[2] Certification Course: Certified Hybrid-Agile Master Professional (CHAMP), by Satya Narayan Dash.

[3] Video Course: Microsoft Project Live Lessons, by Satya Narayan Dash.