I'm trying to figure out the right sequencing for my ICAgile certifications. I've been in agile environments for about 4 years as a scrum master and I'm looking at the ICP-ACC coaching path. But a few people at my company have told me to complete the ICP-ATF first as a prerequisite. The ICAgile site says it's recommended but not required.
I took the base ICP about 18 months ago and scored 88% on the final assessment. The coaching certification seems much more facilitation-heavy and less knowledge-test oriented - more of a demonstrated competency model from what I've read. That makes me think sequencing matters less than it would for a traditional exam-based cert.
My company is paying for one course right now and I need to choose within the next 2 weeks. I'd ideally get the ACC done within 4-5 months while I'm actively coaching two scrum teams. Anyone who's done both - was the ATF material actually useful prep for the ACC, or is it mostly redundant if you already have real field experience?
The ACC is much more self-reflective and coaching-theory based than any other ICP cert I've done. Your field experience will matter more than any prerequisite course for passing the assessments. Go ACC first if that's your actual role right now.
I did ATF first and honestly about 40% of the material overlapped with what came up in the ACC course. If you've got 4 years of active scrum master experience, you could probably go straight to ACC without much gap. ATF is more valuable for people earlier in their agile journey.
I jumped straight to ACC and didn't feel like I missed anything from skipping ATF. The hardest parts were the coaching stances and the distinction between mentoring, coaching, and facilitating - conceptual stuff rather than process knowledge.