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The International Consortium for Agile (ICAgile) is one of the world’s top Agile accreditation and certification organizations. With over 27 certification programs in over 15 languages in its catalog, ICAgile can help individuals and organizations gain the advanced skills and knowledge they need to apply and thrive with the increasingly popular Agile mindset. This guide features the top ICAgile certifications across multiple skill/experience levels and categories, including foundations, leadership, coaching, DevOps, engineering, and testing.
The Best ICAgile Certifications
The following are some of the best ICAgile certifications. The format (group exercises, quizzes, and exams) and cost of each class will depend on the member organization or provider you select.
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Agile Fundamentals (ICP)
Agile Fundamentals (ICP) is a beginner-level, industry-recognized certification that displays your understanding of foundational concepts, including the Agile mindset, values, and principles. Students will learn how to “be agile while doing Agile” and achieve ultimate versatility and flexibility by not focusing on single Agile methodologies or frameworks, such as Kanban, Scrum, SAFe, XP, etc.
Completing the Agile Fundamentals certification can get you started on the path toward more advanced product and technical certifications from ICAgile. It is ideal for product development and delivery practitioners unfamiliar with the Agile methodology who want to develop an Agile mindset. If you already have ICAgile’s Business Agility Foundations certification, continuing to get the ICP credential would be your next move, especially if you want to apply Agile to software development.
The Agile Fundamentals certification takes a minimum of 14 hours to complete. No experience is needed, and you can learn remotely. Upon completion of the course, you will earn a certificate.
Business Agility Foundations (ICP-BAF)
The Business Agility Foundations (ICP-BAF) certification is another beginner-level credential from ICAgile. Students who take the course will learn how to discuss Agile values, dimensions, and principles in a business context. They will also learn how to devise action plans to infuse agility into their workplaces using various tools, techniques, and frameworks. The course’s highlighted learning outcomes or topics covered include the importance of business agility, how to develop a growth mindset, implementing and maintaining business agility, and the tools and action plans to accelerate it.
Business Agility Foundations is ideal for those looking to enable organizational agility in today’s ever-evolving business environment. It can be particularly helpful for anyone wanting to implement business agility outside of software development. While it complements the Agile Fundamentals credential, it is not a direct replacement for the ICP certification.
The ICP-BAF takes at least 14 hours to complete. No experience is necessary, and you can learn remotely. Students will receive a certificate upon course completion.
Leading With Agility (ICP-LEA)
If you are a professional looking to assume an Agile leadership role, then the Leading with Agility (ICP-LEA) certification from ICAgile may be right up your alley. It makes up part of ICAgile’s agility in the leadership track and can help you develop the skills needed to lead transformation and change, plus improve personal and relationship agility.
Featured learning outcomes in the Leading with Agility certification include understanding power and influence, self-awareness, self-management, emotional intelligence in relationships, and leadership styles. The course requires a minimum of 14 hours to complete and can be taken remotely. Prerequisites include basic knowledge of Agile principles, values, and mindset. Upon completion of the course, you will receive a shareable certificate.
People Development (ICP-PDV)
People Development (ICP-PDV) is the second certification in ICAgile’s agility in leadership track. Have this credential on your resume, and you will show potential employers and colleagues your commitment to creating a culture where teams and other individuals can thrive. Featured learning outcomes in the ICP-PDV certification include the importance of people development for enabling business agility, developing yourself to develop others, hiring to elevate versus delegate, developing individuals, and developing teams.
The People Development certification is ideal for anyone between middle management and director levels in charge of leading teams, departments, or organizations. Before taking the course, you should have basic knowledge of Agile principles, values, and mindset. Completion of the Leading with Agility course is also recommended before enrolling. ICP-PDV takes at least 14 hours to complete via remote learning. You will receive a shareable certificate upon completion.
Agile Team Facilitation (ICP-ATF)
The Agile Team Facilitation (ICP-ATF) certification is geared toward current and aspiring Agile coaches, project managers, team leads, Scrum Masters, product owners, business analysts, and anyone else involved with guiding and supporting others in Agile work environments. The course’s featured learning outcomes include the development path for Agile coaching, Agile team facilitation mindset, foundational facilitation skills, collaborative meeting facilitation, and skillful facilitation of Agile practices.
Agile Team Facilitation is part of ICAgile’s Agile team coaching track, including the Agile Coaching and Expert in Agile Coaching certifications. The course takes at least 14 hours to complete remotely and requires basic knowledge of Agile principles, values, and mindset. Students will receive a shareable certificate upon completion.
Agile Coaching (IP-ACC)
The Agile Coaching (IP-ACC) certification is meant for current and aspiring Agile coaches, project managers, iteration managers, and Scrum Masters looking to learn and implement facilitation, teaching, mentoring, and professional coaching of Agile teams. The course’s featured learning outcomes include the Agile coaching mindset, foundational professional coaching skills, key mentoring/teaching skills, foundational team coaching, and more.
The Agile Coaching certification takes at least 21 hours to complete via remote learning. You should have basic knowledge of Agile principles, values, and mindset to take the course, and completion of the ICP-ATF certification is recommended before enrolling. Students who complete the course will receive a shareable certificate.
Enterprise Agile Coaching (ICP-ENT)
Enterprise Agile Coaching (ICP-ENT) is one of the most advanced certifications ICAgile offers. Students who complete the course will leave with the enterprise agile coaching skills and knowledge needed to improve organizational structure and processes to achieve business agility. Featured learning outcomes in the ICP-ENT certification include enterprise and business agility, enterprise agile coaching skills, ethical considerations, organization design and structure, scaling Agile frameworks, business process and improvement, and boundary-spanning facilitation techniques.
The ICP-ENT certification is ideal for current or aspiring transformational leaders or enterprise/portfolio-level Agile coaches. It is also intended for professionals interested in enterprise-level Agile approaches with a background in organizational design or change management. The Enterprise Agile course takes 14 hours to complete via remote learning. Some experience in Agile coaching is recommended, as is basic knowledge of Agile principles, values, and mindset. Graduates will receive a shareable certificate upon completion.
Agile Programming (ICP-PRG)
The Agile Programming (ICP-PRG) certification is for software programmers, Agile developers, systems designers, technical team leads, development managers, and others in technical design. It is part of ICAgile’s Agile engineering track, which also includes the Agile Software Design certification. Featured learning outcomes in the ICP-PRG course include automated tests, refactoring, test-driven development, acceptance testing, and the build process.
The Agile Programming certification takes at least 14 hours to complete via remote learning. Experience in software development is recommended, as is basic knowledge of Agile principles, values, and mindset. Students who complete the course will receive a shareable certificate.
Foundations of DevOps (ICP-FDO)
The Foundations of DevOps (ICP-FDO) certification is for project managers, developers, testers, delivery managers, Agile coaches, CIOs, and operations and IT team members looking to understand the benefits of DevOps. It is part of the ICAgile DevOps track, which also includes the Implementing DevOps certification. Featured learning outcomes of the course include the case for DevOps, configuration management, continuous integration, continuous delivery, and operations.
The Foundations of DevOps course takes 14 hours to complete via remote learning. Some development experience is recommended, as is basic knowledge of Agile principles, values, and mindset. You will receive a shareable certificate upon completion of the course.
Implementing DevOps (ICP-IDO)
Once you complete the Foundation of DevOps certification, you can continue ICAgile’s DevOps track by completing Implementing DevOps (ICP-IDO). The advanced certification is geared towards developers, systems engineers, testers, technical coaches, operations leads, operations support specialists, and others in similar technical positions. It is also intended for professionals looking to develop a DevOps pipeline. Featured learning outcomes of the course include planning, building, monitoring, and maturing the pipeline.
Implementing DevOps takes 14 hours to complete via remote learning. Before enrolling, you should have basic knowledge of Agile principles, values, and mindset. You should also complete the Foundation of DevOps certification before taking this more advanced course. ICAgile will reward students who complete the course with a shareable certificate.
Agile Testing (ICP-TST)
The Agile Testing (ICP-TST) certification is part of ICAgile’s Agile testing track, which also includes Agile Test Automation. This course is intended for Agile testers, test managers, developers, engineers, analysts, and Agile practitioners looking to learn more about Agile testing methods. Featured learning outcomes in the course include Agile testing mindset, testing techniques, and the Agile testing process.
The Agile Testing certification takes 14 hours to complete via remote learning. You should have software testing experience and basic knowledge of Agile principles, values, and mindset before enrolling. You will receive a shareable certificate upon completion of the course.
Bottom Line
The ICAgile certifications listed above are some of the best the world-renowned organization has to offer. Before choosing an ICAgile certification, make sure it fits your needs in terms of prerequisites, cost, curriculum, and career goals. If you are unsure which ICAgile certification is right for you, there is a three-question quiz that will suggest the ideal learning journey for you according to your experience, role, and goals.
