Accreditations List

Purpose
Recognize organizational units (e.g., Agile Center of Excellence, Transformation Office, PMO/Agile Governance, Excellence/Innovation, L&D) that enable, accelerate, and sustain agility at scale—even if they are not delivery teams themselves. ACEA validates real, evidenced outcomes in enablement, capability building, governance, and continuous improvement across multiple teams and value streams.

To award an Accreditation of Achievement an ACA Accredited Enterprise Coach will evaluate:

1. Engagement Duration
   An ACA Accredited Enterprise Coach personally partnered with this Center of Excellence (or equivalent enablement unit) for at least 25 hours over the last 6–12 months, including discovery, facilitation, coaching, and/or advisory sessions.

2. Observed Enablement Outcomes
   Evidence of relevant, sustained outcomes produced by the CoE (not just plans), such as: adoption of Agile operating models, measurable improvements in flow or predictability, capability uplift, or governance changes that remove systemic impediments.

3. Evidence-Based Case Study (Before/After)
   It was collected enough evidence to showcase before/after scenarios, producing a concise case study of the CoE’s enablement impact across multiple teams or departments (e.g., “from ad-hoc delivery to quarterly PI cadence with portfolio visibility,” or “from skill gaps to a certified internal coaching community”).

4. Breadth of Impact
   The CoE has demonstrably impacted at least 3 teams or 2 value streams (or an equivalent organizational slice), with traceable outcomes (e.g., improved lead time, better alignment via OKRs, increased customer value metrics, or higher team health/engagement).

5. Operating System / Enablement Mechanisms
   The CoE operates a clear enablement system, evidenced by two or more of the following:

   • Coaching, advising or mentoring programs (internal coaches or community of practice).

   • Training pathways and learning journeys (intro → advanced; role-based).

   • Playbooks, policies, or templates that institutionalize practices (e.g., Definition of Done, cadences, DoR/DoD, portfolio Kanban).

   • Lightweight governance and metrics (e.g., portfolio flow, OKR alignment, WIP limits, guardrails).

   • A feedback loop for continuous improvement (retrospectives at system level, quarterly reviews, improvement backlog).

6. Competence & Credentials (Recommended)
   Evidence that at least two CoE members hold current Agile credentials. Examples include:

   • Agile Coaches Alliance: Accredited Agile Leader or Accredited Agile Advisor (any level: Accreditation of Practical Knowledge, Accreditation of Expertise, or Accreditation of Excellence).

   • Scrum Alliance®: CAL.

   • Scrum.org: PAL.

   • ICAgile: ICP-ACC, ICP-ENT, ICP-CAT, or ICE-AC/ICE-EC.

   • ICF: ACC/PCC (when the CoE provides professional coaching as part of enablement).
     (Alternatives of similar rigor are acceptable.)

7. Stakeholder Validation
   You collected corroborating feedback from at least two stakeholder groups (e.g., business leaders, product leaders, team representatives) confirming the CoE’s contribution to outcomes and culture.

8. Ethics & Sustainability
   No material red flags regarding ethics, data privacy, or treatment of people. The enablement approach is sustainable (not hero-based), and knowledge is documented and shared (not locked to a single person).

Requirements to receive a AD-AOE:

In a one-on-one or small group 1.5 hours (per person) accreditation interview your Accreditor will require you to:

• Demonstrate at least 4 years of practice (or 2 years if the candidate has been mentored by a ACA Accredited Coach) working in an agile team and a profound understanding of what it means to build a product incrementally and with quality in mind.
• Answer 2 questions related to the role of an agile developer.
  Development
• Provide evidence on how you approach Test First and iterative design principles.
• Provide evidence on your efforts for Continuous Integration and an overall testing strategy.
• Provide one case study on how you bring quality in as individual, and as a team.
• Answer 1 question regarding customer collaboration.
• Provide evidence on how you establish early feedback loops.
• Provide evidence on sharing knowledge within the team.
• Provide one case study on how you enabled a culture of technical excellence in your company.
• Provide two case studies on how you guided teams to learn and grow.
• Share your self improvement goals as a developer.

Your accreditor will evaluate your candidacy, provide feedback and decide on your Accreditation of Practice based on his/her observations. Participating in an Accreditation interview does NOT guarantee the candidate to be accredited.

Requirements to receive a AD-AOK:

In a one-on-one or small group 1.5 hours (per person) accreditation interview your Accreditor will require you to:

• The candidate demonstrated at least 3 months of supervised experience working in an agile team and a profound understanding of what it means to build a product incrementally and with quality in mind, based on evidence including pictures and a written recommendation of a supervisor (AOE-AD) or at least 25 hour individual or group mentoring by a ACA Accredited Coach over a minimum of 1 month.
• Answer 2 questions related to the role of an agile developer.
  Development
• Provide evidence on how you approach Test First and iterative design principles.
• Provide evidence on your efforts for Continuous Integration and an overall testing strategy.
• Provide one case study on how you bring quality in as individual, and as a team.
• Answer 1 question regarding customer collaboration.
• Share your self improvement goals as a developer.

Your accreditor will evaluate your candidacy, provide feedback and decide on your Accreditation of Practice based on his/her observations. Participating in an Accreditation interview does NOT guarantee the candidate to be accredited.

Requirements to receive a AOP-AA:

• Demonstrate at least 2 years (or 1 year if the candidate has been mentored by a ACA Accredited Coach) of experience as an Advisor, Consultant and/or Coach in an organization (contract, pictures, written recommendations ..).
• Answer 2 questions related to Business Agility and the candidate answered in a way that demonstrated proficiency and deep knowledge.
• Provide evidence of at least 1 customer engagement where you provided new information related to Agile to a client in a top management workshop.
• Provide evidence of at least 2 customer engagements where you helped solve a client’s problem enabling/supporting agility.
• Provide evidence of at least 1 customer engagement where you made an documented diagnosis that led to a redefinition of the original problem.
• Provide evidence of at least 1 customer engagement that involved making recommendations based on a documented diagnosis.
• Provide evidence of at least 1 customer engagement where you assisted with the implementation of recommended solutions.
• Provide evidence of at least 1 facilitated conversation at a customer to build a consensus, make decisions and/or create commitment around a corrective action
• Provide evidence of at least 1 customer engagement that involved facilitating client learning in a multi-day training or workshop format—that is, teaching clients how to resolve similar problems in the future.
• Provide evidence of at least 1 customer engagement where you co-created with your customer a plan and/or process to ensure the customer to permanently improve organizational effectiveness without your future participation.
  Showcase 1 case study of a customer engagement involving advising an Organization or Area into enhanced Agility.
• Share your Agile toolbox and your self improvement goals as an Agile Advisor.

Requirements to receive an AL-AOP

In a one-on-one or small group 1 hour (per person) accreditation interview your Accreditor will require you to:

• Demonstrate at least 2 years (or 1 year if the candidate has been mentored by a ACA Accredited Coach) of experience as a leader and/or change agent in an organization (contract, pictures, written recommendations ..).
• Answer 2 questions related to Business Agility and the candidate answered in a way that demonstrated proficiency and deep knowledge.
• Provide evidence of at least 1 cultural shift in an organization that enables/supports agility influenced by him/her.
• Provide evidence of at least 1 org. structure change (formal or informal) that enables/supports agility influenced by him/her.
• Provide evidence of at least 1 process implementation in an organization that enables/supports agility influenced by him/her.
• Provide evidence of at least 1 team or area improvement process and its outcomes.
• Provide evidence of at least 2 individual improvement process and its outcomes.
• Showcase 1 case study of transforming an Organization or Area into enhanced Agility.
• Share your self improvement goals as a Leader.