Quick Answer: CREA-SM vs ICP-ACC (ICAgile)
ICP-ACC (ICAgile Certified Professional — Agile Coaching) and CREA-SM serve fundamentally different purposes. ICP-ACC focuses purely on coaching skills — how to coach individuals, teams, and organisations toward agility. It has no exam; you pass by attending a 2-3 day training course. CREA-SM tests enterprise Agile delivery competence through an 80-question scenario-based exam. ICP-ACC costs £800–£1,200 in training fees. CREA-SM costs £119 with no training required.
Key Facts:
- CREA-SM cost: £119, exam-based, no training required
- ICP-ACC cost: £800–£1,200 (training-only, no separate exam)
- ICP-ACC format: Attendance-based — no exam, credential awarded for completing training
- CREA-SM format: 80-question online exam, 90 minutes, 75% pass mark required
- ICP-ACC covers: Coaching mindset, team coaching, one-on-one coaching, organisational coaching
- CREA-SM covers: Scrum + SAFe + LeSS + Nexus + tooling + metrics + AI + coaching models
- Both include: Coaching content (CREA-SM has a full coaching module; ICP-ACC goes deeper)
Recommendation: If your career focus is Agile coaching (not Scrum delivery), ICP-ACC is the better specialist credential. If you want a broad enterprise Agile Scrum Master credential with coaching included, CREA-SM delivers more value at a fraction of the cost.
What Is ICP-ACC?
ICP-ACC (ICAgile Certified Professional in Agile Coaching) is an attendance-based credential from ICAgile. Unlike most certifications, it requires no exam — you earn it by completing an accredited 2-3 day training course. The focus is on coaching skills: how to hold coaching conversations, facilitate team retrospectives from a coaching stance, and support organisational Agile transformation.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Criteria | CREA-SM | ICP-ACC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | £119 | £800–£1,200 |
| Format | Online exam | Training attendance only |
| Exam required | Yes (rigorous) | No exam |
| Renewal | Never | No formal renewal |
| Coaching content depth | Module-level | Deep specialist focus |
| Scrum/delivery content | Comprehensive | Minimal |
| Enterprise tools coverage | Jira, Azure DevOps, Rally | None |
| AI delivery content | Yes | No |
| Entry requirement | None | None |
Which Should You Choose?
Choose CREA-SM if: You are a Scrum Master or aspiring SM who wants broad enterprise Agile competence, including coaching, at the lowest cost.
Choose ICP-ACC if: You are specifically pursuing an Agile Coach career path, your employer funds training, and you want a specialist coaching credential recognised in the coaching community.
Do both if: You want the broadest credential portfolio — CREA-SM first (fast, cheap, exam-validated), then ICP-ACC once employed and funded by your organisation.
CREA-SM — Broad Enterprise Agile Mastery at £119
Scrum + Scaling + Coaching + Tooling + AI. No prerequisites. Lifetime valid.
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