Pathway to CTC/CEC

Along with other members from the Coaching Advisory Team (CAT) and the Coaching Program Improvement Team (PIT), we’ll be onsite in Berkeley to answer your questionsabout our organization, certification, and your agile coaching journey. As a CSP®-SM and/or CSP®-PO who may be working to become a CTC and/or CEC, we have outlined information below to help you prepare.

Your next steps:

Grow in your professional coaching skills
- Find a mentor
- Learn one or more coaching frameworks
- Learn more about Scrum Alliance’s beta Path to Coaching Program: Professionalizing the Coaching in Agile Coaching
Gain the relevant coaching experience
- CTC require 1000 hours of team-level coaching over the last two years
- CEC require 2000 hours of organizational and leadership coaching over the last three years
Review the checklists, resource guides, and sample applications for each certification found on the Scrum Alliance Certified Team Coach and Certified Enterprise Coachweb pages.

Did you know that there are new superpowers available to CTCs and CECs?

Our Certified Team Coaches and Certified Enterprise Coaches are able to:
- Certify Scrum Masters and Product Owners whom they coach for a minimum of 25 hours
- Provide coaching programs on the Path to CSP^SM
- Nominate coaches for the Certified Team Coach (CTC) certification

Here are answers to some common questions:

What’s the difference between CTC and CEC?
- A CTC works primarily with multiple teams, each of which has their own ScrumMaster and Product Owner. The CTC coaches the teams, ScrumMasters, Product Owners, and first- or second-level of management around the teams. CTCs generally coach within one area of the business, such as Product Development.
- CECs, on the other hand, primarily coach at the executive leadership level, often coming into an organization to perform an agile transformation. CECs work across multiple departments within the organization, such as HR, Marketing and Finance. CECs may also spend time coaching teams, and can benefit from working with team coaches to aid in the agile transformation.
How do I apply?
- We have two versions of the CEC application: one with the supplementary CTC portion (where the candidate is evaluated for both certs), and one without. The candidate pays an extra $100 fee to obtain access to the combined CEC/CTC application.
How long does the process take?
- Applying for either coaching certification involves a significant investment in your own learning as well as time to actually fill out the application. Depending on your current level of experience, you may spend many months working on your application before submitting. Your pre-application call with a Scrum Alliance Certified Coach will help you better understand the investment required.
- Our Scrum Alliance volunteer review teams aim to complete Part 1 application reviews within 30 days of submission and Part 2 application reviews within 90 days of submission. Review time can vary.
Who qualifies as a mentor?
- A mentor is a person qualified in the area of study (i.e. coaching, leadership, etc.) with whom the candidate has worked over a longer period of time (months or years) to develop in that particular area or skill. Mentoring has a focus and a regular cadence and can take place one-on-one or in small group situations.
How much community participation do I need before applying?
- The exact amount of required community participation varies. We look for candidates to have a track record of engagement in the agile community over a period of years. For CTCs, participation and some leadership are sufficient; and for CECs, more leadership engagement activities are required.
- Interested in getting involved with the Scrum Alliance community? We have volunteer opportunities available now, and new openings become available throughout the year.