International Software Testing Qualifications Board Certified Tester
ISTQB Certified Tester is a standardized qualification for software testers. The certification is offered by the ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board), and is based on a multiple-choice exam covering the freely available syllabus. The education program is offered in over 47 countries (there are 47 Member Boards but some of them are regional, handling more than 1 country) (date: July 2010).
The ISTQB was officially founded as the International Software Testing Qualifications Board in Edinburgh in November 2002.
Certifications
- Foundation Level (CTFL)
- Advanced Level - Test Manager
- Advanced Level - Test Analyst
- Advanced Level - Technical Test Analyst
- Advanced Level (CTAL) - Full Advanced Level (after passing the above exams of Advanced Level)
- Expert Level
Content of the exams
The exam for the Foundation Level has a theoretical nature and requires knowledge of software development - especially in the field of software testing.
The different Advanced Level exams are more practical and require deeper knowledge in special areas. Test Manager deals with planning and control of the test process. Functional Tester concerns, amongst other things, reviews and Black box testing methods. Technical Tester includes component tests (also called unit test), requiring knowledge of White box testing and non-functional testing methods - this section also includes test tools. The Expert Level is still in preparation..
Pre-requisites
The Foundation Level exam has no pre-requisites. To take the Advanced Level exam, candidates need to pass the Foundation Level exam first and must prove professional experience (for example - the USA requirement is 60 months, India 24 months and Germany 18 months).
Exam
The exam consists of a multiple-choice test, which until 2005 about 80% of the candidates passed.
In USA exam fees for Foundation Level are $250.00. For Advanced Level each component exam is USD 200.00 and there is a one-time qualification fee of USD 100.00 (date: September 2006).
Certification is valid for life (Foundation Level and Advanced Level) and there is no requirement for recertification.
Testing boards are responsible for the quality and the auditing of the examination. Worldwide there are testing boards in 47 countries (date: October 2010). In USA the corresponding organisation is the ASTQB (American Software Testing Qualifications Board).
Registering for Exams
Candidates can learn more about ISTQB certification and exams in their country by visiting the ISTQB website and the local boards' websites.
Figures about Certified Testers worldwide
As of June 2010 there were over 155,000 ISTQB Certified Testers, worldwide. One reason for this is that a number of organizations which offer other Software Testing certifications affiliate with ISTQB (e.g. ISEB (Information Systems Examination Board).
Other Certifying Organisations
The QAI (Quality Assurance Institute) offers similar certification, in more than 40 countries.
Materials
Foundation Level
- Thomas Müller (chair), Rex Black, Sigrid Eldh, Dorothy Graham, Klaus Olsen, Maaret Pyhäjärvi, Geoff Thompson and Erik van Veendendaal (2007) Certified Tester - Foundation Level Syllabus - Version 2007, International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB), Möhrendorf, Germany[1]
- Andreas Spillner, Tilo Linz, Hans Schäfer (2006) Software Testing Foundations - A Study Guide for the Certified Tester Exam - Foundation Level - ISTQB compliant, 1st print. dpunkt.verlag GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany. ISBN 3-89864-363-8
- Andreas Spillner, Tilo Linz (2005) Basiswissen Softwaretest - Basiswissen Softwaretest: Aus- und Weiterbildung zum Certified Tester: Foundation Level nach ISTQB-Standard, 3rd extended and updated run, dpunkt.verlag GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany. ISBN 3-89864-358-1
- Brian Hambling (ed.) Peter Morgan, Geoff Thompson, Angelina Samaroo, Peter Williams (2006) Software Testing: An ISEB Foundation, British Computer Society, ISBN 978-1902505794
- Dorothy Graham, Erik van Veenendaal, Isabel Evans, and Rex Black. (2008). Foundations of Software Testing, Cengage, USA, ISBN 1844809897, ISBN 978-1844809899
Advanced Level
- German Testing Board e.V. (2003) Software Testing - Advanced Level Syllabus - ISTQB-Certified-Tester, Advanced Level, Version 1.2(E). European Organization for Quality - Software Group, Erlangen, Germany[2]
- Erik van Veenendaal (ed. and author) (2005) The Testing Practitioner, 3rd run, UTN Publishers, CN Den Bosch, the Netherlands, ISBN 90-72194-65-9
- Andreas Spillner, Tilo Linz, Thomas Roßner, Mario Winter (2006) Praxiswissen Softwaretest - Testmanagement: Aus- und Weiterbildung zum Certified Tester: Advanced Level nach ISTQB-Standard, 1st run, dpunkt.verlag GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany, ISBN 3-89864-275-5
- Graham Bath / Judy McKay (2008) The Software Test Engineer’s Handbook - A Study Guide for the ISTQB Test Analyst and Technical Test Analyst Advanced Level Certificates, Rocky Nook, USA; ISBN 978-1-933952-24-6
- Andreas Spillner / Tilo Linz / Thomas Rossner / Mario Winter (2007) Software Testing Practice: Test Management, A Study Guide for the Certified Tester Exam ISTQB Advanced Level, Rocky Nook, USA, ISBN: ISBN 978-1-933952-13-0
See also
- Andreas Spillner, Tilo Linz, Hans Schäfer (2007) Software Testing Foundations, 2nd Edition: A Study Guide for the Certified Tester Exam (Foundation Level – ISTQB compliant), Rocky Nook Inc, Santa Barbara, California, USA; ISBN 978-1-933952-08-6
- ISTQB vs ISEB - A comparison of qualifications Sogeti Ireland
References
External links