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 38 countries (date: March 2008).

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" - Functional Tester
* "Advanced Level" - Technical Tester
* "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 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 time (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 38 countries (date: March 2008). 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.

Figures about Certified Testers worldwide

As of March 2008 there were over 80000 ISTQB Certified Testers, worldwide.Fact|date=March 2008 ( see http://www.istqb.org/march_18_2008.htm ) 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.

References

Foundation Level

* Thomas Müller (chair), Rex Black, Sigrid Eldh, Dorothy Graham, Klaus Olsen, Maaret Pyhäjärvi, Geoff Thompson and Erik van Veendendal. (2007). "Certified Tester - Foundation Level Syllabus - Version 2007", International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB), Möhrendorf, Germany. ( [http://www.istqb.org/downloads/syllabi/SyllabusFoundation.pdf PDF; 0,382 MB] ).

* 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.

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. ( [http://www.astqb.org/documents/ISTQBAdvancedLevelSyllabus.pdf PDF; 0,318 MB] ).

* 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.

See also

* International Software Testing Qualifications Board
* CSTE
* software testing
* Verification and Validation (software)

* 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] .

External links

* [http://www.istqb.org ISTQB]
* [http://www.astqb.org/ American Software Testing Qualifications Board, Inc.]
* [http://www.istqb.nl/ Belgium and Dutch Testing Qualifications Board]
* [http://www.isqi.org/en/certification/certified-tester/ iSQI (International Software Quality Institute)]