ISTQB certification

Content of the exams

The exam for the Foundation Level has more theoretical nature and requests for knowledge about the software development area - especially in the field of testing.

The different Advanced Level exams are more practical and they deepen the gained knowledge in special areas. Test Manager deal with the planning and control of the test process. Functional Tester concern themselves among other things with reviews and Black box testing methods. Technical Tester look into the subject component tests (also called unit test), where they use inter alia White box testing methods and non-functional testing methods and also includes test tools. The Expert Level is still in preparation.

Premises

The exam Foundation Level has no premises. To take the Advanced Level exam, candidates need to pass the Foundation Level exam first and must prove having at least 60 months of professional experience (in USA). In India 24 months and Germany it is 18 months.

Exam

The exam consists of a multiple-choice test, which until 2005 about 80% of the candidates passed. A reason for this can be, that people can learn by self-study without visiting preparation seminars, because the syllabus is available for free in the internet.

In USA pure exam fees for Foundation Level are $250.00. For Advanced Level it is for each component exam US $200.00 and there is a one-time qualification fee of US $100.00 (date: september 2006).

Certificates are valid for life time (Foundation Level and Advanced Level) and do not need recertification.

So called testing boards are responsible for the quality and the auditing. Worldwide there are in 33 countries testing boards (date: april 2007). In USA the corresponding organ is the ASTQB (American Software Testing Qualifications Board).

Register for Exams

Learn more about ISTQB certification and exams in your country by clicking here [1].

Figures about Certified Testers worldwide

At the moment there are over 60000 ISTQB Certified Testers worldwide. One reason for this is, that organizations which offer also certifications for software testers affiliate with ISTQB (e.g. ISEB (Information Systems Examination Board)). At the moment Germany, India and USA are leading in the real Certified Tester programs.
The QAI (Quality Assurance Institute) is another organization, which offers in more than 40 countries certificates.