The International Software Testing Qualifications Board® (ISTQB®) is the owner of the best-known certification scheme for software testers. ISTQB® certification scheme consists of a main branch and agile and specialized expansions. The main branch contains certificates of basic, advanced and expert levels. Towards basic certification status level (ISTQB® Foundation Level) there are no input preconditions, while the higher level of certification requires possession of a certificate of previous levels and appropriate practical experience. Basic certificate level, is the prerequisite for certification of a specialist and agile expansion.
For each ISTQB® certificate there is a specific curriculum (Syllabi) prescribed, while the knowledge of ISTQB® glossary and curriculum of the previous level is implied.
Implementation of the certification is within the competence of individual national and regional ISTQB® committees and accredited providers of examinations.
Value of ISTQB® curriculum & dictionary adoption
The success ISTQB® certification scheme is best illustrated by figures of over 440,000 certificates issued in more than 100 countries worldwide.
Such popularity is hard to fully explain, but from our perspective the main reason could be the well-fitting curriculum that addresses the real needs of the practice. Some years back, when we were trying to define which would be the basic knowledge that all CROZ testers should own, ISTQB® curriculum has emerged as the best choice. The availability of quality literature and online materials based on ISTQB® curriculum, have significantly expedited our ability to implement this choice. Although the acquisition of the certificate was not the original motivation, certification of a large number of testers was a logical extension.
Another reason for our interest in ISTQB® was the practice of standardization of testing – the use of different terms for the same thing, different interpretation of the same concept, unnecessary diversity of testing documentation and testing process on various projects. All this hampered the communication, both within the testing team, as well as towards other participants in the project. Another bad consequence was difficult and inefficient transfer of knowledge and training of young testers. Adoption of ISTQB® fund of knowledge, has helped us to standardize own testing practices and has boosted dissemination of knowledge within the company. Today, when ISTQB® become the world’s de facto standard for training of testers, benefits are even more evident. In fact, several of our clients adopted ISTQB® settings and glossary, thus the communication and co-operation is considerably facilitated.
Last, but not least valuable feature of ISTQB® is the ability to acquire the internationally acclaimed certification under favourable conditions. To providers of testing, ISTQB® certificates allow incontestable proof of eligibility of own testers which plays an increasingly important role in earning the trust of clients and obtaining development and testing engagements.
How to get an ISTQB® certificate
For ISTQB® certificate Foundation Level you need to pass a written exam in English that consists of 40 multiple choice questions. Questions are based on publicly available Foundation Level curriculum and ISTQB® dictionary. For undertaking the Foundation Level examination practical experience is not required, nor the compulsory attendance of the preparatory course.
For the preparation there are more good books, while in CROZ “Foundations of Software Testing: ISTQB Certification, by Dorothy Graham, Erik Van Veenendaal, Isabel Evans and Rex Black” is commonly used.
Attending the preparatory course can significantly facilitate the examination. CROZ, as an accredited provider of ISTQB® training, offers a preparatory course to ISTQB Foundation Level.
The exam can be taken at an accredited ISTQB® certification provider. In Croatia, it is at Pearson VUE test centers, and since recently exam can be taken as well at CROZ.
