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What is the ISTQB Certification

Welcome guys. This is Wayne Vassell here from Talented Tester. Just wanted to give you a quick piece of content here about what is the ISTQB testing certification. Many people ask me, so I wanted to just make sure that you’re fully aware of what it is.

So the ISTQB is the International Software Testing Qualifications Board. That is what the actual acronym breaks down. It’s in 70 different countries and each country has its own local board for testing. For example, in Australia and New Zealand there is what they call the ANZTB and also in Norway, there’s a Norwegian testing board NTB.

What Makes the ISTQB So Attractive?

So what makes the ISTQB (Click here to learn how to prepare for the ISTQB Foundation) so attractive to all the testers around the world you may ask? Well first and foremost for the sheer fact that it is a well known internationally recognized certification makes it very interesting to all people. This means that if you was going to be working in a different country then it would add value to your CV because you’d be able to port those skills to other countries. It allows you to have a world recognized certification. There are multiple levels from foundation to advanced and also expert level, which I will get on to in more detail in just a moment. Another beauty of it, there’s no expiry date. As other certifications, you have to renew them like maybe every 5 or 10 years, but this one does not have an expiry date. So once you get your certificate, that is basically on your CV for life. It’s also online certification, which means it’s really easy to do and very accessible.

What are The Different Levels?

So what are the different levels, you may be asking yourself? There are three distinct levels. There’s the

  • Foundation Level
  • Advanced level
  • Expert level.

Who is the Foundation Level Certification level for?

So who is the foundation level certification level for? This is typically for entry level brand new testers, people that have maybe been in testing just for a short period of time. Maybe not exactly brand new, but they’ve been into testing maybe only six months to a year. It’s not just for people that are brand new to testing as well. It’s also open for experienced testers that are wishing to have a recognized certification. What you have to understand is you may be one of those people that have been testing for a large amount of years, but you’ve never had any formal education or certificates to back up your understanding. This might be just a gap in your CV that people keep asking for, which might be a reason why the foundation level certificate would be a good starting point.

It’s also a good certificate for experienced testers who are wishing to work up to the advanced or expert level. So if you want to actually get to the expert level then it is best practice to get your foundation certificate first and then move up the ranks.

What does the Foundation Level Certificate actually cover?

So let’s delve deeper into the foundation level. What does it actually cover? The key concepts of the foundation level: they go into the SDLC, the Software Development Lifecycle; static techniques such as black box and white box testing; and also an entry level view of test management tools.

Who is the Advanced Level Certification level for?

So if we skip on to the advanced level certification, who is this targeted at? What is the best person for this level? So it’s typically mid-level testers that have had a minimum of five years experience. Typically established test professionals that are fairly confident in testing, that have been around for a while. Professionals looking for some growth in their career. Maybe they’ve been around for a while and they just want to actually solidify their skills and make themselves more marketable.

What does the Advanced Level Certificate actually cover?

So let’s just look at some of the advanced level coverage. We’re talking about advanced behavioural or black box testing, standards for business-centric testers, test automation as well, which is obviously a big interest in the market these days, advanced structural or white box testing, and also test management concepts.

Who is the Expert Level Certification level for?

So let’s take a look at the top tier expert level and what the difference is for that. Who is this actually targeted at? This is typically for leaders with eight plus years experience and maybe leaders in the game who are looking for real industry recognition. Quite a bit of work to get to this level and therefore the expert certification is the perfect accolade to add to your CV.

What does the Expert Level Certificate actually cover?

So let’s look at the type of coverage that you’d expect on the expert level. You’re looking at the latest proven cutting edge testing techniques. Test process improvement, expert level automation, so it does get very low level technical stuff, and expert level test management for people that are going more into the management side of things rather than down to the actual automation or technical side of testing.

Summary

So that is a good overview of exactly what the ISTQB has in store. These are different levels. If you want to see a free exam question sample from the foundation level, then click here and you can download a free sample, no questions asked, and just pick that up for free.

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