The document describes the main idea and benefits of ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board®) certification.

1. ISTQB certification
Description and Benefits
Author: Aleksandra Tyurina
Date: 03/20/2012
Version: 0.4

2. Table of content
2
Importance of certification
Official information
Benefits
ISTQB® Framework
Levels of Certification
Advanced Level Certificate
Preparation
Self-study preparation
Passing the exams
ISTQB Worldwide
RSTQB
ISTQB comparison
Useful Links

3. Importance of certification
3
 As clients more closely guard expenses and become more
discerning, organizations needing to outsource services and
support will want to ensure the firms and technicians they
hire are competent. IT certifications are a great
method for service consulting organization to
demonstrate their skill, knowledge, and expertise to
potential clients.
 ISTQB® is the most widely recognized and fastest-growing
software tester certification in the world:
Developed by 100 global software testing experts
Offered in 47 countries
More than 165,000 certified software testers
worldwide

4. Official information
4
 The International Software Testing Qualifications Board®
(ISTQB)[1] is a non-profit organization responsible for
defining various guidelines such as examination structure
and regulations, accreditation, certification etc.
 The ISTQB® Certified Tester program provides
certification for software testers internationally.
 One of the core principles of the program is a strict
separation between the administration of exams
and the training to those who would like to prepare for
the exam in ISTQB® compliant courses.

5. Benefits
5
 Certifications are a great method for YOUR COMPANY to
demonstrate engineers’ skills, knowledge, and expertise to
potential clients.
 For a company, a staff with a variety of relevant certifications
makes the business more marketable, which translates to
new customers, and the development and implementation of
new processes, systems and applications.
 Employees who are better trained and educated as the result
of certification efforts will be less likely to commit errors that lead
to failure.
 Certifications are objective measurements of skills and hence
easy to use when it comes to comparing and contrasting the talent
pool.

6. ISTQB® Framework
6

7. Levels of Certification
7
 There are currently two levels of certification:
Foundation Level (one module)
Advanced Level (three modules). To receive Advanced
Level certification, candidates must hold the Foundation
Certificate.
 An Expert Level is currently being developed (will start in
2012).
 For all three levels, international working groups develop
and maintain internationally uniform curricula and exams.

8. Advanced Level Certificate
8
 The Advanced Level supports 3 certifications, and there is
a separate exam for each certification:
Test Manager
Test Analyst
Technical Test Analyst
 This offers the option to either acquire the certificate in
one specific field or to take all three exams and
receive an ISTQB Certified Tester, Full Advanced Level,
certificate.

9. Preparation
9
 You have choices of how to prepare for the exams:
A course from an accredited provider
Internal company training for employees
Self-study via software testing books and Web sites
 Only accredited companies are allowed to offer
preparation trainings. An ISTQB® accredited training
provider is someone who has extensive knowledge and
experience in testing, and can provide additional insights
into testing terminology and the syllabus content, to make it
easier to attain the ISTQB® certifications.

10. Self-study preparation
10
 If you want to prepare for the exam by self-study the
ISTQB® Syllabi and Glossary[2] are highly recommended.
 The Foundation Level exam tests for knowledge, not
skill. It provides information about the certificate holder's
level of familiarity with the most common concepts of
software testing and the associated terminology. It does not
require work experience.
 The Foundation Level exam is a stepping stone toward the
Advanced Level, which is more in-depth and much more
practice-oriented.

11. Passing the exams
11
 You must book your exam directly with the
International Software Testing Qualifications Boards[3].
Select your country from the list to get local exam dates,
applicable fees and booking information. For Russia see
slide RSTQB.
 Exam fee is from 150 EUR ($250) per module.
 The FL exam comprises 40 multiple-choice questions, a
pass mark of 65% and a duration of 60 minutes (or 75
minutes for not-native speaker).
 The AL exams comprise 65 multiple-choice questions, a
pass mark of 65%, and a duration of 180 minutes (or 225
minutes for not-native speaker).

12. ISTQB Worldwide
12
 ISTQB is composed of 47 member Boards from
worldwide countries[3].
 E.g. boards available in the countries:
American Software Testing Qualifications Board (ASTQB)
Australia and New Zealand Testing Board (ANZTB)
Chinese Software Testing Qualifications Board (CSTQB)
Finnish Software Testing Board (FiSTB)
German Testing Board (GTB)
Indian Testing Board (ITB)
Japan Software Testing Qualifications Board (JSTQB)
Korean Software Testing and Qualifications Board (KSTQB)
Polish Testing Board (PTB)
Russian Software Testing Qualifications Board (RSTQB)
Swedish Software Testing Board (SSTB)
UK Testing Board (UKTB)

13. RSTQB
13
 RSTQB[4] is a Russian Board of the ISTQB. The board
works out the syllabus and examination questions for the
certification scheme in Russian.
 The RSTQB offers the Foundation Level exam and all three
Advanced Level exams all over Russia. Most exam dates at
the moment are in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg,
Vladimir and Dubna.
 An online exam can be provided by an ISTQB certified
Proctor on any local place. Foundation Level Exam is
now possible to be organized in Nizhny Novgorod.
 The following department is accredited and can provide
trainings in Russia now: Knowledge Department[5].

14. ISTQB comparison
14
ISTQB QAI’s CSTE IIST’s CSTP
Organization International Quality Assurance International Institute
awarding the Software Testing Institute for Software Testing
certification Qualification Board www.qaiusa.com http://www.iist.org/
www.istqb.org
Formal training None. None. 10 days of formal
required for the An optional 3-day An optional 3-day classroom training
certification to prep course available prep course offered by with hands on
be awarded from ISTQB certified QAI. workshops.
training providers.
Certified 155,000 certified 35,000 Certified 2,500 Certified
software testers (Oct,2010) (Sep, 2008) (Oct, 2010)
the most popular
Is re- No Yes Yes
certification
required?
Cost $250 for taking or $300 for taking or Cost of training + $120
re-taking the exam re-taking the exam graduation fee Cost of
training is approximately
$5,500

15. Links
15
# Description Link
1 International Software Testing http://istqb.org
Qualifications Board ® (ISTQB)
2 Syllabi and Glossary http://istqb.org/display/ISTQB/Syllabi?atl_toke
3 ISTQB Worldwide http://istqb.org/display/ISTQB/ISTQB+Worldw
4 RSTQB http://en.rstqb.org/
5 Knowledge Department http://knowledge-department.ru/
6 Why you need it and how to get it? by http://www.testingexperience.com/testingexperi
Rex Black
7 ISTQB vs. ISEB http://www.istqbcertification.org/?q=node/17
8 Software Testing Materials: Basic http://www.rbcs-us.com/software-testing-resour
Resource Library

16. ISTQB certification
Driving the Software Testing Profession Forwards