International Software Testing Qualifications Board

The International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) is a software testing qualification certification organisation that operates internationally. Founded in Edinburgh in November 2002, ISTQB is a non-profit association legally registered in Belgium.

ISTQB® Certified Tester is a standardized qualification for software testers and the certification is offered by the ISTQB. The qualifications are based on a syllabus, and there is a hierarchy of qualifications and guidelines for accreditation and examination. The ISTQB® is a software testing qualification certification organization having over 350,000 certifications issued; the ISTQB® consists of 49 member boards worldwide representing 72 countries (date: June 2014).

Currently ISTQB® provides three levels of certification:

The exam for the Foundation Level has a theoretical nature and requires knowledge of 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. Test Analyst concerns, amongst other things, reviews and black box testing methods. Technical Test Analyst 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.

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).

The Foundation and Advanced exams consist of a multiple-choice tests.

Certification is valid for life (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 47 countries (date: October 2010). In USA the corresponding organisation is the ASTQB (American Software Testing Qualifications Board), in Britain the Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB) is the local board, and in India it is the Indian Testing Board (ITB).

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