Let us compare the two leading Role based certifications ISTQB & ISEB

8/14/2019 Let us compare the two leading Role based certifications ISTQB & ISEB

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Let us compare the two leading Role based certifications ISTQB & ISEB

In this article I am trying to provide sufficient details to the certification aspirants in our testing communitywhich could help them decide on the certification suiting their individual needs and taste, while mostimportant factor being their pocket.

There are lot many similarities among the two certifications – ISTQB & ISEB.

Both the certification schemes are broadly equivalent and enjoy great respect due to being of international recognition.

Quick introduction to Major Certifying Bodies - ISTQB & ISEB:

ISTQB ISEB

ISTQB (International Software TestingQualification Board) is a Non-Profitorganization.

It decides the core syllabus & definesstandard guidelines for certification examsbeing conducted by national boards for conducting exams in their respectivecountries.

ISEB (Information Systems ExaminationBody) is the qualifications arm of theBritish Computing Society.

What are the Levels of Specialization you acquire with these certifications?

Broad hierarchical comparison among two streams is given below



Functional comparison different levels of certifications are:

Level - 1 (Foundation Level):This is the entry-level certification offered by ISTQB as well as ISEB to the software testers. Both thesecertifications are equivalent, since their exams use the same international level syllabus and glossary of terms defined by ISTQB.

It provides an introduction to the basics or the theory of testing & this aspect is tested through shortmultiple choice objective-type exam covering K-1, K-2 & K-3 skill levels described below.

These certification exams are administered at online-tests centers and other local examination bodies of various countries.

Level - 2 (Advanced / Practitioner Level):At this level, ISTQB and ISEB operate on different schemes. Although both these schemes are quitesimilar & equivalent, since these too are built upon foundation level syllabus and the same glossary of terms defined by ISTQB. Hence testers have a choice to go in for either of these certifications.

Following table describes some of the key points of differences among various schemes at these levels.

Level - 3 (More Advanced / Practitioner Level):At present such third level certification are not available. Both ISTQB and ISEB are contemplating oncoming out with this most advanced level of certification schemes having different merits in due course of time.

Here ISTQB is likely to have different viewpoint from ISEB in following aspects.

Vision of ISTQB Vision of ISEB

# The aspirants for third levelcertification are being expectedto concentrate more & more ondetailed aspects of testing like

test automation or performancetesting.

# It is believed that experts of ISTQB are already engaged informulating the syllabus &structure of exam.

# To offer a full fledged diploma tothe aspirants with a view to widentheir perspective and be able toenhance their qualifications in

other areas supported by ISEB.

# The ISEB has a large basket of qualification offerings coveringareas like requirementsengineering, project management,development & servicemanagement.

Before going ahead with skill to skill comparison; let us briefly delve upon the various skill levels or knowledge levels for the testing industry being designated as K-Levels.

What are K-Levels of knowledge?K-Levels or “Knowledge Levels” basically refers to the prescription of an upper limit of skills or knowledgeessential for a particular certification.

Hierarchy of K-Levels is described in globally recognized Bloom’s Texonomy of learning. Reaching aparticular K-Level means that the individual has successfully achieved some measurable & meaningfulobjectives. How many K-Levels or learning objectives do we when talking about test certification?



K-Levels begins at K-1 being the kindergarten level of learning in testing & ending up at K-6 withspecialized knowledge as described in the Following Article

Article:

Pictorial comparison of various schemes by ISTQB & ISEB with Knowledge levels acquired on our career path are:

Salient features of various Level –1 & 2 Certification Schemes by ISTQB

Feature Foundation Level(Commonfor ISTQB& ISEB)

ISTQBCertifiedTester AdvancedLevel:TestManager

ISTQBCertifiedTester Advanced Level:TestAnalyst

ISTQBCertifiedTester Advanced Level:TechnicalTest

Analyst1 Pre -requisites None Foundatio

nFoundation

Foundation

2 Exam Duration 1 Hr. 3 Hrs. 3 Hrs. 3 Hrs.

3 Learning Levels K1, K2,K3

K1, K2,K3,K4

K1, K2,K3,K4

K1, K2,K3,K4

4 Examining Body(s)

ISEB ITB / LocalTestingBoard

ITB /LocalTesting

ITB /LocalTesting



Board Board

5 Current syllabusissued on

12th April2007(v2007)

Oct 2007(v2007)

Oct 2007(v2007)

Oct 2007(v2007)

6 Exam format MultipleChoice

MultipleChoice

MultipleChoice

MultipleChoice

7 Number of Questions 40 40 40 40

8 Type of Questions

Independent MultipleChoice

Pick ‘N’Mix &ScenarioBased



9 Min. %age toPass

65% 65% 65% 65%

10 Exam Compa -rability acrossdifferentcountries

EachISTQBTestingBoard andISEBpreparetheir ownexampapers




11 What to do After this

ISTQBCertifiedTester AdvancedLevel or ISEBIntermediate

None atthemoment –ExpertLevel notAvailableyet



12 Availability onPublic Schedule

Yes Yes Yes No

13 Exam Fee per person

Definedby ITB /LocalTestingBoard

Defined byITB / LocalTestingBoard



Salient features of various Level –1 & 2 Certification Schemes by ISEB

Feature ISEBIntermediate

ISEBPractitioner

– TestManagement

ISEBPractitioner

– TestAnalysis

1 Pre-requisites Foundation Intermediate Intermediate2 Exam Duration 1 Hr. 2 Hrs. 2 Hrs.

3 Learning Levels K1, K2,K3,K4

K1, K2,K3,K4,K5,K6

K1, K2,K3,K4,K5,K6

4 ExaminingBody (s)

ISEB ISEB ISEB

5 Current syllabusissued on

June 2008(Version 1.3)



6 Exam format Multiple Essay Style Essay Style



Choice

7 Number of Questions

40 40 40

8 Type of Questions

ScenarioBasedMultiple

Choice

WrittenQuestion &Answer

WrittenQuestion &Answer

9 Min. %age toPass

60% 60% 60%

10 ExamComparabilityacross differentcountries

Same corepapers areusedinternationally



11 What to do After this

Practitioner inTest Analysisor Practitioner inTestManagement

None at themoment –Expert Levelnot Availableyet

None at themoment –Expert Levelnot Availableyet

12 Availability onPublic Schedule

Yes Yes Yes

13 Exam Fee per person

Defined byISEB / LocalBody



Best of Luck Friends !!!!! in your pursuit for these World Class Test Certifications

Article by:www.softwaretestinggenius.com

A Storehouse of Complete Knowledge on Software Testing & Quality Assurance under one roof

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Let us compare the two leading Role based certifications ISTQB & ISEB