New and improved training from the ISTQB®

Acceptance Testing

In recent years the ISTQB has expanded the range of its certification scheme by publishing a number of new specialist syllabi.  Tesena is proud to offer one of the most forward-looking of these: Acceptance Testing.  Like the ISTQB’s Agile Tester extension, in only 2 days this Foundation Level Specialist Syllabus takes software testing out of its silo into an area where collaboration with other team members can multiply a tester’s contribution to a project and extend his/her skills.  In this case, the subject is acceptance testing from the business perspective and the emphasis is on collaboration with business analysts, in both Agile and traditional projects.

Perhaps its most exciting aspect is the coverage of modern techniques for modelling business process flows and decision making.  These techniques, maintained by the Object Management Group, endorsed by an ISO standard and UML compliant, are becoming the basis for a powerful new range of model-based application and test generation tools.  Any tester of business software who doesn’t embrace them risks being left behind in a fast-changing environment.

Advanced Level Test Analyst and Technical Test Analyst

More recently the ISTQB has started work on updating and modernising its core Advanced Level syllabi.  The first results of that are now available in the form of improved Test Analyst and Technical Test Analyst courses.

The Test Analyst training can now be completed in only three days.  There is less repetition of Foundation Level topics and some of the test techniques that are no longer widely used have been dropped.  There is more about how to make testing effective in Agile developments.  In addition:

• the non-functional testing chapter contains more detailed treatment of this subject that includes the latest techniques and international standards.
• Test Tools and Automation has also been updated and modernised, including more detailed treatment of the non-technical tester’s role in test automation with emphasis on keyword-driven testing.

The Technical Test Analyst training has been considerably improved, with more about use of Statement and Decision testing as the basics of code-level structural testing to compensate for the reduced time spent on these in the latest Foundation course.  Two structural techniques that nowadays are rarely used have been removed to make room for enhanced coverage of other areas.  This new syllabus features:

• stronger and more modern treatment of the code-level structural test techniques that are most useful for safety-critical system components (MC/DC, Multiple Condition and Path testing).
• continued emphasis on static and dynamic analysis of code and system architecture as ways to minimise costs of maintenance and the overall costs of system ownership.
• Security, Performance Efficiency, Maintainability and Portability testing topics have been updated with the latest techniques and international standards.
• The Test Tools and Automation chapter has been updated and modernised here as well, including more detailed treatment of the various approaches to automation and the additional description of tools to support mobile application testing.

Author: Richard Taylor

Richard has dedicated more than 40 years of his professional career to IT business. He has been involved in programming, systems analysis and business analysis. Since 1992 he has specialised in test management. He was one of the first members of ISEB (Information Systems Examination Board). At present he is actively involved in the activities of the ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board), where he mainly contributes with numerous improvements to training materials. Richard is also a very popular lecturer at our training sessions and a regular speaker at international conferences.