ISTQB Overview

Overview

The International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) Certified Tester scheme is the world’s most successful scheme and the de facto standard for certifying software testing professionals. The scheme is built on an extensive Body of Knowledge that is applied consistently all over the world. More than 700,000 exams have been delivered and over 500,000 certificates awarded in more than 120 countries worldwide.

The ISTQB product portfolio (see below) defines test certifications ranging from Foundation to expert level, and also addresses topics such as Test Management, Agile Testing and Security Testing.

Non-Profit organization

ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) was founded in November 2002 and is a not-for-profit association legally registered in Belgium. ISTQB is an organization based on volunteer work by hundreds of international testing experts.

ISTQB Vision

To continually improve and advance the software testing profession by:
Defining and maintaining a Body of Knowledge which allows testers to be certified based on best practices, connecting the international software testing community, and encouraging research.

Product Portfolio

The evolutionary road-map for the ISTQB Product Portfolio is summarized in the picture below. The existing Foundation, Advanced and Expert modules are grouped under the Core stream. Modules that are more specific in their nature, are served under the Specialist stream. Agile methodology related syllabi are grouped under a dedicated Agile stream.