0.1 Purpose of this Syllabus
This syllabus forms the basis for the International Software Testing Qualification at the Foundation Level.
The ISTQB® provides this syllabus as follows:
- To member boards, to translate into their local language and to accredit training providers. ember boards may adapt the syllabus to their particular language needs and add references to adapt to their local publications.
- To certification bodies, to derive examination questions in their local language adapted to the learning objectives for this syllabus.
- To training providers, to produce courseware and determine appropriate teaching methods.
- To certification candidates, to prepare for the certification exam (either as part of a training course or independently).
- To the international software and systems engineering community, to advance the profession of software and systems testing, and as a basis for books and articles.
The ISTQB® may allow other entities to use this syllabus for other purposes, provided they seek and obtain prior written permission from the ISTQB®.
0.2 The Certified Tester Foundation Level in Software Testing
The Foundation Level qualification is aimed at anyone involved in software testing. This includes people in roles such as testers, test analysts, test engineers, test consultants, test managers, user acceptance testers, and software developers. This Foundation Level qualification is also appropriate for anyone who wants a basic understanding of software testing, such as product owners, project managers, quality managers, software development managers, business analysts, IT directors and management consultants. Holders of the Foundation Certificate will be able to go on to higher-level software testing certifications.
The ISTQB® Foundation Level Overview 2018 is a separate document which is still valid for this Foundation Syllabus 2018 V3.1 and includes the following information:
- Business outcomes for the syllabus
- Matrix showing traceability between business outcomes and learning objectives
- Summary of this syllabus
0.3 Examinable Learning Objectives and Cognitive Levels of Knowledge
Learning objectives support the business outcomes and are used to create the Certified Tester Foundation Level exams.
In general, all contents of this syllabus are examinable at a K1 level, except for the Introduction and Appendices. That is, the candidate may be asked to recognize, remember, or recall a keyword or concept mentioned in any of the six chapters. The knowledge levels of the specific learning objectives are shown at the beginning of each chapter, and classified as follows:
- K1: remember
- K2: understand
- K3: apply
Further details and examples of learning objectives are given in Appendix B.
The definitions of all terms listed as keywords just below chapter headings shall be remembered (K1), even if not explicitly mentioned in the learning objectives.
0.4 The Foundation Level Certificate Exam
The Foundation Level Certificate exam will be based on this syllabus. Answers to exam questions may require the use of material based on more than one section of this syllabus. All sections of the syllabus are examinable, except for the Introduction and Appendices. Standards, books, and other ISTQB® syllabi are included as references, but their content is not examinable, beyond what is summarized in this syllabus itself from such standards, books, and other ISTQB® syllabi.
The format of the exam is multiple choice. There are 40 questions. To pass the exam, at least 65% of the questions (i.e., 26 questions) must be answered correctly.
Exams may be taken as part of an accredited training course or taken independently (e.g., at an exam center or in a public exam). Completion of an accredited training course is not a pre-requisite for the exam.
0.5 Accreditation
An ISTQB® Member Board may accredit training providers whose course material follows this syllabus. Training providers should obtain accreditation guidelines from the Member Board or body that performs the accreditation. An accredited course is recognized as conforming to this syllabus, and is allowed to have an ISTQB® exam as part of the course.
0.6 Level of Detail
The level of detail in this syllabus allows internationally consistent courses and exams. In order to achieve this goal, the syllabus consists of:
- General instructional objectives describing the intention of the Foundation Level
- A list of terms that students must be able to recall
- Learning objectives for each knowledge area, describing the cognitive learning outcome to be achieved
- A description of the key concepts, including references to sources such as accepted literature and standards
The syllabus content is not a description of the entire knowledge area of software testing; it reflects the level of detail to be covered in Foundation Level training courses. It focuses on test concepts and techniques that can apply to all software projects, including Agile projects. This syllabus does not contain any specific learning objectives related to any particular software development lifecycle or method, but it does discuss how these concepts apply in Agile projects, other types of iterative and incremental lifecycles, and in sequential lifecycles.
0.7 How this Syllabus is Organized
There are six chapters with examinable content. The top-level heading for each chapter specifies the time for the chapter; timing is not provided below chapter level. For accredited training courses, the syllabus requires a minimum of 16.75 hours of instruction, distributed across the six chapters as follows:
- Chapter 1: 175 minutes Fundamentals of Testing
- Chapter 2: 100 minutes Testing Throughout the Software Development Lifecycle
- Chapter 3: 135 minutes Static Testing
- Chapter 4: 330 minutes Test Techniques
- Chapter 5: 225 minutes Test Management
- Chapter 6: 40 minutes Tool Support for Testing
