the istqb advanced syllabus

8/9/2019 The ISTQB Advanced Syllabus

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The ISTQB Advanced Syllabus

Guiding the Way to Better Software Testing


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vance y a us

Goals of this resentation

Familiarize you with the ISTQB program and certificationsin generalExplain the Advanced level certification and its benefits

ustrate t e n s o a t es can ates must emonstrateto gain the certificate

Topics to coverThe structure and origin of the Advanced SyllabusThe Advanced Test ManagerThe Advanced Test Anal stThe Advanced Technical Test Analyst

Each of the last three topics includes a training courseexcerpt, an example of the kind of problem a certificate-

o er can so ve, an a samp e exam question

ISTQB Advanced Syllabus

www.rbcs-us.com

Copyright (c) RBCS 2008 Page 2


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Guiding the Way to Better Software Testing

verv ew


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ey ues ons o ress

What are the ASTQB and ISTQB?

What are the levels of certification?

What is the im act of certificationOn the tester?

On the or anization?

On the testing profession?

ISTQB Advanced Syllabuswww.rbcs-us.com



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Com osed of reco nized ex erts

Mix of practitioners, consultants, trainers, and academicsPatricia McQuaid, President (academic)Joe Gance, Vice President (practitioner)Randy Rice, Treasurer (trainer)Debra Friedenberg, Technical Advisory Group Chair

(practitioner),Taz Daughtrey (academic/practitioner), Jerry Everett (trainer),Andrew Pollner (trainer), and Wayne Middleton (trainer),Directors

,Develops and administers examsAccredits trainers




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Composed of 41 Nationaloar s, more an ou e n

scope in the last four yearsBased in Brussels, Belgium, EURex Black, President

r van eenen aa , cePresidentHorst Pohlmann, TreasurerChris Carter, Secretary

co eg a , s ar ng organ za onWorking parties (composed ofNational Board delegates) definesyllabi (bodies of knowledge),

These working parties distill thecollective experience andwisdom represented acrossboards (>2,000 person-years)




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oun a on er ca on

Entr -level certification: 0+ ears of ex erience

GoalsEnsure a broad understanding of the fundamental best

Provide a foundation for professional growth

Syllabus/body of knowledge coversun amenta s o test ng, test ng n t e so tware ecyc e,

static techniques, white-box and black-box test design, testmanagement, and testing tools

- -Status: Version 2007, an incremental improvement onversion 2005, released, with exams and training




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Mid-level certification: 5+ ears ex erience

GoalsEnsure an understanding of advanced best practices and keyconce ts in software testin b committed test rofessionals

Support on-going professional growth

Syllabus/body of knowledge coversAdvanced behavioral black-box testin for tester anal sts testautomation and advanced non-functional testing for technicaltest analysts, and sophisticated test management concepts

Syllabus-based training courses are typically 5 days for each

mo u e ree mo u es o aStatus: Version 2007, a merge and expansion of the olderPractitioner and Advanced syllabi, is released. Exams and



.


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-

GoalsEnsure consistent understanding and execution of provencutting-edge techniques by seasoned test professionals

Lead the software testing profession

S llabi bodies of knowled e ma coverTest process improvement, test automation, testmanagement, and more

-Status: A working party is developing new expertsyllabi. We expect the Expert Test Manager syllabi an



Improving Test Processes syllabi this year.


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sua z ng e eve s o er ca on

Ex ert Ex ert Ex ert Ex ert

[TBD]

[TBD] [TBD] [TBD]

Advanced

Technical

Advanced

Functional

Advanced

Manager

Foundation

Relative size of figures indicates expected relative numbers of potential certificate



holders (not to scale). There will be more than four expert certifications.


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y e um ers




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er ca on row




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To the tester

Demonstrate mastery of the best practices and keyconcepts in the fieldAdvance career and o ortunities in com etitivemarket

To the organizationEnsure better testin for better software and lowercosts of poor qualityAchieve consistency and re-usability of testing

To the rofessionBuild on our best work and stop going in circlesDefine the profession and what professional testersknow




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n xam e o er ca on

pilot in one of its many offices in the USThe week after the course, a tester applied atechnique hed learned to reduce the regressiontest set from 800 test cases to 300

,which accounts for most of their testing

This client now re uires all new testers to hold

the Foundation certificate, and is graduallytraining its entire staff of testers




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The ISTQB Advanced SyllabusGuiding the Way to Better Software Testing

vance y a us


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countriesSixty-nine primary reviewers spanning ninecountries

Final review and approval by 33 National Boardss s over , person-years o exper ence

The ISTQB and the authors are the source of thes llabus which is used b ermission as the basis for

all accredited training courses (including RBCScourses)




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vance y a us u ors

*

Rex Black*+Si rid Eldh+

Randy Rice*+r en Richter

Bernard Homs (chair)+

Jayapradeep Jiothis

Eric Riou Du Cosquer

Mike Smith+Paul Jorgensen*+

Vipul Kocher

Geoff Thompson (vicechair)*+

*u y c ay +

* Indicates an author who has also written or edited one or more books on testing.



+ Indicates an author who has 20 or more years of software or systems experience.


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oun a on y a us: e x a ers

.

2. Testing throughout the softwareecyc e

3. Static techniques4. Test design techniques

6. Tool support for testing




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vance y a us: e en a ers

.

2. Testing processes3. Test mana ement

4. Test techniques

5. Testing of software characteristics6. Reviews

7. Incident (defect) management

. an ar s an es process mprovemen9. Test tools and automation



.


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vance y a us y e um ers Number of a es: 114

Number of learning objectivesTest Manager:

o a 43 K2, 12 K3, 9 K4

Test Analyst: o a 18 K2, 7 K3, 4 K4

Technical Test Analyst:

o a 25 K2, 11 K3, 8 K4

Referenced books: 21Referenced standards: 7




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earn ng ec vesThe Foundation and Advanced exams are based onearn ng o ect ves, w c state w at you s ou e a e

to doThe learning objectives are at four levels of increasingso histication

K1: remember basic facts, techniques, and standardsK2: understand the facts, techniques, and standards and howthey inter-relateK3: a l facts techni ues and standards to our ro ectsK4: analyze facts, techniques, and standards, and adapt or selectthem for your project

For the Advanced exams, the entire Advanced syllabus isim licitl covered at the K1 level

Each module (test manager, test analyst, technical testanalyst) has its own set of K2, K3, and K4 learningobjectives defined against each chapter




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vance xam ues onsThe lower levels K1 and K2 are covered im licitl

within higher level questionsUnlike the Foundation exam, the Advanced exams

Many exam questions consider a scenario

Scenario describedSequence of questions about scenario asked

Simulates real-world use of various advanced testingconcepts

The Foundation syllabus is also examinableCross-section questions, including joiningFoundation and Advanced sections are allowed




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vance ra n ng ourses

for the module (test manager, test analyst,or technical test analyst)ust e at east ve ays ong or ve,

instructor-led courses)

K2, K3, and K4 learning objectivesMust include realistic exercise for all K3

and K4 learning objectives (which must bedone in class for live, instructor-led




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ra n ng ourse rea ownTest Mana er Test Anal st Tech Test Anal st

Chapter Hours Percent Hours Percent Hours PercentIntro 1.0 3% 1.0 3% 1.0 3%

1 2.5 7% 0.5 1% 0.5 1%2 2.0 6% 3.0 9% 3.0 9%3 18.7 53% 2.0 6% 2.0 6%

4 0.0 0% 18.0 51% 15.5 44%5 0.0 0% 3.5 10% 4.0 11%6 2.0 6% 3.0 9% 3.0 9%7 1.3 4% 2.0 6% 2.0 6%

8 2.0 6% 0.0 0% 0.0 0%9 1.5 4% 1.5 4% 3.5 10%

10 4.0 11% 0.5 1% 0.5 1%



Total 35.0 100.0% 35.0 100% 35.0 100%


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equ remen s or vance er ca es

,

Hold a Foundation Level certificate issued byan ISTQB-recognized Exam Board or MemberBoard

Have appropriate experience in software-, ,depending on degree held and certificate(s)sought

Subscribe to the Code of Ethics in the syllabusAccredited training is recommended but




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es er csPUBLIC- Certified software testers shall act consistently with the public interest.

CLIENT AND EMPLOYER - Certified software testers shall act in a manner that

is in the best interests of their client and employer, consistent with the publicinterest.

PRODUCT - Certified software testers shall ensure that the deliverables theyprovide (on the products and systems they test) meet the highest professionalstandards possible.

JUDGMENT- Certified software testers shall maintain integrity and

independence in their professional judgment.MANAGEMENT - Certi ie so tware test managers an ea ers s a su scri eto and promote an ethical approach to the management of software testing.

PROFESSION - Certified software testers shall advance the integrity andreputation of the profession consistent with the public interest.

COLLEAGUES - Certi ie so tware testers s a e air to an supportive otheir colleagues, and promote cooperation with software developers.

SELF - Certified software testers shall participate in lifelong learning regardingthe practice of their profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the



.


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vance es anager

, ,Question


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e ng an vance es anagerYou should be able to:

Define the overall testing goals and strategy for the systems

being testedPlan, schedule and track the tasks

escr e an organ ze e necessary ac v esSelect, acquire and assign the adequate resources to the tasks

Select, organize and lead testing teamstesting teams, and between the testing teams and all theother stakeholders

Justify the decisions and provide adequate reportingn orma on w ere app ca e

Advanced Test Manager exams (and courses) focus on thesemain concepts




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s - ase es ng Risk: the ossibilit of an undesired outcome

Product or quality risks

Project or planning risks

,

Likelihood

Impact

- ,

Allocation of effort, test sequencing, prioritization of defect repair

Providing mitigation and contingency responses

epor ng es resu s an pro ec s a us

These responses to risk occur throughout the lifecycle:

Reduce risk by running tests and finding defects



Re-eva uate ris an ris eve s ase on new in ormation


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na y ca s - ase es ra egy ,

The higher the risk, the earlier the testcovera e

Total level of quality risk reduced as testing

continuesResults reported in terms of residual risk

Test triage (e.g., due to schedule

More robust than requirements-based



detect missed risks


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ow s - ase es ng o ves ro ems -

have to prioritize and triageCovera e uestions: All test covera e,measured as a percentage of what could betested, is 0%; choose smart subset

oor spec ca ons: a e o er nvo vemenfills gaps in documents

-drop tests intelligentlyRelease decisions: Can address residual risk



rather than bug and test counts


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s ory o na y ca s - ase es ng ,

risk-driven spiral lifecycle and risk-drivenintegration, precursors of iterative and agile lifecycles

Mid 1980s: Separately, Beizer and Hetzel declare riskas driver of testing but leave out mechanisms

, , , ,develop similar approaches for quality risks analysisand risk-based testing

2000s: Risk-based testing (in various forms) in wideusage




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s anagemenRisk mana ement includes three rimar activities:

Risk identificationRisk assessment or analysis

These activities start in sequence, but are overlapping

and iterative due to continuous risk managements management ea y nc u es a pro ectstakeholders, though some stakeholders may act assurrogates for other stakeholders

Test analysts bring particular expertise to riskmanagement due to their defect-focused outlook




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s en ca on Whether for roduct or ro ect risks, we can identif risks via:

Expert interviews

Independent assessmentsUse of risk templates

Project retrospectives

Risk workshops and brainstorming

Checklistsa ng on pas exper ence

The broadest range of stakeholders yields the most complete,accurate, precise risk identification

Stop at risk items

Look downstream to identify potential effects of the risk itemFMEA



Look upstream at the source of the risk (Hazard Analysis)


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s na ys s or ssessmenRisk anal sis or assessment studies the identifiedrisks

Risks are categorized, using ISO 9126 or other quality

Risks are assigned a level of risk, often based on

likelihood and impactLikelihood arises from technical riskImpact arises from business risk

The level of risk is determined either uantitativel

or qualitativelyTypically the level of risk is determined qualitatively

Either wa , unless statistical data is used, the level of risk



reflects stakeholder opinions and consensus


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s on ro

Mitigation: reduce likelihood and/or impactbeforehand

Contingency: prepare to reduce impact after thefact

Transference: transfer im act of risk to anotherpart

Ignore/accept: hope for the best

ac op on as ene s, oppor un es, cos s,and potentially additional risks to consider



,worse!


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xerc se: unc ona ua y s s na ys s

Requirements Document

groups of 3-5, identifying risks forfunctional

ualit characteristics onl , usin thetemplate shown earlier

Spend 30 minutes identifying quality risks

Spend 15 minutes assessing the level of each riskDiscuss

ISTQB Advanced Syllabus www.rbcs-us.comCopyright (c) RBCS 2008 Page 38


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, ,Question


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e ng an vance es na ysYou should be able to:

Implement the test strategy with a focus on business domain

requirementsAnalyze the system based on user quality expectations and

Evaluate the system requirements to determine whether thebusiness objectives can be met by that system

Prepare and execute adequate testing activities, and report on

Provide the necessary evidence and data to support evaluationsand findingsImplement the necessary tools and techniques to achieve the

e ine goa s

Advanced Test Analyst exams (and courses) focus onthese main concepts


Lets look at sample course content and an exam question


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ec s on a es

of transactional situationsModel: table (or Boolean ra h) connectinconditions with actions

Test derivation: fulfill conditions, checkac ons

Coverage criteria: at least one test per

Bug hypothesis: improper action or missingaction



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xam e: ec s on a e u

Real account? Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N N N N N N N

Within limit? Y Y N N Y Y N N Y Y N N Y Y N N

oca on o ay

Actions

Approve? Y N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N

Call cardholder? N Y Y Y N Y Y Y N N N N N N N N


Call vendor? N N N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y


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xam e: er v ng es s In the exam le ust shown each column of the tableis a test case

We will create the conditions (which are the tests inputs)

results)

In some cases, we might generate more than one test

In this case, some of the test cases dont make muchsense; e.g.:

ccount not rea ut account act ve

Account not real but account within limit?

Maybe we dont need all the columns in our decision


table?


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xam e: ec s on a e o a se

Real account? Y Y Y Y Y Y N

ease of reference to full table

Study carefully to understand-

Within limit? Y Y N Y Y N -

w y ru e cou co apse intorule 3, but not rule 3 into rule 2

The same lo ic also a lies tooca on o ay - - -

Actions

rule 8 collapsing into rule 7, butnot rule 7 into rule 6

Approve? Y N N N N N N

Call cardholder? N Y Y N Y Y N

(2conditions) no longer applies

Regular pattern of conditions no


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Call vendor? N N N Y Y Y Y onger app es


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xerc se: ome qu y oan nsurance

life insurance policy for the amount of a home equityloan to the borrower (no applicants for lines of creditor reverse mor gages

The premium is calculated annually, at the beginning

of each olic eriod based on the loan balance atthat time

The base premium is $1 per $10,000 loan

Premium increases by 50% based for each yes answer tothe health questions on the next page

Premium increases based on age and body mass index (BMI)


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table shown on following page


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am e xam ues on An on-line shoe-selling e-commerce Web site stocks the followingoptions or men s oa ers:

Tassel: Tassel (T) or non-tassel (~T) Color: Black (B), cordovan (C), or white (W) =The store is overstocked with tasseled loafers of all sizes and colors,along with white loafers in all sizes, and cordovan loafers in sizes 13,

13 , and 14. As a result, they are offering a 10% discount (10%) and.Design a full decision table that shows all combinations of conditions,then collapse that table by using dont care (-) notation where one ortwo conditions cannot influence the action. Which of the following

A. The full table has 8 rules; the collapsed table has 5.B. The full table has 12 rules; the collapsed table has 7.C. The full table has 12 rules; the colla sed table has 5.D. Both tables have 12 rules, as no combinations can collapse.


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Th ISTQB Ad d S ll b


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vance ec n ca es na ys

, ,Question


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e ng an vance ec n ca es na ys You should be able to:

Structure the tasks defined in the test strategy in terms of

technical requirementsAnalyze the internal structure of the system in sufficient detailto meet t e expecte qua ty eve

Evaluate the system in terms of technical quality attributes suchas performance, security, etc.

Conduct technical testing activities

Provide the necessary evidence to support evaluations

Advanced Technical Test Analyst exams (and courses)focus on these main concepts


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ec n ca ecur y es ng

Security tests and failures are different fromfunctional tests and failures, often arising fromunintended side-effects

Vulnerabilities (and thus tests) include data access,

, , ,sniffing, encryption, and virus/ worms

Vulnerabilities can arise from user interface, file

system, operating system, and external softwareIncreased quality in security can decrease quality in


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, ,


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es gn ng ec n ca ecur y es s

to develop security tests

Vulnerability scan

Attack lansSecurity attacks

Th l i v r imil r h f n i n l

attacks described in Chapter 4L l r l


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ac ng e en enc es an e

Block access tolibraries

Manipulateregistry (or similar

information)Force use of corruptfiles

User interface

replace filesForce low-resource

Switches and options

Characters,


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opera on commands


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ac ng es gn an m emen a on

Commonaccounts andpasswor s

Unprotected APIs

Connect to all ortsImplementation

Create loops (e.g.,using scripts)

an pu ate t me

Duplicate high-rivile e files

workflowsForce resets

Force error messagesSniff temporary files


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xam e: ecur y e ng ac


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am e xam ues on

defect we would expect to find during

A. Slow response time

B. Resource over-utilization

C. Invalid rivile e elevation

D. Frequent system crashes


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ogra y


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an ar s British Com uter Societ , BS 7925-2 1998 , SoftwareComponent Testing

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE Std 829(1998/2007), IEEE Standard for Software Test Documentation

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE Std 1028(1997), IEEE Standard for Software Reviews

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE Std 1044 , an ar ass ca on or o ware noma es

International Standards Organization, ISO/IEC 9126-1:2001,Software Engineering Software Product Quality

,

Glossary (2007), ISTQB Glossary of terms used in SoftwareTesting, Version 2.0

US Federal Aviation Administration DO-178B ED-12B


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Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and EquipmentCertification


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oo sBoris Beizer Black-Box Testin Wile 1995

Rex Black,Managing the Testing Process (2nd edition), Wiley, 2002

Rex Black, Critical Testing Processes, Addison-Wesley, 2003

ex ac , ragma c o ware es ng, ey,

Ilene Burnstein, Practical Software Testing, Springer, 2003

Lee Copeland,A Practitioners Guide to Software Test Design,Artec House, 2003

Rick Craig and Stefan Jaskiel, Systematic Software Testing, ArtechHouse, 2002

Paul Gerrard and Neil Thompson, Risk-based e-Business Testing,Artech House, 2002

Tom Gilb and Dorothy Graham, Software Inspection, Addison-


www.rbcs-us.com


Wesley, 1993


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oo sDoroth Graham Erik van Veenendaal Isabel Evans Rex BlackFoundations of Software Testing, Thomson Learning, 2007

M. Grochmann, Test case design using Classification Trees,Conference Proceedin s of STAR 1994

Paul Jorgensen, Software Testing: A Craftsmans Approach (SecondEdition), CRC Press, 2002

, , ,Software Testing; Wiley, 2002

Tim Koomen, Martin Pol, Test Process Improvement, Addison-,

Glenford Myers, The Art of Software Testing, Wiley, 1979Martin Pol, Ruud Teunissen, Erik van Veenendaal, Software


www.rbcs-us.com


- , son- es ey,


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oo sSteven S laine and Stefan askiel The Web-Testin Handbook STQE Publishing, 2001

D. H. Stamatis, Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, ASQ Press, 1995, , ,

Publishing, 2002

James Whittaker, How to Break Software, Addison-Wesley, 2003

ames a er an er er ompson,Security, Addison-Wesley, 2004


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or ore n orma on


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For over a dozen years, RBCS has delivered services in consulting, outsourcing and

on ac .

experienced and recognized consultants, RBCS conducts product testing, builds

and improves testing groups and hires testing staff for hundreds of clientsworldwide. Ranging from Fortune 20 companies to start-ups, RBCS clients savetime and money through improved product development, decreased tech supportcalls, improved corporate reputation and more. To learn more about RBCS, visitwww.rbcs-us.com.

ress: , nc.31520 Beck RoadBulverde, TX 78163-3911USA

Phone: +1 (830) 438-4830Fax: +1 (830) 438-4831E-mail: [email protected]


www.rbcs-us.com


e : www.r cs-us.com



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