1. © Copyright 2008 Aqastra1 Dedicated to Testing Excellence Test Management Forum April 2008 Competency Based Tester Qualifications The Next Step for the Testing Profession?

2. Topics Good and Bad of Current Certification What we need from OUR testers? What is Tester Productivity? What would the Certification Framework look like? How to quantify and certify? What next? © Copyright 2008 Aqastra2 Lots of questions to get your teeth into!

3. Good and Bad of Current Certification Good Certifies Knowledge Has industry recognition Provides a common baseline for evaluation Provides a common language Bad Employers think it means someone is an effective tester Achieving certification isn’t difficult if you’re good at absorbing information and passing multiple choice exams © Copyright 2008 Aqastra3 Just a summary – what is your experience? Does it unite or divide us as a community?

4. What else do we need from OUR testers More than knowledge for sure! Testing theory isn’t even enough Competencies and experience are MORE important We need them to be productive and cost effective in our team/organisation We need to verify the accuracy of their CV We need to have specific questions for interviews geared towards potential candidate weaknesses © Copyright 2008 Aqastra4 And what else?

5. What is Tester Productivity? Competence – Communications skills – Independent working – Good practice test capability – Trustworthiness – Leadership skills Knowledge – Network of contacts – Relevant business knowledge – Understanding corporate structure and methods – Knowledge of industry best practice test methods Experience – Project testing experience – Understanding of system's under test – Relevant technology experience © Copyright 2008 Aqastra5 Not an exhaustive list! ISEB/ISTQB

6. Potential Certification Framework © Copyright 2008 Aqastra6 Assessment Trainer Certification Delegate/Peer ReviewEmployerCertification

7. How to Quantify and Certify? We use these for Assessment and Re-Training – Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) – Case Study with Questions (CSQ) – Hands On Testing (HOT) – Known Document Review (KDR) – Delegate or Peer Review (DPR) – Trainer Certification Report (TCR) © Copyright 2008 Aqastra7 What methods do you use, or would like to use?

8. What’s Required? Open, Community-defined framework: – Aptitude Testing – Skills Assessment – Competency Definitions – Competency Assessment Process – Provider Accreditation Process – Independent body to oversee provider accreditation, define exams etc? © Copyright 2008 Aqastra8 Volunteers?

9. Approach Take an “open” approach – All assets are free-to-use under Creative commons licence – Standards for assessment, training, certification and accreditation Consider/collaborate with existing scheme such as: – http://www.freetestingcertification.com/ http://www.freetestingcertification.com/ – http://www.kaner.com/pdfs/OpenCertRequirements.pdf http://www.kaner.com/pdfs/OpenCertRequirements.pdf – Although these concentrate on self-study/electronic MC exams Define a starting point for the certification framework that suits our needs Identify the productivity factors we want to evaluate, but these will always need weighting to suit each project/organisation requirement Define measurement process appropriate for competencies, knowledge and experience Baseline the certification framework elements in our own organisations © Copyright 2008 Aqastra9

10. Certification Framework Team Interested in getting involved? – Volunteer - it’s additional to your day job – Want to be involved as a contributor? – Want to be involved as a reviewer? – Want to be involved as a user? – Contribute to a rewarding industry initiative – Operate under the banner of TMF and use online/offline Forums, Summit etc. Send me an email with your preferred area of contribution and we’ll get started – susan@aqastra.com © Copyright 2008 Aqastra10