History Status of ISTQB Syllabi

History Status of ISTQB Syllabi
1 December 2004, International Software Testing Qualifications Board
1. (...)
2. At the 2nd level, there are currently two schemes and two syllabi:
o ASQF (also known as iSQI) Advanced level[i]
o ISEB Practitioner Level[ii]
3. Both are recognised by ISTQB as professional qualifications for testers as they have gained a respect over many years in the testing community.
4. There is currently no ISTQB agreed 2nd level or advanced level international syllabus.
5. ISTQB intends that these two 2nd level schemes will be integrated into a future single unified 2nd level "ISTQB Advanced Level" qualification which should supersede both existing schemes.
6. All existing certificates from either of these schemes will remain valid and recognized.
7. It is planned to have an international qualification also on 3rd level (Expert Level).
Clarification of the status report
1. This refers to the updated version of the current Foundation Level syllabus. The amount of changes towards the first version is about 10 per cent. All certificates issued under the current and all previous syllabi will of course remain fully valid. The new Foundation Level syllbus is in its final phase and will soon be released.
2. The current second-level ISTQB syllabus is the ASQF syllabus as developed by the German Testing Board. From the minutes of the ISTQB board meeting on 2003-09-17:
"Decision about Syllabus: The board unanimously decides that the current versions of the ASQF syllabi become the first versions of the ISTQB syllabi and that those syllabi are to be used as ISTQB syllabi as long as new syllabi are agreed by ISTQB."
Therefore, trainings and certifications under this syllabus are already offered all around the world under the title "ISTQB Certified".
3. After completion of the consolidated syllabus, which will include content from both, ASQF and ISEB, syllabi, all currently issued ISEB Practitioner certificates will remain fully valid and all ASQF und older ISTQB certificates will remain fully valid.
4. This means that the current ISTQB Advanced Level syllabus (see no. 2, excerpt from minutes) has not undergone the procedure of development by a working party is not the result of the work of ISTQB itself. At the moment, there is a working party at ISTQB level that develops the next, first commonly developed, version of the Advanced Level. Until then, the current Advanced Level syllabus remains in effect. All accreditations and certifications certainly will remain valid when the new Advanced Level syllabus will be presented.
5. The Advanced Level working party of the ISTQB is currently working on integrating the existing syllabi into the new one.
6. This means that all ISEB and ASQF certificates will remain valid and recognized by the different certification bodies.
7. There is an ISTQB working party active that develops a 3rd step of the certification program, the "Expert Level".
[i] developed by German Testing Board and exams run by ASQF/iSQI and SAQ
[ii] developed by UK Board and exams run by ISEB
Last updated: 2007-10-26