Software Testing Certifications – Eligibility, Exam Patterns and How to Apply

Quality assurance and software testing is the most crucial step in any software development process. It ensures requirement adherent, performance reliability and defect-free product delivery to the client.

As the demand for the role of tester is increasing, the more attention is being paid to the quality testing professional. Therefore, it is the high time to get certified and acquire the capabilities to fit in this demanding position. However, it is equally challenging to find the standard certifications which are being recognized all over the world.

This article is intended to enlighten the readers about the establishedcertifications available in the market today. Let us see one by one

This is a part – I of testing certification series. In this article we’ll be discussing on following four important software testing certifications:

1) CSTE
2) CSTP
3) CTM
4) HP QTP Certification

1) CSTE

CSTE stands for “Certified Software Test Engineer”. CSTE is a benchmark certification program for all Testers and Mangers that emphasize on professional competency and best practices in quality control in IT industry. Requirement or Eligibility criteria to take CSTE certification include and one of the following:

• 4 year degree from a recognized institution+2 year experience
• 3 year degree from a recognized institution+3 year experience
• 2 year degree from a recognized institution+4 year experience
• 6 years of experience in IT industry

How to Apply:
The applicant should submit the request on Customer Portal with the payment of $350(PDF+initial exam) or $420(PDF+Book+CD+initial exam).
You can apply for this certification through Customer Portal at Software Testing Certifications. You can also share your concerns at:certify@softwarecertifications.org.

Exam Pattern:
The exam is divided into following parts:

• Two sections for multiple choice questions which consist of 50 objective type questions.
• Two sections for 10 subjective type questions such as Short answers or essays.
• Exam duration is 4 hours 30 minutes and the passing marks are 75%. The examination retaking fees is $100.

2) CSTP
CSTP is the short form for “Certified Software Test Professional”. This was initiated by International Institute for Software Testing (IIST) in 1991 and so far this has been successful in enhancing the career of thousands of aspirants by providing the professional skill set for software application testing. This certification program could be taken by any new comer in the testing field as well as for the managers and leaders in testing field.

The requirements to take this exam include a minimum of 10 day of formal Training or education which includes the following topics:

• Principles of Software Testing
• Test Design
• Managing the Testing Process
• Test Executions and Defect Tracking
• Requirement Definitions, Refinement and Verification
• Test Automation
• Static Testing

Along with it, the applicant must be experienced in the testing related role for at least One year. The formal approval from the candidate’s manager is also necessary for him/her to apply for this certification.

A minimum of 80% marks are required to claim this certification successfully. The cost of this certification exam is $120, which is non-refundable and upon clearing the certification, it will not expire before 3 years.

How to Apply:
For application form, visit: International Institute for Software Testingor
Call at (763)546-0072 or shoot your query to info@iist.org.

3) CTM
CTM stands for “Certified Test Manager”. This certification aims to support test managers and Senior Testers to handle the test projects efficiently by enhancing their management capability. Test Management Body of Knowledge (TMBK) is the foundation of CTM certification.

This program is focused on the managers, Senior level Testers, anyone who has over 3 years of industry experience and folks who are already done with CSTP certification.

The formal education requirements to take this exam include following compulsory topics:

• Test Process Management
• Test Project Management
• Test Process Measurement and Improvement
• Test Organization Management
• Risk Management
• Test Automation Strategies and Architectures
• Software Quality Assurance

Eligibility:
As mentioned above, a minimum of 3 years of experience is the eligibility requirement for appearing this test.

How to Apply:
Application forms are available at IIST office and should be submitted to IIST chairperson, along with non-refundable fee of $120. Upon granted, the CTM certification will not expire before 3 years. A minimum of 80% marks are required to get CTM certified.

Application form is directly accessible at IIST. You can forward any of your concerns to info@iist.org or call at (763)546-0072.

4) HP QTP Certification

QTP certification by HP is meant for QuickTest professionals who wish to gain mastery in testing tools by HP called QuickTest. Since august 1^st 2010, HP has come up with the HP QTP Certification v10.0. AIS is beginner level certification exam whereas ASE is advanced level certification level exam. There exams are particularly famous with the following names:

• Exam HPO-M31 – HP Quality Center 10.0 Software
• Exam HPO-M39 – HP QuickTest Professional 10.0 Software

Preparation guide by HP is available at: HP QTP certification preparation, which covers the subject of examination precisely. Click to apply for HP QTP certification, and follow the simple instructions. The cost of HP QTP certification is $150.

In below Part II of this article, we’ll discuss in detail on: ISEB & ISTQB, CMST, CASQ, CSQA and CMSQ certifications.

1) ISEB & ISTQB
2) CMST
3) CASQ
4) CSQA
5) CMSQ

Here are the details on these certifications eligibility, exam patterns and how to apply guide.

1) ISEB & ISTQB:

ISEB (The Information systems Examinations Board) certification is the step taken forward by a chartered institute for IT called BCS (British Computer Society), to support the career of IT professionals in IT field. ISEM was formed in 1990 which is a division of BCS. This professional certification is available in foundation, practitioner and advanced level to cater the needs of each IT testing aspirant. While ISTQB stands for “International Software Testing Qualifications Board,” and it was formed in late 2002. Both are similar certifications, at the foundation level are same, in essence. The only distinguishing factor is that ISEB is UK specific whereas ISTQB is international certification.
BCS offers following internationally recognized qualification in following subjects:

• IT Service Management
• Software Testing
• Sustainable IT
• Business Analysis/Change
• Solution Development
• Project Management and Support
• IT Governance, Information and Security
• IT Assets and Infrastructure

Following are the levels at which both of these certification are available to suit the needs of every professional:

• Foundation Level – Certification at this level provides the broad coverage about a specific area. This is specifically designed to enhance the knowledge set and future scope of managers. Its cost is £130.
• Intermediate Level – Intermediate level certification exam is focused in examining the subject in more detail which acts as the basis for the practitioner level certification. Its cost is £110.
• Practitioner Level – This level exam lay emphasis on a specific skill within a subject area in a more detailed manner to provide the practical knowledge of IT skills. Its cost is £150.
• Higher Level – Higher level certification is meant for managers and specialists, having deep knowledge of their subject of concern. Its cost is £540.

To apply for this certification exams at any level, click
Apply for ISTQB or ISTQB-BCS

2) CMST:

CMST, short for Certified Manager of Software Testing, is meant to establish the competencies of testing professional in software industry at the international level. Having CMST certifies means acquiring qualification in terms of principles of testing field and capabilities to handle software testing scenarios. The prerequisite of taking this exam includes:

• Having a bachelor’s degree and at least 4 years of relevant experience in software testing field, or
• Having an associate degree and at least 6 years of relevant experience in software testing field, or
• Minimum of eight years of relevant experience in software testing field.

The potential candidates are required to demonstrate their capabilities in following subjects:

• Test Planning
• Test Reporting
• Measurement
• Managing Test Execution
• Organizational Development (both, teams and management)
• Communication (both, leadership and behavioral skills)
• Define, deploy and improve work processes

To apply for this certification test, go to CMST, which is the customer portal for candidates and complete all the formalities by following the easy steps to set up the test. The free for this exam is $450.

3) CASQ:

CASQ stands for Certified Associate in Software Quality, which is focused on quality assurance skills and principles at the fundamental level of understanding. CASQ provides the rapid career progression at a potentially affordable cost. His exam is intended for beginners in quality for all those which have one of the following requirements completed:

• Having 3 year/4 year degree from a certified institution, or
• Having 2 year degree and one year of relevant experience in IS (Information Services) field, or
• Having three years of relevant experience in IS (Information Services) field.

Questions related to following skill set are expected in the exam:

• COTS, Outsourcing, Contracting Quality etc.
• Quality Principles and Concepts
• Quality Leadership
• Quality Assurance
• Quality Control Practices
• Quality Baselines
• Quality Planning
• Metrics and Measurement
• Define, Build, Implement, Improving of Work Processes etc.
• Internal Control and Security

Similar to CMST, the application process is carried out at Customer portal on CASQ. However, this certification is affordable and any aspiring candidate can get certified at $100.

4) CSQA:

Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA) certification is an intermediate level exam which is considered as the standard in best practices and principles of software quality assurance in IT industry. CSQA certified candidates are recognized in several business and professional organizations which boost their career growth manifolds. This exam is specifically beneficial for the role of the quality advisor to management. However, it has following prerequisites, one of which needs to be met to be eligible for this exam:

• Having 4 year degree and two years of relevant experience in IS (Information Services) field, or
• Having 3 year degree and three years of relevant experience in IS (Information Services) field, or
• Having 2 year degree and four years of relevant experience in IS (Information Services) field, or
• Having six years of relevant experience in IS (Information Services) field.

Along with the above mentioned requirements, the applicant should be currently working or having at least 18 month of experience, specifically relevant to certification designation.

Log on to the customer portal at CSQA to schedule the exam at the charge of $350 as the test fee.

5) CMSQ:

Certified Manager of Software Quality (CMSQ) certification is an international level assessment for the skills in software quality assurance leaders and managers. CMSQ certified professionals are either working at top IT organizations or soon will join them at managerial post in quality assurance unit. This is the advanced level certification in software quality field and this fact is equally justified by the requirements demanded prior taking this examination, which are one of the following:

• Having a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution along with four years of relevant experience in software quality assurance field, or
• Having an associate degree along with six years of relevant experience in software quality assurance field, or
• Having eight years of relevant experience in software quality assurance field.

Same as the other quality certifications, this one also follows the same process of application which is by logging into CMSQ, which is the customer portal and acts as the single point of applying. The cost of this exam is $450.

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How to Test Banking Applications

Banking applications are considered to be one of the most complex applications in today’s software development and testing industry. What makes Banking application so complex? What approach should be followed in order to test the complex workflows involved? In this article we will be highlighting different stages and techniques involved in testing Banking applications.

The characteristics of a Banking application are as follows:

• Multi tier functionality to support thousands of concurrent user sessions
• Large scale Integration , typically a banking application integrates with numerous other applications such as Bill Pay utility and Trading accounts
• Complex Business workflows
• Real Time and Batch processing
• High rate of Transactions per seconds
• Secure Transactions
• Robust Reporting section to keep track of day to day transactions
• Strong Auditing to troubleshoot customer issues
• Massive storage system
• Disaster Management.

The above listed ten points are the most important characteristics of a Banking application.

Banking applications have multiple tiers involved in performing an operation. For Example, a banking application may have:

1. Web Server to interact with end users via Browser
2. Middle Tier to validate the input and output for web server
3. Data Base to store data and procedures
4. Transaction Processor which could be a large capacity Mainframe or any other Legacy system to carry out Trillions of transactions per second.

If we talk about testing banking applications it requires an end to end testing methodology involving multiple software testing techniques to ensure:

• Total  coverage of all banking workflows and Business Requirements
• Functional aspect of the application
• Security aspect of the application
• Data Integrity
• Concurrency
• User Experience

Typical stages involved in testing Banking Applications are shown in below workflow which we will be discussing individually.

1) Requirement Gathering:

Requirement gathering phase involves documentation of requirements either as Functional Specifications or Use Cases. Requirements are gathered as per customer needs and documented by Banking Experts or Business Analyst. To write requirements on more than one subject experts are involved as banking itself has multiple sub domains and one full fledge banking application will be the integration of all. For Example: A banking application may have separate modules for Transfers, Credit Cards, Reports, Loan Accounts, Bill Payments, Trading Etc.

2) Requirement Review:

The deliverable of Requirement Gathering is reviewed by all the stakeholders such as QA Engineers, Development leads and Peer Business Analysts. They cross check that neither existing business workflows nor new workflows are violated.

3) Business Scenario Preparations:

In this stage QA Engineers derive Business Scenarios from the requirement documents (Functions Specs or Use Cases); Business Scenarios are derived in such a way that all Business Requirements are covered. Business Scenarios are high level scenarios without any detailed steps, further these Business Scenarios are reviewed by Business Analyst to ensure all of Business Requirements are met andits easier for BAs to review high level scenarios than reviewing low level detailed Test Cases.

4) Functional Testing:

In this stage functional testing is performed and the usual software testing activities are performed such as:

Test Case Preparation:
In this stage Test Cases are derived from Business Scenarios, one Business Scenario leads to several positive test cases and negative test cases. Generally tools used during this stage are Microsoft Excel, Test Director or Quality Center.
Test Case Review: 
Reviews by peer QA Engineers
Test Case Execution:
Test Case Execution could be either manual or automatic involving tools like QC, QTP or any other.

5) Database Testing:

Banking Application involves complex transaction which are performed both at UI level and Database level, Therefore Database testing is as important as functional testing. Database in itself is an entirely separate layer hence it is carried out by database specialists and it uses techniques like

• Data loading
• Database Migration
• Testing DB Schema and Data types
• Rules Testing
• Testing Stored Procedures and Functions
• Testing Triggers
• Data Integrity

6) Security Testing:

Security Testing is usually the last stage in the testing cycle as completing functional and non functional are entry criteria to commence Security testing. Security testing is one of the major stages in the entire Application testing cycle as this stage ensures that application complies with Federal and Industry standards. Security testing cycle makes sure the application does not have any web vulnerability which may expose sensitive data to an intruder or an attacker and complies with standards like OWASP.

In this stage the major task involves in the whole application scan which is carried out using tools like IBM Appscan or HP WebInspect (2 Most popular tools).

Once the Scan is complete the Scan Report is published out of which False Positives are filtered out and rest of the vulnerability are reported to Development team for fixing depending on the Severity.

Other Manual tools for Security Testing used are: Paros Proxy, Http Watch, Burp Suite, Fortify tools Etc.

Apart from the above stages there might be different stages involved like Integration Testing and Performance Testing.

In today’s scenario majority of Banking Projects are using: Agile/Scrum, RUP and Continuous Integration methodologies, and Tools packages like Microsoft’s VSTS and Rational Tools.

As we mentioned RUP above, RUP stands for Rational Unified Process, which is an iterative software development methodology introduced by IBM which comprises of four phases in which development and testing activities are carried out.

Four phases are:
i) Inception
ii) Collaboration
iii) Construction and
iv) Transition
RUP widely involves IBM Rational tools.

In this article we discussed how complex a Banking application could be and what are the typical phases involved in testing the application. Apart from that we also discussed current trends followed by IT industries including software development methodologies and tools.

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