Table of Contents

Copyright Notice

Revision History

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

0. Introduction

0.1. Purpose of this Syllabus

0.2. The Certified Tester Foundation Level in Software Testing

0.3. Career Path for Testers

0.4. Business Outcomes

0.5. Examinable Learning Objectives and Cognitive Level of Knowledge

0.6. The Foundation Level Certificate Exam

0.7. Accreditation

0.8. Handling of Standards

0.9. Staying Current

0.10. Level of Detail

0.11. How this Syllabus is Organized

1. Fundamentals of Testing – 180 minutes

1.1. What is Testing?

1.1.1. Test Objectives

1.1.2. Testing and Debugging

1.2. Why is Testing Necessary?

1.2.1. Testing’s Contributions to Success

1.2.2. Testing and Quality Assurance (QA)

1.2.3. Errors, Defects, Failures, and Root Causes

1.3. Testing Principles

1.4. Test Activities, Testware and Test Roles

1.4.1. Test Activities and Tasks

1.4.2. Test Process in Context

1.4.3. Testware

1.4.4. Traceability between the Test Basis and Testware

1.4.5. Roles in Testing

1.5. Essential Skills and Good Practices in Testing

1.5.1. Generic Skills Required for Testing

Test Syllabus

1. Fundamentals of Testing – 195 minutes

• 1.5.2. Whole Team Approach
• 1.5.3. Independence of Testing

2. Testing Throughout the Software Development Lifecycle – 130 minutes

• 2.1. Testing in the Context of a Software Development Lifecycle
  • 2.1.1. Impact of the Software Development Lifecycle on Testing . 24
  • 2.1.2. Software Development Lifecycle and Good Testing Practices …. 24
  • 2.1.3. Testing as a Driver for Software Development …. 25
  • 2.1.4. DevOps and Testing ….. 25
  • 2.1.5. Shift-Left Approach ….. 26
  • 2.1.6. Retrospectives and Process Improvement 26
• 2.2. Test Levels and Test Types … 27
  • 2.2.1. Test Levels ….. 27
  • 2.2.2. Test Types 28
  • 2.2.3. Confirmation Testing and Regression Testing 29
• 2.3. Maintenance Testing 30

3. Static Testing – 80 minutes

• 3.1. Static Testing Basics ….. 32
  • 3.1.1. Work Products Examinable by Static Testing …. 32
  • 3.1.2. Value of Static Testing ….. 32
  • 3.1.3. Differences between Static Testing and Dynamic Testing ….. 33
• 3.2. Feedback and Review Process …… 33
  • 3.2.1. Benefits of Early and Frequent Stakeholder Feedback 33
  • 3.2.2. Review Process Activities ….. 34
  • 3.2.3. Roles and Responsibilities in Reviews 34
  • 3.2.4. Review Types …. 35
  • 3.2.5. Success Factors for Reviews ….. 35

4. Test Analysis and Design – 390 minutes

• 4.1. Test Techniques Overview . 38
• 4.2. Black-Box Test Techniques ….. 38
• 4.2.1. Equivalence Partitioning …… 38
• 4.2.2. Boundary Value Analysis .. 39
• 4.2.3. Decision Table Testing ….. 40
• 4.2.4. State Transition Testing … 40
• 4.3. White-Box Test Techniques 41
  
  • 4.3.1. Statement Testing and Statement Coverage …… 41
  • 4.3.2. Branch Testing and Branch Coverage .. 42
  • 4.3.3. The Value of White-box Testing … 42
• 4.4. Experience-based Test Techniques …. 42
  
  • 4.4.1. Error Guessing … 42
  • 4.4.2. Exploratory Testing …. 43
  • 4.4.3. Checklist-Based Testing … 43
• 4.5. Collaboration-based Test Approaches …… 44
  
  • 4.5.1. Collaborative User Story Writing . 44
  • 4.5.2. Acceptance Criteria …… 44
  • 4.5.3. Acceptance Test-driven Development (ATDD) … 45
• 5. Managing the Test Activities – 335 minutes . 46
  
  • 5.1. Test Planning …… 47
    • 5.1.1. Purpose and Content of a Test Plan ….. 47
    • 5.1.2. Tester’s Contribution to Iteration and Release Planning …… 47
    • 5.1.3. Entry Criteria and Exit Criteria …… 48
    • 5.1.4. Estimation Techniques … 48
    • 5.1.5. Test Case Prioritization … 49
    • 5.1.6. Test Pyramid 49
    • 5.1.7. Testing Quadrants . 50
  • 5.2. Risk Management . 50
    • 5.2.1. Risk Definition and Risk Attributes …… 50
    • 5.2.2. Project Risks and Product Risks …… 51
    • 5.2.3. Product Risk Analysis .. 51
    • 5.2.4. Product Risk Control …. 52
  • 5.3. Test Monitoring, Test Control and Test Completion
    • 5.3.1. Metrics used in Testing
    • 5.3.2. Purpose, Content and Audience for Test Reports
    • 5.3.3. Communicating the Status of Testing
  • 5.4. Configuration Management
  • 5.5. Defect Management
  • 6. Test Tools – 20 minutes
    • 6.1. Tool Support for Testing
    • 6.2. Benefits and Risks of Test Automation
  • 7. References
  • 8. Appendix A – Learning Objectives/Cognitive Level of Knowledge
  • 9. Appendix B – Business Outcomes traceability matrix with Learning Objectives
  • 10. Appendix C – Release Notes
  • 11. Index