Certified tester Foundation level syllabus agile tester

Certified Tester

Foundation Level Extension Syllabus

Agile Tester

Version 2014

International Software Testing Qualifications Board

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Certified Tester

Foundation Level Syllabus – Agile Tester

International

Software Testing

Qualifications Board

Version 2014 Page 2 of 43 30 Sep 2014

© International Software Testing Qualifications Board

Copyright © International Software Testing Qualifications Board (hereinafter called ISTQB®).

Foundation Level Extension Agile Tester Working Group: Rex Black (Chair), Bertrand Cornanguer

(Vice Chair), Gerry Coleman (Learning Objectives Lead), Debra Friedenberg (Exam Lead), Alon

Linetzki (Business Outcomes and Marketing Lead), Tauhida Parveen (Editor), and Leo van der Aalst

(Development Lead).

Authors: Rex Black, Anders Claesson, Gerry Coleman, Bertrand Cornanguer, Istvan Forgacs, Alon

Linetzki, Tilo Linz, Leo van der Aalst, Marie Walsh, and Stephan Weber.

Internal Reviewers: Mette Bruhn-Pedersen, Christopher Clements, Alessandro Collino, Debra

Friedenberg, Kari Kakkonen, Beata Karpinska, Sammy Kolluru, Jennifer Leger, Thomas Mueller,

Tuula Pääkkönen, Meile Posthuma, Gabor Puhalla, Lloyd Roden, Marko Rytkönen, Monika

Stoecklein-Olsen, Robert Treffny, Chris Van Bael, and Erik van Veenendaal; 2013-2014.

Certified Tester

Foundation Level Syllabus – Agile Tester

International

Software Testing

Qualifications Board

Version 2014 Page 3 of 43 30 Sep 2014

© International Software Testing Qualifications Board

Revision History

Version Date Remarks

Syllabus v0.1 26JUL2013 Standalone sections

Syllabus v0.2 16SEP2013 WG review comments on v01 incorporated

Syllabus v0.3 20OCT2013 WG review comments on v02 incorporated

Syllabus v0.7 16DEC2013 Alpha review comments on v03 incorporated

Syllabus v0.71 20DEC2013 Working group updates on v07

Syllabus v0.9 30JAN2014 Beta version

Syllabus 2014 31MAY2014 GA version

Syllabus 2014 30SEP2014 Minor typos corrected

Certified Tester

Foundation Level Syllabus – Agile Tester

International

Software Testing

Qualifications Board

Version 2014 Page 4 of 43 30 Sep 2014

© International Software Testing Qualifications Board

Table of Contents

Revision History....................................................................................................................................... 3

Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... 4

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 6

0. Introduction to this Syllabus............................................................................................................ 7

0.1 Purpose of this Document...................................................................................................... 7

0.2 Overview ................................................................................................................................ 7

0.3 Examinable Learning Objectives ........................................................................................... 7

1. Agile Software Development - 150 mins. ....................................................................................... 8

1.1 The Fundamentals of Agile Software Development ..................................................................... 9

1.1.1 Agile Software Development and the Agile Manifesto .......................................................... 9

1.1.2 Whole-Team Approach........................................................................................................ 10

1.1.3 Early and Frequent Feedback ............................................................................................. 11

1.2 Aspects of Agile Approaches ...................................................................................................... 11

1.2.1 Agile Software Development Approaches ........................................................................... 11

1.2.2 Collaborative User Story Creation ....................................................................................... 13

1.2.3 Retrospectives ..................................................................................................................... 14

1.2.4 Continuous Integration......................................................................................................... 14

1.2.5 Release and Iteration Planning ........................................................................................... 16

2. Fundamental Agile Testing Principles, Practices, and Processes – 105 mins............................. 18

2.1 The Differences between Testing in Traditional and Agile Approaches ..................................... 19

2.1.1 Testing and Development Activities .................................................................................... 19

2.1.2 Project Work Products ......................................................................................................... 20

2.1.3 Test Levels........................................................................................................................... 21

2.1.4 Testing and Configuration Management ............................................................................. 22

2.1.5 Organizational Options for Independent Testing................................................................. 22

2.2 Status of Testing in Agile Projects ....................................................................................... 23

2.2.1 Communicating Test Status, Progress, and Product Quality .............................................. 23

2.2.2 Managing Regression Risk with Evolving Manual and Automated Test Cases.................. 24

2.3 Role and Skills of a Tester in an Agile Team .............................................................................. 25

2.3.1 Agile Tester Skills ................................................................................................................ 25

2.3.2 The Role of a Tester in an Agile Team................................................................................ 26

3. Agile Testing Methods, Techniques, and Tools – 480 mins......................................................... 27

3.1 Agile Testing Methods................................................................................................................. 28

3.1.1 Test-Driven Development, Acceptance Test-Driven Development, and Behavior-Driven

Development................................................................................................................................. 28

3.1.2 The Test Pyramid ................................................................................................................ 29

3.1.3 Testing Quadrants, Test Levels, and Testing Types........................................................... 29

3.1.4 The Role of a Tester............................................................................................................ 30

3.2 Assessing Quality Risks and Estimating Test Effort ............................................................ 31

3.2.1 Assessing Quality Risks in Agile Projects ........................................................................... 31

3.2.2 Estimating Testing Effort Based on Content and Risk ........................................................ 32

3.3 Techniques in Agile Projects................................................................................................ 33

3.3.1 Acceptance Criteria, Adequate Coverage, and Other Information for Testing.................... 33

3.3.2 Applying Acceptance Test-Driven Development ................................................................. 36

3.3.3 Functional and Non-Functional Black Box Test Design ...................................................... 36

3.3.4 Exploratory Testing and Agile Testing................................................................................. 36

3.4 Tools in Agile Projects................................................................................................................. 38

3.4.1 Task Management and Tracking Tools ............................................................................... 38

3.4.2 Communication and Information Sharing Tools .................................................................. 39

3.4.3 Software Build and Distribution Tools.................................................................................. 39

3.4.4 Configuration Management Tools ....................................................................................... 39