Through the definition and standardization of the training and further education in the area of software testing, the German Testing Board (GTB) promotes compliance with the highest possible test standards.

Erlangen, 02.02.2010 – The cash card chaos at the beginning of the year has made one thing clear: IT systems are becoming more and more complex, and consequently more susceptible to software defects. The risk of high economic loss for organizations increases just as their customers’ dissatisfaction grows.  

„Ensuring the quality of software will in future become increasingly important“, says Lothar Beller, responsible for software testing at the automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen. Beller feels well prepared for this job, for he is one of the 14,000 employees and students that have so far been trained as Certified Testers in Germany.. For this certificate, the German Testing Board (GTB), which was founded in 2005 as a registered association, develops the German syllabi and the corresponding exam questions. „The training and qualification of Certified Testers gives the testers the required techniques to design the „right“ tests more quickly. Through the complete picture gained in their training, testers understand how software development functions, where the opportunities and also the limitations of software testing lie“, says Lothar Beller.

So the GTB has made it its objective to professionalize the testing of software. This is how the occupational profile of the „software tester“ has emerged.. The certificate is particularly well regarded in the automotive industry, medical technology and in the aviation industry.

The German Testing Board cooperates with different commercial training providers throughout Germany, who offer the training courses. They must prove to the Board that the contents of the syllabi are correctly covered in their courses. This is done as part of the accreditation. Thirteen of these training providers have agreed to become Premium Partners of the German Testing Board. This offers them further services in the area of marketing and goes beyond the pure accreditation.

Two independent certification authorities handle the examinations. This ensures the quality, independence and integrity of the GTB. The Certified Tester scheme does not, however, just focus on industry, but is provided free of charge to the German universities. In this respect, the GTB currently cooperates closely with 40 German universities, universities of applied sciences and universities of cooperative education. In addition to this, there is cooperation with the software testing sector.

„Software testers are experts. They must be masters in their craft in order to track down the defects in systems. The better they train the test methods and techniques, the faster and the more efficient they become in their jobs. You could say this in a nutshell: Trained testers are better testers“, says Tilo Linz, President of the GTB.

The Certified Tester scheme is designed in three levels: After an introductory course, the so-called Foundation Level, there is an Advanced Level. „Currently we are working flat out to also set up the corresponding syllabus modules for a third level, i.e. for the Expert Level“, says Tilo Linz. With the Expert Level, the GTB wants to present professional software testers with a career perspective. „Successful participants of the Expert Level will be considered for management jobs, for instance for leading larger teams of testers. Apart from this more generic approach, they can also document with an Expert Level certificate their comprehensive training and experience in a very specialized technical discipline of testing, (e.g. in load testing)“, says Tilo Linz.

Industry also benefits from the international network that the GTB belongs to: The Certified Tester scheme is on offer worldwide – not just in Europe, but also for instance in the USA, India, Japan and China. This is made possible through the intensive collaboration with the umbrella organization, the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB®).