Appendix A: The Expert Test Manager Exams

This appendix is written for those of you who are using this book to prepare for the ISTQB Expert Test Manager exam. In order to fully prepare for the exam, in addition to mastering the learning objectives and material in the syllabus, you need to understand the structure of the exam itself as well as practice with exam questions. In the first section, we’ll describe the structure of the exam, which you should read before reading the eight chapters of this book.

Each chapter of the book contains sample questions that cover all the learning objectives for that chapter, and you should work through those questions after reading each chapter. The answers to those questions, along with complete explanations of the answers, are provided in Appendix B. You should check your answers carefully against the correct answers, including the explanation for the answer. If you get the right answer but for the wrong reason, the chances are very good that you will not be so lucky on the real exam.¹

As with all ISTQB exams, the Expert Level exams are based on learning objectives. You are familiar with learning objectives from the Foundation and Advanced Level exams. However, one of the unique characteristics of the ISTQB Expert Level syllabi and exams is the presence of learning objectives with highly sophisticated cognitive difficulty. The six levels of learning objectives relevant to the Expert Level exams are:

• K1: remembering. Being able to remember some technique, fact, or definition. You won’t see any K1 level questions, but your ability to recall basic facts, concepts, and definitions is essential to the questions you will see, as was also the case with Advanced Level exams.
• K2: understanding. Being able to compare, contrast, and cite examples related to some technique or fact. You will see multiple-choice K2 level questions.
• K3: applying. Being able to solve a problem using a technique or fact. You will see multiple-choice K3 level questions.
• K4: analyzing. Being able to analyze a scenario or situation and select the right solution to the given problem. You will see multiple-choice K4 level questions.
• K5: evaluating. Being able to analyze a scenario or situation and select the right solution to the given problem based on various criteria that may be internal or external to the given scenario. You will see essay-type K5 level questions.
• K6: creating. Being able to construct a new solution to the given problem from a deep understanding of the problem, the available (partial) solutions, and the internal and external criteria that influence the appropriateness of the solution. You will see essay-type K6 level questions.

What’s new at the Expert Level are the K5 and K6 learning objectives and their associated essay questions. These essay questions, along with some of the multiple-choice questions, are frequently based on scenarios.

The multiple-choice questions are graded in the same way as the Advanced Level exams—i.e., mechanically by comparison to predetermined correct selection. The essay questions are graded by a panel of experts. These experts read your solution and compare it to a standard, called a rubric, that provides guidance on what should be present in the answer. However, in addition to having the correct content in your answer, your ability to present your answer in a clear, compelling way also matters.

Details about the structure of the three Expert Test Manager exams are available on the ISTQB website, and we encourage you to read that information carefully. We’re not going to restate the contents of those documents, but we do want to highlight some key points for you.²

The multiple-choice and essay sections of the exam are cleanly partitioned in two ways. First, the multiple-choice questions, which are found in one section, cover the K2, K3, and K4 learning objectives. The essay questions, which are found in another section, cover the K5 and K6 learning objectives. There is no overlap in coverage. However, scenarios can be common across multiple-choice and essay questions.

Second, the multiple-choice and essay sections are partitioned in time. You may have a set period to complete each section. Prior to taking the exam, you should ask whether you can move time between the two sections. For example, if you finish the multiple-choice section early, you can certainly move on to the essay section, but can you transfer the remaining time on the multiple-choice section to the essay section? When Rex took the three exams, he was not allowed to do so. He found that this created time constraints on the essay sections that were a real challenge. To provide a complete answer, and to retain enough time to review and revise his answer before the time expired, required careful time management.

Like the Advanced Level exams, the number of points varies for the questions. For the multiple-choice questions, the usual rules of thumb apply:

• K2 questions receive one point.
• K3 questions receive two points.
• K4 questions receive three points.

As with the Advanced Level, simpler K3 and K4 questions might receive fewer points, but usually these rules of thumb should work.

While the multiple-choice questions are valuable, they are a relatively small portion of your score. Usually, most of the points—i.e., around two-thirds to three-fourths of the total points—will accrue to the essay questions. Not only does that point distribution alone make the essay questions high stakes; further, you have to select two out of three questions to answer. No extra points are awarded for answering all three. So, you must read the three essay questions, decide which two you will do best on, and then spend your time answering those. Time is limited, so read the questions thoroughly but efficiently, and make your decision about which two questions to answer crisply and decisively.

You almost certainly won’t have time to change your mind about which two questions to answer midway through answering the second question. On one exam, Rex did change his mind about which second question to answer midway through answering the first question, because he realized there was a synergy between the two questions he ultimately answered. There’s a risk to selecting essay questions that have synergistic elements, because, if you are on the wrong track on one question, that will probably lead to mistakes on the other question too.

For the exams, the Expert Test Manager syllabus is broken down into three sets of logically related topics and subtopics, as shown here:

• Part 1: Strategic Test Management
  • Missions, Policies, Strategies, and Goals: Mission, Policies, and Metrics of Success; Test Strategies; Alignment of Test Policy and Strategy Within Organization
  • Evaluating Effectiveness and Efficiency: Effective, Efficiency, and Satisfaction Metrics for the Test Policy Objectives
  • Managing Across the Organization: Integrating Tools Across the Organization; Quality Management and Testing
  • Managing External Relationships: Merging Test Strategies with Third-Party Organizations
  • Domain and Project Factors: Test Management Considerations for Life-cycle Models; Managing Partial Lifecycle Models
• Part 2: Operational Test Management
  • Managing External Relationships: Types of External Relationships; Contractual Issues; Communication Strategies; Integrating from External Sources
  • Project Management Essentials: Estimating Effort; Balancing Quality, Schedule, Budget, and Features Implemented; Performing Risk Assessment; Monitoring and Controlling a Test Project
  • Test Project Evaluation and Reporting: Tracking Information; Internal Reporting; External Reporting; Test Results Reporting and Interpretation; Statistical Quality Control Techniques
  • Domain and Project Factors: Release Considerations
  • Evaluating Effectiveness and Efficiency: Project Retrospectives
• Part 3: Managing the Test Team
  • Managing the Test Team: Building the Test Team; Developing the Test Team; Leading the Test Team
  • Managing Across the Organization: Advocating for the Test Team; Placing the Test Team in the Organization; Creating and Building Stakeholder Relationships; Handling Ethical Issues

In spite of the apparent sequencing of the exams through the part numbers, you can take these exams in any order you like. If you study for the exams all at once—e.g., by reading the syllabus, checking the glossary definitions of terms in the syllabus, and going through this book’s material and sample questions in their entirety—then you should take the exams as quickly as possible afterward, one after another. If you study for the exams one at a time, you should read and study the relevant sections for one exam, take that exam, and then move to the next exam.

Of course, you are not required to take all three exams. Each exam has its own certification. If you only need one or two of the certifications at this point in your career, feel free to just take those exams. It may be a bit more time-consuming to come back later and study for the exam(s) you skipped. Whether you study for all three exams and then take all three exams in rapid succession, or you study for and take one exam after another, it’s probably more efficient to do all three exams within the space of a month or so, rather than, for example, take one, then take another a year later, and then take the last one a year after that.

That said, training providers will provide courses that involve hands-on application of these concepts at work. If you are using this book in concert with such a course—or just using this book for self-study while making sure you have tried the concepts out in real work—you’ll need to be in a position to use the relevant concepts on the job. That could take a year or two. Will you gain a deeper level of knowledge from applying these concepts in your daily work? Yes, of course. So, a slow-but-steady, one-exam-at-a-time, real-world approach to gaining your full Expert Test Manager certification is likely to be more effective at teaching you the ideas in this book and on the exams.

Ultimately, the choice is up to you. It depends on what you want to achieve with this certification, as with all ISTQB certifications. The ISTQB program is a rich, varied, and ever-expanding one, designed to support you, the professional tester, in your career path. As those of us who have been professional testers for decades know, there is no single true and immutable path to where you want your career to go. There are many paths. We hope you enjoy your own, personal career path, and that this book has been a helpful guide along the way.

1In addition to the sample questions provided in this book, you should try the comprehensive practice exam, covering all three exams, provided by the ASTQB on their website, www.astqb.org. The Expert Level exams are extremely difficult and challenging—as they well should be—and you should fully leverage this book’s resources, the ASTQB’s resources, and the ISTQB’s resources to help you prepare.

2At the very least, download and read the “ISTQB Expert Level Exam Structure and Rules” found at www.istqb.org/downloads/send/12-expert-level-documents/79-istqb-expert-level-exam-structure-and-rules.html.