The ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level 4.0 is the fundamental basic certification in software testing, completely revised to unite classic and agile development worlds. Central innovation: Testing is understood as an activity of the entire team, not as the task of a single role. Existing certificates remain valid without an expiration date.
Key Takeaways
- ISTQB Foundation Level 4.0 combines classic process models such as waterfall and V-model with agile approaches in a single syllabus for the first time, because both worlds continue to coexist in practice.
- The term “test manager” has been replaced by the “test management role” because in the agile whole-team approach, the entire team is responsible for quality, not a single person.
- Certification to the new Foundation Level 4.0 opens up all further paths: Specialist curricula, Advanced Level and the Agile path.
- The German translation was created in a voluntary collaboration between Austria, Switzerland and Germany with around 10 to 15 participants, who adapted the syllabus as well as the glossary and sample exams.
Why the Foundation Level has been revised
The ISTQB’s Certified Tester Foundation Level was no longer up to date. Feedback from the community had been coming in for years: too theoretical, not agile enough, an understanding of testing that treated it as a profession rather than an activity.
There had already been an attempt to incorporate agile topics in 2018. It was not enough. The criticism continued, and an ISTQB survey confirmed the need for action.
The answer to this is version 4.0 of the curriculum. It pursues a clear goal: to bring two worlds together. On the one hand, the classic waterfall, W and V-model approach with lots of documentation and planning. On the other hand, the agile world with continuous collaboration and communication.
Both worlds continue to exist, and will remain so
Testing does not take place in a single world of methods. Some teams work agilely, others classically, and this situation will remain. A curriculum that only serves one side misses a large part of the practice.
If you want to decide which model suits a project, you can use the Stacey matrix as a guide. It looks at how well known the requirements are and how well known the technology is. This classification can be used to determine which approach is suitable.
The revised Foundation Level therefore addresses both approaches. This means that someone from an agile environment and someone from a classically organized project will both find themselves in the same position.
How the syllabus came about
The development of the English version took around two years. One reason for this length of time: everyone involved works on a voluntary basis, alongside their actual job.
An international team was responsible. Contributors came from Canada, Korea, Egypt and Sri Lanka, with the focus on Europe. Two working groups were formed for this purpose: the Foundation Level working group and the Agile Testing working group.
The key questions were specific. What does a tester need to know today? Which learning objectives are taken from the Agile Tester and which from the previous Foundation Level? And at what level: just know, understand or be able to apply?
The English version was published at the end of April. The German version followed on September 14.
Why a German-language version is needed
An English template alone is not enough for the German-speaking market. Experience in Germany shows that many people are held back by an English version.
A German-language version appeals to more people and gets the central message across: What does a beginner need to be able to do? This localization is not a matter of course. The ISTQB glossary is available in 20 languages, translated by experts, not by a dictionary.
The German version was the result of cooperation between Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Around 10 to 15 people with different backgrounds contributed to the curriculum itself: trainers, consultants and colleagues from software development companies.
Translation is more than word-for-word
Localization involves much more than just the curriculum text. The glossary had to be adapted, the sample exams had to be translated and revised, and real exam questions had to be written.
The sample exams were deliberately adapted because the style of the questions is somewhat different in Germany than abroad. They are intended to prepare learners specifically for the certification.
This time, DeepL was used for the translation in order to test a low-cost variant. The result showed the limits of the tool. The real work then began: Does it fit the glossary? Did it really convey what was meant in English?
What has changed in terms of content
The syllabus has been completely revised and numerous agile topics have been added. One visible change concerns the roles.
Instead of the test manager, the syllabus now refers to the role of test management. In agile projects, this is no longer necessarily a single person. The whole-team approach applies there: everyone is responsible for quality, and everyone does what they are competent to do.
This means that the test management tasks normally lie with the team, not with the product owner and not with a single person. Only in very large, complex projects is there a dedicated test manager.
The formulation as a role has a practical advantage. You can divide up the tasks in the team or bundle them in one person. Both are possible.
There are also other approaches from the agile world, such as test-first and shift left.
What happens with the agile tester
The Agile Tester will remain in place for the time being. The original aim was to replace it with the new Foundation Level, and the majority of test objectives are now covered.
Topics not directly related to testing, such as the Agile Manifesto, have been deliberately left out. However, there are voices within the ISTQB that do not yet consider a replacement to be possible. Some topics are to be covered by a newly developed syllabus. The Agile Tester will therefore continue to exist for a while at least.
What this means for existing certificates
Those who are already certified do not have to do anything new. Every ISTQB certificate is valid without an expiration date.
However, a new certification can still be useful to show that your knowledge is up to date. For someone who has not yet done the Agile Tester, the new Foundation Level is an obvious alternative, also as a refresher.
With certification at the new Foundation Level, all further curricula are open: the Specialist curricula, the Advanced Level curricula and the Agile path.
What changes for seminars and providers
The framework conditions for training remain manageable. A seminar should not last longer than three days, i.e. no longer than the previous curriculum.
Seminar providers must be reaccredited. They must ensure that their seminars comply with the new curriculum, adapt their documentation and prove that the exercises are appropriate.
Why so many contradictory opinions came together
The different feedback can be explained by the context of the participants. Those who are more at home in the agile world evaluate differently than someone from the traditional world, and the industry also shapes the view.
Many contradictory findings came together in both the English and German versions. Consolidating this diversity was a feat in itself.
There was a clear procedure for dealing with this. The English version underwent an alpha review and a beta review, the translation a review. The findings were collected and evaluated.
In English, individual authors were responsible for individual chapters. They carried out an initial review and decided whether a finding should be implemented, whether it was not useful or whether it needed to be discussed in the group, for example in the case of difficult decisions with further implications.
The curriculum remains in flux
The work is not finished with the release. Change requests have already been received, and errors have been reported in both the German and English versions.
These findings are being collected. The procedure corresponds to what is recommended to testers: Defect management. For the English version, the international team will meet in December or January to decide whether a short-term update makes sense.
At the same time, updates of other curricula are being created, in which you can at least participate in the review. Anyone who discovers an error in a syllabus or would like to improve something can get in touch. The work is voluntary and helping hands are needed. If you would like to get involved, please contact the German-speaking boards.
