The three German-speaking ISTQB boards, the German Testing Board, the Austrian Testing Board and the Swiss Testing Board, run all their organizational work through a single shared back office. It handles accreditations, communication with members, financial planning and the reporting of exam numbers to the ISTQB. The boards themselves are made up entirely of volunteers who review syllabi and write exam questions alongside their regular jobs.
Key Takeaways
- The three German-speaking ISTQB boards (GTB, ATB, STB) are run entirely by volunteers who review syllabi, write exam questions and move the standard forward on top of a full-time job.
- A shared back office for all three DACH boards creates real synergies: accreditations are handled in one place, and time-consuming coordination between the boards falls away.
- New members never start at 100 percent, yet the boards urgently need younger people, because some positions have been held by the same people for a long time.
- Switzerland, Austria and Germany feel noticeably different in day-to-day board work: the Swiss decide slowly but then reliably, the Austrians bring Viennese coffeehouse charm, and the Germans are matter-of-fact and obsessed with detail.
Who Keeps the ISTQB Boards in DACH Running
The ISTQB boards in the DACH region are three separate associations: the German Testing Board, the Austrian Testing Board and the Swiss Testing Board. They share one back office, which pulls together all the loose ends that would otherwise get lost in three volunteer-run organizations.
The three are the German-speaking member boards of the ISTQB. Their members are private individuals who volunteer their time and spend their working days in their actual jobs. That is exactly the problem a back office solves: during the day, nobody is there to pick up the phone.
Andrea Kränzlein has run this back office for 20 years for the German Testing Board, for 13 years for the Swiss Testing Board and for 12 years for the Austrian Testing Board. Inquiries from training providers, accreditation requests and end users all land on her desk.
Why a Shared Back Office Makes the Boards More Efficient
Pooling their administration in one back office has brought the three boards tangible synergies. Instead of endless back-and-forth between the countries, certain areas of responsibility are now handled in one place.
Accreditations are a good example. If a board wants to know whether, and for how long, a training provider is accredited in a neighboring country, nobody has to coordinate anything anymore. A look at the central file is enough.
The idea is simple: every board keeps its sovereignty but uses the same administrative structure. That saves resources, in both staff and money, without any board giving up its independence.
What the Back Office Actually Does
The back office is the central point of contact for all three boards. It passes inquiries on while staying strictly neutral.
A tester who wants to take an exam finds the back office’s contact address and is referred from there to the certification body. There is no recommendation for any particular training provider. That neutrality is a principle, not an accident.
Its other tasks include:
- Dealing with training providers on problems and accreditations
- Bookkeeping and preparing the financial plans
- Organizing meetings, including large events such as an ISTQB meeting
- Reporting the exam numbers of the three boards to the ISTQB
Reporting exam numbers is more than a formality. Those numbers are how the ISTQB is funded.
Board Work Is Volunteer Work on Top of a Day Job
Board work is volunteer work, done by people with careers of their own. They do it in their free time, often on top of a full-time job.
From the outside, that is easy to underestimate. Around certification, training providers earn money with courses and certification bodies earn money with exams. The core of board work, however, is unpaid commitment, much like other nonprofit associations, only with a lot more professional substance.
What these volunteers do is real technical work: reviewing syllabi, writing exam questions and carrying the ISTQB message to the outside world. Managing all that on the side takes a lot of personal time and a high degree of responsibility.
The DACH Boards Work More Closely Together than the Rest of the World
The three German-speaking boards don’t each do their own thing. They stay in regular contact and meet once a year as a trio to work on shared topics.
The reason is a shared market with its own requirements. Topics that matter in Central Europe play out differently here than in India, the US or on boards on other continents. Working as a DACH group lets them tackle these topics more precisely.
A current example of a genuine turning point is AI. It is noticeably changing the discussions in the boards, from where the syllabi are heading to what will be examined in the future.
How a Running Gag Keeps Meetings on Time
Meetings with many participants share a familiar problem: once someone has the floor, they sometimes don’t stop talking. That is where timeboxing comes in, and the boards have solved it in a playful way.
A so-called moo box, a children’s toy that makes a mooing sound when you turn it over, serves as the “time machine.” Anyone who has five minutes of speaking time and runs over gets handed the moo box. An honorary member is in charge of it at every meeting.
The effect is twofold. Time discipline has improved, and the time machine has become a running gag that people ask about before every meeting. The point: board work doesn’t have to be deadly serious to be effective.
Why the Boards Need Younger Members
The boards benefit when experienced members hand over responsibility and younger people step in. That kind of opening up is a wish for the future. It won’t happen by itself.
The answer to the worry that newcomers might not handle every task perfectly right away is simple: nobody started at 100 percent. Everyone started at some point and learned the ropes.
This also means questioning age structures that have grown over time. If someone has held a role for a very long time, it can make sense to pass it on and free up resources, in both staff and money.
For the community, that means something concrete. If you want to get involved in one of the three boards, you can email the back office and will be referred to the right board from there. Helping hands and minds are welcome.
