Topic: CSTE Certification Details

CSTE (Certified Software tester) certification is conducted by QAI (Quality Assurance Institute) to establish standards for initial qualification and management education to the test.

It is a professional certification indicative of competence and skills test and allows for quality control in testing as a profession. CSTE certified persons are members of recognized professional group. They are recognized by employers, business and professional associates.

CSTE CERTIFICATION BENEFITS

Added value to the profession (Professional ETSC)
Adding value to a person (job seeker)
Runs as a code of conduct
Adding value to your employer and colleagues.
Recognized as a level of proficiency in quality assurance (Quality Assurance)
Recognition by IT management
CSTE CERTIFICATION PREREQUISITES

CSTE candidate should meet any of the criteria listed below:

A 4-year diploma (accredited college-level institution) 2 + years of IT experience.
A 3-year diploma (accredited college-level institution) 3 + years of IT experience.
A 2-year diploma (accredited college-level institution) 4 + years of IT experience.
6 years of IT experience.
In addition, certification also requires experience working in IT within the prior 18 months

CSTE CERTIFICATION - REVIEW

Duration - 4 ½ hours.
Structure of the examination paper - The paper consists of 4 parts written - two Software Testing Theory and two pieces for Software Testing Practice. The document has multiple choice questions (MCQ) and test type questions.
Software Testing Theory - It assesses the test concepts, databases, vocabulary and practices.
Part 1 - MCQ 50. Max-time 45 minutes.
Part 2 - 10 questions in text format. Max-time 1 hour, 15 minutes.
Software Testing Practice: It assesses whether tester can apply the basic tests for real-world problems. It has two parts --
Part 1 - MCQ 50. Max-time 45 minutes.
Part 2 - 10 questions in text format. Max-time 1 hour, 15 minutes.
ETSC Program

CSTE has ten categories of skills, which are common to all tests related to missions. CSTE It also covers all categories --

Skill Category 1 - Software Testing Principles and Concepts
Skill Category 2 - Building the Test Environment
Skills Category 3 - Managing the review of project
Skill Category 4 - Test Planning
Skill Category 5 - Execution of test plan
Skill Category 6 - Process statement
Skill Category 7 - User Acceptance Testing
Skill Category 8 - Testing of software developed by contractors
Skill Category 9 - Test control software and the adequacy of safety procedures
Skills Category 10 - Testing New Technologies
CERTIFICATION REFERENCES CSTE aspirants

Beck, Kent. Test Driven Development: By Example. Addison-Wesley Professional, first edition, 2002.
Beizer, Boris. Black-Box Testing: Techniques for Functional Testing of Software and Systems. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1995.
Black, Rex. Manage the testing process: practical tools and techniques for managing hardware and software testing. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Second Edition, 2002.
CBOK-Common Body of Knowledge
Copeland, Lee. A Practitioner's Guide to Software Test Design. Artech House Publishers, 2003.
Craig, Rick D. Systematic Software Testing. Artech House Computer Library, 2003. Dustin, Elfriede. Automated Software Testing: Introduction, management and performance.
CSTE Preparation Guide
Effective methods for Software Testing: William Perry ISBN: 047135418X
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/CSTE
Manage the testing process: practical tools and techniques for managing hardware and software testing Rex Black. Microsoft Press, 1999