Recently I successfully completed my second ISTQB Certification Advanced Level Test Automation Engineer. And, in this article, I would be discussing the things that I did to successfully prepare, schedule, and complete the certification.

Some things to Consider

  1. Before attempting Advanced Level certification, ISTQB recommends that you should first complete the Foundation level certification.
  2. There are two ways to approach this certification – Self-study (free of cost, which I did) or learning from specialized Trainers (paid). It doesn’t matter which approach you choose, the end goal should be to learn and complete the certification successfully.
  3. Having prior experience with Automation will be helpful, but then again it is not mandatory.

 

ISTQB Advanced Level TAE Exam Structure

You can refer the Official Exam structure Document from here. All in all, there are four takeaways from this document:ISTQB Advanced TAE Exam Structure

  1. The exam consists of 40 Questions totaling 75 Points. The passing percentage is 65%, meaning you have to score at least 49 points to clear the exam.
  2. There are no negative markings. So for correct answers only you get the equivalent points.
  3. There are four levels of questions that are asked in the exam as per the complexity of the topic – K1, K2, K3, and K4. In general, K1 questions are expected to take less than 1 minute to read and answer, K2 questions are expected to take 1 minute to read and answer, K3 questions are expected to take 3 minutes and K4 questions are expected to take up to 4 minutes. Again these questions are marked as 1 point or 2 points or 3 points, 3 being the highest.
  4. In the Exam Structure Document (Section 4), the question level and point distribution are mentioned chapter and section-wise. Please got through it diligently.

 

Preparing for the Exam

  1. Start by downloading the ISTQB Advanced Level TAE syllabus from the ISTQB Website (Download). This is the only document that you would need to study.
  2. There are 8 chapters in the document with subsections in it.
  3. The approach that I followed for preparation:
    • I completed the syllabus one chapter at a time. First I would go through the videos for the corresponding chapter from this amazing free Youtube Course by Neeraj Kumar and then again go through the syllabus document for the same chapter.
    • On completion of each chapter, there are sample questions that are discussed in the youtube course. It is very helpful as these will give you an idea of what kind of questions are asked in the exam.
  4. Make sure you give yourself a deadline for the completion of the syllabus. I think 1 month with 1 to 2 hours of uninterrupted study daily, is a decent amount of time to finish the syllabus.

 

Sample Exams

  1. Once you have completed the syllabus (All 8 chapters), you should start writing sample exams with the timer set to 90 minutes to simulate real exam conditions.
  2. You can start with these Sample Exam Questions:
  3. Analyze all the wrong answers from the sample tests and revise the corresponding sections from the syllabus again.

 

Scheduling your Exam

  1. ISTQB now supports proctored exams where you can give the exam from your home under supervision. The only pre-requisite is that you should have a decent Internet speed and a webcam.
  2. During the whole examination, a person appointed by ISTQB will be continuously monitoring you through the webcam to make sure the integrity of the exam is not compromised.
  3. The proctor before starting the exam will do these checks from your webcam:
    • Validate your identity with a Govt issued Identification proof
    • 360-degree scan of the room
  4. Other things to keep in mind:
    • Mobile phones and other electronic devices are strictly prohibited, so it is advisable to keep all devices in a different room for the duration of the exam.
    • Also, it is advisable to choose a quiet closed room where you are alone throughout the duration of the exam.
  5. Now to buy the Exam voucher, following needs to be done:
  6. After buying the voucher, ISQI will send you details over email on how to set up your computer for the exam.

 

Some Final Takeaways:

  1. Once you have completed your exam and have acquired the necessary passing marks, you will receive your certificate at the same instant over e-mail. And if you haven’t acquired the necessary passing marks then you will not receive the certificate.
  2. Please take care of the 3 Marks questions and go through the sections thoroughly from where the 3 marks questions are asked.
  3. Please make sure that you avoid any kind of activity that may hamper the integrity of the exam.

I hope you enjoyed reading the article. Please let me know in the comments how are you preparing for your exams. And All the best to everyone who are planning to take up the certification exam in the future!