Foundation Level
The Foundation qualification is aimed at anyone involved in software testing. This includes those who may be expected to go on to the advanced qualification in due course, such as:
- testers,
- test analysts,
- test engineers,
- test consultants,
- test managers,
- user acceptance testers, and
- software developers.
The Foundation qualification is also appropriate for anyone who wants a basic grounding in software testing such as project managers, quality managers, software development managers, business analysts, IT directors and management consultants.
Examination
The Foundation Level exam tests for knowledge, understanding and application of basic testing techniques. It provides information about the certificate holder's level of familiarity with the most common concepts of software testing and the associated terminology. It does not require work experience. The Foundation Level exam is a stepping stone toward the Advanced Level, which is more in-depth and much more practice-oriented. Foundation Level: Knowledge. Advanced Level: Skill.
The Foundation Level exam consists of 40 multiple choice questions, it is closed book and lasts one hour. The questions are weighted according to difficulty; 50% of the questions will be level 1, 30% will be level 2 and 20% will be level 3. Students must achieve a score of 26 or more to achieve a pass.
- Level 1 questions test that the candidate recognises, remembers and recalls a term or concept.
- Level 2 questions test that the candidate can select the reasons or explanations for statements related to the topic. They can summarise, compare, classify and give examples for concepts of testing.
- Level 3 questions test that the candidate can select the correct application of a concept or technique and apply it to a given concept.