|
Welcome to RBCS, Inc.
Dear Reader
,
It's
almost hard to believe, but 2012 is over in less than a month. We are
winding down an exciting and action-packed 2012 here at RBCS, and are
excited for 2013 to arrive.
You
can read more below about one reason why we're excited for 2013:
the new ISTQB Advanced syllabi are released, and new exams will be
available in 2013. Guess what? We have all three live courses
updated, the Advanced Level Test Analyst and the Advanced Level Test Manager
courses are accredited and e-learning updates are in progress. More
information on our plans for new Advanced syllabi support will come
shortly. In the meantime, see our interview with Judy McKay, President of
the ASTQB and member of the Advanced Level Working Group,
below.
Just
as I'm amazed that 2012 is almost over, I was also amazed when I saw that we've
had over 20,000 registrations for our free monthly webinars since we started
three years ago. That's a lot of value delivered for free, and you don't
have to take my word for it; ask anyone who's ever attended an RBCS
webinar. We just did the last one for 2012, but don't worry. You can
listen to all our past webinars, which we recorded, via our Digital Library or podcasts, and our 2013
schedule will be the best ever. More information on these options
is found below.
Many
of our clients find they need a little more in-depth information than a webinar,
but have trouble fitting in an on-site course or even attending an
e-learning. If you've got this problem, too, we've got the answer: virtual workshops.
Read more and see our initial line-up below.
Finally,
do you want to discuss something with me directly? Try the RBCS Blog. I've got
some starting points indicated below.
I
wish everyone a great holiday, and look forward to seeing you in 2013!
Regards,
Rex
Black, President
|
|
|
The New ISTQB Advanced Syllabi:
an interview
with ASTQB President Judy McKay
If you watch what's in the news regarding software
testing and QA, whether or not you are a certified tester, you have likely heard
the buzz about the new ISTQB Advanced Level certification syllabi that were
approved by the ISTQB in October. RBCS has submitted its new Advanced Level Test
Manager and Test Analyst courses, written against the new syllabi, to the ASTQB
for reaccreditation. They are included on our 2013 training
schedule!
Over the course of the past several months, we have
received countless calls and emails with inquiries about the new syllabi. The
best possible resource for syllabi questions is the ASTQB. To answer some of
the most frequently asked questions that we have received, we called upon Judy
McKay, our valued colleague and the ASTQB President.
RBCS: What were the reasons behind the
revisions of the Advanced level syllabus?
JM: It is important to the ISTQB to keep the
syllabi current so they meet the needs of the practitioners in the
industry. It is the policy to provide a major update every five years to
each of the syllabi. The last major release of the Advanced syllabus was
in 2007. We took this five year update opportunity to do major rework and
to separate the compound syllabus into three separate syllabi, each specifically
targeted to one of the Advanced certifications.
RBCS: How is the ASTQB preparing training
providers and certification candidates for these
changes?
JM: These are major changes both
to the content of the syllabi as well as the structure of the courses. The
Advanced Working Group has sent out periodic updates to inform the national
boards regarding the progress of the syllabi development as well as the
re-structuring plans (for example, removing dependencies between the various
Advanced certifications). That said, the training providers definitely
have a significant amount of work they need to do to get their courses updated
and ready for the new syllabi. On the bright side, we feel this is a much
stronger set of syllabi with a more clear focus and, as a result, the exams will
be more clearly focused on the specific syllabi.
RBCS: Do I need to certify again with the
new test if I've already obtained the certification via the old test?
JM: No, the certifications against
the 2007 syllabus are still considered valid and will still be valid to meet the
pre-requisite requirements for the expert
levels.
RBCS: What is the duration of the
courses?
JM: It is up to the training
provider, but at a minimum the Advanced Test Manager course will require five
course days; Advanced Test Analyst will require four course days; Advanced
Technical Test Analyst will require three days. Again, there are no
pre-requisite requirements for any of the Advanced courses except for completion
of the Foundation certification and the required work experience. It is
recommended that anyone taking the Advanced Technical Test Analyst course
should, at a minimum, read through the Advanced Test Analyst syllabus.
RBCS: Can I sit for the new exam if I've
already completed my exam preparation following the 2007 syllabus? In
other words, what if I have already started preparing for the Advanced Level
certification using a course that is accredited following the 2007 syllabus?
JM: Yes you can, but you may find
the 2012 exam will cover some information that was not covered in the 2007-based
course. If you choose to take the 2012 exam, we recommend that you familiarize
yourself with the 2012 syllabus in addition to the 2007 course work that you
have completed. Please note, the ASTQB will be offering both the 2007 and the
2012 exams for the first six months of 2013 to help with this transition.
RBCS: Can I take the new exam at a Kryterion
Exam Center?
JM: Yes, the new exams will
be ready for you at Kryterion at the first of the year.
RBCS: The ASTQB wrote in a recent newsletter, "A
major objective of the new Advanced Level syllabus has been to ensure that there
is no overlap between any current ISTQB syllabi. Thus, there are clear and
consistent distinctions among the topics expected to be mastered for
certification as Test Analyst, Technical Test Analyst, and Test Manager." What
if I have taken courses from training providers that offer "core"
classes in the past? Does the new syllabus do away with "core"
classes?
JM: Yes, there are no "core"
concepts that are shared between the syllabi. Each syllabus is self-contained
and training providers should be providing courses that are focused on one of
the certifications only.
RBCS: When do the
Advanced syllabi take effect?
JM: The
syllabi were formally released in October 2012 and are available now for
general use.
RBCS: Are there changes in the
Foundation syllabus?
JM: The last set of minor changes
to the Foundation syllabus occurred in 2011. There are no changes to the
Foundation syllabus as a result of the Advanced syllabi. However, there
are changes to the glossary of terms. In addition to adding the new
Advanced Level terms, terms now also indicate which syllabus introduced
them. For example, if a term was introduced at the Foundation Level, it
will have an F in front of it. Similarly, if it was introduced in the
Advanced Test Manager syllabus, it will be pre-pended with an ATM
designation. We hope this will make it easier to use the glossary as a
study aid.
RBCS: When will the new exams be
ready?
JM: January 2013.
RBCS: What if I am currently preparing for
the Advanced Level certification using a course for the 2007 syllabus and would
like to take the current exam instead of the new
exam?
JM: The 2007-based exams will be
available until June 2013.
RBCS: I took an Advanced course and have
not yet used my Exam voucher. Is my Exam Voucher still
good?
JM: Yes
RBCS: Are the prices of the Advanced Level
exams changing?
JM: Not at this time.
|
|
Complimentary
Webinars
Did you
miss the complimentary November Webinar, "Advanced Software Testing:
Test Policies, Strategies, and Plans"? Check out what you
missed!
 |
|
Advanced Software Testing: Test Policies, Stategies, and
Plans |
Webinar attendees are automatically entered
into a drawing to win their choice of one of our green e-learning courses. Visit
our training page to see the
complete webinar schedule, or just look on this email, sign up for a webinar,
show up at whichever webinar session is most convenient, and--who knows--you
might be the lucky winner of some valuable free training. Either way, you're
sure to learn something.
Congratulations
Carl Megelich, an attendee of the November webinar and
Lynne Doherty, an attendee of the October webinar, for
being selected as the winners of an e-learning course!
|
People
are Talking about RBCS
"I
was brought into manage a test organization about four years ago. I purchased
and read several books on testing methodologies and processes. Finally I
ran into one of Rex Black's books called Pragmatic Software Testing. I
was then addicted to Rex's books. I think he takes complex testing and
simplifies it into practical knowledge that can be easily applied. Since reading
his book on pragmatic testing I then purchased Advanced Software
Testing volumes 1 2 and 3 and Managing the Testing Process."
(This is a personal endorsement of Rex Black's books from Fred
Goodwin and is not an endorsement from any organization.)
-Fred
Goodwin
"The online
e-learning was a positive experience for me. The content is rich and the
exercises/mock up exams are very helpful to assess one's progress."
-Anonymous
ISTQB Test Engineering Foundation Level e-learning user
"
Thank you to your group, and especially Rex for the training and
support!"
- Thy
Harbison, Test Analyst
|
|
Non-Certification
Virtual Workshops
Our e-learning courses are best sellers
and our webinars are standing room only so, for 2013, we have combined the best
of both worlds! Attend one of our Non-Certification Virtual Workshops for
a low cost, limited time, robust training session, all from your own desk (or
couch).
February 12, 2013
1pm-4pm CST
US$ 199
May 21, 2013
1pm-4pm CDT
US$
199 | |
| |
Complimentary Webinars
Earn 1.5 PDUs for
these webinars. Attendance of the live webinar is required to earn
PDUs.
February 13,
2013
March 12, 2013
April 16, 2013
May 23,
2013 |
|
ISTQB Certified Tester Virtual Boot
Camps
Earn 22.5
PDUs
US$
449
January
8, 2013
11am-5pm
CST
April
17, 2013
11am-5pm
CDT
(updated
for 2012 syllabus)
Earn
32.5 PDUs
US$
599
February
15, 2013
11am-5pm
CST
May 22, 2013
11am-5pm CDT
(updated for 2012 syllabus)
US$ 599
March
13, 2013
11am-5pm
CDT
|
|
Non-Certification
Virtual Workshops
Earn
3 PDUs for attendance of these workshops
US$
199
February
12, 2013
1pm-4pm
CST
US$
199
May
21, 2013
1pm-4pm
CDT
|
|
Certification
Public Courses
Test Engineering
Foundation Level
Earn
22.5 PDUs for this course
US$
2,000
February 11-14,2013
location TBD
March 18-21, 2013
Toronto, Canada
April 22-25, 2013
Phoenix, AZ
June
3-6, 2013
San
Francisco, CA
 Advanced Test
Manager
(updated
for 2012 syllabus and accredited by ASTQB December 2012)
Earn 32.5 PDUs for this
course
US$ 2,650
February 4-8, 2013
Silver Spring, MD
March 18-22, 2013
Phoenix, AZ
April 15-19, 2013
McLean, VA
May 13-17, 2013
Newark, NJ
(updated for 2012 syllabus and accredited by ASTQB December
2012)
US$ 2,250
(updated for 2012 syllabus)
US$ 2,250
February 20-22, 2013
McLean,
VA
April 3-5,
2013
Irvine,
CA
(an IREB,
IIBA and IBAQB exam preparation course)
Earn 18
CDUs for this course
US$
2,500
Dates
TBD |
|
Other Public
Courses
Managing the Testing
Process
US$
2,500
|
Green
Tip
Home-grown vegetables
can be more flavorful and satisfying, and by growing your own produce you are
reducing the amount of pesticides and carbon emissions associated with what you
eat.
| |
Testing Metrics 
