On ISTQB certification

Good afternoon dear Habr. It seems to me that most members of the community have developed a rather skeptical attitude towards certification in general and towards ISTQB in particular, so I would not like to reduce the conversation to a holivar on this topic. And I would like to discuss some points that personally baffle me in this matter, I think that similar problems are experienced by other Russian-speaking testers, who, for various reasons, are faced with the task of obtaining a certificate.



The question concerns the terminology on which the exam is largely tied, and I mentioned the Russian-speaking examinees in the sense that, in addition to understanding the terms in general, they still have to somehow reconcile their English and Russian interpretations.



In order not to diffuse the attention of the respected community, in this note, I would like to dwell on the terms one way or another related to test cases, since I consider this concept one of the most important among the tasks facing a tester. Here we will try to compare the official Russian-language and English-language glossaries, which are the alpha and omega for the subjects. So, there are a number of terms in one way or another related to each other:



English glossary:



test procedure : See test procedure specification



test procedure specification : A document specifying a sequence of actions for the execution

of a test. Also known as test script or manual test script. [After IEEE 829] See also test

specification



test specification : A document that consists of a test design specification, test case

specification and / or test procedure specification



test script : Commonly used to refer to a test procedure specification, especially an automated one



test case: A set of input values, execution preconditions, expected results and execution

postconditions, developed for a particular objective or test condition, such as to exercise a

particular program path or to verify compliance with a specific requirement. [After IEEE

610]



******** The same terms of the Russian-language glossary ********



test procedure (test procedure):. See test procedure specification.



specification of the test procedures (test procedure specification): A document that describes the sequence of actions during the test. Also known as manual test script. [IEEE 829] See also test specification



test specification (test specification): A document that consists of a test design specification, the specification of test scenarios and / or test procedure specification.



automated test script: Commonly used synonymously with the specification of a test procedure, usually automated.



test case : A collection of input values, execution preconditions, expected results, and execution postconditions, designed for a specific purpose or test condition, such as executing a specific program path or checking

compliance with a specific requirement. [IEEE 610]



My ordeals began with an attempt to figure out how the test script and the test script relate to each other, in the common people a test case. In my understanding, the test script has always been from the field of automation, which, in fact, is confirmed by the Russian-language glossary. But somehow in the English-language literature this is not always confirmed by the meaning of the read.



Well, we go to the English-language glossary, and we see that despite the mention of automation, this term also contains another message “Commonly used to refer to a test procedure specification ”. We follow the indicated message where the meaning begins to change smoothly: “A document specifying a sequence of actions for the execution of a test. Also known as test script or manual test script ".



Oops, and it takes us from automation to the opposite area: "Also known as test script or manual test script". Thus, it turns out that a test script is still something other than a script written to automate the test. But then what is it? I would be very much obliged if any of the specialists took the trouble to take part in the discussion of this group of related terms.



Apparently, it turns out that the central figure here is the test specification, to which, in the end, all links of the English-language glossary are closed: test specification: A document that consists of a test design specification, test case specification and / or test procedure specification. As you can see, it collects in itself everything that is possible, and instead of the task at hand to figure out the difference between the terms test script and test case, in addition, we get a bunch of new concepts that do not clarify in any way, but only exacerbate our (well, my at least) bewilderment ...



I would very much like to cling to the inexhaustible source of collective intelligence in order to find an explanation for all the above terms and how they relate to each other. On the exam and in the textbook written by the authors of all the ISTQB documentation, there is a constant juggling of these terms and many questions are based on an attempt to catch the subjects on their interpretation.