About the Survey
As a non-profit organization, with its mission of “advancing the software testing profession”, ISTQB® regularly conducts international online surveys to assess trends in the testing industry. In the 2013 ”ISTQB® Effectiveness Survey”, we collected market feedback on the impact of ISTQB® certifications; in 2015 we conducted a survey focused on “Worldwide Software Testing Practices”. In this latest “ISTQB® Effectiveness Survey”, we ask for additional feedback from testing professionals and analyse how trends and demands are changing.
The survey was designed by the ISTQB® Marketing Working Group and endorsed by ISTQB® Member boards, accredited training providers and exam providers, collecting more than 3,200 responses from 89 countries.
The survey covers several topics including insight into the motivation for ISTQB® certification, the relevance of the syllabi, the impact of training and what should be included in the future roadmap. We think it provides useful information for anyone working in or involved in testing, as well as providing valuable direction for further evolution of the ISTQB® scheme. This is an exciting time in the testing industry and the survey data will help ensure that ISTQB® develops and maintains syllabi that continue to reflect changing testing practices and meets market demands. The survey was designed by the ISTQB® Marketing Working Group and endorsed by ISTQB® Member boards, accredited training providers and exam providers, collecting more than 2,000 responses from 84 countries.
The most significant findings from ISTQB® Effectiveness Survey 2016-2017
- The outcome of the 2016 survey confirms the results of the one done in 2013, with a very positive evaluation of the ISTQB® certification scheme.
- Employee career path development is the main motivation for managers for having their employees achieve ISTQB® CTFL certification. This was the main motivation in the 2013 survey also.
- The survey results would suggest that career path development is an important topic that can be supported by the ISTQB® certification scheme.
- The survey confirms that certification exam reflects the knowledge of the candidates to a very good extent.
- There is high and growing interest in ISTQB® Advanced Level certification. There is a ~20% increase in demand compared to the 2013 survey response data.
- Most selected topics for future certifications are Cloud testing, Test metrics and Test effort estimation, User Acceptance testing, Web Based Application testing, and Test data management.
- Based on the ISTQB® Foundation and Advanced Level certifications’ estimations, the maturity level of software testing certification market has increased.
ISTQB® Effectiveness Survey Report 2016-2017
