ISTQB certification made available online: personal experience

A little less than a month ago, when the whole world was sitting on self-isolation and a lockdown, and one could only guess about when they would allow at least a walk, in the usual heap of letters on the verge of spam, I found a message stating that the ISTQB certification was made available online. I was about to take the exam, so I decided to take the opportunity. Under the cut is a short story with personal experience and opinion.


Photo by ijeab / Freepik

Disclaimer

The author is not affiliated with any organization involved in certification or preparation for it. In this material, the author shares his experience and does not campaign for any against any certification in IT.

Process

In Russia, the exam provider is GASQ, and I received the letter as a person who had previously passed the certification exam. The letter said about 14 modules in 7 languages, but at the time of writing, there were 12 modules from the certification for selection, and much less languages ​​were available. For example, Russian and English are available for Foundation Level, and some modules have only English. Personally, my opinion is that it is better to take it in English, so this is not a problem. But, if not only testers read it, except ISTQB in the same online mode, you can also pass IREB, TMMi and other certifications, only ten different types.


GASQ Image

You can register for the exam no later than four days in advance. Available any time of the day, I suspect you can take it at least at night, but I chose more appropriate options. Why did I “choose” - I didn’t manage to pay for the exam the first time, and I spent four days negotiating with technical support of GASQ and Alfa Bank, choosing new time slots in the next attempts. The negotiations as a whole ended to no avail, both sides remained sure that they didn’t have a problem, fortunately, I still had a Sberbank card, which worked. However, in February, I had no problems paying for another exam on the same GASQ website. Just in case, be prepared for such "jokes."

After payment, you should receive a letter with a link to the page for checking the technical readiness for the exam. You must do this no later than 48 hours before the exam, so it’s best not to waste time. To pass the exam, a separate software solution, ProctorExam, is used. You will need the Google Chrome browser, on which you need to install their extension, and a smartphone with Android 4.1+ or iOS 8.0+, on which their application is installed during the verification of technology. The app has a very low rating on Google Play, but only 34 people rated it. At least I did not have any technical problems.

Read the rules carefully both on the ProctorExam website and on the websiteGASQ. For example, after checking the technique, I read that headphones are prohibited. This did not lead to any problems, but the link to the test of the equipment is one-time, it will only be possible to try again only at the beginning of the exam. GASQ also has a ban on paper and pen, which is not mentioned in ProctorExam.

The idea of ​​the exam is quite simple - you are left alone in the room, the screen is being recorded on the computer, the webcam is writing your face full face, and the second camera on the smartphone takes you from the side. I advise you in advance to think about how you will place your smartphone - contrary to what is shown in the video explanation for the exam, you will be asked to place the camera on the side, and not behind, so that your hands are visible, and at a distance of at least three meters. For example, I had to rearrange the tripod with a smartphone relative to the originally selected location. Do not forget about the availability of charging where you put the phone.

A certain level of knowledge of English is also required - instructions for all actions in the application will be on it. It's funny that the proctor (the person who controls the exam) initially contacted me (or was she?) In German, but since I know him much worse, he asked me to switch to English.

In the letter that will come after checking the technique, there will be a link to the exam slot. It will open at the selected time and will be active for half an hour, but it is probably better to be prepared with a small margin of time. When the slot opens, in the step-by-step instruction you will again check the technique, present an identity document with a photo, scan the QR code with the application on your smartphone, show that the table is empty enough, no one is hiding under it or on the ceiling, and in your ears you too are not suspicious. Proctor watches the video stream and can correct your actions in the chat if something doesn’t suit him (or is it still?).

Technically, the GASQ exam application is located inside the ProctorExam wrapper, so after the exam is completed, you must first press the internal button, then the external one. Feel free to ask the proctor in case of uncertainty, she answers technical questions. I had no problems with the Internet connection on both devices, so I can’t say what will happen if it breaks. I advise you to check and take care of a reliable Internet, problems with it are the main risk of the exam. Otherwise, everything is similar to the full-time exam - the results show immediately, in case of successful passing the certificate comes within a week.

Conclusion

Personally, I liked passing the exam more than full-time. The GASQ exam software for online is clearly newer than it was in the full-time version, it seems to be more convenient to work with it. And your computer has good chances to be newer, faster and more comfortable than in the office where they rent it in person. For people living outside of Moscow or St. Petersburg, the online exam is much more affordable and cheaper. So, I hope that this option will not be disabled at the end of the pandemic.