- What it is: ISTQB Certified Tester Expert Level Improving the Test Process (CTEL-ITP) certifies that you can assess an organization's test process and run an improvement program end to end.
- Two modules, each with its own exam: Assessing Test Processes (CTEL-ITP-ATP) and Implementing Test Process Improvement (CTEL-ITP-ITPI). You need to pass both.
- To sit the exams: ISTQB Foundation (CTFL) and Advanced Test Management (CTAL-TM).
- To receive the certificate: pass both exams and prove at least 5 years of hands-on testing experience and 2 years in test process improvement, with a CV and two verifiable references.
- Current syllabus: v1.0 from 2011, with 10 chapters: models (TMMi, TPI Next, CMMI, STEP, CTP), causal analysis, GQM, metrics, the IDEAL framework, roles, change management and success factors.
- Current exam: with iSQI, each module is multiple choice: 25 questions, 45 minutes (+25% in a non-native language) and a 65% pass mark, in English.
- Validity: the Expert certificate is valid for 7 years and is renewed through continuing education credits.
Many organizations know their testing "could be better," but few know where to start, how to measure progress or how to make change stick. Expert Level Improving the Test Process prepares you for exactly that: diagnosing, prioritizing, implementing and sustaining test process improvements.
This guide explains what it is, how it splits into modules, what each syllabus chapter covers, what the exam looks like today and how to prepare. The technical information comes from the official ISTQB syllabus and each module's page on ISTQB.org. For the full portfolio, see our ISTQB certification guide.
What Expert Level Improving the Test Process is and where it sits in the portfolio
The Expert Level is the top of the ISTQB scheme, above Foundation and Advanced. It has two certifications: Expert Test Management (CTEL-TM) and Improving the Test Process (CTEL-ITP), covered here.
According to the syllabus, once certified you're expected to:
- advise on test process improvement;
- ensure improvements are implemented effectively and with the best chance of success in your organization or project;
- fulfill the specific expert role within your organization or project.
The syllabus itself makes clear this isn't about becoming a "world expert" overnight, but about providing expert support to initiate, implement and sustain improvements in your context.
Current version and modules
The current syllabus is v1.0 from 2011 (CTEL-ITP Syllabus v1.0 2011). ISTQB splits it into two modules, each with its own exam:
| Module | Code | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1: Assessing Test Processes | CTEL-ITP-ATP | Context of improvement, model-based improvement, analytical improvement, selecting the approach, initiating improvement and diagnosing the current situation |
| Part 2: Implementing Test Process Improvement | CTEL-ITP-ITPI | Improvement plan, implementation and learning; organization, roles and skills; change management; critical success factors; adapting to lifecycle models |
Put simply: Part 1 prepares you to assess where an organization stands; Part 2, to take it where it wants to be.
Who it's for and prerequisites
This level is designed for experienced professionals who drive change in test organizations:
- Test managers and QA managers who want to raise their function's maturity.
- Consultants and assessors of test processes.
- Members of a Test Process Group or process improvement office.
- Quality leaders preparing their organization for a formal assessment, for example with TMMi.
Requirements to sit the exams
- ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certification.
- ISTQB Advanced Level Test Management (CTAL-TM) certification.
Requirements to receive the Expert certificate
According to ISTQB.org and the Expert Level Rules and Recommendations document, besides passing both exams you must prove:
- At least 5 years of hands-on testing experience.
- At least 2 years of experience in test process improvement.
- A CV with two verifiable references.
The 2011 syllabus also required having written and published a paper or given a talk at a testing conference. The current rules published on ISTQB.org no longer mention it; confirm the exact requirements with your board or exam provider.
Validity and renewal
According to ISTQB.org, the Expert Level certificate is valid for 7 years and is renewed with credits under the Expert certification extension policy (courses, special interest groups, papers, conference talks, work experience, among others).
Missing CTAL-TM? Start with our ISTQB Test Management certification guide and our ISTQB Test Management course.
What you'll be able to do
As across the Expert Level, objectives reach K5 (evaluate) and K6 (create). Some examples from the syllabus:
- Explain to all stakeholders why an improvement is proposed, linking it to business goals (K6).
- Recommend TMMi or TPI Next for a given scenario and assess an organization with either one (K5).
- Apply GQM to derive metrics from an improvement goal (K3).
- Recommend improvement actions based on causal analysis or assessment results (K5).
- Create a test policy, an improvement strategy and an improvement plan (K6).
- Plan and conduct assessment interviews with attention to style and interpersonal skills (K6).
- Design the organizational structure of an improvement program (K6).
- Recommend measures to win acceptance of change and assess critical success factors (K5).
The syllabus chapter by chapter
The syllabus has an introduction and nine content chapters. The table shows the times from the training provider appendix (about 60 hours in total: 42 in class and almost 18 of exercises that can be done at the workplace):
| Chapter | Classroom | Workplace exercises | Total | Module |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Introduction | 60 min | 0 | 60 min | — |
| 2. The context of improvement | 285 min | 0 | 285 min | ATP |
| 3. Model-based improvement | 390 min | 90 min | 570 min | ATP |
| 4. Analytical-based improvement | 465 min | 90 min | 555 min | ATP |
| 5. Selecting the approach for test process improvement | 15 min | 90 min | 105 min | ATP |
| 6. Process for improvement | 465 min | 435 min | 900 min | ATP (6.2–6.3) and ITPI (6.4–6.6) |
| 7. Organization, roles and skills | 375 min | 90 min | 465 min | ITPI |
| 8. Managing change | 195 min | 90 min | 285 min | ITPI |
| 9. Critical success factors | 120 min | 180 min | 300 min | ITPI |
| 10. Adapting to different lifecycle models | 60 min | 0 | 60 min | ITPI |
Chapter totals are as published in the syllabus. Module mapping follows each module's page on ISTQB.org.
Chapter 2. The context of improvement (285 min, ATP)
It answers three questions: why improve, what can be improved and what quality means to each stakeholder. It reviews different views of quality and how they map to testing, plus two generic improvement frameworks:
- The Deming cycle (PDCA): plan, do, check and act.
- The IDEAL framework: an instance of the Deming cycle with five phases: Initiating, Diagnosing, Establishing, Acting and Learning. It's the backbone of Chapter 6.
It also compares model-based, analytical and hybrid approaches, and other routes to improvement: developing people's skills, introducing tools, retrospectives, adopting standards and focusing on specific resources.
Chapter 3. Model-based improvement (570 min, ATP)
The most extensive chapter on reference models:
- Characteristics of a good model, continuous vs. staged representations and the assumptions behind using models.
- Software process improvement models: CMMI and ISO/IEC 15504, and how suitable they are for testing compared to test-specific models.
- TPI Next: a continuous model with 16 key areas (test strategy, metrics, tools, environment and more), maturity levels per area defined by checkpoints, and a maturity matrix.
- TMMi: a staged model with five maturity levels, closely correlated with CMMI. The level 2 and 3 process areas and goals are studied in detail.
- Content-based models: STEP and CTP (Critical Testing Processes), their activities, work products, roles and the role of metrics.
There are hands-on objectives: carry out an informal assessment with TPI Next and with TMMi (K3) and assess an organization with either one (K5).
Chapter 4. Analytical-based improvement (555 min, ATP)
- Causal analysis: cause-effect (Ishikawa) diagrams, causal analysis during inspections, standard anomaly classifications and how to select defects for causal analysis in a structured way (K4). You must apply a method to a given problem (K3) and recommend actions based on the results (K5).
- The GQM (Goal-Question-Metric) approach: set a goal, derive questions that show whether it's being met and metrics that answer those questions. Example: goal "reduce defects that reach production"; question "what percentage of defects do we find before release?"; metric "defect detection percentage (DDP) per release."
- Metrics and indicators: effectiveness (DDP, post-release defect rate), efficiency and cost (cost of quality, early defect detection, relative test effort, automation level, productivity), lead time, predictability (schedule, effort and test case slippage), product quality, coverage and test maturity. You must recommend metrics to track improvement trends (K5).
Chapter 5. Selecting the approach for test process improvement (105 min, ATP)
Short, but with a K5 objective: recommend the right approach for a given scenario and scope. The syllabus describes when each works best: process models (TMMi, TPI Next), content models (CTP, STEP), analytical approaches or a hybrid.
Chapter 6. Process for improvement (900 min, ATP and ITPI)
The central chapter: almost 15 hours, including 435 minutes of workplace exercises. It follows the IDEAL phases:
- Introduction: key elements of a test policy and creating a test improvement policy (K6).
- Initiating (ATP): establishing the need, setting a vision and specific objectives, aligning improvement with the business (for example from a balanced scorecard, K4) and setting scope. Creating an improvement strategy (K6).
- Diagnosing (ATP): planning and preparing the assessment, conducting interviews (K6), giving initial feedback, analyzing results, presenting conclusions (K6), solution analysis and recommending actions (K5).
- Establishing (ITPI): prioritizing recommendations against criteria (K4), comparing top-down and bottom-up approaches, and creating the improvement plan (K6).
- Acting (ITPI): selecting and running a pilot (K4) and managing the rollout.
- Learning (ITPI): documenting lessons and revising the organizational approach.
Chapter 7. Organization, roles and skills (465 min, ITPI)
- Test Process Group (TPG): the team that drives improvement, its responsibilities and possible structures (K4), including the impact of outsourcing and offshoring. You must design the structure of an improvement program (K6).
- Individual roles: the test process improver and assessor roles.
- Skills: interviewing (with emotional intelligence, transactional analysis and awareness of codependent behavior), listening, presenting and reporting, analysis, note-taking, persuasion and management. You must apply interviewing and analytical skills in an assessment (K3) and assess soft-skill gaps in TPG candidates (K5).
Chapter 8. Managing change (285 min, ITPI)
Improvements fail without change management. The syllabus uses Kotter's eight-step process (create urgency, build the guiding team, define the vision, communicate it, empower others, produce short-term wins, don't let up and make it stick) and the Satir model to understand how people react: old status quo, foreign element, chaos, transforming ideas, practice and integration, and new status quo. You must analyze attitudes toward change (K4) and recommend measures to win acceptance (K5).
Chapter 9. Critical success factors (300 min, ITPI)
The syllabus groups success factors into two moments. Getting started: clear, measurable and realistic objectives; management commitment and sponsorship; improvement run as a formal project; time scheduled for the people involved; ambitions matched to the organization's maturity; and an established change management process. Getting the job done: short feedback cycles, targets for every cycle, process ownership, involving test professionals, managing resistance, building on existing practices, using external consultants without handing them full responsibility, and clearly demonstrating progress. You must assess the critical success factors of an improvement project (K5), recommend ways to mitigate its risks (K5) and create an improvement plan that accounts for organizational culture (K6).
Chapter 10. Adapting to different lifecycle models (60 min, ITPI)
Improvement always depends on context. This chapter summarizes how it's approached in Agile environments (for example, through retrospectives) and iterative ones, and where improvement models need adapting to work in those lifecycles.
Download the official syllabus
Download the official Expert Level Improving the Test Process syllabus (v1.0, 2011), available in English, which is also the exam language with iSQI:
ISTQB.org also offers a sample exam (Sample Exam A) for each part.
The exam
The official ISTQB Expert Level Exam Structure and Rules (v2.32) describes, for each part, a multiple-choice section (25 questions, 45 minutes, 35 points) and an essay section. Starting in 2022, ISTQB allowed Expert exams to be delivered as multiple choice only, and today iSQI offers both parts that way:
| Feature | CTEL-ITP-ATP (Part 1) | CTEL-ITP-ITPI (Part 2) |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Multiple choice | Multiple choice |
| Questions | 25 | 25 |
| Duration | 45 minutes (+25% in a non-native language) | 45 minutes (+25%) |
| Pass mark | 65% | 65% |
| Language with iSQI | English | English |
| Delivery with iSQI | Remote proctoring | Remote proctoring |
Confirm the current format with your provider before booking.
Where to buy it
- iSQI, our partner and official exam provider, offers both parts with remote proctoring. Book ahead (at least 48 hours for advanced levels) and have your webcam, microphone, a second camera using your phone and a government-issued ID ready.
- Through Cool Testers, if your company pays or you need an invoice: contact us through the certification exam page or via WhatsApp.
How to prepare
- Confirm your eligibility: CTFL, CTAL-TM and the required experience, with references who can validate it.
- Use IDEAL as your skeleton. Almost the entire syllabus fits into its five phases; if you know which phase you're in, you'll pick better answers.
- Compare models in tables: TMMi vs. TPI Next vs. CMMI vs. STEP vs. CTP, with model type, focus, pros, cons and when to use each.
- Practice GQM and causal analysis on problems from your organization: build a GQM tree and an Ishikawa diagram for a real issue.
- Run an informal assessment of your own test process with TMMi or TPI Next. The syllabus proposes it as a workplace exercise.
- Review CTAL-TM, especially its test process improvement content.
- Work through the sample exams for each part and analyze why each wrong option is wrong.
Benefits and career paths
- The top credential in test process improvement, backed by verified experience.
- Target roles: process improvement consultant, test process assessor, Test Process Group lead, QA manager or head of QA leading transformations.
- A link to TMMi: the TMMi Foundation accepts the ISTQB Expert "Improving the Testing Process – Part 1: Assessing Test Process" certificate as one way to meet the process assessment requirement for its Certified TMMi Test Process Improver credential.
- Skills that matter in any transformation: diagnosis, metrics, change management, interviewing and presenting findings to leadership.
Related certifications and next steps
| Certification | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Advanced Test Management (CTAL-TM) | Mandatory prerequisite and part of the examinable content |
| Foundation Level (CTFL) | Prerequisite and part of the examinable content |
| Expert Test Management (CTEL-TM) | The other Expert certification; same entry requirements, focused on managing strategy, teams and projects |
| TMMi Professional and Test Process Improver | TMMi Foundation credentials, an ISTQB alliance partner, focused on the TMMi model |
| Test Automation Strategy (CT-TAS) | Improvement through tools and automation across the organization |
| Quality in DevOps (CT-QDO) | Quality improvement in DevOps environments |
Frequently asked questions
What are the requirements for ISTQB Expert Improving the Test Process?
To sit the exams you need ISTQB Foundation Level (CTFL) and Advanced Level Test Management (CTAL-TM). To receive the certificate you must pass both parts and prove at least 5 years of testing experience and 2 years in test process improvement, with a CV and two verifiable references.
How many exams does CTEL-ITP have?
Two: Assessing Test Processes (CTEL-ITP-ATP) and Implementing Test Process Improvement (CTEL-ITP-ITPI). You need to pass both for the full certification.
What is the exam like today?
With iSQI, each part is multiple choice: 25 questions, 45 minutes (+25% in a non-native language) and a 65% pass mark, in English with remote proctoring. The official Expert structure document also describes essays, but today it's offered as multiple choice only. Confirm with your provider before booking.
Which improvement models does the syllabus cover?
CMMI and ISO/IEC 15504 as software process models; TMMi and TPI Next as test process improvement models; STEP and CTP as content-based models. It also covers analytical approaches such as causal analysis and GQM.
Is this certification the same as TMMi?
No. CTEL-ITP is an ISTQB certification that covers several improvement models and approaches, TMMi among them. TMMi Professional and Certified TMMi Test Process Improver are awarded by the TMMi Foundation and focus on its model. They complement each other.
Does the Expert certification expire?
Yes. According to ISTQB.org, the Expert Level certificate is valid for 7 years and is renewed by earning training and professional activity credits.
Is an accredited course required?
No. You can sit the exams without a course, although the K5 and K6 levels and the assessment and interviewing exercises benefit a lot from feedback by someone experienced.