Good news for everyone working professionally in Agile software development teams: The ISTQB® Agile Tester has been fundamentally revised – and the new ISTQB® Certified Tester Advanced Level – Agile Tester 2.0 (CTAL-AT) is now available at trendig.

And when we say fundamentally revised, we really mean it. This is much more than a few adjustments to the syllabus.

The new Agile Tester is now an Advanced Level certification. Instead of focusing on the fundamentals of Agile software development, it addresses the challenges you actually encounter in modern Agile teams: How do you develop an appropriate test strategy? How can quality be addressed from the very beginning and integrated into the development process at an earlier stage? How can you improve requirements together with other team members? What roles do exploratory testing and test automation play? And how can quality become a shared team responsibility?

In short: The new CTAL-AT focuses on what professional Agile testing looks like today.

But what exactly has changed? What will you learn? And most importantly: How can the new certification benefit you in your day-to-day work and your career?

What is the new ISTQB® CTAL-AT 2.0?

The ISTQB® Certified Tester Advanced Level – Agile Tester (CTAL-AT) 2.0 is an Advanced Level certification for professional testing in Agile software development projects. It provides you with the knowledge and skills to develop Agile test strategies, prioritize quality early in the development process and apply contemporary collaborative testing practices within Agile teams.

You should already have some testing experience and no longer want to focus on the basics of agile development. After all, the key question for you is: How does effective testing work in an experienced agile team?

Why is there a new Agile Tester?

Because Agile software development has evolved.

When the previous Agile Tester certification was introduced, it was still important to explain in detail what Agile software development meant and how testing in an Agile project differed from more traditional approaches.

Today, things look different.

Scrum, Kanban, DevOps, short development cycles and continuous feedback have become part of everyday work in many organizations. Agile approaches also play a greater role in the ISTQB® Certified Tester Foundation Level 4.0.

The new Agile Tester can therefore go a step further.

Instead of explaining what Agile is, CTAL-AT 2.0 focuses on how you can advance testing professionally within an Agile environment.

This includes more sophisticated test strategy and test approach challenges, test management and test process improvement, Shift Left, improving test basis quality, collaborative testing practices, exploratory testing, test automation and test tools.

That is also why the new Agile Tester has moved to Advanced Level.

What’s new in ISTQB® Agile Tester 2.0?

The new syllabus has not simply become longer. What is far more interesting is how its perspective on testing has changed.

More test strategy, not just individual tests

What tests do we actually need – and why?

CTAL-AT 2.0 teaches you to select suitable test approaches for different situations and to develop and implement test approaches for Agile software development.

This includes topics such as test types, end-to-end testing, formal testing and holistic testing, and regression test approaches, as well as test planning, test monitoring and test control, test reporting, and test process improvement.

This means you no longer look at testing only at the level of an individual test case or user story. Instead, you consider testing within the context of the entire product and development process.

Shift Left: quality starts before the feature is finished

One of the central ideas behind the new CTAL-AT is simple: The earlier we address quality, the better.

That is why Shift Left plays an important role.

You learn approaches that enable teams to examine and improve requirements and user stories earlier in the development process. The aim is to use Shift Left to improve test basis quality and to connect Shift Left with requirements engineering.

The change in perspective is important.

Instead of waiting to ask:

“How are we going to test this feature?”

you start earlier:

“Is it sufficiently clear what this feature is supposed to do – and do we have a testable basis for it?”

Quality becomes a team responsibility

Modern testers do not work in isolation.

The new CTAL-AT therefore puts greater emphasis on people and teams and the whole team approach.

The underlying idea is important: Better quality can emerge when knowledge, perspectives and responsibility are shared across the Agile team.

For you, this also means that communication and collaboration become increasingly important. Your role is not simply to report defects at the end of the process. Instead, you support the team in delivering higher-quality software and contribute to quality as a shared responsibility.

More structure for Exploratory Testing

Exploratory Testing does not mean simply clicking around an application and seeing what happens.

In the new Agile Tester, you explore techniques and approaches that help you make exploratory testing more purposeful and systematic.

This is particularly valuable in Agile projects because not every new situation can be completely anticipated and described in predefined test cases.

Not only the software – your tests need quality too

Another interesting aspect of the new syllabus is test smells.

Just as code smells can indicate problematic characteristics in code, test smells can help identify weaknesses in tests.

So you are no longer only asking:

“Is the software good?”

You are also asking:

“Are our tests actually good?”

Test Automation and Test Tools are part of the picture

Automation has become an integral part of modern software development. CTAL-AT 2.0 therefore also addresses test automation in Agile software development and test tools in Agile software development.

The goal is not to turn you into a Test Automation Engineer in three days. Instead, you learn how test automation fits into the wider testing approach and how you can support and contribute to Test Automation in an Agile software development project.

What will you actually learn in CTAL-AT 2.0?

After the course, you should not simply know a longer list of Agile testing terms.

You should be able to make better decisions about testing and quality.

Among other things, you will learn how to:

  • create and implement test approaches for Agile software development,
  • select appropriate test types and test techniques to provide adequate coverage,
  • support the Agile team in test planning,
  • improve test basis quality using Shift Left,
  • assist business stakeholders in defining understandable and testable user stories, scenarios, requirements and acceptance criteria,
  • apply exploratory testing and other relevant Agile test techniques,
  • contribute to test monitoring, test control, test reporting and test process improvement,
  • collaborate effectively within cross-functional teams, and
  • support and contribute to test automation in Agile software development projects.

The objective is therefore not simply to gain more methodological knowledge. You should be able to assess which testing approach is appropriate in a given situation and how testing and quality can be integrated systematically into the work of an Agile team.

What will you be able to do better in your day-to-day work?

A few typical project situations make the difference particularly clear.

Before:
“Which tests do we still need to run in this iteration?”

After CTAL-AT:
“Which product risks do we need to address, which test types and approaches are appropriate, and how can we ensure adequate coverage and effective regression testing?”

Or:

Before:
“This user story is difficult to test.”

After CTAL-AT:
“How can we work with business stakeholders to create understandable and testable user stories, scenarios, requirements and acceptance criteria?”

And finally:

Before:
“Testing is the testers’ responsibility.”

After CTAL-AT:
“How can we share ownership of quality across the Agile team?”

That is where the real value of Advanced Level becomes apparent. You do not simply learn additional test techniques. You change the perspective from which you approach testing and quality.

From test execution to Quality Enabler: How can CTAL-AT support your career?

As your professional experience grows, your role as a tester often changes.

At some point, reliably executing tests and finding defects is no longer enough. Organizations need people who can recognize risks, create and implement test approaches, improve the quality of requirements, contribute to Test Automation and bring different roles together when making decisions about quality.

These are exactly the kinds of skills CTAL-AT 2.0 develops.

This makes the certification particularly relevant if you want to move towards roles such as Senior Tester, Test Engineer, Quality Engineer, Test Consultant, Agile Quality Coach or Test Lead – or if you want to take greater responsibility for quality within a cross-functional team.

Of course, a certification cannot guarantee you a particular role or your next career move.

But it can help you develop your professional role and demonstrate Advanced Level expertise in Agile testing.

Or, put another way:

You move from primarily executing tests towards becoming a Quality Enabler within your team.

Who is CTAL-AT 2.0 particularly suitable for?

CTAL-AT is particularly relevant if you already work in or with Agile development teams and want to take the next step when it comes to testing and quality.

For example, if you:

  • already work as a tester in Agile teams,
  • want to move from operational testing towards test strategy and test approaches,
  • are a Software Developer or Product Owner who wants a deeper understanding of quality and testing,
  • want to combine exploratory testing and test automation effectively,
  • regularly contribute to user stories, requirements or acceptance criteria,
  • want to improve testing processes within your team, or
  • want to take greater responsibility for quality across the whole team.

If you are just getting started with software testing or Agile software development, however, CTAL-AT is deliberately not an entry-level course.

What do you need to know before taking CTAL-AT?

You do not need to be an Agile guru.

But the new CTAL-AT is not an introductory course in software testing or Scrum either.

For CTAL-AT certification, you need a valid ISTQB® Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certificate. Both CTFL v4.0 and previous versions are accepted.

Practical experience with Agile testing is recommended.

And that makes sense: You will get the most out of the course if you can relate the approaches and techniques to situations you have already encountered in real-world projects.

Is CTAL-AT 2.0 simply the successor to the previous Agile Tester?

No – at least not in the sense of a conventional version update.

This is an important distinction.

CTAL-AT 2.0 is a new Advanced Level certification, rather than simply an updated version of the previous ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester (CTFL-AT).

The positioning of the new Agile Tester at Advanced Level reflects how the field has evolved. Fundamental knowledge of Agile software development and Agile testing is now more firmly embedded in Foundation Level. The new CTAL-AT can therefore focus on more advanced topics and skills.

So if you already hold the previous Agile Tester certification, you should not think of CTAL-AT 2.0 as simply “the same certification with a new version number.”

What does the CTAL-AT 2.0 exam look like?

The certification exam consists of 40 questions worth a total of 52 points. You need 34 points to pass, and the standard exam duration is 90 minutes.

At trendig, taking the certification exam is optional. If you choose to take it, our trainers will prepare you specifically for the exam during the training.

Our ISTQB® Certified Tester Advanced Level – Agile Tester 2.0 training takes three days and combines the content of the new syllabus with exercises and examples designed to help you transfer what you learn into your day-to-day work.

You can find all information about upcoming dates, prices, the exam and training options on our course page.

How about a training course before the exam?

Check trendig's training schedule for the upcoming ISTQB® Agile Tester 2.0 training courses.

Conclusion: Agile testing is becoming more demanding – and more interesting

The new CTAL-AT 2.0 clearly demonstrates how much professional software testing has evolved.

Modern testers are no longer expected only to execute tests. They contribute to test planning, help improve the test basis, collaborate within cross-functional teams, apply appropriate test approaches and techniques, support test automation and help establish quality as a shared responsibility across the Agile team.

That is exactly the role the ISTQB® Certified Tester Advanced Level – Agile Tester 2.0 prepares you for.

And the good news from the beginning still stands:

You can now take the new CTAL-AT 2.0 training with trendig and pass your exam.

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