Breaking Radio Silence

Well, the course is over.
I need to correct something in my last blogpost. The exam was not on Friday. It will only be on the 27th June. Until then, I’m supposed to study every day.
The certification route I’ve taken could politely be called unusual. I hold the ISEB Intermediate Certificate in software testing, for which you can no longer write the exam.
This needs some explanation. The International Software Testings Qualifications Board (ISTQB) was looking for a standardised qualification, saw what Germany’s Software Testing Qualifications Board had, and decided to use it. It has two levels: a Foundation Certificate in Software Testing, and three Advanced Certificates for Test Analysis, Technical Test Analysis and Test Management. In Great Britain, the British Computer Society thought that the gap between the Foundation and Advanced Certificates was too great, and disliked the fact that the Exam for the Advanced Certificate was Multiple Choice. Instead, the BCS decided on an Intermediate Certificate (also Multiple Choice Exam) and a Practitioner Certificate that had an Essay-type exam.
Originally, my employer decided on the BCS route. They were certified to teach Practitioner, and I would have taken the course this year. But either early this year or some time last year, BCS and ISTQB patched up their differences. The Practitioner and Intermediate Certificates are still recognised (if you passed and got the Certificate, it’s still valid), you just can’t sit the exam any more.
I’ll be sitting the Advanced Test Analyst Exam. The instructor told us that we need to study every day, and that it’s no use trying to cram the weekend before the exam. I must apply what I learnt at work, and study for at least an hour a day after work. After I write, the Exam must be marked and there’s a four week wait to get my results. Then, and only then, will I know if I’ve passed. Finally, the Instructor warned us to relax after the Exam. She told us she was sure she’d failed, but she’d passed.
Roll on the 27th.