USABILITY TESTING

Audience

The Foundation Level Usability Testing qualification is aimed at people who have already achieved a Foundation point in their careers in software testing and wish to develop further their expertise in Usability Testing.

The following image demonstrates the contents of the Foundation Level Usability Testing syllabus:

Business Outcomes

Foundation Level Usability Testing candidates who have passed the Foundation Level „Usability Testing” syllabus exam should be able to accomplish the following Business Objectives:

Understand the basic concepts of usability and usability testing.
Identify and classify the severity of usability risks and potential accessibility violations in a given product at any stage of a development cycle.
Cite relevant standards for usability, user experience, and accessibility and verify their implementation in a given product.
Set up procedures so that stated usability, user experience and accessibility goals may be verified in practice for a given product.
Design and monitor the implementation of a test plan for achieving stated usability, user experience and accessibility goals.
Explain the rationale, process and results of usability, user experience and accessibility evaluations to non-specialist stakeholders.

Learning Objectives

Certified Foundation Level Usability Testing candidates should be able to demonstrate their skills in the following areas:

Understand the concepts of usability, user experience and accessibility.
Understand the objectives of usability, user experience and accessibility evaluation.
Compare usability, user experience and accessibility evaluation.
Understand the three approaches to usability, user experience and accessibility evaluation: Usability review, usability testing and quantitative user surveys for satisfaction measurement.
Understand the differences between formative (qualitative) and summative (quantitative) usability evaluation.
Understand the key elements of human-centered evaluation.
Understand the human-centered design process.
Understand the usability evaluation approaches that work well in agile software development lifecycles.
Understand typical usability, user experience, and accessibility risks
Analyze a given project at the design or evaluation stage, and identify the types of usability risks that are likely to occur
Understand the general content and applicability of ISO usability standards and manufacturer guidelines to particular types of project/application
Understand the general content and applicability of ISO 9241-171 (Software Accessibility) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 to particular types of project and applications
Understand the general content of accessibility legislation (UK Equality Act 2010 and Americans with Disabilities Act)
Understand usability review as a method for evaluating usability, user experience and accessibility
Understand the differences between informal usability review and expert usability review
Analyze the usability aspects of a software application using the usability review method “heuristic evaluation” according to a checklist provided in the syllabus
Understand the principal steps in the usability testing approach
Understand the content of a usability test plan
Understand the content of a usability test script
Define a simple usability test task for a given project
Understand considerations to be applied when deciding on a location for usability tests
Understand the advantages and disadvantages of a usability test lab
Understand the key activities in a usability test session
Understand the procedure to apply for analyzing findings from a usability test
Understand the classifications and ratings for usability findings
Review a usability test report for a given project
Understand how to overcome internal resistance to usability findings
Apply a given list of best practices to report and communicate results
Understand the quality control activities for a usability test
Understand the most frequent and serious mistakes in usability testing
Understand the purpose and approach adopted in user surveys
Understand the principal content and objectives of the public user questionnaires SUS, SUMI and WAMMI
Select appropriate method(s) for verifying and validating usability, user experience and accessibility in a given project
Understand the principal tasks and responsibilities of the Usability Tester
Understand the principal tasks and responsibilities of the Moderator and the Note-Taker

Syllabus

The Usability Testing is based on the Usability Testing Syllabus.

The International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB®) provides it to the national examination bodies for them to accredit the training providers and to derive examination questions in their local language.

Training providers will produce courseware and determine appropriate teaching methods for accreditation, and the syllabus will help candidates in their preparation for the examination.

To receive the Usability Testing certification, candidates must hold the Foundation Certificate.

The Usability Testing Syllabus is available in Materials for download section.

Exam Structure

The Foundation Level Usability Testing exam is comprised of 40 multiple-choice questions, with a pass mark grade of 65% to be completed within 60 minutes. Participants that take the exam not in their spoken language, will receive additional 25% time, and will have 15 minutes more, or a total of 75 min.

Module	Number of questions	Exam length (minutes)	Exam length +25% (minutes)
Foundation Level Usability Testing	40	60	75

Accredited training providers

Exams may be taken as part of a course delivered by an Accredited Training Provider or taken independently at an examination center or in a public exam.

The typical duration of the Usability Certification Training offered by an Accredited Training Provider is 2 days. Completion of an accredited training course is not a prerequisite for participating to the exam.

Please refer to the Web Sites of the ISTQB^® Member Boards and ISTQB^® Accredited Training Providers for exam and training availability.