CTAP® 2.0 Foundation
About the best practice
| IP owner: | CTAP® Consortium |
| Accreditation institute: | Van Haren Certify |
| Examination institute: | certN |
Professionals and organizations are becoming increasingly dependent on IT, which raises questions about the quality of software.
The speed at which software is developed today makes manual testing obsolete. It’s not easy to keep the pace up. The speed of development and releases is important in an Agile/DevOps environment. The concepts of Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) are commonplace nowadays. Continuous testing is a need of CI/CD, where test automation plays a key role.
In this scenario, test automation extends beyond simply automating regression tests. Test automation must be implemented across the entire development process. This requires that test must be administered as quickly as possible and, preferably, automatically.
Test automation is one of the first things that is implemented within Agile teams. However, knowledge and expertise are frequently restricted to one team or project and are difficult to transfer to other teams or projects. A too technical approach is frequently suggested, limited to a focus on tools and too little attention paid to people, organizations, data and processes. This makes it difficult to scale and transfer best practices within an organization.
The goal is to set up test automation in a way that will be beneficial in the future so that other members of the organization can take advantage of it. Extra attention is required for the creation of test automation that is reusable, expandable, and transferable in a manner that inside the organization a reliable quality level of test automation is reached. This demands more attention to detail and focus on transferability and knowledge sharing, but it also affects how specific test situations and test scripts are created.
Certified Test Automation professionals and organizations benefit from:
- Increasing the quality of test automation
- Reusability of test automation
- Leverage industry best practice from a vast amount of professionals over many years
- Have a common language within your team and organization in relation to test automation
- Guaranteed quality level of a test automation engineer
CTAP® 2.0 (Certified Test Automation Professional) is a certification program established by the CTAP® consortium. The CTAP consortium is a non-for-profit collaboration of industry experts, consultancy organizations, end users trainers and academic. Who all believe that how to automate our testing has common approaches that should always be followed, regardless of your background, type of tooling and industry.
CTAP stands for Certified Test Automation Professional. The shared ambition of the consortium members and its founders is get professionals who are active within the testing domain to have been certified in CTAP, and therefore can benefit from the common understanded best practice in Test Automation. Also ensuring a proper execution, enabling higher quality software and reusability of test automation. The Foundation level is the first level which is filled in. Applying the CTAP accreditation will guarantee an assured quality level of test automation engineers.
The CTAP consortium has set out three main activity areas to achieve this goal:
- Auditing the supported Test Automation certification and trainer accreditation program, based on market guidelines.
- Promoting the adoption of Test Automation in public and private organizations.
- Facilitate access to Test Automation learning materials and certification for individuals who want to increase their employability.
The Certification Council is an independent panel of Test Automation and certification experts each representing different industries and interests. Council members are selected from member organizations of the CTAP consortium based on their experience, network and contributions to Test Automation. The council provides advise on content-related matters and is responsible to audit the Test Automation certification based on market standards.
The CTAP consortium ambition is to:
“Create a common understanding of the level of expertise required for managing Test Automation”.
Certification definition
The CTAP® 2.0 Foundation certification assesses an individual’s ability to design, set up, and execute future-proof automated tests while also reporting the results. Certified individuals demonstrate proficiency in configuring test automation environments, designing and implementing test cases, executing tests, analyzing results, and ensuring the longevity and adaptability of test automation solutions. They possess the skills to collaborate effectively, communicate test automation progress, and contribute to improved software quality and efficiency.
Certification requirements
Candidates can become certified by passing the CTAP® 2.0 Foundation certification exam.
Vouchers for the certification exam are available through accredited trainers and Van Haren Group.
Certificate renewal
The CTAP® 2.0 Foundation certificate is valid for two years.
Exam format
The general exam regulations apply to this exam.| Attempts per voucher: | 1 |
| Number of questions: | 40 |
| Passing score: | 65% |
| Time: | 60 minutes |
| Open-book: | No |
| Language: | English Dutch |
| Invigilation: | In-person Online |
| Question type: | Multiple choice |
Exam Syllabus
The following table is an overview of the topics examined in the certification exam.| #questions | Level(s) of Cognition | Category | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 4 | ✓ | ✓ |
The fundamentals of test automation
|
|
| 12 | ✓ | ✓ |
General topics of test automation
|
|
| 14 | ✓ | ✓ |
Tooling and scripting
|
|
| 4 | ✓ | ✓ |
Setting up test automation
|
|
| 6 | ✓ | ✓ |
Architecture
|
|
More information about the levels of cognition
- Level 1 - Knowledge: This level requires candidates to recall specific information or facts. They should demonstrate the ability to remember and recognize details, terms, or concepts from their learning materials.
- Level 2 - Comprehension: At this level, candidates are expected to show their understanding of the acquired information. They should be able to interpret, explain, and summarize. Candidates must go beyond mere memorization and demonstrate that they can grasp the meaning and implications of the information they have learned.
- Level 3 - Application: The focus at this level is on candidates’ ability to apply their acquired knowledge in practical situations. They should be able to use what they have learned to solve problems, apply principles, or implement strategies in real-world scenarios.
- Level 4 - Analysis: Analysis involves candidates breaking down complex concepts into smaller parts and comprehending the relationships between them. Candidates must display the ability to analyze information, identify components, and understand the underlying connections between them.
- Level 5 - Synthesis: At this level, candidates are expected to exhibit the ability to create something new by combining different ideas, concepts, or elements. Candidates must demonstrate their capacity to generate hypotheses, design experiments, or develop original solutions to problems. Synthesis involves creativity and the integration of different elements to form a novel whole.
- Level 6 - Evaluation: This level requires candidates to use judgments or assessments based on criteria and evidence. Candidates must critically analyze information, compare and contrast different perspectives, and make informed decisions. They should demonstrate the ability to evaluate the quality, validity, and reliability of information, arguments, or solutions.
Reference Material
The reference material for the Certified Test Automation Professional exam is:
Certified Test Automation Professional (CTAP®) Courseware
- Author: Rob Flier
- ISBN: 9789401810241
- Publisher: Van Haren Publishing
Trainer accreditation
Van Haren Learning Solutions organizes the trainer accreditation for this certification program. More information on the accreditation process can be found on their website.