Course overview
The ISTQB Certified Tester Advanced Level Test Management course ( previously known as ISTQB Test Manager) as is designed for experienced software testing professionals who are ready to progress into senior roles with responsibility for planning, monitoring, and controlling test activities at an organisational level. As part of the ISTQB Advanced Level certification path, this programme builds on the Foundation level by equipping you with the advanced skills needed to manage teams, define strategies, and deliver value-driven testing within complex projects.
This training follows the official ISTQB Test Management syllabus, ensuring full coverage of the knowledge areas you will be examined on. You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of risk-based testing, test process improvement, defect management, and stakeholder communication. The syllabus also places a strong emphasis on leadership skills, enabling you to effectively motivate and guide your test teams while aligning testing outcomes with business objectives.
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The course prepares you for the ISTQB Advanced Test Manager exam, which validates your expertise as a certified test manager recognised globally across industries. Through practical case studies, exercises, and guidance from expert instructors, you will not only build theoretical knowledge but also learn how to apply advanced test management principles in real-world situations.
Whether your goal is to move into a leadership role, improve your organisation’s testing maturity, or achieve internationally recognised certification, this ISTQB test manager course provides a structured pathway to success. By the end, you will have the confidence to manage test projects of any scale, support effective decision-making, and demonstrate your value as a senior test professional
Course highlights
- Duration: 4-day intensive training (9am – 5pm)
- Format: available in Virtual and Classroom formats
- Content: covers the latest ISTQB Advanced Level Test Manager v3.0 syllabus, including strategic test planning, stakeholder management, risk-based testing, test metrics, team leadership, and process improvement
- Exam preparation: includes tutor-led exam preparation with scenario-based questions and review sessions
- Accreditation: fully accredited by UKITB on behalf of ISTQB
- SFIAplus level: rated at Level 5 by BCS
- Assessment: official ISTQB Advanced Test Manager exam included (50 multiple-choice questions, 120 minutes; 150 minutes for non-native English speakers)
Why you should attend
The ISTQB Advanced Test Manager (CTAL‑TM) v3.0 course is designed for experienced testing professionals who are ready to move into leadership and strategic roles within software quality assurance.
Attending this course will help you:
- Lead with confidence: Learn how to design and implement test strategies that align with business objectives
- Manage teams effectively: Gain skills in team building, motivation, conflict resolution, and stakeholder communication
- Make data-driven decisions: Learn how to plan, monitor, and report using meaningful test metrics
- Master risk-based testing: Identify, assess, and respond to risk in a structured and measurable way
- Drive quality improvement: Understand test process improvement models and how to implement them within your organisation
- Earn a globally recognised qualification: Advance your career with an ISTQB certification respected by employers worldwide
- Stay current: Based on the latest ISTQB v3.0 syllabus, aligned with today’s Agile and DevOps practices
Who should attend?
Ideal for professionals involved in test management or oversight across the software lifecycle, including:
- Test Leads, Test Managers, QA Managers
- Test Consultants, UAT Testers
- Scrum Masters, Project Managers, Product Owners
- Quality Managers, Dev Managers, IT Directors, Management Consultants
Delegates should hold an ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) v4.0 certificate and possess at least six months’ experience in testing or development
Next steps in your testing career
Holders of the Advanced Level Test Management Certificate will be able to go on to the ISTQB® Expert Level software testing qualifications. The ISTQB® Certified Tester Advanced Level, Test Manager or Test Management certificate is valid for life and does not require renewal.
The certificate is recognised internationally and demonstrates the candidates’ professional competence and credibility in test management.
Holders of the Certified Tester Advanced Level Test Management qualification may also wish to consider the other Advanced Level qualifications, Test Automation Engineer, Agile Technical Tester, Test Analyst, Technical Test Analyst and Security Tester.
Watch our latest webinar
This insightful webinar is packed with expert analysis and practical guidance tailored for the updated ISTQB Advanced Test Management (CTAL-TM) v3.0 course. Click here to watch our latest test management webinar
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Entry requirements
The entry requirements for the Certified Tester Advanced Level Test Management qualification are that the candidate must hold the ISTQB Foundation certificate and it is also suggested that candidates have at least a minimal background in either software development or software testing, such as six months experience as a tester or as a software developer.
Note that it is recommended that you attend an accredited training course run by an accredited training provider, as the overall exam pass rates are notably higher for candidates attending such courses.
Exam
The exam is taken after the course and consists of:
- 50 multiple-choice scenario-based questions (the point value for each question is between 1-3 points, depending on the question difficulty).
- Duration of 120 minutes (or 150 minutes for candidates taking examinations that are not in their native language).
- A Candidate must score at least 65% to pass (58/88).
Learning objectives
Advanced Level Test Managers who have passed the Certified Tester Advanced Level Test Management exam should be able to accomplish the following Business Objectives:
- Manage testing in various software development projects by applying test management processes established for the project team or test organization
- Identify test stakeholders and software development lifecycle models that are relevant in a given context
- Organize risk identification and risk assessment sessions within any software development lifecycle and use the results to guide testing to meet the test objectives
- Define a project test strategy consistent with the organisational test strategy and project context
- Continuously monitor and control testing to achieve project goals
- Assess and report test progress to project stakeholders
- Identify necessary skills and develop those skills within your team
- Prepare and present a business case for testing in different contexts that outlines the costs and expected benefits
- Lead test process improvement activities in projects or software development product streams and contribute to organizational test process improvement initiatives
- Plan the test activities including the required test infrastructure and estimate the effort required to test
- Create defect reports and a defect workflow suitable for a software development lifecycle.
Syllabus – key points
Pictorially, the syllabus concentrates on the key aspects of Test Management
Solange Oliveira| Senior Tester| InnoWave –
I really enjoyed it. The trainer is great and has great communication Skills. I just felt the content is intense and lunch breaks were short. WE would like to have more sample exams in the materials.
Maria Ferreira| Lead/Senior Tester| Innowave –
Interesting and challenging!
Anonymous –
Course is very informative, the delegate pack is very comprehensive which allows attendees to take information away for revision.
Karen is a great trainer who brings the course to life with extensive knowledge, real world examples and humour
Carl Bowen| Test Lead| Allianz Insurance plc –
Course is very informative, the delegate pack is very comprehensive which allows attendees to take information away for revision.
Karen is a great trainer who brings the course to life with extensive knowledge, real world examples and humour
Anonymous –
John was thorough in the course material provided and giving deatiled reasoning for the answers to questions. He’s approachable. There were times when there was just myself logged on the call and some exercise build for discussions weren’t as beneficial and maybe updated in the course.
Mudra Patel| Test Manager| H3O Digital Ltd –
John was thorough in the course material provided and giving deatiled reasoning for the answers to questions. He’s approachable. There were times when there was just myself logged on the call and some exercise build for discussions weren’t as beneficial and maybe updated in the course.
Anonymous –
John is extremely knowledgable and will always give real life examples or additional context to some of the theory within the course. He structured the day really well to ensure enough breaks and enagagement when in the session. Very friendly and approachable so felt confident to ask questions and he has also offered his support post course.
Anonymous –
Well Structured
Anonymous –
good cadence to get through a lot of content, John was knowledgeable and approachable.
Anonymous –
Great course. Good examples to the theory. Good to have regular breaks to digest the information.
Anonymous –
John was good at explaining thing and made the course interesting also. I will definitely recommend the course
Anonymous –
This is the most well presented, well paced certification I’ve ever taken, the language was clear, there were plenty of examples, we had multiple discussions with other learners when we got through with a topic, which helped validate the learning and the frequency of the breaks kept my mind fresh and able to pay attention. I couldn’t be more pleased with how it went, the resources were excellent too, I already feel prepared before doing any studying.
Anonymous –
Brilliant and really engaging trainer with amazing communication skills. He managed to deliver the course and answer all of our questions with such clarity
Anonymous –
Absolutely fantastic trainer.
Virtual courses are struggle for me but John made an extremely positive experience for me every time as I had him for my previous 2 ISTQB courses. Especially with the practice questions we did every hour helped me apply the newly taught knowledge which is my way of learning and retaining. Though intense, I really recommend the course.
Anonymous –
Fantastically led course, John goes through the material at a steady pace, always asking if everyone understood what he’d covered, fielding questions well and always willing to explain not just the details of the syllabus but why they are particularly emphasised. I especially appreciated his ability to relate particular topics in the course to real life scenarios for additional context and retention. Plenty of well timed breaks as well! I also liked the frequent move into breakout rooms to go over scenarios and then discuss our choices in them, great to put them into practice and then test our understanding! Three cheers for John!
Anonymous –
Good pace of topics. John obviously knows the subject, didn’t just read from slides and gave us context behind them.
Exercises were well matched to the topics, difficult, but it helped us think, get in the mindset of the exam and collaborate with eachother.
John was patient, returned to topics/spent more time on them where there was uncertainty and carefully explained the solutions. Not all answers were 100% wrong, John pointed out the subtleties in the text of where they would be considered less likely, which I would have overlooked. Thanks John 🙂
Anonymous –
John was extremely friendly and informative from the t and already made sure we were okay to continue and if any further clarifications were needed. Sometimes online education can be quite intense with it being remote but John gave us regular breaks which made the whole course seem less intensive than it could’ve been.
Anonymous –
The course was very helpful in terms of delivering a fair amount of theory and then getting the immediate to apply and discuss. Group discussions are always useful to also share real work experiences and how best to apply the concepts learned. The tutor was helpful in providing real life examples and not just read out the slides. There was knowledge on the theory but also how to teach people
Anonymous –
Great course to cover the requirements of the syllabus. Course materials to support were great too. John really helped to encourage deeper thinking about the exercises and switching mindset away from tester activity to test management.
Anonymous –
Course went well, very grateful to have had John Young as a trainer. Gave plenty of expereinced based context to back up syllabus findings. Was lucky enough to pass first time with his help. He was also avaliable after the course ended to have a chat on a couple issues I had with the reviosion.