"Some birds aren't meant to be caged, their feathers are just too bright"- Morgan Freeman, Shawshank Redemption. This blog is from one such bird who couldn't be caged by organizations who mandate scripted software testing. Pradeep Soundararajan welcomes you to this blog and wishes you a good time here and even otherwise.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The ISTQB scam and why you should sign Keith Klain's petition

If you know what I am talking about - go here right away and sign the petition. If you do not, read this:

If you are my blog reader, you would know why ISTQB is a shame, a scam and faking its agenda. Despite the awesome challenge put up, its promoters are not revealing publicly how the profit is used (considering they claim it is not for profit) 

When Keith Klain, Michael Bolton and others on twitter challenged Rex Black to reveal the details - there was a response quoting NDA and other stuff which keeps them in hiding. I strongly believe this is not helping the testing community. It is actually damaging. 

Let me detail how ISTQB is a shame, scam and faking its agenda. 

Scam part

The certification by itself is pretty cheap - giving it a nice disguise that they make less money. However, there are these training for the cheap certification that is really expensive. I have a pre final year college graduate who wanted to try her luck, try ISTQB, cleared it and does not have a clue on how to test email me and ask what can she do about testing?

The ISTQB charges a fee to these training institutes for allowing them to use their name. Some of its promoters have their own companies that do ISTQB training. So, ISTQB as an organization was built to show they are not for profit but those who say it is not for profit - use their own company names to make the profit out of ISTQB. 

Shame part 

All parts are shame, I am wondering where to start. The biggest according to me is - it has some smart people working for them and they are wasting their time by blinding them from information that ISTQB has not really advanced how people test over time. Sometimes, money blinds and other times fame.

About 7 years ago, I was trying to apply to Accenture, online. I filled in a bunch of details and then before uploading my profile after selecting software testing category, I found that it asked me to select the certification I have. I could not even apply to their company because I did not have a certification.

The bigger shame is - when I talked about this - the ISTQB fellas said, "We don't ask them to do it but it is not our business to get them to change it". Wow! This is awesome. So, if someone is screwing up the world with your already screwed up certification, you don't say anything about it. So, you don't really care for testers skills. How can this not be a non profit?


Faking the agenda part

Time and again, the world has understood a 40 question cannot determine knowledge or skills yet they have not changed how they test testers. The reason is simple, the bad is easily scale-able. The good is not. It at least requires a lot of skilled effort. 

Also, the marketing and advertising they put up in magazines, conferences and other places (I haven't checked any bill boards) is misleading. It ranges from ROI on this certification to how better testers can be after this. 

I have been employed in services companies that have asked me to take ISTQB and my appraisal would depend on that. So, people are forced to take it up. Most of my colleagues took it up for their appraisals and that is how they drive it. Are we creating passion? Are we creating a better community?

There is no advancement. Companies test the way they have been doing for a long time. Most companies that have adopted ISTQB are the ones breeding testing that has not changed. 

 If this is enough: go to the petition right now and show your courage to stand up against the scam! If you are not courageous, you will someday be inspired by the context driven community.

Thankfully, Keith asks questions whose answers reveal evidence of what I have said above from my experience!

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