(Certified || !Certified) != (Qualified || !Qualified)

This is probably not the first time you are reading about the importance of certification for testing skills. However, it feels that some leaders/managers in the field still don’t completely understand the value (if any) that certified testers add to the team; and also testers themselves aren’t always aware if they should invest time or money for these certificates.

So rather than focusing on what industry says and suggests about certification, here I will discuss what I have learnt -- as a hiring manager and ISTQB foundation, intermediate and advanced certificate holder -- about the significance and/or impact of certification on the testing community.

I didn’t have any certificates specific to testing skills when I started my career as a tester in India. However, I when began looking for my first job in the UK, whenever I was contacted by a recruiter, I would often be asked if I have an “ISTQB/ISEB certificate in Software Testing’’. This was even after my MPhil research degree in the field of Quality Engineering from a top UK university, and couple of years experience as a part of test team in the international CMM certified (maturity level 5) company in India!

I tried my hardest to convince recruiters about my experience and skills as an efficient tester but it seemed that most of the time the certificate was an essential skill requirement set by hiring managers. Therefore, I didn’t have any other option but to spend about one week to read the official book published by BCS and pass the foundation certificate. And to be honest, it was possibly the first ever certificate I passed where I felt that I didn't learn anything new.

Since then I have had many online/offline discussions with recruiters and senior managers about why they feel that certifications are important. Most of the time the argument from recruiters is that the hiring manager requires it. And the hiring manager requires it because certification helps to filter out the candidates who are serious about their career as a tester.

I won’t criticise certification completely and can possibly see where it can help. If the company uses the same vocabulary about test processes that the syllabus uses, then it can help the certificate holder to be efficient at work (however, I still haven’t come across any such companies). If the candidate hasn't worked as a tester before or hasn't done much reading about the field, then possibly the certification can help introduce candidates to testing. This is mainly because as far as I am aware most degree subjects at a college/university don’t teach anything about testing (other than possibly a couple of paragraphs mentioned in a few Software Engineering books).

So certifications can sometimes be important for reasons that are useful to the role. If the context is suitable, there’s nothing wrong in asking for candidates who are certified, or in sending the team to such courses. And if the course provider and participants are good, then sometimes while attending such courses we can also learn some things about testing that are not a part of the certification syllabus. The courses can be both fun and informative.

I won’t say that if someone is not certified, they are a bad tester; it just means that the candidate might not be as good as they could be. However, even if the candidate scored well in the multiple-choice certification exam, that doesn't make him or her an excellent tester, as the certification can’t teach or develop all the skills required to be a good tester.

And there are, of course, many good testers in the industry who never had any such certification. Many things help a tester to be better: an eagerness to dive deep to understand the domain; a willingness to improve the technical skills required to investigate or identify the product issues; and the experience, attitude, curiosity, confidence and ethics to efficiently deliver a good quality product.

So, if we are recruiting, we would be wrong to rely mainly on a candidate’s ISTQB certification. We should consider all factors, such as in-use testing processes, experience, the role requirement, and so on. The institutes providing certifications will always try to sell the certification courses, but at the same time they also describe the syllabus. So rather than blaming only the providers, I also believe that hiring managers and candidates also misjudge the importance of certifications.

The testing community should neither deny the utility of certifications, nor always demand them. In the end, on-the-job training, testing-specific texts, courses, and -- sometimes -- these certifications all can help us to be better testers.