1. “certified by practice” aka CBP
a. CBPP where P stands for programmer
b. CBPT where T stands for tester

if he/she has been both programmer and tester or held other titles in software field then he/she is eligible for CBPASS where ASS stands for “all rounder in software solutions”.

2. “certified by experience” aka CBE
a. CBEP2 where P stands for programmer and 1,2…..n stands for relevant years of experience
b. CBET3 where T stands for tester and 1,2,3,…..n stands for relevant years of experience

ex: CBET3 says he/she has “some” work exp in testing for 3 years. Note the word “some”. We can consider this certification as an endurance certification that gives some idea regarding how much he/she tolerated or remained tolerable or simply useful to team/company.

One can get certified in CBPP, CBPT or CBPASS when he/she retires from the active field and re joins the academia as a professor in computer science. The certification also requires them to document their findings or deductions from the past years experience and finally must publish their work in a beautiful manner, which will be made available online for – FREE – to anyone who wants to get some inspiration etc.

The logo can be a single lighted candle of 3 different heights, inside a circle (where each height represents the seniority of the badge holder by work experience). The motto can be “let there be light”, which is taken from the Bible.

Of course it’s much too late: the certification industry is far beyond recovery.

Like, how far could you get with, ‘no more recruiters!’

Therefore since its a fruitless endeavor, but not completely pointless, let’s go for the top!

How about ‘Uncertifiable’?

Or, confusingly, ‘Deniably Certifiable’?

Maybe, ‘Certified Brain Dead!’? (kind of a medical bracelet thingamabob)

And, don’t forget, ‘We don’t need no stinkin’ Certifications!’

Then there’s my personal favorite, ‘Wup your Certification dogmeat!’

Now that’s de-certification for ya!

I think we need a song, maybe a banner…. no, that means we need a slogan… and that would be kind of recursive, wouldn’t it?

One can have a certificate for what reason ever (even ISTQB). The perpetration is to think you are capable because of that. I also have one but I’m not proud of it, neither do I feel ashamed. I just have it. I will use it wherever it helps (CV, interviews, etc.) but on a normal day I put it back in the box and rely on what I can do.

My suggestions for badges:
…for the ones who are proudly uncertified, I like this sapient uncertified.
…for the ones who ARE certified without thinking they are, “Just be it”

But somehow i was bit lazy in reading that big book. So i didn’t applied for CSTE for about 2 years. In mean time i was involved in few good products and projects for testing. And i think i did a good job. After these real time experiences i was much aware about the process, strategies, risk, test plan, test coverage, test cases, automation etc so called testing standards.

In mean time in my organization people started to clear the certification. So i also thought i should apply and appear for the CSTE. You won’t believe in first attempt i could not pass the paper in which we need to select one option out of 4 given. But i could pass their theoretical paper with good enough marks. I feel the answers for optional question should match the book material. But in few question my opinion was bit different for that. So I could not pass that paper. But still i believe i was really good enough as a tester. Now i made my situation bit more complex for myself. As others in the organization will feel that i will not be the good enough tester. So it became externally important for me to appear for the next attempt and pass the exam. It actually became do or die situation for me.

I still remember those days. I just read that book so many time so that i do not miss anything. Eventually in second attempt i was able to pass that exam. For me it was like a long breath at that time. As well as an answers to my unnecessary critics.

But now when i think regarding the need of certificaton, I feel certifications might be good for the bingers who are new to software testing and want to read more, want to know more about testing. Other then that I will completely deny that if a person is not certified then a person do not have a capability to do testing.

I feel testing requires few basic qualities like a person should be good at analysis, a person should be good on grasping new things quick, good at communication, a person should be able to think out of the box etc. If these basic qualities are present in a person then he/she can spend more time on this field and can become and expert in testing.

Having been doing this stuff for about 10 years within various industries, only to find it difficult to get an interview because I didn’t have those all important ISEB and Prince 2 etc. qualifications. It was a bit of a kick in the nuts for all those years learning my trade and generally working hard. Until the last year I’ve not had any certificates and it never made me any worse at what I do.

It has unfortunately turned into an evil that we seem to need to embrace. Employers do not read CV’s unless they meet certain criteria – the criteria these days seems to be the damn certificates.

You are right James, but even we testing people have to tow the line at some point.

[James' Reply: You can pick what lines to toe. You can make new lines to toe. That's what I do. And anyway we don't need no stinking glossaries. We have the English language itself. It works fine.]

I have just been illustrating to my team the confluence of late requirements, with the cost of mitigating defects and the liklihood of those defects escaping to production. Some good numbers from Capers Jones, FP Brooks, Carmine Mangione, Bohm and Basili and my own tracking of S curves and Root Cause Analysis.
I can pretty much predict when the brown sticky substance will hit the whirlygig, but I don’t have my ISTQB so all is dust.

[James' Reply: I don't find any of that stuff from Caper Jones, et al, useful, I'm afraid. It's a lot of daydreams and pixie glitter, to me. It's not scientific.]

GURT PS I really do hate ISTQB

You mention AST more times than is healthy for just a passing remark. So I looked up AST and not quite sure if you are referring to aspartate aminotransferase (AST) test or Airborne Surveillance Test (which you might do in getting your wings) or you belong to the Academy of Safe Therapies (most unlikely as I have seen one of your presentations). So could you please help out a senior citizen and tell me what you are referring to? I promise not to join if it has links to ISTQB….

GURT

Genuine Uncertified Real Tester

PS you too can be a GURT!

[James' Reply: What's wrong with GUTS? Genuinely Uncertified Tester of Software.

AST stands for the Association for Software Testing.]

I can look up a “testing glossary” for free if I want too. I can even try to impose such a glossary on my colleagues if (and that’s a pretty big “if”), I want to…

This seems to be the primary thrust of the current certification program.

I am pretty sure that this would be less useful however, than my current approach, which is to actually go and talk to the different people involved in the testing that I am currently doing – and find a way of communicating with them that works for everybody.

So I will be holding on to my cash for now!

And now that I have your attention, let me qualify that statement.
I think ISTQB is a shining example of how a bad education of bad (or incorrectly portrayed) static principles and techniques can undermine an intelligent and constantly evolving practice.
Expecting testers to use what they are taught in ISTQB to perform good testing, is like expecting Da Vinci to reproduce the Mona Lisa with a cracked canvas, broken brushes and rainwater for paint!

I’ve been lucky enough to have completed both the ISTQB course and Mr Bach’s Rapid Software Testing course.
I can say I was lucky to have completed both these courses because now when people say “are you ISTQB certified?” I can say “Yes I am, but I wish I never had been, and let me tell you why…”

The ISTQB course taught me that I still have the skills I learnt in High School, to learn and parrot for an exam even completely useless information. Other than this, the only thing I got from ISTQB was a depressing view of testing as a boring, over structured, no autonomy discipline that could be performed by trained monkeys with a computer and a project manager.
I was lucky enough that shortly after doing this ‘course’ I was seconded into a high level helpdesk role that broke me out of the funk that trying to apply the ISTQB ‘rules’ to my testing had put me in.
The Rapid Software Testing course had the opposite effect. It provided me with a versatile, positive and proactive view of testing that allows me to use my brain to provide the best testing I can, even if it doesn’t fit into a prescribed ‘model’.

This seems to have turned into more of a testimonial than a comment on the original topic, so sorry about that.
As a badge idea though, I like to say “I was certified but I’m recovering well”