You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
ISTQBCertified Tester Usability Testing
The ISTQB® Certified Tester Usability Testing (CT-UT) certification validates your ability to plan and conduct usability testing that improves product usability, user experience, and accessibility. It is designed for software testing professionals who want to specialize in usability, as well as usability engineers seeking a structured testing perspective. Earning CT-UT demonstrates that you can apply recognized standards and methods to uncover real usability risks and communicate findings effectively.
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration60 minutes
DeliveryISTQB Member Boards
Passing score26 out of 40
Free questions950
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What Certified Tester Usability Testing proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
8domains
33objectives
232concepts
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The ISTQB® Certified Tester Usability Testing (CT-UT) certification focuses on usability testing methods and approaches. It covers the setup of usability, user experience, and accessibility evaluation procedures, along with relevant standards and risk identification. The syllabus provides a step-by-step approach to preparing and conducting usability tests, analyzing findings, and communicating results to stakeholders.
This certification equips testing professionals with the skills to integrate usability testing into the software development lifecycle, ensuring that products meet user needs and accessibility requirements. It also covers user surveys, usability reviews, and the selection of appropriate evaluation methods, preparing candidates to take on roles such as usability tester, moderator, or note-taker.
Who it’s for
The Usability Testing certification is aimed at anyone involved in software testing who wishes to broaden their knowledge of usability testing or anyone who wishes to start a specialist career in usability testing. The qualification is also aimed at anyone involved in usability engineering who wishes to understand usability testing. This certification is suitable for testers, test analysts, usability engineers, UX professionals, and quality assurance practitioners who want to add usability testing to their skill set and contribute to more user-centered software products.
Recommended experience
While not mandatory, ISTQB recommends that candidates have a foundation in software testing principles, typically gained through the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certification or equivalent practical experience. Understanding of fundamental software testing concepts and terminology; Familiarity with the software development lifecycle and testing activities; Basic knowledge of usability and user experience principles is beneficial
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective ISTQB measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official ISTQB exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
Basic Concepts
- Usability
- User Experience Concepts
- Accessibility
- Usability Evaluation
- User Experience Evaluation
- Accessibility Evaluation
- Usability Requirements
- Agile Usability Evaluation
Risks in Usability, User Experience and Accessibility
- Usability Risks
- User Experience Risks
- Accessibility Risks
- Project Risks
Usability and Accessibility Standards
- ISO Usability Standards
- Manufacturer Guidelines
- ISO Standards
- The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
- Accessibility Legislation
Usability Reviews
- Step-By-Step Approach to Usability Reviews
- Risks and Challenges
- Informal Usability Review
- Expert Usability Review
- Heuristic Evaluation
Usability Testing
- Planning and Preparation
- Execution
- Analysis and Reporting
- Quality and Best Practices
User Surveys
- Step-By-Step Approach to User Surveys
- Standardized Questionnaires
Selecting Appropriate Methods
- Selecting a Usability Evaluation Method
- Selecting a User Experience Evaluation Method
- Selecting an Accessibility Evaluation Method
Summary of Roles and Responsibilities
- Usability Tester
- Moderator and Note-Taker
On the day
The exam itself
Everything ISTQB publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
Hold the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certificate.
CertificationCertified Tester Usability Testing
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration60 minutes
Questions40 questions
Passing score26 out of 40
DeliveryISTQB Member Boards
LanguagesEnglish, Non-native language support available (+25% time)
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path ISTQB lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to Certified Tester Usability Testing
PrerequisiteHold the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certificate.
Credential earnedCertified Tester Usability Testing Certification Renewal and maintenance
ISTQB certifications do not require renewal except for Expert Level. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. ISTQB maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by ISTQB
Exam registration
Register for the exam through ISTQB Member Boards, ISTQB’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official ISTQB certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How does CT-UT relate to the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL)?
CT-UT is a Specialist level certification that builds on the foundation knowledge from CTFL. Holding CTFL is a mandatory prerequisite for CT-UT.
Is there a hands-on or lab component in the CT-UT exam?
The CT-UT exam is a multiple-choice exam with 40 questions. There is no hands-on or lab component.
What is the retake policy if I fail the CT-UT exam?
ISTQB exam retake policies are set by each Member Board or exam provider. Contact your local ISTQB Member Board for specific retake rules and waiting periods.
What job roles does the CT-UT certification map to?
CT-UT is relevant for software testers, usability testers, usability engineers, UX professionals, and quality assurance practitioners who want to specialize in usability testing.
Can I recertify by passing a different ISTQB exam?
ISTQB certifications do not require renewal except for Expert Level. However, holders of CT-UT may choose to pursue other Core, Agile, or Specialist stream certifications to broaden their skills.
Is CT-UT available in languages other than English?
ISTQB exams are offered in multiple languages depending on the Member Board. Non-native language speakers may receive additional time (25% more) for the exam.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 950 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept ISTQB measures — each one written out.
8domains
33objectives
232concepts
205free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official ISTQB exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Basic Concepts246 questions
Usability5 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →User Experience Concepts6 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Accessibility8 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Usability Evaluation7 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →User Experience Evaluation6 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Accessibility Evaluation5 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Usability Requirements6 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Agile Usability Evaluation8 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →
2Risks in Usability, User Experience and Accessibility102 questions
3Usability and Accessibility Standards145 questions
4Usability Reviews137 questions
5Usability Testing142 questions
6User Surveys53 questions
7Selecting Appropriate Methods61 questions
8Summary of Roles and Responsibilities64 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
Usability6 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
29 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
950 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
950questions
205pages
33objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Basic Concepts246 questions
2Risks in Usability, User Experience and Accessibility102 questions
3Usability and Accessibility Standards145 questions
4Usability Reviews137 questions
5Usability Testing142 questions
6User Surveys53 questions
7Selecting Appropriate Methods61 questions
8Summary of Roles and Responsibilities64 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
232concepts
950free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from ISTQB
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
3official links
232concepts mapped
The source
ISTQB’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official ISTQB outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 33 objectives, 232 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When ISTQB changes the outline, this page changes with it.
33objectives on the outline→232concepts written→950free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.