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 Advanced Level Test Management
The ISTQB® Certified Tester Advanced Level Test Management (CTAL-TM) certification validates your ability to take responsibility for managing testing activities across the software development lifecycle. It covers designing test approaches aligned with organizational strategy, building and leading test teams, and applying risk-based testing, metrics, and process improvement. Earning it demonstrates professional competence and credibility in test management, recognized internationally.
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration120 minutes
DeliveryISTQB Member Boards
Passing score58 out of 88
Free questions469
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What Certified Tester Advanced Level Test Management 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.
3domains
16objectives
113concepts
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 Advanced Level Test Management (CTAL-TM) certification equips experienced testing professionals with the knowledge and competencies to manage all testing activities across the software development lifecycle. It covers everything from designing a suitable test approach based on the organizational test strategy to building a test team and developing the competencies needed to complete necessary testing.
The syllabus addresses key management areas including test planning, monitoring and control, risk-based testing, test estimation, defect management, and test process improvement. It also covers the context of testing, stakeholder management, and the cost of quality, preparing candidates to lead testing efforts in a variety of software development models and project contexts.
Holders of the CTAL-TM certificate are recognized internationally for their professional competence and credibility in test management. The certification is valid for life and does not require renewal, and it serves as a pathway to ISTQB® Expert Level qualifications.
Who it’s for
This Advanced Level qualification is aimed at anyone involved in the management of software testing, including testers, test consultants, test managers, user acceptance testers, scrum masters, project managers, and product owners. It is also appropriate for professionals who want an advanced understanding of software testing, such as project managers, quality managers, software development managers, business analysts, IT directors, and management consultants.
Recommended experience
Sufficient practical experience in software testing is recommended, with specific criteria determined by the ISTQB® Member Board or Exam Provider. Practical experience in software testing roles; Understanding of fundamental testing concepts as covered by the Foundation Level certification; Experience with test management activities such as planning, monitoring, and control
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
Managing the Test Activities
- Test Planning
- Test Monitoring and Control
- Test Completion
- Test Process Improvement
- Test Tools
Managing the Product
- Test Management Activities
- Test Estimation
- Defect Management
Managing the Team
- Typical Skills within Four Areas of Competence
- Analyze Required Test Team Member Skills
- Assessing Test Team Member Skills
- Developing Test Team Member Skills
- Management Skills Required to Manage a Test Team
- Motivating or Demotivating Factors for a Test Team in Certain Situations
- Cost of Quality
- Cost-benefit Relationship of Testing
On the day
The exam itself
Everything ISTQB publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
Hold the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) v4.0 or a previous version of the Foundation Level certificate.
CertificationCertified Tester Advanced Level Test Management
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration120 minutes
Questions50 questions
Passing score58 out of 88
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 Advanced Level Test Management
PrerequisiteHold the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) v4.0 or a previous version of the Foundation Level certificate.
Credential earnedCertified Tester Advanced Level Test Management Certification Renewal and maintenance
The Certified Tester Advanced Level Test Management certificate is valid for life and does not require renewal. 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 CTAL-TM v3.0 relate to previous versions of the exam?
CTAL-TM v3.0 is the current version of the Advanced Level Test Management exam. Candidates holding the Foundation Level certificate from previous versions are still eligible to take the exam.
Is the CTAL-TM certification a prerequisite for ISTQB® Expert Level qualifications?
Holders of the Advanced Level Test Management certificate are able to go on to ISTQB® Expert Level software testing qualifications, such as those in Test Management or Improving the Test Process.
Can I take the CTAL-TM exam without attending accredited training?
Yes, self-study using the syllabus and recommended reading material is an option when preparing for the exam. However, attending accredited training is highly recommended to ensure relevance and consistency with the syllabus.
What is the exam format for CTAL-TM?
The CTAL-TM exam consists of 50 multiple-choice questions, with a total of 88 points and a passing score of 58. The exam length is 120 minutes, with an additional 25% time for non-native language speakers.
Are there sample exams available for CTAL-TM?
Yes, ISTQB provides sample exams (Sample Exam A and Sample Exam B) with questions and answers, which are available for download from the official certification page.
What job roles does the CTAL-TM certification map to?
The certification is aimed at anyone involved in the management of software testing, including testers, test consultants, test managers, user acceptance testers, scrum masters, project managers, and product owners.
Can I proceed to other ISTQB® certifications after earning CTAL-TM?
Yes, holders of this certification may choose to proceed to other Core, Agile, or Specialist stream certifications, as well as Expert Level qualifications.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 469 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.
3domains
16objectives
113concepts
101free 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
1Managing the Test Activities164 questions
2Managing the Product100 questions
3Managing the Team205 questions
Typical Skills within Four Areas of Competence3 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Analyze Required Test Team Member Skills6 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Assessing Test Team Member Skills7 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Developing Test Team Member Skills4 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Management Skills Required to Manage a Test Team8 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Motivating or Demotivating Factors for a Test Team in Certain Situations4 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Cost of Quality7 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Cost-benefit Relationship of Testing5 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →
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.
Test Planning7 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
35 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
469 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.
469questions
101pages
16objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Managing the Test Activities164 questions
2Managing the Product100 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.
113concepts
469free 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
113concepts 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 — 16 objectives, 113 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When ISTQB changes the outline, this page changes with it.
16objectives on the outline→113concepts written→469free 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.