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 Expert Level Test Management Operational Test Management
The ISTQB Certified Tester Expert Level Test Management – Operational Test Management (CTEL-TM-OTM) certification validates the advanced skills needed to manage testing activities in large projects and programs. It covers third-party relationships, project risk management, test reporting, and release considerations. This certification is for experienced test managers who want to demonstrate strategic and operational leadership in test management.
DeliveryISTQB Member Boards
Free questions537
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What Certified Tester Expert Level Test Management Operational 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
19objectives
128concepts
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 Expert Level Test Management – Operational Test Management (CTEL-TM-OTM) certification is one of three parts of the Expert Level Test Management (CTEL-TM) credential. It focuses on the operational skills required to manage testing activities in large projects and programs, including managing third-party relationships, project management, and effective reporting of test results.
This certification covers the ability to create, build, and maintain relationships with other managers and teams, as well as project risk management, organizing and moderating effective retrospectives, and evaluating exit criteria. It also highlights release considerations and the use of metrics in managing the test process. Achieving this certification demonstrates that you can lead test management initiatives at an operational level, ensuring quality and business alignment.
Who it’s for
The Expert Level certification is aimed at those who have already achieved an advanced point in their careers in software testing and wish to develop further their expertise in a specific area. It is designed for experienced test managers and test leaders who are responsible for quality and testing in large projects or programs. Candidates typically have several years of practical testing experience and hold the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) and Advanced Level Test Manager (CTAL-TM) certificates. They are looking to deepen their skills in operational test management, including managing external relationships, project risk, and test reporting.
Recommended experience
At least 5 years of practical testing experience and at least 2 years of industry experience in the specific Expert Level topic are recommended. 5 years of practical testing experience; 2 years of industry experience in the specific Expert Level topic
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 External Relationships
- Types of External Relationships
- Contractual Issues
- Communication Strategies
- Integrating from External Sources
- Merging Test Strategies
- Verifying Quality
Project Management Essentials
- Planning
- Execution and Monitoring
- Risk Management
- Quality Management
Test Project Evaluation and Reporting
- Tracking Information
- Evaluating and Using Information - Internal Reporting
- Sharing Information - External Reporting
- Planning, Monitoring and Control
- Analysis and Design
- Implementation and Execution
- Evaluating Exit Criteria and Reporting
- Test Closure Activities
- Statistical Quality Control Techniques
On the day
The exam itself
Everything ISTQB publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certificate
CertificationCertified Tester Expert Level Test Management Operational Test Management
DeliveryISTQB Member Boards
Certification levelExpert
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 Expert Level Test Management Operational Test Management
PrerequisiteCertified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certificate
Credential earnedCertified Tester Expert Level Test Management Operational Test Management Expert level certification Renewal and maintenance
An Expert Level certificate is valid for 7 years. Extension is possible through ISTQB's Extension Policy. 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 CTEL-TM-OTM relate to the other Expert Level Test Management exams?
CTEL-TM-OTM is one of three parts of the CTEL-TM certification. You must also pass CTEL-TM-STM (Strategic Test Management) and CTEL-TM-MTT (Managing the Test Team) to earn the full CTEL-TM credential.
Do I need to earn the Advanced Level Test Manager (CTAL-TM) before taking CTEL-TM-OTM?
Yes, the CTAL-TM certificate is a mandatory prerequisite for the Expert Level certification, along with the CTFL certificate and relevant experience.
Is there a hands-on or lab component in the CTEL-TM-OTM exam?
The official materials do not mention a hands-on or lab component. The exam is based on the CTEL-TM syllabus and sample exams provided by ISTQB.
What is the retake policy for the CTEL-TM-OTM exam?
ISTQB's Exam Structure and Rules document outlines retake policies. Please refer to the official ISTQB-CTEL Exam Structure and Rules for specific waiting periods and attempt limits.
What job roles does the CTEL-TM-OTM certification map to?
This certification is designed for experienced test managers and test leaders who are responsible for quality and testing in large projects or programs.
Can I recertify by passing a different ISTQB exam?
Expert Level certificates are valid for 7 years and can be extended through ISTQB's Extension Policy. Passing other exams does not automatically renew this certification.
Are there regional differences in how the CTEL-TM-OTM exam is delivered?
Exams are delivered by ISTQB Member Boards, so availability and delivery options may vary by region. Contact your local Member Board for specific details.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 537 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
19objectives
128concepts
116free 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 External Relationships174 questions
Types of External Relationships3 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Contractual Issues7 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Communication Strategies8 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Integrating from External Sources4 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Merging Test Strategies7 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Verifying Quality7 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →
2Project Management Essentials109 questions
3Test Project Evaluation and Reporting254 questions
Tracking Information5 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →Evaluating and Using Information - Internal Reporting7 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Sharing Information - External Reporting8 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Planning, Monitoring and Control10 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Analysis and Design6 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Implementation and Execution7 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Evaluating Exit Criteria and Reporting6 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Test Closure Activities7 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Statistical Quality Control Techniques7 concepts · 6 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.
Types of External Relationships5 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
23 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
537 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.
537questions
116pages
19objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Managing External Relationships174 questions
2Project Management Essentials109 questions
3Test Project Evaluation and Reporting254 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.
128concepts
537free 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.
2official links
128concepts 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 — 19 objectives, 128 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When ISTQB changes the outline, this page changes with it.
19objectives on the outline→128concepts written→537free 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.