The CTFL v4.0 syllabus is the whole scope of the exam. Nothing outside it is examined, apart from the ISTQB glossary definitions of the keywords it lists. It has six chapters, and each chapter heading carries the minimum teaching time an accredited course must give it. Those times, set against how many exam questions each chapter supplies, are the best guide there is to where your study hours should go.
The current document is version 4.0.1, a maintenance update of 4.0 with corrections. The exam is still called CTFL v4.0. It is free to download from ISTQB, and it is worth reading in full at least once. This page is a map of it, not a substitute.
Study time versus exam weight
Accredited courses must spend at least 1135 minutes on the syllabus, about 19 hours. The table puts each chapter’s share of that time next to its share of the 40 questions.
| Chapter | Teaching time | Exam questions |
|---|
| 1. Fundamentals of Testing | 180 min | 8 |
| 2. Testing Throughout the SDLC | 130 min | 6 |
| 3. Static Testing | 80 min | 4 |
| 4. Test Analysis and Design | 390 min | 11 |
| 5. Managing Test Activities | 335 min | 9 |
| 6. Test Tools | 20 min | 2 |
Chapters 4 and 5 take over 60% of the teaching time and supply 20 questions, so they deserve most of your hours. Chapters 1 to 3 are the opposite: 18 questions for about a third of the time, and all of it K1 and K2 material that rewards careful reading. A candidate who is secure on those three chapters needs only 8 of the remaining 22 to pass.
Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Testing
8 exam questions, 180 minutes of teaching time
The vocabulary the rest of the syllabus is built on. What testing is for, why error, defect and failure are three different things, the seven testing principles, the test activities from planning to completion, and the difference between testing and debugging.
Syllabus sections
- 1.1 What is testing?
- 1.2 Why is testing necessary?
- 1.3 Testing principles
- 1.4 Test activities, testware and test roles
- 1.5 Essential skills and good practices in testing
Where marks go: The principles and the error/defect/failure chain look easy and still cost marks, because the questions describe a situation and ask which principle or term fits it. Knowing the list is not enough.
Chapter 1 notes and termsChapter 1 practice drill
Chapter 2: Testing Throughout the SDLC
6 exam questions, 130 minutes of teaching time
How testing fits different ways of building software. Sequential, iterative and Agile lifecycles, test-first practices, DevOps and shift left, the five test levels, functional and non-functional test types, and maintenance testing.
Syllabus sections
- 2.1 Testing in the context of a software development lifecycle
- 2.2 Test levels and test types
- 2.3 Maintenance testing
Where marks go: Test levels versus test types is the classic trap. A level says when and against what you test. A type says what quality you are checking. Confirmation testing versus regression testing is the other recurring pair.
Chapter 2 notes and termsChapter 2 practice drill
Chapter 3: Static Testing
4 exam questions, 80 minutes of teaching time
Finding defects without running the code. What static testing can examine, how it differs from dynamic testing, the review process and its roles, and the four review types from informal to inspection.
Syllabus sections
- 3.1 Static testing basics
- 3.2 Feedback and review process
Where marks go: Review types are compared on formality and purpose, and review roles on who does what. Both are memorisation, which makes this chapter cheap marks for anyone who puts in an hour.
Chapter 3 notes and termsChapter 3 practice drill
Chapter 4: Test Analysis and Design
11 exam questions, 390 minutes of teaching time
The biggest chapter and the one with the most arithmetic. Equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis, decision tables and state transitions, statement and branch coverage, error guessing and exploratory testing, and collaborative approaches such as ATDD.
Syllabus sections
- 4.1 Test techniques overview
- 4.2 Black-box test techniques
- 4.3 White-box test techniques
- 4.4 Experience-based test techniques
- 4.5 Collaboration-based test approaches
Where marks go: Five of the eight K3 objectives live here, so expect to be handed a range, a rule set, a state model or a user story with acceptance criteria, and asked to count or pick test cases. Speed comes only from practice.
Chapter 4 notes and termsChapter 4 practice drill
Chapter 5: Managing Test Activities
9 exam questions, 335 minutes of teaching time
Running the testing rather than doing it. Test plans, entry and exit criteria, estimation, prioritisation, the test pyramid and testing quadrants, risk analysis, monitoring and reporting, configuration management and defect reports.
Syllabus sections
- 5.1 Test planning
- 5.2 Risk management
- 5.3 Test monitoring, test control and test completion
- 5.4 Configuration management
- 5.5 Defect management
Where marks go: Three K3 objectives sit here: estimating effort, ordering a test execution schedule from priorities and dependencies, and writing a defect report. The scheduling question rewards working a few by hand before exam day.
Chapter 5 notes and termsChapter 5 practice drill
Chapter 6: Test Tools
2 exam questions, 20 minutes of teaching time
Kinds of tools that support testing and what test automation gives and takes away.
Syllabus sections
- 6.1 Tool support for testing
- 6.2 Benefits and risks of test automation
Where marks go: Two questions. Learn the benefits and risks of automation and move on.
Chapter 6 notes and termsChapter 6 practice drill