CSQA Preparatory Training Program

The Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA) program was developed by leading quality professionals as a means of recognizing professionals who demonstrate a predefined level of Software Quality competency and to provide value to the profession, the individual, the employer, and coworkers. The CSQA program is directed by an independent Certification Board and administered by the Quality Assurance Institute (QAI).

The Certified Software Quality Analyst preparatory course has been designed specifically to prepare the software quality professionals for the CSQA examination. This course provides a background of the IT QA fundamentals and also includes the more advanced concepts, which the Certified Software Quality Analyst must understand.

The completion of this course along with the necessary practical experience and related resource familiarity will help prepare the candidate for the CSQA examination. Due to time limitations, this course is not intended to cover every component of the CBOK in great depth.

Skill Category 1: Software Quality Principles and Concepts

Before an organization can begin to assess the quality of its products and services, and identify opportunity for improvement, it first must have a working knowledge of quality principles and basic concepts. This Session’s topics will include a review of quality concepts and practices, the vocabulary of quality, the different views of quality, and the differences between quality control and quality assurance. Conclude with a discussion of the Cost of Quality, the contributions of quality pioneers, and TQM. Sample test questions will also be discussed.

Skill Category 2: Quality Leadership

The most important prerequisite for successful implementation of any major quality initiative is commitment from executive management. It is management’s responsibility to establish strategic objectives and build an infrastructure that is strategically aligned to those objectives. This Skill Category describes the management processes used to establish the foundation of a quality-managed environment including leadership concepts, the quality management infrastructure, and the quality environment.

Skill Category 3: Quality Baselines

Organizations need to establish baselines of performance for quality, productivity and customer satisfaction. These baselines are used to document current performance and document improvements by showing changes from a baseline. This Skill Category discusses quality baseline concepts, the methods used for establishing baselines, model and assessment fundamentals, and various industry quality models.

Skill Category 4: Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance is a professional competency whose focus is directed at critical processes used to build products and services. The profession is charged with the responsibility for tactical process improvement initiatives that are strategically aligned to the goals of the organization. This category describes the management processes used to establish the foundation of a quality-managed environment including establishing a function to promote and manage quality, quality tools and their use, insight into process deployment and internal auditing and quality assurance responsibilities.

Skill Category 5: Quality Planning

Executive management establishes the vision and strategic goals. Planning is the process that describes how those strategic goals will be accomplished. Quality planning should be integrated into the IT plan so that they become a single plan. This Skill Category reviews planning concepts, the planning process, integrating business and quality planning, prerequisites to quality planning and planning to mature it work processes.

Skill Category 6: Define, Build, Implement and Improve Processes

Companies must constantly improve their ability to produce quality products that add value to their customer base. Defining and continuously improving work processes allows the pace of change to be maintained without negatively impacting the quality of products and services. In this Skill Category we will discuss process management concepts and processes.

Skill Category 7: Quality Control Practices

Quality control practices should occur during product development, product acquisition, product construction at the end of development/acquisition and throughout product change and operation. This skill category will address the various types of controls and when they are best used in the process, developing a testing methodology, verification and validation techniques, the framework for developing testing tactics, change control, configuration management and defect management.

Skill Category 8: Metrics

A properly established measurement system is used to help achieve missions, visions, goals, and objectives. The QA analyst must ensure that quantitative data is valued and reliable, and presented to management in a timely and easy-to-use manner. This skill category addresses measurement concepts, the use of measurement in a software development environment, variation, process capability, risk management, the ways measurement can be used and how to implement an effective measurement program .

Skill Category 9: Internal Control and Security

Especially after the recent scandals and implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley act, it is necessary to understand Principles and Concepts of Internal Control, Environmental or General Controls, Transaction Processing Controls, The Quality Professionals Responsibilities, Risk and Internal Control Methods, Building Internal Controls, and Building Adequate Security.

Skill Category 10: Outsourcing, COTS and Contracting Quality and Measurement

Quality of software remains an internal IT responsibility regardless of who builds the software. The quality professionals need to assure that those quality responsibilities are fulfilled through appropriate processes for acquiring purchased software and contracting for software services. This Skill Category reviews the processes for selecting COTS software and software developed by outside organizations, the issues regarding contracting for software developed by outside organizations, and the processes for the long-term operation of software developed by outside organizations.