Education and/or Experience

You must have eight years of on-the-job experience in one or more of
the areas of the Certified Software Quality Engineer Body of Knowledge. A
minimum of three years of this experience must be in a decision-making
position. "Decision-making" is defined as the authority to define,
execute, or control projects/processes and to be responsible for the
outcome. This may or may not include management or supervisory
positions.

If you are now or were previously certified by ASQ as a Quality
Engineer, Quality Auditor, Reliability Engineer, or Quality Manager,
experience used to qualify for certification in these fields applies to
certification as a Software Quality Engineer.

If you have completed a degree* from a college, university, or
technical school with accreditation accepted by ASQ, part of the
eight-year experience requirement will be waived, as follows (only one
of these waivers may be claimed):

• Diploma from a technical or trade school-one year will be waived
• Associate degree-two years waived
• Bachelor's degree-four years waived
• Master's or doctorate-five years waived

*Degrees/diplomas from foreign educational institutions must be equivalent to degrees from U.S. educational institutions.

Proof of Professionalism

Proof of professionalism may be demonstrated in one of three ways:

1. Membership in ASQ, a foreign affiliate society of ASQ, or
   another society that is a member of the American Association of
   Engineering Societies or the Accreditation Board for Engineering and
   Technology
2. Registration as a Professional Engineer
3. The signatures of two persons-ASQ members, members of a foreign
   affiliate society, or members of another recognized professional
   society-verifying that you are a qualified practitioner of the quality
   sciences

Examination

Each certification candidate is required to pass a written
examination that consists of multiple choice questions that measure
comprehension of the Body of Knowledge. The Software Quality Engineer
examination is a one-part, 160-question, four-hour exam and is offered
in the English language only.

Sample examination questions are included in the Study Guide .

Examinations are conducted twice a year, in early March and
mid-October, by local ASQ sections and foreign international
organizations. All examinations are open-book. Each participant must
bring his or her own reference materials. Use of reference materials and
calculators is explained in the seating letter provided to applicants.

Please Note: The Body of Knowledge for certification is
affected by new technologies, policies, and the changing dynamics of
manufacturing and service industries. Changed versions of the
examination based on the current Body of Knowledge are used at each
offering.

Minimum Expectations for a Certified Software Quality Engineer

• Must possess a fundamental understanding of quality
  philosophies, principles, methods, tools, standards, organizational and
  team dynamics, interpersonal relationships, and professional ethics.
• Must possess an understanding of software quality management
  principles and demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of developing and
  implementing software quality programs, to include tracking, analyzing,
  reporting, problem resolution, and training.
• Must understand and be able to implement software development
  and maintenance processes and methods, to quantify the fundamental
  problems and risks associated with implementing software development
  support processes, and to assess, support, and implement process and
  technology changes.
• Must possess a basic understanding of project management
  principles and techniques as they relate to software project planning,
  implementation, and tracking.
• Must know how to select, define, and apply software measurement,
  metrics, and analytical techniques. Possess a basic understanding of
  measurement theory, techniques, and how to communicate results.
• Must have a thorough understanding of software inspection,
  testing, verification, and validation. This includes knowledge of
  software and software work product early defect detection and removal,
  testing (e.g., types, levels, strategies, tools, and documentation) and
  verification and validation methods and techniques.
• Must have a basic understanding of how and when to perform
  software audits including audit planning, approaches, types, analyses,
  reporting results, and follow-up.
• Must possess a basic understanding of the configuration
  management process to include planning, configuration identification,
  configuration control, change management, status accounting, and
  reporting.