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Picture a mobile app that clears every case on the test bench and then freezes in a customer's hand, because a call arrived while the signal dropped from Wi-Fi to cellular. The ISTQB Certified Tester Mobile Application Testing (CT-MAT) certificate is built around that gap. Its paper has 40 multiple-choice questions, runs 60 minutes and needs 26 correct answers, and it expects you to hold the Foundation Level certificate first.

Why does an app that passes on the test bench still fail on a customer's phone?

Because the bench rarely contains the things a pocket does to software. A phone changes networks while a form is half sent, rotates in the middle of typing, loses battery, asks the user for permissions that may be refused, and receives notifications that the operating system may delay or drop to save power. CT-MAT teaches you to plan tests around those conditions instead of treating the app as a desktop program with a smaller screen.

ISTQB's CT-MAT certification page describes it as an insight into the methods, techniques and tools a professional may use to test mobile applications, covering the project activities, roles, methods and methodologies. It is aimed at people who already work with mobile technology, people about to start mobile projects, and people in companies that plan to. Checked in October 2026, the exam is still listed there with the 2019 syllabus attached.

Updated on 3 October 2026. What’s new: corrected the five exam domains to Strategic Alignment, Governance, Portfolio Performance, Portfolio Risk Management and Communications Management

You cannot simply book the PfMP and sit it next week. PMI first asks a panel of reviewers to read how you have managed portfolios, and only then do you face the exam: 170 multiple-choice questions in 240 minutes. Most candidates lose their first month to the application, not the study. This guide covers both halves, the five weighted domains and a ten-week plan.

The Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP) is PMI's credential for people who decide which programs and projects an organisation should fund, delay or stop. It is not a bigger version of the PMP. A project manager asks whether the work is being done well; a portfolio manager asks whether it is the right work at all. Every domain in the exam is built around that second question.

Why does the PfMP start with a panel review instead of the exam?

PMI treats the PfMP as a credential for people who already hold portfolio responsibility, so the application is a screening stage in its own right. After your experience is checked against the eligibility rules, a panel of PMI-appointed reviewers reads the way you have described your portfolio work. Only candidates the panel accepts go on to the exam. Training providers put the review at roughly two to three months, so plan the calendar before you plan the study sessions.

A common assumption is that anyone who works with pipelines every day can walk through DevOps Foundation without study. The paper tests something else: whether you can explain the Three Ways, CALMS, CI/CD, metrics and culture in DevOps Institute's own terms. It is 40 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, open book, with 65% needed to pass and a fee of USD $257, so knowing where each idea sits matters more than memorising it.

Most people who search for the devops foundation exam are trying to settle three things: how hard it is, what it actually covers, and how long they need before they book. This guide answers all three from the exam's own numbers and the topic list the vendor publishes, then turns them into a three-week plan you can start today.

DevOps Institute, which created the credential, is now part of the PeopleCert group, and the exam is bought and booked through PeopleCert. We checked the vendor's current DevOps Foundation pages in October 2026. The format, pass mark and open-book rule below match what both pages say.

What is the DOFD exam, and who is it for?

DOFD is the entry-level credential in the DevOps Institute range. It sits underneath the DevSecOps, Site Reliability Engineering, Observability, AIOps, Continuous Testing and Value Stream Management foundation exams, and it is the one most candidates take first because the others assume its vocabulary.

ICYB or the IASSC Certified Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification is a testament to proficiency in fundamental Lean Six Sigma principles and methodologies. Whether you aim to advance your career or deepen your understanding of process improvement strategies, effective preparation is essential to obtain this certification. Here are some study tips to help you prepare thoroughly for the ICYB certification exam.

Who Is An ICYB?

ICYB, or the IASSC Certified Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, is a professional who has a strong grasp of the fundamental principles of the Lean Six Sigma Methodology. They can lead minor improvement projects or contribute as a team member in more complex improvement initiatives led by a Certified Green Belt or Certified Black Belt, usually in a part-time capacity. A Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt possesses a comprehensive understanding of the basic elements of the Lean Six Sigma Method, including proficiency in the areas covered within the Define, Measure, and Control (DMC) phases outlined in the IASSC Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Body of Knowledge. They are adept at implementing, executing, interpreting, and applying Lean Six Sigma techniques, albeit within a limited or supportive framework.

A Discovery schedule that runs all night and still returns bad data is the exact problem this credential is built around: devices that never get classified, the same server arriving twice under two names, patterns that stop at the connection step. The ServiceNow CIS-Discovery exam asks whether you can trace that back to a cause and fix it, across 60 questions in 90 minutes.

CIS-Discovery, exam code CIS-DISCO, is the ServiceNow Certified Implementation Specialist - Discovery credential. It sits inside IT Operations Management and it is deliberately practical. The questions describe a schedule, an error message, a pattern step or a MID Server condition, and ask what you would change. Reading about Discovery is not enough; the exam is written for people who have watched a discovery run and read its logs.

This guide walks through what the blueprint weights, how a probe turns into a configuration item, what the MID Server has to do with all of it, and which experiments in a personal developer instance teach the rest.

What goes wrong when a Discovery schedule returns bad data?

Almost every scenario on the exam starts from a symptom an implementer would actually see. Learning to read those symptoms backwards is the single most useful preparation habit, because the answer options are usually all plausible and only one matches the real cause.

Here are the ones that come up most, and the part of the platform each belongs to: