Requirements Engineering

Whenever problems arise with projects these days, the cause is frequently the inadequate definition of the requirements. IREB has identified this problem and strives to resolve it by implementing an international standard for Requirements Engineering.

Your certification as an IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering documents that you are a Requirements Engineering expert. Having this qualification, you know how to identify and specify requirements and now to conduct effective requirements analyses.

You are also familiar with the key methods and processes of Requirements Engineering. Hence, our certification helps you prove your Requirements Engineering qualifications to your customers and employers. Thanks to the international syllabus this program can now be taught and certified on the same level – globally.

Document your competences – get certified!

IREB CPRE

IREB, the International Requirements Engineering Board, is a non-profit organization. It is the provider of the IREB CPRE (Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering) certification scheme. The IREB board consists of leading RE experts, who come from industry, science and research. IREB is today the leading certification scheme in the field of Requirements Engineering with more than 30.000 professionals who have passed the certification.

It addresses to individuals working in Business Analysis, Requirements Engineering and Testing, having highest demands on their work quality.

Foundation Level

The CPRE Foundation Level covers the fundamentals of the Requirements Engineering domain, methodology and available techniques.

Advanced Level

There are four modules:

  • Requirements Elicitation
  • Requirements Modeling
  • Requirements Management
  • RE@Agile

Expert Level

The Expert Level is available for the candidates who have at least three CPRE Advanced Level certificates.

GASQ is a officially licensed IREB Examination Provider

IREB CPRE Foundation Level

The Foundation Level addresses the needs of all people involved in the topic of Requirements Engineering. This includes people in roles such as project or IT management, domain experts, system analysts and software developers.

The IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering Foundation Level certification covers the following topics:

  • Introduction and Foundations
  • System and Systems
  • Requirements Elicitation
  • Requirements Documentation
  • Documentation of Requirements using Natural Language
  • Model-based Documentation of Requirements
  • Requirements validation and negotiation
  • Requirements Management
  • Tool Support

Target audience: The IREB CPRE Foundation Level addresses the advanced beginner in Requirements Engineering and provides the core knowledge of this topic.

Prerequisites: there are no prerequisites to apply for IREB CPRE FL.

IREB RE@Agile

These educational units on the subject of "Agile" are offered as part of the CPRE scheme:

  • RE@Agile Primer
  • Advanced Level RE@Agile (see Advanced Level sector below)

 

RE@Agile Primer

The RE@Agile Primer imparts of how RE methods and techniques can advantageously be applied in agile development processes, and how techniques from the agile approach can improve the RE practice.

 

With the IREB® - RE@Agile Primer certification:

  • You will have an independent, internationally recognised certification as proof of expertise in the field of requirements engineering and Agile
  • You will learn the roles and importance of requirements engineering in agile processes and the value of agility in requirements engineering
  • You will learn how to choose the right measures at the right time in order to produce high-quality work

 

Target audience:

This certification is aimed at anyone interested in the topic of requirements engineering and agility who wants to gain background knowledge on the interplay of the two fields. It is particularly suitable for:

  • Requirements engineers,
  • Software testers, software developers, software architects,
  • Business analysts,
  • Project managers.

IREB CPRE Advanced Level

The IREB CPRE Advanced Level stands for mastering and using methods and techniques.

There are four modules with two stages (Practitioner and Specialist).

   Requirements Elicitation
   Requirements Modeling
   Requirements Management
   RE@Agile
 
The CPRE Advanced Level Practitioner exam is a multiple-choice-exam. The CPRE Advanced Level Specialist exam consists of a homework.
 
If a test taker wants to pass one of the CPRE Advanced Level Specialist modules, the test taker must succesfully pass the corresponding CPRE Advanced Level Practitioner exam at first.
 

Requirements Elicitation

Techniques from the Foundation Level are elaborated here in more detail and further techniques added enabling participants to efficiently elicit and consolidate requirements.

Requirements Modeling

Correct use of graphical models to express functional requirements.

Requirements Management

Appropriate methods and techniques to effectively deal with the management of requirements throughout the product development.

RE@Agile

How to apply RE methods and techniques in agile development processes - and vice versa.

 

There is an exam for each module with a corresponding certificate. Choose the module(s) that fits best to you and your profession.

Target audience:

The Advanced Level addresses the holders of the CPRE Foundation Level certificate, who want to deepen their knowledge of particular Requirements Engineering and Business Analysis activities.

Prerequisites:

Prerequisite for participation in the examination for IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering Advanced Level – is the certificate

IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering Foundation Level

or

REQB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering Foundation Level

or

certificate Requirements Engineering of the British Computer Society (BCS)

 

Without one of these certificates, participation in the examination is not possible, and other certificates do not entitle you to participate in the examination.

Download the IREB CPRE Advanced Level syllabi here.

IREB Syllabi & Glossary

IREB Glossary

Download the IREB Glossary here. It includes English, French, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Swedish terminology.

All syllabi are available for complimentary download here. You can use them to prepare for the respective exams.

IREB CPRE FL Syllabus 3.1

English
German

Handbook for Syllabus Version 3.0

English
German

IREB CPRE AL Syllabus

Requirements Elicitation

English
French
German

Handbook Requirements Elicitation

English
German

Requirements Modeling

English
German

Handbook Requirements Modeling

English
German

Requirements Management

English
German

Handbook Requirements Managemnet

English
German

Requirements Advanced Level RE@Agile

English
German

Handbook Requirements Advanced Level RE@Agile

English
German

Exam

IREB CPRE Foundation Level Exam

The exam required to be awarded the IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering degree is based on the syllabus. All parts of the syllabus may be components of the exam. The exam questions do not have to necessarily focus on a certain component, but may cover multiple disciplines.

General exam information:

The exam format is single choice, multiple choice and true/false questions.

The exam contains out of 45 questions. A participant has 75 minutes to sit it.

Depending on the difficulty, each question yields 1 to 3 points. The achievable points are given in the header of the question.

To pass the exam you have to score at least 70.00 percent of the total points.

Candidates eligible to participate in an IREB exam either have attended an accredited course or they are participants of an open exam (no prior course attendance required). However, GASQ recommends participants attend a training program with an accredited provider prior to taking the exam.

If you are interested in arranging an open exam for a group of 7 or more individuals who do not require an accredited training, we will be pleased to organize an exam at your location within Germany. To make arrangements, please complete our exam form and submit it to info@gasq.org. We will contact you to negotiate the details as soon as possible.

You can download the IREB CPRE FL Examinations Regulations here.

IREB CPRE Advanced Level Exam

The examination consists of two parts

Part 1: Written examination
Part 2: Written assignment

The examination is considered passed when the two parts of the examination are passed, i.e. each part of the examination must be passed, independently of the other. Passing part 1 is a prerequisite for participation in part 2.

Both parts of the examination must be completed within 12 months from the first participation in the part 1 examination, otherwise the examination is failed. This time limit of 12 months applies in all possible cases, including repetition of individual parts.

Part 1 of the examination is considered passed if 70.00 percent of the total score of this examination part has been achieved.

Part 2 of the examination is considered passed if 60.00 percent of the total score of this examination part has been achieved.

The examination durations are

Part 1: 75 minutes (earlier handing in is possible)

Part 2: about two day’s homework within a period of 12 months after the very first attempt for part 1 of the examination. The submission of part 2 must occur in any event before the end of the 12-months’ time limit

Part 1: Written Examination

Part 1 of the examination is carried out in the form of a written examination.

The examination consists of multiple choice questions. Construction and assessment of multiple choice questions follows the IREB examination regulations for the Foundation Level.

Part 2: Written assignment

As part of the written assignment, the examination candidate must create a written study on predefined groups of topics. The written study must be original work performed by the examination candidate (i.e. without help from others), using only the literature and tools stated by the examination candidate according to generally accepted scientific criteria.

For the completion of the written study, the examination candidate should invest the equivalent of two working days (i.e. approximately 16 hours of work). The scope of the work is about 10 to 15, maximum 20, A4 pages (font: 11pt, margin: 2.5 cm, single spaced).

The written assignment has to be provided in English or German language.

You can download the IREB CPRE AL Examinations Regulations here.

Accredited Training Providers

Time Bonus

Here the general information for time bonus:

Non-Native-Speaker can ask for 15 minutes extra time (time bonus) in IREB exams
In case of Foundation and Advanced Level the extra time is 15 minutes. So you have 90 minutes to answer your exam
To get a time bonus it is necessary to fill in and send back the Application form for non-native-speaker time bonus at least 2 working days before the exam
The certification authority will always check if your application has been filled correctly and if you are allowed to get the time bonus
During the exam (or directly before the exam) it is not possible to get time bonus
Also after the exam it is not possible anymore to re-open your exam to get time bonus

FAQ

I have lost my certificate. Is it possible to apply for a new one?

It is possible to apply for a replacement certificate; a processing fee of € 35 will be charged.

Is it possible to review the exam?

For a fee of € 80, a target-actual comparison can be performed at our business premises in Nuremberg, Germany. Conducting a target-actual comparison means that you will be presented the exam questions along with the solutions. You will have a time limit of 15 minutes to conduct this review. Subsequently, you will be denied access to the questions that are currently being used in the exam.

If I do not pass, is it possible to take the exam again?

Yes, you can re-take the exam; however, you will be charged another exam fee.

Do I have to meet any requirements to participate in the Foundation Level?

No.

Is it possible for me to take the Advanced Level exam immediately without first passing the Foundation Level exam?

No. Before you are eligible to take the Advanced Level exam it is mandatory for you to have passed the Foundation Level exam.

Will I incur any other fees besides the exam fee?

No.

Will I have to attend a course before I sign up for the exam?

No, attending a course is a choice you make at your discretion. You can also take the test right away. However, we recommend you attend a course offered by an accredited company.

Will you notify my supervisor/employer as to whether I have passed or failed the exam?

No.