International Software Quality Institute (iSQI)

The International Software Quality Institute (iSQI Group) is a leading provider of certification examinations all over the world. With offices in Potsdam (Germany), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Reading (UK) and Boston (USA), iSQI plays a significant role in certifying the know-how of IT professionals in over 100 countries on 6 continents in 10 languages. With over 30,000 certifications per year, iSQI paves the way for successful career development. iSQI provides foundation, advanced, expert and specialist certifications, so that professionals can maximise their career goals and stay up-to-date and aligned with global standards. iSQI works with training providers, universities and educational institutions around the world to provide the highest standards in curriculum and assessment.

With such a wide range of certifications and customer types, iSQI needed maximum flexibility from their choice of supplier of online assessment software.

• Assessments had to be provided for both individual professionals and also groups of candidates from companies/training providers.
• Individual companies with large volumes of assessments required the scope to deliver their own exams on a partnership basis with support from iSQI.
• Some candidate groups would need to sit their exams simultaneously, other individual students should be facilitated to choose their own exam time.
• Some candidates opt for test centre based delivery, while others could choose to sit their exam at home, using online proctoring.
• A variety of auto-scorable question types were required to cover the wide range of courses and certifications.
• The system had to be fully scalable: iSQI have a large question bank with 350 different exam papers, and typically run close to 7,000 examinations per year worldwide.
• Exams had to be conducted with integrity, validity and fairness.
• Exam delivery had to be truly global, capable of reaching learners around the world.
• Multiple languages had to be accommodated.

With these considerations in mind, iSQI decided to switch to TestReach as their online assessment partner. The solution provided extensive software functionality and a range of exam delivery options. iSQI has earned the trust of thousands of individuals, organizations and training providers around the world. Working with TestReach was intended to maximise flexibility for all these clients, on a global basis, while upholding iSQI’s reputation for integrity, high standards of security and fairness in assessments.

Working in partnership with TestReach, iSQI has achieved the flexibility they required with their online examination offering, coupled with a seamless step-by-step process for clients and candidates, from registration through to issuing of certificates.

An integration between the CRM and TestReach means that when students are registered and pay for their examination, their details are pushed via an API to TestReach to enable automatic enrolment into the correct exam(s). For individual professional candidates, they can choose the FLEX exam process, whereby they can log into TestReach and choose their desired exam time slot from a range of options. For client training providers and companies, there are Session FLEX exams, whereby a group of students can sit the exam together at a set time. Both FLEX and Session FLEX exams are delivered using TestReach remote proctoring. Proctoring is provided live, by trained TestReach supervisors. The system utilises audio, video, remote screenshare, instant messaging, secure computer lockdown and recording technologies to ensure the test is conducted under maximum security. A knowledgeable and friendly service is provided by TestReach supervisors, meeting the expectations of professional students.

In addition to flexible booking options for online proctored examinations, iSQI also delivers exams on the TestReach system through a network of test centres. In this case candidates sit their exams on TestReach but are supervised by an in-person proctor at the centre. During the Covid-19 pandemic, test centre delivery has been greatly reduced due to restrictions on indoor group meetings, so online proctoring has become the preferred option in most cases. TestReach has streamlined the rolling out of test centre exams, with functions to assist the in-person supervisor with managing candidates and exam paper access on exam days. There are supervisor controls including check-in functionality for controlled access to tests, the ability to resume exams, give extra time and make supervision notes which are included on an auto-generated report.

The blended model of online proctoring alongside the option of test centres is important to iSQI. Demand varies in different countries and with different clients. Exams are provided all over the world in a variety of languages, using translated exam content presented within native candidate interfaces in the TestReach application. The most common languages used for iSQI exams are English, German, Spanish, Dutch Portuguese and Chinese. iSQI makes full use of the wide-variety of auto-scorable question types offered by TestReach. Their subject matter is detailed and iSQI wants to maximise the methods by which knowledge can be assessed in an online format. In the exams, resources are easily presented on-screen alongside question and answer options, which allows iSQI to incorporate data-based reports and computer processing information for candidates to review.

The process has been streamlined: not only does the API enable a one-stop registration with TestReach, but questions are auto-scored so results are calculated instantly. As soon as the candidate finishes their exam, they can see how they have performed. They can also access their own report, which shows which questions they got right or wrong, and presents feedback on certain areas. This is a preliminary result which is verified by iSQI before the official result email is sent to the participant. Results are automatically sent to iSQI’s CRM system via API from TestReach, and candidate certificates can then be issued. Commenting on the partnership, Julijana Eftimov, Digital Business Development Manager at iSQI said, “We have very hard rules we need to follow to uphold standards for our examinations. TestReach enables us to follow the rules, in addition to giving us the opportunity to optimise our solutions for the future. We can now offer a range of exam delivery possibilities with multiple scheduling options to meet the demands of a wide variety of clients situated all over the world.”

“TestReach is proactive and open to innovation, and is receptive to ideas to make things better for our customers. We find it very useful that TestReach understands our business challenges and works with us to find the most effective solutions. Our clients give us positive feedback and we are very happy with the service that is provided.”

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