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Exams Expert Level - Prerequisites and exam
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Excellence in RE

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Prerequisites

  1. The candidate has to be a holder of at least two CPRE Specialist certificates / Advanced Level certificates.
    One certificate can be substituted by other forms, e.g., university theses clearly related to RE, certain certificates linked to other education schemes (e.g., CBAP, BCS Diploma in Business Analysis), or a substantial publication.
  2. Activity as a Requirements Engineer in various roles and projects amounting to at least three years of full-time equivalent.
  3. Activity as a trainer or coach in the Requirements Engineering field.

For details see the Examination Regulations at the bottom of this page.

Why is there no syllabus?

Expertise as a level of knowledge and experience cannot be imparted through a syllabus or training course only. Many different building blocks need to come together to achieve expertise, such as continuous personal development, exchange with other experts and a permanent questioning of beliefs. Consequently, an Expert Syllabus or training courses do not exist!

What the CPRE EL examination comprises

The examination consists of two parts:

  1. Written application
  2. Oral examination (face-to-face meeting or video conference at a dedicated place)

For details see the Examination Regulations at the bottom of this page.

Language

The language for all parts of the examination (written application, oral examination) is English. Other languages may be possible on request, but this cannot be guaranteed.

Where to take the CPRE Expert exam?

Contact a certification body in order to register for the exam.

Preparation

Expertise as a level of knowledge and experience cannot be imparted through a syllabus or training course only. Expertise is the result of continuous personal development and activity in the respective field. Consequently, an Expert Level Syllabus or training courses do not exist!

The Exam

The exam regulations for the CPRE Expert Level. define the examination process.
The examination consists of the following two parts:

Part 1: Written application
The written application has to demonstrate that the candidate fulfils the prerequisites (see above).
Part 2: Oral examination
The oral examination is a face-to-face meeting or a video conference at a dedicated place. It takes 90 minutes and comprises three parts:

  1. Case (30 minutes after 2 hours preparation time).
    The candidate has to present his/her suggestions and thoughts on a given case.
  2. Questions on Requirements Engineering in the context of the candidate’s projects (30 minutes).
  3. General questions on Requirements Engineering (30 minutes).

Language

The default language for all exam parts (written application and oral examination) is English.

Exam results

The examination is considered passed when all two parts of the examination are passed.
Passing part 1 is a prerequisite for participation in part 2.
The certification body informs the candidate about each result. Concerning the oral exam, the candidate receives the results immediately after the examination.

Looking for a possibility to take the exam?

Please contact a certification body.

Related DownloadsAll Downloads
  • CPRE Expert - Examination regulations

    This document lays out the IREB's conditions for the CPRE Expert examination.

  • You might find these downloads also interesting:
  • CPRE Foundation Level - Handbook

    This handbook complements the CPRE Foundation Level syllabus

    The handbook addresses training providers who want to offer training courses for the Foundation Level according to the IREB standard, as well as trainees and interested practitioners who want to get a detailed insight into the content of the Foundation Level.

    This handbook does not replace a training course!

  • CPRE Advanced Level Requirements Elicitation - Handbook

    The handbook Requirements Elicitation complements the syllabus for the Advanced Level Requirements Elicitation, Practitioner and Specialist.

    The handbook addresses training providers who want to offer training courses for Requirements Elicitation according to the IREB standard, as well as trainees and interested practitioners who want to get a detailed insight into the content of the Advanced Level Requirements Elicitation.

    This handbook does not replace a training course!

  • CPRE Advanced Level Requirements Management - Handbook

    The handbook Requirements Management complements the syllabus for the Advanced Level Requirements Management, Practitioner and Specialist.

    The handbook addresses training providers who want to offer training courses for Requirements Management according to the IREB standard, as well as trainees and interested practitioners who want to get a detailed insight into the content of the Advanced Level Requirements Management.

    This handbook does not replace a training course!

  • CPRE Advanced Level Requirements Modeling - Handbook

    The handbook Requirements Modeling complements the syllabus for the Advanced Level Requirements Modeling, Practitioner and Specialist.

    The handbook addresses training providers who want to offer training courses for Requirements Modeling according to the IREB standard, as well as trainees and interested practitioners who want to get a detailed insight into the content of the Advanced Level Requirements Modeling.

    This handbook does not replace a training course!

  • CPRE Advanced Level RE@Agile - Handbook

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    The handbook addresses training providers who want to offer training courses for RE@Agile according to the IREB standard, as well as trainees and interested practitioners who want to get a detailed insight into the content of the Advanced Level RE@Agile.

    This handbook does not replace a training course!

Related FAQs All FAQs
  • Are there transition periods for exams after a new syllabus version has been published?

    In the case of syllabus updates, a transition period allows candidates to choose on which syllabus version they take the exam.
    This is to ensure that anyone who prepared based on the syllabus of a previous version can take the exam based on that syllabus content - even if a new version has already been launched.

    Information on transition periods for the Foundation Level and RE@Agile Primer can be found in the text when downloading the relevant syllabus. For the Advanced Level modules, the transition periods are defined in the examination regulations.

  • How do I know whether I have passed the exam?

    The certification body sends the result by post to the address stated by the examinee on application. If you have passed the exam, you will receive your certificate together with the result.
    If you take the exam online you get your result immediately after the examination. The certificate will be delivered to you later by post. The certificate obtained via an online exam is dispatched within the same time as the results of conventional exams.

  • How do I register for the exam?

    The certification bodies offer public examinations or they provide the exam after a training course. Online exams in a test center are available as well. You register for a public examination directly at the certification body. The scheduled dates for public examinations are published on their websites.
    Alternatively, remote exams conducted under supervision are also possible.

    Usually the examination subsequent to a training course is organized by the training provider. They will handle the registration for you.
    You can also sit for the exam at a training provider without having attended the course. Please contact the training provider in advance in order to clarify the procedure.

  • In which language can I take the exam?

    The following languages are available for the exams:

    Foundation Level:

    • Chinese (Mandarin)
    • Dutch
    • English
    • French
    • German
    • Italian
    • Persian
    • Polish
    • Portuguese (Brazil)
    • Russian
    • Spanish
    • Swedish

    Advanced Level:
    all modules

    • English
    • German

    Requirements Elicitation only

    • French
  • Must the CPRE exam be taken immediately after the training course?

    The CPRE exam can be taken immediately after the training, but this is not essential. If the participant of the course does not feel confident to take the exam immediately he or she should consult the trainer if it may be better to sit for the certification at a later stage. This would allow more time to become familiar with the topics where the participant still has gaps and thus only sitting the exam when fully prepared.

    For this reason for the Advanced Level exam there is a period of 12 months after having passed the multiple choice exam for the submission of the homework (written assignment). This gives the candidate the opportunity to gather further practical experience in the chosen topic which may be incorporated in the written work.

  • What does the exam look like?

    The exam in the Foundation Level is a multiple choice questionnaire. For details see the exam regulations of the Foundation Level.
    The exam in the Advanced Level consists of a multiple choice questionnaire to achieve the Practitioner certificate and a written assignment for achieving the Specialist certificate. For details see the exam regulations of the Advanced Level.

  • When I haven’t passed the exam is it possible to retake the exam or is it necessary to repeat the training?

    A rerun of the training course before repeating the exam is not necessary.
    The exam can be retaken at most twice without a waiting period. If you fail the exam for the third time you may only retake it one year after the third exam date at the earliest.