Tilo Linz is a founder. In 1992, he founded, together with former colleagues, the company “imbus AG”, which has since then been successfully offering services in the fields of software quality assurance and testing. Tilo Linz today holds responsibility as the Chairman for Sales and Marketing for the company, which in the meantime has 110 employees.

The GTB was also founded on his initiative in 2002. From the end of the 1990’s, the demand for well trained and qualified software testers had been increasing. However, two very important aspects were lacking; the standards which define a professional discipline and systematic training.

The GTB was to close this gap; first as a working group, and from 2005 as a registered association. In addition to the GTB, Tilo Linz also initiated the ISTQB® (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) together with other test specialists, which started in 2002 in Edinborough with him as the first ISTQB® Chairman. In the meantime (i.e. by September 2007), more than 60,000 software testers worldwide have been certified in accordance with the standards of the ISTQB® and the GTB, approx. 7,000 in Germany.

These successes bring obligations. For the future of the GTB, Tilo Linz identifies two principal challenges: On the organizational side, he envisages the extension and reinforcement of the GTB team to match the fast growing number of certifications issued. With regard to the contents, he aims to introduce the expert level as a third qualification level for testers. This will support and enhance the increasing differentiation of the software testers’ professional career path.

• German Testing Board e.V.
  Tilo Linz
  Vorstand
  Storchenstraße 1
  D-91096 Möhrendorf
  Tel. (09131) 7 51 80