- How the 20 Areas Are Organized
- Information Systems Core: Domains 1-6
- Software Engineering: Domains 7-14
- Object-Oriented Analysis & Design: Domains 15-20
- Which Levels Sit These Exams
- Fees, Application and Delivery Mechanics
- Sequencing Your Prep by Domain
- A Note on Currency of These Outlines
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The 20 headings split across three ICCP exams: Domains 1-6, 7-14 and 15-20, not one 20-domain test.
- Practitioner and Master candidates sit three 90-minute exams; passing marks are 50% and 70% per exam respectively.
- The outlines list 20 unweighted objective headings, so no domain should be assumed to carry a fixed percentage.
- Prior review records a $1,050 three-exam bundle, $350 per individual exam and a separate $45 application.
How the 20 Areas Are Organized
The Certified Software Engineer (CSE), issued by the Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP), is often described as having "20 domains." That phrase is convenient, but it can mislead. The 20 content areas are objective headings drawn from ICCP's Examinations & Outlines material, and they are distributed across three separate professional examinations:
| Examination | Domains | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Information Systems Core | Domains 1-6 | 6 headings |
| Software Engineering | Domains 7-14 | 8 headings |
| Object-Oriented Analysis & Design | Domains 15-20 | 6 headings |
Two consequences follow. First, each exam has its own passing threshold and its own preparation burden, so you should study by exam rather than treating the 20 headings as a single flat list. Second, the outlines present these headings without published weights. Any article claiming that, say, Software Testing Techniques is "12% of the exam" is inventing a figure. The honest approach is to cover every heading and let your own practice-test results show where you are weakest. If you want to see how your knowledge holds up across all three exams, start with the CSE practice tests and use the results to rank your domains.
For a broader look at preparation strategy built around these exams, see the CSE Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
Information Systems Core: Domains 1-6
The first exam is the widest in subject matter. It treats software engineering as part of the larger information-systems enterprise, so candidates from pure coding backgrounds often find it the least familiar. It covers six headings.
Domain 1: Information Systems
The foundation: what an information system is, how its components interact, and how it supports an organization.
- Components of an information system: people, process, data, hardware and software
- How information systems serve operational, managerial and strategic needs
- The role of the software engineer within the broader IS function
Domain 2: Data and Information Management
How data is modeled, stored, secured and retrieved.
- Data modeling concepts and database design fundamentals
- Data versus information, and the management of each across its lifecycle
- Integrity, security and availability concerns for organizational data
Domain 3: Enterprise Architecture
How an organization's systems, data and technology fit together as a planned whole.
- Architecture as alignment between business needs and technology
- Layered views of an enterprise: business, data, application and technology
- Why architectural decisions constrain later project choices
Domain 4: IT Infrastructure
The platforms on which applications run.
- Hardware, networks, operating environments and their relationships
- Infrastructure considerations that affect software design and deployment
Domain 5: IS Project Management
Managing information-systems projects at the organizational level, distinct from the software-specific planning in Domain 8.
- Scope, schedule, cost, risk and resource management
- Stakeholder communication and project governance
Domain 6: Systems Analysis & Design
The traditional discipline of studying a business problem and specifying a system to address it.
- Fact-finding, requirements elicitation and process analysis
- Translating analysis results into design specifications
A useful way to hold this exam in your head: it asks you to think like a systems professional first and a programmer second. Candidates with deep coding experience but limited exposure to enterprise concerns, such as architecture, infrastructure and organizational data management, should budget extra time here. For a sense of how demanding the series is overall, read How Hard Is the CSE Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Software Engineering: Domains 7-14
The second exam is the core of the credential and the one that most directly reflects the title "Software Engineer." Its eight headings follow the software lifecycle from system-level thinking through planning, requirements, design, construction, quality and maintenance.
Domain 7: Computer System Engineering
Software as one element of a larger engineered system.
- Allocation of system functions between hardware, software and people
- Interfaces between software and the systems around it
Domain 8: Software Project Planning
Planning that is specific to software work.
- Estimation, scheduling and process selection for software projects
- Identifying and mitigating software-specific risks
Domain 9: Software Requirements
Capturing what the software must do and the constraints it must respect.
- Functional versus non-functional requirements
- Elicitation, specification, validation and requirements change control
Domain 10: Software Design
Turning requirements into a structure that can be built.
- Architectural versus detailed design
- Design principles such as modularity, coupling and cohesion
Domain 11: Programming Languages and Coding
Construction concerns rather than mastery of any single language.
- Language paradigms and the trade-offs between them
- Coding standards, readability and defensive practices
Domain 12: Software Quality Assurance
Process-oriented assurance that quality is built in, not inspected in afterward.
- Reviews, inspections and audits
- Standards, metrics and process improvement
Domain 13: Software Testing Techniques
Product-oriented verification and validation.
- Black-box versus white-box approaches
- Testing levels from unit through system and acceptance
Domain 14: Software Maintenance and Configuration Management
What happens after release, and how change is controlled throughout.
- Corrective, adaptive, perfective and preventive maintenance
- Version control, baselines and change-control procedures
Object-Oriented Analysis & Design: Domains 15-20
The third exam is the most conceptual. Its six headings build from theory through modeling to a complete object-oriented lifecycle, and the sequence matters: later headings assume you have absorbed the earlier ones.
Domain 15: Object Theory
The underlying ideas that make the object paradigm what it is.
- Encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism and abstraction
- Why the object paradigm emerged and what problems it addresses
Domain 16: Models and Modeling
The purpose and practice of modeling as a way to manage complexity.
- What a model is and what it deliberately leaves out
- Different models for different views of the same system
Domain 17: Objects and Classes
The building blocks themselves.
- The relationship between a class and its instances
- Attributes, operations, responsibilities and collaboration
Domain 18: Object Models
Assembling classes and relationships into structured models of a system.
- Associations, aggregation, composition and generalization
- Reading and constructing object model diagrams
Domain 19: Development Methodologies - Historical Perspective
How development approaches evolved, and where object-oriented methods fit in that history.
- The progression of methodologies leading to object-oriented practice
- Strengths and limitations of each approach in its context
Domain 20: OODLC
The object-oriented development lifecycle, bringing the earlier headings together.
- How analysis, design, implementation and iteration are organized around objects
- Connecting object models to lifecycle activities
Domain 19 is worth singling out. It is a history-flavored heading in an otherwise technical exam, and candidates who skip it as "just background" give away points they could easily earn. Keep a short comparison of the major methodology families, what each emphasized and what prompted the next, in your notes. The condensed facts in the CSE Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts are a convenient place to rehearse them.
Which Levels Sit These Exams
CSE is a multi-level credential, and not every level uses these three professional exams. Reading the domain structure correctly depends on knowing which level you are pursuing. According to the supplied source review (subject to the verification hold described below):
| Level | Assessment | Key conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Assistant | Two 60-minute foundational exams | Not the three-exam professional format |
| Practitioner | Information Systems Core, Software Engineering, Object-Oriented Analysis & Design; 90 minutes each | At least 50% on each; 2 years of experience |
| Master | The same three 90-minute exams | At least 70% on each; 4 years of experience |
| Principal | Route-specific experience, contribution and workshop requirements; an alternative core exam is permitted | Not simply a harder version of the professional exams |
| Executive | Written assignment rather than a certification exam | No exam-style domain testing |
The 20 domains in this article therefore matter most to Practitioner and Master candidates. The 50% and 70% figures are passing thresholds, not candidate pass rates, and they apply per exam rather than as a blended score across all three. For the full score discussion, see CSE Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass, and for experience and education pathways, CSE Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Fees, Application and Delivery Mechanics
The prior review records the following USD amounts for the professional exams. Treat them as carried-forward figures to confirm with ICCP before paying:
- Three-exam professional bundle: $1,050
- Individual professional exam, including proctor fee: $350
- Candidate application: $45, charged separately
- Preparation materials: extra, and not included in any of the above
One source conflict is worth knowing about. The review notes that these store prices differ from a generic FAQ figure of $299 per exam. Because the two cannot both be right, rely on the issuer's current purchase pages rather than either number. The wider cost picture, including renewal, is in CSE Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
On delivery, exams are computer-based. Candidates may test through a remote live proctor or an approved in-person proctor. Remote candidates should expect identity checks and need a webcam and suitable internet access. Plan your testing environment before you schedule, not after. No college degree is required according to the review, qualifying education can reduce the experience requirement, and the exam series must be completed within 3 years. That window makes sequencing important, which is the subject of the next section. Scheduling specifics are covered in CSE Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Sequencing Your Prep by Domain
This is the one place where study method matters, and it is tied directly to how the three exams relate. The logic: Information Systems Core gives context, Software Engineering is the deepest body of material, and Object-Oriented Analysis & Design is the most conceptually cumulative. An illustrative eight-week plan for a candidate sitting all three:
Information Systems Core
- Domains 1-4 first, with extra time on Enterprise Architecture and IT Infrastructure if your background is coding-heavy
- Domains 5-6 next, linking project management and systems analysis to what you already know
Software Engineering
- Domains 7-10 as a lifecycle sweep from system engineering to design
- Domains 11-14 with deliberate contrast between QA (Domain 12) and testing (Domain 13)
Object-Oriented Analysis & Design
- Domains 15-18 in order, since each builds on the last
- Domains 19-20 to tie methodology history to the object-oriented lifecycle
Cross-exam review
- Timed practice on weak domains from your earlier results
- One pass through your methodology comparison and your QA-versus-testing notes
Adjust the order to your own gaps. A candidate who writes code daily might compress Software Engineering and spend longer on Information Systems Core; a systems analyst might do the reverse. Because the passing threshold applies per exam, your weakest exam should get the most hours, even if it is not the one you find most interesting. Use the practice tests on the main site to measure each exam separately before you commit to a schedule, and revisit your weakest domains with targeted CSE practice questions in the final stretch.
A Note on Currency of These Outlines
Transparency matters when you are spending hundreds of dollars on an exam series. The domain headings, level rules and fee figures in this article were carried forward from a previously reviewed source set attributed to ICCP's Examinations & Outlines and related pages. ICCP's CSE, Examinations & Outlines, purchasing, eligibility and renewal pages could not be retrieved during the latest live recheck, so these details are preserved but not independently confirmed as current. The outlines are also undated, no weights or question counts are published in them, and no current exam-version identifier is asserted here.
The paid ICCP Official Examination Guide was not retrieved, and nothing in this article represents its contents as reviewed. Before you apply, confirm the current outlines, fees and level requirements directly with ICCP. For context on whether the credential suits your goals, see Is the CSE Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026. Candidates comparing the broader credential picture can also start from CSE Certification.
Key Takeaway
Treat the 20 headings as three exam syllabi, not one. Confirm current details with ICCP, then divide your preparation time by exam and weight it toward whichever one your practice results show is weakest.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The 20 headings are split across three professional examinations: Information Systems Core (Domains 1-6), Software Engineering (Domains 7-14) and Object-Oriented Analysis & Design (Domains 15-20). Practitioner and Master candidates sit all three.
The outlines list 20 unweighted objective headings. No percentages, additional headings or question counts are published in the source material, so avoid any guide claiming specific domain weightings.
Each professional exam is 90 minutes. Practitioner requires at least 50% on each exam and Master requires at least 70% on each, per the prior source review. Confirm current figures with ICCP.
No. Assistant uses two 60-minute foundational exams, Principal adds route-specific requirements with an alternative core exam permitted, and Executive uses a written assignment instead of an exam. The three-exam professional format applies to Practitioner and Master.
Start with whichever exam your practice results show is weakest, since each must be passed on its own. Coding-heavy candidates often need extra time on Information Systems Core topics like Enterprise Architecture and IT Infrastructure; see CSE Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows for what is and is not known about outcomes.