AAC Agile Testing & Validation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In agile, what is the primary purpose of exploratory testing?
- To replace automated regression tests
- To simultaneously learn, design, and execute tests (Correct answer)
- To document test cases for future sprints
- To validate acceptance criteria after UAT
Correct answer: To simultaneously learn, design, and execute tests
Exploratory testing allows testers to simultaneously learn the system, design tests, and execute them, uncovering defects that scripted tests often miss.
Question 2: Which agile practice encourages developers to write tests before writing production code?
- Behavior-Driven Development
- Test-Driven Development (Correct answer)
- Acceptance Test-Driven Development
- Continuous Integration
Correct answer: Test-Driven Development
Test-Driven Development (TDD) requires writing a failing unit test before writing the minimal production code to make it pass.
Question 3: A team notices their regression suite takes 4 hours to run. What is the BEST agile approach to address this?
- Run regression tests only at release
- Reduce the number of test cases
- Parallelize tests and optimize the test pyramid (Correct answer)
- Assign a dedicated tester to run tests manually
Correct answer: Parallelize tests and optimize the test pyramid
Parallelizing tests and following the test pyramid (more unit tests, fewer UI tests) reduces feedback cycle time.
Question 4: What does 'shift-left testing' mean in an agile context?
- Moving QA resources to the left side of the office
- Starting testing activities earlier in the development lifecycle (Correct answer)
- Reducing the number of test environments
- Deferring testing until after integration
Correct answer: Starting testing activities earlier in the development lifecycle
Shift-left testing means involving testing and quality thinking as early as possible, ideally from requirements analysis.
Question 5: During sprint review, a stakeholder finds a defect in a demonstrated feature. What should the team do?
- Reject the sprint as failed
- Log it as a bug in the backlog and prioritize with the Product Owner (Correct answer)
- Fix it immediately before the sprint ends
- Blame the QA engineer for missing it
Correct answer: Log it as a bug in the backlog and prioritize with the Product Owner
Defects found during sprint review are logged in the backlog, and the Product Owner prioritizes them for future sprints.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes a 'testing quadrant' in agile?
- A matrix mapping test types by whether they support the team or critique the product, and by technology or business focus (Correct answer)
- A four-room office layout for QA teams
- A method for dividing regression tests into four equal groups
- A risk assessment tool for test prioritization
Correct answer: A matrix mapping test types by whether they support the team or critique the product, and by technology or business focus
Agile testing quadrants (Brian Marick) categorize tests by two axes: team-facing vs. business-facing, and technology-facing vs. business-facing.
Question 7: What is the key benefit of having a 'Definition of Done' that includes testing criteria?
- It allows testers to skip unit testing
- It ensures consistent quality standards and prevents incomplete work from being called 'done' (Correct answer)
- It transfers testing responsibility to the Product Owner
- It eliminates the need for sprint retrospectives
Correct answer: It ensures consistent quality standards and prevents incomplete work from being called 'done'
A DoD with testing criteria ensures every increment meets a shared quality bar before being considered complete.
AAC Agile Testing & Validation 2
In agile, what is the primary purpose of exploratory testing?