Testing & Quality Assurance Flashcards

Which testing approach aligns best with DevOps principles by integrating testing throughout the entire software delivery pipeline?

Answer: Shift-left testing

Shift-left testing moves quality checks earlier in the pipeline, catching defects sooner and reducing the cost of fixes in a DevOps workflow.

In a DevOps pipeline, what is the primary purpose of a quality gate?

Answer: To enforce minimum quality criteria before promoting code to the next stage

Quality gates enforce minimum standards (coverage thresholds, zero critical bugs, etc.) that must be met before code advances to the next pipeline stage.

Which type of test validates that individual functions or methods work correctly in isolation?

Answer: Unit test

Unit tests target the smallest testable units of code in isolation, providing fast feedback to developers without external dependencies.

What does TDD (Test-Driven Development) require developers to do before writing production code?

Answer: Write a failing test first

TDD follows the Red-Green-Refactor cycle: write a failing test, write the minimum code to pass it, then refactor for quality.

Which metric measures the percentage of code exercised by automated tests?

Answer: Code coverage

Code coverage measures what percentage of the codebase is executed during automated test runs, helping teams identify untested areas.

In the DevOps testing pyramid, which layer should contain the largest number of tests?

Answer: Unit tests

The testing pyramid places the most tests at the unit level because they are fast, cheap, and stable compared to higher-level tests.

What is the main benefit of running automated tests in parallel during a CI pipeline?

Answer: Shortens overall pipeline execution time

Parallel test execution distributes the test suite across multiple runners simultaneously, significantly reducing total pipeline run time and enabling faster feedback.