Mixed Deck — All ISTQB Topics Flashcards

In agile development, what testing activity typically occurs during a sprint review?

Answer: Acceptance testing with stakeholders

Sprint reviews involve demonstrating working software to stakeholders, which often includes acceptance testing to validate delivered functionality.

What does 'residual risk' mean after testing is completed?

Answer: The risk that remains after testing and mitigation activities have been applied

Residual risk is the level of risk that persists after all planned testing and other mitigations have been performed; it is typically accepted by stakeholders before release.

In control flow testing, what is a 'predicate' node?

Answer: A node where the flow splits based on a condition

A predicate node is a decision point in the control flow graph where execution can follow different paths based on a Boolean condition.

According to ISTQB, which of the following is an example of a 'project risk' (as opposed to a product risk)?

Answer: Key test personnel may leave the project mid-cycle

Project risks threaten the test project's success, such as personnel turnover, while product risks relate to the software quality.

In white-box testing, what does a 'du-path' represent in data flow analysis?

Answer: A path from where a variable is defined to where it is used

A du-path (definition-use path) traces the execution path from where a variable is defined (assigned) to where it is subsequently used.

In the context of ISTQB, which factor most significantly determines whether a test tool will deliver expected benefits?

Answer: The degree to which the tool is adopted and used correctly within the organization

Tool success depends primarily on organizational adoption and correct usage; even the best tool delivers no value if improperly used or ignored.

Which of the following activities is LEAST likely to benefit from test automation?

Answer: Exploratory testing to investigate unexpected system behavior

Exploratory testing relies on human intuition, creativity, and real-time decision-making, which cannot be effectively replicated by automated tools.

A vending machine dispenses items only when the balance equals or exceeds the price and an item is selected. This behavior is BEST modeled by which technique?

Answer: Decision table testing

Decision table testing handles combinations of conditions (sufficient balance AND item selected) that jointly determine the outcome.

When may the software development process begin to include testing?

Answer: Once the software specifications are accepted

Testing should ideally begin as early as possible in the software development lifecycle, a principle known as 'Shift Left.' Once software specifications are accepted and finalized, test planning and test case design can commence, even before any code is written. This early engagement helps identify ambiguities, inconsistencies, or missing requirements, which are significantly cheaper to fix at this stage than later in the development process.

Which practice best supports the ISTQB principle that 'exhaustive testing is impossible'?

Answer: Using risk and priority to select the most valuable subset of tests

Since complete testing is infeasible, testers use risk-based prioritization and techniques like equivalence partitioning to maximize defect detection within constraints.

A developer has written the following pseudocode. What is the MINIMUM number of test cases required to achieve 100% statement coverage? READ A READ B IF A > B THEN PRINT A ELSE PRINT B ENDIF

Answer: 2

To achieve 100% statement coverage, every executable statement in the code must be exercised at least once. In this pseudocode, one test case where A > B (e.g., A=10, B=5) will execute the `PRINT A` statement. A second test case where A is not greater than B (e.g., A=5, B=10) is required to execute the `PRINT B` statement. Therefore, a minimum of two test cases are needed to cover all executable statements.

In keyword-driven test automation, what role do 'keywords' play?

Answer: They are action words that abstract test steps, enabling non-programmers to define tests

Keywords represent reusable, named test actions that hide implementation details, allowing testers without programming skills to build automated test scripts.

A developer fixes a defect and hands the build back to the tester. The tester checks whether the fix resolved the original defect. This is called:

Answer: Confirmation testing

Confirmation testing (also called re-testing) verifies that a specific defect has been successfully fixed.

During test planning, a test manager identifies that integration testing requires a specific hardware simulator unavailable until week 6. This is an example of:

Answer: A resource constraint

Unavailable hardware until a future date is a resource constraint that affects test planning.

Which metric is MOST useful for tracking whether testing is progressing according to plan?

Answer: Percentage of planned test cases executed vs. actual

Comparing planned vs. actual test case execution gives a direct measure of testing progress against the plan.

During which activity of the Fundamental Test Process are the overall testing objectives and test approach defined?

Answer: Test Planning and Control

Test Planning and Control is the initial activity in the Fundamental Test Process. During this phase, the scope, objectives, risks, and overall approach to testing are determined. This includes defining the test strategy, scheduling activities, and specifying the resources needed.

During static analysis, a tool reports a 'false positive.' What does this mean?

Answer: The tool flagged an issue that is not actually a defect

A false positive occurs when a static analysis tool reports a potential defect that is not actually a problem, requiring human judgment to dismiss.

Which defect management metric best indicates the effectiveness of the testing process itself?

Answer: Defect detection percentage (DDP)

Defect detection percentage measures the proportion of defects found by testing versus those found post-release, directly reflecting testing effectiveness.

Which defect management activity ensures that a fixed defect has not inadvertently broken other functionality?

Answer: Regression testing

Regression testing re-executes previously passing tests after a fix to confirm that no new defects were introduced.

Which of the following BEST explains why static testing is considered complementary to dynamic testing rather than a replacement?

Answer: Static testing finds defects in work products, but dynamic testing can reveal failures caused by the interaction of components at runtime

Static testing finds defects in artifacts early, but runtime interaction failures, timing issues, and environmental problems require dynamic testing to expose.