ISTQB Defect Management Process 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes 'defect density'?
- The number of critical defects found per sprint
- The number of defects found per unit of size, such as per 1,000 lines of code (Correct answer)
- The rate at which defects are resolved per day
- The ratio of open defects to closed defects
Correct answer: The number of defects found per unit of size, such as per 1,000 lines of code
Defect density is a quality metric calculated as the number of defects per unit of size (e.g., KLOC or function points).
Question 2: A tester submits a defect report, and the developer marks it 'cannot reproduce.' What is the recommended next step?
- Close the defect report immediately
- Escalate to management for resolution
- Provide additional information such as environment details and precise steps to reproduce (Correct answer)
- Re-open the defect without any changes
Correct answer: Provide additional information such as environment details and precise steps to reproduce
When a developer cannot reproduce a defect, the tester should enhance the report with clearer steps, environment details, and any logs to help reproduction.
Question 3: In the ISTQB defect lifecycle, which transition typically follows the 'fixed' status?
- Deferred
- Closed
- Re-opened
- In verification (Correct answer)
Correct answer: In verification
After a developer marks a defect as fixed, it moves to 'in verification' (or similar) so a tester can confirm the fix before closing.
Question 4: Which ISTQB principle directly supports the practice of maintaining a defect management process throughout a project?
- Testing is context dependent
- Exhaustive testing is impossible
- Defects cluster together
- Early testing saves time and money (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Early testing saves time and money
The principle 'early testing saves time and money' supports defect management that catches and tracks issues as early as possible to reduce fix costs.
Question 5: What is the primary objective of a defect report's 'steps to reproduce' section?
- To document the business impact of the defect
- To enable anyone reading the report to reliably recreate the observed failure (Correct answer)
- To assign responsibility for the fix
- To estimate the effort required to resolve the defect
Correct answer: To enable anyone reading the report to reliably recreate the observed failure
Clear reproduction steps allow developers and other testers to consistently trigger the defect for investigation and verification.
Question 6: A project team uses a defect management tool to track defects. Which metric from this tool would best indicate whether test completion is safe?
- Total number of defects found
- Number of defects with status 'new' or 'open' above a severity threshold (Correct answer)
- Number of defects assigned to developers
- Average age of closed defects
Correct answer: Number of defects with status 'new' or 'open' above a severity threshold
Monitoring the count of unresolved defects above a severity threshold shows whether known risks remain that could block release.
Question 7: Which information in a defect report helps developers understand the business risk if the defect is not fixed?
- Test environment details
- Steps to reproduce
- Impact or business criticality (Correct answer)
- Defect ID and date logged
Correct answer: Impact or business criticality
The impact or business criticality field communicates what users or business processes are affected if the defect remains unfixed.
ISTQB Defect Management Process 3
Which of the following best describes 'defect density'?