Software Testing Risk Assessment & Management 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which quantitative technique uses repeated random sampling to model the probability distribution of overall project risk?
- FMEA
- Monte Carlo simulation (Correct answer)
- Fault tree analysis
- Risk matrix scoring
Correct answer: Monte Carlo simulation
Monte Carlo simulation runs thousands of iterations with random variable inputs to produce a probability distribution of outcomes such as schedule or cost.
Question 2: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) produces a Risk Priority Number (RPN). Which three factors are multiplied to calculate RPN?
- Frequency, Detection, Controllability
- Severity, Occurrence, Detection (Correct answer)
- Probability, Impact, Urgency
- Complexity, Coverage, Detectability
Correct answer: Severity, Occurrence, Detection
RPN = Severity × Occurrence × Detection; higher RPNs indicate failure modes that most urgently require corrective action.
Question 3: A software team applies risk-based testing and decides NOT to test a low-risk feature to save time. This decision must be recorded because it represents:
- A deviation from the test plan requiring change control
- An accepted risk that increases residual risk (Correct answer)
- A transfer of risk to the customer
- A mitigation of risk through reduced scope
Correct answer: An accepted risk that increases residual risk
Skipping tests for low-risk features is an explicit risk acceptance decision that raises residual risk, and it must be logged in the risk register.
Question 4: In Agile testing, product backlog items are often risk-ordered. What criterion makes an item 'high risk' in this context?
- Items requested by junior stakeholders
- Items with unclear requirements and high customer value (Correct answer)
- Items that have already been tested once
- Items with the fewest story points
Correct answer: Items with unclear requirements and high customer value
Unclear requirements combined with high business value create both high probability of defects and high impact if those defects reach users.
Question 5: A contingency reserve in a test project budget specifically covers:
- The cost of known risks that are expected to occur (Correct answer)
- Funding for unknown risks discovered during execution
- The baseline testing costs already planned
- Management reserve for scope additions
Correct answer: The cost of known risks that are expected to occur
Contingency reserves are allocated for identified risks with a quantified probability, whereas management reserves cover truly unknown risks.
Question 6: Which activity marks the formal closure of a risk in the risk register?
- The risk is assigned to a team member
- The risk's trigger date passes without incident or the risk is fully resolved (Correct answer)
- The project manager approves the risk
- The risk is downgraded to low priority
Correct answer: The risk's trigger date passes without incident or the risk is fully resolved
A risk is closed when it can no longer occur (trigger window has passed) or when it has been fully resolved and no longer poses a threat.
Question 7: Which risk category specifically covers the danger that third-party components or APIs used by the software under test may introduce defects?
- Schedule risk
- Dependency risk (Correct answer)
- Requirements risk
- Organizational risk
Correct answer: Dependency risk
Dependency risk arises from reliance on external parties (vendors, APIs, libraries) whose quality or availability is outside the team's direct control.
Software Testing Risk Assessment & Management 4
Which quantitative technique uses repeated random sampling to model the probability distribution of overall project risk?