ISTQB Practice Test 2: 40 Questions with Answers

Correct answer: A. Testing is carried out differently depending on factors such as the domain, the risks and the lifecycle in use

There is no single universal approach. What is appropriate for a safety-critical system differs from what suits a marketing website.

Correct answer: A. Test cases, test charters and coverage items

1.4.3 lists test design work products as (prioritized) test cases, test charters, coverage items, test data requirements and test environment requirements.

Correct answer: A. Providing information for stakeholders to make decisions | C. Building confidence in the quality of the test object

Supplying decision-making information, particularly about release readiness, is a named test objective.

Building confidence is one of the typical test objectives listed in the syllabus.

Correct answer: B. Because findings can be perceived as criticism of the product and of its author

1.5.1 notes that communicating test results may be perceived as criticism of the product and of its author, so findings should be conveyed constructively to avoid damaging working relationships.

Correct answer: D. The same person who performed the initial test

Section 1.1.2 states that confirmation testing checks whether the fixes resolved the problem, and that preferably it is done by the same person who performed the initial test.

Correct answer: B. In testing they are used to fix defects, while in QA they provide feedback on how well the development and test processes are performing

Section 1.2.2 states exactly this division in the use of test results.

Correct answer: C. Evaluating the level of residual risk in a test object

Section 1.4.4 gives this as one of its two worked examples: traceability of test results to risks can be used to evaluate the level of residual risk in a test object.

Correct answer: A. Because it requires specialized knowledge, analytical skills, critical thinking and systems thinking

Section 1.1 states that testers use tools, but that testing is largely an intellectual activity requiring testers to have specialized knowledge, use analytical skills, and apply critical thinking and systems thinking.

Correct answer: B. Reliability, including recoverability

Recovery of the system and its data after a failure is the recoverability sub-characteristic of reliability.

Correct answer: B. All testing must be completed before any code is written

This is not a good practice and contradicts the lifecycle: test analysis and design begin early, but execution requires a test object.

Correct answer: D. Business processes, user requirements and regulations or contracts

Section 2.2.1 states that acceptance testing focuses on validation and on demonstrating readiness for deployment, meaning the system fulfills the user's business needs. Contractual and regulatory acceptance testing are named among its main forms, which is why contracts and regulations belong here.

Correct answer: B. Acceptance tests are written from the acceptance criteria before implementation, and serve as agreed examples of the required behaviour

In ATDD the tests are agreed collaboratively before code is written, by team members with different perspectives, and act as examples of how the software should work.

Correct answer: A. Manual testing will still be needed, especially from the user's perspective

Section 2.1.4 closes by stating that although DevOps comes with a high level of automated testing, manual testing, especially from the user's perspective, will still be needed.

Correct answer: D. The exit criteria of one level are often part of the entry criteria for the next level

Section 2.2 states that in sequential SDLC models the test levels are often defined such that the exit criteria of one level are part of the entry criteria for the next level, and notes that in some iterative models this may not apply.

Correct answer: D. Checking functional completeness, functional correctness and functional appropriateness

Section 2.2.2 states that functional testing evaluates the functions a component or system should perform, and that its main objective is checking functional completeness, functional correctness and functional appropriateness.

Correct answer: B. The size of the change | C. The degree of risk of the change

The size of the change is one of the three factors listed in section 2.3 as determining the scope of maintenance testing.

Section 2.3 states that the scope of maintenance testing typically depends on the degree of risk of the change, the size of the existing system, and the size of the change.

Correct answer: B. Communication and analysis

Anomalies logged during individual review are discussed here, given a status, and assigned ownership.

Correct answer: D. Review planning

Planning defines the scope of the review: the purpose, the work product, the quality characteristics to evaluate, areas to focus on, exit criteria, supporting information, effort and timeframes.

Correct answer: A. Because defects are found in work products before they propagate into code and later work products

A defect corrected in a requirement is far cheaper than the same defect once it has been designed, coded and tested.

Correct answer: A. Both are forms of static testing, but reviews are performed by people and static analysis by tools

Static testing covers both. Reviews can assess whether a work product is sensible and complete; static analysis detects mechanical defects in code at a scale people cannot match.

Correct answer: C. The manager

The manager decides what is to be reviewed and provides the resources, such as staff and time for the review.

Correct answer: B. Mismatched interface parameters | D. Unreachable code and undeclared variables

Static analysis compares call sites against declarations, so parameter mismatches are detectable without executing the code.

Control and data flow anomalies such as unreachable code and undeclared variables are found by examining the source rather than running it.

Correct answer: B. Four

Two-value BVA tests each boundary and its closest neighbour in the adjacent partition: 4 and 5 at the lower boundary, 40 and 41 at the upper. That is four values.

Correct answer: D. Exploratory testing

With no specification and a fixed time box, concurrent learning, design and execution against a charter is the appropriate approach.

Correct answer: B. Acceptance test-driven development | D. Collaborative user story writing

ATDD derives tests from acceptance criteria before implementation, so ambiguities in those criteria surface before code is written.

Business, development and testing perspectives contribute to the story so ambiguity surfaces before code is written.

Correct answer: A. When a condition does not affect the outcome for those combinations, so it can be marked as irrelevant

Columns are merged where a condition has no bearing on the resulting action, which reduces the table without losing any distinct behaviour.

Correct answer: C. An attribute or combination of attributes derived from a technique, which a test case must exercise to contribute to coverage

An attribute or combination of attributes derived from one or more test conditions by applying a test technique, used to measure the thoroughness of test execution. Each technique defines its own coverage items: partitions, boundary values, decision table rules, statements, branches or transitions.

Correct answer: A. A test charter containing test objectives

In a session-based approach the tester works within a defined time box, guided by a test charter that states the objectives for the session.

Correct answer: B. When there are few or inadequate specifications, or significant time pressure

Exploratory testing suits situations where there is little to derive scripted tests from, or too little time to write them.

Correct answer: C. The developers learn to avoid making the same errors, so those entries stop finding defects

The syllabus states that entries become less effective because developers learn to avoid making the same errors. New entries are added for newly found high severity defects, so checklists should be regularly updated based on defect analysis.

Correct answer: B. Specify test start conditions

Entry criteria define the conditions that must hold before testing starts; exit criteria define when it can stop.

Correct answer: D. Planned exit criteria have been met

Meeting the planned exit criteria is what determines completion; running out of time is not an exit criterion.

Correct answer: A. Re-prioritizing tests when risks change

Monitoring gathers information about progress; control acts on it. Re-prioritizing tests, adjusting the schedule or re-evaluating entry and exit criteria are control directives.

Correct answer: D. Number of test cases run

The number of test cases run is a direct progress measure gathered during test monitoring.

Correct answer: C. Verbal communication with team members and other stakeholders | D. Dashboards, such as CI/CD dashboards, task boards and burn-down charts

Verbal communication is the first option the syllabus lists.

Dashboards are one of the listed options for communicating test status.

Correct answer: B. Brainstorming workshops with stakeholders

The syllabus names brainstorming, workshops, interviews and cause-effect diagrams as risk identification techniques.

Correct answer: B. The interests of the stakeholder receiving it

Different stakeholders are interested in different information, so status communication should be tailored to its audience.

Correct answer: B. Context of testing, such as test scope, test objectives and test basis

The typical content of a test plan includes the context of testing, assumptions and constraints, stakeholders, communication, the risk register, the test approach and budget and schedule.

Correct answer: D. Logging reported anomalies, analysing and classifying them, deciding a response, and closing the report

This is the typical workflow, and it must be followed by all involved stakeholders.

Correct answer: D. Underestimating the effort required to maintain the test assets

Automated tests are themselves work products. When the system changes and the scripts are not maintained, the suite decays and its results stop being trustworthy.