ISTQB Questions by Chapter

Correct answer: B

Testing can reveal that defects are present but can never prove there are none. The absence-of-defects fallacy is a different principle: that a defect-free system may still fail to meet user needs.

Correct answer: B

Section 1.3 notes that although tests wear out, in some cases repeating the same tests can have a beneficial outcome, giving automated regression testing as its example.

Correct answer: C

Most defects are concentrated in the Payment module, illustrating defect clustering.

Correct answer: B

Linking testware back to the test basis is what allows coverage to be assessed and change impact to be understood.

Correct answer: A

Independent testers may miss context and domain knowledge, so the syllabus frames independence as a spectrum with trade-offs.

Correct answer: B

Except for trivial cases, testing every combination of inputs and preconditions is not feasible, so risk and priority are used to focus effort.

Correct answer: C

Testing can trigger a failure. Debugging then locates the underlying defect, corrects it, and checks the correction.

Correct answer: D

Defects only manifest as failures when the affected code runs in circumstances that reveal them.

Correct answer: C

Testware is the set of work products produced by the test activities: plans, conditions, cases, data, procedures, reports and more.

Correct answer: A

A small number of modules typically contains most defects, so both observed and predicted clusters guide where to test hardest.

Correct answer: C

QA works on the process that produces the product, on the basis that a good process yields a good product. Testing evaluates the product itself.

Correct answer: A

Testers from a different organisation, working outside the project entity, represent the highest degree of independence on the spectrum.

Correct answer: B

Evaluating work products is one of the typical test objectives in 1.1.1. Doing it before implementation also stops those defects propagating into derived work products.

Correct answer: C

Correctness against the specification is not the same as usefulness. If the specification was wrong, a defect-free build is still the wrong product.

Correct answer: B

Testing reduces the risk of failure and gives stakeholders an evidence base for deciding whether to release, which is one of its named contributions to success.

Correct answer: A

Reporting defects constructively, so findings are received as information rather than criticism, is a named essential tester skill.

Correct answer: A and C

Test analysis examines the test basis to determine what to test, producing test conditions.

Analysis also assesses whether the test basis is testable, which surfaces defects in it before any test is designed.

Correct answer: C

Reviewing requirements, static analysis and early unit testing catch defects when they are cheapest to fix.

Correct answer: D

A test level groups activities by the object under test; a test type describes what is being evaluated. Performance testing, for example, can occur at component or system level.

Correct answer: C

Regulatory acceptance testing demonstrates compliance with the regulations or laws the system is subject to, and evidence is often required by an authority.

Correct answer: B

OAT is performed by operations or system administration staff and targets operational readiness rather than business functionality.

Correct answer: B

Both are forms of acceptance testing performed by roles outside the development organisation; the difference is where they take place.

Correct answer: A

Impact analysis identifies what the change may have affected, which is what scopes the regression set.

Correct answer: A

CTFL v4.0 section 2.3 classifies the triggers as modifications (planned enhancements, corrective changes, hot fixes), upgrades or migrations of the operational environment, and retirement of the application.

Correct answer: D

Every development activity has a corresponding test activity, and analysis and design begin against the test basis as it becomes available.

Correct answer: C

Continuous integration and delivery make an automated regression suite the gate on every change.

Correct answer: B

Defects in the interactions and interfaces between integrated components are exactly what this level targets.

Correct answer: B

The distinction is the scope of what is being integrated, and it determines who typically performs each.

Correct answer: C

A test level is a group of test activities organised and managed together, each with its own object under test and its own objectives.

Correct answer: A

TDD writes the test first, then the minimum code to satisfy it, then refactors, using the tests as an executable specification.

Correct answer: D

BDD uses a structured natural-language form so the same statement serves as specification, shared understanding and test.

Correct answer: C

Frequent integration of new increments means existing functionality is at continual risk, which makes an automated regression suite close to essential.

Correct answer: C

Retrospectives examine what went well and what could be improved, and the resulting actions can change test practice for later iterations.

Correct answer: C

Static testing never executes the test object. Observing runtime behaviour requires dynamic testing.

Correct answer: A

This is the core distinction. A review locates the defect in the work product, whereas dynamic testing shows a failure and then requires debugging to find its cause.

Correct answer: A

Static testing applies to work products that exist long before executable code, which is where the early cost-of-fix saving comes from.

Correct answer: C

The review process runs in this order: planning sets the scope and criteria, review initiation makes sure participants have what they need, individual review is where reviewers examine the work product and log anomalies, communication and analysis decides the status of each anomaly, and fixing and reporting handles the resulting defects and reports the results.

Correct answer: D

The author creates and owns the work product under review and is responsible for fixing the defects found.

Correct answer: B

Inspection is the most formal review type, with defined roles, entry and exit criteria, and metrics collection.

Correct answer: C

In a walkthrough the author leads participants through the work product, often to gather feedback or build shared understanding.

Correct answer: A

Individual review is where each reviewer independently examines the product and records what they find.

Correct answer: B

Clear objectives and exit criteria are named success factors for reviews in CTFL v4.0.

Correct answer: D

Early stakeholder feedback catches wrong assumptions before they are implemented, which is where the cost saving comes from.

Correct answer: C

The facilitator (moderator) leads the meeting and mediates differing viewpoints.

Correct answer: D

Static analysis inspects code without running it, so what it reports is a defect in the work product, not a failure.

Correct answer: D

Each row of the matrix shows which test cases cover that requirement. REQ-001, REQ-002 and REQ-003 each have one linked test case, but REQ-004 has none, so it is the requirement with no test coverage.

Correct answer: B

A state is reachable directly from Login if a single transition leads from Login to it. The model has two such transitions: Valid Credentials leads to Dashboard, and 3 Failed Attempts leads to Locked. Start is not reachable from Login, since its only transition runs the other way.

Correct answer: A

Reading down each acceptance criterion column shows whether any user story addresses it. AC1 appears in US-101, AC2 in US-101 and US-102, and AC3 in US-102 and US-103, so every acceptance criterion is covered by at least one user story. Coverage in the other direction is a separate question.

Correct answer: C

Draft-Submit-Submitted-Reject-Rejected-Revise-Draft-Submit-Submitted-Approve-Approved traverses all four valid transitions in a single test case. The Revise loop returns to Draft, so no second case is needed.

Correct answer: C

Each row pairs a partition with the test value that exercises it. The 0-99, 100-499 and 500-999 partitions each have a value (50, 150 and 750), but the 1000+ partition has no test value against it, so it is the uncovered partition.

Correct answer: B

One valid partition (18-65) and two invalid partitions (below 18, above 65). Equivalence partitioning covers the whole value domain, invalid values included.

Correct answer: B

Three-value BVA tests the boundary itself and its neighbours on both sides: 9 (just outside), 10 (the boundary), 11 (just inside).

Correct answer: A

Each of the three conditions has two outcomes, giving 2^3 = 8 combinations. Rules may then be collapsed where a condition is irrelevant.

Correct answer: B

One test with a > 0 executes every statement. Branch coverage additionally needs the false outcome, so it requires two.

Correct answer: B

0-switch (valid transition) coverage requires every valid transition in the model to be exercised at least once, so all 7.

Correct answer: D

The basis for deriving the tests is what separates the categories, not who runs them or how.

Correct answer: C

Because it works from the implementation, white-box testing can expose code that no specification-derived test would reach.

Correct answer: A

The tester uses knowledge of past defects and likely mistakes to target testing.

Correct answer: D

This concurrency is the defining property. Exploratory testing is often, though not always, conducted in time-boxed sessions against a charter.

Correct answer: C

Checklist-based testing applies heuristics gathered from experience, standards or past defects.

Correct answer: B

Acceptance criteria turn a user story into something that can be objectively verified.

Correct answer: A

Defect density is defects divided by size, which allows modules of different sizes to be compared fairly. Authentication is 30/12 = 2.5, Search is 28/8 = 3.5, Reporting is 20/25 = 0.8 and Notification is 12/10 = 1.2 defects per KLOC. Search has the highest density, so it is the strongest candidate for additional testing.

Correct answer: D

Risk level combines the likelihood of a problem occurring with the impact if it does. Online Payment is rated high on both, so it carries the greatest risk level and should be tested first when effort has to be prioritised.

Correct answer: A

TC3 directly traces to R3 and should be executed first for confirmation testing.

Correct answer: A

Execution progress measures how much of the suite has been run, regardless of outcome. Passed, Failed and Blocked are all executed: 58 + 12 + 10 = 80 out of 100 tests, so progress is 80%, with the 20 Not Run tests still outstanding.

Correct answer: A

After TC1 and TC2 are complete, TC3 has the highest priority among executable tests.

Correct answer: B

Remaining story points are not decreasing quickly enough to indicate completion on time.

Correct answer: A

Three-point estimation is (optimistic + 4 x most likely + pessimistic) / 6, so (4 + 40 + 22) / 6 = 11 days.

Correct answer: B

Wideband Delphi is an expert-based technique: each expert estimates in isolation, the results are discussed, and the cycle repeats until consensus is reached.

Correct answer: C

Project risks threaten the project's capability to deliver its objectives, and staffing is a named example.

Correct answer: C

Accepting a risk means acknowledging it and choosing to proceed without further action, which is a legitimate risk control option when the risk level is low.

Correct answer: C and D

Testers raise product and project risks during planning so they can inform prioritisation.

Testers contribute estimates so that testing effort is reflected in the iteration or release plan.

Correct answer: A

The pyramid reflects that unit-level tests are cheap and fast to run, so a sustainable suite has many of them and comparatively few slow end-to-end tests.

Correct answer: D

A test completion report summarises a completed test activity, level or project, whereas a test progress report is produced periodically during execution.

Correct answer: A

Cost of repair is not part of the defect report content the syllabus lists; that is a management judgement made after triage.

Correct answer: C

Without configuration management a result cannot be attributed with confidence to a particular version, which makes reproduction and regression analysis unreliable.

Correct answer: D

Risk-based prioritization orders execution on the results of risk analysis, so the test cases covering the most important risks run first.

Correct answer: D

Test management tools support the management of testing: storing test conditions and cases, tracking execution and reporting progress against plan.

Correct answer: A

Static testing tools support reviews and static analysis, examining code and other work products without executing them.

Correct answer: A

Non-functional testing tools allow the tester to perform testing that is difficult or impossible to perform manually, such as applying load and measuring time behaviour.