Test Management

Chapter 5 in the CTFL exam

Exam questions

9 / 40

Share of exam

23%

Highest K-level

K3

Glossary terms

65

Chapter 5 is the second-heaviest chapter and contains K3 objectives around estimation and risk. Expect to apply an estimation technique and to reason about risk level rather than just define it.

What this chapter covers

Chapter 5, 'Managing the Test Activities', is 9 of 40 questions. Risk is the spine of the chapter — risk analysis drives what gets tested, how much, and in what order, and risk questions appear throughout the exam rather than only here.

Test planning defines objectives, scope, approach, and resources. The test plan documents entry criteria (what must be in place before testing starts) and exit criteria (what must be true before it stops). The syllabus is clear that criteria unmet does not automatically mean testing continues — a stakeholder may accept the risk and proceed. Testers contribute to iteration and release planning by estimating effort, identifying risks, and prioritising user stories.

Estimation techniques include estimation based on ratios, extrapolation, the Wideband Delphi expert-based approach, and three-point estimation, where the estimate is derived from optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic values. Test case prioritisation may be risk-based, coverage-based, or requirements-based. The test pyramid describes the desirable shape of an automated suite — many fast unit tests, fewer service tests, fewest slow UI tests — while the testing quadrants classify tests by whether they support the team or critique the product, and whether they are business- or technology-facing.

Risk is the combination of the likelihood of an event and its impact. Project risks threaten the project's capability to deliver (staffing, supplier, organisational); product risks threaten the quality of the product itself (a defect causing failure in use). Product risk analysis comprises risk identification and risk assessment, and produces the basis for risk control: mitigation, contingency, transfer, or acceptance. Risk level determines the depth and order of testing.

Test monitoring gathers information about progress; test control acts on it, adjusting course to meet objectives. Metrics may cover progress against plan, defect counts and trends, coverage achieved, and confidence. Test reports communicate status — a test progress report during execution, a test completion report at the end of an activity or level. The audience determines the content: a technical team and an executive sponsor need different reports from the same data.

Configuration management ensures every item of testware is uniquely identified, version-controlled, and traceable, so tests can be reproduced against a known version of the test object. Defect management defines the workflow a reported anomaly follows, and the syllabus specifies the content of a defect report: identifier, title and summary, date and author, identification of the test object and environment, steps to reproduce, expected and actual results, severity, priority, status, and references.

CTFL v4.0 syllabus outline

1. 5.1 Test Planning

   • Purpose and Content of a Test Plan
   • Tester's Contribution to Iteration and Release Planning
   • Entry Criteria and Exit Criteria
   • Estimation Techniques
   • Test Case Prioritization
   • Test Pyramid
   • Testing Quadrants

2. 5.2 Risk Management

   • Risk Definition and Risk Attributes
   • Project Risks and Product Risks
   • Product Risk Analysis
   • Product Risk Control

3. 5.3 Test Monitoring, Test Control and Test Completion

   • Metrics Used in Testing
   • Purpose, Content and Audience for Test Reports
   • Communicating the Status of Testing

4. 5.4 Configuration Management

5. 5.5 Defect Management

Highest-value terms in this chapter

Start here if you are short on time.

• test plan
• risk
• product risk
• project risk
• risk-based testing
• severity
• test monitoring
• test control
• defect management
• configuration management
• test pyramid

Common exam traps

• ⚠️Mixing up severity and priority. Severity is the impact of the failure; priority is the urgency of fixing it.
• ⚠️Confusing project risk with product risk — the exam supplies scenarios that sit close to the line.
• ⚠️Assuming exit criteria not met always blocks release. Risk can be formally accepted instead.
• ⚠️Reading monitoring and control as one activity. Monitoring observes; control intervenes.