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ISTQB Chapter 2 Practice Questions: Testing Throughout the SDLC

Chapter 2 is 6 of the 40 questions and covers where testing sits in the development lifecycle: which test level catches what, which test type you are performing, and how shift-left and retesting versus regression testing actually work. It is entirely K1 and K2 - no technique to apply.

Every question in this drill comes from chapter 2, Testing Throughout the SDLC, which is 6 of the 40 questions on the real exam.

What chapter 2 covers

The syllabus sections this drill draws from.

  • 2.1 Testing in the context of a SDLC - lifecycle impact, good practices, shift left, retrospectives
  • 2.2 Test levels and test types - the four levels, functional/non-functional/black-box/white-box
  • 2.3 Maintenance testing - triggers and scope

Most wrong answers here are the neighbouring concept. See the 3 concepts this drill separates before you start, or work the drill first and use them to check your misses.

Start the drill

Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL v4.0)

Practising Chapter 2 only: every question in this set matches that filter. There is no clock - a drill is shorter than a real paper and covers one topic, so timing it would tell you nothing. Work at your own pace and submit when you are ready; you get a full answer review when you finish.

Questions
0
Time limit
None
Pass mark
65%
Cost
Free

No timer on a drill - take as long as you need.

How this level is examined

The test levels are the reliable source of marks here. Component, component integration, system and acceptance each have a distinct test basis, a distinct set of test objects, and distinct typical defects. The exam's favourite question form describes an activity and asks which level it belongs to, and the answer usually turns on the test basis rather than on who is doing the work.

Acceptance testing has its own sub-forms that are examined separately - user acceptance, operational acceptance, contractual and regulatory acceptance, alpha and beta. Operational acceptance testing in particular is a common miss, because its concerns (backup and restore, disaster recovery, security, installation) sound non-functional and candidates classify it as a test type rather than a level.

Retesting versus regression testing is the other reliable question. Retesting confirms a specific fix; regression testing checks that a change has not broken something unrelated. Both are triggered by a change, which is exactly why the exam pairs them.

Concepts this drill separates

Separate these and the distractors stop working, because there is nothing plausible left for a wrong answer to be built from.

Confirmation Testing versus Regression Testing

Confirmation testing re-runs what failed to prove the fix worked; regression testing re-runs what passed to prove the change broke nothing else.

How to tell them apart: Look at what the question says was tested, not why. Retesting the fixed thing is confirmation; testing everything around it is regression. Confirmation testing always follows a defect fix, but regression testing follows any change at all, including an enhancement.

Test Level versus Test Type

A test level says when in the lifecycle testing happens; a test type says which quality characteristic it is aimed at.

How to tell them apart: These are two independent axes, not a hierarchy - any type can be applied at any level. CTFL v4.0 has five levels: component, component integration, system, system integration and acceptance testing, so v3.1's four-level list is a distractor. Of the four test types, functional and non-functional name a quality characteristic, while black-box and white-box name a derivation basis instead.

Alpha Testing versus Beta Testing

Alpha testing is performed at the developing organisation's site by people from outside the development organisation; beta testing is performed by potential or existing users at their own location.

How to tell them apart: The deciding detail is where the testing happens and whose site it is - not how finished the product is, and not whether defects are still being found.

Worked examples

These 5 come with the answer and the reasoning already shown, so you can see what this kind of question looks like before you start. They are drawn from the questions-and-answers page and are deliberately held out of the drill above, so the drill still tells you something you did not already know.

  1. 1. What does "shift left" mean in the context of testing?

    K2
    • A.Moving all testing to the end of the project
    • B.Replacing dynamic testing with static testing
    • C.Performing testing activities earlier in the lifecycle, in addition to later ones
    • D.Assigning testing entirely to developers

    Correct answer: C

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

  2. 2. What is the PRIMARY purpose of operational acceptance testing (OAT)?

    K2
    • A.To confirm that end users can complete their business tasks
    • B.To verify the system is ready for operations and maintenance, covering areas such as backup, restore and installation
    • C.To confirm the terms of a contract have been met
    • D.To measure response time under peak load

    Correct answer: B

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

  3. 3. Which of the following triggers maintenance testing?

    K1
    • A.Modification, migration and retirement of the system
    • B.Only the discovery of a defect in production
    • C.Writing the test plan for a new release
    • D.Completion of system testing

    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.

  4. 4. A defect is found only when two independently working components exchange data. Which test level is BEST suited to detect it?

    K2
    • A.Acceptance testing
    • B.Component integration testing
    • C.Component testing
    • D.Regression testing

    Correct answer: B

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

  5. 5. A team writes a failing automated test, then writes just enough code to make it pass, then refactors. Which approach is this?

    K1
    • A.Test-driven development
    • B.Acceptance test-driven development
    • C.Behaviour-driven development
    • D.Exploratory testing

    Correct answer: A

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

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