ISTQB certification exam questions for chapter Testing throughout the

software lifecycle
1. Testing throughout the project in a three-dimensional sense refers to the following
dimensions:
A. Time, Resources, and Risk
B. Verification, Validation, and Defect Reporting
C. Time, Organizational, and Cultural
D. None of the above
2. What are good practices for testing within the development life cycle?
A. Early test analysis and design.
B. Different test levels are defined with specific objectives.
C. Testers will start to get involved as soon as coding is done.
D. A and B above.
3. Which of the following would structure-based test design techniques be most likely to be
applied to?
1. Boundaries between mortgage interest rate bands.
2. An invalid transition between two different arrear statuses.
3. The business process flow for mortgage approval.
4. Control flow of the program to calculate repayments.
A. 2, 3 and 4
B. 2 and 4
C. 3 and 41, 2 and 3
4. Which of these statements about functional testing is true?
A. Structural testing is more important than functional testing as it addresses the code.
B. Functional testing is useful throughout the life cycle and can be applied by business
analysts, testers, developers and users.
C. Functional testing is more powerful than static testing as you actually run the system
and see what happens.
D. Inspection is a form of functional testing.
5. How is the scope of maintenance testing assessed?
A. Scope is related to the risk, size of the changes and size of the system under test
B. Scope is defined by the size and type of system being changed
C. Scope is dependant on the amount of regression testing already performed
D. Scope is related to the number of system users affected by the change.
6. Which testing technique do you prefer for the following situations?
1. Severe time pressure
2. Inadequate specification
A. Decision testing
 B. Error guessing
C. Statement testing
D. Exploratory testing
7. In practice, which Life Cycle model may have more, fewer or different levels of
development and testing, depending on the project and the software product. For
example, there may be component integration testing after component testing, and system
integration testing after system testing.
A. Water Fall Model
B. V-Model
C. Spiral Model
D. RAD Model
8. Functional testing is mostly
A. Validation techniques
B. Verification technique
C. None of the above
9. Component integration testing can be done
A. After black box testing
B. After sanity testing
C. After component testing
D. After system testing
10. White Box Testing
A. Same as glass box testing
B. Same as clear box testing
C. Both A. and B.
D. None of the above.
Explanation:
White-box testing (also known as clear box testing, glass box testing, transparent box
testing, and structural testing) is a method of testing software that tests internal structures or
workings of an application, as opposed to its functionality (i.e. black-box testing).
11. Which is not true- The black box tester
A. should be able to understand a functional specification or requirements document
B. should be able to understand the source code.
C. Is highly motivated to find faults
D. Is creative to find the system’s weaknesses
12. A number of critical bugs are fixed in software. All the bugs are in one module, related to
reports. The test manager decides to do regression testing only on the reports module.
A. The test manager should do only automated regression testing.
B. The test manager is justified in her decision because no bug has been fixed in other
modules
C. The test manager should only do confirmation testing. There is no need to do
regression testing
 D. Regression testing should be done on other modules as well because fixing one
module may affect other modules
13. Which of the following statements contains a valid goal for a functional test set?
A. A goal is that no more failures will result from the remaining defects
B. A goal is to find as many failures as possible so that the cause of the failures can be
identified and fixed
C. A goal is to eliminate as much as possible the causes of defects
D. A goal is to fulfil all requirements for testing that are defined in the project plan.
14. Which of the following is a type of non-functional testing?
A. Usability testing.
B. Statement Coverage.
C. Data flow testing.
D. Cause-effect graphing.
15. Which of the following statements about component testing is not true?
A. Component testing should be performed by development
B. Component testing is also know as isolation or module testing
C. Component testing should have completion criteria planned
D. Component testing does not involve regression testing
16. Which of the following is the main purpose of the integration strategy for integration
testing?
A. To ensure that all of the small modules are tested adequately
B. To ensure that the system interfaces to other systems and networks
C. To specify which modules to combine when and how many at once
D. To ensure that the integration testing can be performed by a small team
E. To specify how the software should be divided into modules
17. ________is a very early build intended for limited distribution to a few key customers
and to marketing for demonstration purposes.
A. Alpha release
B. Beta release
C. Test release document
D. Build
18. Code Coverage is used as a measure of what?
A. Defects
B. Trends analysis
C. Test Effectiveness
D. Time Spent Testing
19. Verification involves which of the following:-
i. Helps to check the Quality of the built product
ii. Helps to check that we have built the right product.
iii. Helps in developing the product
iv. Monitoring tool wastage and obsoleteness.
 A. Options i,ii,iii,iv are true.
B. i is true and ii,iii,iv are false
C. i,ii,iii are true and iv is false
D. ii is true and i,iii,iv are false.

20. The __________ testing is performed at the developing organization’s site

A. Unit testing
B. Regression testing
C. Alpha testing
D. Integration testing
21. Which is not the software characteristics
A. Reliability
B. Usability
C. Scalability
D. Maintainability
22. According to the ISTQB Glossary, regression testing is required for what purpose?
A. To verify the success of corrective actions.
B. To prevent a task from being incorrectly considered completed.
C. To ensure that defects have not been introduced by a modification
D. To motivate better unit testing by the programmers.
23. Maintenance testing is:
A. updating tests when the software has changed
B. testing a released system that has been changed
C. testing by users to ensure that the system meets a business need
D. testing to maintain business advantage
24. Acceptance testing may occur at more than just a single test level. With the exception of:
A. A COTS software product may be acceptance tested when it is installed or integrated.
B. Acceptance testing of the usability of a component may be done during component
testing.
C. Acceptance testing after a change has been released to the user community.
D. Acceptance testing of a new functional enhancement may come before system testing.
25. Which of the following is correct?
A. Impact analysis assesses the effect on the system of a defect found in regression
testing.
B. Impact analysis assesses the effect of a new person joining the regression test team.
C. Impact analysis assesses whether or not a defect found in regression testing has been
fixed correctly.
D. Impact analysis assesses the effect of a change to the system to determine how much
regression testing to do.
26. What is beta testing?
 A. Testing performed by potential customers at the developer's location.
B. Testing performed by potential customers at their own locations.
C. Testing performed by product developers at the customer's location.
D. Testing performed by product developers at their own locations.
27. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. Confirmation testing is testing fixes to a set of defects and Regression testing is
testing to establish whether any defects have been introduced as a result of changes.
B. Confirmation testing is testing to establish whether any defects have been introduced
as a result of changes and Regression testing is testing fixes to a set of defects.
C. Confirmation testing and Regression testing are both testing to establish whether any
defects have been introduced as a result of changes.
D. Confirmation testing and Regression testing are both testing fixes to a set of defects.
28. Which of the following are characteristic of regression testing?
i) Regression testing is run ONLY once
ii) Regression testing is used after fixes have been made
iii) Regression testing is often automated
iv) Regression tests need not be maintained
A. ii, iv.
B. ii, iii.
C. i, iii, iv.
D. iii.
29. What is the MAIN benefit of designing tests early in the life cycle?
A. It is cheaper than designing tests during the test phases.
B. It helps prevent defects from being introduced into the code.
C. Tests designed early are more effective than tests designed later.
D. It saves time during the testing phases when testers are busy.
30. Which type of test design techniques does the following statement best describe ' a
procedure to derive test cases based on the specifications of a component'?
A. Black Box Techniques.
B. White Box Techniques.
C. Glass Box Techniques.
D. Experience Based Techniques.
31. Which of the following combinations correctly describes a valid approach to component
testing:
i) Functional testing of the component in isolation.
ii) Structure-based testing of the code without recording incidents.
iii) Automated tests that are run until the component passes.
iv) Functional testing of the interfaces between modules.
 A. i and ii.
B. i, ii and iii
C. iii.
D. ii and iv
32. What is the name of a skeletal implementation of a software component that is used for
testing?
A. Use case
B. Domain
C. Driver
D. Stub
33. System testing should investigate
A. Non-functional requirements only not Functional requirements
B. Functional requirements only not non-functional requirements
C. Non-functional requirements and Functional requirements
D. Non-functional requirements or Functional requirements
34. Contract and regulation testing is a part of
A. System testing
B. Acceptance testing
C. Integration testing
D. Smoke testing
35. Which of the following is the standard for the Software product quality?
A. ISO 9126
B. ISO 829
C. ISO 1012
D. ISO 1028
36. A software model that can’t be used in functional testing
A. Process flow model
B. State transaction model
C. Menu structure model
D. Plain language specification model
37. Which is not a Component testing
A. Check the memory leaks
B. Check the robustness
C. Check the branch coverage
D. Check the decision tables
38. Which test can be performed at all test levels?
A. System testing
B. Operational testing
C. Structural testing
D. Integration testing
39. Which is not a test Oracle
A. The existing system (For a benchmark)
B. The code
 C. Individual’s knowledge
D. User manual
40. Which is the non-functional testing
A. Performance testing
B. Unit testing
C. Regression testing
D. Sanity testing
41. Which of the following is the task of a Tester?
i. Interaction with the Test Tool Vendor to identify best ways to leverage test tool on the
project.
ii. Prepare and acquire Test Data
iii. Implement Tests on all test levels, execute and log the tests.
iv. Create the Test Specifications
A. i, ii, iii is true and iv is false
B. ii,iii,iv is true and i is false
C. i is true and ii,iii,iv are false
D. iii and iv is correct and i and ii are incorrect
42. White Box Techniques are also called as:
A. Structural Testing
B. Design Based Testing
C. Error Guessing Technique
D. Experience Based Technique
43. Component Testing is also called as :-
A. Unit Testing
B. Program Testing
C. Module Testing
D. System Component Testing
E. All of these
44. Testing activity which is performed to expose defects in the interfaces and in the
interaction between integrated components is:
A. System Level Testing
B. Integration Level Testing
C. Unit Level Testing
D. Component Testing
45. Methodologies adopted while performing Maintenance Testing:-
A. Breadth Test and Depth Test
B. Re-testing
C. Confirmation Testing
D. Sanity Testing
46. Link Testing is also called as:
 A. Component Integration testing
B. Component System Testing
C. Component sub-system Testing
D. Maintenance testing
Explanation:
Link testing is also called as Component Integration Testing where we are actually testing
whether modules are properly liked or not
47. A Type of functional Testing, which investigates the functions relating to detection of
threats, such as virus from malicious outsiders.
A. Security Testing
B. Recovery Testing
C. Performance Testing
D. Functionality Testing
48. What is the disadvantage of Black Box Testing
A. Chances of having repetition of tests that are already done by programmer
B. The test inputs need to be from large sample space.
C. It is difficult to identify all possible inputs in limited testing time. So writing test
cases is slow and difficult
D. All above
49. When a defect is detected and fixed then the software should be retested to confirm that
the original defect has been successfully removed. This is called
A. Regression testing
B. Maintenance testing
C. Confirmation testing
D. None of the above
50. System Integration testing should be done after
A. Integration testing
B. System testing
C. Unit testing
D. Component integration testing
51. During this event, the entire system is tested to verify that all functional information
structural and quality requirements have been met. A predetermined combination of tests
is designed that when executed successfully satisfy management that the system meets
specifications.
A. Validation Testing
B. Integration Testing
C. User Acceptance Testing
D. System Testing
52. What is the normal order of activities in which software testing is organised?
A. Unit, integration, system, validation
B. System, integration, unit, validation
 C. Unit, integration, validation, system
D. None of the above
53. During testing, a defect was found in which the system crashed when the network got
disconnected while receiving data from the server. The defect was fixed by correcting
functionality which checks the network availability during data transfer. Existing test
cases did cover 100% of the module statements. To verify the fix and ensure more
extensive coverage, some tests were designed and added to the test suite. What types of
testing are mentioned above?
I. Functional testing
II. Structural testing
III. Confirmation testing
IV. Performance testing
A. I, III and IV
B. I and III
C. II and IV
D. I, II and III
54. In ______ testing, the tester doesn't know anything about the software being tested.
He/she just clicks or types randomly.
A. Random testing
B. Gorilla testing
C. Adhoc testing
D. Dumb monkey testing
55. Which test investigates both functional and non-functional system requirements?
A. Alpha testing
B. System testing
C. Acceptance testing
D. Confirmation testing
56. Which test ensures that modifications did not introduce new problems?
A. Stress testing
B. Black-box testing
C. Structural testing
D. Regression testing
57. Which testing is used to verify that the system can perform properly when internal
program or system limitations have been exceeded
A. Stress Testing
B. Load Testing
C. Performance Testing
D. Volume testing
58. In any software development life cycle (SDLC) model, which of the following are
characteristics of good testing?
 I. Providing complete test coverage of all branches of the system code.
II. Having a corresponding testing activity for each development activity.
III. Testers should be involved in reviewing documents as soon as drafts are available.
IV. Each test level has test objectives specific to that level.
A. II, III and IV
B. I and III
C. I, III and IV
D. I and II
59. During the software development process, at what point can the test process start?
A. When the code is complete.
B. When the design is complete.
C. When the software requirements have been approved
D. When the first code module is ready for unit testing
60. How much testing is enough?
A. This question is impossible to answer
B. This question is easy to answer
C. The answer depends on the risk for your industry, contract and special requirements
D. This answer depends on the maturity of your developers
61. What is the difference between component testing and integration testing?
A. Component testing tests interfaces; integration testing searches for defects
B. Component testing searches for defects; integration testing tests Interfaces
C. Developers perform component testing; testers perform integration testing
D. Testers perform component testing; users perform integration testing
Explanation:
Component testing: searches for defects in and verifies the functioning of software
components (e.g. modules, programs, objects, classes etc.) that are separately testable.
Integration testing: tests interfaces between components, interactions to different parts of a
system such as an operating system, file system and hardware or interfaces between systems.
62. Which of the following is not a quality characteristic listed in ISO 9126 Standard?
A. Functionality
B. Usability
C. Supportability
D. Maintainability
Explanation:
The ISO 9126 standard defines six quality characteristics. These are as follows
(1) Functionality
(2) Reliability
(3) Usability
(4) Efficiency
(5) Maintainability
(6) Portability
63. To test a function, the programmer has to write a _________, which calls the function to
be tested and passes it test data.
A. Stub
B. Driver
C. Proxy
D. None of the above
Explanation:
Stub : A skeletal or special-purpose implementation of a software component, used to
develop or test a component that calls or is otherwise dependent on it. It replaces a called
component.
Driver : A software component or test tool that replaces a component that takes care of the
control and/or the calling of a component or system.
64. Acceptance test cases are based on what?
A. Requirements
B. Design
C. Code
D. Decision table
65. What is a group of test activities that are organised and managed together?
A. Test procedure specification
B. Test level
C. Test case specification
D. Test plan
66. What is the key difference between (a) contract and regulation acceptance testing, and (b)
alpha and beta testing?
A. (a) are performed outside the company and (b) are conducted by the test team
B. (a) are conducted by regulators and (b) are performed by system administrators
C. (a) are the mandatory tests for government applications and (b) are usually optional
D. (a) are for custom-developed software and (b) are for off – the - shelf software
67. Regression testing should be performed:
v) Every week
w) After the software has changed
x) As often as possible
y) When the environment has changed
z) When the project manager says
A. v & w are true, x – z are false
B. w, x & y are true, v & z are false
C. w & y are true, v, x & z are false
D. w is true, v, x y and z are false
E. All of the above are true
68. What is the difference between testing software developed by contractor outside your
country, versus testing software developed by a contractor within your country?
A. Does not meet people needs
B. Cultural difference
C. Loss of control over reallocation of resources
D. Relinquishments of control
69. Which of the following statements are true in relation to component testing?
(a) Stubs may be used.
(b) May cover resource behaviour (e.g. memory leaks).
(c) Tests the interactions between software components.
(d) Defects are typically fixed without formally managing these defects.
A. a, c and d
B. a, b and d
C. b, c and d
D. a, b and c
70. Which ADDITIONAL test level could be introduced into a standard V-model after
system testing?
A. System Integration Testing
B. Acceptance Testing
C. Regression Testing
D. Component Integration Testing
71. How is the scope of maintenance testing assessed?
A. Scope is related to the risk, size of the changes and size of the system under test
B. Scope is defined by the size and type of system being changed
C. Scope is dependant on the amount of regression testing already performed
D. Scope is related to the number of system users affected by the change.
72. Which statement below BEST describes non-functional testing?
A. The process of testing an integrated system to verify that it meets specified
requirements.
B. The process of testing to determine the compliance of a system to coding standards.
C. Testing without reference to the internal structure of a system.
D. Testing system attributes, such as usability, reliability or maintainability.
73. What is important to do when working with software development models?
A. To adapt the models to the context of project and product characteristics.
 B. To choose the waterfall model because it is the first and best proven model.
C. To start with the V-model and then move to either iterative or incremental model.
D. To only change the organization to fit the model and not vice versa.
74. Which of the following characteristics of good testing apply to any software development
life cycle model?
A. Acceptance testing is always the final test level to be applied.
B. All test levels are planned and completed for each developed feature.
C. Testers are involved as soon as the first piece of code can be executed.
D. For every development activity, there is a corresponding testing activity.
75. For which of the following would maintenance testing be used?
A. Correction of defects during the development phase.
B. Planned enhancements to an existing operational system.
C. Complaints about system quality during user acceptance testing.
D. Integrating functions during the development of a new system.
76. Which of the following statements are TRUE?
A. Regression testing and acceptance testing are the same.
B. Regression tests show if all defects have been resolved.
C. Regression tests are typically well-suited for test automation.
D. Regression tests are performed to find out if code changes have introduced or uncovered
defects.
E. Regression tests should be performed in integration testing.
A. A, C and D and E are true; B is false.
B. A, C and E are true; B and D are false.
C. C and D are true; A, B and E are false.
D. B and E are true; A, C and D are false.
77. Which of the following comparisons of component testing and system testing are TRUE?
A. Component testing verifies the functioning of software modules, program objects, and
classes that are separately testable, whereas system testing verifies interfaces between
components and interactions with different parts of the system.
B. Test cases for component testing are usually derived from component specifications,
design specifications, or data models, whereas test cases for system testing are usually
derived from requirement specifications, functional specifications or use cases.
C. Component testing focuses on functional characteristics, whereas system testing
focuses on functional and non-functional characteristics.
D. Component testing is the responsibility of the technical testers, whereas system testing
typically is the responsibility of the users of the system.