Chapter 1

Question 1

What is testing and why is it necessary?

Answer 1

A set of activities to discover defects and evaluate software.
-Involves validation and verification and may be static or dynamic.
-Necessary because it increases quality of requirements and leads to fewer changes.
-a form of quality control, helping achieve goals within the set scope, time and budget.
- testing contribution not limited to test team- any stakeholder can use their testing skills to bring project closer to success.

Question 2

What general skills does a tester need?

Answer 2

Specialised knowledge, analytical skills, critical thinking, systems thinking.

Question 3

What is test objectives?

Answer 3

Clear concise statements that describe what a test aims to achieve. May start with “evaluate, reduce, provide, verifying, ensuring “ etc…

Eg- reduce the level of risk of inadequate software
OR
Verify specified requirements have been fulfilled.

Question 4

Difference between testing and debugging?

Answer 4

Testing : evaluate quality of software to identify defects. Can trigger failures caused by defects (dynamic) or directly find them (static).

Debugging :fix defects found. Locating the root cause, analysing the cause, and eliminating them.

Question 5

Typical debugging process?

Answer 5

• reproduction of a failure
• diagnosis
• fixing the cause

Question 6

What is confirmation testing?

Answer 6

Checks whether the fixes in debugging resolved the problem.
Preferably done by the same Person who performed the initial test.

Question 7

What is regression testing?

Answer 7

Checks whether fixes are causing failures in other parts of test object.

Question 8

When static testing identifies defect, what happens?

Answer 8

Debugging removes it. No need for reproduction or diagnosis since static finds defect directly.

Question 9

Testing contributions to success?

Answer 9

• cost effective means of detecting defects
  -can be removed by debugging (non- testing activity)
  -contributes to higher quality test objects
  -directly evaluated quality of a test object at various stages in the SLDC.
  -provide users with indirect rep on development plan.
  -users needs considered throughout OR involve set of users which is not uslaly possible due to cost and availability.
  -required to meet contractual/ legal requirements.

Question 10

Quality control?

Answer 10

Testing is a form of quality control.
-product oriented
-corrective approach

Question 11

Quality Assurance?

Answer 11

-process oriented
-preventative approach that focuses on implementation and improvement of processes
- applies to dev process and testing and is the responsibility of everyone on a project.

Question 12

How are test results used in QA and QC?

Answer 12

Quality control- to fix defects

Quality assurance - to provide feedback on how week the dev and test processes are performing.

Question 13

Error, defect, failures and root causes?

Answer 13

-humans make errors which cause defects
- these can cause failures
-defects can be found in documentation, or code or supporting artifact
- root cause- reason for occurrence.
-identified thru root cause analysis and similar defects can be prevented and removed at the same time here

Question 14

What are the 7 testing principles?

Answer 14

1. Testing shows the presence, not the absence of defects
2. Exhaustive testing is impossible

3.early testing saves time and money

4.defects cluster together

5.tests wear out

6.testing is context dependant

7. Absence of defects fallacy

Question 15

7 test activities and tasks?

Answer 15

Implemented iteratively or in parallel.

1. Test planning
2. Test monitoring and control
3. Test analysis
   4.test design
4. Test implementation
5. Test execution
6. Test completion

Question 16

The way testing is carried out depends on?..

Answer 16

Stakeholders(needs, cooperation..)

Team members(skill, availability ..)

Technical factors

Business domain

Project constraints

Organisational factors

SLDC

Tools

Question 17

What is testware?

Answer 17

The toolkit that testers use to ensure quality.

Test planning work products

Test monitoring and control work products

Test analysis work products

Test design work products

Test implementation work products

Test execsuripn work products

Test completions work products

Question 18

Why is traceability important

Answer 18

• to implement effective test Monitoring and control
• accurate traceability
  supports coverage evaluation
  -makes it possible to determine impact of changes, facilitates test audits, helps meet IT governance criteria
  -makes test progress and completion reports more easily understandable

Question 19

Skills required for testing?

Answer 19

Testing knowledge

Thoroughness, attention to detail, methodical

Communication

Analytical

Technical knowledge

Domain knowledge( able to communicate with end users/ business )

Question 20

How to make testing seem like a less destructive activity?

Answer 20

Info about defects should be construed in a constructive way

Question 21

What is whole team approach?

Answer 21

Any team member with necessary knowledge can perform any task- everyone is responsible for quality

However, not always possible - safety critical

Question 22

What is independence testing?

Answer 22

Testers outside the organisation testing.

Work products tested by their author- no independence!

Can make it more effective finding defects due to the differences in cognitive biases

Question 23

Pros and cons of independent testing?

Answer 23

Pro- likely to recognise different failures and defect due to different knowledge and experience

Cons- may be isolated from dev team- lack of collaboration. May be blamed for late release.