Fundamental of testing

Question 1

error

mistake

Answer 1

A human action that produces an incorrect result

Question 2

defect
bug
fault

Answer 2

A flaw in a component or system that can cause the component or system to fail to perform its required function, e.g. an incorrect statement or data definition. A defect, if encountered during execution, may cause a failure of the component or system.

Question 3

failure

Answer 3

Deviation of the component or system from its expected delivery, service or result.

Question 4

quality

Answer 4

The degree to which a component, system or process meets specified requirements
and/or user/customer needs and expectations.

Question 5

risk

Answer 5

A factor that could result in future negative consequences; usually expressed as impact
and likelihood.

Question 6

software

Answer 6

Computer programs, procedures, and possibly associated documentation and data
pertaining to the operation of a computer system

Question 7

testing

Answer 7

The process consisting of all lifecycle activities, both static and dynamic, concerned with planning, preparation and evaluation of software products and related work products
to determine that they satisfy specified requirements, to demonstrate that they are fit for purpose and to detect defects.

Question 8

exhaustive testing

complete testing

Answer 8

A test approach in which the test suite comprises all combinations of input values and preconditions.

Question 9

system

Answer 9

A collection of components organized to accomplish a specific function or set of
functions.

Question 10

Testing is context dependent (principle)

Answer 10

Testing is done differently in different contexts. For example, safety-critical software is
tested differently from an e-commerce site.

Question 11

Testing shows presence of defects (principle)

Answer 11

Testing can show that defects are present, but cannot prove that there are no defects. Testing reduces the probability of undiscovered defects remaining in the software but, even if no defects are found, it is not a proof of correctness.

Question 12

Exhaustive testing is impossible (principle)

Answer 12

Testing everything (all combinations of inputs and preconditions) is not feasible except for trivial cases. Instead of exhaustive testing, we use risks and priorities to focus testing efforts.

Question 13

Early testing (principle)

Answer 13

Testing activities should start as early as possible in the software or system development life cycle and should be focused on defined objectives.

Question 14

Defect clustering (principle)

Answer 14

A small number of modules contain most of the defects discovered during prerelease testing or show the most operational failures.

Question 15

Pesticide paradox (principle)

Answer 15

If the same tests are repeated over and over again, eventually the same set of test cases will no longer find any new bugs. To overcome this ‘pesticide paradox’, the test cases need to be regularly reviewed and revised, and new and different tests need to be written to exercise different parts of the software or system to potentially find more defects.

Question 16

Absence-of-errors fallacy (principle)

Answer 16

Finding and fixing defects does not help if the system built is unusable and does not fulfill the users’ needs and expectations.

Question 17

code

Answer 17

Computer instructions and data definitions expressed in a programming language or in
a form output by an assembler, compiler or other translator

Question 18

debugging

Answer 18

The process of finding, analyzing and removing the causes of failures in software.

Question 19

test objective

Answer 19

A reason or purpose for designing and executing a test.

Question 20

requirement

Answer 20

A condition or capability needed by a user to solve a problem or achieve an objective that must be met or possessed by a system or system component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formally imposed document.

Question 21

test case

Answer 21

A set of input values, execution preconditions, expected results and execution postconditions, developed for a particular objective or test condition, such as to exercise a particular program path or to verify compliance with a specific requirement.

Question 22

test basis

Answer 22

All documents from which the requirements of a component or system can be inferred. The documentation on which the test cases are based. If a document can be amended only by way of formal amendment procedure, then the test basis is called a frozen test basis.

Question 23

review

Answer 23

An evaluation of a product or project status to ascertain discrepancies from planned results and to recommend improvements. Examples include management review, informal
review, technical review, inspection, and walkthrough.

Question 24

re-testing

confirmation testing

Answer 24

Testing that runs test cases that failed the last time they were run, in order to verify the success of corrective actions.

Question 25

exit criteria

Answer 25

The set of generic and specific conditions, agreed upon with the stakeholders for permitting a process to be officially completed. The purpose of exit criteria is to prevent a task from being considered completed when there are still outstanding parts of the task which have not been finished. Exit criteria are used to report against and to plan when to stop testing.

Question 26

incident

Answer 26

Any event occurring that requires investigation

Question 27

regression testing

Answer 27

Testing of a previously tested program following modification to ensure that defects have not been introduced or uncovered in unchanged areas of the software, as a result of the changes made. It is performed when the software or its environment is changed.

Question 28

test condition
test requirement
test situation

Answer 28

An item or event of a component or system that could be verified by one or more test cases, e.g. a function, transaction, feature, quality attribute, or structural element.

Question 29

coverage

test coverage

Answer 29

The degree, expressed as a percentage, to which a specified coverage item has been
exercised by a test suite.

Question 30

test data

Answer 30

Data that exists (for example, in a database) before a test is executed, and that affects or is affected by the component or system under test.

Question 31

test execution

Answer 31

The process of running a test on the component or system under test, producing actual result(s).

Question 32

test log

Answer 32

A chronological record of relevant details about the execution of tests.

Question 33

test plan

Answer 33

A document describing the scope, approach, resources and schedule of intended test activities. It identifies amongst others test items, the features to be tested, the testing
tasks, who will do each task, degree of tester independence, the test environment, the test
design techniques and entry and exit criteria to be used, and the rationale for their choice,
and any risks requiring contingency planning. It is a record of the test planning process.

Question 34

test strategy

Answer 34

A high-level description of the test levels to be performed and the testing within those levels for an organization or programme (one or more projects).

Question 35

test summary report

Answer 35

A document summarizing testing activities and results. It also contains an evaluation of the corresponding test items against exit criteria.

Question 36

testware

Answer 36

Artifacts produced during the test process required to plan, design, and execute
tests, such as documentation, scripts, inputs, expected results, set-up and clear-up
procedures, files, databases, environment, and any additional software or utilities used in
testing.

Question 37

test policy

Answer 37

A high level document describing the principles, approach and major objectives of the organization regarding testing.

Question 38

test planning

Answer 38

The activity of establishing or updating a test plan.

Question 39

test approach

Answer 39

The implementation of the test strategy for a specific project. It typically includes the decisions made that follow based on the (test) project’s goal and the risk assessment carried out, starting points regarding the test process, the test design techniques to be applied, exit criteria and test types to be performed

Question 40

test control

Answer 40

A test management task that deals with developing and applying a set of corrective actions to get a test project on track when monitoring shows a deviation from what was planned. See also test management.

Question 41

test monitoring

Answer 41

A test management task that deals with the activities related to periodically checking the status of a test project. Reports are prepared that compare the actuals to that which was planned. See also test management.

Question 42

test design

test design specification

Answer 42

A document specifying the test conditions (coverage items) for a test item, the detailed test approach and identifying the associated high level test cases.

Question 43

test procedure

test procedure specification

Answer 43

A document specifying a sequence of actions for the execution of a test. Also known as test script or manual test script.

Question 44

test suite

Answer 44

A set of several test cases for a component or system under test, where the post condition of one test is often used as the precondition for the next one.

Question 45

independence of testing

Answer 45

Separation of responsibilities, which encourages the accomplishment of objective testing

Question 46

result

test result

Answer 46

The consequence/outcome of the execution of a test. It includes outputs to screens, changes to data, reports, and communication messages sent out.

Question 47

actual result

Answer 47

The behavior produced/observed when a component or system is tested.

Question 48

expected result

Answer 48

The behavior predicted by the specification, or another source, of the
component or system under specified conditions.

Question 49

test progress report

Answer 49

A document summarizing testing activities and results, produced at regular intervals, to report progress of testing activities against a baseline (such as the original test plan) and to communicate risks and alternatives requiring a decision to management.