ISTQB Chapter 3 Theories Flashcards
What are the sample work products examinable by Static Testing?
- Requirement Specification Documents
- Source Code
- Test Plans
- Test Cases
- Product Backlog Items
- Test Charters
- Project Documentation
- Contract
- Models
Note: Work product that is not appropriate for static testing include those that are difficult to interpret by human beings and that should not be analyzed by tools (e.g. 3rd party executable code due to legal reasons)
What are the Benefits of Static Testing?
- Static Testing can detect defects in the earliest phases of the SDLC, fulfilling the principle of early testing.
- Static Testing can identify defects which cannot be detected by dynamic testing (e.g. unreachable code, design patterns not implemented as desired, defects in non-executable work products)
- Static Testing provides the ability to evaluate the quality of, and to build confidence in work products
- Lower overall project cost because less time and effort is needed to be spent on fixing defect later in the project, even though reviews can be costly to implement.
- Certain code defects can be detected using static analysis more efficiently than in dynamic testing, usually resulting in both fewer code defects and lower overall development effort.
Note: For improved communication, it is recommended to involve a wide variety of stakeholders in static testing.
What are the differences between static testing and dynamic testing?
- Static testing and dynamic testing (with analysis of failures) can both lead to the detection of defects, however there are some defect types that can only be found by either static or dynamic testing.
- Static testing finds defects directly, while dynamic testing causes failures from which the
associated defects are determined through subsequent analysis - Static testing may more easily detect defects that lay on paths through the code that are rarely executed or hard to reach using dynamic testing
- Static testing can be applied to non-executable work products, while dynamic testing can only be applied to executable work products
- Static testing can be used to measure quality characteristics that are not dependent on executing code (e.g., maintainability), while dynamic testing can be used to measure quality characteristics that are dependent on executing code (e.g., performance efficiency)
What are the typical defects that are easier and/or cheaper to find through static testing:
- Defects in requirements (e.g. inconsistencies, ambiguities, contradictions, omissions, inaccuracies, duplications)
- Design defects (e.g. inefficient database structures, poor modularization)
- Certain type of coding defects (e.g. variable with undefined values, undeclared variables, unreachable or duplicated code, excessive code complexity)
- Deviations from standards (e.g. lack of adherence to naming conventions in coding standards)
- Incorrect interface specifications (e.g. mismatched number, type or order of parameters)
- Specific types of security vulnerabilities (e.g. buffer overvlows)
- Gaps or inaccuracies in test basis coverage (e.g. missing tests for an acceptance criterion)
What are the standard activities in a review process?
- Planning
- Review Initiation
- Individual Review
- Communication and analysis
- Fixing and reporting
This activity in the review is where the scope of the review, which comprises the purpose, the work product to be reviewed, quality characteristics to be evaluated, areas to focus on, exit criteria, supporting information such as standards, effort and the timeframes for the review, shall be defined.
a. Planning
b. Review initiation
c. Individual review
d. Communication and analysis
e. Fixing and reporting
a. Planning
This activity in the review is where the goal is to make sure that everyone and everything involved is prepared to start the review. This includes making sure that every participant has access to the work product under review, understands their role and responsibilities and receives everything needed to perform the review.
a. Planning
b. Review initiation
c. Individual review
d. Communication and analysis
e. Fixing and reporting
b. Review initiation
This activity in the review is where the reviewers assess the quality of the work product under review, and identify anomalies, recommendations, and questions by applying one or more review techniques. The reviewers log all their identified anomalies, recommendations, and questions.
a. Planning
b. Review initiation
c. Individual review
d. Communication and analysis
e. Fixing and reporting
c. Individual review
This activity in the review is where anomalies identified are analyzed and discussed.
a. Planning
b. Review initiation
c. Individual review
d. Communication and analysis
e. Fixing and reporting
d. Communication and analysis
This activity in the review is where a defect report is created so that corrective actions can be followed-up.
a. Planning
b. Review initiation
c. Individual review
d. Communication and analysis
e. Fixing and reporting
e. Fixing and reporting
Who are the principle stakeholders in reviews?
- Manager
- Author
- Moderator (also known as the facilitator)
- Scribe (also known as the recorder)
- Reviewer
- Review Leader
This stakeholder in review decides what is to be reviewed and provides resources, such as staff and time for the review
a. Manager
b. Author
c. Moderator
d. Scribe
e. Reviewer
f. Review Leader
a. Manager
This review stakeholder creates and fixes the work product under review
a. Manager
b. Author
c. Moderator
d. Scribe
e. Reviewer
f. Review Leader
b. Author
This review stakeholder ensures the effective running of review meetings, including mediation, time management, and a safe review environment in which everyone can speak freely
a. Manager
b. Author
c. Moderator
d. Scribe
e. Reviewer
f. Review Leader
c. Moderator (also known as the facilitator)
This review stakeholder collates anomalies from reviewers and records review information, such as decisions and new anomalies found during the review meeting
a. Manager
b. Author
c. Moderator
d. Scribe
e. Reviewer
f. Review Leader
d. Scribe (also known as recorder)
