Sample questions exam c v1-1

Question 1

What is quality?
a) Part of quality management focused on providing confidence that quality requirements will be
fulfilled.
b) The degree to which a component, system or process meets specified requirements and/or
user/customer needs and expectations.
c) The degree to which a component or system protects information and data so that persons or
other components or systems have the degree of access appropriate to their types and levels
of authorization.
d) The total costs incurred on quality activities and issues and often split into prevention costs,
appraisal costs, internal failure costs and external failure costs.

Answer 1

b) Is correct: this is the Glossary definition of quality

Question 2

Which of the following is a typical test objective?

a) Preventing defects
b) Repairing defects
c) Comparing actual results to expected results
d) Analyzing the cause of failure

Answer 2

a) Correct answer. This is an objective listed in section 1.1.

Question 3

A phone ringing in an adjac
ent cubicle momentarily distracts a programmer, causing the programmer to improperly program the
logic that checks the upper boundary of an input variable. Later, during system testing, a tester notices
that this input field accepts invalid input values. The improperly coded logic for the upper boundary
check is:
a) The root cause
b) The failure
c) The error
d) The defect

Answer 3

d) Is correct: the problem in the code is a defect.

Question 4

A product owner says that your role as a tester on an Agile team is to catch all the bugs before the end
of each iteration. Which of the following is a testing principle that could be used to respond to this
statement?
a) Defect clustering
b) Testing shows the presence of defects
c) Absence of error fallacy
d) Root cause analysis
Select ONE option.

Answer 4

b) Is correct: testing can show the presence of defects but cannot
prove their absence, which makes it impossible to know if you
have caught all the bugs. Further, the impossibility of
exhaustive testing makes it impossible for you to catch all the
bugs.

Question 5

Programmers often write and execute unit tests against code which they have written. During this selftesting activity, which of the following is a tester mindset that programmers should adopt to perform this
unit testing effectively?
a) Good communication skills
b) Code coverage
c) Evaluating code defects
d) Attention to detail

Answer 5

d) Is correct: this tester mindset in section 1.5.2, attention to
detail, will help programmers find defects during unit testing

Question 6

Consider the following testing activities:
1. Selecting regression tests
2. Evaluating completeness of test execution
3. Identifying which user stories have open defect reports
4. Evaluating whether the number of tests for each requirement is consistent with the level of
product risk
Consider the following ways traceability can help testing:
A. Improve understandability of test status reports to include status of test basis items
B. Make testing auditable
C. Provide information to assess process quality
D. Analyze the impact of changes
Which of the following best matches the testing activity with how traceability can assist that activity?
a) 1D, 2B, 3C, 4A
b) 1B, 2D, 3A, 4C
c) 1D, 2C, 3A, 4B
d) 1D, 2B, 3A, 4C

Answer 6

Traceability assists with:
• Selecting regression tests in terms of analyzing the impact of
changes.
• Evaluating completeness of test execution which makes
testing auditable.
• Identifying which user stories have open defect reports
which improves understandability of test status reports to
include status of test basis items.
• Evaluating whether the number of tests for each requirement
is consistent with the level of product risk which provides
information to assess test process quality (i.e., alignment of
test effort with risk).
Therefore, d is correct, per section 1.4.4.

Question 7

A tester participated in a discussion about proposed database structure. The tester identified a potential
performance problem related to certain common user searches. This possible problem was explained
to the development team. Which of the following is a testing contribution to success that BEST matches
this situation?
a) Enabling required tests to be identified at an early stage
b) Ensuring processes are carried out properly
c) Reducing the risk of fundamental design defects
d) Reducing the risk of untestable functionality

Answer 7

c) Is correct: reducing the risk of fundamental design defects is a
testing contribution to success per section 1.2.1. Database
structure is related to design, and performance problems can
be a significant product risk.

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of a task that can be carried out as part of the test process?

a) Analyzing a defect
b) Designing test data
c) Assigning a version to a test item
d) Writing a user story

Answer 8

b) Is correct: creating test data is a test implementation task per
section 1.4.2.

Question 9

You are running a performance test with the objective of finding possible network bottlenecks in
interfaces between components of a system. Which of the following statements describes this test?
a) A functional test during the integration test level
b) A non-functional test during the integration test level
c) A functional test during the component test level
d) A non-functional test during the component test level

Answer 9

b) Is correct: this test matches the description of an integration
test and it is a non-functional test.

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true?

a) Impact analysis is useful for confirmation testing during maintenance testing
b) Confirmation testing is useful for regression testing during system design
c) Impact analysis is useful for regression testing during maintenance testing
d) Confirmation testing is useful for impact analysis during maintenance testing

Answer 10

c) Is correct: per section 2.4, impact analysis can be used to
select regression tests for maintenance testing.

Question 11

Consider the following types of defects that a test level might focus on:
1. Defects in separately testable modules or objects
2. Not focused on identifying defects
3. Defects in interfaces and interactions
4. Defects in the whole test object
Which of the following list correctly matches test levels from the Foundation syllabus with the defect
focus options given above?
a) 1 = performance test; 2 = component test; 3 = system test; 4 = acceptance test
b) 1 = component test; 2 = acceptance test; 3 = system test; 4 = integration test
c) 1 = component test; 2 = acceptance test; 3 = integration test; 4 = system test
d) 1 = integration test; 2 = system test; 3 = component test; 4 = acceptance test

Answer 11

Performance testing is a test type per section 2.3, not a test level.
Per section 2.2., component testing focuses on defects in
separately testable modules or objects, integration testing on
defects in interfaces and interactions, system testing on defects in
the whole test object, and acceptance testing is not typically
focused on identifying defects.
Therefore, c is the correct answer

Question 12

A mass market operating system software product is designed to run on any PC hardware with an x86-
family processor. You are running a set of tests to look for defects related to support of the various PCs
that use such a processor and to build confidence that important PC brands will work. What type of test
are you performing?
a) Performance test
b) Processor test
c) Functional test
d) Portability test
Select ONE option.

Answer 12

d) Is correct: per section 2.3.2, testing supported devices is a
non-functional test, specifically a portability test.

Question 13

During an Agile development effort, a product owner discovers a previously-unknown regulatory
requirement that applies to most of the user stories within a particular epic. The user stories are
updated to provide for the necessary changes in software behavior. The programmers on the team are
modifying the code appropriately. As a tester on the team, what types of tests will you run?
a) Confirmation tests
b) Regression tests
c) Functional tests
d) Change-related tests

Answer 13

The change in behavior may be either functional or nonfunctional, per section 2.3.1 and 2.3.2, but, per section 2.3.4, you
need to run change-related tests, some of which are confirmation
tests and others are regression tests.
Therefore, d is the correct answer.

Question 14

In a formal review, what is the role name for the participant who runs an inspection meeting?
a) Facilitator
b) Programmer
c) Author
d) Project manager
Select ONE option.

Answer 14

a) Is correct: per section 3.2.2, the facilitator or moderator runs
the review meetings.

Question 15

You are reading a user story in the product backlog to prepare for a meeting with the product owner
and a developer, noting potential defects as you go. Which of the following statements is true about this
activity?
a) It is not a static test, because static testing involves execution of the test object
b) It is not a static test, because static testing is always performed using a tool
c) It is a static test, because any defects you find could be found cheaper during dynamic testing
d) It is a static test, because static testing does not involve execution of the test object.

Answer 15

d) Is correct: per section 3.1, static testing does not involve
execution of the test object.

Question 16

During a period of intensive project overtime, a system architecture document is sent to various project
participants, announcing a previously-unplanned technical review to occur in one week. No adjustments
are made to the participants’ list of assigned tasks. Based on this information alone, which of the
following is a factor for review success that is MISSING?
a) Appropriate review type
b) Adequate time to prepare
c) Sufficient metrics to evaluate the author
d) Well-managed review meeting

Answer 16

b) Is correct: per section 3.2.5, adequate time for preparation is
important, but people are working overtime and no
adjustments are made for this new set of tasks.

Question 17

You are working as a tester on an Agile team, and have participated in over two dozen user story
refinement sessions with the product owner and the developers on the team at the start of each
iteration. As the reviews have gotten more effective at detecting defects in user stories and the product
owner more adept at correcting those defects, you and the team notice that the team’s velocity, as
shown in your burndown charts, has started to increase. Which of the following is a benefit of static
testing that MOST DIRECTLY applies to increased velocity?
a) Increasing total cost of quality
b) Reducing testing cost
c) Increasing development productivity
d) Reducing total cost of quality

Answer 17

c) Is correct: section 3.1.2 lists this as a benefit of static testing,
and velocity is a way of measuring productivity in Agile
development.

Question 18

You are working on a video game development project, using Agile methods. It is based on Greek
mythology and history, and players can play key roles in scenarios such as the battles between the
Greeks and Trojans.
Consider the following user story and its associated acceptance criteria:
As a player,
I want to be able to acquire the Rod of Midas (a new magic object),
so that I can turn objects and other players into gold
AC1: The Rod must work on any object or player, no matter what size, which can be touched
anywhere by the player holding the Rod
AC2: Holding the Rod does not change the player holding it into gold
AC3: Any object or player touched by the Rod transforms completely into gold within one
millisecond
AC4: The Rod appears as shown in Prototype O.W.RoM
AC5: The transformation starts at the point of contact with the Rod and moves at a rate of
one meter per millisecond
You are participating in a checklist-based review session of this user story.
This user story and its associated acceptance criteria contain which of the following typical defects
identified by static testing in this type of work product?
a) Deviation from standards
b) Contradiction
c) Security vulnerability
d) Coverage gaps

Answer 18

b) Is correct: section 3.1.3 lists contradiction as a typical
requirements defect. AC3 and AC5 conflict if the Rod is
touched to an object that extends more than 1 meter in any
direction from the point at which touched, since AC1 does not
limit the size of the objects to be touched.

Question 19

What is decision coverage?

a) The percentage of condition outcomes that have been exercised by a test suite
b) Decision coverage is a synonym for statement coverage
c) The percentage of executable statements that have been exercised by a test suite
d) The percentage of decision outcomes that have been exercised by a test suite

Answer 19

d) Is correct: this is the Glossary definition of coverage as applied
to decisions.

Question 20

Prior to an iteration planning session, you are studying a user story and its acceptance criteria, deriving
test conditions and associated test cases from the user story as a way of applying the principle of early
QA and test. What test technique are you applying?
a) White-box
b) Black-box
c) Experience-based
d) Error guessing

Answer 20

b) Is correct: per section 4.1.2, behavior-based or black-box
techniques are based on an analysis of the appropriate test
basis (e.g., formal requirements documents, specifications,
use cases, user stories, or business processes), w

Question 21

Which of the following is a true statement about exploratory testing?
a) More experienced testers who have tested similar applications and technologies are likely to do
better than less experienced testers at exploratory testing
b) Exploratory testing does not identify any additional tests beyond those that would result from
formal test techniques
c) The time required to complete an exploratory testing session cannot be predicted in advance
d) Exploratory testing can involve the use of black-box techniques but not white-box techniques

Answer 21

a) Is correct: exploratory testing is a form of experience-based
testing, which benefits from the skills and experience of the
tester, per section 4.4.

Question 22

You are testing a mobile app that allows customers to access and manage their bank accounts. You
are running a test suite that involves evaluating each screen and each field on each screen against a
general list of user interface best practices, derived from a popular book on the topic, that maximize
attractiveness, ease-of-use, and accessibility for such apps. Which of the following options BEST
categorizes the test technique you are using?
a) Specification-based
b) Exploratory
c) Checklist-based
d) Error guessing

Answer 22

c) Is correct: the list of user interface best practices is the list of
test conditions described in section 4.4.3.

Question 23

Consider a mobile app that allows customers to access and manage their bank accounts. A user story
has just been added to the set of features that checks customers’ social media accounts and bank
records to give personalized greetings on birthdays and other personal milestones. Which of the
following test techniques could a PROGRAMMER use during a unit test of the code to ensure that
coverage of situations when the greetings ARE supposed to occur and when the greetings ARE NOT
supposed to occur?
a) Statement testing
b) Exploratory testing
c) State transition testing
d) Decision testing

Answer 23

d) Is correct: per section 4.3.2, decision testing involves test
cases that follow the control flows that occur from a decision
point, which in this case would be deciding whether a greeting
should or should not be given.

Question 24

A batch application has been in production unchanged for over two years. It runs overnight once a
month to produce statements that will be e-mailed to customers. For each customer, the application
goes through every account and lists every transaction on that account in the last month. It uses a
nested-loop structure to process customers (outer loop), each customer’s accounts (middle loop), and
each account’s transactions (inner loop).
One night, the batch application terminates prematurely, failing to e-mail statements to some
customers, when it encounters a customer with one account for which no transactions occurred in the
last month. This is a very unusual situation and has not occurred in the years since this application was
placed in production.
While fixing the defect, a programmer asks you to recommend test techniques that are effective against
this kind of defect. Which of the following test techniques would most likely have been able to detect
the underlying defect?

a) Decision testing
b) Statement testing
c) Checklist-based testing
d) Error guessing

Answer 24

a) Is correct: per section 4.3.3, for a loop construct, statement
coverage only requires that all statements within the loop are
executed, but decision coverage requires testing of both the
conditions where the loop is executed and when it is bypassed.

Question 25

You are testing an unattended gasoline pump that only accepts credit cards. Once the credit card is
validated, the pump nozzle placed into the tank, and the desired grade selected, the customer enters
the desired amount of fuel in gallons using the keypad. The keypad only allows the entry of digits. Fuel
is sold in tenths (0.1) of a gallon, up to 50.0 gallons.
Which of the following is a minimum set of desired amounts that covers the equivalence partitions for
this input?
a) 0.0, 20.0, 60.0
b) 0.0, 0.1, 50.0
c) 0.0, 0.1, 50.0, 70.0
d) -0.1, 0.0, 0.1, 49.9, 50.0, 50.1

Answer 25

Per 4.2.1, there are three equivalence partitions:
- No sale completed (0.0 gallons)
- A valid sale occurs (0.1 to 50.0 gallons)
- An invalid amount is selected (50.1 or more gallons)
So, the correct and incorrect answers are as follows:
a) Is correct: this set of input values has exactly one test per
equivalence partition.

Question 26

You are testing an e-commerce system that sells cooking supplies such as spices, flour, and other
items in bulk. The units in which the items are sold are either grams (for spices and other expensive
items) or kilograms (for flour and other inexpensive items). Regardless of the units, the smallest valid
order amount is 0.5 units (e.g., half a gram of cardamom pods) and the largest valid order amount is
25.0 units (e.g., 25 kilograms of sugar). The precision of the units field is 0.1 units.
Which of the following is a set of input values that cover the boundary values with two-point boundary
values for this field?
a) 0.3, 10.0, 28.0
b) 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 24,9,25,0, 25.1
c) 0.4, 0.5, 25.0 25.1
d) 0.5, 0.6, 24.9, 25.0

Answer 26

c) Is correct: each of those four two-point boundary values are
included in this set of tests.

Question 27

You are testing an e-commerce system that sells cooking supplies such as spices, flour, and other
items in bulk. The units in which the items are sold are either grams (for spices and other expensive
items) or kilograms (for flour and other inexpensive items). Regardless of the units, the smallest valid
order amount is 0.5 units (e.g., half a gram of cardamom pods) and the largest valid order amount is
25.0 units (e.g., 25 kilograms of sugar). The precision of the units field is 0.1 units.
Which of the following is a MINIMAL set of input values that cover the equivalence partitions for this
field?
a) 10.0, 28.0
b) 0.4, 0.5, 25.0, 25.1
c) 0.2, 0.9, 29.5
d) 12.3
Select ONE option

Answer 27

c) Is correct: each of these three equivalence partitions are
covered in this set of tests.

Question 28

You are working as a tester on an online banking system. Availability is considered one of the top
product (quality) risks for the system. You find a reproducible failure that results in customers losing
their connections to the bank Web site when transferring funds between common types of accounts and
being unable to reconnect for between three and five minutes.
Which of the following would be a good summary for a defect report for this failure, one that captures
both the essence of the failure and its impact on stakeholders?
a) Web server logs show error 0x44AB27 when running test 07.005, which is not an expected
error message in /tmp filesystem
b) Developers have introduced major availability defect which will seriously upset our customers
c) Performance is slow and reliability flaky under load
d) Typical funds-transfer transaction results in termination of customer session, with a delay in
availability when attempting to reconnect

Answer 28

d) Is correct: this summary gives a good sense of the failure and
its impact, providing the information discussed in section 5.6.

Question 29

Which of the following is a common test metric often used to monitor BOTH test preparation and test
execution?
a) Test case status
b) Defect find/fix rates
c) Test environment preparation
d) Estimated cost to find the next defect

Answer 29

a) Is correct: per section 5.3.1, percentage of test cases prepared
is a common metric during test preparation while percentage of
test cases passed, failed, not run, etc., are common during test
execution.

Question 30

Which of the following are two factors that can be used to determine the level of risk?

a) Testing and development
b) Dynamic and reactive
c) Statement and decision
d) Likelihood and impact

Answer 30

Per section 5.5.1, the level of risk will be determined by the
likelihood of an adverse event happening and the impact (the
harm) from that event.
Therefore, the answer is d.

Question 31

You are working as a project manager on an in-house banking software project. To prevent rework and
excessive find/fix/retest cycles, the following process has been put in place for resolving a defect once it
is found in the test lab:
1. The assigned developer finds and fixes the defect, then creates an experimental build
2. A peer developer reviews, unit tests, and confirmation tests the defect fix on his/her
desktop
3. A tester—usually the one who found the defect—confirmation tests the defect fix in the
development environment
4. Once a day, a new release with all confirmed defect fixes included, is installed in the test
environment
5. The same tester from step 3 confirmation tests the defect fix in the test environment
Nevertheless, a large number of defects which the testers confirmed as fixed in the development
environment (in step 3) are somehow failing confirmation testing in the test environment, with the
resulting rework and cycle time outcomes. You have the highest confidence in your testers, and have
ruled out mistakes or omissions in step 3.
Which of the following is the MOST likely part of the process to check next?
a) The developers, who may not be adequately testing in step 2
b) The testers, who may be confused about what to test in step 5
c) Configuration management, which may not be maintaining the integrity of the product in step 4
d) The developers, who may not be fixing defects properly in step 1

Answer 31

c) Is correct: per section 5.4, configuration management
maintains the integrity of the software. If a test that passes in
step 3 fails in step 5, then something is different between those
two steps. One possible difference is the test object, the option
listed here. Another possible difference is the between the
development environment and the test environment, but that is
not an option listed here.

Question 32

You are engaged in planning a test effort for a new mobile banking application. As part of estimation,
you first meet with the proposed testers and others on the project. The team is well-coordinated and
has already worked on similar projects. To verify the resulting estimate, you then refer to some industry
averages for testing effort and costs on similar projects, published by a reputable consultant.
Which statement accurately describes your estimation approach?
a) A simultaneous expert-based and metrics-based approach
b) Primarily an expert-based approach, augmented with a metrics-based approach
c) Primarily a metrics-based approach, augmented with an expert-based approach
d) Primarily planning poker, checked by velocity from burndown charts.

Answer 32

b) Is correct: the primary sources of information come from the
experienced testers, who are the experts. The consultant’s
industry averages augment the original estimate from
published metrics.

Question 33

During a project following Agile methods, you find a discrepancy between the developer’s interpretation
of an acceptance criteria and the product owner’s interpretation, which you bring up during a user story
refinement session. Which of the following is a benefit of test independence exemplified by this
situation?
a) Recognizing different kinds of failures
b) Taking primary responsibility for quality
c) Removing a defect early
d) Challenging stakeholder assumptions

Answer 33

d) Is correct: per section 5.1.1, challenging stakeholder
assumptions is a benefit of tester independence, and here the
developer and product owner are both assuming different
things about the acceptance criteria.

Question 34

You are defining the process for carrying out product risk analysis as part of each iteration on an Agile

project. Which of the following is the proper place to document this process in a test plan?
a) Scope of testing
b) Approach of testing
c) Metrics of testing
d) Configuration management of the test object

Answer 34

b) Is correct: approach is a topic addressed in a test plan per
section 5.2.1, and the implementation of a risk-based testing
strategy on this project is the approach.

Question 35

Consider the following list of undesirable outcomes that could occur on a mobile app development
effort:
A. Incorrect totals on reports
B. Change to acceptance criteria during acceptance testing
C. Users find the soft keyboard too hard to use with your app
D. System responds too slowly to user input during search string entry
E. Testers not allowed to report test results in daily standup meetings
Which of the following properly classifies these outcomes as project and product risks?
a) Product risks: B, E; Project risks: A, C, D
b) Product risks: A, C, D; Project risks: B, E
c) Product risks: A, C, D, E Project risks: B
d) Product risks: A, C Project risks: B, D, E

Answer 35

As described in section 5.5.2, product risks exist when a work
product may fail to satisfy legitimate needs, while project risks are
situations that could have a negative impact on the project’s
ability to achieve its objectives. So:
A. Incorrect totals on reports = product risk
B. Change to acceptance criteria during acceptance testing
= project risk
C. Users find the soft keyboard too hard to use with your
app = product risk
D. System responds too slowly to user input during search
string entry = product risk
E. Testers not allowed to report test results in daily standup
meetings = project risk
Therefore, the correct and incorrect answers are as follows:
a) Is not correct: this list is entirely backwards.
b) Correct.
c) Is not correct: while e is about product quality and product
risks, the failure to communicate test results is a project risk
per the syllabus.
d) Is not correct: product risks can be functional and nonfunctional, so d is also a product risk.

Question 36

You have just completed a pilot project for a regression testing tool. You understand the tool much
better, and have tailored your testing process to it. You have standardized an approach to using the tool
and its associated work products. Which of the following is a typical test automation pilot project goal
that remains to be carried out?
a) Learn more details about the tool
b) See how the tool would fit with existing processes and practices
c) Decide on standard ways of using, managing, storing, and maintaining the tool and the test
assets
d) Assess whether the benefits will be achieved at reasonable cost

Answer 36

d) Is correct: per section 6.2.2, assessing the benefits and
configuring the metrics collection are the two objectives
missing from this list.

Question 37

Which of the following tools is most useful for reporting test metrics?

a) Test management tool
b) Static analysis tool
c) Coverage tool
d) Security tool

Answer 37

a) Is correct: per 6.1.1, test management tools support the
activities associated with test manager discussed in chapter 5,
including metrics.