ISTQB-CTFL Exam Dumps - ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL v4.0)

Exploratory testing is an approach to testing that emphasizes learning, test design and test execution at the same time. Exploratory testing relies on the tester’s skills, creativity and intuition to explore the software under test and discover defects. Exploratory testing is suitable for a new project with little documentation and high probability for bugs, as it can help uncover unknown requirements, assumptions and risks. Exploratory testing is not requirements based testing, which is an approach to testing that derives test cases from documented requirements or specifications. Requirements based testing is not feasible for a new project with little documentation, as it requires clear and complete requirements to be available. Exploratory testing is not metric based approach, which is an approach to testing that uses quantitative measures to monitor and control the testing process and evaluate the quality of the software product. Metric based approach is not effective for a new project with high probability for bugs, as it may not capture all aspects of quality and may lead to false confidence or unrealistic expectations. Exploratory testing is not regression testing, which is an approach to testing that verifies that previously tested software still performs correctly after changes. Regression testing is not relevant for a new project with no previous versions or baselines. Verified References: [A Study Guide to the ISTQB® Foundation Level 2018 Syllabus - Springer], Chapter 5, page 47-48.

Analyzing and removing the cause of failures is not an objective of testing, but rather a task of development or maintenance. A failure is an event or behavior that deviates from the expected or specified result of a system under test. A failure is caused by an error (also known as a mistake or a fault) in the software code, design, or specification. Analyzing and removing the cause of failures is a process of locating and fixing errors in the software code, design, or specification, which is also known as debugging or defect resolution. Analyzing and removing the cause of failures does not aim to find or report defects, but rather to correct or prevent them. The other options are objectives of testing. Finding defects is one of the main objectives of testing, as it helps to improve the quality and reliability of the software product. Providing information for decision-making is another objective of testing, as it helps to support decision making and risk management. Gaining confidence about the level of quality of the software is another objective of testing, as it helps to assure that the software product meets its requirements and customer or user needs and expectations. Verified References: A Study Guide to the ISTQB® Foundation Level 2018 Syllabus - Springer, page 3.

A correct reason to apply test automation is when there are a lot of repetitive testing tasks. Test automation is the use of software tools or scripts to perform or support testing activities, such as test case execution, test result comparison, test data generation, etc. Test automation can be beneficial when there are a lot of repetitive testing tasks that need to be performed frequently or consistently, such as regression testing, performance testing, load testing, etc. Test automation can help to save time and effort, increase reliability and accuracy, and improve coverage and efficiency of testing. The other options are not correct reasons to apply test automation. When a new test automation tool is launched is not a reason to apply test automation, but rather a factor for choosing a test automation tool. When it is easy to automate is not a reason to apply test automation, but rather a factor for evaluating the feasibility of test automation. When it is cheap to buy test automation tools is not a reason to apply test automation, but rather a factor for estimating the cost and benefit of test automation. Verified References: A Study Guide to the ISTQB® Foundation Level 2018 Syllabus - Springer, page 10.

The question is about marking the correct sentences among the given statements related to defects, failures, and mistakes. According to the ISTQB glossary, the definitions of these terms are1:

Defect: 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.

Failure: An event in which a component or system does not perform a required function within specified limits.

Mistake: A human action that produces an incorrect result.

Therefore, out of the five given statements, only two are correct, namely:

A human mistake may produce a defect: This is true, as a mistake is a source or cause of a defect, e.g. a programmer may make a mistake in writing a code statement, which results in a defect in the software component.

When a defect exists in a system it may result in a failure: This is true, as a defect is a potential or actual cause of a failure, e.g. a defect in the software component may cause the system to fail to perform a required function when the defect is encountered during execution.

The other three statements are incorrect, namely:

Defects are a result of environmental conditions and are also referred to as “Failures”: This is false, as defects are not a result of environmental conditions, but of mistakes or other factors, and defects are not the same as failures, but rather the causes of failures.

A system will totally fail to operate correctly when a failure exists in it: This is false, as a system may not necessarily fail completely or stop operating when a failure occurs, but may continue to operate with reduced functionality or performance, or with incorrect results.

Defects occur only as a result of technology changes: This is false, as defects can occur due to various reasons, not only technology changes, such as human mistakes, design flaws, requirement changes, hardware failures, etc.

Acceptance testing is a level of testing performed to verify that a software product meets the agreed acceptance criteria and is acceptable for delivery. Acceptance testing is often performed by the customers or system users, who are the main stakeholders of the software product. The main goal of acceptance testing is to build confidence in the system, not find defects, as defects should have been detected and fixed in earlier levels of testing. Acceptance testing is the last level of testing performed prior to system release, unless there are any changes or fixes that require re-testing. Testing of disaster recovery and backup/restore is usually part of acceptance testing, as these are important aspects of system reliability and security that affect the customer satisfaction and trust. Therefore, statement A is not correct, while statements B, C and D are correct. Verified References: A Study Guide to the ISTQB® Foundation Level 2018 Syllabus - Springer, Chapter 2, page 20-21.