ISTQB Ctal Tm 2012

56 Questions | By Devilbrand | Updated: Mar 22, 2022 | Attempts: 996

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Quiz is based on sample questions from the ISTQB Official 2012 Test Manager Advanced Exam. The Practice Quiz will present 30 random questions (from 56) and is limited to 1 hour. The Official ISTQB CTAL TM exam is 65 questions and is limited to 3 hours.

Questions and Answers

1.

TM-1.2.1 (K4) Analyze the test needs for a system in order to plan test activities and work products that will achieve the test objectives Question: You are the Test Manager working on a project developing a tourist information mobile application. The project recently switched to an agile process and test driven development. Each development cycle lasts 15 days, with daily builds beginning at day 7. After day 10, no new features are allowed to be added. The development team is composed of very experienced team members, who are proud of their work, but not tolerant of the testing team. The requirements are written down as coarse grained user stories like the following one: US 03-30: Search nearest matching hotel As a casual user at an unfamiliar location I want to get information on the nearest hotel matching my financial and comfort profile best. Priority: High; Estimate: 7 (out of 10) The software depends on existing web services, which are stubbed during development . Unit testing is done by developers, while system and user acceptance testing is the testing team’ s responsibility. System test in earlier development cycles was often blocked due to severe failures of newly developed features. Analysis shows that many of these failures could have been found during unit test. Analysis of issues found during production show that 30% of performance problems were due to unreliable web services delivered by 3rd party suppliers. Primary test objectives are to mitigate the perceived performance risks and to increase the confidence that no failures with high severity will occur in user stories with priority >= High. Moreover, upper management demanded for closer cooperation of testers and developers. Which THREE of the following test activities and/or work products will achieve the test objectives best.
- A.
  
  Automated performance testing of user stories with priority >= High done by testers during system test with test execution starting on day 10
- B.
  
  Joint informal reviews of unit tests done by developers and testers before day 10
- C.
  
  Identification of external web services and enforcement of service level agreements (SLAs) with service provider done by project management and test management
- D.
  
  Performance tests for user stories with priority = Very High done by developers during unit test before day no.10
- E.
  
  Metrics suite for unit testing defined by and reported to test management at day 7
- F.
  
  Integration test level plan defined by test manager before each development cycle and handed over to developers on day 10
- G.
  
  Approval of detailed design specifications by inspections done by the test team before day 7, when the daily builds begin
2.

TM-1.3.1 (K3) Use traceability to check completeness and consistency of defined test conditions with respect to the test objectives, test strategy, and test plan Question: You are the Test Manager working on a project developing a tourist information mobile application. The project recently switched to an agile process and test driven development. Each development cycle lasts 15 days, with daily builds beginning at day 7. After day 10, no new features are allowed to be added. The development team is composed of very experienced team members, who are proud of their work, but not tolerant of the testing team. The requirements are written down as coarse grained user stories like the following one: US 03-30: Search nearest matching hotel As a casual user at an unfamiliar location I want to get information on the nearest hotel matching my financial and comfort profile best. Priority: High; Estimate: 7 (out of 10) The software depends on existing web services, which are stubbed during development . Unit testing is done by developers, while system and user acceptance testing is the testing team’ s responsibility. System test in earlier development cycles was often blocked due to severe failures of newly developed features. Analysis shows that many of these failures could have been found during unit test. Analysis of issues found during production show that 30% of performance problems were due to unreliable web services delivered by 3rd party suppliers. Primary test objectives are to mitigate the perceived performance risks and to increase the confidence that no failures with high severity will occur in user stories with priority >= High. Moreover, upper management demanded for closer cooperation of testers and developers. The following exit criteria for acceptance testing have been specified: AC 1: Software response time <= 3 sec for up to 1,000 simultaneous requests of user stories with priority = Very High AC 2: Software response time <= 1 0 sec for up to 10,000 simultaneous requests of user stories with priority >= High AC 3: No severe failure in system and user acceptance test of user stories with priority >= High AC 4: All user stories covered by at least one user acceptance test case In the test strategy, equivalence partitioning is required for the system and acceptance testing of user stories with priority >= High. For this development cycle, the following user stories were selected and implemented: (P = Priority; E = Estimated Effort) US 02-10: Play video for selected hotel (P: Medium; E: 4) US 02-20: Play background music (P: Low; E: 2) US 03-20: Search for five nearest hotels (P: Very High; E: 4) US 03-30: Search for nearest matching hotel (P: High; E: 7) Test analysis for system testing has just begun and the following test conditions have been identified: TC 02-10-1: Play video, use all supported formats TC 03-20-1: List 5 nearest hotels, use equivalence partitioning for location TC 03-30-1: List nearest matching hotel, use equivalence partitioning for user profile and location TC PE-xx-1: Performance tests for up to 10,000 simultaneous requests of user story US 03-30 TC PE-xx-2: Performance tests for up to 1,000 simultaneous requests of user story US 03-20 What is the MINIMUM number of test conditions that must be added to fulfill all exit criteria in this cycle?
- A.
  
  2
- B.
  
  1
- C.
  
  3
- D.
  
  4
3.

TM-1.3.2 (K2) Explain the factors that might affect the level of detail at which test conditions may be specified and the advantages and disadvantages for specifying test conditions at a detailed level Question: Which TWO of the following factors indicate most that detailed test conditions should be specified for system testing?
- A.
  
  Test basis is of low quality
- B.
  
  Test design and test execution is outsourced
- C.
  
  Test basis is changing frequently
- D.
  
  Domain experts are available for consultation during test design
- E.
  
  Test conditions are used for management milestone presentations
4.

TM-1.4.1 (K3) Use traceability to check completeness and consistency of designed test cases with respect to the defined test conditions Question: Scenario 1: Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized companies selling to customers on the Web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows the companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their websites, that let customers enroll in the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of points required to receive a free product or service. Your employer’s marketing staff is heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on the first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will be highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers. At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of the software has just begun. The current schedule will allow companies and their customers to start enrolling in three months. Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used to build the system. Consider the following risk item that was identified during the quality risk analysis process: Customized enrollment buttons for a company’s website are not assigned the correct URL for that company’s loyalty program. Assume that you have used traceability to determine the logical test cases that cover this risk item. Which of the following is a positive logical test that is complete, is correct, and covers this risk item?
- A.
  
  Click on company enrollment button; verify that you go to that company’s enrollment page.
- B.
  
  Click on company enrollment button; verify that you go to our home page.
- C.
  
  Click rapidly on company enrollment button to see what happens.
- D.
  
  Click on URL for our home page; check that home page displays.
5.

TM-1.5.1 (K3) Use risks, prioritization, test environment and data dependencies, and constraints to develop a test execution schedule which is complete and consistent with respect to the test objectives, test strategy, and test plan Question: Scenario 1: Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized companies selling to customers on the Web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows the companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their websites, that let customers enroll in the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of points required to receive a free product or service. Your employer’s marketing staff is heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on the first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will be highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers. At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of the software has just begun. The current schedule will allow companies and their customers to start enrolling in three months. Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used to build the system. You are following a risk-based testing strategy, where likelihood and impact are both assessed on a five-point scale ranging from very low to very high. Consider the following risk item that was identified during the quality risk analysis process: Customized enrollment buttons for a company’s website are not assigned the correct URL for that company’s loyalty program. Assume that technical project stakeholders have assessed the likelihood of this risk at a medium level. Given only the information above, which of the following statements is certainly true?
- A.
  
  This risk item should be assessed as a very high impact level risk.
- B.
  
  The test cases associated with this risk item must be run first in the test execution period.
- C.
  
  The test cases associated with this risk item must be run toward the middle of the test execution period.
- D.
  
  A large number of test cases should be associated with this risk item, based on impact.
6.

TM-1.6.1 (K3) Use traceability to monitor test progress for completeness and consistency with the test objectives, test strategy, and test plan Question: In a given company, testing is expected to follow a risk-based testing strategy. Assume the project is currently in test execution. For the following tests, the values given represent the test identifier, the risk level, the identifier for the requirement covered by the test, and the current test status, respectively. Test ID Risk Level Requirement ID Status 02.007 Very high 09.003 Fail 02.010 High 09.003 Ready to run 02.019 Very low 09.020 Pass Which TWO of the following statements are true?
- A.
  
  The test team might not be following the test strategy, since test 02.010 is higher risk than 02.019.
- B.
  
  If the test plan calls for running at least one test for each requirement as early as possible, the test sequencing might be correct.
- C.
  
  The test sequencing is certainly incorrect, since test 02.010 is higher risk than 02.019.
- D.
  
  The test manager should stop test execution while evaluating all problems that exist with test sequencing.
- E.
  
  Running test 02.019 was a waste of time, because it did not find any defects.
7.

TM-1.7.1 (K2) Explain the importance of accurate and timely information collection during the test process to support accurate reporting and evaluation against exit criteria Question: Which TWO of the following metrics are best suited to be included in a test progress report for unit test execution?
- A.
  
  Planned versus actual coverage achieved
- B.
  
  Planned versus actual defects reported
- C.
  
  Defect detection percentage (DDP) of unit test
- D.
  
  Number of test conditions identified
- E.
  
  Unit test time vs. integration test time
8.

TM-1.8.1 (K2) Summarize the four groups of test closure activities Question: Which ONE of the following is an accurate summary of the test closure activity “test completion check”?
- A.
  
  Test completion check ensures that all test work is concluded as planned
- B.
  
  Test completion check ensures that all important lessons learned are documented
- C.
  
  Test completion check ensures that all test work products are stored in the configuration management system
- D.
  
  Test completion check ensures that plans are established to ensure that good practices can be repeated
9.

TM-1.8.2 (K3) Implement a project retrospective to evaluate processes and discover areas to improve Question: Scenario 1: Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized businesses selling to customers on the web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows the companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their websites, that let customers to enroll in the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of points required to receive a free product or service. Your employer’s marketing staff is heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on the first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will be highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers. At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of the software has just begun. The current schedule will allow companies and their customers to enroll starting in three months. Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used to build the system. Assume that the project has completed the initial release, and the system has been in use by companies and their customers for a month now. Your team used a blended risk-based, requirements-based, and reactive testing strategy. In the quality risk analysis, button customization was assessed as the lowest-risk area, while enrollment was assessed as the highest-risk area. You are implementing a retrospective for the testing work. Which THREE of the following areas should be considered in this retrospective?
- A.
  
  Identifying enrollment problems that are affecting companies or their customers.
- B.
  
  Comparing actual tests completed against the estimated number of tests for enrollment, button customization, and point management.
- C.
  
  Evaluating whether significant problems have been reported by users in button customization.
- D.
  
  Delivering the known defects and failed tests to the system support team.
- E.
  
  Deciding if the project plan included all relevant project risks that affected delivery to early-adopter companies.
- F.
  
  Determining the level of detail required for enrollment, customization and point management test cases.
- G.
  
  Measuring the coverage of the enrollment requirements and reporting that to project and business stakeholders.
10.

TM-2.2.1 (K4) Analyze the stakeholders, circumstances, and needs of a software project or program, including the software development lifecycle model, and identify the optimal test activities Question: Scenario 2: Assume that you are managing the testing of a mature application. This application is an online dating service that allows users: to enter a profile of themselves; to meet people who would be a good match for them; to arrange social events with those people; and, to block people they don’t want to contact them. Consider the following groups of individuals: I. Users of the application who are searching for dates II. Managers and shareholders of the company III. Married couples who used the application to find their mate IV. Employees of government agencies Consider the following list of test activities. a. Testing the affinity of matches proposed by the application b. Testing the ability of the application to charge users correctly c. Testing the ability of the application to comply with local tax regulations Based only on the information given here, which of the following statements correctly matches current stakeholders with one or more their testing interest?
- A.
  
  I – a, b; II – a, b, c; IV – c
- B.
  
  I – a, b; II – a, b, c; III – b; IV – c
- C.
  
  I – a, b; II – a, b, c; IV – a, c
- D.
  
  I – a, b, c; II – a, b, c; IV – c
11.

TM-2.2.2 (K2) Understand how software development lifecycle activities and work products affect testing, and how testing affects software development lifecycle activities and work products Question: Which of the following statements correctly reflects the way project management work products affect testing?
- A.
  
  Constraints in the project plan may constrain testing.
- B.
  
  The test manager should work with the project manager to develop the project schedule.
- C.
  
  The tests should completely cover the requirements specification.
- D.
  
  The test manager should work with the technical support manager during test closure.
12.

TM-2.2.3 (K2) Explain ways to manage the test management issues associated with experience-based testing and non-functional testing Question: Which ONE of the following statements describes an appropriate approach to managing non-functional testing?
- A.
  
  Non-functional test implementation activities that take longer than a single iteration should be handled outside of the iterations
- B.
  
  The test manager shall delegate the non-functional test planning to the technical test analysts working on the project
- C.
  
  Non-functional testing should be prioritized to follow functional testing and based on perceived risks
- D.
  
  Non-functional risks should be mitigated during early levels of testing or even during development
13.

TM-2.3.1 Explain the different ways that risk-based testing responds to risks Question: Which ONE of the following statements BEST describes how risk-based testing responds to risks?
- A.
  
  The test team designs, implements, and executes tests to mitigate quality risks
- B.
  
  When tests find defects they increase the quality of the system under test
- C.
  
  Functional testing addresses product risks, while non-functional testing addresses quality risks
- D.
  
  The test manager determines which test levels to apply based on project risks
14.

TM-2.3.2 (K2) Explain, giving examples, different techniques for product risk analysis Question: Which of the following statements are examples of different techniques for analyzing the risks to product quality?
- A.
  
  PRAM, PRiSMa, FMEA, and FTA
- B.
  
  Risk identification, risk assessment, risk mitigation, and risk management
- C.
  
  Expert interviews, independent assessments, use of risk templates, and project retrospectives
- D.
  
  Personnel and training issues among the business analysts, designers, and programmers
15.

TM-2.3.3 (K4) Analyze, identify, and assess product quality risks, summarizing the risks and their assessed level of risk based on key project stakeholder perspectives. Question: Scenario 1: Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized companies selling to customers on the Web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows the companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their websites, that let customers enroll in the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of points required to receive a free product or service. Your employer’s marketing staff are heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on the first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will be highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers. At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of the software has just begun. The current schedule will allow companies and their customers to start enrolling in three months Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used to build the system. Which THREE of the following are product quality risks for this system?
- A.
  
  The system has excessive downtime due to memory leaks.
- B.
  
  The loyalty points calculated are incorrect.
- C.
  
  Customers cannot enroll in company loyalty programs.
- D.
  
  The start-up runs out of money before testing starts.
- E.
  
  The requirements for the system are incorrect.
- F.
  
  Cloud computing resources are not available quickly enough to support project schedules.
- G.
  
  Overly aggressive discounts result in a liquidity crisis for the company during the first year.
16.

TM-2-3.4 (K2) Describe how identified product quality risks can be mitigated and managed, appropriate to their assessed level of risk, throughout the lifecycle and the testing process Question: Which ONE of the following statements is the LEAST appropriate description of how identified product quality risks should be mitigated and managed?
- A.
  
  The choice of regulatory standard to be followed should be influenced by the perceived level of risk.
- B.
  
  Tests should be designed, implemented and executed in order to address perceived risks.
- C.
  
  The effort associated with developing and executing tests should be proportional to the level of perceived risk.
- D.
  
  The priority of the development and execution of tests should be based on the perceived level of risk.
17.

TM 2.3.5 - (K2) Give examples of different options for test selection, test prioritization and effort allocation Question: Which ONE of the following is NOT a practical technique for test prioritization and effort allocation?
- A.
  
  Individual testers decide what to test based on their discovery of defects within the test basis
- B.
  
  Ambiguity reviews identify and eliminate ambiguities in the requirements
- C.
  
  Test condition analysis involves a close reading of prioritized requirements to identify the test conditions to cover
- D.
  
  Cause-effect graphing identifies a test set that achieves 100% functional coverage of the test basis.
18.

TM-2.4.1 (K4) Analyze given samples of test policies and test strategies, and create master test plans, level test plans, and other test work products that are complete and consistent with these documents Question: Scenario 2: Assume that you are managing the testing of a mature application. This application is an online dating service that allows users: to enter a profile of themselves; to meet people who would be a good match for them; to arrange social events with those people; and, to block people they don’t want to contact them. Assume that the test policy defines the following mission for the test organization, in priority order: 1. Find defects 2. Reduce risk 3. Build confidence Assume further that your manager has defined the highest priority test process improvement for the test organization in the coming year to be achieving maximum possible automation of the regression tests for the application. Which of the following statements is correct?
- A.
  
  The application and the test process improvement are aligned, but the mission statement is misaligned with the application and test process improvement.
- B.
  
  The application and the mission statement are aligned, but the test process improvement is misaligned with the application and the mission statement.
- C.
  
  The application, the mission statement, and the test process improvement are all aligned.
- D.
  
  The application, the mission statement, and the test process improvement are all misaligned with each other.
19.

TM-2.2.4 (K4) For a given project, analyze project risks and select appropriate risk management options (i.e., mitigation, contingency, transference, and/or acceptance) Question: Scenario 1: Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized businesses selling to customers on the web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows the companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their websites, that let customers to enroll in the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of points required to receive a free product or service. Your employer’s marketing staff is heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on the first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will be highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers. At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of the software has just begun. The current schedule will allow companies and their customers to enroll starting in three months. Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used to build the system. Assume that you are writing a master test plan for this project, and are currently working on the project risks section of the plan. Which of the following topics should NOT be addressed in this section of the test plan?
- A.
  
  Resignation of senior marketing staff prior to introduction of the service.
- B.
  
  Inability to provision a test environment by the planned test execution start date.
- C.
  
  Inability to locate sufficient skilled and certified testers, especially senior testers.
- D.
  
  Insufficient resources to acquire suitable number of virtual users for load testing.
20.

TM-2.4.3 (K2) Describe, giving examples, how test strategies affect test activities Question: Consider the following test strategies I. Analytical test strategy II. Methodical test strategy III. Process-compliant test strategy IV. Consultative test strategy Consider the following examples of test activities. 1. Testing a user-provided list of Internet browsers 2. Defining acceptance criteria for a user story 3. Executing the highest-risk tests as early as possible 4. Clicking through all the navigational links on a web page Which of the following correctly matches test strategies with an example of a test activity appropriate for that strategy?
- A.
  
  I-3; II-4; III-2; IV-1.
- B.
  
  I-1; II-2; III-3; IV-4.
- C.
  
  I-4; II-3; III-2; IV-1.
- D.
  
  I-3; II-2; III-4; IV-1.
21.

TM-2.4.4 (K3) Define documentation norms and templates for test work products that will fit organization, lifecycle, and project needs, adapting available templates from standards bodies where applicable Question: Scenario 3 Assume you are a test manager on a project which is following an Agile lifecycle. The testing strategy is a blend of risk-based testing, process-compliant testing, and reactive testing. Developers are following known Agile best practices, including automated unit testing and continuous integration. You are defining guidelines for documenting various test work products. Which of the following statements is true?
- A.
  
  You may tailor a set of templates from various sources, including the IEEE 829 standard.
- B.
  
  You should follow the IEEE 829 standard, since you are following a process-compliant test strategy.
- C.
  
  You should follow the IEEE 829 standard, because it was designed for use in any industry.
- D.
  
  You may omit documentation of test work altogether, except for defect reports.
22.

TM-2.5.1 (K3) For a given project, create an estimate for all test process activities, using all applicable estimation techniques Question: Scenario 3 Assume you are a test manager on a project which is following an Agile lifecycle. The testing strategy is a blend of risk-based testing, process-compliant testing, and reactive testing. Developers are following known Agile best practices, including automated unit testing and continuous integration. You are estimating the system test effort required for a particular iteration by your test team. Which THREE of the following statements correctly describe how you should carry out estimation in this scenario?
- A.
  
  Consider the average effort required per identified risk in past iterations.
- B.
  
  Allocate time-boxed test sessions for each identified test charter.
- C.
  
  Participate in agile team estimation sessions for this iteration.
- D.
  
  Estimate only effort for test execution and test closure.
- E.
  
  Estimate that most defects will be found during system test execution.
- F.
  
  Include effort to create detailed test work product documentation.
- G.
  
  Assume that system tests can reuse unit test data and environments.
23.

TM-2.5.2 (K2) Understand and give examples of factors which may influence test estimates Question: Which ONE of the following will most probably influence the duration, but not the effort of the testing activities?
- A.
  
  Time to repair defects found during testing
- B.
  
  Maturity of the test process
- C.
  
  Required level of detail of test conditions
- D.
  
  Required quality of the system
24.

TM-2.6.1 (K2) Describe and compare typical testing related metrics Question: Which one of the following statements about testing metrics usage is TRUE?
- A.
  
  Confirmation and regression test status is used to monitor the progress of testing.
- B.
  
  Trends in the lag time from defect reporting to resolution is used to reward the developers.
- C.
  
  Number of test conditions identified is used to monitor the quality of testing.
- D.
  
  Planned versus actual hours to develop testware is used to minimize regression testing.
25.

TM-2.6.2 (K2) Compare the different dimensions of test progress monitoring Question: Which one of the following alternatives is best to monitor test progress?
- A.
  
  Combined usage of coverage, confidence, risk, test and defect metrics.
- B.
  
  Estimation of code coverage by measuring the number of executed tests.
- C.
  
  Combined usage of coverage, product, people, test and defect metrics.
- D.
  
  Combined usage of product, people and project metrics