CTFL-Foundation ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

Experience-based test design techniques rely on the tester's skill, intuition, and experience to derive test cases. Techniques like error guessing and exploratory testing fall under this category. These methods do not depend on formal specifications but rather on the tester's understanding of the system and potential areas where defects might exist.

Experience-based techniques rely on the testers' knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as insights from developers and users, to design test cases. These techniques do not depend on formal models or the internal structure of the software but rather on practical experience and understanding of how the software is likely to be used and where defects are likely to be found​​.

The fundamental test process consists of several sequential steps: planning and control, analysis, design, implementation, execution, evaluation of exit criteria and reporting, and test closure. This comprehensive process ensures that testing is methodical and covers all necessary aspects from preparation to conclusion.

According to the IEEE 829 Standard for Software Test Documentation, an incident report should include the identification of configuration items of the software or system (i), the software or system lifecycle process in which the incident was observed (ii), a description of the anomaly to enable reproduction of the incident (iii), and the classification of the cause of the incident formetrics and reporting purposes (v). The number of occurrences of the incident is not typically included.

The requirements for reliability and security in a product significantly impact the testing effort. High requirements for reliability and security necessitate more extensive and thorough testing to ensure that the product meets these stringent criteria. This often includes additional test cases, more complex test environments, and longer test execution times.

Integration testing focuses on the interactions between integrated components or systems. It aims to identify defects in the interfaces and interaction points between different parts of the system. According to the ISTQB syllabus, the test basis for integration testing typically includes software and system design documents, while the test objects are the interfaces and interactions between components. The goal is to ensure that the integrated parts function together as intended​​.

Testing is primarily aimed at detecting defects, verifying the functionality, and providing information to stakeholders for decision-making. While investigating defects is part of the testing process, fixing defects is not typically considered an objective of testing; it falls under the development activities. The main objectives of testing include preventing defects (through early testing activities), gaining confidence in the system, and providing valuable information to stakeholders​​.

The correct sequence in the causal chain is "Error, fault, failure". An error (or mistake) made by a person can lead to a fault (or defect) in the software. When the fault is executed, it may cause a failure in the software system. This sequence is important to understand the cause and effect relationship in software testing and defect management​​ .

The amount of testing effort is highly influenced by the predicted number of defects and the subsequent amount of rework required. If a high number of defects are expected, more effort will be needed to identify, document, and retest the defects after they are fixed. This impacts the overall testing workload significantly compared to other factors such as the ratio of developers to testers, which affects team dynamics but not the core testing effort​​.

A Test Procedure Specification is a document that outlines the precise steps required to execute a test. It includes detailed instructions on the setup, execution, and teardown of the test environment, as well as the specific actions to be performed and the expected results. This document ensures that tests are conducted consistently and repeatably​​.

Structural testing, also known as white-box testing, focuses on the internal structure of the software. It includes testing all paths, achieving decision coverage, and ensuring that all branches within the component calls are tested. Ensuring that users can navigate to all fields on the screen, however, is a form of functional testing, which focuses on the behavior and usability of the application from the user's perspective, rather than its internal structure​​.

Specification-based techniques, also known as black-box techniques, derive test cases from the specifications or requirements of the system. These techniques can be particularly useful when the test basis (such as documentation or requirements) is poorly defined or incomplete, as they provide a structured approach to testing based on the available specifications. This ensures that testing can proceed even when detailed documentation is lacking, helping to identify defects related to missing or incorrect functionality​​.

The level of risk is determined by evaluating both the impact and the likelihood of an adverse event occurring. This approach ensures that both the severity of potential consequences and the probability of the event are considered. The impact assesses how serious the consequences would be if the event happened, while the likelihood evaluates how probable it is that the event will occur. This combination provides a comprehensive measure of risk, helping organizations prioritize their risk management efforts effectively​​.

An incident report typically includes the version(s) of the software under test, expected results and actual results, and precise steps to reproduce the problem. However, the test execution schedule is not a standard part of an incident report. It is more relevant to test planning and management documents rather than incident reporting​​.

Debugging is the process that involves locating the cause of a failure and fixing the defect. Therefore, activities b) "Locating the cause of failure" and c) "Fixing the defect" are debugging activities. Identifying a failure and checking that the fix has resolved the failure are parts of testing, not debugging​​.

The correct logical order for the test cases ensures a smooth and realistic flow through the system functionalities. The sequence should start with logging into the system (Test Case 3), searching for available flights (Test Case 1), selecting an available flight (Test Case 4), viewing the selected item in My Flights (Test Case 2), confirming details and booking the flight in My Flights (Test Case 6), and finally printing the confirmation receipt and exiting (Test Case 5)​​ .

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In the provided state table, an invalid transition is represented by an empty cell. According to the table, Event E from State S4 is an invalid transition as the cell for this combination is empty. This indicates that the transition from State S4 on Event E is not defined​​.

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Statement testing is a white-box test technique that involves creating test cases to execute specific statements in the code. The goal is to ensure that all statements in the program are executed at least once during testing. This technique requires knowledge of the internal structure of the code and focuses on verifying the flow of execution and logic within the program​​.

Exploratory testing is highly effective when under severe time pressure because it allows testers to simultaneously learn, design, and execute tests. It is a flexible approach that does not require extensive preparation and documentation, making it ideal for situations where time is limited​​.