ISTQB-CTFL ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL v4.0) Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

An incident report is a document that records the details of an incident. An incident report typically contains the following items:

Identifier: A unique identifier for the incident report

Summary: A concise summary of the incident

Description: A detailed description of the incident, including the steps to reproduce it, the expected and actual results, and any relevant screenshots or logs

Severity: The degree of impact that the incident has on the system

Priority: The level of urgency for resolving the incident

Status: The current state of the incident, such as new, open, resolved, closed, etc.

Resolution: The action taken to resolve the incident, such as fix, workaround, reject, etc. Based on the information given in the question, the tester would be able to write down all of these items except for the test case identifier. A test case identifier is a unique identifier for a test case that is used to link it to other test artifacts, such as test plans, test scripts, test results or incident reports. However, since the tester is performing exploratory testing, there is no predefined test case that can be associated with the incident. 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 does not use formal test cases or scripts, but rather uses test charters or missions that guide the tester’s actions and objectives. Verified References: A Study Guide to the ISTQB® Foundation Level 2018 Syllabus - Springer, Chapter 3, page 32-33; Chapter 5, page 47-48.

In Agile teams, close collaboration among testers and other team members can lead to organizational risks such as: ii. Close interaction with developers causes a loss of the appropriate tester mindset. iv. Testers, once they have acquired technical development or business skills, leave the testing team.

These risks highlight the potential issues of diminished testing perspective and team turnover when testers integrate closely with developers and other roles​​.

This scenario is using a walkthrough review type and a perspective-based review technique. In a walkthrough, the author of the document leads the meeting and it typically includes a meeting leader and a scribe, as described. This type of review is informal, focuses on discussion, and often involves scenario-based reading of the document to understand different user perspectives​ (ISTQB Main Web)​.

 The following should be included in a test status report: total number of open and closed defects, actual effort spent, and number of executed, failed, and blocked tests. A test status report is a document that provides information on the results and status of testing activities for a given period or phase. A test status report should include information that is relevant, accurate, and timely for the intended audience and purpose. Some of the information that should be included in a test status report are: total number of open and closed defects, which can indicate the defect trend and defect density of the software product; actual effort spent, which can indicate the productivity and efficiency of the testing process; number of executed, failed, and blocked tests, which can indicate the test progress and test coverage of the software product. The following should not be included in a test status report: estimation details, defect reports, and impact analysis. Estimation details are not part of a test status report, but rather part of a test plan or a test estimation document. Estimation details provide information on the expected time, resources, and costs for testing activities, not on the actual results or status of testing activities. Defect reports are not part of a test status report, but rather separate documents that provide detailed information on individual defects found during testing. Defect reports include information such as defect description, defect severity, defect priority, defect status, defect resolution, etc. Defect reports can be referenced or summarized in a test status report, but not included in full. Impact analysis is not part of a test status report, but rather part of a risk assessment or prioritization process. Impact analysis provides information on the potential effects or consequences of a change or a defect on the software product or project. Impact analysis can be used to evaluate the amount or scope of testing to be performed, but not to report the results or status of testing activities. Verified References: A Study Guide to the ISTQB® Foundation Level 2018 Syllabus - Springer, page 141.

One of the common risks associated with test automation tools is the underestimation of the effort required to maintain test scripts. Test scripts can become outdated or broken due to changes in the application, requiring significant effort to update and maintain them. This risk is highlighted in the ISTQB CTFL syllabus under the discussion of the benefits and risks of test automation.

Debugging is the development activity that finds, analyses and fixes defects. Unlike testing, which aims to identify defects in the software, debugging is the process that developers use to locate and correct the errors found during testing. This involves diagnosing the root causes of these defects and making necessary code changes to resolve them. Debugging is a critical part of the development cycle and ensures that the software functions correctly after defects are fixed.

Decision tables are used to model complex decision logic by considering different combinations of conditions and actions. Based on the given decision table for prescribing drug therapy:

Column 1 and Column 3 both result in the same actions (prescribing Amoxicillin).

These columns can be merged because the actions taken do not depend on whether the patient is taking anticoagulant therapy (both are 'T' for this condition).

Thus, combining these columns simplifies the decision table without losing any information.

Equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis are test design techniques that are most appropriate for testing the login page of a web site. The page contains fields for user name and password, which are input values that can be divided into partitions of equivalent data. Equivalence partitioning is a technique that divides the input data and output results of a software component into partitions of equivalent data. Each partition should contain data that is treated in the same way by the component. Equivalence partitioning can be used to reduce the number of test cases by selecting one representative value from each partition. Boundary value analysis is a technique that tests boundary values between partitions of equivalent data. Boundary values are values at the edge of an equivalence partition or at the smallest incremental distance on either side of an edge. Boundary value analysis can be used to detect defects caused by incorrect handling of boundary conditions. For example, for testing the user name field, we can identify two equivalence partitions: valid user name (existing and correct) and invalid user name (non-existing or incorrect). The boundary values for these partitions are the minimum and maximum length of user name allowed by the system.

Decision table testing and state transition testing are not suitable for testing the login page of a web site, as they are more applicable for testing components that have multiple inputs and outputs that depend on logical combinations of conditions or events. Decision table testing is a technique that shows combinations of inputs and/or stimuli (causes) with their associated outputs and/or actions (effects). State transition testing is a technique that models how a system transitions from one state to another depending on events or conditions.

Exploratory testing and statement coverage are not suitable for testing the login page of a web site, as they are more applicable for testing components that require learning, creativity and intuition or structural analysis. 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. Statement coverage is a type of structural testing that measures how many statements in a program have been executed by a test suite. Statement coverage can be used to assess the adequacy or completeness of a test suite.

Decision coverage and fault attack are not suitable for testing the login page of a web site, as they are more applicable for testing components that have complex logic or potential errors. Decision coverage is a type of structural testing that measures how many decision outcomes in a program have been executed by a test suite. Decision coverage can be used to assess the adequacy or completeness of a test suite. Fault attack is a type of functional testing that deliberately introduces faults into a system in order to provoke failures or errors. Verified References: [A Study Guide to the ISTQB® Foundation Level 2018 Syllabus - Springer], Chapter 4, page 34-46; Chapter 5, page 47-48.

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

Checklist-based testing uses specific test conditions (B) that help testers ensure key aspects are validated. The checklist items can be derived from past defects, requirements, or regulatory standards.

(A) is incorrect because general guidelines lack specificity.

(C) is incorrect because checklists can be used for both manual and automated testing.

(D) is incorrect because checklists are useful for both functional and non-functional testing (e.g., security, performance).

Checklists help ensure completeness without enforcing strictly scripted execution.

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.

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

The planning phase of the review process (C) includes defining the review’s purpose, scope, and exit criteria to ensure alignment. Option A is part of the defect management phase, B happens during individual preparation, and D takes place in the review meeting.

Independent testing offers several advantages, such as unbiased testing and detection of different defects. However, a drawback is that an independent test team may be isolated from the development team and project team. This can lead to communication gaps, reduced collaboration, and a lack of understanding of the project context.

According to the ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) syllabus v4.0, an independent test team may not have the same level of understanding of the system as the development team, leading to potential issues in communication and integration​ (ISTQB not-for-profit association)​.

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

Independent testers provide a fresh perspective and are more likely to identify failures that developers might overlook due to their familiarity with the software (C). Independent testing helps avoid cognitive biases, improves defect detection, and enhances the overall quality assurance process. While A and D touch on related concepts, they do not directly define the benefit as well as C does. Option B highlights a potential challenge rather than a benefit.

An inspection is a type of review that follows a defined process with formal entry and exit criteria and roles and responsibilities for participants. An inspection can be performed by peers with different roles, such as moderator, author, reviewer and scribe. The following statement about inspection is not true:

B) The main purpose of an inspection is to find solutions to the problems. This statement is not true, as the main purpose of an inspection is to find defects or issues in a work product, not to find solutions to the problems. Finding solutions to the problems is a debugging or problem-solving activity that is usually performed by the author or developer after receiving the inspection report. The following statements about inspection are true:

A) An inspection may be led by a trained moderator who shall not be the author. This statement is true, as an inspection requires a moderator role who leads the inspection process and ensures that it follows the rules and standards. The moderator should be trained in inspection techniques and should not be the author of the work product under inspection, in order to avoid bias or conflict of interest.

C) An inspection can be performed by peers. This statement is true, as an inspection involves peer review, which means that the work product under inspection is evaluated by people who have similar roles or expertise as the author, but who are not directly involved in creating or modifying the work product.

D) An inspection shall follow a formal process based on rules and checklists with entry and exit criteria. This statement is true, as an inspection follows a formal process that consists of six main steps: planning, kick-off meeting, individual preparation, review meeting, rework and follow-up. Each step has defined rules and checklists to guide the participants and ensure consistency and quality. Each step also has entry and exit criteria to ensure that the prerequisites and objectives are met before moving to the next step. Verified References: A Study Guide to the ISTQB® Foundation Level 2018 Syllabus - Springer, Chapter 3, page 28-29.

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

During iteration planning, testers provide input on risk analysis, testability, and the feasibility of test automation. Participating in risk analysis (B) helps identify areas needing more extensive testing.

(A) is incorrect because the test strategy is usually set at a higher level (project or release level).

(C) is incorrect as release planning is broader than iteration planning.

(D) is incorrect since writing user stories is mainly the responsibility of the product owner, though testers contribute to defining acceptance criteria.

Risk-based test prioritization ensures testing efforts are aligned with business needs and software risks.