CTFL-AT iSQI Certified Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

FromCTFL-AT Syllabus v4.0, Section 2.2Release and Iteration Planning, it describes Planning Poker as:

"Planning Poker involves group discussion, especially from the highest and lowest estimators, to ensure that different perspectives and assumptions are aligned, which leads to more accurate and shared understanding of the effort involved."

Thus,Option Cis correct — Team B usesdiscussion-based estimation, which is a corebenefitof Planning Poker.

Option Ais speculative — we cannot know the actual effort difference.

Option Bis incorrect — convergence without discussion may indicatelack of engagement or pressure to agree.

Option Dis false — Planning Poker isnot based on averaging, but onconsensus.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

FromCTFL-AT Syllabus v4.0, Section 2.4Testing and Iterations, it states:

"In Agile projects, testing activities are conducted in parallel with development activities within an iteration, unlike traditional models where testing is done after development."

Therefore,Option Dis correct — Agile promotesparallel testing, while traditional projects (e.g., V-model) followsequential phases.

Option Ais incorrect — Agile projectsdo perform system testing, but it's integrated within iterations.

Option Bis misleading — while Agile emphasizeslower-level test automation, traditional projects also use automation at various levels.

Option Cis partially correct but oversimplifies the process —risks are reassessed iteratively, not just once during release planning.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

From theCTFL-AT Syllabus v4.0, Section 2.2Release and Iteration Planning, testers actively contribute during release planning:

"During release planning, testers collaborate with the team to understand the scope of the release and help identify any high-level test considerations. They also participate in quality risk analysis and help in estimating test effort."

Furthermore, it is noted:

"Testers are involved in defining and refining user stories and acceptance criteria, and contribute to quality risk assessments."

Therefore,Option Cis accurate as it reflects the tester's involvement inprioritizing user storiesand conductingquality risk analysisduring release planning.

Option Ais incorrect because defining and redefining the product backlog is primarily the role of theProduct Owner, and the test approach isiteration-specific, not fixed for the full release.

Option Bis inaccurate — breaking down stories into tasks is generally part ofiteration (Sprint) planning, not release planning.

Option Dis incorrect —release plans can changein Agile to accommodate changing business needs.

Independence in testing is the degree of separation between the person who tests something and the person who developed it. Independence can help to reduce bias, increase objectivity, and provide different viewpoints. However, independence also has some drawbacks, such as increased communication overhead, reduced collaboration, and delayed feedback. In agile projects, testers are usually embedded in the agile teams to perform many of the testing tasks, such as unit testing, integration testing, acceptance testing, etc. This provides a high level of collaboration and fast feedback, but also reduces the independence of the testers. Testers from an independent test team who do not get involved with the agile team, but are assigned to do System Testing once all sprints are completed, would provide the most independence for testers working with agile teams. However, this would also introduce many disadvantages, such as lack of alignment with the agile principles, loss of context and domain knowledge, delayed defect detection and resolution, and increased risk of missing customer expectations. References: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus, Section 1.1.2, page 8; ASTQB Agile Tester Certification Resources, Section 1.1.2, page 8.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

From theCTFL-AT Syllabus v4.0, Section 5.1Agile Retrospectives and Process Improvement, it states:

"Retrospectives are used to reflect on what went well and what could be improved. They should include qualitative insights and quantitative measures such as velocity, burndown charts, and number of stories completed."

Therefore,Option Cis correct, as using metrics to support process improvement is arecommended best practicein retrospectives.

Option Ais incorrect — retrospectivesshould include what went well, not just negatives.

Option Bis inaccurate — not all improvements must be implemented immediately; they areprioritized and plannedbased on capacity and impact.

Option Dis false — retrospectives are heldat the end of every iteration, regardless of story points completed.

 Exploratory testing is a type of testing that involves simultaneous learning, test design, and test execution. It is suitable for Quadrant 3 because it is business facing and product critique, meaning that it focuses on the user’s perspective and the quality attributes of the product. Exploratory testing can help discover new risks, requirements, and defects that may not be covered by other test levels and test types. It can also provide feedback on the usability, functionality, and reliability of the product. References: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus1, Section 2.3.2, page 17; ISTQB® Glossary of Testing Terms2, version 4.0, page 23.

 Business-oriented work products are those that describe what is needed (e.g., requirements specifications) and how to use it (e.g., user documentation). A user manual is an example of a business-oriented work product, as it provides instructions and guidance on how to use the product from the user’s perspective. A user manual may also contain information about the product’s features, benefits, and limitations. A user manual is typically written by technical writers, who may collaborate with developers, testers, and business analysts to ensure the accuracy and clarity of the content. A user manual may be delivered in various formats, such as printed, online, or interactive. References: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus1, Section 1.2.1, page 10; ASTQB Agile Tester Certification Resources2, Section 1.2.1, page 10.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

FromCTFL-AT Syllabus v4.0, Section 3.4The Testing Quadrants, it states:

"The Agile testing quadrants are used to ensure that the team considers all important test types and levels during an Agile project. The quadrants categorize tests by their purpose (support development, critique the product) and by the type of feedback (business-facing vs technology-facing)."

Thus,Option Ccorrectly reflects theuse and purposeof the quadrants as aguidance tool, not a fixed sequence or hierarchy.

Option AandBare incorrect — the quadrants arenot mapped to strict levels or chronological order.

Option Dis false —risk is not the basis for quadrant numbering.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

FromCTFL-AT Syllabus v4.0, Section 1.2Fundamentals of Agile Software Development, it states:

"Kanban is a lean approach that uses visualization (typically via a task board) to manage work in progress and improve workflow. Unlike Scrum, iterations in Kanban are optional."

Thus,Option C (Kanban)is correct. It emphasizesvisualizationand doesnot require fixed-length iterations.

Option A (Scrum)is iteration-based.

Option B (Continuous integration)is a practice, not a development approach.

Option D (Slack)is a communication tool, not a methodology.

The whole-team approach is a principle of agile testing that involves everyone with different knowledge and skills to ensure project success. The whole-team approach means that the business representatives, testers, and developers work together in every step of the development process, from planning to delivery. The whole-team approach aims to enhance communication and collaboration within the team, leverage the various skill sets of the team members, and make quality everyone’s responsibility12. Therefore, the statement C is the most direct advantage of the whole-team approach, as it captures the essence of the principle and its benefits. The other statements are not directly related to the whole-team approach, or are incorrect. Statement A is about continuous integration, which is a practice of agile development that involves having at least once a day an automated build and test process that detects integration errors early and quickly. Continuous integration is not a direct consequence of the whole-team approach, although it may be facilitated by it13. Statement B is about avoiding requirements misunderstandings, which may be a benefit of the whole-team approach, but not the most direct one. The whole-team approach does not only focus on requirements, but also on design, implementation, testing, and delivery. Moreover, avoiding requirements misunderstandings may also depend on other factors, such as the quality of the user stories, the use of acceptance criteria, and the feedback from the customers and users14. Statement D is incorrect, as it contradicts the whole-team approach. The whole-team approach does not reduce the involvement of business representatives, but rather increases it. Business representatives are an integral part of the whole-team approach, as they provide the vision, the value, and the validation of the product. They collaborate with the testers and developers to define the features, prioritize the backlog, and verify the outcomes12. References: ISTQB Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus1, Section 1.2.1, page 9; What is Whole Team Approach in Agile Testing?2, Section What is Whole Team Approach?; Continuous Integration3, Section What is Continuous Integration?; Effective User Stories - 3C’s and INVEST Guide4, Section The 3 C’s (Card, Conversation, Confirmation) of User Stories.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

From theCTFL-AT Syllabus v4.0, Section 1.3The Whole-Team Approach, the benefit of the whole-team approach is:

"All team members, including testers, work together in all project phases. This encourages collaboration and shared responsibility, which leads to the availability of working software and immediate feedback on changes."

Specifically, it is noted:

"One benefit of the whole-team approach is the continuous availability of working, executable software, which can be tested at any point in the iteration."

This makesOption Athe correct answer.

Let’s analyze the others:

Option Brelates toAcceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD), not the whole-team approach specifically.

Option Cis a benefit ofTDD, not of the whole-team approach.

Option Drefers tocontinuous integration, not directly tied to the whole-team concept.

Exploratory testing is a testing approach that emphasizes learning, creativity, and adaptability. It involves simultaneous test design and test execution, where the tester uses heuristics, intuition, and experience to explore the system under test and discover new information12. Exploratory testing can be performed in an Agile project to complement other testing activities, such as test-driven development, behavior-driven development, and acceptance test-driven development12.

The correct approach to adopt for exploratory testing in an Agile project is D, as it follows the best practices for exploratory testing1234:

Ask experienced testers to prepare test charters for time boxed sessions lasting no more than 2 hours: A test charter is a brief document that describes the scope, objective, and strategy of an exploratory testing session. A test charter helps to guide the tester’s exploration and to document the results. A time box is a fixed period of time allocated for an exploratory testing session. A time box helps to focus the tester’s attention and to limit the scope of exploration. A time box should not be too long, as it may reduce the tester’s concentration and creativity. A recommended duration for a time box is between 45 minutes and 2 hours.

Tests should be designed and executed within each session using heuristics, creativity and intuition: Exploratory testing is an iterative and interactive process, where the tester designs and executes tests based on the observations and feedback from the system under test. The tester uses heuristics, which are rules of thumb or shortcuts that help to simplify the testing problem and to generate test ideas. The tester also uses creativity and intuition, which are mental abilities that help to generate novel and useful solutions and to make judgments based on incomplete or uncertain information.

The incorrect approaches to adopt for exploratory testing in an Agile project are A, B, and C, as they violate the principles and practices of exploratory testing1234:

A: Allocate independent testers to design exploratory tests using test charters in time boxed sessions. Plan to run all sessions in parallel with each session lasting more than 5 hours: This approach is incorrect because it does not involve simultaneous test design and test execution, which is the essence of exploratory testing. It also uses too long time boxes, which may reduce the tester’s concentration and creativity. It also does not leverage the collaboration and communication within the Agile team, as it isolates the testers from the developers and other stakeholders.

B: Ask experienced testers to try and find new defects by using the system without the constraint of documentation and tools: This approach is incorrect because it does not use test charters, which are essential for guiding and documenting the exploratory testing sessions. It also does not use heuristics, creativity, and intuition, which are important for generating test ideas and making decisions. It also implies that exploratory testing is an unstructured and random activity, which is a common misconception. Exploratory testing is a disciplined and systematic approach that requires planning, analysis, and evaluation.

C: Use testers who have not been involved in the sprint to write new test cases from the user stories. These test cases are then executed in a time boxed session for the sprint: This approach is incorrect because it does not involve simultaneous test design and test execution, which is the essence of exploratory testing. It also uses testers who have not been involved in the sprint, which may reduce their understanding of the system under test and the customer needs. It also does not use test charters, which are essential for guiding and documenting the exploratory testing sessions. It also does not use heuristics, creativity, and intuition, which are important for generating test ideas and making decisions.

 According to the ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, an agile task board is a visual tool that displays the status of the work items in an agile sprint. The task board typically shows the user stories, tasks, and their progress from “to do” to “done”. The task board helps the agile team to monitor and coordinate their work, and to communicate with stakeholders. Therefore, the examples that represent activities that would likely be managed on an agile task board for the third sprint are those that are related to the user stories, tasks, and their progress in the current sprint. Option A is the correct answer, as it contains two examples of such activities: running an acceptance test for a user story, and automating regression tests. These are both tasks that are part of the testing process in the current sprint, and their status can be tracked on the task board. Option B is not a correct answer, as it contains two examples of activities that are not related to the current sprint: designing the features planned for the next sprint, and participating in training in preparation for the fourth sprint. These are both activities that are part of the planning or learning process for the future sprints, and they are not managed on the task board. Option C is also not a correct answer, as it contains two examples of activities that are not related to the current sprint: participating in training in preparation for the fourth sprint, and producing a daily progress report for the agile team members. These are both activities that are part of the learning or reporting process, and they are not managed on the task board. Option D is also not a correct answer, as it contains two examples of activities that are not related to the current sprint: designing the features planned for the next sprint, and producing a daily progress report for the agile team members. These are both activities that are part of the planning or reporting process, and they are not managed on the taskboard. References: ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 2.1.1, page 14; ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 2.1.2, page 15; ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 2.2.1, page 16; ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 2.2.2, page 17.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

FromISTQB Glossary (also referenced in CTFL-AT):

"Configuration management is a discipline applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance to: identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a configuration item, control changes to those characteristics, record and report change processing and implementation status, and verify compliance."

Thus,Option Dis the formal and accurate definition ofConfiguration Management.

Option Adescribestest control, not configuration management.

Option Brefers tosession-based testing, unrelated to configuration management.

Option Crefers tocombinatorial test design, not configuration control.

The Test Pyramid is a model for organizing tests in a way to make the process of testing faster, efficient and cost-effective. This model focusses on getting maximum functional testing getting covered by faster and less brittle tests like Unit and API tests1. The main benefit of the Test Pyramid is that it helps in evaluating the amount of test cases needed for each level of testing. The Test Pyramid suggests that the number of test cases should decrease as we move up the pyramid, from unit tests to integration tests to end-to-end tests. This is because unit tests are more granular, isolated, and easy to write and maintain, while end-to-end tests are more complex, dependent, and brittle. The Test Pyramid also helps in balancing the test coverage and the test execution time, as unit tests provide high coverage and low execution time, while end-to-end tests provide low coverage and high execution time. By following the Test Pyramid, teams can optimize their testing efforts and resources, and ensure that they have a sufficient and effective test suite for their software. References: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus, Section 2.2.1, page 16; ASTQB Agile Tester Certification Resources, Section 2.2.1, page 16; What is Test Pyramid : Getting started with Test Automation Pyramid, The Practical Test Pyramid - Martin Fowler, Testing Pyramid: What Is It and How To Use It | Solvd.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

FromCTFL-AT Syllabus v4.0, Section 4.3Test Automation and Continuous Integration, it states:

"Automated tests help detect regression defects quickly and can be run frequently during development, thus reducing regression risk."

So,Option Dis correct —test automation supports regression testingwithin iterations, making it an essential Agile practice.

Option Ais false —automated unit tests are designed to be fastand are ideally run with every check-in.

Option Bis incorrect — more code changesincrease, not reduce, regression risk.

Option Cis incorrect —technical debt can still existwith automation if the automation is poorly designed or not maintained.

Risk-based testing is a technique that prioritizes testing activities based on the level of risk associated with each feature or requirement. The level of risk is usually calculated by multiplying the probability and impact of each risk. The higher the risk level, the more testing effort should be allocated to mitigate the risk. In this case, the risk level for each option is as follows: A. Risk level = Low x Low = Low B. Risk level = Low x High = Medium C. Risk level = High x High = High D. Risk level = High x Low = Medium Therefore, the highest risk level is C, followed by B and D, and then A. The User Story for the Operator-Instructions module should be tested according to this risk order, starting with C, then B, then D, and finally A. Hence, the answer is B, as it is the second highest risk level and should be tested after C. References: ISTQB Foundation Level Agile Tester Extension Syllabus1, page 16; ISTQB Agile Tester Sample Exam2, question 18.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

FromCTFL-AT Syllabus v4.0, Section 2.1Acceptance Criteria and Testability, acceptance tests must be directly related to thenew functionalitydescribed in the user story.

Option Dis correct — itvalidates the new featureof paying via smartcard credit, specificallyhandling edge cases(e.g., zero credit).

Option Ais incorrect —payment should failwith insufficient credit.

Option Bintroducesrequirements not mentionedin the story.

Option Ctestscredit card logic, not the new smartcard functionality.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

FromCTFL-AT Syllabus v4.0, Section 2.1Acceptance Criteria and Testability, and Section 3.1:

"Acceptance criteria may also address non-functional quality characteristics such as reliability, performance, and usability."

The criterion referencesfailure rate over time, which is areliability attribute, makingOption D (Quality characteristics)the correct answer.

Option A(Scenarios) refers to usage paths.

Option Brefers to functional correctness.

Option Crefers to interface interaction points.