Sample Exam ISTQB Agile Foundation Questions - ASTQB - OFFICIAL EXAM
#13 What is the proper order of planning? a. Release, then iteration b. Iteration, then release c. Both occur at the same time d. In most Agile projects only one type of planning is done, either release or iteration
A is correct. First release planning is done (for the entire release) and then iteration planning is done at the start of each iteration in the release. FA-1.2.5
#30 Which quadrant is primarily associated with supporting the developers? a. Q1 b. Q2 c. Q3 d. Q4
A is correct. Quadrant 1 is associated with unit tests which are primarily used to support the developer's activities. FA-3.1.3
#7 In which Agile approach is simplicity one of the stated values used to guide development? a. XP b. Kanban c. Scrum d. TDD
A is correct. Simplicity is one of the stated values of XP. FA-1.2.1
#32 You have identified a usability risk with the mobile application you are currently testing. When the application loses connectivity with the web server, the user is not informed of the problem and all information entered after that point is lost. What is a reasonable assessment of this risk? a. The impact is high because the user will lose their data. The likelihood depends on how often connectivity will be lost. b. The impact is low because the user can retype their information. The likelihood is high because the original data is lost. c. The impact is medium because the user should expect this type of behavior. The likelihood is medium because the problem will be intermittent. d. The impact is high because the user will not understand what is happening and will likely call the helpdesk. The likelihood is low because the network connectivity is reliable and unlikely to have any issues.
A is correct. The impact is high because data is lost. The likelihood is unknown because it depends on how reliable the connectivity will be across all the users. FA-3.2.1
#18 What is a benefit of tester independence in an Agile project? a. The independent tester is able to provide an objective evaluation of the quality of the product being tested b. The independent tester is able to rely on the testing performed by the developers c. The independent tester may have relationship issues with the Agile team that is accustomed to working together d. The independent tester can provide project management skills as well as testing for the project
A is correct. The independent tester should be able to provide an objective evaluation because they are not so close to the project that they will make the same assumptions as the developers may have made when interpreting the requirements. B is not correct because the independent tester should be performing their own testing. C is not correct because this is a disadvantage, not a benefit of independent testing. D is not correct because testers provide testing skills, not project management skills. FA-2.1.3
#38 You have been given the following story: "As a plant lover who travels frequently, I want to have an automated watering system, so that my plants won't die." You have also been given the following acceptance criteria: 1. The water should turn on when the temperature is > 85 degrees and the moisture content of the soil changes from "normal" to "dry". 2. The water should be dispersed for 5 minutes at the rate of 0.5 ounces per minute. Which one of the following provides the proper values to use to achieve 100% two-value boundary value analysis coverage with the minimum number of test cases? a. Temperature at 85 and 86, moisture at "dry" and "normal" b. Temperature at 85 and 86, moisture at "dry" and "normal", water disbursement for 5 minutes and 5 minutes 1 second, rate at 0.5 and 0.4 c. Temperature at 85 and 86, moisture at "dry" and "normal", water disbursement for 5 minutes and 4 minutes 59 seconds, rate at 0.5 and 0.6 d. Temperature at 85 and 84, moisture at "dry" and "normal"
A is correct. The parameters for temperature (at 85 when nothing should occur and 86 when the temperature should trigger the water if the moisture is right) must be tested as well as the parameters for the moisture ("dry", with the right temperature should trigger the water, "normal" should not). B and C are not correct because the disbursement is set based on the inputs, the values of the disbursement rate and time are not adjustable. D is not correct because it is testing 85 and 84, both of which are in the same partition. FA-3.3.4
#26 If the developer adds a test that captures his concept of the desired functionality of the code and then develops the code to pass that test, what type of development is being done? a. Test-driven development b. Acceptance test-driven development c. Behavior-driven development d. Developer-driven development
A is correct. This is a characteristic of test-driven development. FA-3.1.1
#23 Which of the following is a tester skill that is more important in an Agile environment than in a sequential lifecycle environment? a. Collaboration b. Manual testing c. Performance testing d. Test case preparation
A is correct. This is a strongly needed skill in an Agile environment - much more so than in a sequential environment. The others are all nice to have, but are needed in both environments. D is more commonly needed in a sequential environment such as the Vmodel, than in an Agile environment where the testing may be more reactive. FA-2.3.1
#6 When the customer in an Agile project provides feedback indicating that a piece of functionality was not implemented correctly, what should the Agile team do with this information? a. Record it and put an item in the backlog for consideration by the team b. Stop all planned development and implement the change for the customer c. Write a defect report and address the issue when the backlog has been cleared d. Update the requirements document and require customer sign-off before implementing any changes
A is the correct thing to do. B is not possible unless the change is trivial or it might de-rail all other planned work for the current iteration. C is not correct because the purpose of early and frequent feedback is to incorporate changes as the project progresses. D is not correct because using formal requirements documents is not encouraged in Agile projects. FA-1.1.3
#22 When should automated acceptance tests be run? a. Before code is checked into the build b. As often as the continuous integration full system build is created c. During UAT as a replacement for testing by the business users d. Only when the full release is complete
B is correct. Acceptance tests should be run anytime a full build is created. Acceptance tests are often configured into the continuous integration process and are started automatically when the build is deployed onto the test system. FA-2.2.2
#4 What is the purpose of a daily stand-up meeting? a. It provides team building by encouraging everyone to stand up together for a quick exercise session b. It provides a way for each member to communicate progress and problems c. It forces the team to be co-located d. It helps determine where overtime will be required to keep the project on schedule
B is correct. It's important to note that stand up meetings can be conducted via web conferencing for teams that are not co-located, so C is not correct. D is not correct because overtime is not generally used in Agile projects. A is not correct unless you have a really energetic scrum master, but even then it would be just a side benefit! FA-1.1.2
#8 If you are using a board to show the various stations of activities, such as development or testing, what type of Agile approach are you following? a. Task Board b. Kanban c. Scrum d. XP
B is correct. The Kanban board is used to show the stations of activities - sometimes thought of as the workflow - through which an item progresses as it is being developed. A Task Board is commonly used in Scrum to show the various states of the item (To Do, In Progress, Done). FA-1.2.1
#35 Why is a user's knowledge of the business procedures, processes and constraints important when defining acceptance criteria for stories? a. Because it helps define the security required in the final product b. Because it is needed to define the business rules that must be supported by the product c. Because it is used to ensure the efficiency of the developed code d. Because it is needed to understand all the external interfaces of the software
B is correct. The business user's knowledge about how the business works helps to define the business rules in the acceptance criteria to be sure the software will be able to support the proper set of rules correctly. A is not correct because security may be defined in the acceptance criteria but the user's business knowledge is not a primary input. C is not correct. The efficiency of the code is determined by how well the code uses resources to produce the outputs. That is internal to the code implementation and not based on the business processes. D is not correct because the external interfaces may not be restricted to those known to the business users. FA-3.3.2
#2 The statement "Working software is the primary measure of progress" is found where in the Agile process description? a. It is one of the value statements b. It is one of the twelve principles c. It is a description of an Agile methodology d. It is a part of the XP methodology
B is correct. This is one of the twelve principles that expand on the core Agile Manifesto values. FA-1.1.1
#24 What is an important job for the Agile tester during the release and iteration planning sessions? a. To report defects b. To ensure the appropriate testing tasks are scheduled c. To select the testing tools d. To suggest process improvements
B is correct. This task should occur during the iteration and release planning sessions. A should happen during testing, not during planning. C should occur at the beginning of the project and definitely not at the iteration planning stage. D occurs during retrospectives, not the planning meetings. FA-2.3.2
#10 Why is it important for a team to implement only a few improvements in an iteration? a. If the team tries to implement too many improvements, they may feel defeated and lose motivation b. If the team tries to implement too many improvements it may disrupt their ability to produce at a sustained pace c. If the team tries to implement too many improvements it may set a management expectation of radical change with each iteration d. If the team tries to implement too many improvements they may lose sight of the definition of "done"
B is correct. Trying to make too many changes may result in disruption of the sustained pace they are trying to achieve. FA-1.2.3
#5 Which of the following is an example of a practice that provides early feedback to the developers? a. User acceptance testing b. Continuous integration c. Stand-up meetings d. Changing requirements
B is correct. When a developer checks in code and it is immediately integrated with the existing code, they receive fast feedback on the quality and any interface issues with their newly released code. A is too late in the process. C doesn't provide early feedback (unit tests and code reviews do that). D is not correct because changing requirements do not necessarily reflect on the work the developer has done because sometimes the business needs change. FA-1.1.3
#16 What does it mean when a feature is classified as "done"? a. It has been developed b. It has been developed and integrated c. It has been developed, integrated and tested d. It has been developed, integrated, tested and released to production
C is correct. An item is done when it has been developed, integrated and tested. It does not have to be released to production because "done" is used to indicate the status of elements that are being developed for a particular sprint. FA-2.1.2
#33 You have been asked to estimate the story points for a particular story using the Fibonacci sequence. You have reviewed the story, but it seems to indicate a significant amount of work and a number of unknowns, particularly around the creation of test data. At this point, you don't know if you'll be able to use existing data or will have to create your own. You also don't know how you will test the interfaces between this story and the existing code. Given this information, what would be the proper value to assign in story points? a. 1 b. 5 c. 13 d. 18
C is correct. D is a higher number, but is not in the Fibonacci sequence (where the previous two numbers are added together to get the next number in the sequence, i.e., 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21). FA-3.2.2
#29 Which testing quadrant is associated with user acceptance tests? a. Q1 b. Q2 c. Q3 d. Q4
C is correct. Quadrant 3 is associated with system or user acceptance tests. FA-3.1.3
#21 Which of the following is a reasonable expectation for a test case during it's life? a. It will not change b. It will be automated and will require only minimal maintenance c. It will evolve with the software d. It will be owned by the developer who writes the associated code
C is correct. Test cases are expected to evolve as the software evolves. A and B are not realistic in an Agile project, particularly when test cases are developed in the early iterations. D is usually correct for unit tests, but not for test cases FA-2.2.2
#1 Which of the following is the correct pairing according to the Agile Manifesto statement of values? a. Individuals and Interactions over Working Software b. Individuals and Interactions over Contract Negotiation c. Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools d. Individuals and Interactions over Customer Collaboration
C is correct. The proper pairing is "Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools. FA-1.1.1
#25 If an Agile team is using testing tools such as a test management tool, who is responsible for ensuring the proper use of the tool? a. The scrum master b. The development manager c. The tester d. The configuration manager
C is correct. The proper usage of the test tools is the responsibility of the tester even though the team may all use the tools. FA-2.3.2
#31 You are a tester in a Scrum team. You have been testing the product for several iterations and you are noticing that the error message format and text are inconsistent. For example, when the user enters an invalid address in one part of the application, they are given the message "Invalid input" in a red font whereas when they enter an invalid phone number they are given the message "The phone number you have entered is not in a valid format. Please enter the phone number as (xxx) xxx-xxxx" in a blue font. The stories do not specify how the error messages should appear. What should you do? a. Nothing. Since the stories do not specify the error message text or format, the implementation is up to the discretion of the developer b. Write a defect report for the first instance since that message should have more information for the user c. Request a meeting with the developers to discuss the consistency problems and help guide the discussion to determine the error message standards for the project d. Appeal to the scrum master to intervene and instruct the developers to use a standard error message template that will force a consistent font and color for all error messages of this type
C is correct. The tester should be committed to quality and should own this issue and help the team reach a conclusion on how to deal with it. A is not correct because this will be a problem for the users. B is not correct because this is likely to fix one message, but there are probably others that will also be inconsistent. D is not correct because the tester should own the problem, not the scrum master. FA-3.1.4
#12 What types of automated testing activities are included in the continuous integration process? a. Unit only b. Unit and regression testing c. Unit and integration testing d. Unit, integration, and system testing
C is correct. These are the most common levels of testing to be automated and run in continuous integration/deployment environment. FA-1.2.4
#9 You are reviewing the following story with the business and product owners: As a dog owner, I want to register my dog online, so I can quickly complete this legal requirement of dog ownership. You want to implement the INVEST technique during this review. Which INVEST item is missing from this story and would need additional elaboration? a. Security b. Value c. Testability d. The 3C Concept
C is correct. This is an INVEST item (T = Testable) that is not present. B also refers to an INVEST property, but there is value delivered by the story as is stated in the story. A and D do not address INVEST FA-1.2.2
#17 If your Agile team has an on-going need for specialized testers to conduct performance testing, which organizational structure would be most effective? a. The Agile team has people who have been designated as the testers for a sprint or set of sprints b. The Agile team has independent testers who join the team at the end of the sprint c. A separate and independent test team furnishes testers to the Agile projects/teams as needed based on the skills required d. The testing is outsourced to an external company with performance test expertise
C is correct. This is the most effective and will provide the most sustainable model. While D might be necessary if the skills are not available in house, it will be expensive and likely not the most effective use of resources. FA-2.1.3d
#40 What is the purpose of continuous integration tools? a. To support black-box testing b. To provide a basis for structured reviews of the requirements c. To support the daily build and deployment of software d. To track the tasks of the team
C is correct. This is the primary purpose of a CI tool. FA-3.4.1
#20 What does a task board show? a. Tasks completed against the budget spent b. Return on investment c. The progression of the tasks selected for an iteration d. The number of tasks still to be done against the time allocated
C is correct. This is what a task board is used to show. FA-2.2.1
#27 If it is particularly important for the business users to understand the tests that are being used to verify the proper implementation of the code, what type of development framework should be used? a. Test-driven b. Integration test-driven c. Behavior-driven d. Business-driven
C is correct. Using the Given/When/Then format results in clear tests that must be passed to ensure that the software is achieving the behavior that the business users need. FA-3.1.1
#15 In an Agile project, when is software first expected to be delivered that will provide value to the customer? a. At the end of the project b. At the end of a release c. At the end of an iteration d. At the end of an epic
C is correct. Working code should be delivered at the end of each iteration. An epic often spans iterations. FA-2.1.1
#11 In a retrospective meeting, who should provide input into the testing activities on the project? a. Only the developers b. Only the testers c. Everyone but the testers d. Everyone on the team
D is correct. Everyone on the team may have insights into possible areas of improvement for the testing and non-testing aspects of the project. Limiting the input would potentially limit the value of the feedback. FA-1.2.3
#14 In an Agile project, which of the following is usually checked into a configuration management system? a. Epics b. Stories c. Iterations d. Code
D is correct. For Agile or any lifecycle methodology, the code should be checked into a configuration management system. Epics and Stories are often built within a tool that facilitates Agile development. Iterations are not items that could be checked in. Term
#19 What does a burndown chart measure? a. Schedule time against expected budget b. Return on investment c. How quickly activities move between stations d. The amount of work still to be done against the time allocated
D is correct. The burndown chart shows the amount of work still to be done for an iteration or release against the time allocated for that iteration or release. FA-2.2.1
#3 In an Agile team, who is responsible for quality? a. The developers b. The testers c. The product owner d. The entire team
D is correct. The entire team is responsible for quality. FA-1.1.2
#36 You are reviewing the acceptance criteria for a story. One of these states "All windows must conform to the corporate approved color scheme". In what way does this statement help improve the testability of the story? a. It explains the functional behavior that the software must supply b. It provides a realistic use case for the software c. It defines the business rules that must be implemented d. It supplies a constraint for the solution
D is correct. This is a constraint that must be met in order for the software to be accepted and adding this type of clear acceptance criterion helps to improve the testability of the story. FA-3.3.2
#39 You have been given the following story: "As a plant lover who travels frequently, I want to have an automated watering system, so that my plants won't die." You have also been given the following acceptance criteria: 1. The water should turn on when the temperature is > 85 degrees and the moisture content of the soil changes from "normal" to "dry". 2. The water should be dispersed for 5 minutes at the rate of 0.5 ounces per minute Which of the following is a question that would be most appropriate to ask when preparing to conduct exploratory testing? a. How many of these systems will run concurrently getting data from the same temperature controller? b. Which equivalence partitions and boundary values should be tested? c. How does the software transition from the "normal" to "dry" state? d. What can be done with the software that might cause it to fail or act in an unexpected way?
D is correct. This is the most appropriate question for exploratory testing - preparing to explore the ways in which the software might fail. A is more appropriate for performance testing. B and C are more appropriate for black-box testing using equivalence partitions, BVA and state transition testing. FA-3.3.5
#37 You have been given the following story: "As a plant lover who travels frequently, I want to have an automated watering system, so that my plants won't die." You have also been given the following acceptance criteria: 1. The water should turn on when the temperature is > 85 degrees and the moisture content of the soil changes from "normal" to "dry". 2. The water should be dispersed for 5 minutes at the rate of 0.5 ounces per minute. Which of the following is the first test case that should be written for the acceptance-test driven implementation? a. Set the soil moisture level to "wet", then increase the heat and verify that the moisture level changes to "normal" and then to "dry" and then to "parched" b. Set the temperature > 85 degrees and verify that the temperature is increased accordingly c. Set the temperature to < 85 degrees and the moisture to "dry" and verify that no water is dispersed d. Set the temperature to > 85 degrees and the moisture to "dry" and verify that water is dispersed
D is correct. This positive path test should be the first one to be designed and executed. A is testing the changing of the moisture level, which will be needed, but is not the first test. B is checking the thermostat which may not even have anything to do with the system because, according to the story, we are only controlling the watering, not the heating. C is a negative test and should come after the positive test. FA-3.3.3
#28 In the test pyramid, which level has the largest number of tests? a. Acceptance b. System c. Integration d. Unit
D is correct. Unit tests are at the bottom of the pyramid and there should be more of these than any other type of test. FA-3.1.2
#34 You are testing a story for a mobile banking application and you have noticed that the response time seems slow. You have checked the acceptance criteria for the story and nothing is mentioned regarding performance requirements. What should you do now? a. Write a defect report and leave it to the developers to figure out how to make it faster b. Stop testing and require that the business owners define specific performance testing requirements in the acceptance criteria c. Continue testing with the assumption that the product owners will identify the problem, if it is indeed a problem, when they do user acceptance testing d. Review similar products, existing documentation on acceptable performance and talk with the business users to determine the performance requirements
D is correct. You should gather examples and then use those to discuss what will be acceptable to the business users. A is not correct because the developers may not be able to determine what is acceptable. B is not appropriate because other areas are available for testing, but the research into what is acceptable should be started concurrently with the continuation of testing. C is not correct because this will be too late to have to address a performance problem. FA-3.3.1