ISQI ISTQB Certified Tester Advanced Level Test Analyst (CTAL-TA v4.0) Sample Questions:

1. A simple DVD player is described in the following state transition diagram:
States shown in the diagram:

All round trips are feasible, even those that do not start at OFF. How many test cases will be needed for complete round-trip coverage?

A) 9
B) 12
C) 10
D) 11

2. Your project is developing an application to process claims against insurance policies. Which of the following is a good example of CRUD completeness testing?

A) A set of test cases that verify the sequence of creating, reading, updating, reading and deleting a claim, and then check that it can no longer be read
B) A set of test cases that, when executed, verify the application's ability to independently create, read, update and delete a claim
C) A review of the technical specifications to check that the abilities to create, read, update and delete a claim have been included in the application architecture
D) A review of the requirements to check that all user needs for CRUD operations on a claim record have been elicited

3. You are a TA in the development of a road traffic control application, which will be installed at busy road junctions, to control the operation of traffic signal lights according to sensors that detect traffic volume. This safety-critical project is still in the early stages of test planning and the project schedule is tight.
The Test Manager has asked you if crowd testing should be included in the project's test strategy. You do NOT think it should. Which limitation of crowd testing MOST influences your view?

A) Sharing software with external testers poses data security and confidentiality risks
B) Ensuring comprehensive test documentation and managing a large number of findings can be challenging
C) Testing quality can vary significantly depending on the skills of individual testers
D) Coordinating with testers in various locations and time zones, with cultural differences and language barriers, can be challenging

4. You are working on a project to build a purchasing system. The main requirements for the system are that it shall:
* Allow users to enter details of items that they wish to have purchased and, from these details, create a purchase request.
* Take each purchase request through a workflow that will allow the requestor's line manager to approve the request, reject it or return it for clarification / modification.
* Forward approved requests to the Purchasing Department.
* Allow purchasers to find the best available supplier for each approved request and place the request on that supplier as a purchase order.
The solution is being developed according to the company's traditional V-model methodology. The requirements are clearly documented and include a business process model.
The main release has now been live for three months and you are working on the first maintenance release.
The test manager has asked you, the senior TA, to identify those parts of the test process which were most and least effective at finding defects in the main release.
You have collected statistics for the independent test activities, i.e. excluding developers' testing, including only the 178 defects in the three highest of your five defect severity levels. The results are presented in the table below:

Assume that all defects not found at the first opportunity could have been, e.g. that all defects that escaped into acceptance testing were within the scope and objectives of system testing. By applying Defect detection percentage (DDP) analysis, which test activity was LEAST effective?

A) System testing
B) Acceptance testing
C) Test design, including solution design review
D) Test analysis, including requirements review

5. A simple drinks machine is described in the following state transition diagram:

How many test cases will be needed for Chow's 1-switch coverage?

A) 19
B) 28
C) 23
D) 40

Solutions: