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NCT Tester Competence Assessment study materials
NCT Tester Competence Assessment study resources

NCT Tester Competence Assessment: Software Testing Fundamentals and Terminology

NCT Tester Competence Assessment · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Software Testing Fundamentals and Terminology

Domain focus

This domain tests whether you can use testing vocabulary precisely and explain how testing fits quality assurance. The exam probes definitions, the error–defect–failure chain, verification and validation, test basis, test oracle, testware, and the principles that justify testing.

Core rules

  • A human error introduces a defect (bug) into a work product; executing the defective code can produce a failure.
  • Verification asks “Did we build the product right?” against specifications; validation asks “Did we build the right product?” against user needs.
  • Testing finds defects; debugging locates and fixes their cause. They are different activities.
  • Quality assurance is process-oriented and preventive; quality control and testing are product-oriented and detective.
  • A test basis is the source of expected results (requirements, models, code); a test oracle is the mechanism for judging correctness.
  • Testware includes test cases, data, scripts, plans, reports, and environments.
  • The seven principles include: testing shows presence of defects, not their absence; exhaustive testing is impossible; early testing saves cost; defects cluster; tests wear out; testing is context dependent; absence-of-errors fallacy.

Worked example

A specification says “interest = principal × rate × time,” but the intended formula uses years, and the analyst writes a time field in months. That is an error. The developer implements the formula literally, creating a defect. In system test, a 12-month loan shows 12× the expected interest: a failure. A review of the specification would have been verification; showing the calculated payment to a loan officer is validation. The failure report should cite the test basis, not blame the developer.

Traps

Calling every problem a “bug” blurs error, defect, and failure. Treating testing as debugging loses marks. Claiming zero defects proves quality is the absence-of-errors fallacy. Confusing verification with validation is common when both use reviews.