ISTQB Foundation case studies
ISTQB Foundation · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) is the entry-level credential in the ISTQB Certified Tester scheme. Its purpose is to establish a shared vocabulary and a practical grounding in software testing concepts that hold across delivery approaches - the syllabus is described as relevant to Waterfall, Agile, DevOps and Continuous Delivery. The target audience is broad: testers, test analysts, test engineers, test consultants, test managers, user acceptance testers and software developers, plus adjacent roles such as project managers, quality managers, business analysts and IT directors who need a basic understanding of testing. The published content spans six areas: fundamentals of testing; testing throughout the software development lifecycle; static testing; test techniques; test management; and tool support for testing. The ISTQB Foundation case studies are 5 cases and about 3,689 words.
1Defect Clustering in Release 7.3 - Acting on the Numbers
At a 40-person insurance software company, the test manager reports on release 7.3: 214 defects were found in system testing, 148 of them in the two premium-calculation modules, which make up roughly 15% of the codebase. The other twelve modules produced 66 defects between them.
721 words, about 4 min2Three-Week Sprints, Day-15 Testing at ShopFast
ShopFast, an online retailer, moved from waterfall to three-week Scrum sprints eight months ago but kept its testers in a separate QA group. Testing still begins on day 15, after development is declared 'code complete'.
740 words, about 4 min3The 45-Minute Requirements 'Review' at MediCore
MediCore builds infusion-pump firmware under IEC 62304. Its 'requirements review' is a 45-minute meeting where the author presents a 60-page software requirements specification slide by slide to three engineers who received it that morning.
763 words, about 4 min4TransitLink: Boundary Values, Workflow States and a Coverage Claim
TransitLink sells rail tickets. On the booking form, the 'age' field accepts an integer from 18 to 65 inclusive for the adult fare; 2–17 is a child fare requiring a guardian flag; 0–1 is an infant.
702 words, about 4 min5Payroll Migration: Fifteen Days, Two Critical Defects, One Pass Rate
A payroll migration is three weeks from go-live. Four testers have 15 working days left.
763 words, about 4 min