ISTQB Foundation flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Testing

A process that evaluates a work product by generating information about its quality and identifying defects, carried out to provide stakeholders with confidence and information for decisions.

Debugging

The development activity that locates, analyzes, and fixes the cause of a defect after a failure has been observed, distinct from testing, which only reveals the failure.

Error, defect, failure

An error is a human action producing an incorrect result; a defect is a flaw in a work product; a failure is incorrect behavior of a component or system during execution.

Seven testing principles

Testing shows presence of defects, exhaustive testing is impossible, early testing saves cost, defects cluster, tests wear out, testing is context dependent, and absence of errors is a fallacy.

Verification vs validation

Verification checks whether a work product meets specified requirements; validation checks whether it fulfills its intended use and user needs in the actual environment.

Test process activities

Planning, monitoring and control, analysis, design, implementation, execution, and completion are the main activities that structure testing on a project.

Test level

A group of test activities organized around a specific stage of development, such as component, integration, system, or acceptance testing, each with distinct objectives and typical participants.

V-model

A sequential lifecycle model in which each development phase has a corresponding test level, emphasizing early test design and verification at every stage.

Shift left

The practice of performing testing and quality activities earlier in the software lifecycle to find defects sooner, when they are cheaper and easier to fix.

Confirmation testing

Re-executing tests that previously failed to verify that a specific defect has been fixed, also called retesting; it does not check for unintended side effects.

Regression testing

Testing performed after changes to verify that previously working functionality still works and that new defects have not been introduced elsewhere in the system.

Static testing

Testing that does not execute the software; it includes reviews of documents and code and static analysis by tools, aiming to find defects early.

Inspection

The most formal review type, following a defined process with entry and exit criteria, checklists, roles, and documented findings, used for critical work products.

Walkthrough

An informal review in which the author leads reviewers through a work product to gather feedback, find defects, and build shared understanding.

Review roles

Manager, author, moderator, scribe, reviewers, and review leader each have defined responsibilities in a formal review, such as planning, recording, and facilitating.

Static analysis

Tool-based examination of code or models without execution, detecting defects such as unreachable code, undefined variables, security flaws, and standards violations.

Equivalence partitioning

A black-box technique dividing input data into partitions where all values are expected to behave the same, so one representative value per partition is tested.

Boundary value analysis

A black-box technique testing values at the edges of equivalence partitions, including the boundary and nearest values on each side, where defects commonly occur.

Decision table testing

A black-box technique using a table of conditions and actions to capture combinations of inputs and expected outcomes, useful for complex business rules.

State transition testing

A black-box technique modeling states, events, and transitions to derive tests that exercise valid transitions, invalid transitions, and all states.

Statement coverage

A white-box coverage measure equal to the percentage of executable statements exercised by tests, calculated as statements executed divided by total statements multiplied by 100.

Exploratory testing

An experience-based approach where testers simultaneously design, execute, and learn from tests, using session-based charters to guide and record their work.

Risk-based testing

A strategy that prioritizes test effort according to product risk, where risk level combines likelihood and impact, focusing testing on the most important areas first.

Product risk

A risk related to the quality of the product itself, such as poor usability, security vulnerabilities, or failure-prone functionality, which guides test prioritization.

Exit criteria

Predefined conditions that must be met before a test level or project phase can be considered complete, such as coverage thresholds or defect resolution rates.

Incident report

A document recording an observed failure or anomaly, including steps to reproduce, expected and actual results, environment details, and severity, used to support defect resolution.

Configuration management

The discipline of identifying, controlling, and tracking versions of testware and software items, ensuring testers use consistent and correctly versioned items.

Test estimation methods

Techniques for predicting test effort, including expert judgment, analogy based on similar projects, and wideband Delphi or planning poker for group consensus.

Test automation benefits

Automated tests can reduce repetitive manual effort, increase execution frequency and consistency, and provide faster feedback, but require investment in design and maintenance.

Tool selection process

Assess organizational needs and constraints, evaluate candidate tools against criteria, conduct a pilot, and then decide whether to adopt the tool.

Test execution tool

A tool that runs test scripts and compares actual results with expected results, often supporting regression testing, test reporting, and continuous integration pipelines.

Test management tool

A tool that supports managing testware, test plans, requirements traceability, execution records, and defects, helping monitor progress and report testing status.