ISTQB CTFL v4.0 – Sample Exam 4-3 Practice Test (40 Questions)

Question 1

How does performing root cause analysis help an organization’s quality assurance activities?

A. It supports identifying common underlying reasons for defects and improving processes to prevent them.
B. It specifies how developers can write code more quickly.
C. It defines which root causes other teams should try to reproduce.
D. It mainly provides arguments to obtain extra project funding.

Question 2

In an Agile team, testers are blamed for slowing the sprint because system testing is taking time. Which approach would best use the whole team’s skills to finish the work?

A. Adopt a whole-team approach so that developers and others help with testing tasks.
B. Split the team into separate development and test sub-teams with strict hand-offs.
C. Introduce behavior-driven development as a replacement for system testing.
D. Move to a classic sequential (waterfall) lifecycle to control testing better.

Question 3

Which situation is an example of debugging rather than testing?

A. A tester executes tests, observes a failure, and logs a defect report.
B. A tester re-runs a test after a fix and discovers a new regression problem.
C. A developer analyses the code that caused a failure and changes it to remove the defect.
D. A developer executes unit tests that all pass successfully.

Question 4

Which statement about exhaustive testing is most accurate?

A. It is essentially the same as stress testing the system to its limits.
B. It is only realistic for very simple software with few inputs and states.
C. It is routinely achieved by using automation tools on most projects.
D. It is normally carried out by developers while unit testing.

Question 5

You must report how much of the requirements have been run in testing so far. What do you need in place to calculate this execution coverage?

A. Explicit links between test cases and the requirements they verify.
B. Mappings that show which test cases address each identified risk item.
C. Relationships between requirements and risk items only.
D. Counts of how many requirements have at least one designed test case.

Question 6

On a typical project, who is primarily responsible for creating and maintaining the overall test plan?

A. The project manager.
B. The product owner.
C. The test manager or person in a similar test leadership role.
D. Any tester who is available when planning starts.

Question 7

Your team has analysed quality risks and, for each one, agreed its likelihood, impact, and mitigation approach. Where should this information normally be stored?

A. In the high-level test strategy document only.
B. In the master test plan as the main content.
C. In a risk register that can be referenced by the test plan.
D. In a separate risk plan that replaces other test documentation.

Question 8

A junior tester designs a single “happy path” test for a user story and overlooks error conditions and alternate flows. Which generic tester skill is most clearly missing?

A. Communication skills when working with the team.
B. Curiosity about how the product behaves in production.
C. Confidence in executing the tests that were created.
D. Creativity in identifying additional scenarios, including negative ones.

Question 9

Which statement is an example of a sound general testing practice?

A. Each test level should have its own clear test objectives.
B. All testers should have prior experience as software developers.
C. Developers should decide the order in which test procedures are run.
D. Test design should begin only after all code has been completed.

Question 10

Which development approach expresses requirements as simple, structured test cases (for example using “Given/When/Then”)?

A. Test-driven development (TDD).
B. Behavior-driven development (BDD).
C. Acceptance test-driven development (ATDD).
D. Time-boxed backlog-driven development (TBD).

Question 11

To which test type does usability testing belong?

A. Functional testing.
B. Non-functional testing.
C. Structural testing.
D. Change-related testing.

Question 12

You receive a new build every day. Some fixes listed by developers are missing from the build or still fail. Which testing activity specifically checks whether those fixes have been correctly implemented in a new build?

A. Unit testing performed by developers.
B. System testing focusing on new functionality only.
C. Confirmation testing to verify that reported defects have been fixed.
D. Regression testing of unchanged parts of the product.

Question 13

After a project retrospective, the team has identified what went well and what needs improvement. What else should they decide to actually realize process improvements?

A. Which practices will be kept or changed and how they will be implemented in future work.
B. Which individuals were at fault for the problems discovered.
C. Exactly how much money could have been saved during the project.
D. Why the improvements were not applied earlier in the lifecycle.

Question 14

Operations staff report recurring performance problems in production. Your organization is adopting DevOps with a CI/CD pipeline. How can this help address those performance concerns?

A. It cannot help; performance must be fixed only during architectural design.
B. By integrating performance tests into the pipeline so that performance is checked repeatedly as changes flow through.
C. By running all performance testing solely during a late system integration test phase.
D. By using performance specialists who test only in a separate, isolated environment at the end.

Question 15

Which option is a static testing technique rather than a dynamic one?

A. Using error guessing while executing the system.
B. Running an automated regression suite overnight.
C. Supplying input data and checking the runtime outputs of the code.
D. Reviewing the source code with peers to look for defects.

Question 16

You are invited to requirement reviews, but you usually receive the specification only the evening before the review meeting. You then rush and work extra hours to skim the document. Which key success factor for reviews is missing?

A. Strong management support for using reviews across the project.
B. Limiting the size of each work product being reviewed.
C. Training participants on how to behave during review meetings.
D. Providing reviewers with enough time to prepare and perform the review.

Question 17

What is the fundamental difference between static testing and dynamic testing?

A. Static testing is done only by developers, while dynamic testing is done only by testers.
B. Static testing needs automated tools; dynamic testing must be manual.
C. Static testing must be finished before any dynamic tests may start.
D. Dynamic testing executes the software, whereas static testing examines work products without running them.

Question 18

If the author leads a structured review meeting for their own work product, which type of review is taking place?

A. An informal ad-hoc review.
B. A walkthrough.
C. An inspection with a moderator in charge.
D. An independent audit.

Question 19

When tests are designed directly from the internal structure of the code, which test design technique is being used?

A. Black-box (specification-based) testing.
B. White-box (structure-based) testing.
C. Requirement-based testing.
D. Behavior-based (user-scenario) testing.

Question 20

How is statement coverage defined for white-box testing?

A. Number of decision points executed divided by the number of test cases.
B. Number of branches exercised divided by the total executable statements.
C. Number of distinct test outcomes divided by the number of function points.
D. Number of executable statements exercised divided by all executable statements in the code.

Question 21

Your project has a very tight deadline. The code exists but cannot yet be run. Which type of testing could you still perform to uncover defects now?

A. Black-box testing based on external requirements.
B. White-box analysis and reviews of the code structure.
C. Experience-based exploratory execution of the software.
D. Factor-based statistical testing using production logs.

Question 22

You deliberately design tests by thinking about mistakes that developers commonly make. Which category of test technique are you applying?

A. Specification-based testing.
B. Structure-based testing.
C. Experience-based testing (error guessing).
D. Reference-based testing.

Question 23

Exploratory testing is organized into short, time-boxed sessions, each guided by a written charter. What is this style of testing called?

A. Schedule-based testing.
B. Session-based exploratory testing.
C. Risk-based testing.
D. Formal chartering.

Question 24

While writing acceptance criteria for a story, you create a list that maps possible input combinations to the corresponding expected outputs. Which style of acceptance criteria are you using?

A. An input-process-output (IPO) format including all process steps.
B. An acceptance-oriented free-text description.
C. A rules-oriented format that focuses on input/output combinations.
D. A behavior-driven format using “Given/When/Then” scenarios.

Question 25

A cash machine allows withdrawals of exactly 20, 100, or 500 dollars, chosen from a drop-down list. No other values may be entered. Using equivalence partitioning on the input amount, how many partitions must be tested for full coverage?

A. 1 partition covering all three valid amounts together.
B. 2 partitions: valid and invalid amounts.
C. 3 partitions, one for each permitted amount.
D. 4 partitions: each valid value plus one partition for invalid selections (including no choice).

Question 26

A shipping system calculates cost from weight in pounds, with a maximum allowed weight of 100 lbs:

0–10: $5.00 11–25: $7.50 26–50: $12.00 51–100: $17.00

Using two-value boundary value analysis (testing both sides of each valid boundary and outside the valid range), how many test inputs are required for full coverage?

A. 4 tests.
B. 8 tests.
C. 10 tests.
D. 12 tests.

Question 27

You are deriving a decision table for ordering a hamburger. A basic burger can be chosen, optional extra items may be added, items may be removed, and fries may also be requested. If any items are added or removed, the order is no longer considered the basic burger.

Which option best describes a correct decision table for this behaviour?

A. A table that does not allow any rule where items are both added and removed in the same order.
B. A table with eight rules that covers all combinations of adding and deleting items and fries, and marks the burger as “basic” only when no changes are made.
C. A table that assumes deleting items is impossible once anything has been added, leading to duplicate rules.
D. A table that marks the burger as “basic” for all rules, regardless of whether items are added or removed.

Question 28

An online shop has the following states: Login, Search, Shopping Cart, and Checkout. A failed login returns to Login; a successful login goes to Search. From Search, customers can search again, go to the cart, or stay in search. From the cart they can return to search or move to checkout. From checkout they can go back to search or finish with logout.

How many valid transitions should appear on the state transition diagram for this flow?

A. 4 transitions.
B. 6 transitions.
C. 8 transitions.
D. 16 transitions.

Question 29

Using an ATDD approach, you define tests for a story about hotel floor reservations. Occupancy of a floor has three partitions: empty, between one room and completely full, and overbooked. You already have tests for one occupant, a full floor, an empty floor, usability of the interface, and performance when the hotel is busy.

Which additional test is still missing?

A. A test where the floor is partly occupied, but not full, and is offered for booking.
B. A performance test for heavy usage during special events.
C. A negative test that tries to allocate a guest to a floor that is already fully booked.
D. A usability test to see if staff can use the system without training.

Question 30

The overall level of a particular risk is normally determined by combining which two factors?

A. Likelihood that the problem will occur and the impact if it does.
B. Priority assigned to defects and their current status.
C. Probability of detection and practicality of mitigation actions.
D. Results of risk identification workshops and the current mitigation plan.

Question 31

Which statement is an example of a clear and realistic exit criterion for system testing?

A. All planned tests should be completed.
B. The full project budget should be consumed.
C. Every single defect in the defect tracker should be fixed.
D. All defects classified as severity 1 are resolved.

Question 32

You decide that exploratory testing is the most suitable technique for the current work. In the Agile testing quadrants, to which quadrant does this testing mainly belong?

A. Quadrant 1.
B. Quadrant 2.
C. Quadrant 3.
D. Quadrant 4.

Question 33

Which situation is primarily a project risk rather than a product risk?

A. A code defect is causing poor system performance in test.
B. Two separate requirements describe the same behaviour differently.
C. The data conversion routine may fail for some legacy records.
D. The schedule demands work during a company-wide holiday shutdown period.

Question 34

A large ERP implementation has finished testing after two years and is awaiting go-live approval. Which test document should be produced at this point for key stakeholders?

A. A formal test summary report describing results and coverage.
B. The test team’s daily task board from the final sprint.
C. An email to the team congratulating them on the project.
D. A burn-down chart summarizing remaining test tasks only.

Question 35

Software is delivered to the test team in numbered iterations. A failure was found in iteration 3, fixed in iteration 4, and confirmed as fixed. Now in iteration 7, the same failure has reappeared. The developer is unsure when it came back and asks for your help. How can configuration management most usefully support your investigation?

A. By showing exactly which code changed in iteration 4 when the fix was introduced.
B. By allowing you to reinstall and test iterations 5 and 6 to find when the fault re-appeared.
C. By listing every code change since iteration 4 so you can review them all yourself.
D. By forcing you to expand the regression test suite for future iterations.

Question 36

You estimate test effort using three-point estimation. Three experts provide optimistic, likely, and pessimistic values, and the averages are:

	Optimistic	Likely	Pessimistic
Average (days)	30	55	75

Using the formula (O + 4M + P) / 6 and the standard deviation (P − O) / 6, what is the estimate?

A. 325 ± 45.
B. 81.25 ± 8.
C. 54.17 ± 7.5.
D. 40 ± 2.

Question 37

The following tests are defined for an accounting system:

Test ID	Name	Dependency	Priority (1 = highest)
1	Purchase Item	None	2
2	Receive Invoice	Test 1	3
3	Receive Goods	Test 1	2
4	Send Payment	Test 2	3
5	Report Payments	Test 4	1

Considering both priorities and dependencies, in which order should these tests be executed to run the highest priority test as early as possible?

A. 5, 1, 3, 2, 4.
B. 1, 2, 4, 5, 3.
C. 1, 3, 2, 4, 5.
D. 3, 4, 5, 1, 2.

Question 38

A defect report includes the following description:

“The report ran using the attached step list, but the figures were wrong. For instance, the values in the first column were incorrect (see screenshot). This report is vital and users cannot perform their work without it.”

What is the most serious problem with this defect report?

A. The importance of the problem is not clear to the developer.
B. The steps needed to reproduce the failure are missing.
C. The developer cannot see what data the tester is referring to.
D. The expected result is not stated, only that the tester believes the data is wrong.

Question 39

What is the primary purpose of a test execution tool?

A. To run automated test scripts against the test object and record the results.
B. To automatically log every failure into the defect tracking system.
C. To analyse source code for violations of coding standards.
D. To manage requirements, test cases, and defects in a single repository.

Question 40

Which of the following is a known risk associated with using automated test tools?

A. The selected automation tool may no longer be supported or updated in the future.
B. Automation may reduce repetitive manual work in some areas of testing.
C. Automation requires technical testers to develop and maintain scripts.
D. Automation can produce richer and more consistent test reports.

Sample Exam 4-3 – 40 Question Practice Test

Answer Key – Sample Exam 4-3