Explanation / Rationale

Considering each of the listed review types:

1. Technical review - This type of review is performed by technically qualified reviewers and led by a moderator. The objectives are to gain consensus and make decisions on technical problems while also evaluating quality and building confidence in the work product, generating new ideas, motivating and enabling authors to improve, and detecting anomalies
2. Informal review - The main objective is to detect anomalies. The process is not defined and does not require formal documented output
3. Inspection - This is the most formal review type, and it follows the complete generic review process. The primary objective is to find the most anomalies, and other objectives include evaluating quality and building confidence in the work product, motivating and enabling authors to improve, and collecting metrics that can be used to enhance the software development life cycle (SDLC), including the inspection process. The author cannot act as the review leader or scribe
4. Walkthrough - Led by the author, this type of review serves various objectives such as evaluating quality and building confidence in the work product, educating reviewers, gaining consensus, generating new ideas, motivating and enabling authors to improve, and detecting anomalies. Reviewers might perform an individual review before the walkthrough, but this is not mandatory

A. Includes objectives such as gaining consensus, generating new ideas, and motivating authors to improve (A)
B. The main objective is detecting potential defects and it generates no formal documented output (D)
C. The main objective is detecting potential defects and it requires metrics collection to support process improvement (C)
D. Includes objectives such as educating reviewers, gaining consensus, generating new ideas and detecting potential defects (B)

Thus:
a) Is not correct
b) Is correct. The correct match is: 1A, 2D, 3C, 4B
c) Is not correct
d) Is not correct

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. The testing role is primarily responsible for the technical and engineering aspects of testing, such as test analysis, test design, test implementation, and test execution. Evaluating the test basis for defects and the test object for testability are tasks performed as part of test analysis, so it is likely they are tasks performed by the testing role
b) Is not correct. The testing role is primarily responsible for the technical and engineering aspects of testing, such as test analysis, test design, test implementation, and test execution. Defining the test environment requirements is a task performed as part of test design, so it is likely to be a task performed by the testing role
c) Is not correct. The testing role is primarily responsible for the technical and engineering aspects of testing, such as test analysis, test design, test implementation, and test execution. Assessing the testability of a test object is a task performed as part of test analysis, so it is likely to be a task performed by the testing role
d) Is correct. The test management role primarily involves activities related to test planning, test monitoring and control, and test completion. Thus, creating the test completion report, which is the prime output from the test completion activity, is likely to be a task performed by the test management role

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. Debugging is the process of finding, analyzing, and removing the causes of failures in a component or system
b) Is not correct. Testing is the process concerned with planning, preparation and evaluation of a component or system and related work products to determine that they satisfy specified requirements, to demonstrate that they are fit for purpose and to detect defects. It is not related to fixing causes of failures
c) Is not correct. Requirement elicitation is the process of gathering, capturing, and consolidating requirements from available sources. It is not related to fixing causes of failures
d) Is not correct. Defect management is the process of recognizing, recording, classifying, investigating, resolving, and disposing of defects. It is not related to fixing causes of failures

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Quality control applies to all development activities, meaning that every software development activity has a corresponding test activity. However, here we are attempting to equate test levels with development levels, and, although we know what is meant by ‘test levels’, there is no common understanding of the term ‘ development level’
b) Is not correct. Every software development activity has a corresponding test activity; however test objectives are quite different. For instance, there might be a test objective of ensuring that a test object adheres to a contractual requirement that a certain type of testing must be performed before delivery. In this case there is no reason for there to be a corresponding development objective
c) Is not correct. Quality control applies to all development activities, meaning that every software development activity has a corresponding test activity. However, the same symmetry does not apply to testing and user activities. For instance, for some systems it is difficult to even identify the end users. Also, some test activities are focused on developers (e.g., testing for ease of maintainability), which has no user aspect to it
d) Is correct. Quality control applies to all development activities, meaning that every software development activity has a corresponding test activity

Explanation / Rationale

According to the dependencies, SEARCH tests must be executed first, then VIEW tests, then ADD tests and, at the end, ORDER tests. Within each of these groups the order is determined by the priorities of the test cases.
So, TC1 must be executed first, then TC2, then TC4 followed by TC3, and then TC5 as the last one.
So, the ordering is: TC1, TC2, TC4, TC3, TC5.
Thus:
a) Is correct. TC3 will be the fourth test case executed
b) Is not correct
c) Is not correct
d) Is not correct

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. While the sentence is true, it does not provide much value for the developer
b) Is correct. From the test results it seems that the system ignores duplicates and sorts the list disregarding the repetitions. This is probably the cause of failures in TC3, TC4, TC5. Such information may help the developer to find the defect and fix it more efficiently
c) Is not correct. The system does not fail in sorting negative numbers. The problem is rather in disregarding duplicates
d) Is not correct. The test cases TC3, TC4 and TC5 fail, but we aren’t aware that the test cases have any defects

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Traceability is the relationship between two or more work products, not between different versions of the same work product
b) Is not correct. Maintenance testing is about testing changes; it is not related closely to versioning
c) Is correct. To support testing, configuration management may involve the version control of all test items
d) Is not correct. Requirements engineering is the elicitation, documentation, and management of requirements; it is not closely related to test script versioning

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. In agile software development, deliverables are produced in each iteration, and the frequent delivery of increments necessitates extensive regression testing. Although some (or all) of this regression testing may be automated, the regression testing (automated or not) cannot be replaced by system test automation
b) Is correct. If a sequential development model is used, then early in the lifecycle no code is available for execution, and so during this time static testing (e.g., reviews) is performed. Later in the lifecycle, when code is available for execution, dynamic testing is possible. Note, however, that preparation for dynamic testing will often occur early in any software development lifecycle
c) Is not correct. If an iterative development model, like agile software development, is used, then component tests may well be used for regression testing for each iteration. In which case, there is a strong argument for automating these component tests, which will have to be run frequently, and there is unlikely to be a strong argument for developers performing these component tests manually
d) Is not correct. In most incremental development models, deliverables are produced in each increment, requiring both static and dynamic testing at all test levels for each increment delivered

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. QA concentrates on process improvement and implementation, using a preventive approach to avoid errors and defects, while testing is a form of QC that is used to detect defects
b) Is correct. QC aims to achieve appropriate levels of quality by focusing on identifying and correcting product defects. Testing is a significant part of QC and helps to uncover these defects
c) Is not correct. Although testing is a significant part of QC and helps to uncover defects, other (non-testing) techniques utilized in QC include formal methods like model checking and proof of correctness, as well as simulation and prototyping
d) Is not correct. QA concentrates on process improvement and implementation, using a preventive approach to avoid errors and defects, while testing is a form of QC that is used to detect defects

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. A lack of usability provided through the user interface can be detected through a review using a suitable checklist, but the lack of usability can also be identified by getting several typical users to dynamically test the user interface and provide feedback on its usability
b) Is correct. A code review can detect code that cannot be reached by any path, however dynamic tests can only exercise reachable code and cannot determine that code cannot be reached without running every possible combination of inputs and input states, which is impractical for real code
c) Is not correct. Poor response times for most of the expected users are difficult to determine without executing the code (i.e., by static testing), so in this situation dynamic testing could find a defect, but static testing is unlikely to find it
d) Is not correct. A review of the code by someone who is aware of the required features could detect that the required features had not been implemented in the code, and dynamic testing could also be used to determine that these required features had not been implemented

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Confirmation testing to check that the updates have resulted in a correct implementation is necessary, however, it would then be sensible to perform regression testing to ensure that no defects have been introduced or uncovered in unchanged areas of the system
b) Is correct. Confirmation testing will check that the updates have resulted in a correct implementation, and then regression testing will be used to ensure that no defects have been introduced or uncovered in unchanged areas of the system
c) Is not correct. Regression testing should be used to ensure that no defects have been introduced or uncovered in unchanged areas of the system when the update was made, however it is also necessary to perform confirmation testing that will check that the updates have resulted in a correct implementation
d) Is not correct. Confirmation testing will check that the updates have resulted in a correct implementation, and regression testing will be used to ensure that no defects have been introduced or uncovered in unchanged areas of the system. However, when performed (i.e., when an update needs to be tested), confirmation testing precedes regression testing

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Risk impact and risk likelihood are independent
b) Is not correct. Risk impact and risk likelihood are independent
c) Is correct. Risk impact and risk likelihood are independent
d) Is not correct. We need both factors to calculate risk level

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. In most cases both black-box test techniques and experience-based test techniques can be used for the same test objects
b) Is not correct. Both black-box test techniques and experience-based test techniques can be used at all test levels
c) Is correct. Black-box test techniques (also known as specification-based techniques) are based on an analysis of the specified behavior of the test object without reference to its internal structure. So, the test basis is usually a specification. Experience-based test techniques effectively use the knowledge and experience of testers for the design and implementation of test cases. This means that the tester, when designing tests, may not use the specification at all
d) Is not correct. Experience-based test techniques can detect defects that may be missed using black-box (and white-box) test techniques. Hence, experience-based test techniques are complementary to black-box test techniques and white-box test techniques and both black-box test techniques and experience-based test techniques can be used in all SDLCs

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Practices involved in shift-left testing are aimed at implementing more testing activities in the early phases of the development life cycle, portraying the SDLC as moving from left to right. There is no such thing as the left-hand side of the test process
b) Is correct. Shift-left emphasizes the importance of starting testing earlier in the software development lifecycle (SDLC). Implementing shift-left testing necessitates additional training, and increased effort and costs during the early stages of the SDLC, nevertheless, overall savings should be higher
c) Is not correct. Although automated component tests and component integration tests for regression testing are generally valuable, the creation of these tests is normally the responsibility of the developers, and if a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) approach is followed, then these tests will have been submitted with the code. In some situations the tester may automate tests for regression testing, and sometimes even for component tests and component integration tests, however this is not part of a ‘shift-left’ approach which moves testing earlier in the SDLC
d) Is not correct. Training testers to perform tasks early in the SDLC would support a shift-left approach by emphasizing the importance of starting testing earlier in the SDLC. However, automating more test activities to be performed later in the SDLC is not part of a ‘shift-left’ approach

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. DevOps generally increases the visibility of non-functional quality characteristics, such as performance and reliability
b) Is not correct. Automated processes like continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) used in DevOps facilitate stable test environments
c) Is not correct. Automated processes like CI/CD used in DevOps generally reduce the need for manual testing
d) Is correct. DevOps implementation can pose several risks and challenges, including the need to define and set up the delivery pipeline, introduce and maintain CI/CD tools, and establish and maintain test automation

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. The test pyramid emphasizes having a larger number of tests at the lower test levels
b) Is correct. It is not true that near the top of pyramid, test automation should be more formal
c) Is not correct. Usually component testing and component integration testing are automated using API-based tools
d) Is not correct. For system testing and acceptance testing, the automated tests are typically created using GUI-based tools

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Decision table testing is a black-box test technique, so it is specification-based, not structure-based – the test cases are not based on the decisions in the source code. In branch testing, the test cases are derived from knowledge of the control flow of the test object
b) Is not correct. Anticipation of potential defects is used in error guessing (an experience-based test technique), not in branch testing (a structure-based technique). In decision table testing, the test cases are derived from the specification that describes the business logic
c) Is not correct. If a test case is based on the knowledge of the control flow of the test object, it is a white-box test technique. Decision table testing is typically based on an analysis of business logic, so it is a black-box test technique. In branch testing, test cases are not derived from the specification – this would make it a black-box test technique. Branch testing is a white-box test technique, where test cases are derived based on the source code structure
d) Is correct. Decision table testing is a black-box test technique, so it is based on an analysis of the specified behavior of the test object without reference to its internal structure. Therefore, the test cases are independent of how the software is implemented. Branch testing is a white-box test technique, so test cases are based on an analysis of the test object’s internal structure and processing. As the test cases are dependent on how the software is designed and coded, they can only be created after the design or implementation of the test object

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. Test-Driven Development (TDD) is a well-known example of a test-first approach to development
b) Is not correct. Coverage-Driven Development is not a correct example of a test-first approach to development
c) Is not correct. Quality-Driven Development is not a correct example of a test-first approach to development
d) Is not correct. Feature-Driven Development is not an example of a test-first approach to development, but is, instead, an agile software development methodology based around delivering features (as opposed to user stories in Scrum)

Explanation / Rationale

Considering each of the listed roles:

1. Scribe (or Recorder) - responsible for gathering feedback from reviewers and documenting review information, such as decisions made, and any new anomalies identified during the review meeting. (Records review information, such as decisions and new anomalies found during the review meeting - B)
2. Review Leader - responsible for overseeing the review process, such as selecting the review team members, scheduling review meetings, and ensuring that the review is completed successfully.
(Takes overall responsibility for the review such as organizing when and where the review will take place - D)
3. Facilitator (or Moderator) - responsible for ensuring that the review meetings run effectively, including managing time, mediating discussions, and creating a safe environment where everyone can voice their opinions freely. (Ensures the effective running of review meetings and the setting up of a safe review environment - A)
4. Manager - responsible for deciding what needs to be reviewed and allocating resources, such as staff and time, for the review. (Decides what is to be reviewed and provides resources, such as staff and time for the review - C)

Thus:
a) Is not correct
b) Is not correct
c) Is correct. The correct match is: 1B, 2D, 3A, 4C
d) Is not correc

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. The test plan may include test data requirements (as part of the test approach), but not the detailed test data for test cases. Test data is part of the test cases, not the test plan. Also, it is usually impossible to define such data when the test plan is created, because it is not exactly known what the components will look like
b) Is not correct. One of the purposes of a test plan is to help ensure that the performed test activities will meet the established criteria, by including entry criteria and exit criteria. The code coverage criteria are an example of such criteria for the component test level
c) Is not correct. Documentation templates are typical content of a test plan. This helps to facilitate communication between the stakeholders by defining a standard way of communicating or reporting
d) Is not correct. One of the purposes of a test plan is to demonstrate that testing will adhere to the existing test policy and test strategy, or to explain why the testing will deviate from them. This is an example of explaining the deviation, regarding the test levels that will be (or will not be) followed

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. The benefits of retrospectives include team bonding and learning from sharing issues, and better collaboration between developers and testers through reviewing and improving working practices. Calling out individuals who a team member may feel did not fully contribute to achieving quality as required by the whole-team approach will not contribute to this team bonding and collaboration
b) Is correct. During the retrospective, the group discusses what aspects of the project were successful and should be retained, as well as areas that could be improved, and how to do so
c) Is not correct. The benefits of retrospectives are based on increased effectiveness and efficiency through process improvements; they are not an opportunity to let off steam and criticize management and customers. Also, the results are recorded, usually in the test completion report, so anything said in the meeting could be read by other stakeholders
d) Is not correct. Retrospectives are meetings that are typically held at the end of an iteration where team members will focus on discussing quality-related issues that have occurred in the current iteration. They are not used for making plans or technical decisions for the next iteration; this would be done in the iteration planning meeting at the start of the next iteration

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Exploratory testing uses test charters, not a list of possible defects/failures. Although exploratory testing can incorporate the use of other test techniques, in this case fault attack is the most likely option
b) Is correct. This is a list of possible failures. Fault attacks are a methodical approach to the implementation of error guessing and require the tester to create or acquire a list of possible errors, defects and failures, and to design tests that will identify defects associated with the errors, expose the defects, or cause the failures
c) Is not correct. The tester is using a checklist of items to support their testing. Both error guessing and checklist-based testing use such lists, however, the list here is of possible failures, not test conditions, and so the MOST PROBABLE test technique is fault attack, which focuses on errors, defects and failures
d) Is not correct. BVA is based on an analysis of boundary values of equivalence partitions. The above list does not mention equivalence partitions or their boundaries

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. The miscalculation of bonuses is a failure by the system, not a defect
b) Is not correct. The system not suitably supporting disabled users is a failure which eventually results in a fine, but the fine itself is not a failure (it appears to be the correct functioning of the regulatory system)
c) Is correct. The error is made by the programmer and this mistake is caused by them working under severe time pressure, which is the root cause of the subsequent defect
d) Is not correct. The poor design of the user interface, which does not suitably address disabled users, is a design defect caused by the designer error. Thus the design of the user interface includes a design defect not a designer error

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. It is important that testers are involved from the beginning of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). It will increase understanding of design decisions and will detect defects early.
b) Is not correct. Both developers and testers will have more understanding of each other's work products and how to test the code
c) Is not correct. End users will not help the testers in increasing the quality of defect reports; also, users usually do not participate in low-level testing levels like integration testing
d) Is not correct. Being certified does not automatically mean that the tester will be better in test design

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Testing quadrants have nothing to do with describing the relationships between test levels
b) Is not correct. Testing quadrants cannot help in assessing any type of coverage
c) Is correct. Testing quadrants allow managers and other stakeholders to understand the relationships between test types, the activities they support (team support or product critique), and the viewpoint they are focused on (business- or technology-facing)
d) Is not correct. Testing quadrants is not a psychological model

Explanation / Rationale

Considering each of the listed testware, and the test activity that produces it:

i. The test completion report is an output of the test completion activity
ii. Data held in a database used for test inputs and expected results is the test data - output of test implementation activity
iii. The list of elements needed to build the test environment is the test environment requirements - output of test design activity.
iv. Documented sequences of test cases in execution order are the test procedures - output of test implementation activity
v. Test cases - output of test design activity

Test implementation produces the following outputs: test procedures (iv), automated test scripts, test suites, test data (ii), test execution schedule, and test environment elements such as stubs, drivers, simulators, and service virtualizations.

Thus:
a) Is correct. Items ii and iv in the list are produced as a result of test implementation
b) Is not correct
c) Is not correct
d) Is not correct

Explanation / Rationale

There are three equivalence partitions: {…, –2, –1}, {0, 1, 2}, {3, 4, …}.
For 2-value BVA all the boundary values for all the equivalence partitions must be covered.
The boundary values are –1 (for the “temperature too low” partition), 0, 2 (for the “temperature OK” partition) and 3 (for the “temperature too high” partition).

Thus:
a) Is not correct
b) Is not correct
c) Is correct. The correct option is: –1, 0, 2, 3
d) Is not correct

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. Test automation can provide measures that are too complicated for humans to derive, such as white-box test coverage measures for all but the most trivial code
b) Is not correct. By using test tools the responsibility for the testing is NOT shared with the tool vendor as the vendor is not involved in the testing, and it is the tester’s responsibility. The only possible responsibility that could be assigned to the tool vendor is if the tool fails to work as expected and provides incorrect test results
c) Is not correct. Testers still need to perform critical thinking when analyzing anomalies in the test results to determine their likely cause
d) Is not correct. Neither testers nor tools can generate test cases simply from an analysis of the program code as the code is the implementation and provides no information on the expected results, which will need to come from another part of the test basis, such as the design specification

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. The number of defects found is related to the test object quality
b) Is not correct. This is the measure of the test efficiency not the test object quality
c) Is not correct. The number of test cases executed does not tell us anything about the quality; test results might do
d) Is correct. defect density is related to the test object quality
e) Is not correct. Time to repair is a process metric. It does not tell us anything about the product quality

Explanation / Rationale

The testware under consideration is a test charter

Test charters are the output from test design
Thus:
a) Is not correct
b) Is not correct
c) Is not correct
d) Is correct

Explanation / Rationale

The five listed descriptions and the corresponding review process activities are:

1. This describes part of the ‘communication and analysis’ activity
2. This describes part of the ‘fixing and reporting’ activity
3. This describes part of the ‘individual review’ activity
4. This describes part of the ‘planning’ activity
5. This describes part of the ‘review initiation’ activity

The generic review process from ISO/IEC 20246, which is outlined in the syllabus, comprises the following activities in this logical order:

• Planning (4)
• Review initiation (5)
• Individual review (3)
• Communication and analysis (1)
• Fixing and reporting (2)

Thus:
a) Is not correct
b) Is correct. The correct sequence of activities is: 4 – 5 – 3 – 1 – 2
c) Is not correct
d) Is not correct

Explanation / Rationale

There are five columns in the decision table. Each test case covers one of them.

TC1 and TC2 both cover Rule 4
TC3 and TC4 both cover Rule 2
TC5 covers Rule 5

So, these five test cases cover three out of five columns, achieving a coverage of (3/5)*100% = 60%. Therefore, option b) is the CORRECT option.
Thus:
a) Is not correct
b) Is correct
c) Is not correct
d) Is not correct

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Usability testing is business facing testing that critiques the product (Q3)
b) Is not correct. Functional testing is business facing testing (Q2)
c) Is not correct. User acceptance testing is business facing testing that critiques the product (Q3)
d) Is correct. Component integration testing is technology facing testing that supports the team (guides the development) (Q1)

Explanation / Rationale

Considering each of the listed example defects:

i. Two different parts of the design specification disagree due to the complexity of the design – this is an example of a specification defect, which includes inconsistencies, ambiguities, contradictions, omissions, inaccuracies, and duplications, which can most easily be found by static testing
ii. A response time is too long and so makes users lose patience – this is an example of a response time defect, which can only be detected in practice by executing the program and measuring the response time, which can most easily be found by dynamic testing
iii. A path in the code cannot be reached during execution - this is an example of a coding defect, which includes variables with undefined values, undeclared variables, duplicated or unreachable code, and excessive code complexity, which can most easily be found by static testing
iv. A variable is declared but never subsequently used in the program - this is an example of a coding defect, which includes variables with undefined values, undeclared variables, duplicated or unreachable code, and excessive code complexity, which can most easily be found by static testing
v. The amount of memory needed by the program to generate a report is too high – this is an example of a performance defect, which can only be detected in practice by executing the program and measuring the memory used, which can most easily be found by dynamic testing

Thus:
a) Is not correct
b) Is not correct
c) Is not correct
d) Is correct. The correct match for static testing is i, iii, and iv

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. We want to check that Special users have the rights of Regular users, so we need to test access rights for a Special user, not for a Regular user
b) Is not correct. We want to check that Special users have the rights of Regular users, so we need to test access rights for a Special user, not for a Regular user
c) Is not correct. There is no floor 5 described in the acceptance criteria. The test cases should not extend the scope of the user story. But even if we would like to perform negative testing, this test is not directly related to AC3
d) Is correct. This way we can check if a Special user can access floors which are accessible to a Regular user

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Traceability between the mitigated risks and passing test cases provides little information, because to be mitigated (by testing) the risks would need to have a corresponding passing test case. To be able to assess residual risk, traceability between all risks and test results needs to be available, so that the risks that do not have a corresponding passing test can be identified as the residual risks
b) Is correct. Traceability between user requirements and test execution results provides an indication of which user requirements have been tested and so provides a means of measuring project progress (in the context of testing) against business goals
c) Is not correct. It is not clear that failing test cases provide an indication of tester skills any more than passing test cases. It would partly depend on the test objective (e.g., building confidence or causing failures). Also, such measurement of testers based on passing and failing test cases can be counter-productive as it could cause the testers to optimize their testing based on that metric rather than the test objective
d) Is not correct. Traceability between the identified risks and written test conditions provides a means of determining which further test conditions need to be written. Determining which risks are worth testing is part of risk management, and risk mitigation in particular

Explanation / Rationale

We want to run test cases according to their priorities, but we also need to consider the dependencies.
If we only consider priorities, we want to first run TC 5 and TC 7 (highest priority), then TC 1, TC 3, and TC 4, and finally TC 2 and TC 6 (lowest priority).
However, in order to run TC 7, we need to first run TC 4.
In order to run TC 5, we need to run TC 4 and TC 2, but TC 2 is blocked by TC 1, which should be run prior to TC 2.
So, in order to run priority 1 test cases as early as possible, the first five test cases should be: TC 4 - TC 7 - TC 1 - TC 2 - TC 5.
Next, we need to run TC 3, because it has higher priority than TC 6.
Thus the full schedule will be TC 4 – TC 7 – TC 1 – TC 2 – TC 5 – TC 3 – TC 6.
So, the sixth test case will be TC 3.

Thus:
a) Is correct
b) Is not correct
c) Is not correct
d) Is not correct

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. ‘The capability of generating test cases without access to the test basis’ is not possible. The generation of test cases by either testers or tools requires access to the test basis
b) Is not correct. ‘The achievement of increased coverage through more objective assessment’ is not a direct benefit of test automation. Test automation will provide more objective assessment of coverage, however that objective assessment will not increase the coverage. Only by using the results of the coverage to write further test cases can the coverage possibly be increased
c) Is not correct. ‘The increase in test execution times available with higher processing power’ is a contradictory statement as higher processing power would normally reduce execution times, and increased execution times are not a benefit as the testing would take longer
d) Is correct. The prevention of human errors through greater consistency and repeatability is a benefit of test automation as test automation cannot suffer from human errors. For instance, it means that tests are consistently derived from requirements, test data is created in a systematic manner, and tests are executed by a tool in the same order with the same frequency

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. The detection of additional high-severity defects would be a benefit of test automation, rather than a risk
b) Is not correct. The provision of measures that are too complicated for humans to derive themselves is normally considered to be a benefit of test automation
c) Is correct. If the test automation is incompatible with the development platform, then it will not be able to integrate them, and, for instance, pass test inputs to the test object and receive test results from the test object
d) Is not correct. Substantially reduced test execution times would normally be considered a benefit that is provided by test automation

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. The ‘tests wear out’ principle is concerned with the idea that repeating identical tests on unaltered code is unlikely to uncover novel defects and therefore, modifying tests may be essential. By using high-level test conditions to generate new tests each time, the tests will not be identical and should not ‘wear out’
b) Is not correct. The ‘absence-of-defects fallacy’ principle is concerned with ensuring that users’ needs are fulfilled even if lots of testing is done and no defects are found (i.e., validation is also necessary). The use of high-level test conditions to generate test cases and execute tests does not directly address this concern
c) Is not correct. The ‘early testing saves time and money’ principle is concerned with fixing defects early on to prevent the occurrence of subsequent defects in derived work products, thereby reducing costs and the likelihood of failures. This is typically addressed by starting testing (both static and dynamic) as early as possible, but this is not addressed by using high-level test conditions to generate test cases and execute tests
d) Is not correct. The ‘Defects cluster together’ principle is concerned with the distribution of defects in a system, which typically follows a Pareto distribution. The use of high-level test conditions to generate test cases and execute tests does not address this concern, which is typically addressed by risk-based testing