Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. This is the task of the review leader
b) Is correct. This is the task of the management in a formal review
c) Is not correct. This is the task of the moderator
d) Is not correct. This is the task of the scribe

Explanation / Rationale

Considering the attributes:

• Specified for walkthroughs, technical reviews, and inspections; thus, the reviews being performed cannot be informal reviews
• The purpose of evaluating quality is one of the most important objectives of a walkthrough
• This is not allowed for inspections and is typically not done in technical reviews. A moderator is needed in walkthroughs and is allowed for informal reviews
• All types of reviews can include individual preparation (even informal reviews)
• All types of reviews can produce a review report, although informal reviews do not require documentation

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

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. In the whole-team approach, testers play a vital role by sharing their testing expertise with the team and guiding product development. They collaborate with other team members to achieve the desired quality levels and work with business representatives to create acceptance tests. Testers also partner with developers to determine the optimal test strategy and automation approaches
b) Is correct. By leveraging the diverse skill sets of each team member most effectively, the whole-team approach fosters superior team dynamics, promotes robust communication and collaboration, and generates a synergistic effect that benefits the entire project
c) Is not correct. The whole-team approach allows any team member with the requisite skills and knowledge to undertake any task, thus specialist team members are not an advantage of this approach
d) Is not correct. There is no specific guidance on the optimum size of teams using the whole-team approach, and there is no suggestion that larger teams are better

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

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. 19 covers the “no discount” partition, 20 covers the “50% discount” partition, and 30 covers the “10% discount” partition. These three values cover all three of the valid equivalence partitions
b) Is not correct. 11 and 12 cover the “no discount” partition, while 20 covers the “50% discount” partition, so covering two of the three valid equivalence partitions
c) Is not correct. 1 covers the “no discount” partition, while 10 and 50 cover the “10% discount” partition. The “50% discount” partition is not covered, so overall two of the three valid equivalence partitions are covered
d) Is not correct. 29 and 31 cover the “no discount” partition, while 10 and 30 cover the “10% discount” partition. The “50% discount” partition is not covered, so overall two of the three valid equivalence partitions are covered

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. The feedback is from stakeholders (e.g., business representative, end user), not from developers, so this feedback is not likely to inform managers which developers are more or less productive
b) Is not correct. Early and frequent feedback from stakeholders is not used by project managers to prioritize how they interact with the different stakeholders
c) Is correct. Obtaining feedback from stakeholders early and often in the software development process can be highly beneficial as it facilitates early communication of potential quality issues, can prevent misunderstandings about requirements, and ensures that any changes in stakeholder requirements are understood and implemented sooner
d) Is not correct. Early and frequent feedback can prevent the development of a product that does not meet stakeholder needs, and results in costly rework and missed deadlines, so, ideally there should be no delay. Also, the feedback is from stakeholders (not to them), which includes the end users, so the end users providing feedback will not aid the end users’ understanding

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Acceptance criteria are the conditions used to decide whether the user story is ready. They cannot show work progress
b) Is not correct. Defect reports inform about the defects. They do not show work progress
c) Is not correct. Test completion report can be created after the iteration is finished, so it will not show the progress continuously within an iteration
d) Is correct. Burndown charts are a graphical representation of work left to do versus time remaining. They are updated daily, so they can continuously show the work progress

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Impediments to testing can be high level and business-related, so this is an important piece of information for business stakeholders
b) Is correct. Branch testing is a technical metric used by developers and technical testers. This information is of no interest to business representatives
c) Is not correct. Test progress is project related, so it may be useful for business representatives
d) Is not correct. Risks impact product quality, so it may be useful for business representatives

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. One of the purposes of retrospectives is to identify potential process improvements, which, if put into practice, should result in the quality of future outputs of the development process (test objects) being higher. So, this is likely to occur as a result of a retrospective
b) Is not correct. A benefit of retrospectives for testing includes increased test efficiency through process improvements. So, this is likely to occur as a result of a retrospective
c) Is correct. Participants at retrospectives typically include testers, developers, architects, product owners, and business analysts, but end users are rarely invited or attend these meetings – and they are also unlikely to receive any reports from these meetings. So, it is very unlikely that they will learn and understand more about the development and test processes through retrospectives
d) Is not correct. A benefit of retrospectives for testing includes improved quality of testware (including automated test scripts) through joint reviews with developers. So, this is likely to occur as a result of a retrospective

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. 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

Considering each of the listed tool categories:

i. Collaboration tools – facilitate communication. Communication does not include the facilitation of test execution
ii. DevOps tools - support the DevOps delivery pipeline, workflow tracking, automated build process(es) and CI/CD. The delivery pipeline and CI/CD both include the facilitation of test execution, such as component testing for CI
iii. Management tools – increase the test process efficiency by facilitating management of the SDLC, requirements, tests, defects and configuration. The management of these items does not include the facilitation of test execution
iv. Non-functional testing tools – allow the tester to perform non-functional testing that is difficult or impossible to perform manually. Non-functional testing can include both static testing and dynamic testing, including test execution
v. Test design and implementation tools – facilitate generation of test cases, test data and test procedures. The generation of this testware does not include the facilitation of test execution

Thus:
a) Is not correct
b) Is correct. Both DevOps tools (ii) and Non-functional testing tools (iv) facilitate test execution
c) Is not correct
d) Is not correct

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. The whole team approach promotes robust communication and collaboration between the team members
b) Is not correct. While the whole team approach prioritizes collective accountability for quality, each individual team member is still equally accountable for quality
c) Is not correct. The whole team approach is about how the team works together, with the aim of higher quality deliverables, but it does not necessarily result in faster deployment to end users
d) Is not correct. When using the whole team approach, testers work with business representatives to create acceptance tests. There is no suggestion that the approach will reduce collaboration with external business users

Explanation / Rationale

There are two equivalence partitions that are not yet covered, which correspond to “student discount” and “pensioner discount”.
a) Is not correct. CY – BY = 64, so these inputs correspond to the already covered “no discount” partition
b) Is correct. CY – BY = 65, so these inputs correspond to a partition that is not yet covered (“pensioner discount”)
c) Is not correct. CY – BY = –65, so these inputs correspond to the already covered “error message” partition
d) Is not correct. CY – BY = 18, so these inputs correspond to the already covered “no discount” partition
e) Is correct. CY – BY = 0, so these inputs correspond to a partition that is not yet covered (“student discount”)

Explanation / Rationale

Risk assessment can use a quantitative or qualitative approach, or a mix of them. In the quantitative approach the risk level is calculated as the multiplication of risk likelihood and risk impact. So, Risk level = Risk likelihood * Risk impact
Then, Risk impact = Risk level / Risk likelihood.
In our case, Risk impact = $1,000 / 50% = $1,000 / 0.5 = $2,000.
Thus:
a) Is not correct
b) Is correct
c) Is not correct
d) Is not correct

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. This is done by the testers
b) Is not correct. The product backlog is built and maintained by the product owner
c) Is not correct. This is done by the development team
d) Is not correct. This is a managerial role
e) Is correct. This is done by the testers

Explanation / Rationale

Test cases TC1, TC2, TC3 and TC4 cover, respectively, rules R2, R3, R7 and R6 in the decision table.
a) Is correct. The conditions “66-year-old”, “unregistered” and “no experience” match rule R4, which is not covered by the existing test cases, so after adding this test case, the decision table coverage will increase
b) Is not correct. The conditions “55-year-old”, “unregistered” and “2 years of experience” match rule R2, already covered by TC1. So adding this test case will not increase the coverage
c) Is not correct. The conditions “19-year-old”, “registered” and “5 years of experience” match rule R6, already covered by TC4. So adding this test case will not increase the coverage
d) Is not correct. The existing test cases cover only 4 out of 7 columns of the decision table. The coverage can be increased by adding test cases that cover yet uncovered columns, that is, R1, R4 and R5

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Test monitoring involves the ongoing checking of all activities and comparison of actual progress against the test plan. Test control involves taking the actions necessary to meet the test objectives of the test plan. No test data are prepared during these activities
b) Is not correct. Test analysis includes analyzing the test basis to identify test conditions and prioritize them. Test design includes elaborating the test conditions into test cases and other testware. Test data are not prepared during these activities
c) Is correct. Test implementation includes creating or acquiring the testware necessary for test execution (e.g., test data)
d) Is not correct. Test completion activities occur at project milestones (e.g., release, end of iteration, test level completion), so it is too late for preparing test data

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

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 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

Exploratory testing is useful when there are few or inadequate specifications or there is significant time pressure on the testing. Exploratory testing is also useful to complement other more formal test techniques. Exploratory testing will be more effective if the tester is experienced, has domain knowledge and has a high degree of essential skills, like analytical skills, curiosity and creativeness.

Thus:
a) Is correct. Exploratory testing is useful when there are few or inadequate specifications or there is significant time pressure on the testing
b) Is not correct. Exploratory testing is not a black-box test technique
c) Is not correct. Exploratory testing is useful when the specifications are poorly written
d) Is not correct. Programming skills have nothing to do with exploratory testing in principle
e) Is correct. Exploratory testing will be more effective if the tester is experienced, has domain knowledge and has a high degree of essential skills, like analytical skills, curiosity and creativeness

Explanation / Rationale

The average development effort is $900,000 and the average test effort is $90,000 (calculated from the four projects).
The average test-to-development effort ratio is 1:10 ($90,000 : $900,000), which means that historically, on average, the test effort is 10% of the development effort.
So if the development effort is estimated to be $800,000, the estimated test effort is estimated as:

10% * $800,000 = 0.1 * $800,000 = $80,000.

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

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Checklists should contain test conditions to be verified. This is an example of an error, not a test condition; even if the tester was able to deduce some potential test conditions from the examples of errors, this error description is too general
b) Is not correct. Checklists should not contain items that are better suited as exit criteria. This is an example of an exit criterion
c) Is not correct. Checklists should not contain items that are too general. This is a very general item, which practically describes the goal of testing
d) Is correct. This is an example of a test condition that can be checked by a human

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. It is often possible to use dynamic testing to cause a test object to fail in ways that could never be achieved by the users, such as by using fault injection. However, if the failure can never occur with real end users, then identifying it is not especially valuable as testing is ultimately aimed at improving the work product for the end users. Spending time testing for failures that cannot occur with real users is not an efficient use of a tester’s time
b) Is not correct. Static testing in the form of static analysis is used by developers to identify defects in their program code earlier than can be achieved through dynamic testing. Note, however, that static testing (and static analysis) is used to detect defects, not failures, which are found by dynamic testing. Thus it is the use of the term ‘failures’ that makes this an incorrect option
c) Is not correct. Static analysis directly detects anomalies in code, which may be defects, and this is normally for the developer, not the customer. The provision of evidence for release by the use of static analysis of elements that provide no output is nonsense
d) Is correct. Reviews are a form of static testing that can be applied from the very start of the software development lifecycle and are used to find defects that can be removed before subsequent development activities waste effort on faulty requirements. If the defects are not detected and removed early on, then when the defect is found derived work products, such as the design and code, will need to be changed as they were based on faulty requirements

Explanation / Rationale

Considering each of the listed test activities and their tasks:

A. Test analysis - To identify the features that require testing, the test basis is analyzed and defined as test conditions, which are then prioritized along with related risks. During this test analysis, defects in the test basis are typically uncovered, and the test object's testability may also be assessed. (Task 4)
B. Test design - Involves using test conditions to create test cases and other necessary testware, such as test data requirements and test charters for exploratory testing. (Task 1)
C. Test implementation - Test procedures, such as manual and automated test scripts, are created from test cases and may be assembled into test suites. Test procedures are prioritized and arranged in a test execution schedule. (Task 3)
D. Test completion - Occurs at project milestones, such as release, end of iteration or end of test level. Testware is identified and archived or handed to the appropriate teams for reuse, the test environment is shut down, and the test activities are analyzed for lessons learned and future improvements. (Task 2)

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

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Collaborative user story writing means that all stakeholders create the user stories collaboratively, to obtain the shared vision
b) Is correct. Collaborative user story writing means that all stakeholders create the user stories collaboratively, to obtain the shared vision
c) Is not correct. Collaborative user story writing means that all stakeholders create the user stories collaboratively, to obtain the shared vision
d) Is not correct. This is the list of properties that each user story should have, not the description of the collaboration-based approach

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Performing the impact analysis will not give information about completeness of tests. Analyzing the impact analysis of changes will help to select the right test cases for execution
b) Is not correct. Traceability does not give information about the estimated level of residual risk if the test cases are not traced back to risks
c) Is correct. Performing the impact analysis of the changes helps in selecting the test cases for the regression test
d) Is not correct. Analyzing the traceability between the test basis, test objects and test cases does not help in selecting test data to achieve the assumed coverage of the test object. Selecting test data is more related to test analysis and test implementation, not traceability

Explanation / Rationale

Consider:

i. Is true. Faster product release and faster time to market is an advantage of DevOps
ii. Is false. Typically, we need less effort for manual tests because of the use of test automation
iii. Is true. Constant availability of executable software is an advantage
iv. Is false. More regression tests are needed
v. Is false. Not everything is automated and setting up a test automation framework is expensive

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

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. When a system is retired, this can require testing of data migration, which is a form of maintenance testing
b) Is not correct. Regression testing verifies whether a fix accidentally affected the behavior of other parts of the code, but now we are talking about data migration to a new system
c) Is not correct. Component testing focuses on individual hardware or software components, not on data migration
d) Is not correct. Integration testing focuses on interactions between components and/or systems, not on data migration

Explanation / Rationale

Branch testing is a white-box test technique in which the coverage items are branches. A branch is a transfer of control between two nodes in the control flow graph, which shows the possible sequences in which source code statements are executed in the test object. Each transfer of control can be either unconditional (i.e., straight-line code) or conditional (i.e., a decision outcome). Coverage is measured as the number of branches exercised by the test cases divided by the total number of branches, and is expressed as a percentage.
Thus:
a) Is not correct. A decision outcome is a conditional branch. For branch testing, X counts not only conditional, but also unconditional branches
b) Is not correct. Branch coverage counts not only conditional, but also unconditional branches
c) Is correct. Branch coverage is measured as the number of branches exercised by the test cases divided by the total number of branches, and is expressed as a percentage
d) Is not correct. Both X and Y count only conditional branches and do not take into account the unconditional branches

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Regression tests increase in number as the project progresses, as new regression tests are typically required as changes are made to the system. Similarly, the number of confirmation tests also typically increases as the project progresses as new confirmation tests are needed for each fix made to a system
b) Is not correct. It is the other way round. Confirmation tests are created and run when the test object is fixed, and regression tests are (ideally) run whenever the test object is enhanced (changed)
c) Is not correct. Confirmation testing verifies that a defect has been fixed correctly and so is concerned with testing changes to the test object. However, regression testing ensures that changes (including changes to the operational environment) do not have negative effects on unchanged software and so does not check that the operational environment remains unchanged
d) Is correct. Regression testing ensures that changes do not have negative effects on unchanged software. Confirmation testing verifies that a defect has been fixed – and so is concerned with changed code

Explanation / Rationale

i. Is true. The SDLC has an influence on the test process
ii. Is false. The number of defects detected in previous projects may have some influence, but this is not as significant as i, iii and iv
iii. Is true. The identified product risks are one of the most important factors influencing the test process
iv. Is true. Regulatory requirements are important factors influencing the test process
v. Is false. The test environment has no significant influence on the test process

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

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is correct. Since 100% statement coverage is achieved, every statement, including the ones with defects, must have been executed and evaluated at least once
b) Is not correct. Coverage depends on what is tested, not on the number of test cases. For example, for code “if (x==0) y=1”, one test case (x=0) achieves 100% statement coverage, but two test cases (x=1) and (x=2) together achieve only 50% statement coverage
c) Is not correct. If there is a loop in the code there may be an infinite number of possible paths, so it is not possible to execute all the possible paths in the code
d) Is not correct. Exhaustive testing is not possible (see the seven testing principles section in the syllabus). For example, for code “input x; print x” any single test with arbitrary x achieves 100% statement coverage, but covers one input value

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

There are three equivalence partitions: {..., 10, 11}, {12}, and {13, 14, ...}.
The boundary values are 11, 12 and 13. In the three-point boundary value analysis for each boundary, we need to test the boundary and both its neighbors, so:

• for 11 we test 10, 11, 12

• for 12 we test 11, 12, 13

• for 13 we test 12, 13, 14

Altogether we need to test 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14

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

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. We do not accept the risk; concrete actions are proposed
b) Is not correct. No contingency plans are proposed
c) Is correct. The proposed actions are related to testing, which is a form of risk mitigation
d) Is not correct. Risk is not transferred but mitigated

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. Strong communication skills, active listening, and teamwork abilities enable a tester to interact effectively with all stakeholders, however a deep knowledge of a variety of computer games that allowed them to get on well with one developer is not an example of a generic skill useful to testers
b) Is correct. Domain knowledge that can be used to understand and communicate with end-users and business representatives is one of the generic skills required by testers. A tester with experience as a pilot would make them better able to appreciate the acceptance criteria for the helicopter control system
c) Is not correct. Although programming skills could be considered as technical knowledge which can increase efficiency when utilizing some test tools, it is unlikely that these skills would improve their communication with business analysts
d) Is not correct. Although thoroughness, attention to detail, curiosity, and a methodical approach to identifying hard-to-find defects are all useful generic skills for testers, it is doubtful they would be generating test cases prior to starting exploratory testing. This is because one of the main tenets of exploratory testing is that the test cases are generated during the testing, not scripted in advance

Explanation / Rationale

a) Is not correct. The root cause is the distraction that the programmer experienced while programming
b) Is not correct. Accepting invalid inputs is a failure
c) Is not correct. The error is the mistaken thinking that resulted in putting the defect in the code
d) Is correct. The problem in the code is a defect