ISTQB Foundation Level Glossary
UPDATED Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
Acceptance Criteria - CORRECT ANSWER - The criteria that a component or system must
satisfy in order to be accepted by a user, customer, or other authorized entity.
Acceptance Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Formal testing with respect to user needs,
requirements, and business processes conducted to determine whether or not a system satisfies
the acceptance criteria and to enable the user, customers or other authorized entity to determine
whether or not to accept the system.
Accessibility - CORRECT ANSWER - The degree to which a component or system can be
used by people with the widest range of characteristics and capabilities to achieve a specified
goal in a specified context of use.
Accessibility Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Testing to determine the ease by which users
with disabilities can use a component or system.
Actual Result / Outcome - CORRECT ANSWER - The behavior produced/observed when a
component or system is tested.
Ad-hoc Reviewing - CORRECT ANSWER - A review technique carried out by independent
reviewers informally, without a structured process.
Alpha Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Simulated or actual operational testing by potential
users/customers or an independent test team at the developers' site, but outside the development
organization.
Alpha testing is often employed for off-the-shelf software as a form of internal acceptance
testing.
,Anomaly / Defect / Error / Fault / Failure / Incident / Problem - CORRECT ANSWER - Any
condition that deviates from expectation based on requirements specifications, design
documents, user documents, standards, etc., or from someone's perception or experience.
Anomalies may be found during, but not limited to, reviewing, testing, analysis, compilation, or
use of software products or applicable documentation.
Audit - CORRECT ANSWER - An independent examination of a work product, process, or
set of processes that is performed by a third party to assess compliance with specifications,
standards, contractual agreements, or other criteria.
Availability - CORRECT ANSWER - The degree to which a component or system is
operational and accessible when required for use.
Behavior - CORRECT ANSWER - The response of a component or system to a set of input,
values and preconditions.
Beta Testing / Field Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Simulated or actual operational testing
conducted at an external site, by roles outside the development organization.
Black-Box Test Technique / Specification-based Technique - CORRECT ANSWER - A
procedure to derive and/or select test cases based on an analysis of the specification, either
functional or non-functional, of a component or system without reference to its internal structure.
Boundary Value - CORRECT ANSWER - A minimum or maximum value of an ordered
equivalence partition.
Boundary Value Analysis - CORRECT ANSWER - A black-box test technique in which test
cases are designed based on boundary values.
Burndown Chart - CORRECT ANSWER - A publicly displayed chart that depicts the
outstanding effort versus time in an iteration. It shows the status and trend of completing the
tasks of the iteration. The X-axis typically
,represents days in the sprint, while the Y-axis is the remaining effort (usually either in ideal
engineering hours or story points).
Checklist-based Reviewing - CORRECT ANSWER - A review technique guided by a list of
questions or required attributes.
Checklist-based Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - An experience-based test design technique
whereby the experienced tester uses a high-level list of items to be noted, checked, or
remembered, or a set of rules or criteria against which a product has to be verified.
Code Coverage - CORRECT ANSWER - An analysis method that determines which parts of
the software have been executed (covered) by the test suite and which parts have not been
executed, e.g. statement coverage, decision coverage or condition coverage.
Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) / Off-the-Shelf Software - CORRECT ANSWER - A
software product that is developed for the general market, i.e. for a large number of customers,
and that is delivered to many customers in identical format.
Compatibility - CORRECT ANSWER - The degree to which a component or system can
exchange information with other components or systems.
Complexity - CORRECT ANSWER - The degree to which a component or system has a
design and/or internal structure that is difficult to understand, maintain and verify.
Compliance - CORRECT ANSWER - The capability of the software product to adhere to
standards, conventions or regulations in laws and similar prescriptions.
Component / Module / Unit - CORRECT ANSWER - A minimal part of a system that can be
tested in isolation.
Component Integration Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Testing performed to expose defects
in the interfaces and interaction between integrated components.
, Component Specification - CORRECT ANSWER - A description of a component's function
in terms of its output values for specified input values under specified conditions, and required
non-functional behavior (e.g. resource-utilization).
Component / Module / Unit Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - The testing of individual
hardware or software components.
Condition / Branch Condition - CORRECT ANSWER - A logical expression that can be
evaluated as True of False.
Configuration - CORRECT ANSWER - The composition of a component or system as
defined by the number, nature, and interconnections of its constituent parts.
Configuration Management - CORRECT ANSWER - A discipline applying technical and
administrative direction and surveillance to identify and document the functional and physical
characteristics of a configuration item, control changes to those characteristics, record and report
change processing and implementation status, and verify compliance with specified
requirements.
Configuration Management Tool - CORRECT ANSWER - A tool that provides support for
the identification and control of configuration items, their status over changes and versions, and
the release of baselines consisting of configuration items.
Confirmation Testing / Re-Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Dynamic testing conducted after
fixing defects with the objective to confirm that failures caused by those defects do not occur
anymore.
Contractual Acceptance Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Acceptance testing conducted to
verify whether a system satisfies its contractual requirements.
Control Flow - CORRECT ANSWER - The sequence in which operations are performed
during the execution of a test item.
UPDATED Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
Acceptance Criteria - CORRECT ANSWER - The criteria that a component or system must
satisfy in order to be accepted by a user, customer, or other authorized entity.
Acceptance Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Formal testing with respect to user needs,
requirements, and business processes conducted to determine whether or not a system satisfies
the acceptance criteria and to enable the user, customers or other authorized entity to determine
whether or not to accept the system.
Accessibility - CORRECT ANSWER - The degree to which a component or system can be
used by people with the widest range of characteristics and capabilities to achieve a specified
goal in a specified context of use.
Accessibility Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Testing to determine the ease by which users
with disabilities can use a component or system.
Actual Result / Outcome - CORRECT ANSWER - The behavior produced/observed when a
component or system is tested.
Ad-hoc Reviewing - CORRECT ANSWER - A review technique carried out by independent
reviewers informally, without a structured process.
Alpha Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Simulated or actual operational testing by potential
users/customers or an independent test team at the developers' site, but outside the development
organization.
Alpha testing is often employed for off-the-shelf software as a form of internal acceptance
testing.
,Anomaly / Defect / Error / Fault / Failure / Incident / Problem - CORRECT ANSWER - Any
condition that deviates from expectation based on requirements specifications, design
documents, user documents, standards, etc., or from someone's perception or experience.
Anomalies may be found during, but not limited to, reviewing, testing, analysis, compilation, or
use of software products or applicable documentation.
Audit - CORRECT ANSWER - An independent examination of a work product, process, or
set of processes that is performed by a third party to assess compliance with specifications,
standards, contractual agreements, or other criteria.
Availability - CORRECT ANSWER - The degree to which a component or system is
operational and accessible when required for use.
Behavior - CORRECT ANSWER - The response of a component or system to a set of input,
values and preconditions.
Beta Testing / Field Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Simulated or actual operational testing
conducted at an external site, by roles outside the development organization.
Black-Box Test Technique / Specification-based Technique - CORRECT ANSWER - A
procedure to derive and/or select test cases based on an analysis of the specification, either
functional or non-functional, of a component or system without reference to its internal structure.
Boundary Value - CORRECT ANSWER - A minimum or maximum value of an ordered
equivalence partition.
Boundary Value Analysis - CORRECT ANSWER - A black-box test technique in which test
cases are designed based on boundary values.
Burndown Chart - CORRECT ANSWER - A publicly displayed chart that depicts the
outstanding effort versus time in an iteration. It shows the status and trend of completing the
tasks of the iteration. The X-axis typically
,represents days in the sprint, while the Y-axis is the remaining effort (usually either in ideal
engineering hours or story points).
Checklist-based Reviewing - CORRECT ANSWER - A review technique guided by a list of
questions or required attributes.
Checklist-based Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - An experience-based test design technique
whereby the experienced tester uses a high-level list of items to be noted, checked, or
remembered, or a set of rules or criteria against which a product has to be verified.
Code Coverage - CORRECT ANSWER - An analysis method that determines which parts of
the software have been executed (covered) by the test suite and which parts have not been
executed, e.g. statement coverage, decision coverage or condition coverage.
Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) / Off-the-Shelf Software - CORRECT ANSWER - A
software product that is developed for the general market, i.e. for a large number of customers,
and that is delivered to many customers in identical format.
Compatibility - CORRECT ANSWER - The degree to which a component or system can
exchange information with other components or systems.
Complexity - CORRECT ANSWER - The degree to which a component or system has a
design and/or internal structure that is difficult to understand, maintain and verify.
Compliance - CORRECT ANSWER - The capability of the software product to adhere to
standards, conventions or regulations in laws and similar prescriptions.
Component / Module / Unit - CORRECT ANSWER - A minimal part of a system that can be
tested in isolation.
Component Integration Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Testing performed to expose defects
in the interfaces and interaction between integrated components.
, Component Specification - CORRECT ANSWER - A description of a component's function
in terms of its output values for specified input values under specified conditions, and required
non-functional behavior (e.g. resource-utilization).
Component / Module / Unit Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - The testing of individual
hardware or software components.
Condition / Branch Condition - CORRECT ANSWER - A logical expression that can be
evaluated as True of False.
Configuration - CORRECT ANSWER - The composition of a component or system as
defined by the number, nature, and interconnections of its constituent parts.
Configuration Management - CORRECT ANSWER - A discipline applying technical and
administrative direction and surveillance to identify and document the functional and physical
characteristics of a configuration item, control changes to those characteristics, record and report
change processing and implementation status, and verify compliance with specified
requirements.
Configuration Management Tool - CORRECT ANSWER - A tool that provides support for
the identification and control of configuration items, their status over changes and versions, and
the release of baselines consisting of configuration items.
Confirmation Testing / Re-Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Dynamic testing conducted after
fixing defects with the objective to confirm that failures caused by those defects do not occur
anymore.
Contractual Acceptance Testing - CORRECT ANSWER - Acceptance testing conducted to
verify whether a system satisfies its contractual requirements.
Control Flow - CORRECT ANSWER - The sequence in which operations are performed
during the execution of a test item.
