ISTQB Glossary
Beta Testing - ✔️✔️Operational testing by potential and/or existing customers/users at
an external site not otherwise involved with the developers, to determine whether or not
a component or system satisfies the customer/user needs and fits within the business
process. Beta testing is often employed as a form of external acceptance testing for off-
the-shelf software in order to acquire feedback from the market.
Baseline - ✔️✔️A specification or software product that has been formally reviewed or
agreed upon, that thereafter serves as the basis for further development, and that can
be changed only through a formal change process.
Agile Manifesto - ✔️✔️A statement on the values that underpin agile software
development. The values are:
-individuals and interactions over processes and tools
-working software over comprehensive documentation
-customer collaboration over contract negotiations
-responding to change over following a plan.
Acceptance Criteria - ✔️✔️The exit criteria that a component or system must satisfy in
order to be accepted by user, customer, or other authorized entity.
Acceptance Testing - ✔️✔️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, customer or other authorized entity to
determine whether or not to accept the system.
Accuracy - ✔️✔️The capability of the software product to provide the right or agreed
results or effects with the needed degree of precision.
Actor - ✔️✔️User or any other person or system that interacts with the system under
test in a specific way.
Actual Result - ✔️✔️The behavior produced/observed when a component or system is
tested.
Ad Hoc Testing - ✔️✔️Testing carried out informally; no formal test preparation takes
place, no recognized test design technique is used, there are no expectations for results
and arbitrariness guides the test execution activity
,Agile Software Development - ✔️✔️A group of software development methodologies
based on iterative incremental deveolpment, where requirements and solutions evolve
through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams.
Alpha Testing - ✔️✔️Simulated or actual operational testing by potential
users/customers or an independant 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.
API (application programming interface) Testing - ✔️✔️Testing the code which enables
communication between different processes, programs and/or systems. API testing
often involves negative testing, e.g., to validate the robustness of error handling.
Attack - ✔️✔️Directed and focused attempt to evaluate the quality, especially reliability,
of a test object by attempting to force specific failures to occur. See negative testing.
Audit Trail - ✔️✔️A path by which the original input to a process(e.g. data) can be
traced back through the process, taking process output as a starting point. This
facilitates defect analysis and allows a process audit ti be carried out.
Automated Testware - ✔️✔️Testware used in automated testing, such as tool scripts.
Availability - ✔️✔️The degree to which a component or system is operational and
accessible when required for use. Often expressed as a percentage.
Back-to-Back Testing - ✔️✔️Testing in which two or more variants of a component or
system are executed with the same inputs, the outputs compared, and analyzed in
cases of discrepancies.
Basic Block - ✔️✔️A sequence of one or more consecutive executable statements
containing no branches. Note: a node in a control flow graph represents a basic block.
Basis Test Set - ✔️✔️A set of test cases derived from the internal structure of a
component or specification to ensure that 100% of a specified coverage criterion will be
achieved.
Behavior - ✔️✔️The response of a component or system to a set of input values and
preconditions.
Benchmark Testing - ✔️✔️(1) A standard against which measurements or comparisons
can be made. (2) A test that is used to compare components or systems to each other
or to a standard as in (1)
,Bespoke Software - ✔️✔️Software developed specifically for a set of users or
customers. The opposite is off-the-shelf software.
Best Practices - ✔️✔️A superior method or innovative practice that contributes to the
improved performance of an organization under given context, usually recognized as
the best by other peer organizations.
Big-bang Testing - ✔️✔️An integration testing approach in which software elements,
hardware elements, or both are combined all at once into a component or an overall
system, rather than in stages. See also integration testing.
Black Box Test Design Technique - ✔️✔️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.
Black Box Testing - ✔️✔️Testing, either functional or non-functional, without reference
to the internal structure of the component or system.
Blocked Test Case - ✔️✔️A test case that cannot be executed because the
preconditions for its execution are not filled.
Bottom-up Testing - ✔️✔️An incremental approach to integration testing where the
lowest level components are tested first, and then used to facilitate the testing of higher
level components. This process is repeated until the component at the top of the
hierarchy is tested. See also integration testing.
Boundary Value - ✔️✔️An input value or output value which is on the edge of an
equivalence partition or at the smallest incremental distance on either side of an edge,
for example the minimum or maximum value of a range.
Boundary Value Analysis - ✔️✔️A black box test design technique in which test cases
are designed based on boundary values.
Boundary Value Coverage - ✔️✔️The percentage of boundary values that have been
exercised by a test suite.
Boundary Value Testing - ✔️✔️See boundary value analysis.
Branch - ✔️✔️A basic block that can be selected for execution based on a program
construct in which one of two or more alternative program paths is available e.g. case
jump, go to, if-then-else.
, Branch Coverage - ✔️✔️The percentage of branches that have been exercises by a
test suite. 100% branch coverage implies both 100% decision coverage and 100%
statement coverage.
Branch Testing - ✔️✔️A white box test design technique in which test cases are
designed to execute branches.
Buffer - ✔️✔️A device or storage area used to store data temporarily for differences in
rates of data flow, time or occurrence of events, or amounts of data that can be handled
by the devices of processes involved in the transfer or use of the data
Buffer Overflow - ✔️✔️A memory access failure due to the attempt by a process to
store data beyond the boundaries of a fixed length buffer, resulting in overwriting of
adjacent memory areas or the raising of an overflow exception.
Build Verification Test - ✔️✔️A set of automated test which validates the integrity of
each new build and verifies its key/core functionality, stability and testability. It is an
industry practice when a high frequency of build releases occurs (e.g. agile process)
and it is run on every new build before the build is released for further testing. See also
regression and smoke testing.
Burndown Chart - ✔️✔️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 in engineering hours or story points.
Business Process-Based Testing - ✔️✔️An approach to testing in which test cases are
designed based on descriptions and/or knowledge of business processes.
BVT - ✔️✔️Build Verification Test
Call Graph - ✔️✔️An abstract representation of calling relationships between
subroutine in a program.
CASE - ✔️✔️Computer Aided Software Engineering
Cast - ✔️✔️Computer Aided Software Testing
Certification - ✔️✔️The process of confirming that a component, system or person
complies with its specified requirements, e.g. by passing an exam
Classification Tree - ✔️✔️A tree showing equivalence partitions hierarchically ordered,
which is used to design test cases in the classification tree method.
Beta Testing - ✔️✔️Operational testing by potential and/or existing customers/users at
an external site not otherwise involved with the developers, to determine whether or not
a component or system satisfies the customer/user needs and fits within the business
process. Beta testing is often employed as a form of external acceptance testing for off-
the-shelf software in order to acquire feedback from the market.
Baseline - ✔️✔️A specification or software product that has been formally reviewed or
agreed upon, that thereafter serves as the basis for further development, and that can
be changed only through a formal change process.
Agile Manifesto - ✔️✔️A statement on the values that underpin agile software
development. The values are:
-individuals and interactions over processes and tools
-working software over comprehensive documentation
-customer collaboration over contract negotiations
-responding to change over following a plan.
Acceptance Criteria - ✔️✔️The exit criteria that a component or system must satisfy in
order to be accepted by user, customer, or other authorized entity.
Acceptance Testing - ✔️✔️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, customer or other authorized entity to
determine whether or not to accept the system.
Accuracy - ✔️✔️The capability of the software product to provide the right or agreed
results or effects with the needed degree of precision.
Actor - ✔️✔️User or any other person or system that interacts with the system under
test in a specific way.
Actual Result - ✔️✔️The behavior produced/observed when a component or system is
tested.
Ad Hoc Testing - ✔️✔️Testing carried out informally; no formal test preparation takes
place, no recognized test design technique is used, there are no expectations for results
and arbitrariness guides the test execution activity
,Agile Software Development - ✔️✔️A group of software development methodologies
based on iterative incremental deveolpment, where requirements and solutions evolve
through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams.
Alpha Testing - ✔️✔️Simulated or actual operational testing by potential
users/customers or an independant 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.
API (application programming interface) Testing - ✔️✔️Testing the code which enables
communication between different processes, programs and/or systems. API testing
often involves negative testing, e.g., to validate the robustness of error handling.
Attack - ✔️✔️Directed and focused attempt to evaluate the quality, especially reliability,
of a test object by attempting to force specific failures to occur. See negative testing.
Audit Trail - ✔️✔️A path by which the original input to a process(e.g. data) can be
traced back through the process, taking process output as a starting point. This
facilitates defect analysis and allows a process audit ti be carried out.
Automated Testware - ✔️✔️Testware used in automated testing, such as tool scripts.
Availability - ✔️✔️The degree to which a component or system is operational and
accessible when required for use. Often expressed as a percentage.
Back-to-Back Testing - ✔️✔️Testing in which two or more variants of a component or
system are executed with the same inputs, the outputs compared, and analyzed in
cases of discrepancies.
Basic Block - ✔️✔️A sequence of one or more consecutive executable statements
containing no branches. Note: a node in a control flow graph represents a basic block.
Basis Test Set - ✔️✔️A set of test cases derived from the internal structure of a
component or specification to ensure that 100% of a specified coverage criterion will be
achieved.
Behavior - ✔️✔️The response of a component or system to a set of input values and
preconditions.
Benchmark Testing - ✔️✔️(1) A standard against which measurements or comparisons
can be made. (2) A test that is used to compare components or systems to each other
or to a standard as in (1)
,Bespoke Software - ✔️✔️Software developed specifically for a set of users or
customers. The opposite is off-the-shelf software.
Best Practices - ✔️✔️A superior method or innovative practice that contributes to the
improved performance of an organization under given context, usually recognized as
the best by other peer organizations.
Big-bang Testing - ✔️✔️An integration testing approach in which software elements,
hardware elements, or both are combined all at once into a component or an overall
system, rather than in stages. See also integration testing.
Black Box Test Design Technique - ✔️✔️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.
Black Box Testing - ✔️✔️Testing, either functional or non-functional, without reference
to the internal structure of the component or system.
Blocked Test Case - ✔️✔️A test case that cannot be executed because the
preconditions for its execution are not filled.
Bottom-up Testing - ✔️✔️An incremental approach to integration testing where the
lowest level components are tested first, and then used to facilitate the testing of higher
level components. This process is repeated until the component at the top of the
hierarchy is tested. See also integration testing.
Boundary Value - ✔️✔️An input value or output value which is on the edge of an
equivalence partition or at the smallest incremental distance on either side of an edge,
for example the minimum or maximum value of a range.
Boundary Value Analysis - ✔️✔️A black box test design technique in which test cases
are designed based on boundary values.
Boundary Value Coverage - ✔️✔️The percentage of boundary values that have been
exercised by a test suite.
Boundary Value Testing - ✔️✔️See boundary value analysis.
Branch - ✔️✔️A basic block that can be selected for execution based on a program
construct in which one of two or more alternative program paths is available e.g. case
jump, go to, if-then-else.
, Branch Coverage - ✔️✔️The percentage of branches that have been exercises by a
test suite. 100% branch coverage implies both 100% decision coverage and 100%
statement coverage.
Branch Testing - ✔️✔️A white box test design technique in which test cases are
designed to execute branches.
Buffer - ✔️✔️A device or storage area used to store data temporarily for differences in
rates of data flow, time or occurrence of events, or amounts of data that can be handled
by the devices of processes involved in the transfer or use of the data
Buffer Overflow - ✔️✔️A memory access failure due to the attempt by a process to
store data beyond the boundaries of a fixed length buffer, resulting in overwriting of
adjacent memory areas or the raising of an overflow exception.
Build Verification Test - ✔️✔️A set of automated test which validates the integrity of
each new build and verifies its key/core functionality, stability and testability. It is an
industry practice when a high frequency of build releases occurs (e.g. agile process)
and it is run on every new build before the build is released for further testing. See also
regression and smoke testing.
Burndown Chart - ✔️✔️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 in engineering hours or story points.
Business Process-Based Testing - ✔️✔️An approach to testing in which test cases are
designed based on descriptions and/or knowledge of business processes.
BVT - ✔️✔️Build Verification Test
Call Graph - ✔️✔️An abstract representation of calling relationships between
subroutine in a program.
CASE - ✔️✔️Computer Aided Software Engineering
Cast - ✔️✔️Computer Aided Software Testing
Certification - ✔️✔️The process of confirming that a component, system or person
complies with its specified requirements, e.g. by passing an exam
Classification Tree - ✔️✔️A tree showing equivalence partitions hierarchically ordered,
which is used to design test cases in the classification tree method.
