CTFL-AT Certified Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester Questions and Answers

 Release planning is a process of defining the scope and timeline for an iterative or incremental product development project. It is used in agile or hybrid projects where a mid- to long-term planning of the product or system development or integration is required12. Release planning involves the following activities:

• Identifying testable user stories with acceptance criteria. User stories are short descriptions of the features or functionalities that the customer or user wants from the product. Acceptance criteria are the conditions that must be met for the user story to be considered done and acceptable. Identifying testable user stories with acceptance criteria helps to define the scope and quality of the release13.
• Prioritizing the user stories. User stories are prioritized based on the value they deliver to the customer or user, as well as the dependencies, risks, and costs associated with them. Prioritizing the user stories helps to determine the order and frequency of the releases13.
• Performing high level estimation for the release. High level estimation is a technique to estimate the effort, time, and resources needed to complete the user stories in the release. High level estimation can be done using various methods, such as analogy, expert judgment, planning poker, etc. Performing high level estimation for the release helps to set realistic and achievable goals and deadlines13.

Therefore, activities 1, 3 and 6 are done in release planning. Activities 2, 4 and 5 are done in iteration planning, which is a more detailed and short-term planning of the work to be done in each iteration or sprint13. References: 1: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus, Section 2.2, Fundamental Agile Testing Principles, Practices and Processes1; 2: Agile Release Planning in Hybrid and Agile Projects4; 3: How to Create an Agile Release Plan5

 Scrum is an agile development approach that incorporates the following practices:

• a project is divided into iterations called sprints, which are typically 2-4 weeks long
• each sprint starts with a planning meeting, where the team selects a subset of user stories from the product backlog to work on
• each sprint ends with a review meeting, where the team demonstrates the potentially releasable/shippable product increment to the stakeholders and collects feedback
• each sprint also includes a retrospective meeting, where the team reflects on the process and identifies areas for improvement123 References: 1: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus, Section 2.1, Agile Software Development1; 2: ASTQB Agile Tester Certification Resources, Section 2.1, Agile Software Development2; 3: What is Agile? | Atlassian3

 According to the ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, an agile task board is a visual tool that displays the status of the work items in an agile sprint. The task board typically shows the user stories, tasks, and their progress from “to do” to “done”. The task board helps the agile team to monitor and coordinate their work, and to communicate with stakeholders. Therefore, the examples that represent activities that would likely be managed on an agile task board for the third sprint are those that are related to the user stories, tasks, and their progress in the current sprint. Option A is the correct answer, as it contains two examples of such activities: running an acceptance test for a user story, and automating regression tests. These are both tasks that are part of the testing process in the current sprint, and their status can betracked on the task board. Option B is not a correct answer, as it contains two examples of activities that are not related to the current sprint: designing the features planned for the next sprint, and participating in training in preparation for the fourth sprint. These are both activities that are part of the planning or learning process for the future sprints, and they are not managed on the task board. Option C is also not a correct answer, as it contains two examples of activities that are not related to the current sprint: participating in training in preparation for the fourth sprint, and producing a daily progress report for the agile team members. These are both activities that are part of the learning or reporting process, and they are not managed on the task board. Option D is also not a correct answer, as it contains two examples of activities that are not related to the current sprint: designing the features planned for the next sprint, and producing a daily progress report for the agile team members. These are both activities that are part of the planning or reporting process, and they are not managed on the task board. References: ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 2.1.1, page 14; ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 2.1.2, page 15; ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 2.2.1, page 16; ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 2.2.2, page 17.

 Business-oriented work products are those that describe what is needed (e.g., requirements specifications) and how to use it (e.g., user documentation). A user manual is an example of a business-oriented work product, as it provides instructions and guidance on how to use the product from the user’s perspective. A user manual may also contain information about the product’s features, benefits, and limitations. A user manual is typically written by technical writers, who may collaborate with developers, testers, and business analysts to ensure the accuracy and clarity of the content. A user manual may be delivered in various formats, such as printed, online, or interactive. References: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus1, Section 1.2.1, page 10; ASTQB Agile Tester Certification Resources2, Section 1.2.1, page 10.

A test charter is a document that describes the scope, objective, and approach of an exploratory testing session. It is used mainly in exploratory tests to guide the tester’s actions and record the findings. A test charter may make reference to user stories, requirements, risks, or other sources of information that are relevant to the testing mission. A test charter also contains notes taken during a test session, such as test ideas, test results, bugs, issues, and observations. A test charter is not used to monitor a test process, as it is not a formal metric or report. It is also not used to outline the company test policy, as it is specific to a particular test session and context. References: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus, Section 2.2.3, page 18; ASTQB Agile Tester Certification Resources, Section 2.2.3, page 18; How to Write an Exploratory Test Charter, Creating an Exploratory Testing Charter, What is Exploratory Testing?.

Risk-based testing is a technique that prioritizes testing activities based on the level of risk associated with each feature or requirement. The level of risk is usually calculated by multiplying the probability and impact of each risk. The higher the risk level, the more testing effort should be allocated to mitigate the risk. In this case, the risk level for each option is as follows: A. Risk level = Low x Low = Low B. Risk level = Low x High = Medium C. Risk level = High x High = High D. Risk level = High x Low = Medium Therefore, the highest risk level is C, followed by B and D, and then A. The User Story for the Operator-Instructions module should be tested according to this risk order, starting with C, then B, then D, and finally A. Hence, the answer is B, as it is the second highest risk level and should be tested after C. References: ISTQB Foundation Level Agile Tester Extension Syllabus1, page 16; ISTQB Agile Tester Sample Exam2, question 18.

Risk-based testing fits well in Agile development processes, as risks are easy to identify when the work is divided into user stories. User stories are short descriptions of features or functionalities that are valuable to the customers or users. They help to define the scope and priority of the work in each iteration. By breaking down the work into user stories, the Agile team can identify the potential risks associated with each story, such as technical complexity, business criticality, or user feedback. The team can then prioritize the testing effort based on the risk level of each story, ensuring that the most important and risky features are tested first and thoroughly. Risk-based testing also helps to optimize the testing time and resources, as the team can focus on testing the most relevant aspects of the software, rather than testing everything equally. References: ISTQB Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus, Section 2.3.2, page 181; ISTQB Foundation Level Agile Tester Sample Exam Questions, Question 2.3.2-1, page 92

Acceptance test criteria are the conditions that a user story must satisfy to be accepted by the customer or the stakeholder. They are usually derived from the user story and its acceptance scenarios, and they should cover the functional and non-functional requirements of the user story. Acceptance test criteria should be clear, concise, testable, and agreed upon by the team and the customer or the stakeholder.

In this case, the user story describes the business rule for approving a loan request based on the customer’s income, repayment history, and loan amount. The user story also specifies the roles of the customer assistant and the bank manager in the process. Therefore, the acceptance test criteria should verify that the user story is implemented correctly and that the system behaves as expected for different scenarios and inputs.

The following test cases can be treated as acceptance test criteria for the above user story:

• As a customer assistant I can log in to the system and check the history of the customer account for the last year. This test case verifies that the customer assistant can access the system and view the customer’s income information, which is one of the factors for approving the loan request.
• As a customer assistant I can log in to the system and check the history of the customer debts and repayments. This test case verifies that the customer assistant can access the system and view the customer’s repayment history, which is another factor for approving the loan request.
• As a bank manager I can log in to the system and receive the information of all requests waiting for approval. This test case verifies that the bank manager can access the system and see the list of loan requests that have been prepared by the customer assistant, and that the system provides the necessary information for each request.
• As a bank manager I can log in to the system and decide whether to approve a loan for a customer. This test case verifies that the bank manager can access the system and perform the approval action for a loan request, and that the system applies the business rule correctly and updates the status of the request accordingly.

The following test cases cannot be treated as acceptance test criteria for the above user story:

• As a customer assistant I can log in to the system and change my password. This test case is not related to the user story, as it does not verify any of the functional or non-functional requirements of the user story. It is a generic test case that applies to any user of the system, not specific to the customer assistant role or the loan approval process.
• As a bank manager I can log in to the system within 10 seconds. This test case is not related to the user story, as it does not verify any of the functional or non-functional requirements of the user story. It is a performance test case that applies to any user of the system, not specific to the bank manager role or the loan approval process.

References: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus1, Section 2.3.1, pages 15-16; ISTQB® Glossary of Testing Terms2, version 4.0, pages 2 and 3.

Regression of software is the risk that a change in one part of the software causes a defect in another part of the software that was previously working correctly. Regression of software is a high risk in agile projects because there is code churn due to change in business needs over several sprints. Code churn is the amount of code that is added, modified, or deleted in a software project over time. Code churn can indicate the volatility and complexity of the software, and the frequency and magnitude of the changes. In agile projects, code churn can be high because the business needs and the user requirements can change rapidly and frequently over several sprints, which are short iterations of development and testing. This means that the software is constantly evolving and adapting to the changing needs, and that the existing functionality and quality may be affected by the new or modified code. Therefore, regression of software is a high risk in agile projects, and it requires effective testing strategies and techniques to prevent, detect, and fix the regression defects. References: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus1, Section 2.3.2, page 17; ISTQB® Glossary of Testing Terms2, version 4.0, pages 36 and 55