ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

1. Testing Process
Question 1
You are the Test Manager working on a project developing a tourist information mobile application.

The project recently switched to an agile process and test driven development. Each development
cycle lasts 15 days, with daily builds beginning at day 7. After day 10, no new features are allowed to
be added. The development team is composed of very experienced team members, who are proud of
their work, but not tolerant of the testing team. The requirements are written down as coarse grained
user stories like the following one:

US 03-30: Search nearest matching hotel

As a casual user at an unfamiliar location I want to get information on the nearest hotel matching
my financial and comfort profile b est.
Priority: High; Estimate: 7 (out of 10)

The software depends on existing web services, which are stubbed during development. Unit testing is
done by developers, while system and user acceptance testing is the testing team’s responsibility.

System test in earlier development cycles was often blocked due to severe failures of newly
developed features. Analysis shows that many of these failures could have been found during unit
test. Analysis of issues found during production show that 30% of performance problems were due to
unreliable web services delivered by 3rd party suppliers.

Primary test objectives are to mitigate the perceived performance risks and to increase the confidence
that no failures with high severity will occur in user stories with priority >= High. Moreover, upper
management demanded for closer cooperation of testers and developers.

Which THREE of the following test activities and/or work products will achieve the test objectives best.

Answer Set:
A. Identification of external web services and enforcement of service level agreements (SLAs)
with service provider done by project management and test management
B. Performance tests for user stories with priority = Very High done by developers during unit test
before day no.10
C. Automated performance testing of user stories with priority >= High done by testers during
system test with test execution starting on day 10
D. Metrics suite for unit testing defined by and reported to test management at day 7
E. Integration test level plan defined by test manager before each development cycle and
handed over to developers on day 10
F. Joint informal reviews of unit tests done by developers and testers before day 10
G. Approval of detailed design specifications by inspections done by the test team before day 7,
when the daily builds begin
[K3 : 3 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 2
You are the Test Manager working on a project developing a tourist information mobile application.

The project recently switched to an agile process and test driven development. Each development
cycle lasts 15 days, with daily builds beginning at day 7. After day 10, no new features are allowed to
be added. The development team is composed of very experienced team members, who are proud of
their work, but not tolerant of the testing team. The requirements are written down as coarse grained
user stories like the following one:

US 03-30: Search nearest matching hotel

As a casual user at an unfamiliar location I want to get information on the nearest hotel matching
my financial and comfort profile b est.
Priority: High; Estimate: 7 (out of 10)

The software depends on existing web services, which are stubbed during development. Unit testing is
done by developers, while system and user acceptance testing is the testing team’s responsibility.

System test in earlier development cycles was often blocked due to severe failures of newly
developed features. Analysis shows that many of these failures could have been found during unit
test. Analysis of issues found during production show that 30% of performance problems were due to
unreliable web services delivered by 3rd party suppliers.

Primary test objectives are to mitigate the perceived performance risks and to increase the confidence
that no failures with high severity will occur in user stories with priority >= High. Moreover, upper
management demanded for closer cooperation of testers and developers.

The following exit criteria for acceptance testing have been specified:
AC 1: Software response time <= 3 sec for up to 1,000 simultaneous requests of user
stories with priority = Very High
AC 2: Software response time <= 10 sec for up to 10,000 simultaneous requests of user
stories with priority >= High
AC 3: No severe failure in system and user acceptance test of user stories with priority >=
High
AC 4: All user stories covered by at least one user acceptance test case

In the test strategy, equivalence partitioning is required for the system and acceptance testing of user
stories with priority >= High.

For this development cycle, the following user stories were selected and implemented:
(P = Priority; E = Estimated Effort)
US 02-10: Play video for selected hotel (P: Medium; E: 4)
US 02-20: Play background music (P: Low; E: 2)
US 03-20: Search for five nearest hotels (P: Very High; E: 4)
US 03-30: Search for nearest matching hotel (P: High; E: 7)

Test analysis for system testing has just begun and the following test conditions have been identified:
TC 02-10-1: Play video, use all supported formats
TC 03-20-1: List 5 nearest hotels, use equivalence partitioning for location
TC 03-30-1: List nearest matching hotel, use equivalence partitioning for user profile and
location
TC PE-xx-1: Performance tests for up to 10,000 simultaneous requests of user story US
03-30
TC PE-xx-2: Performance tests for up to 1,000 simultaneous requests of user story US 03-
20

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

What is the MINIMUM number of test conditions that must be added to fulfill all exit criteria in this
cycle?

Answer Set:
A. 1
B. 3
C. 4
D. 2

[K3 : 2 marks]

Question 3
Which TWO of the following factors indicate most that detailed test conditions should be specified for
system testing?

Answer Set:
A. Test basis is changing frequently
B. Test basis is of low quality
C. Test design and test execution is outsourced
D. Domain experts are available for consultation during test design
E. Test conditions are used for management milestone presentations
[K3 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 4
Scenario 1:

Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide
customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized companies selling to
customers on the Web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web s tore. This allows
the companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their webs ites, that let customers enroll
in the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both
companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of
points required to receive a free product or service.

Your employer’s marketing staff are heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on
the first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will
be highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers.

At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of t he software has just begun. The
current schedule will allow companies and their customers to start enrolling in three months.

Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no
hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other
engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used
to build the system.

Consider the following risk item that was identified during the quality risk analysis process:

Customized enrollment buttons for a company’s websi te are not assigned the correct
URL for that company’s loyalty program.

Assume that you have used traceability to determine the logical test cases that cover this risk item.

Which of the following is a positive logical test that is complete, is correct, and covers this risk item?

Answer Set:
A. Click on company enrollment button; verify that you go to that c ompany’s enrollment page.
B. Click on company enrollment button; verify that you go to our home page.
C. Click rapidly on company enrollment button to see what happens.
D. Click on URL for our home page; check that home page displays.
[K3 : 2 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 5
Scenario 1:

Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide
customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized companies selling to
customers on the Web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows
the companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their webs ites, that let customers enroll
in the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both
companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of
points required to receive a free product or service.

Your employer’s marketing staff is heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on the
first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will be
highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers.

At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of the software has just begun. The
current schedule will allow companies and their customers to start enrolling in three months.

Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no
hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other
engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used
to build the system.

You are following a risk-based testing strategy, where likelihood and impact are both assessed on a
five-point scale ranging from very low to very high. Consider the following risk item that was identified
during the quality risk analysis process:

Customized enrollment buttons for a company’s website a re not assigned the correct
URL for that company’s loyalty program.

Assume that technical project stakeholders have assessed the likelihood of this risk at a medium level.

Given only the information above, which of the following statements is certainly true?

Answer Set:
A. The test cases associated with this risk item must be run first in the test execution period.
B. The test cases associated with this risk item must be run toward the middle of the test
execution period.
C. This risk item should be assessed as a very high impact level risk.
D. .A large number of test cases should be associated with this risk item, based on impact.

[K3 : 2 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 6
In a given company, testing is expected to follow a risk -based testing strategy. Assume the project is
currently in test execution. For the following tests, the values given represent the test identifier, the risk
level, the identifier for the requirement covered by the test, and the current test status, respectively.

Test ID Risk Level Requirement ID Status

02.007 Very high 09.003 Fail
02.010 High 09.003 Ready to run
02.019 Very low 09.020 Pass

Which TWO of the following statements are true?

Answer Set:
A. The test sequencing is certainly incorrect, since test 02.010 is higher risk than 02.019.
B. The test team might not be following the test strategy, since tes t 02.010 is higher risk than
02.019.
C. The test manager should stop test execution while evaluating all problems that exist with test
sequencing.
D. If the test plan calls for running at least one test for each requirement as early as possible, the
test sequencing might be correct.
E. Running test 02.019 was a waste of time, because it did not find any defects.

[K3 : 2 marks]

Question 7
Which TWO of the following metrics are best suited to be included in a tes t progress report for unit test
execution?

Answer Set:

A. Planned versus actual coverage achieved

B. Defect detection percentage (DDP) of unit test
C. Number of test conditions identified
D. Unit test time vs. integration test time
E. Planned versus actual defects reported

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 8
Which ONE of the following is an accurate summary of the test closure activity “test completion
check”?

Answer Set:
A. Test completion check ensures that all important lessons learned are documented
B. Test completion check ensures that all test work is concluded as planned
C. Test completion check ensures that all test work products are stored in the configuration
management system
D. Test completion check ensures that plans are established to ensure that good practices can
be repeated

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 9
Scenario 1:

Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide
customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized businesses selling to
customers on the web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows the
companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their websites, that let customers to enroll in
the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both
companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of
points required to receive a free product or service.

Your employer’s marketing staff is heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on the
first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will be
highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers.

At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of the software has just begun. The
current schedule will allow companies and their customers to enroll starting in three months.

Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no
hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other
engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used
to build the system.

Assume that the project has completed the initial release, and the system has been in use by
companies and their customers for a month now. Your team used a blended risk-based, requirements-
based, and reactive testing strategy. In the quality risk analysis, button customization was assessed
as the lowest-risk area, while enrollment was assessed as the highest-risk area. You are implementing
a retrospective for the testing work.

Which THREE of the following areas should be considered in this retrospective?

Answer Set:

A. Identifying enrollment problems that are affecting companies or their customers.

B. Comparing actual tests completed against the estimated number of tests for enrollment,
button customization, and point management.
C. Delivering the known defects and failed tests to the system support team.
D. Deciding if the project plan included all relevant project risks that affected delivery to
earlyadopter companies.
E. Evaluating whether significant problems have been reported by users in button customization.
F. Determining the level of detail required for enrollment, cus tomization and point management
test cases.
G. Measuring the coverage of the enrollment requirements and reporting that to project and
business stakeholders.

[K3 : 2 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

2. Test Management
Question 10
Scenario 2:

Assume that you are managing the testing of a mature application. This application is an online dating
service that allows users: to enter a profile of themselves; to meet people who would be a good match
for them; to arrange social events with those people; and, to block people they don’ t want to contact
them.

Consider the following groups of individuals:

I. Users of the application who are searching for dates
II. II. Managers and shareholders of the company
III. Married couples who used the application to find their mate
IV. Employees of government agencies

Consider the following list of test activities.

a. Testing the affinity of matches proposed by the application
b. Testing the ability of the application to charge users correctly
Testing the ability of the application to comply with local tax regulations

Based only on the information given here, which of the following statements correctly matches current
stakeholders with one or more their testing interest?

Answer Set:

A. . I – a, b; II – a, b, c; III – b; IV – c.
B. I – a, b; II – a, b, c; IV – a, c.
C. I – a, b; II – a, b, c; IV – c.
D. I – a, b, c; II – a, b, c; IV – c.

[K4 : 3 marks]

Question 11
Which of the following statements correctly reflects the way project management work products affect
testing

Answer Set:
A. The test manager should work with the project manager to develop the project schedule.
B. Constraints in the project plan may constrain testing.
C. The tests should completely cover the requirements specification.
D. The test manager should work with the technical support manager during test closure.

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 12
Which ONE of the following statements describes an appropriate approach to managing nonfunctional
testing?

Answer Set:
A. The test manager shall delegate the non-functional test planning to the technical test analysts
working on the project
B. Non-functional testing should be prioritized to follow functional testing and based on perceived
risks
C. Non-functional test implementation activities that take longer than a single iteration should be
handled outside of the iterations
D. Non-functional risks should be mitigated during early levels of testing or even during
development

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 13
Which ONE of the following statements BEST describes how risk -based testing responds to risks?

Answer Set:
A. The test team designs, implements, and executes tests to mitigate quality risks
B. When tests find defects they increase the quality of the system under test
C. Functional testing addresses product risks, while non-functional testing addresses quality risks
D. The test manager determines which test levels to apply based on project risks

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 14
Which of the following statements are examples of different techniques for analyzing the risks to
product quality?

Answer Set:
A. Risk identification, risk assessment, risk mitigation, and risk management
B. Expert interviews, independent assessments, use of risk templates, and project retrospectives
C. Personnel and training issues among the business analysts, designers, and programmers
D. PRAM, PRiSMa, FMEA, and FTA

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 15
Scenario 1:

Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide
customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized companies selling to
customers on the Web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows
the companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their webs ites, that let customers enroll
in the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both
companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of
points required to receive a free product or service.

Your employer’s marketing staff are heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on
the first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will
be highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers.

At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of t he software has just begun. The
current schedule will allow companies and their customers to start enrolling in three months.

Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no
hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other
engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used
to build the system.

Which THREE of the following are product quality risks for this system?

Answer Set:
A. The start-up runs out of money before testing starts.
B. The system has excessive downtime due to memory leaks.
C. The loyalty points calculated are incorrect.
D. The requirements for the system are incorrect.
E. Cloud computing resources are not available quickly enough to support project schedules.
F. Customers cannot enroll in company loyalty programs.
G. Overly aggressive discounts result in a liquidity crisis for the company during the first year.

[K4 : 3 marks]

Question 16
Which ONE of the following statements is the LEAST appropriate description of how identified product
quality risks should be mitigated and managed?

Answer Set:
A. Tests should be designed, implemented and executed in order to address perceived risks.
B. The choice of regulatory standard to be followed should be influenced by the perceived level
of risk.
C. The effort associated with developing and executing tests should be proportional to the level
of perceived risk.
D. The priority of the development and execution of tests should be based on the perceived level
of risk.

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 17
Which ONE of the following is NOT a practical technique for test prioritization and effort allocation?

Answer Set:
A. Individual testers decide what to test based on their discovery of defects within the test basis
B. Ambiguity reviews identify and eliminate ambiguities in the requirements
C. Test condition analysis involves a close reading of prioritized requirements to identify the test
conditions to cover
D. Cause-effect graphing identifies a test set that achieves 100% functional coverage of the test
basis.

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 18
Scenario 2:

Assume that you are managing the testing of a mature application. This application is an online dating
service that allows users: to enter a profile of themselves; to meet people who would be a good match
for them; to arrange social events with those people; and, to block people they don’t want to contact
them.

Assume that the test policy defines the following mission for the test organization, in priority order:

1. Find defects
2. Reduce risk
3. Build confidence

Assume further that your manager has defined the highest priority t est process improvement for the
test organization in the coming year to be achieving maximum possible automation of the regression
tests for the application.

Which of the following statements is correct?

Answer Set:
A. The application and the mission statement are aligned, but the test process improvement is
misaligned with the application and the mission statement.
B. The application, the mission statement, and the test process improvement are all aligned.
C. The application, the mission statement, and the test process improvement are all misaligned
with each other.
D. The application and the test process improvement are aligned, but the mission statement is
misaligned with the application and test process improvement.

[K4 : 2 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 19
Scenario 1:

Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide
customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized businesses selling to
customers on the web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows the
companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their websites, that let customers to enroll in
the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both
companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of
points required to receive a free product or service.

Your employer’s marketing staff is heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on the
first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will be
highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers.

At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of t he software has just begun. The
current schedule will allow companies and their customers to enroll starting in three months.

Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no
hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other
engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used
to build the system.

Assume that you are writing a master test plan for this project, and are c urrently working on the project
risks section of the plan.

Which of the following topics should NOT be addressed in this section of the test plan?

Answer Set:
A. Inability to provision a test environment by the planned test execution start date.
B. Resignation of senior marketing staff prior to introduction of the service.
C. Inability to locate sufficient skilled and certified testers, especially seni or testers.
D. Insufficient resources to acquire suitable number of virtual users for load testing.

[K4 : 2 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 20
Consider the following test strategies
I. Analytical test strategy
II. II. Methodical test strategy
III. Process-compliant test strategy
IV. Consultative test strategy

Consider the following examples of test activities.

1. Testing a user-provided list of Internet browsers
2. Defining acceptance criteria for a user story
3. Executing the highest-risk tests as early as possible
4. Clicking through all the navigational links on a web page

Which of the following correctly matches test strategies with an example of a test activity appropriate
for that strategy?

Answer Set:
A. I-3; II-4; III-2; IV-1.
B. I-1; II-2; III-3; IV-4.
C. I-4; II-3; III-2; IV-1.
D. I-3; II-2; III-4; IV-1.

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 21
Scenario 3

Assume you are a test manager on a project which is following an Agile lifecycle. The testing strategy
is a blend of risk-based testing, process-compliant testing, and reactive testing. Developers are
following known Agile best practices, including automated unit testing and continuous integration. You
are defining guidelines for documenting various test work products.

Which of the following statements is true?

Answer Set:
A. You should follow the IEEE 829 standard, since you are following a process-compliant test
strategy.
B. You should follow the IEEE 829 standard, because it was designed for use in any industry.
C. You may tailor a set of templates from various sources, including the IEEE 829 standard.
D. You may omit documentation of test work altogether, except for defect reports.

[K3 : 2 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 22
Scenario 3

Assume you are a test manager on a project which is following an Agile lifecycle. The testing strategy
is a blend of risk-based testing, process-compliant testing, and reactive testing. Developers are
following known Agile best practices, including automated unit testing and continuous integration.

You are estimating the system test effort required for a particular iteration by your test team.

Which THREE of the following statements correctly describe how you should carry out estimation in
this scenario?

Answer Set:
A. Estimate only effort for test execution and test closure.
B. Estimate that most defects will be found during system test execution.
C. Include effort to create detailed test work product documentation.
D. Consider the average effort required per identified risk in past iterations.
E. Assume that system tests can reuse unit test data and environments.
F. Allocate time-boxed test sessions for each identified test charter.
G. Participate in agile team estimation sessions for this iteration.

[K3 : 3 marks]

Question 23
Which ONE of the following will most probably influence the duration, but not the effort of the testing
activities?

Answer Set:
A. Maturity of the test process
B. Required level of detail of test conditions
C. Time to repair defects found during testing
D. Required quality of the system

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 24
Which one of the following statements about testing metrics usage is TRUE?

Answer Set:
A. Confirmation and regression test status is used to monitor the progress of testing.
B. Trends in the lag time from defect reporting to resolution is used to reward the developers.
C. Number of test conditions identified is used to monitor the quality of testing.
D. Planned versus actual hours to develop testware is used to minimize regression testing.

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 25
Which one of the following alternatives is best to monitor test progress?

Answer Set:
A. Estimation of code coverage by measuring the number of executed tests.
B. Combined usage of coverage, product, people, test and defect metrics.
C. Combined usage of coverage, confidence, risk, test and defect metrics.
D. Combined usage of product, people and project metrics

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 26
You work for an international company producing hardware and software for telecom networks.

Hardware and software development are done in separate business units. You are the test manager
of one product line of network router software.

In your product line there is a long tradition of creating tightly integrated products using an incremental
product lifecycle. The hardware business unit produces a new version every six months. Your
software product line aims to have a new version of the software ready for each new hardware
version. The software is developed in two-month increments.

The business unit schedules are synchronized during design.

Your team consists of 15 testers, who have been in the company for a minimum of two years, but
mostly a lot longer. New tests are developed by the most experienced testers using in-house custom
test scripts. Variations of tests and the regression test sets are run by the rest of the team.

The company management requires monthly progress reports listing the number of severe defects
found and the status of test execution. There have also been efforts to measure the efficiency of
personnel in all business units. Your company has also implemented CMMI on company level.

There have been problems to keep up with the hardware development schedule.

The business unit manager of your software business unit has asked you to propose how to improve
the testing of the project, e.g. by introducing better metrics or tools. The manager has quickly collected
product risk list from user representatives and thinks the tests don’t cover all the risks.

Which one of the following alternatives would you recommend to be done?

Answer Set:
A. Analyze residual risks based on tester confidence to see if enough test coverage is reached.
B. Add more tests to better cover the functionalities.
C. Incorrect: focuses wrongly on capabilities.
D. Incorrect: is all right on its own but the doesn’t utilize the risk information.

[K4 : 2 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 27
Consider the following categories of quality costs:
a. Costs of prevention.
b. Costs of detection.
c. Costs of internal failure.
d. Costs of external failure.

Consider the following examples of quality costs:

1. Performing a quality risk analysis
2. Training business analysts in requirements engineering.
3. Customers complain about poor performance.
4. Long lag time from defect reporting to resolution during testing increase defect management
inefficiency.

Which of the following correctly matches each category with an example?

Answer Set:
A. a-1; b-2; c-3; d-4.
B. a-1; b-2; c-4; d-3
C. a-2; b-1; c-3; d-4
D. a-2; b-1; c-4; d-3

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 28
Scenario 2:

Assume that you are managing the testing of a mature application. This application is an online dating
service that allows users: to enter a profile of themselves; to meet people who would be a good match
for them; to arrange social events with those people; and, to block people they don’t want to contact
them.

Assume that you have calculated the following costs of quality :

 Average cost of detection: $150
 Average cost of internal failure: $250
 Average cost of external failure: $5,000

The average costs of detection and internal failure are calculated using the number of bugs found prior
to release, while the average costs of external failure is calculated using the number of bugs found
after release.

Which of the following statements is correct?

Answer Set:
A. Each bug found by testing offers the organization an average $4,600 savings in cost of quality
B. The total cost of quality, including cost of prevention, for this dating application is $5,400.
C. Cost of quality cannot be used to calculate the value of testing for this or any other
organization.
D. Each bug found by testing offers the organization a potential $5,400 savings in cost of quality

[K3 : 2 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 29
Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide
customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized companies selling to
customers on the Web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows
the companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their websites, that let customers enroll
in the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both
companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of
points required to receive a free product or service.

Your employer’s marketing staff is heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on the
first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will be
highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers.

At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of t he software has just begun. The
current schedule will allow companies and their customers to start enrolling in three months.

Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no
hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other
engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used
to build the system.

In order to reduce testing cost by limiting the number of employees in the test team, senior
management has decided to engage an outsource testing services firm to handle some of the testing.

While the actual testing work will be done in Malaysia, this firm will put a person on-site to directly
coordinate the work, communicate test results, and be in twice-daily contact with the offshore test
team.

Which of the following factors of success for distributed and outsourced testing is addressed in this
plan?

Answer Set:
A. Division of the testing work based on qualifications.
B. Well-defined mission and tasks for on-site and offshore test teams.
C. Establishment of trust across the project team members.
D. Defined ways in which communication should occur.

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 30
Which ONE of the following BEST describes a software standard t hat provides guidance on test
coverage criteria to be achieved?

Answer Set:
A. ISTQB syllabi and glossary
B. CMMI software process improvement framework
C. Prince 2 project management framework
D. US Federal Aviation Administration’s DO-178B

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

3. Reviews
Question 31
As a test manager, you are participating in a meeting with other members of the project management
team. The agenda of the meeting is to discuss whether the project can begin acceptance testing
based on the system test exit criteria, the acceptance test ent ry criteria, and other business
considerations. Which of the following statements is true?

Answer Set:
A. The meeting is an audit, because the project management team is checking compliance
against defined criteria by checking evidence.
B. The meeting is a management review, because the project management team is evaluating
the situation and determining the next steps.
C. The meeting is a management review, because the project management team is checking to
ensure that progress is being made on the project.
D. The meeting is an audit, because the project management team is going to issue a pass/fail
assessment against the criteria.

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 32
Scenario 1:

Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide
customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized companies selling to
customers on the Web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows
the companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their webs ites, that let customers enroll
in the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both
companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of
points required to receive a free product or service.

Your employer’s marketing staff is heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on the
first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will be
highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers.

At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of the software has just begun. The
current schedule will allow companies and their customers to start enrolling in three months.

Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no
hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other
engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used
to build the system.

Assume that you have been asked by the senior management team t o plan for reviews as part of this
project. They want a very lightweight process that nonetheless provides for some early defect
detection as well as building consensus and understanding across the team.
Which of the following answers describes the BEST option in this situation?

Answer Set:
A. You should plan for inspections of requirements, design, and code reviews.
B. You should plan for informal reviews of the quality risk analysis, tests, and test plan.
C. You should convince management that someone other than the test manager should plan the
reviews.
D. You should plan for informal reviews, with appropriate participants, for all appropriate work
products.

[K4 : 3 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 33
Scenario 1:

Assume that you are working for an ambitious start-up. They are creating a system that will provide
customized loyalty and rewards programs for small- and medium-sized companies selling to
customers on the Web. These companies enroll themselves on the system’s web store. This allows
the companies to create customized buttons, to be placed on their websites, that let customers enroll
in the companies’ loyalty and rewards program. Each subsequent purchase earns points, and both
companies and their customers can manage the program; for example, to determine the number of
points required to receive a free product or service.

Your employer’s marketing staff is heavily promoting the system, offering aggressive discounts on the
first year’s fees to sign up inaugural companies. The marketing materials state that the service will be
highly reliable and extremely fast for companies and their customers.

At this time, the requirements are complete, and development of the software has just begun. The
current schedule will allow companies and their customers to start enrolling in three m onths.

Your employer intends to use cloud computing resources to host this service, and to have no
hardware resources other than ordinary office computers for its developers, testers, and other
engineers and managers. Industry-standard web-based application software components will be used
to build the system.

Assume that you have been asked by the senior management team to manage reviews as part of this
project. You are selecting participants for a review of the identified quality risk items.

Consider the following attributes needed to participate effectively in a review:

I. Technical skills
II. II. Suitable personality traits
III. Procedural knowledge
IV. Business knowledge

Consider the following summary description of an individual who might participate in a review:
1. Past testing of financial applications
2. Development of simple web applications
3. Experienced participant in reviews
4. Detail-oriented
5. Understanding of cloud computing

Which of the following correctly matches the attributes with this individual's details?

Answer Set:
A. I-2; I-5; II-4; III-3; IV-1.
B. I-1; I-2; II-4; III-3; IV-5.
C. I-4; II-2; II-3; III-5; IV-1
D. I-2; II-3; III-4; III-1; IV-5.

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 34
You work for an international company producing hardware and software for telecom networks.

Hardware and software development are done in separate business units. You are the test manager
of one product line of network router software.

In your product line there is a long tradition of creating tightly integrated products using an incremental
product lifecycle. The hardware business unit produces a new version every six months. Your
software product line aims to have a new version of the software ready for each new hardware
version. The software is developed in two-month increments.

The business unit schedules are synchronized during design.

Your team consists of 15 testers, who have been in the company for two years, but mostly a lot longer.

New tests are developed by the most experienced test analysts as in-house custom test scripts.

Variations of tests and the regression test sets are run by the rest of the team.

The company management requires monthly progress reports listing the number of severe defects
found and the status of test execution. There have also been efforts to measure the efficiency of
personnel in all business units. Your company has also implemented CMMI on company level.

There have been problems to keep up with the hardware development schedule.

Your manager thinks that the project might find some defects more efficiently by having testers review
the business requirements. Which three of the following metrics would be used best to prove this point
during review trial? Mark exactly THREE options.

Answer Set:
A. Number of defects found in dynamic testing
B. Dynamic test coverage
C. Review and dynamic testing hours
D. Number of defects found in reviews
E. Number of severe defects in dynamic testing
F. Test execution status
G. Review results of hardware and software business units.

[K3 : 2 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 35
You are the test manager working on an agile project developing information apps. Due to missing
and incorrect functionality reported by users, formal reviews of all user stories are planned. The
reviews are led by you, the test manager. The main objective of the reviews is the agreement of all
stakeholders on the user story format, granularity, completeness, and preciseness. The following
persons play the role of reviewers: chief developer (CD), test analyst (TA), product manager (PM), and
domain expert (DE). During the kickoff-meeting, the CD complains about being pulled off his real duty.

After the individual reviews, the following table depicts the number of defects found by each of the
three reviewers:

CD TA PM DE
Major 2 8 6 5
Minor 2 11 5 7
Typo 8 14 9 11

You have to decide how to proceed with the review.

Which ONE of the following options should be chosen by the test manager?

Answer Set:
A. Postpone the review session and redefine the review with the objectives of the CD
B. Proceed timely with the review session, with the role “scribe” assigned to the CD
C. Cancel the review, write a report to upper management emphasizing the missing involvement
of the CD
D. Ask for a discussion between the TM and the CD moderated by a third person to get the CD
involved

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

4. Defect Management
Question 36
The diagram shows an incomplete defect management process, where three states (states X, Y and
Z) have yet to be named appropriately.

TRIAGE

OPEN
STATE Y

ASSIGNED

RESOLVED

TESTED STATE X

CLOSED STATE Z

Which of the following would correctly complete the process?

Answer Set:
A. STATE X – RETESTED; STATE Y - NEW; STATE Z – BLOCKED
B. STATE X – DUPLICATE; STATE Y - UNCONFIRMED; STATE Z – TERMINATED
C. STATE X – VERIFIED; STATE Y - REVIEW; STATE Z - FIXED
D. STATE X – REOPENED; STATE Y - REJECTED; STATE Z – DEFERRED

[K3 : 2 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 37
You are the test manager on a project where system testing is being performed on software being
provided by a third party. You have received a complaint from the third party that the completeness of
the defect data from your system testing is unacceptable.

The following list of information items has been identified as potentially missing from the defect reports
being sent to the third party.

Which THREE items do you think are MOST important to add to the defect reports?

Answer Set:
A. The priority to fix the problem
B. The project activity occurring when the problem was detected
C. The test environment in which the defect was observed
D. The technical type of the defect
E. Steps to reproduce the failure, along with the actual and expected results
F. The lifecycle phases of introduction, detection, and removal for the defect
G. The subsystem or component in which the defect lies

[K3 : 2 marks]

Question 38
Which of the following represents a legal sequence of states for a defect report that leads to a terminal
state? Assume that “in progress” means one or more states where developers or other project
stakeholders are addressing the defect.

Answer Set:
A. Initial, in progress, returned, cancelled
B. Initial, in progress, confirmation test, closed, deferred
C. Initial, in progress, returned, in progress, confirmation test
D. In progress, initial, confirmation test, closed

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 39
It has been decided that the first step to test and development process improvement within your
organization will be to reduce the number of defects introduced during development.

Which of the following defect report statistics will be MOST useful in fulfilling this aim?

Answer Set:
A. The lifecycle phases of introduction, detection, and removal for the defect
B. The defect component information
C. The defect root cause information
D. The defect removal efficiency information

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

5. Improving the Testing Process

Question 40
Which TWO of the following statements are the best examples of the importance of improving the test
process?

Answer Set:
A. Since testing often accounts for a major part of the total project costs, more effective testing
will lead to more effective projects.
B. Since Testing often accounts for a major part of the total project costs, much attention is given
to the test process in software process improvement models, such as CMMI
C. When using test process improvement models, the Deming improvement cycle: Plan, Do,
Check, Act, is of no relevance when testers need to improve the testing process
D. Test process improvement is important because there exist well known and industry-accepted
test process improvement models, such that TMMi, TPI Next, or CTP
E. Test process improvement models help to reach a higher level of maturity and
professionalism.

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 41
Assume that you are a test manager and are working to make your t esting processes more effective
and efficient. You have already a management-approved initial budget in place for these process
improvements. Last week, an external consultant completed her assessment and delivered her
findings. Which THREE of the following are the remaining steps for t his process improvement effort,
assuming you are following the IDEAL model for process improvement?

Answer Set:
A. Initiate the improvement process across the entire testing organization.
B. Create a plan for selecting and implementing the assessment recommendations.
C. Implement the assessment recommendations, including any necessary training and piloting.
D. Evaluate the benefits, including the return on investment, from the improvements.
E. Reject the consultant’s recommendations in favor of a set of internal priorities
F. Diagnose the current situation by evaluating the sources of inefficiency
G. Take steps to move your organization to test process maturity level 5.

[K3 : 3 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 42
You work for an international company producing hardware and software for telecom networks.

Hardware and software development are done in separate business units. You are the test manager
of one product line of network router software.

In your product line there is a long tradition of creating tightly integrated products using an incremental
product lifecycle. The hardware business unit produces a new version every six months. Your
software product line aims to have a new version of the software ready for each new hardware
version. The software is developed in two-month increments.

The business unit schedules are synchronized during design.

Your team consists of 15 testers, who have been in the company for two years, but mostly a lot longer.

New tests are developed by the most experienced test analysts as in-house custom test scripts.

Variations of tests and the regression test sets are run by the rest of the team.

The company management requires monthly progress reports listing the number of severe defects
found and the status of test execution. There have also been efforts to measure the efficiency of
personnel in all business units. Your company has also implemented CMMI on company level.

There have been problems to keep up with the hardware development schedule.

You consider TMMi to help you improve your project. Which one of the following TMMi aspects will
suit best for this purpose?

Answer Set:
A. Align testing improvements with those of the company.
B. Reach Optimized level to help prevent defects.
C. Move from Initial level to Managed level.
D. Reach 85 percent of specific and generic goals.

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 43
Which ONE of the following statements about the test maturity matrix of TPI Next ® is true?

Answer Set:
A. For key area/improvement objective combinations, the related checkpoints are shown in the
test maturity matrix
B. For key area/maturity level combinations, the related checkpoints are shown in the test
maturity matrix
C. For improvement objective/maturity level combinations, the related checkpoints are shown in
the test maturity matrix
D. For key area/maturity level combinations, the related improvement objectives are shown in the
test maturity matrix

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 44
Which of the following is an example of achieving an objective for the CTP test proces s improvement
model?

Answer Set:
A. The test team’s test process maturity level goes from 2 to 3.
B. The test team’s defect detection effectiveness improves above industry averages.
C. The test team’s test process maturity level goes from controlled to efficient.
D. The test team undergoes a critical testing process assessment.

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 45
You work for an international company producing hardware and software for telecom networks.

Hardware and software development are done in separate business units. You are the test manager
of one product line of network router software.

In your product line there is a long tradition of creating tightly integrated products using an incremental
product lifecycle. The hardware business unit produces a new version every six months. Your
software product line aims to have a new version of the software ready for each new hardware
version. The software is developed in two-month increments.

The business unit schedules are synchronized during design.

Your team consists of 15 testers, who have been in the company for two years, but mostly a lot longer.

New tests are developed by the most experienced test analysts as in-house custom test scripts.

Variations of tests and the regression test sets are run by the rest of the team.

The company management requires monthly progress reports listing the number of severe defects
found and the status of test execution. There have also been efforts to measure the efficiency of
personnel in all business units. Your company has also implemented CMMI on company level.

There have been problems to keep up with the hardware development schedule.

You consider that the STEP-model might suit you well to solve above problems in the longer term.

Which one of the following STEP basic premises fits your need best?

Answer Set:
A. A requirements-based testing strategy.
B. Testware design leads software design
C. Defects are systematically analyzed
D. Testers and developers work together.
[K3 Marks: 1

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

6. Test Tools and Automation

Question 46
You work for an international company producing hardware and software for telecom networks.

Hardware and software development are done in separate business units. You are the test manager
of one product line of network router software.

In your product line there is a long tradition of creating tightly integrated products using an incremental
product lifecycle. The hardware business unit produces a new version every six months. Your
software product line aims to have a new version of the software ready for each new hardware
version. The software is developed in two-month increments.

The business unit schedules are synchronized during design.

Your team consists of 15 testers, who have been in the company for two years, but most ly a lot longer.
New tests are developed by the most experienced test analysts as in-house custom test scripts.
Variations of tests and the regression test sets are run by the rest of the team.

The company management requires monthly progress reports list ing the number of severe defects
found and the status of test execution. There have also been efforts to measure the efficiency of
personnel in all business units. Your company has also implemented CMMI on company level.

There have been problems to keep up with the hardware development schedule

Your company originally has built an in-house test automation tool as they anyway needed to build
interfaces to drive test scripts against their system to fulfill all the telecom standard requirements.

Maintaining the in-house tool has gradually become very costly.

An open-source tool might free time from you test automation experts. You need to consider several
factors before making this decision. Which one of the following statements does NOT apply?

Answer Set:
A. The licensing terms need to be understood.
B. The telecom-standard compliance needs to be considered.
C. Open-source tools have been created for a particular purpose.
D. Open-source tools are hard to be adapted.

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 47
You work for an international company producing hardware and software for telecom networks.

Hardware and software development are done in separate business units. You are the test manager
of one product line of network router software.

In your product line there is a long tradition of creating tightly integrated products using an incremental
product lifecycle. The hardware business unit produces a new version every six months. Your
software product line aims to have a new version of the software ready for each new hardware
version. The software is developed in two-month increments.

The business unit schedules are synchronized during design.

Your team consists of 15 testers, who have been in the company for two years, but mostly a lot longer.
New tests are developed by the most experienced test analysts as in-house custom test scripts.
Variations of tests and the regression test sets are run by the rest of the team.

The company management requires monthly progress reports listing the number of severe defects
found and the status of test execution. There have also been efforts to measure the efficiency of
personnel in all business units. Your company has also implemented CMMI on company level.

There have been problems to keep up with the hardware development schedule.

When your company originally decided to build a custom in-house test tool, one reason for this
decision was company’s unique hardware architecture. Maintenance of the test tool has proven to be
time-consuming.

You consider whether your business unit’s current custom-built tool is still valid, and you think about
other options such as open-source software. Which of the following arguments BEST supports the
validity of the custom-built tool choice?

Answer Set:
A. There are regularly substantial modifications to the hardware components, so also test tool
needs to be adapted often
B. The company has to follow telecom-standards
C. The company has many developers capable of developing cus tom-built tool, so these skills
should be utilized.
D. The tool is easy to learn and use

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 48
You work for an international company producing hardware and software for telecom networks.

Hardware and software development are done in separate business units. You are the test manager
of one product line of network router software.

In your product line there is a long tradition of creating tightly integrated products using an incremental
product lifecycle. The hardware business unit produces a new version every six months . Your
software product line aims to have a new version of the software ready for each new hardware
version. The software is developed in two-month increments.

The business unit schedules are synchronized during design.

Your team consists of 15 testers, who have been in the company for two years, but mostly a lot longer.
New tests are developed by the most experienced test analysts as in-house custom test scripts.
Variations of tests and the regression test sets are run by the rest of the team.

The company management requires monthly progress reports listing the number of severe defects
found and the status of test execution. There have also been efforts to measure the efficiency of
personnel in all business units. Your company has also implemented CMMI on company level.

There have been problems to keep up with the hardware development schedule

You have heard that another similar software product line within your company is using an open-
source tool for their test automation. They use it to automate roughly 50% of the tests and execute the
remaining tests manually through the user interface of the software.

You are requested to report if it is possible to select this tool for your product line as well. What are
your key concerns?

Mark exactly THREE options.

Answer Set:
A. How much time do you have to use for rewriting your existing tests?
B. Is it possible to execute some part of your tests manually?
C. Can all of your testers learn the new tool?
D. Is it likely that your testers will achieve more with the new tool?
E. How good is the support for the open-source tool?
F. Is the new tool user-friendly?
G. What about the security issues of the tool?

[K4 : 2 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 49
You work for an international company producing hardware and software for telecom networks.

Hardware and software development are done in separate business units. You are the test manager
of one product line of network router software.

In your product line there is a long tradition of creating tightly integrated products using an incremental
product lifecycle. The hardware business unit produces a new version every six months. Your
software product line aims to have a new version of the software ready for each new hardware
version. The software is developed in two-month increments.

The business unit schedules are synchronized during design.

Your team consists of 15 testers, who have been in the company for two years, but mostly a lot longer.
New tests are developed by the most experienced test analysts as in-house custom test scripts.
Variations of tests and the regression test sets are run by the rest of the team.

The company management requires monthly progress reports listing the number of severe defects
found and the status of test execution. There have also been efforts to measure the efficiency of
personnel in all business units. Your company has also implemented CMMI on company level.

There have been problems to keep up with the hardware development schedule

You have heard that another similar software product line within your company is using an open-
source tool for their test automation. They use it to automate roughly 50% of the tests and execute the
remaining tests manually through the user interface of the software.

If you choose the same open-source tool, which of the following activities shall happen first before
retiring the current custom-built tool in order to have value as quickly as possible?

Answer Set:
A. The custom-built tool must be maintained and converted to the new environment
B. The backup and restore functionalities of the custom-built tool must be maintained.
C. The regression test scripts of the custom-built tool must be converted to the new tool.
D. All test scripts of the custom-built tool must be converted to the new tool.

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 50
You work for an international company producing hardware and software for telecom networks.

Hardware and software development are done in separate business units. You are the test manager
of one product line of network router software.

In your product line there is a long tradition of creating tightly integrated products using an incremental
product lifecycle. The hardware business unit produces a new version every six months. Your
software product line aims to have a new version of the software ready for each new hardware
version. The software is developed in two-month increments.

The business unit schedules are synchronized during design.

Your team consists of 15 testers, who have been in the company for two years, but mostly a lot longer.
New tests are developed by the most experienced test analysts as in-house custom test scripts.
Variations of tests and the regression test sets are run by the rest of the team.

The company management requires monthly progress reports listing the number of severe defects
found and the status of test execution. There have also been efforts to measure the efficiency of
personnel in all business units. Your company has also implemented CMMI on company level.

There have been problems to keep up with the hardware development schedule.

The problems to keep up with the release schedule have been analyzed further. Preliminarily it seems
that there is no time to cover enough of new requirements of a new release.

You consider how to measure the coverage of your functional test scripts to help you achieve the
release deadlines. Which one of the following options is the BEST choice?

Answer Set:
A. Collect the number of test script executions per increment in a test management tool.
B. Monitor the performance of the system, so you can tune its scalability
C. Measure the number of hours spent on test script development as an attribute of the test
script.
D. Capture traceability from test scripts to test requirements in a test management tool.

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

7. People Skills – Team Composition

Question 51
The following table shows the skills matrix for a user acceptance test (UAT) team in the areas of
software development and domain knowledge (publishing). Each team member was assessed based
on their capability in the different areas of publishing domain knowledge, use cases, software design
and coding. For each of the software development areas they were rated at one of four levels (no
knowledge, awareness, able to understand, and able to create), while their knowledge of the betting
domain was rated as high, medium or low.

Team Member
V W X Y Z
Publishing high low medium high low
Use Cases none aware aware understand understand
Software Design none aware create aware understand
Coding none create understand understand aware

It has been decided that the UAT team shall start employing an open source test tool that uses a
Java-like test scripting language and keyword-driven testing. Based on the skills matrix, which two
testers would you advise are employed to work on the development of the test framework for this tool?

Answer Set:
A. W, X
B. V,Y
C. X,Z
D. Y,Z

[K4 : 2 marks]

Question 52
Assume that you are managing a test team of six people, that you have identified critical skills in three
categories for a team: testing, technology, and business knowledge. You have performed a skills
assessment for each test team member against each critical skill, using a 1 to 5 scale, with 1
representing the lowest level of skill and 5 representing the highest level of skill. Assume that you
have the following average scores for your team in each category:

Testing 3.25
Technology 1.17
Business knowledge 3.75

You are now planning actions to take in order to develop your team. Which THREE of the following
actions should be in your plan?

Answer Set:
A. Retain a company to deliver ISTQB Foundation training to all testers.
B. Make an employee skills ranking and plan to lay off those employees at the bottom.
C. Identify the most critical specific skills weaknesses and ways to address those weaknesses.
D. If a hiring opportunity presents itself, favor candidates with relevant technological skills.
E. Try to rotate people with business knowledge out of your team, in favor of people with stronger
technology skills.
F. Evaluate testers' interpersonal skills, personality traits, and communication abilities.
G. Recommend to each individual in the team that they increase their technology skills.

[K4 : 3 marks]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 53
You are leading a four person testing team on a project with a delivery date that is only four weeks
away, and your original test plan showed that the remaining testing would take 200 days of effort. Two
new team members are due to start next week.

Which THREE of the following statements BEST describe skills you will be required to demonstrate for
the next few weeks?

Answer Set:
A. Dealing with project schedule problems and expectation issues from customers and
management
B. Ensuring no favoritism by treating all team members the same and sharing all tasks across the
team
C. Showing your commitment by working in the testing team, delegating the handling of external
issues to a team member
D. Closely managing the test team, only assigning individuals new tasks when they finish their
last one
E. Persuading team members that they are valued and that their input is a vital contribution to the
team effort
F. Assimilating new members into the team quickly, while still providing adequate supervision
and support
G. Analyzing personality traits to identify new skills to be acquired to increase each individual's
skills portfolio

[K4 : 1 mark]

Question 54
An organization develops home-banking software for the local market, using an agile software
development process. The software depends on external software components from the open source
domain. It also uses existing web services, which are replaced by test stubs during development and
integration. There are plans to internationalize the home-banking software for a globally operating
bank.

Which ONE of the following is the BEST proposal to fit testing into the project?

Answer Set:
A. Unit testing done by developers; component integration testing done by the independent
internal test organization; system and user acceptance testing done by banking experts;
internationalization testing outsourced to external test specialists
B. Unit testing done by developers; system testing done by the independent internal test
organization; user acceptance and internationalization testing done by banking experts
supported by the independent internal test organization
C. Unit and component integration testing done by developers; system testing done by the
independent internal test organization supported by developers; user acceptance testing done
by banking experts supported by the independent internal test organization;
internationalization testing outsourced to external test specialists
D. Unit and component integration testing done by developers; system and user acceptance
testing and internationalization testing done by banking experts supported by the independent
internal test organization

[K2 : 1 mark]

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 ISTQB CTAL Test Manager : Sample Questions

Question 55
You have been recently appointed as the Test Manager working on a large web-based project that
currently is not meeting customer expectations. You have become aware that the testers are unhappy
and that the retention rate is low, with testers leaving for other jobs on a regular basis.

Which ONE of the following situations is MOST likely to be demotivating the testers?

Answer Set:
A. There appears to be mutual respect between the testing team members and the web
developers
B. The testers have been given increased responsibility and are expected to manage their own
time
C. Management are providing visible recognition for the work being done by the testers
D. The testers' bonus payments are aligned with the perceived quality of delivered web services

[K2 : 1 mark]

Question 56
You are the test manager of an organization developing software for an automatic teller machine
(ATM). Usability testing is done on-site by the internal test team. At the beginning of the project, upper
management decided to outsource functional system testing from the int ernal test team to an off-shore
site. During usability testing, several defects in functionality were found by the internal test team, some
of which blocked the continuation of the usability tests. Analysis of the test reports shows that
functional tests of the relevant functions were designed and executed by the off-shore team without
finding any of the blocking defects.

Which ONE of the following is the BEST communication proposal for discussing the steps/activities
needed to mitigate the situation?

Answer Set:
A. Send detailed defect reports and defect rates to upper management to get more time for the
internal test team to perform usability testing
B. Schedule a video conference with the off-shore test team and upper management to find the
root causes for not finding the defects
C. Schedule a review of the test work products for functional system testing, with reviewers from
the internal test team and the off-shore team
D. Send detailed defect reports and defect rates to the off-shore team and ask for the root
causes for not finding the defects

[K2 : 1 mark]

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