ISTQB

Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions

Instructions

This is a selection of questions that are derived from the learning objectives of ISTQB
Advanced Test Analyst.

All questions have the knowledge level marked.

K2 questions are worth one point each
K3 questions are worth two points each
K4 questions are worth three points each

The mark for each question is given on the answer sheet at the back of this document.

The answer sheet is for you to tear off and use for your answers. Place a cross in the
appropriate box for each separate document. The actual answers to the questions will be
given to you in a separate document.

For each question you either get the full marks or zero. E.g. you cannot score one mark for a
two-point question.

The total available marks for the questions are 54 marks. To gain 65%, you must score 35 or
more.

It is recommended that you do these questions under exam conditions (e.g. closed book) and
in one sitting. Allow no more than 65 minutes.

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions

1. How many test cases are required for minimum criterion classification tree coverage in the
following scenario? (K3)

A fabric manufacturer has decided to launch a new range of handkerchiefs. As well as the
traditional white, they will also offer cream, brown and blue in the range. The standard border
finishing will be the plain edge, with the option to order an embroidered edge. The size of the
thread available is 12, 14, 16 or 18 stitch equivalent.

a) 2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5



2. You are asked to determine impact for a defect in the disposition stage. Which information
from the following list is the most appropriate to use? (K4)

A. Anomaly description
B. Suspect cause
C. Organisation
D. Priority
E. Severity
F. Actual cause
G. Disposition

a) A, E, F, G
b) B, C, D, G
c) A, D, E
d) D, E, G

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions


3. Determine the most appropriate severity for the incident to be raised for the following test
case result. The system under test is the core system for a bank used for all customer
transactions. The report under test is a summary for management of all transactions that day.
(K4)


Test Case ID
Report_004
Priority
High

Test Case
Check transaction summary report produced
Objective

Test Steps

Step ID
Step Action
Expected Result
Actual Result

Step 1
Get list of todays
List of all transactions Got list successfully
transactions from
from today
database

Step 2
Run batch
Batch completes and
No errors. Report

summary report
produced.
produced

Step 3
Check values on report Values should match
Fail. Discrepancy

list from database
between database list

and report. The
database is correct.

Test Conditions

ID
Name
Priority

12
Transaction summary report produced by batch Medium
run

62
Transaction summary report lists all transactions High

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Severity 1

ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions

The defect prevents the complete or majority part of the system from
working.

The defect prevents a major business function from working.

The defect prevents a major function of the system but has an effective
workaround.

The defect prevents a mirror function of the system.

Severity 2
Severity 3
Severity 4

a)
b)
c)
d)

Severity 1
Severity 2
Severity 3
Severity 4

4. A shot of rum costs $4. A shot of vodka costs $3. A midi of beer with a dash of lemonade
will cost $2 for the beer and an extra 20c for the dash of lemonade. For half lemonade and half
beer in a midi size the cost will be $2 for the beer and an extra 50c for the lemonade. The cost
of a midi of beer with no lemonade is $3. For schooners of the same drink, the price of the
beer is increased by $1 however the price of lemonade remains the same.

Which of the test cases has been created incorrectly? (K3)

+50c

+20c

$4

$3

$2

Run
shot

Vodka Beer
shot
Midi

Schooner

Dash of
Half
No
Dash of
Half
No
lemonade lemonade Lemonade lemon
lemonade lemonade


E

a)
b)
c)
d)

D
F
G
H

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions


5. Which of the answers below is a valid set of test cases based on this L16 4 23 orthogonal
array? (K3)

Test
A
B
C
D
1
0
0
0
0
2
0
1
0
1
3
0
0
1
1
4
0
1
1
0
5
1
0
0
0
6
1
1
0
1
7
1
0
1
1
8
1
1
1
0
9
2
1
1
1
10
2
0
1
0
11
2
1
0
0
12
2
0
0
1
13
3
1
1
1
14
3
0
1
0
15
3
1
0
0
16
3
0
0
1

a)

Test
A
B
C
D
1
High
Data
Female
Yes
2
High
Keyboard
Female
No
3
High
Keyboard
Male
No
4
High
Data
Male
Yes
5
Medium
Data
Female
Yes
6
Medium
Keyboard
Male
No
7
Medium
Keyboard
Male
No
8
Medium
Keyboard
Male
Yes
9
High
Data
Female
No
10
High
Data
Male
Yes
11
High
Keyboard
Male
Yes
12
High
Data
Male
No
13
Low
Keyboard
Female
No
14
Low
Data
Female
Yes
15
Low
Keyboard
Female
Yes
16
Low
Data
Female
No

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b)

ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions

Test
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

A
High
High
High
High
Medium
Medium
Medium
Medium
High
High
High
High
Low
Low
Low
Low

B
Data
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Data

C
Female
Female
Male
Male
Female
Female
Male
Male
Male
Male
Female
Female
Male
Male
Female
Female

D
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No

Test
1
2
5
6
7
14
15
16

A
High
High
Medium
Medium
Medium
Low
Low
Low

B
Data
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Data
Data
Keyboard
Data

C
Female
Female
Female
Female
Male
Male
Female
Female

D
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
No

c)

d)
Test
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

A
High
High
High
High
Medium
Medium
Medium
Medium
High
High
High
High
Low
Low
Low
Low

B
Data
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Data
Keyboard
Data

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C
Female
Female
Male
Male
Female
Female
Male
Male
Male
Male
Female
Female
Male
Male
Female
Female
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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions



6. New functionality is being added to your companys website. There are very few
requirements for this work. All that exists is a set of screen layouts and ranges of values for
the different input fields. You are part of the System Test team, which has worked on all
previous releases of the website. Test procedures, defects and results from the previous
releases have been archived.

What are the most appropriate test techniques to derive test cases to use in this situation?
(K4)

J
Cause effect graphing
K
Defect taxonomies
L
Exploratory testing
M
Boundary value analysis

a) J, K, L
b) L, M
c) J, K, M
d) K, L

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions


7. How many test cases are required to cover all paths through the following use case? (K3)

Operator

1. Search for account

Supervisor

Account not found

2. Enter amount

Override for > $50K

3. Enter item

Account opted out of reporting

4. Flag for report

5. File application

a)
b)
c)
d)

5
6
7
8
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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions


8. What is the minimum number of distinct test cases needed to give 100% boundary value
analysis in the following scenario? (K3)

A theatre ticketing system has four classes of concession rates. Tickets for ages 12 and under
are classed as Child. Ages 13 to 16 inclusive are classed as Junior. Tickets for 17 and 18 year
olds are classed as Teen. The last class is Young Adult, which is for ages 19 to 25 inclusive.

a) 8
b) 13
c) 16
d) 24



9. You have to outline a set of usability tests. Which combination of the following are the most
appropriate? (K3)

W. Evaluation of user interface from user perspective
X. Conduct standard survey with end users
Y. Fonts and colours meet company standards
Z. Screens can be accessed by users with correct permissions

a) X
b) W, Y and Z
c) W, X and Y
d) Y and Z


10. Which set of test completion criteria have been met for the following situation? (K3)

A defect report is considered Closed if status = Closed or Duplicate. It is considered Open
otherwise.


Severity
1
2
3
4
Status
Assigned
Fixed
Ready for Retest
Closed
Duplicate

0
0
0
2
0

0
0
4
8
4

3
4
0
16
2

5
0
0
2
0

a) No severity 1 or 2 defects open. Less than 50% of total defects open.

b) No severity 1 defects open. No more than 40% of total defects open.
c) No severity 1 defects open. No more than 10% of severity 2 defects open. No more
than 60% of severity 3 defects open.
d) No severity 1 defects open. Less than 20% of total defects open.

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions

11. Which type of technical testing would highlight defects in the disaster recovery
procedure? (K2)

a) Maintainability testing
b) Efficiency testing
c) Portability testing
d) Reliability testing



12. How many test cases are required for 0-switch and 1-switch coverage respectively from
S4? (K3)






S3


A

S1

S2






C




B
C

B






A



S4
S5






a) 2 and 4
b) 3 and 5
c) 7 and 9
d) 2 and 3

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions


13. What is the most appropriate test technique to derive test cases to use in the following
scenario? (K4)

Company X has a successful computer strategy game on the market. Versions have been
produced to work on Windows NT and Windows XP. The company has decided to greatly
increase the number of operating environments that they want the game to work on. There is
no change to the game functionality. A list of target operating environments, including
hardware and operating system combinations, has been produced.

a) Condition testing
b) State transition testing
c) Fault attacks
d) Exploratory testing

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions


14. Which is the best test procedure specification to verify the following test cases? (K4)

Test case specification identifier
TC 023
Test items
BRD Main application
Input specifications
Valid username and invalid password
Output specifications
Error message Invalid username and/or
password
Environmental needs
To be run in System Test environment
Special procedural requirements
Valid username needed
Inter case dependencies
None



Test case specification identifier
TC 024
Test items
BRD Main application
Input specifications
Invalid username and invalid password
Output specifications
Error message Invalid username and/or
password
Environmental needs
To be run in System Test environment
Special procedural requirements
Valid password needed
Inter case dependencies
None



Test case specification identifier
TC 025
Test items
BRD Main application
Input specifications
Valid username and valid password
Output specifications
Main menu screen displayed
Environmental needs
To be run in System Test environment
Special procedural requirements
Valid username and password needed
Inter case dependencies
None

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions


a)

Test procedure specification identifier
TP 034
Purpose
To test the user login screen
Covers test cases 023, 024, and 025
Special requirements
Valid username and password needed


Procedure Steps
Step
Action
Expected result
1
Start up application
Login screen displayed
2
Attempt to login with valid
Error message Invalid
username and invalid
username and/or password
password
Remain in login screen
3
Attempt to login with invalid Error message Invalid
username and valid
username and/or password
password
Remain in login screen
4
Login with valid username
Main menu screen displayed
and password



b)

Test procedure specification identifier
TP 034
Purpose
To test the user login screen
Covers test cases 023, 024 and 025
Special requirements
Valid username and password needed


Procedure Steps
Step
Action
Expected result
1
Start up application
Login screen displayed
2
Enter valid username and
Values entered successfully
invalid password
3
Click on OK
Error message Invalid
username and/or password
4
Click on OK on error message Message closes
Remain in login screen
5
Enter valid username and
Values entered successfully
password
6
Click on OK
Main menu screen displayed

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c)

Procedure Steps
Step
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions

Action
Start up application
Enter valid username and
invalid password
Click on OK

Error message Invalid

username and/or password
Click on OK on error message Message closes
Remain in login screen
Enter invalid username and
Values entered successfully
valid password
Click on OK
Error message Invalid
username and/or password
Click on OK on error message Message closes
Remain in login screen
Enter valid username and
Values entered successfully
password
Click on OK
Main menu screen displayed

9


d)

Test procedure specification identifier
Purpose
Special requirements

Procedure Steps
Step
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Expected result
Login screen displayed
Values entered successfully

TP 034
To test the user login screen
Covers test cases 023, 024 and 025
Valid username and password needed

Action
Start up application
Enter valid username and
invalid password
Click on OK

Expected result
Login screen displayed
Values entered successfully

Error message Not an

authorised password
Click on OK on error message Message closes
Remain in login screen
Enter invalid username and
Values entered successfully
valid password
Click on OK
Error message Not an
authorised password
Click on OK on error message Message closes
Remain in login screen
Enter valid username and
Values entered successfully
password
Click on OK
Main menu screen displayed

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions


15. Review the partial requirements below using the checklist. Which of the checklist points
indicates a defect in the item under review? (K3)

Checklist:

W. Feasible
X. Unique ID
Y. Consistent
Z. Prioritised

For review:

Reference Description
Risk
REQ-023
The sale amount stored in the system will be subject to GST
High
REQ-024
The sale amount will be stored as to cent level (e.g. $9.99)
Medium
REQ-025
GST on sale total will be calculated at time of sale
Medium
REQ-026
GST rate is variable (initially 10%)
Medium
REQ-027
GST amount = sale amount * GST rate
High
REQ-028
Sale amount and GST amount will be included on receipt
Medium
REQ-029
A daily report of sale amount and GST amount will be produced
Low


a) Y
b) Z
c) W and Y
d) X and W

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions


16. A university sends out a warning letter if attendance is less than 50% of all classes in a
term. Also, a warning letter is sent if attendance is not less than 50%, but course work has not
been submitted. A student is flagged if the workshop was attended but the course work has
not been submitted. Similarly, they are flagged for submitting course work but not attending
the workshop. Students who attend the workshop and 50% or more classes are given a star
award.

If the following four test cases have been produced, what percentage decision table coverage
has been achieved? (K3)

Test Case
1
2
3
4
Attend
42%
16%
23%
26%
Workshop
Y
N
Y
N
C/W
N
Y
Y
N
Letter
X
X
X
X
Flag
X
X


Star






a) 25%
b) 50%
c) 75%
d) 100%



17. Which of the following best describes the principle behind defect-based techniques? (K2)

a) The primary aim of the tests is to find defects
b) All defects found by tests need to be assessed for risk
c) Tests are based on what is known about a type of defect
d) Failure Mode and Effect Analysis are used to determine defects



18. What is the most appropriate mapping between the test tool types and test levels given
below? (K2)

r. Keyword driven testing

i. Component testing
s. Fault seeding



ii. Feature interaction testing
t. Unit test framework


iii. Acceptance testing

a) r=ii, s=i, t=iii
b) r=iii, s=i, t=ii
c) r=iii, s=ii, t=i
d) r=i, s=iii, t=ii



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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions



19. Which of the following technique is the least appropriate to test accessibility
characteristics? (K4)

a) Branch testing
b) Classification tree method
c) Defect taxonomies
d) Checklist-based testing



20. For the given scenario, which set of tests would provide the minimum level of coverage?
(K3)

A credit card company Points R Us are offering a special interest of 0% for the first 6 months
on balance transfers for new customers with the following credit cards: Banks United, Easy
Way Banking and Big Bank. Customers who hold a credit card with Airline Credit Cards would
receive a 0% interest on balance transfer until the balanced transfer was paid in full. Current
customers with Points R Us were unable to receive this special offer.

a) Points R Us, Airline Credit Cards
b) Points R Us, Banks United, Easy Way Banking and Big Bank, Airline Credit Cards
c) Banks United, Easy Way Banking, Airline Credit Cards
d) Points R Us, Banks United, Airline Credit Cards



21. Which of the following is not a risk that arises from the test team providing poor quality
feedback when reviewing a functional specification? (K2)

a) Lack of time to perform review
b) Decrease in respect for test team
c) Problems creating test material from the specification
d) Defects in specification result in more defects in code



22. Which of the following would be used to calculate (n-1) switch coverage for state
transition testing? (K2)

a) Percentage of all valid sequences of n transactions exercised during testing
b) Percentage of all valid sequences of n-1 transactions exercised during testing
c) Percentage of all valid sequences of (n-1)/n transactions exercised during testing
d) Percentage of all valid sequences of n+1 transactions exercised during testing

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions


23. You are on a project where risk identification and analysis have been completed. Which of
the following actions is most likely to take place next? (K2)

a) Discuss with the developers how the system may go wrong
b) Hire a usability consultant to check the system
c) Assign a likelihood for risks occurring
d) Calculate the revenue that could be lost if the system failed



24. What is the most appropriate mapping for the relative strengths of walkthroughs and
management reviews? (K2)

A. Able to find defects without large expense
B. Decisions can be made about appropriate actions to be taken
C. Stakeholders can get feedback on progress
D. Can benefit developers if they do no have knowledge of the business
E. Involves looking into the detail of the item under review
F. Review session run by the author

a) Walkthrough = B, D
Management reviews = A, E
b) Walkthrough = A, E
Management reviews = C, F
c) Walkthrough = B, F
Management reviews = A, C
d) Walkthrough = A, F
Management reviews = B, C



25. You are acceptance testing an upgrade to an existing traffic monitoring system. The
change is to add a new set of reports on where peak hour delays occur. The requirements for
the new reports came from a business workshop and are at a high level. A business person
has been made available to assist the test team.

What would be the most appropriate test oracles to use for this scenario? (K2)

a) Business user
b) New requirements
c) Existing system
d) Existing requirements



26. How many ambiguities are there in the following statement?

To compete in the games participants must arrive between 8 & 9 and be over 18 unless
notification has been given previously to the organisers. (K3)

a) 4
b) 7
c) 10
d) 15
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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions


27. In which of the following situations would functional security testing be least likely to be
included? (K4)

a) Customer details updated by teller in bank branch
b) Overnight transfer of cheque deposits to a central server
c) Health insurance policy added over telephone call to call centre
d) Buying tickets by credit card through online ticketing agency



28. A local health club has installed a new membership system. The system covers all
interactions with the customer from initial contact until they leave. It also manages fee
payments. You will be system testing this system.

Which of the following defects are you most likely to find using cause-effect graphing? (K2)

a) Cannot order marketing brochures for pending accounts
b) User has to go through five screen while enrolling a new customer
c) Suspended account are not returned to status of active after balance is paid
d) Account can be closed without supervisor override when funds still outstanding



End of Questions

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ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst - Sample Questions

Answer Sheet
Question

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

Mark
2
3
3
2
2
3
2
2
2
2
1
2
3
3
2
2
1
1
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
3
1

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