Software Quality Assurance Methodologies Flashcards

A QA team receives a new build with a critical bug fix. Before proceeding with extensive regression testing, the team decides to run a quick set of high-level tests to ensure the fix works and that the build's core functionalities are stable. What is this type of testing called?

Answer: Smoke Testing

Smoke testing is a preliminary, non-exhaustive set of tests to ascertain that the most crucial functions of a program work, ensuring the build is stable enough for more rigorous testing. It covers the core functionalities end-to-end at a high level.

Which of the following best describes the primary goal of regression testing in a software quality assurance process?

Answer: To ensure that recent code changes or bug fixes have not adversely affected existing features.

Regression testing is specifically designed to uncover new bugs in existing functionality after a change, such as a bug fix or feature addition. Its purpose is to ensure that the existing, previously tested software still performs correctly.

In the V-Model of software development, which testing level is designed to directly validate the Architectural Design phase?

Answer: Integration Testing

The V-Model demonstrates the relationships between each development phase and its corresponding testing phase. Integration Testing, which verifies that different modules can communicate and work together, directly corresponds to the Architectural Design (or High-Level Design) phase.

A development team follows a practice where they first write an automated test case that fails. They then write the minimum amount of application code required to make that test pass, and finally refactor the new code for quality. Which SQA methodology is being described?

Answer: Test-Driven Development (TDD)

This scenario describes the classic 'Red-Green-Refactor' cycle of Test-Driven Development (TDD). A failing test is written (Red), minimal code is written to pass the test (Green), and then the code is cleaned up (Refactor).

A QA engineer is tasked with evaluating a system's ability to handle an increasing number of concurrent users up to and beyond its specified limits, with the specific goal of identifying the system's breaking point. What is this type of non-functional testing called?

Answer: Stress Testing

Stress testing is designed to determine the stability of a system by testing it beyond its normal operational capacity. The goal is to observe at what point the system fails and how it recovers. In contrast, load testing measures performance under expected normal and peak loads.

Which of the following activities is a clear example of static testing?

Answer: Conducting a formal code inspection of a new module.

Static testing involves examining the code and associated documents without executing the application. A formal code inspection or peer review is a prime example of this, as it analyzes the source code for defects before it is run. The other options all involve dynamic testing, which requires code execution.