CTFL-AT Questions and Answers

The tester within an Agile team is not responsible for ensuring all project status meetings are held according to the plan. This is typically a task for the Scrum Master, who facilitates the meetings and ensures that the team follows the Agile principles and practices. The tester within an Agile team is responsible for ensuring the appropriate testing tasks are scheduled during iteration planning, suggesting improvements in team retrospectives, and working with business stakeholders to clarify requirements. These are all tasks that contribute to the quality of the software and the testing process, as well as the collaboration and communication within the team and with the customers. References: ISTQB Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus, Section 2.3.1, page 171; ISTQB Foundation Level Agile Tester Sample Exam Questions, Question 2.3.1-1, page 82

An Agile retrospective is a regular meeting where the team reflects on their work process and identifies the areas for improvement12. The following statements about Agile retrospectives are correct12:

• During Agile retrospectives, testers should be encouraged to provide constructive suggestions on both testing and non-testing activities, as testing is an integral part of the Agile team and testers can contribute to the overall quality of the product and the process.
• In an Agile retrospective, the moderator can encourage and make sure that good practices are kept by the team, by asking what the team is doing well. This helps to reinforce the positive aspects of the team’s work and to appreciate the team members’ efforts and achievements.
• Agile retrospectives should be focused mainly on impediments that are within the control of the team because these issues are more actionable and can be resolved by the team. Impediments that are outside the control of the team should also be discussed, but they may require the involvement of other stakeholders or external parties to be addressed.

The following statement about Agile retrospectives is incorrect12:

• Unlike working sessions or meetings held in non-Agile projects, Agile retrospectives do require follow-up activities. The team should agree on the action items that result from the retrospective and assign them to the responsible team members. The team should also monitor the progress and effectiveness of the action items in the next iteration and review them in the next retrospective.

Therefore, the correct answer is B, as it is the only statement that is correct about Agile retrospectives. References: ISTQB Foundation Level Agile Tester Extension Syllabus1, page 24; ISTQB Agile Tester Sample Exam2,

Cross-functional teamwork is an important organizational and behavioral best practice for a tester in the SCRUM team that should have also been practiced when using the sequential model. Cross-functional teamwork means that all team members, regardless of their functional roles, collaborate and share their skills and knowledge to achieve a common goal. In the context of testing, this means that testing is not seen as a separate activity or phase, but as an integral part of the development process. All team members contribute to testing in various ways, such as:

• Involving people with the test strategy, test planning and execution as well as test reporting. This can help ensure that the testing activities are aligned with the business objectives, the user needs, and the technical requirements. It can also help improve the test coverage, the test quality, and the test efficiency.
• Sharing the responsibility for testing among the team members. This can help reduce the workload and the dependency on a single tester or a testing team. It can also help increase the feedback and the communication among the team members, and foster a culture of quality and learning.
• Leveraging the diverse skills and perspectives of the team members. This can help enhance the test design and the test execution by applying different techniques, tools, and approaches. It can also help identify and address the risks, the issues, and the opportunities for improvement from various angles. References: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus1, Section 1.2.1, page 9; ISTQB® Glossary of Testing Terms2, version 4.0, page 16.

According to the ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, acceptance criteria are a set of conditions that a user story must satisfy to be accepted by the customer or stakeholder. Acceptance criteria should be testable, meaning that they can be verified by objective measurements or observations. Testable acceptance criteria should be clear, unambiguous, complete, and consistent. Therefore, option A is the best example for testable acceptance criteria, as it specifies a clear and measurable condition for the input value of the ID field. Option B is not a good example for testable acceptance criteria, as it is vague and does not define any specific condition or expectation for the interface to External System. Option C is not a good example for testable acceptance criteria, as it is incomplete and does not specify what the specific authorization level is or how it is determined. Option D is not a good example for testable acceptance criteria, as it is subjective and not measurable. What is clear and attractive for one user may not be for another. References: ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 1.1.1, page 7; ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 1.1.2, page 8; ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 3.1.1, page 23; ISTQB Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester syllabus, section 3.1.2, page 24.

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

 Planning poker is a consensus-based technique for agile estimation, using a deck of cards with predefined numerical values, usually based on the Fibonacci sequence or a modified version12. Therefore, statement 1 is correct. A high test estimate usually means that the user story or task is too complex, ambiguous, or risky, and should be broken down into multiple smaller stories that are easier to understand and estimate13. Therefore, statement 3 is correct. The risk level of each backlog item should be decided before the poker session, as it can affect the estimation process and the prioritization of the work14. Therefore, statement 5 is correct. Statement 2 is incorrect, as a low test estimate usually means that the user story or task is simple, clear, and well-defined, and does not need to be broken down further13. Statement 4 is incorrect, as planning poker can involve multiple rounds of estimation, reveal, and discussion, until the team reaches a consensus or agrees to defer the item12. References: 1: ISTQB® Foundation Level Agile Tester Syllabus, Section 3.3.1, Test Automation1; 2: ASTQB Agile Tester Certification Resources, Section 3.3.1, Test Automation2; 3: Planning Poker: An Agile Estimating and Planning Technique3; 4: Planning poker: The all-in strategy for Agile estimation - Asana4

The test charter for the exploratory testing session is focused on buying a bus ticket, not a parking ticket. Therefore, any defect related to the payment for parking ticket is out of scope for the given test charter. The other defects are related to the functionality, usability, or reliability of buying a bus ticket, which are in scope for the test charter. References: ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester Extension Syllabus, Version 2014, Section 2.3.2 Exploratory Testing1, Section 2.3.2.1 Test Charter2; ISTQB Glossary of Testing Terms, Version 3.2, 2017, Definition of Test Charter3

1: ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester Extension Syllabus, Version 2014, Section 2.3.2 Exploratory Testing 2: ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level Agile Tester Extension Syllabus, Version 2014, Section 2.3.2.1 Test Charter 3: [ISTQB Glossary of Testing Terms, Version 3.2, 2017, Definition of Test Charter]