Free iSQI CTFL-AcT Practice Exam with Questions & Answers

Acceptance criteria describe the conditions under which a requirement or user story is considered fulfilled. These criteria serve as the basis for deriving acceptance test cases. To transform them into concrete tests, testers apply test design techniques such as:

Business process-based testing (deriving tests from modeled workflows)

Use case testing (based on user interactions with the system)

Option B is correct because it clearly describes how structured techniques are applied to translate acceptance criteria into actionable test cases, ensuring traceability and relevance.

Other options:

A is incorrect — experience-based techniques may supplement, but structured methods are foundational in deriving test cases from defined criteria.

C is misleading — risk-based testing is a well-established and effective practice for prioritizing test efforts, including acceptance testing.

D is incorrect — both functional and non-functional criteria are important; there’s no fixed rule to prioritize one over the other.

Answer: B. Test techniques such as business process-based testing or use case testing can be used to create acceptance tests from the acceptance criteria

Comprehensive Detailed Explanation (Approx. 200 words):

Building a new team with members from diverse backgrounds requires activities that foster shared values, identity, and trust. Designing a team emblem with values, goals, and a motto is a well-known team-building technique often used in Agile kick-offs. It engages creativity, sparks discussion about shared purpose, and reinforces a collective team identity.

Option A is correct because it supports both vision and team spirit — crucial for newly formed teams.

Other options:

B focuses on individual backgrounds but may not build a collective vision.

C risks highlighting negative views about the organization and may not foster trust at the early stage.

D uses a “staircase” metaphor but incorrectly locates the team at the top of the stairs — potentially signaling an endpoint rather than a beginning, making it inappropriate for a new team.

Answer: A. You invite the team members and ask them to design their own emblem…

In situations where a team is demotivated or struggling with vision and direction, it's effective to use visualization workshops that help the team reflect on progress and visualize a path forward.

Option B describes a metaphorical workshop using a staircase to represent the project's journey — this is known as the "Stairway Retrospective" or "Timeline Workshop". It provides a shared mental model, identifies milestones, and encourages discussion around past progress and future steps. It's ideal for reigniting motivation and clarifying direction — which aligns with the issue described in the question.

Other options:

A can spark debate but may not be constructive or motivating in a stagnation scenario.

C may foster team bonding but doesn’t directly address project direction or vision.

D focuses only on future milestones and lacks the reflective component essential when a team feels stuck.

Collaboration between business analysts and testers is essential in defining and reviewing acceptance criteria. When both roles work together, they ensure the criteria are not only aligned with business goals but also testable and clearly specified.

Option A is correct because shared understanding of acceptance criteria allows testers to design test cases that truly validate business expectations, reducing misinterpretations and increasing confidence in the product.

Other options:

B is valid but not the best — non-functional requirements are important but often handled separately.

C is partially correct but assumes acceptance test cases already exist, whereas the review often happens earlier in the process.

D focuses on test reporting, which is downstream from criteria definition and test case design.

Answer: A. A shared vision between the business analyst and the tester on acceptance criteria facilitates the design of acceptance test cases.

ISO/IEC 25010 defines two key quality models:

Product Quality Model (e.g., Usability, Security, Portability)

Quality in Use Model — which includes characteristics of the user’s experience when interacting with the product in a real-world context.

The four main characteristics of the Quality in Use model are:

Effectiveness

Efficiency

Satisfaction

Freedom from risk

Option A — Efficiency is one of the key Quality in Use characteristics, as it refers to the resources used to achieve goals with accuracy and completeness.

Other options:

B (Usability), C (Compatibility), and D (Portability) are characteristics of the Product Quality Model, not of Quality in Use.

Therefore, the correct answer, as per ISO 25010:2011, is:

Answer: A. Efficiency

ATDD and BDD are agile development approaches that emphasize collaboration among stakeholders (such as business analysts, developers, testers, and customers) to define clear and testable acceptance criteria before or as requirements are being finalized. Both techniques promote using concrete examples to drive development and validate understanding.

In ATDD, acceptance test cases are derived directly from user stories or requirements and written before the actual implementation starts. In BDD, scenarios are expressed in natural language (often using Gherkin syntax) to describe behaviors the system should exhibit under specific conditions. In both cases, these tests serve not only as validation tools but also as executable specifications — i.e., shared understanding expressed through concrete examples.

Option B is correct because both methodologies use examples (scenarios/test cases) to describe how a system should behave — serving as acceptance criteria.

Incorrect options:

Option A wrongly suggests BDD defers testing until after requirements are finalized — it actually promotes early collaboration.

Option C is false — in ATDD, test cases are based on predefined acceptance criteria, not written beforehand.

Option D is inaccurate — acceptance tests in ATDD and BDD may be automated but are collaboratively written first, not by test automation engineers alone.

Exact Reference – ISTQB CTFL Acceptance Testing Syllabus (Section 2.2):

“Both ATDD and BDD involve the collaborative definition of test cases before implementation to clarify requirements and serve as product usage examples.”

To determine the minimum number of test cases needed to cover:

All unique paths (without repeating loops) in the BPMN process model.

All decision rules (combinations) in the DMN decision table.

Let’s break it down:

BPMN Paths:

If the purchase order is not approved → process ends → 1 path

If approved:

Goods received → “Check of delivery” → Acceptance YES → Payment → 1 path

Goods received → “Check of delivery” → Acceptance NO → Discussion → End → 1 path

= Total distinct BPMN paths: 3

DMN Table:

There are 4 rules based on two inputs (Quality check and Quantity check):

Acceptable + Amount ok → Passed

Substandard + Amount ok → Failed

Acceptable + Amount incorrect → Failed

Substandard + Amount incorrect → Failed

You must execute 4 combinations to cover all decision rules.

To cover both all BPMN flows and all DMN rules, you need a minimum of 4 test cases (each using a different rule from the DMN table and associated BPMN path). Paths may overlap, but all rules must be exercised.

The best Gherkin-style acceptance tests are business-oriented, behavior-driven, and avoid unnecessary technical or UI details. They describe actions in a way stakeholders can understand, focusing on system behavior rather than implementation mechanics.

Option A follows Gherkin conventions:

GIVEN clearly describes the system state (account balances).

WHEN describes a user action (transferring funds).

THEN describes a verifiable outcome (account balances updated correctly).

Option B includes unnecessary UI actions like clicking buttons or field names, which are implementation-specific and violate the abstraction level expected of acceptance tests.

Option C uses appropriate structure but introduces incorrect balances in the THEN step (possibly a typo; $4500 on X is wrong if funds were transferred from Y to X).

Option D uses improper syntax — WHEN is misused as another GIVEN, and THEN describes a computation rather than a system behavior.

Exact Reference – ISTQB CTFL Acceptance Testing Syllabus (Section 2.2.2):

“Acceptance criteria in BDD are best captured through Gherkin scenarios that are understandable by business stakeholders and focus on expected outcomes, not implementation details.”

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According to ISTQB and the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) standards, the terms business goals, business needs, and requirements are related but represent different levels of abstraction in defining what an organization aims to achieve.

Business Goals represent the high-level strategic objectives an organization wants to accomplish. These are broad statements of intent and typically reflect long-term ambitions.

Business Needs specify what the business must address to meet its goals; these are more focused descriptions of the problems or opportunities that justify the business change. They provide a rationale for why a project or initiative is undertaken.

Requirements are detailed specifications that describe the features, functions, or qualities the solution must have to fulfill the business needs.

The relationship is hierarchical and increasingly specific: business goals set the overarching purpose, business needs interpret these goals into actionable problem statements or opportunities, and requirements specify the solution details.

ISTQB glossary and syllabus excerpts confirm this layered approach, clarifying that these terms are not synonymous but instead describe the same concept at varying levels of detail and abstraction. Therefore, option B best captures this nuanced relationship.

Exact Extract from ISTQB Foundation Level Syllabus (Business Analysis Section):

"Business goals, business needs, and requirements describe, at different levels of abstraction, what shall be achieved by the business change. Business goals are high-level statements; business needs are statements of problems or opportunities to be addressed, and requirements define the detailed attributes of the solution to meet those needs."

Exploratory testing in Agile projects is a structured but unscripted testing approach where learning, test design, and execution occur simultaneously. Timeboxing is a key practice in managing exploratory testing sessions effectively.

A timebox is a fixed duration (e.g., 60–90 minutes) within which testers explore specific functionalities or risks. It encourages focus, documentation of findings, and prevents overrun or testing fatigue. After the session, testers often hold debriefs to review findings and determine next steps.

Option D is correct because timeboxing is essential for exploratory testing management.

Incorrect options:

A. Pair programming relates to development, not testing.

B. Refactoring is a development technique focused on improving code without changing behavior.

C. Planning poker is used in Agile for effort estimation, not directly related to exploratory testing.

Exact Reference – ISTQB CTFL Acceptance Testing Syllabus (Section 3.1):

“Exploratory testing is often conducted in time-boxed sessions, with a charter guiding the scope of the session.”