ISTQB CT-TAE Exam - Topic 8 Question 38 Discussion

Actual exam question for ISTQB's CT-TAE exam

Question #: 38
Topic #: 8

You have executed an automated test suite for a product that was released into production. Although all the tests passed, there was a major failure in production in an area that was covered well by your automated tests.

You have run the automated tests again and one of the tests is now failing and this is directly related to the production defect that was raised. You decide to run the automated test suite again on the same version of the SUT and the test now passes.

What SHOULD you do now to verify the validity of the automated tests?

ARemove the intermittently failing test from the test suite and investigate the reason why the test sometimes passes and sometimes fails.

BCheck that the production defect that was reported was an actual defect

CRun the automated test suite again and if the test now passes - do nothing

DReference: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341396240_Intermittently_Failing_Tests_in_the_Embedded_Systems_Domain

Show Suggested Answer

Suggested Answer: A

by Freeman at Sep 18, 2024, 08:37 AM

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Carrol

3 months ago

Removing the test might be a good idea, but we need to know why it fails.

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Frankie

3 months ago

Wait, how can a test pass sometimes and fail other times? That's weird.

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Frank

3 months ago

Running the tests again and doing nothing? That's risky!

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Lenny

4 months ago

I think we should definitely check the production defect first.

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Tammara

4 months ago

Sounds like a classic case of flaky tests!

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Charlette

4 months ago

I vaguely recall a reference about intermittently failing tests, but I’m not sure how it applies here. Should we really just remove the test?

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Mari

4 months ago

I practiced a similar question where we had to decide whether to rerun tests or investigate failures, and I think just rerunning the tests isn’t enough.

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Rex

4 months ago

I’m a bit unsure, but I feel like we should definitely verify that the reported production defect was real before making any changes to the tests.

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Alysa

5 months ago

I remember we discussed how intermittent test failures can indicate underlying issues, so I think we should investigate the failing test further.

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Bernadine

5 months ago

Ah, the old intermittently failing test problem. I've seen this before. I think the best approach here is to go with option A and remove the test, then really dig into why it's behaving that way. Gotta get to the root of the issue.

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Zita

5 months ago

This is a tricky one, but I think the best approach is to go with option C. If the test is now passing consistently, then I don't see a need to do anything else. I'll just run the suite again and if it's all good, I'll move on.

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Earlean

5 months ago

Okay, let's see here. The test is failing in production but passing in the test environment. That sounds like a real issue that needs to be addressed. I think I'll go with option B and check that the production defect was actually a valid one.

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Gilma

5 months ago

Hmm, I'm a bit confused. The test is failing sometimes but passing other times? That's really strange. I think I'll go with option A and remove the test for now, then investigate why it's behaving that way.

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Rodolfo

5 months ago

This is a tricky one. I'm not sure if I should remove the intermittently failing test or just run the suite again and see if it passes. I'll need to think this through carefully.

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Erasmo

5 months ago

Ah, I see. The issue is that actual cost-based transfer prices can "charge inefficiencies to the department that is transferring the goods." That's an important limitation to be aware of.

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Ligia

1 year ago

Ah, the old 'pass one, fail one, pass one' routine. Classic software shenanigans. I'd be tempted to go with option C and just roll the dice again, but that's probably not the best approach. Hmm...

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Shelia

1 year ago

A) Remove the intermittently failing test from the test suite and investigate the reason why the test sometimes passes and sometimes fails.

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Cordelia

1 year ago

B) Check that the production defect that was reported was an actual defect

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Gaston

1 year ago

A) Remove the intermittently failing test from the test suite and investigate the reason why the test sometimes passes and sometimes fails.

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Edmond

1 year ago

I've seen this kind of thing before. It's like the software is having a mood swing or something. I'd go with option B - make sure the production defect was legit before doing anything else.

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Jess

1 year ago

Intermittently failing tests? That's a new one. Sounds like we need to dive into that reference. I'm leaning towards option D, but let's see what the others have to say.

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Gianna

1 year ago

But shouldn't we also check if the production defect was a real issue before making any changes to the test suite?

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Meghan

1 year ago

This is just bizarre. How can a test pass one time and fail the next? Clearly, the automated tests are not reliable. I'd say option A is the way to go - get to the root of this problem.

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