ISTQB-CTFL-FOUNDATION practice question 28 of 35

Which ONE of the following options MOST ACCURATELY describes branch testing?

Answer options

A: In branch testing, the coverage items are executable statements. The aim is to design test cases that exercise statements in the code until an acceptable level of coverage is achieved, expressed as a percentage.

B: In branch testing, the coverage items are control flow transfers between decisions, and the aim is to design test cases to exercise flow transfers in the code until an acceptable level of coverage is achieved. Coverage is measured as the number of branches exercised by the test cases divided by the total number of branches expressed as a percentage.

C: In branch testing, the coverage items are branches, and the aim is to design test cases to exercise branches in the code until an acceptable level of coverage is achieved. Coverage is measured as the number of branches exercised by the test cases divided by the total number of branches expressed as a percentage. Correct answer

D: In branch testing, the coverage items are executable decisions. The aim is to design test cases that exercise statements in the code until an acceptable level of coverage is achieved. Coverage is expressed as a percentage.

Correct Answer:

C. In branch testing, the coverage items are branches, and the aim is to design test cases to exercise branches in the code until an acceptable level of coverage is achieved. Coverage is measured as the number of branches exercised by the test cases divided by the total number of branches expressed as a percentage.

Explanation

Branch testing is a white-box test technique focused on exercising the control flow of the code. The coverage items are branches, which represent the possible outcomes of a decision point (e.g., the true and false outcomes of an 'if' statement). The goal is to ensure that each possible branch from each decision point is executed at least once. Coverage is calculated as the percentage of executed branches out of the total number of branches in the code.

Why Incorrect

A. This is the definition of statement testing, which focuses on executing individual statements rather than branches.
B. While related, "control flow transfers between decisions" is a less precise term than "branches." Option C provides the standard, direct definition.
D. This incorrectly identifies the coverage items as "executable decisions" and the aim as exercising "statements." This confuses decision testing with branch and statement testing.

References

ISTQB® Certified Tester Foundation Level Syllabus V4.0 (2023), Section 4.2.2, p. 49: "Branch coverage measures the percentage of branches that have been exercised by a set of test cases."

ISTQB® Glossary of Testing Terms V4.0, p. 11: "Branch testing: A white-box test technique in which test cases are designed to execute branches."

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