Risk-based testing in Testing Fundamentals - Test Execution Trace

Test Overview

This test checks that the highest risk features of a web application load correctly and display expected content. It verifies that the critical parts of the app work as expected to reduce the chance of major failures.

Test Code - Selenium

Testing Fundamentals

import unittest
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC

class RiskBasedTest(unittest.TestCase):
    def setUp(self):
        self.driver = webdriver.Chrome()
        self.driver.get('https://example.com')

    def test_critical_feature_loads(self):
        driver = self.driver
        wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)
        # Wait for critical feature element to be present
        critical_element = wait.until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.ID, 'critical-feature')))
        # Check the text content is as expected
        self.assertEqual(critical_element.text, 'Critical Feature Active')

    def tearDown(self):
        self.driver.quit()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

Execution Trace - 5 Steps

Step	Action	System State	Assertion	Result
1	Test starts and Chrome browser opens	Browser window is open and ready	—	PASS
2	Browser navigates to 'https://example.com'	Page is loading	—	PASS
3	Waits up to 10 seconds for element with ID 'critical-feature' to be present	Page loaded with element 'critical-feature' visible	Element with ID 'critical-feature' is present	PASS
4	Checks that the text of 'critical-feature' element equals 'Critical Feature Active'	Element text is 'Critical Feature Active'	Element text matches expected string	PASS
5	Browser closes and test ends	Browser closed	—	PASS

Failure Scenario

Failing Condition: The element with ID 'critical-feature' is missing or text is incorrect

Execution Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the test wait for before checking the element's text?

A The page title to be 'Home'

B The presence of the element with ID 'critical-feature'

C The browser to be maximized

D The URL to change

Key Result

Focus testing efforts on the most important and risky features first to catch critical issues early and use explicit waits to handle dynamic page loading.

Practice

1. What is the main goal of risk-based testing in software testing?

easy

A. To avoid testing parts that are easy to test

B. To test all parts of the software equally

C. To focus testing on the most important and risky parts first

D. To test only the user interface

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of risk-based testing

   Risk-based testing aims to prioritize testing efforts on areas with the highest risk to save time and improve effectiveness.

2. Step 2: Compare options with this purpose

   To focus testing on the most important and risky parts first matches this goal by focusing on important and risky parts first, while others do not.

3. Final Answer:

   To focus testing on the most important and risky parts first -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Risk-based testing = Focus on risky parts first [OK]

Hint: Risk-based testing targets risky parts first [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking all parts are tested equally
• Believing risk-based testing ignores important parts
• Confusing risk-based testing with UI-only testing

2. Which of the following is the correct way to prioritize tests in risk-based testing?

easy

A. By combining the impact and likelihood of potential problems

B. By testing the easiest features first

C. By testing features in alphabetical order

D. By testing only the newest features

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall how risk is calculated in testing

   Risk is usually calculated by combining the impact of a problem and how likely it is to happen.

2. Step 2: Match this with the options

   By combining the impact and likelihood of potential problems correctly states this combination, while others focus on unrelated criteria.

3. Final Answer:

   By combining the impact and likelihood of potential problems -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Risk = Impact x Likelihood [OK]

Hint: Prioritize tests by impact and likelihood [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Prioritizing by ease or alphabetical order
• Ignoring likelihood of problems
• Testing only new features without risk analysis

3. Consider this simplified risk table for features:

Feature A: Impact=5, Likelihood=4
Feature B: Impact=3, Likelihood=6
Feature C: Impact=4, Likelihood=2

Which feature should be tested first based on risk?

medium

A. Feature B

B. Feature A

C. Feature C

D. All features equally

Solution

1. Step 1: Calculate risk for each feature

   Risk = Impact x Likelihood.
   Feature A: 5 x 4 = 20
   Feature B: 3 x 6 = 18
   Feature C: 4 x 2 = 8

2. Step 2: Identify highest risk

   Feature A has the highest risk score (20), so it should be tested first.

3. Final Answer:

   Feature A -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Highest risk = Feature A (20) [OK]

Hint: Multiply impact and likelihood to find highest risk [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing feature with highest likelihood only
• Ignoring impact in calculation
• Testing all features equally without prioritization

4. A tester wrote this pseudocode to select features to test based on risk:

features = [{"name": "A", "impact": 5, "likelihood": 4},
            {"name": "B", "impact": 3, "likelihood": 6}]

for feature in features:
    risk = feature["impact"] + feature["likelihood"]
    if risk > 8:
        print(feature["name"])

What is wrong with this code for risk-based testing?

medium

A. Risk should be calculated by multiplying impact and likelihood, not adding

B. The loop should use feature.name instead of feature["name"]

C. The risk threshold should be less than 8, not greater

D. The features list should be sorted before looping

Solution

1. Step 1: Review risk calculation method

   Risk-based testing calculates risk by multiplying impact and likelihood, not adding them.

2. Step 2: Identify error in code

   The code adds impact and likelihood, which is incorrect for risk calculation.

3. Final Answer:

   Risk should be calculated by multiplying impact and likelihood, not adding -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Risk = Impact x Likelihood, not sum [OK]

Hint: Risk = impact x likelihood, not sum [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Adding instead of multiplying impact and likelihood
• Confusing dictionary access syntax
• Assuming sorting is required before risk check

5. You have three features with these risk scores:

Feature X: 12
Feature Y: 20
Feature Z: 20

Due to limited time, you can only test two features. Which is the best risk-based testing approach?

hard

A. Test Feature X and Feature Y because X has the lowest risk

B. Test all three features equally

C. Test Feature X and Feature Z because Z is newer

D. Test Feature Y and Feature Z because they have the highest risk

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify features with highest risk

   Feature Y and Feature Z both have the highest risk score of 20.

2. Step 2: Prioritize testing based on risk and time limit

   Since only two can be tested, choose the two with highest risk to maximize risk coverage.

3. Final Answer:

   Test Feature Y and Feature Z because they have the highest risk -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Test highest risk features first [OK]

Hint: Pick features with highest risk scores first [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Testing lower risk features first
• Ignoring risk scores when time is limited
• Trying to test all features equally despite limits