ISQI Certified Tester Foundation Level — Question 68

An iPhone application identifies and counts all purchases of a particular product from a shopping website. The application incorrectly counts purchase attempts by including both failed attempts, and also those where the purchase was terminated by the user before completion. Testing has identified that the problem was located in the purchase identification module, where the first stage in the purchasing process was counted, rather than a successful confirmed purchase.
Which of the following statements correctly identifies what has happened?

Answer options

• A. The application failed because of a defect in the purchase identification module caused by a programmer mistake or an error in the specification.
• B. An error by the programmer led to a mistake in the purchase identification module and this caused a defect in the application
• C. A defect in the purchase identification module caused by a mistake in the module specification led to a defect in the overall application
• D. A bug in the purchase identification module caused a fault in the application

Correct answer: A

Explanation

The correct answer is A because it directly attributes the application's failure to a defect in the purchase identification module, specifying that it was due to a programmer mistake or an error in the specification. Options B and C imply a chain of events but do not accurately encapsulate the direct cause and effect relationship stated in A. Option D uses the term 'malfunction' which is less precise than 'failure' in this context.