Cost of Quality CTAL-TM Practice Questions (Page 3)

Questions 11–15

1. 11foundation · easy

   Which of the following best describes the impact of quality costs on project success?

   • AOnly external failure costs affect project success.
   • BQuality costs have no impact on project success if the product meets requirements.
   • CHigher quality costs always lead to project failure.
   • DBalanced quality costs contribute to project success by delivering a quality product within budget and schedule.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
2. 12application · medium

   A project is behind schedule. The test manager proposes skipping the final regression test cycle to save two weeks and meet the deadline. The project manager is concerned about the risk of releasing with undetected defects. The test manager has data showing that the last three releases that skipped regression testing each resulted in an average of 15 customer-reported defects, costing an average of $200,000 in emergency fixes and lost customer trust. The cost of running the regression test cycle is $50,000. What should the test manager do?

   • ARecommend running the regression test cycle, because the expected cost of external failures ($200,000) far exceeds the cost of the test cycle ($50,000)
   • BRecommend skipping the regression test cycle but increasing the budget for customer support to handle the expected defects
   • CRecommend running a reduced regression test cycle, focusing only on the most critical functionality, to balance schedule and risk
   • DRecommend skipping the regression test cycle, because meeting the schedule deadline is more important than quality
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
4. 13application · medium

   A project manager is reviewing the project budget and notices that the cost of quality is significantly higher than planned. The test manager investigates and finds that the team is spending a large amount of time reworking defects that were introduced during the requirements phase. The test manager also notes that the requirements were not reviewed before development began. What is the most likely reason for the high cost of quality?

   • AThe cost of quality is always high and this is a normal project expense
   • BHigh external failure costs, as customers are reporting many defects
   • CExcessive appraisal costs, as the team is testing too much and finding too many defects
   • DInsufficient prevention costs, leading to defects being introduced early and propagated to later phases
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
5. 14application · medium

   A test manager is deciding how to allocate the remaining quality budget for a project. The options are: (1) invest in additional automated testing tools, (2) hire a consultant to review the requirements, or (3) increase the amount of manual testing in the final phase. The test manager has data showing that the highest number of defects originate from ambiguous requirements. Which option is most likely to reduce the total cost of quality?

   • AInvest in additional automated testing tools, because they will increase the speed of testing
   • BHire a consultant to review the requirements, because addressing the root cause of defects is a prevention activity
   • CSplit the budget evenly among all three options to balance the quality approach
   • DIncrease manual testing in the final phase, because it will catch more defects before release
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
6. 15application · medium

   A test manager is presenting a Cost of Quality overview to a new project sponsor. The sponsor asks, 'What exactly is included in the Cost of Quality?' The test manager needs to give a complete and accurate definition. Which of the following is the best response?

   • AThe total costs incurred to prevent defects, appraise the product for defects, and fix defects found internally and externally
   • BThe costs of quality-related activities that are included in the project budget, such as reviews and testing
   • CThe costs of the testing team's salaries, test tools, and test environment setup
   • DThe costs associated with fixing defects that are found by customers after release
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first