Software Testing and Quality Control

Static testing involves examining software artifacts without running the code. This includes manual examination of documents and code, automated analysis tools, and reviewing project documentation. Option A (execution of software) is the only activity that does NOT belong to static testing.

Static testing finds defects in documentation or code without executing the software. These defects, if left in the software, would eventually cause failures when the code runs. Option B correctly identifies that static testing finds the causes of potential failures.

Static analysis is examination of code without execution, which is performed using automated tools that check for coding standard violations, security issues, and potential defects. The statement is correct.

HP Quality Center (QC) was originally developed by Mercury Interactive and called 'Test Director' before being rebranded. The tool provided foundational testing management capabilities and evolved through multiple name changes (Quality Center, ALM) while maintaining its core testing workflow functionality. This historical naming reflects the product's evolution from a test-focused tool to a broader quality management platform.

Quality Center provides comprehensive testing process management including requirement definition and tracking, test execution management, and defect tracking workflows. The 'Requirements' module captures release needs and specifications, 'Test Lab' executes tests, and 'Defects' module tracks bugs. These integrated functions make QC a complete testing lifecycle solution.

The Test Plan Tree in Quality Center hierarchically organizes all tests into folders and subfolders based on application structure, functional areas, or testing units. This tree structure allows teams to group related tests together (by subject area or feature) and maintain an organized, scalable test repository. The Test Lab focuses on execution sets rather than hierarchical organization.

Adding parameters to manual test steps in Quality Center allows the same test to be executed with different data values without duplicating the test. This parameterization increases flexibility by enabling data-driven testing, where one test design can cover multiple scenarios through different parameter inputs. The feature is designed specifically to make manual tests more reusable and adaptable.

Quality Center provides multiple views for requirements validation and tracking throughout the testing process. Document View shows requirement details, Coverage View displays which tests cover which requirements, and Coverage Analysis View provides detailed coverage metrics and gaps. Using all three views together ensures comprehensive requirement traceability from definition through test execution.

Quality Center supports bidirectional linking between Requirements and Test Plan modules. Users can navigate to either module and create links to the other, providing flexibility in workflow. This bidirectional capability means requirement-to-test and test-to-requirement links can be established from either starting point, supporting different team workflows and preferences.

Regression testing verifies that new changes don't break existing functionality. It re-runs previously passing tests to ensure system stability. Recursive testing is not standard terminology, Whitebox tests internal structure, and Unit testing focuses on individual components.

AdHoc testing is an unstructured, spontaneous approach that falls under Exploratory Testing. Exploratory testing involves simultaneous learning, test design, and execution without pre-defined scripts. Unit testing is component-focused, Regression verifies stability, and Performance testing measures speed/scalability.

Severity measures the technical impact of a bug on the application - how badly it affects functionality. Priority determines fix order based on business importance. Fixability refers to repair difficulty, and Traceability tracks bug history.

Static testing involves verification of software artifacts without executing the code, including reviews, inspections, and walkthroughs. Validation specifically requires running the code to verify behavior, while sanity testing is a subset of dynamic testing.

Automation testing is highly suitable when the application is stable, minimizing script maintenance, and for long-term projects with multiple releases to maximize the return on investment. Usability testing requires human observation, and short-term projects make the high setup cost of automation unjustified.