CSQA Certification Sample Questions with Answers and More Tips – Part 2

In the preceding article, we explored all essential administrative aspects related to the CSQA certification exam. Let’s continue to discuss by diving into some example CSQA exam questions. The examination is split into two sections: Essay and Multiple choice questions. This article is going to provide you with 2 multiple-choice questions from each skill category. We will also include one essay question each for Quality control and Quality Assurance, with their corresponding answers.

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CSQA Multiple Choice Sample Questions

(Please note the answer key can be found at the end of the page)

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Advice for dealing with multiple-choice questions:

• In my view, this is the easiest section of the exam. If you are well-prepared with CBOK, you’ll sail through it without any difficulty.
• Remember, there is no need to go in sequence. Hence, skip and move if any question seems difficult to answer.

Skill Category 1: Quality Principles and Concepts

Q #1) How is the Quality characteristic “Interoperability” defined?
a. The efforts needed to interface one system with another
b. The degree to which a program matches its specifications
c. The count of computing resources and code necessary for the program to execute a function
d. The efforts needed to learn about, function, prepare input, and explain the output produced by a program

Q #2) Costs associated with training IT professionals on the concepts of quality fall under which category of the Cost of Quality:
a. Production cost
b. Prevention costs
c. Appraisal cost
d. Failure cost

Skill Category 2: Quality Leadership

Q #3) Among the following, which one is regarded as a Quality Management philosophy rather than traditional management philosophies?
a. Competition amongst organizations
b. Fear of failure as a motivation
c. Self as a motivation
d. Correcting errors
e. Achievement of meeting quotas and the monthly or quarterly bottom-line

Q #4) Which of the listed responsibilities does a quality council have within a Quality Management infrastructure?
a. Allocate resources
b. Create teams
c. Make plans
d. Monitor practices
e. Develop processes

Skill Category 3: Quality Baselines

Q #5) Who typically doesn’t administer an IT baseline study from the following groups?
a. Quality Assurance groups
b. Quality task forces
c. IT management
d. Internal auditors

Q #6) Which of the following isn’t one of the five maturity levels embedded in the SEI CMM framework?
a. Repeatable
b. Testable
c. Defined
d. Managed
e. Optimized

Skill Category 4: Quality Assurance

Q #7) What is considered the most important skill for a successful Quality Assurance professional amongst the following?
a. Understanding of systems
b. Knowledge of business system design
c. Knowledge of project management
d. Verbal communication
e. Knowledge of computer operations

Q #8) Which of the following Quality Control tools, is essentially a method used to generate creative or original ideas quickly about a process, problem, product, or service?
a. Forcefield analysis
b. Benchmarking
c. Quality function deployment
d. Playscript
e. Brainstorming

Skill Category 5: Quality Planning

Q #9) What is the primary question that must be addressed when devising a Quality Planning strategy?
a. What’s our destination?
b. Where are we currently?
c. What path should we take?
d. Who is accountable for which task?

Q #10) Amongst the following, which approach is ideal for Quality Planning?
a. Formulating a quality plan – no updates are necessary during execution
b. Developing a quality plan – updates might be needed while executing
c. Asking the development team to take care of quality planning
d. Conducting quality planning only when quality issues arise
e. Formulating a quality plan as a guideline to carry out quality initiatives

Skill Category 6: Define, Build, Implement, and Improve Work Processes

Q #11) In the PDCA Cycle, the letter “C” stands for:
a. Control
b. Compare
c. Check
d. Continuous
e. Custom

Q #12> Who is responsible for creating IT policies within an IT organization?
a. IT management
b. Quality assurance function
c. Human resource function
d. Internal audit function
e. Quality control function

Skill Category 7: Quality Control Practices

Q #13) Amongst the following types of Testing, which one assumes knowledge of a unit or program’s logic path?
a. White-box testing
b. Black-box testing
c. Incremental testing
d. Thread testing
e. Regression testing

Q #14) The “V” model of Testing demonstrates two development paths, which are the two sides of the
“V.” These two processes consist of:
a. The Development process and the Test process
b. The Test planning process and the Test execution process
c. The process of Developing requirements and the process of Programming
d. The process of Test planning and the process of Planning acceptance tests
e. The System design process and the System programming process

Skill Category 8: Metrics and Measurement

Q #15) Which one of these Data types from the following would be suitable for rank-related data?
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Racial

Q #16) Which metrics from the following are used to determine the size of a program?
a. The quantity of programmers needed to construct the program
b. Expense incurred to construct the program
c. Function points
d. The number of paths
e. Complexity of logic

Skill Category 9: Internal Control and Security

Q #17) An internal control system within an IT organization is the responsibility of whom?
a. IT management
b. Quality assurance function
c. Quality control function
d. Internal audit function
e. Project managers

Q #18) What type of control are routines in a computer system that verifies the applicability of input data referred to as?
a. Environmental control
b. SOX control
c. Preventive control
d. Detective control
e. Corrective control

Skill Category 10: Outsourcing, COTS, and Contracting Quality

Q #19) Prior to procuring COTS software, what should an organization do first?
a. Define all requirements
b. Discover the cost
c. Formulate an acceptance test plan
d. Evaluate its user-friendliness
e. Assess the COTS developer’s reputation

Q #20) Within a software development agreement, which contractual section describes the guarantees or assurances provided by the contractor?
a. Deliverables
b. Vendor support
c. Warranty
d. Foreign attachment
e. Legal jurisdiction

Discover The Key Here

1. b The efforts needed to interface one system with another
2. b Prevention cost
3. c Self as a motivation
4. a Allocates resources
5. d Internal auditors
6. b Testable
7. d Verbal communication
8. e Brainstorming
9. b Where are we currently?
10. b Formulate a Quality plan – updates might be required while executing
11. c Check
12. a IT management
13. a White-box testing
14. a The Development process and Test process
15. b Ordinal
16. c Function points
17. a IT management
18. d Detective Control
19. a Define their requirements
20. c Warranty

Did you have a go at these questions? If they were mostly correct, you did a great job! If not, don’t stress. These questions are based on your understanding of CBOK. So, relook at your study materials and have another try.

CSQA Essay or Short Answer Questions

In this particular section, you’ll get 75 minutes to answer 12 essay questions. Your answers may be as long or as brief as you want, but you must ensure to provide concise answers and maintain a transparent and logical structure using bullet points and diagrams whenever possible.

Your evaluation will not be based entirely on your English language proficiency. However, using precise grammar and appropriate terminology is always beneficial. Answer the questions as clearly and as in-depth as you can to display your knowledge.

Advice for handling the essay questions:

• Make a rough draft of your answer to assure you are covering all salient points before writing your final answer.
• Regularly practice in-depth writing as this ability is required for the essay section of the exam.
• Use standardized terminology that is correlated to the subject in hand.

Note: The answers provided are nothing more than examples. You are urged to customize your answers as you see fit.

Quality Control: Skill Category 1 – Quality Principles and Concepts

Q #1) Typically, the producer and the customer may have contrasting views on a product’s quality. Initially, outline the producer’s interpretation of quality and then the client’s interpretation of quality. Then, enumerate the characteristics of the product from the perspectives of both the producer and the customer.

Answer:

Interpretation of quality from a producer’s perspective: The producer fundamentally views quality as abiding by the requirements. It signifies that the product was made as per pre-established requirements. The quality perception of a producer can be epitomized by the following qualifications:

• Do the right thing
• Do it in the correct fashion
• Do it right the first time around
• Complete it timely and within stipulated cost

Customer’s perspective on quality: The primary attribute of quality for a client is fitness to use. The focus of the customer’s interpretation is whether the product will serve its specific requirements and if it fulfills their expectations. The client’s perspective of quality is defined by the following characteristics:

• Acquiring the correct product for a distinct use
• Feeling content that their needs are accomplished
• Fulfills or surpasses their expectations
• Availability of excellent client service and assistance

Quality Assurance: Skill Category 8: Metrics and Measurement

Q #2) The computer operations department’s help desk gets numerous calls from IT clients requesting work status updates and seeking confirmation on specific facets. You have collected the subjects addressed in these calls and plan to analyze them.

You are bestowed with the following responsibilities:

Build a Pareto chart by following the recommended process. Assess the finished Pareto chart and interpret the data it presents.

Below is a list of subjects recorded by the help desk operators:

• The terminal printer malfunctioned.
• Problem in understanding the user manual’s instructions.
• Confusion with computer messages.
• Challenges when executing corrective actions.
• Inability to switch off the terminal.
• Inputting codes that are not recognized.
• Failure to locate subjects in the user manual index.
• A shortage of ink in the terminal printer.
• Difficulty when changing the client account name in the software.
• Data loss inputted for one hour.

Answer: (The following is guidance on how to tackle this question)

1. Set up a brainstorming session to identify causes related to each topic.
2. Rank the causes by using the nominal group technique.
3. Determine the frequency of occurrence for each cause.
4. Create a chart plotting frequency against causes.
5. Arrange the chart in decreasing order of frequency.
6. Compute the occurrence percentage for each cause.
7. Identify the significant causes applying the 80-20 rule.
8. Create solutions to address the significant causes.

There you have it! We trust you find this information useful on your quest to become a CSQA. If you have any questions or need additional guidance, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Best of luck!