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Why Testers May Not Know What a Program is Intended to Do

publish date: 2026/06/19 10:41:42.924684 UTC

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Testing is meant to show that a program does what it is intended to do. However, testers may not always know what a program is intended to do. Which of the following are reasons why this knowledge gap can occur? Select all that apply.

Testers may be assigned to test software in application domains they are unfamiliar with

The intended behavior may have evolved informally during development without updating the specification

Testers may lack access to the requirements documents because they are confidential

Requirements specifications may be incomplete, ambiguous, or contradictory

Testers are not trusted with business logic details by management

Correct Answer

(1) Requirements specifications may be incomplete, ambiguous, or contradictory

(2) Testers may be assigned to test software in application domains they are unfamiliar with

(3) The intended behavior may have evolved informally during development without updating the specification

Explanation

Testers may not know what a program is intended to do because: requirements may be incomplete, ambiguous, or contradictory; testers may lack domain expertise to understand expected behavior in specialized applications; and intended behavior often evolves informally during development without being reflected in updated specifications. These gaps make it difficult to determine whether a system behavior is a defect or intended.

Reference

Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 10th edition

Quizzes you can take where this question appears

Software Testing - Exercises