Course · IT & Testing

Software Testing (QA) from Scratch

A practical introduction to the QA / software-testing profession in English: testing principles, test-design techniques, test cases and bug reports (severity vs priority), the client-server model, HTTP/API testing, and SQL for testers. Concepts aligned with ISTQB Foundation Level.

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Unit 1 — Quality and testing: why it matters

What testing is (and what it is not)

6 exercises · Learner can explain the real goal of software testing and why testing can never prove a product is bug-free.

The seven testing principles

6 exercises · Learner can name the seven ISTQB testing principles and apply each to a realistic situation.

Error, defect, failure — and the QA role

6 exercises · Learner can correctly use the error→defect→failure chain, distinguish verification from validation, and describe the QA role realistically.

Unit 2 — Types and levels of testing

Test levels: unit, integration, system, acceptance

6 exercises · Learner can place a given test activity at the correct level and explain what each level checks.

Functional vs non-functional; black, white and grey box

6 exercises · Learner can classify a test as functional or non-functional and choose a black-, white- or grey-box perspective for a goal.

Smoke, regression, re-test; manual vs automated

6 exercises · Learner can choose the right testing activity (smoke / regression / re-test) for a situation and explain when manual vs automated testing fits.

Unit 3 — Test design: doing more with fewer tests

Equivalence partitioning and boundary values

6 exercises · Learner can derive equivalence classes and boundary values for a numeric/range requirement and pick a compact, high-value set of tests.

Decision tables and pairwise testing

6 exercises · Learner can build a small decision table from rules and explain why pairwise testing tames combinatorial explosion.

State transitions and a touch of white-box coverage

6 exercises · Learner can model simple state transitions and explain statement vs branch coverage at a basic level.

Unit 4 — Artifacts: checklists, test cases and bug reports

Checklists, test cases and test scenarios

6 exercises · Learner can write a clear test case with preconditions, steps and an expected result, and tell a checklist from a test case from a scenario.

Writing a bug report; severity vs priority

6 exercises · Learner can identify the required parts of a strong bug report and correctly distinguish severity from priority.

The defect lifecycle — and write your own bug report

5 exercises · Learner can order the defect lifecycle statuses and write a complete, well-structured bug report from a described scenario.

Unit 5 — Client-server, HTTP and APIs

How the web works: client, server, request and response

6 exercises · The learner can describe the client-server model and put the steps of a single HTTP request/response cycle in order.

HTTP methods and status codes

6 exercises · The learner can match HTTP methods to actions and read status codes (2xx/3xx/4xx/5xx), including 200, 301, 401/403, 404, 500.

What an API is and how a tester checks it

5 exercises · The learner can explain what an API is, why it is tested directly, and write up an API-related defect.

Unit 6 — SQL for testers and putting the job together

SELECT, WHERE and ORDER BY

6 exercises · Learner can write a basic SELECT … FROM … WHERE … ORDER BY query to verify data in a database.

COUNT and simple JOINs

6 exercises · Learner can use COUNT to aggregate and write a simple INNER JOIN to check related data across two tables.

The QA workflow and your capstone test session

5 exercises · Learner can describe a realistic end-to-end QA workflow and run a small test session, reporting the defects they find.

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