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CISA Practice Question: During system development, which testing phase is…
During system development, which testing phase is performed by developers to verify that individual program units function correctly?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse the scope of testing phases: candidates often mistake integration testing (which tests module interactions) for unit testing (which tests individual modules in isolation), especially when the question emphasizes 'by developers' and 'individual program units'.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Unit testing
Unit testing is the phase where developers test individual program units or modules in isolation to verify they function correctly according to their design specifications. This is the lowest level of testing and is typically performed using stubs and drivers to simulate interfaces with other components.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Integration testing
Why it's wrong here
Integration testing checks interactions between combined units, not the correctness of individual program units in isolation; unit testing covers that. It tempts because it is a genuine developer-performed phase, but its focus is interfaces between modules rather than a single unit's internal logic.
- ✗
User acceptance testing
Why it's wrong here
User acceptance testing is performed by end users to confirm the system meets business needs, not by developers checking individual program units. It tempts because it is a genuine testing phase, but it occurs after unit, integration and system testing, at the opposite end of the development lifecycle.
- ✓
Unit testing
Why this is correct
Unit testing targets individual program units or components in isolation, confirming each functions correctly before integration. Developers perform it during construction, making it the phase that verifies discrete code modules rather than assembled or system-level behaviour.
- ✗
System testing
Why it's wrong here
System testing verifies the complete, integrated system against requirements, not individual program units; unit testing is the phase developers perform on isolated units. It tempts because it is a legitimate testing phase, but its scope is the whole system rather than a single unit.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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