easyMultiple Choice
CISA Practice Question: Is the MOST important objective of system testing?
Which of the following is the MOST important objective of system testing?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse the objective of system testing with that of user acceptance testing (UAT) or unit testing, leading candidates to select user satisfaction or defect-free code as the primary goal.
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
✓
Verify that the system meets specified requirements
System testing is a formal, structured process that validates the entire integrated system against its specified requirements. The primary goal is to confirm that the system behaves as defined in the functional and technical specifications, ensuring that all requirements are correctly implemented before user acceptance testing. While user satisfaction and defect removal are important, they are secondary to verifying requirement compliance, which is the core objective of system testing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Verify that the system meets specified requirements
Why this is correct
System testing evaluates the complete, integrated system against the documented requirements specification, confirming end-to-end behaviour matches what was agreed with stakeholders. This directly satisfies the objective of validating fitness against specified requirements, unlike unit or integration testing, which address component-level correctness rather than overall requirement conformance.
- ✗
Confirm that end users are satisfied
Why it's wrong here
End-user satisfaction is captured through acceptance testing, which occurs after system testing and confirms fitness for business purpose. It is tempting because user happiness matters, and it would be correct as the objective of user acceptance testing rather than system testing.
- ✗
Ensure the code is free of defects
Why it's wrong here
System testing verifies that the assembled system meets specified requirements end to end; defect absence is unattainable and belongs to unit and integration testing. It tempts because defect detection is a genuine testing goal, and code-level freedom from faults would be the right focus during unit testing, not system-level validation.
- ✗
Validate system performance under load
Why it's wrong here
Performance under load is a non-functional concern addressed by performance testing, not the primary objective of system testing, which validates functional requirements against the specification. It is tempting because load testing is a recognised test type, and it would be correct when validating scalability or response times.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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