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Module Quiz

Complete this quiz after finishing the concept and practice paths. Questions are scenario-based: the right answer usually requires a judgment call plus a one-sentence defense.

Current Module Questions​

Question 1: Walking Skeleton vs MVP​

Your teammate argues that the walking skeleton should at least allow a user to create and view one task, because otherwise it delivers no value. What is wrong with this argument?

Question 2: Identifying the Steel Thread​

Given a capstone with three backlog stories -- (a) user login (auth only), (b) create a task (DB only), (c) sync tasks from GitHub (auth + DB + external API) -- which one should be the steel thread? Defend the choice.

Question 3: Test Pyramid Split Rationale​

Your capstone has 60 tests split as 30 unit / 20 integration / 10 E2E. Name two concrete risks this split introduces and recommend a correction.

Question 4: Choosing Test Level​

You are about to test a compute_overdue_tasks(tasks, now) pure function with five branches. At which level should you test it, and why not the other two?

Question 5: Mock vs Fake vs Real​

In your integration test for a TaskRepository, you use a mocked database that returns a predetermined row. What kind of test is this actually, and why is that a problem?

Question 6: Coverage Floor vs Target​

A teammate proposes raising the coverage floor from 80% to 95%. You resist. Give one concrete argument against the change and one condition under which you would agree.

Question 7: Contract Test Necessity​

Your capstone integrates with the Stripe API. Your current tests mock Stripe. What does a Pact-style consumer-driven contract test add that your mock does not, and when would it fail?

Question 8: Triage in Under Ten Minutes​

A user reports: "When I click 'delete' on a task, the app sometimes shows a 500 error, and the task is still there after a refresh." Produce a triage entry with Sev, impact, and a suspected root-cause tag.

Question 9: Regression-First on a Security Bug​

A Sev-1 authorization bug allows cross-tenant deletion. Describe the order of operations from triage to merged fix.

Question 10: Diagnosing Flakiness​

A unit test passes locally and fails 10% of the time in CI. Walk the five-cause checklist in order and pick the most likely cause first, with a one-line diagnostic step for each.

Question 11: Boy-Scout vs Deep Refactor​

You notice, mid-PR, that TaskService has two methods that share 40 lines of tag-handling code. What is the correct response?

Question 12: Self-Review Comment Quality​

Rewrite this self-review comment so that it is specific, evidence-based, and actionable: "this function feels off".

Question 13: Ledger Trigger Discipline​

Your ledger has this entry: "Error translation is ad-hoc across endpoints. TODO: fix eventually." What is wrong and how do you fix it?

Question 14: 70/25/5 Under Pressure​

Your CI is now over 8 minutes. Investigation shows the E2E suite alone is 6 minutes. Propose a concrete action that preserves delivery safety.

Question 15: Defending the Ship Decision​

At week 6, you have one Sev-3 ledger entry that is embarrassing but not dangerous, and two Sev-1 integration bugs still open. What do you ship, what do you block on, and why?

Interleaved Review Questions​

Prior Module Question 1 (S10 M1)​

Why does a one-page ADR improve the capstone even when you are the only engineer?

Prior Module Question 2 (S9)​

Name one engineering habit from your prior testing track that this module extends, and one that it sharpens.

Prior Module Question 3 (S8)​

Why is observability (prior track) relevant even in a walking skeleton?

Prior Module Question 4 (S7)​

How does strong type discipline from earlier semesters change the role of the type checker gate in this module?

Prior Module Question 5 (S6 M4)​

Given what you know about transactions and consistency, why is an integration test that uses a mocked DB actively misleading?

Self-Assessment and Remediation​

Scoring and Advancement Criteria​

Mastery (90-100% correct):

  • Retrieval is strong; complete all module and semester evidence gates before advancing.

Proficient (75-89% correct):

  • Review the specific concept page corresponding to each missed question. Redo the practice drill that covers the weak cluster.

Developing (60-74% correct):

  • Rework the walking-skeleton lab and the test-strategy workshop. Re-read Concepts 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12 carefully. Redo the katas.

Insufficient (<60% correct):

  • Return to S3 M05 Applied Design & Code Review, your prior-semester testing notes, and the concept sequence in order. The capstone cannot safely progress without these habits.

Remediation Pathways by Cluster​

If missed Cluster 1: re-run the Walking Skeleton Lab and deploy the result to staging. If missed Cluster 2: redo the Test Strategy Workshop and commit the plan. If missed Cluster 3: redo the Quality Gates Clinic and ensure each gate is blocking. If missed Cluster 4: redo Katas 1 and 3; run 100 randomized runs of your suite and diagnose any flakes. If missed Cluster 5: redo Katas 2 and 4; audit your debt ledger against the trigger rule.

Progression boundary​

Quiz performance calibrates retrieval and reasoning. It does not replace runnable work, changed-case transfer, the module assessment or required semester evidence. Consult practice calibration for the additional independent cases.