Poorly defined requirements are a leading cause of defects and project failure. According to the ISTQB CTFL Acceptance Testing Syllabus and IQBBA FL Syllabus, the quality of requirements plays a critical role in successful solution development and acceptance testing. Requirements must be clear, unambiguous, complete, and testable. When they are vague or ambiguous, stakeholders may interpret them differently, which can lead to incorrect implementations, inadequate testing, and ultimately rework or rejection during acceptance.
Option A is explicitly supported by the ISTQB Foundation Syllabus and IQBBA principles. In contrast:
Option B is incorrect because Agile lifecycles still place great emphasis on requirement engineering, even though requirements evolve iteratively.
Option C misrepresents INVEST: it is a guideline for writing good user stories but does not replace reviews or validation techniques.
Option D is risky and not endorsed by ISTQB. While testers may identify ambiguities, the correct approach is to clarify them with all relevant stakeholders, not make assumptions.
Exact Reference – ISTQB CTFL Acceptance Testing Syllabus (Section 1.3.1):
“Ambiguous, incomplete, or inconsistent requirements increase the risk of misunderstanding between stakeholders, leading to incorrect implementation and ineffective tests.”