Validation, Verification and Testing: Question 8
Syllabus 7.5
A garden centre is registering a new till operator. To set up the operator's 6-digit StaffPIN, the till requires the same 6 digits to be typed into two separate boxes on the screen, one straight after the other. The till compares the two typed entries character by character, and only saves the StaffPIN if the two entries are identical.
Which type of check is being used here?
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Worked solution
Step 1: Work out exactly what rule is being described
The operator types the same 6 digits into two separate boxes, one after the other, and the till compares the two typed entries against each other, saving the StaffPIN only if they match. No external source (such as a paper form) is being compared against, and nothing is said about the pattern the digits must follow or whether either box could be left empty.
Step 2: Match the rule to a verification check
- A double entry check requires the same data to be typed in twice, independently, and compares the two entries with each other. Exactly what is described here.
- A visual check compares data shown on screen against an existing external source, read by eye. There is no external source in this scenario, only two typed entries.
- A format check and a presence check are both validation checks: a format check tests a required pattern, and a presence check tests only whether a field has been left empty.
Step 3: Rule out the distractors
There is no paper form or other external source to compare against, so this is not a visual check. No specific pattern of digits is described, so it is not a format check. The rule is clearly about matching two entries, not merely about whether a box was left blank, so it is not a presence check either.
Final answer
Typing the same StaffPIN into two separate boxes and comparing the two entries is a double entry check, option C.