Software Interview Questions And Answers

  
  1. Software Engineer Interview Questions And Answers
  2. Top 20 Interview Questions And Responses
  3. Software Design Interview Questions And Answers
  4. Software Developer Interview Questions And Answers
  • Software Engineer Interview Questions. Software engineers write programs to design and develop computer software. Interviews are highly technical, so come ready to work through coding problems and math brainteasers. The specific questions you are asked will depend on what type of programming position you are looking for.
  • In order to get recruited as IT support, the candidate needs to possess technical skills. The article hovers around a few common job interview questions and answers for IT support that can be asked in any IT support interview.

Whether you are preparing to interview a candidate or applying for a job, review our list of top Software Engineer interview questions and answers. As part of the process, we’ve compiled a list of most frequently asked System Design Interview Questions. Following are the most frequently asked questions along with a few pointers to the things that interviewers want you to consider while designing the system. Design TinyURL or bitly (a URL shortening service).

This is a comprehensive list of Manual Software Testing Interview Questions and Answers.

This includes interview questions and tips to prepare for Software testing interview – question on manual testing, web testing questions, ISTQB and CSTE certification questions, and some mock test to test your testing skills.

If you go through all these questions carefully, I'm sure you will easily crack any testing interview.

What You Will Learn:

  • Top Software Testing Interview Questions

Top Software Testing Interview Questions

I have provided links to the different category of interview questions. Check the respective pages for the detailed topic-specific questions.

Q. How to prepare for a Software Testing/QA interview?
Ans. Click the above link to know – Where should I start with for the interview preparation? It’s almost 2 years now since I have faced any interview.

Q. Mock test to judge your Software Testing Interview Skills
Ans. Take this mock test paper which will be helpful for you to prepare for a testing interview as well as the CSTE certification exam. Click the above link for questions and answers.

Q. Different Automation Testing Interview Questions
Ans. Click the above link for Automation Interview questions like Difference between Winrunner and Test Director, What is TSL? What is 4GL and is it similar too?

Q. What is the difference between Performance Testing, Load Testing, and Stress Testing? Explain with examples?
Ans. Many people are confused with these testing terminologies. Click here for the detailed explanation of Performance, Load and Stress Testing with examples.

Q.ISTQB questions and answers (more questions here and also here)
Ans. Click the above links to read about ISTQB paper pattern and tips on how to solve these questions quickly. ISTQB ‘Foundation level’ sample questions with answers are found here.

Q. QTP interview questions
Ans. Quick Test Professional: Interview Questions and answers are found in the above link.

Q.CSTE questions with answers

Ans. Click the above link for questions and answers about CSTE.

Q. What is Desk checking and Control Flow Analysis
Ans. Click herefor answers about Desk checking and Control Flow Analysis along with the examples.

Q. What is the Sanity Test (or) Build test?
Ans. Verifying the critical (important) functionality of the software on a new build to decide whether to carry further testing or not is termed as Sanity Test.

Q. What is the difference between client-server testing and web-based testing
Ans. Click here for the answer.

Q. What is Black Box testing?
Ans. Black box testing is explained with types in the above link.

Q. What is White Box testing?
Ans. Click here for the post explaining about white box testing along with its types

Q. What are the differentTypes of Software Testing?
Ans. Click the above link to refer the post explaining all Software Testing Types in detail.

Q. How to define a standard process for the entire testing flow, Explain the challenging situations in Manual Testing career, What is the best way to go about getting a pay rise.
Ans. Click the above link for the answers to these questions.

Q. What is the most challenging situation you ever had during Testing?
Q. How to perform testing when there are no documents?
Ans. Click here for the detailed post on how to answer these QA interview questions.

*********************

Popular Web Testing Interview Questions and Answers

As the name itself defines, Web testing means testing the web applications for any potential bugs or issues, before the web application is moved to the production environment i.e. before making any Web application live.

Based on web testing requirements, there are various factors that should be considered into. These factors include web application securities, TCP/IP communications, the ability to handle traffic, firewalls, etc.

Web testing includes Functional testing, Usability testing, Security testing, Interface testing, Compatibility testing, Performance testing etc., in its checklist.

We will take a look at the most common Web Testing interview questions and answers which will guide you to get prepared for any web testing interview.

Given below is the list of most commonly asked web testing interview.

Q #1) What do you understand by web application?

Answer: Web application is a means to communicate and exchange information with customers. Unlike any desktop applications which are executed by an operating system, a web application runs on a web server and is accessed by a web browser which acts as a client.

The best Example of a web application is ‘Gmail’. In Gmail, the interaction done by an individual user is completely independent of the others. You can send and receive information through emails and also through attachments.

You can maintain documents in a drive, maintain spreadsheets in Google docs and includes much more such features which make a user realize that they have an environment which is customized to their specific identity.

Q #2) Define a Web server.

Answer: Web server follows the client/server model where the program uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). In response to the request of an HTTP client, web server handles client and server-side validation and delivers the web content in the form of web pages to the users.

The browsers we use, such as Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox etc., read the files stored on the web servers and bring the information to us in the form of images and texts with the means of internet. Any computer which hosts websites must have web servers.

Some of the leading web servers are:

  • Apache
  • Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS)
  • Java web server
  • Google web server

Q #3) Enlist some important test scenarios for testing a website.

Answer: There are many parameters that should be considered while deciding the important test scenarios for testing any website. Also, the type of website to be tested and its requirement specification plays an important role here.

Enlisted below are few important test scenarios that are applicable for testing any type of website:

  • Test the GUI (Graphical User Interface) of the website for checking the consistency of the design elements and page layout.
  • All page links and hyperlinks are checked for their redirection to the desired page.
  • In case of presence of any forms or fields on the website, testing scenarios consist of testing with valid data, invalid data, testing with existing records as well as testing with empty records.
  • Functionality testing as per the requirement specification is done.
  • Performance of a website is tested under heavy loads to determine the web server response time and database query time.
  • Compatibility testing is done to test the behavior of an application on a different browser and OS (operating system) combinations.
  • Usability testing and Database testing is also performed as a part of test scenarios.

Q #4) What are the different configurations which have to be considered while testing a website?

Answer: Different configuration includes different browsers as well as an operating system on which a website is being tested. Browser plugins, text size, video resolution, color depth, browser setting option also come under consideration when we talk about configurations.

Different combinations of browsers and operating system are used to test the compatibility of the website. Usually, the latest and the last latest versions are included. Well, these versions are usually specified in the requirement documents.

Few important Browsers include:

  • Internet Explorer
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera

Few important Operating systems include:

  • Windows
  • UNIX
  • LINUX
  • MAC

Q #5) Is Web application testing different from Desktop Application testing? Explain how.

Answer: Yes, there is a lot of difference between web application and desktop application.

This can be explained with the help of the below-mentioned table:

Web Application
Desktop Application
DefinitionWeb applications are the one which can run on any client machine having the internet connection without any installation of the execution file.Desktop applications are one which are separately installed and executed on the personal computer.
PerformanceUser actions, feedback, statistics can be easily monitored as well as data updating in one place is reflected everywhere in web application.User actions cannot be monitored as well as changes in data can be only reflected at the machine.
Connectivity
Web application can be accessed on any PC having internet connection using web browser where performance of the application depends on internet speed.
Desktop application can be only accessed on specific PC where application is installed.
Security Risks

Web application is more prone to security threats as applications can be accessed by anyone on the internet.
Desktop application is less prone to security threats where user can keep a check on security issues at the system level.
User data
User data is saved and accessed remotely in case of web applications.
Data is stored, saved and accessed from the same machine on which application is installed.

Q #6) What is Intranet Application?

Answer: Intranet application is a kind of private application which is deployed and run on local LAN server and can only be accessed by the people within the organization. It uses a local network to share information.

Example: Organization usually has an application which stores information about your attendance, holidays, upcoming celebrations within the organization or some important event or information that needs to be circulated within the organization.

Q #7) Explain the difference between Authorization and Authentication in Web testing.

Answer:The difference between Authorization and Authentication is explained in below table:

AuthenticationAuthorization
1Authentication is the process with which the system identifies who the user is?Authorization is the process with which system identifies what user is authorized to do?
2Authentication determines the identity of the user.Authorization decides the privileges given to the user i.e. whether the user can access or manipulate features of certain program.
3There are different types of authentications, like password based, device based, etc.There are two types of authorizations, like read only and read write both.
4For example: Within an organization, each and every employee can login into an intranet application.For example: Only account manager or person in accounts department can access account section.

Q #8) What are the types of Web testing security problems?

Answer: Few web security problems include:

  • Denial of Service (DOS) attack
  • Buffer overflow
  • Directly passing internal URL through browser address
  • Viewing other stats

Q #9) Define HTTP.

Answer: HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the data transfer protocol which defines how messages are formatted and transferred over the World Wide Web. HTTP also determines the response of the actions performed by web servers and browsers.

For Example,when an URL is entered on the web browser, the HTTP command is sent to the web server which in turn fetches the requested web browser.

Q #10) Define HTTPS.

Answer: HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. This is basically HTTP over SSL (Secure Socket Layer) for security purposes. There is always chances of eavesdrop on data being transferred between a user and the web server when the website uses HTTP protocol.

Therefore, websites use secure way i.e. SSL encryption of data sent back and forth using HTTPS protocol. Almost all the websites that require user log in uses HTTPS protocol. Few Examples are banking websites, e-commerce websites, etc.

Q #11) What are the common problems faced in Web testing?

Answer:Some of the common problems faced in web testing are enlisted below:

  • Server Problem, which includes server down and server under maintenance problems.
  • Database connection problem.
  • Hardware and browser compatibility problems.
  • Security related problems.
  • Performance and load related problems.
  • GUI (graphical user interface) related problems.

Q #12) What is Cookie testing?

Answer: Cookie is said to be a personalized user’s identity or information which is required to communicate between different web pages as well as track user’s navigation through the website pages. Whenever we access any website on any web browser, their respective cookie is written on the hard disk.

Cookies are used to track user sessions, displays ads, remember user’s choice while accessing any website, remember and retrieve the user’s shopping cart, track the unique number of visitors, etc.

Suppose an e-commerce site is accessible in many countries like US, Canada, Australia, and their testing is done in India. In that case, while testing the e-commerce site for different countries in India, at first respective countries cookies is set so that actual data like time zone etc., are accessed of that particular country.

Q #13) Define Client-side validation.

Answer: Client-side validation is the one which is basically done at the browser level where user’s input is validated at the browser itself with no involvement of the server.

Let's understand it with the help of an Example.

Suppose a user is entering an incorrect email format while filling a form. The browser will then and there prompt an error message to correct it before moving on to next field. Thus every field is corrected before submitting the form.

The client-side validation is usually done by script language such as JavaScript, VBScript, HTML 5 attributes.

The two types of Client-side validation are:

  • Field level validation
  • Form level validation

Q #14) What do you understand by Server-side validation?

Answer: Server-side validation occurs where the validation and processing of user requests require the response from the server. To understand it more clearly, user’s input is being sent to the server and validation is done using server-side scripting languages such as PHP, Asp.NET, etc.

After the validation process, feedback is sent back to the client in the form of dynamically generated web page.

When compared to the Client Side validation process, Server side validation process is more secure because here application is protected against malicious attacks and users can easily bypass client-side scripting language.

Q #15) Differentiate between Static and Dynamic website.

Answer:Difference between static and dynamic websites are as follows:

Static Website
Dynamic website
Static websites are the one which gives out information only and there is no sort of interaction between the user and the website.Dynamic websites are the one where user interaction is possible between the website and user along with imparting information.
Static websites are cheapest to develop and host.Dynamic websites are more expensive to develop as well as their hosting cost is also more.
Static websites are easily loaded on client browser because of its fixed content and no database connectivity.Dynamic websites usually take the time to load on client browser because contents to display are dynamically created and retrieved using database queries.
Static websites can be created from HTML, CSS and does not require any server application language.Dynamic websites require server application language like ASP.NET, JSP, PHP to run the application on the server and display the output on the webpage.
Change in the content of the page of any static website; require being uploaded on server many times.Dynamic website provides facilities to change the page content using server application.

Q #16) What do you understand by Client-Server testing?

Answer: Client-server application is the one where the application itself is loaded or installed on a server whereas the application EXE file is loaded on all client machines. This environment is usually used in Intranet networks.

Following tests are performed on a Client-server application:

  • GUI testing on both client and server systems.
  • Client-server interaction.
  • The functionality of an application.
  • Load and performance testing.
  • Compatibility testing.

All the test cases and test scenarios used in client-server application testing is derived from the tester’s experience and requirement specifications.

Q #17) Enlist HTTP response codes that are returned by the server.

Answer:HTTP response codes are enlisted below:

  • 2xx – This means ‘Success’
  • 3xx- This means ‘Redirection’
  • 4xx- This means ‘Application error’
  • 5xx- This means ‘Server error’

Q #18) What is the role of Usability testing in Web testing?

Answer: In web testing, Usability testing plays an important role. It is well known that usability testing is the means to determine the ease with which an end user can easily access the application with or without having any programming language knowledge.

In terms of web testing, usability testing comprises of the following:

  • To check whether the website is user-friendly?
  • Is the end user able to easily navigate within the application?
  • Presence of any issues or ambiguity which can hinder the user experience.
  • Check how quickly the user is able to complete the task within the application.

Q #19) What are the available environments on the Web?

Answer:The different types of the environment on the Web are:

  • Intranet (Local Network)
  • Internet (Wide Area Network)
  • Extranet(Private network over the internet)

Q #20) What are the test case formats in case of a Static website and Dynamic website?

Answer:The following test case formats will be used in case of Static websites:

  • Front-end test cases
  • Navigation test cases

The following test case formats will be used in case of Dynamic websites:

  • Front-end test cases
  • Back-end test cases
  • Navigation test cases
  • Field validation test cases
  • Security test cases, etc.

Q #21) Enlist some sub-classes of HTTP response objects?

Answer: Write, Flush, tell, etc are few HTTP response objects.

The sub-classes of HTTP response are:

I have a licensed copy of Windows7 Pro 64-bit, but I am having trouble loading it (as in I've been messing with it for two days when I have time). Free install windows 7 professional.

  • HttpResponseRedirect
  • HttpResponsePermanentRedirect
  • HttpResponseBadRequest
  • HttpResponseNotfound

Q #22) Enlist some Web Testing Tools.

Answer:FewWeb testing tools are enlisted below:

  • eggplant functional
  • Selenium
  • SOA test
  • JMeter
  • iMacros, etc.

Q #23) Give some examples of web applications that are used in our day to day life.

Answer:FewExamples include:

  • Web portals like eBay, Amazon, Flipkart etc.
  • Banking applications like ICICI, Yes Bank, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra etc.
  • Email service providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail etc.
  • Social Networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.
  • Discussion and Information forums like www.Softwaretestinghelp.com

Q #24) What is a Proxy server?

Answer: Proxy server is a server which acts as an intermediary or is the one that lies between the client and the main server.

The communication between the main server and client-server is done through a proxy server as the client request of any connection, file, resources from the main server is sent through a proxy server and again the response from the main server or local cached memory to client-server is done through the proxy server.

Some of the most common proxy servers based on their purpose and functionality are listed below:

  • Transparent proxy
  • Web proxy
  • Anonymous proxy
  • Distorting proxy
  • High anonymity proxy

The proxy server is basically used for the following purposes:

  • To improve the performance of web response.
  • In case of the presence of a document in a cache memory, the response is directly sent to the client.
  • Proxy server filters web page content in the form of web proxies.
  • A proxy server is also used to block offensive web content to be accessed by the user especially in an organization, school, and college.
  • Web proxies prevent the attack of computer viruses and malware.

Q #25) What is Database server?

Answer: A Database server can be defined as a server that refers to the back-end system of a database application that provides database services such as accessing and retrieving data from the database.

Database server uses client/server architecture where the data can be accessed either through the database server by a “front end” which runs and displays data on user’s machine or “back-end” which runs on the database server itself.

A database server is like a data warehouse and also holds on Database Management System (DBMS).

*********************

Few More Basic Software Testing Interview Questions

Q. What is Dynamic Testing?
Ans. It is the testing done by executing the code or program with various input values and later on the output is verified.

Q. What is GUI Testing?
Ans. GUI or Graphical user interface testing is the process of testing the software user interface against the provided requirements/mockups/HTML designs etc.,

Q. What is Formal Testing?
Ans. Software verification carried out by following a test plan, testing procedures and proper documentation with approval from the customer is termed as Formal Testing.

Q. What is Risk Based Testing?
Ans. Identifying the critical functionality in the system and then deciding the orders in which these functionalities are to be tested and testing after that is termed as Risk-based Testing.

Q. What is Early Testing?
Ans. Conducting testing as soon as possible in the development lifecycle to find defects at early stages of STLC. Early testing is helpful to reduce the cost of fixing defects at the later stages of STLC.

Q. What is Exhaustive Testing?
Ans. Testing functionality with all valid, invalid inputs and pre-conditions is called Exhaustive testing.

Q. What is Defect Clustering?
Ans. Any small module or functionality may contain a number of defects – concentrating more on testing these functionalities is known as Defect Clustering.

Q. What is Pesticide Paradox?
Ans. If prepared test cases are not finding defects, add/revise test cases to find more defects, this is known as Pesticide Paradox.

Q. What is Static Testing?
Ans. Manual verification of the code without executing the program is called Static Testing. In this process, the issues are identified in the code by checking code, requirement and design documents.

Q. What is Positive Testing?
Ans. It is the Testing which is conducted on the application to determine if the system works properly. Basically known as “test to pass” approach.

Q. What is Negative Testing?
Ans. Testing Software with a negative approach to check if the system is not “showing error when not supposed to” and “not showing error when supposed to” is termed as Negative Testing.

Q. What is an End-to-End Testing?
Ans. Testing the overall functionality of the system including the data integration among all the modules is called End-to-End Testing.

Q. What is Exploratory Testing?
Ans. Exploring the application, understanding its functionalities, adding (or) modifying the existing test cases for better testing is called Exploratory testing.

Q. What is Monkey Testing?
Ans. Testing conducted on an application without any plan and carried out randomly with the tests to find any system crash with an intention of finding tricky defects is called Monkey Testing.

Q. What is Non-Functional Testing?
Ans. Validating various non-functional aspects of the system such as user interfaces, user-friendliness, security, compatibility, Load, Stress, and Performance etc., is called Non-Functional testing.

Q. What is Usability Testing?
Ans. Checking how easily the end users are able to understand and operate the application is called Usability Testing.

Q. What is Security Testing?
Ans. Validating whether all security conditions are properly implemented in the software (or) not is called Security testing.

Q. What is Performance Testing?
Ans. The process of measuring various efficiency characteristics of a system such as response time, load stress transactions per minutes, transaction mix etc., is termed Performance Testing.

Q. What is Load Testing?
Ans. Analyzing both the functional and performance behavior of an application under various conditions is called Load Testing.

Q. What is Stress Testing?
Ans. Checking the application behavior under stress conditions
(or)
Reducing the system resources and keeping the load as constant and checking how the application is behaving is called Stress Testing.

Q. What is Process?
Ans. A process is a set of practices performed to achieve a given purpose; it may include tools, methods, materials or people.

Q. What is Software Configuration Management?
Ans. The process of identifying, Organizing and controlling changes to the Software development and maintenance.
(or)
It is a methodology to control and manage a software development project.

Q. What is a Testing Process / LifeCycle?
Ans. It includes the below factors:

Writing a Test Plan
Test Scenarios
Test Cases
Executing the Test Cases
Test Results
Defect Reporting
Defect Tracking
Defect Closing
Test Release

Q. What is the full form of CMMI?
Ans. Capability Maturity Model Integration

Q. What is a Code Walk Through?
Ans. An informal analysis of the program source code to find the defects and verify the coding techniques is termed so.

Q. What is Unit Level Testing?
Ans. Testing of single programs, modules or unit of code is termed as Unit Level Testing.

Q. What is Integration Level Testing?
Ans. Testing of related programs, Modules (or) Unit of code.
(or)
Partitions of the system which is ready for testing with other partitions of the system is termed so.

Q. What is System Level Testing?
Ans. Testing of the entire computer system across all the modules is termed so. This kind of testing can include Functional as well as Structural Testing.

Q. What is Alpha Testing?
Ans. Testing of a whole computer system before rolling out to the UAT is termed so.

Q. What is User Acceptance Testing (UAT)?
Ans. Testing of a computer system by the client to verify if it adhered to the provided requirements.

Q. What is a Test Plan?
Ans. It is a document describing the scope, approach, resources, and schedule of testing activities. It identifies test items, features to be tested, testing tasks, who will do each task, and any risks requiring contingency planning.

Q. What is a Test Scenario?
Ans. Identifying all the possible areas to be tested (or) what is to be tested is termed so.

Q. What is ECP (Equivalence Class Partition)?
Ans. It is a method for deriving test cases.

Q. What is a Defect?
Ans. Any flaw or imperfection in a software work product is termed as a Defect.
(or)
When the expected result does not match with the application actual result, it is termed so.

Q. What is Severity?
Ans. It defines the importance of the defect from the functional point of view i.e. how critical is a defect with respect to the application.

Q. What is Priority?
Ans. It indicates the importance or urgency of fixing a defect

Q. What is Re-Testing?
Ans. Re-testing the application means verifying whether the defects have been fixed or not.

Q. What is Regression Testing?
Ans. Verifying an existing functional and non-functional area after making changes to the part of a software or addition of new features is termed so.

Q. What is Recovery Testing?
Ans. Checking whether the system is able to handle some unexpected or unpredictable situations is called Recovery Testing.

Q. What is Globalization Testing?
Ans. It is the process of verifying whether software can be run independently of its geographical and cultural environment. Checking if the application is having features of setting and changing language, date, format, and currency if it is designed for global users.

Q. What is Localization Testing?
Ans. Verifying globalized application for a particular locality of users, under cultural and geographical conditions is termed so.

Q. What is Installation Testing?
Ans. Checking whether we are able to install a software successfully (or) not, as per the guidelines given in the installation document is called Installation Testing.

Q. What is Un-Installation Testing?
Ans. Checking whether we are able to uninstall the software from the system successfully (or) not is called Un-Installation Testing

Q. What is Compatibility Testing?
Ans. Checking whether the application is compatible with different software and hardware environment or not is called Compatibility Testing.

Q. What is a Test Strategy?
Ans. It is a part of a test plan describing how testing is carried out for the project and what testing types need to be performed on the application.

Q. What is a Test Case?
Ans. A Test case is a set of pre-conditional steps to be followed with input data and expected behavior to validate the functionality of a system.

Q. What is Business Validation Test Case?
Ans. A test case which is prepared to check the business condition or a business requirement is called Business Validation test case.

Q. What is a Good Test Case?
Ans. A Test case that has the high priority of catching defects is called a Good Test Case.

Q. What is Use Case Testing?
Ans. Validating a software to confirm whether it is developed as per the use cases or not is called Use Case testing.

Q. What is a Defect Age?
Ans. The time gap between the date of detection & the date of closure of a defect is termed so.

Q. What is Showstopper Defect?
Ans. A defect which is not permitting to continue further with testing is called Showstopper Defect.

Q. What is a Test Closure?
Ans. It is the last phase of the STLC, where the management prepares various test summary reports that explain the complete statistics of the project based on the testing carried out.

Q. What is Bucket Testing?
Ans. Bucket testing is also known as A/B testing. It is mostly used to study the impact of various product designs in the website metrics. Two simultaneous versions are run on a single or a set of web pages to measure the difference in click rates, interface, and traffic.

Q. What is meant by Entry Criteria and Exit Criteria in Software Testing?
Ans. Entry Criteria is the process that must be present when a system begins, like,
SRS – Software
FRS
Use Case
Test Case
Test Plan
Exit criteria ensure whether the testing is completed and the application is ready for release, like,
Test Summary Report,
Metrics
Defect Analysis Report.

Q. What is Concurrency Testing?
Ans. This is a multiple user testing to access the application at the same time to verify the effect on code, module or DB and it is mainly used to identify the locking and deadlocking situations in the code.

Q. What is Web Application Testing?
Ans. Web application testing is done on a website to check – load, performance, security, Functionality, Interface, Compatibility and other usability-related issues.

Q. What is Unit Testing?
Ans. Unit testing is done to check whether the individual modules of the source code are working properly or not.

Q. What is Interface Testing?
Ans. Interface testing is done to check whether the individual modules are communicating properly as per the specifications or not. Interface testing is mostly used to test the user interface of GUI applications.

Q. What is Gamma Testing?
Ans. Gamma testing is done when the software is ready for release with the specified requirements, this testing is done directly by skipping all the in-house testing activities.

Q. What is the Test Harness?
Ans. Test Harness is configuring a set of tools and test data to test an application under various conditions, which involves monitoring the output with the expected output for correctness.
The benefits of Testing Harness are: Productivity increase due to process automation and increase in the product quality

Q. What is Scalability Testing?
Ans. It is used to check whether the functionality and performance of a system are capable to meet the volume and size changes as per the requirements.
Scalability testing is done using load test by changing various software, hardware configurations, and testing environment.

Q. What is Fuzz Testing?
Ans. Fuzz testing is a black box testing technique which uses random bad data to attack a program to check if anything breaks in the application.

Q. What is the Difference between QA, QC, and Testing?
Ans. QA?
It is process oriented and its Aim is to prevent the defects in an application.

QC?
QC is product oriented and it is a Set of activities used to evaluate a developed work product

Software Engineer Interview Questions And Answers

Testing?
Executing and verifying an application with the intention of finding defects.

Q. What is Date Driven Testing?
Ans. It is an Automation testing process in which an application is tested with multiple sets of data with different preconditions as an input to the script.

Conclusion

I hope that the above given Manual Software Testing Interview Questions and Answers are beneficial to each of you.

I'm sure that with a thorough knowledge of these Questions and Answers, you can appear for any QA Testing Interview confidently and get through very successfully.

We wish you all success !!

Recommended Reading

Here are the top 20 most frequently asked Quality Assurance QA Interview Questions and Answers:

Here are some of the questions I would ask if interviewing a Quality Assurance Engineer.

The questions will emphasize more on the quality processes and the strategy, so please see that the question will not be asked for Testing.

The QA engineers are mostly people who have spent some time in the testing industry because when you create roadmaps and strategy, it’s always beneficial to have some industry exposure.

Let’s start!!

Top QA Interview Questions

Q #1) What is the difference between Quality Assurance, Quality Control and testing?

Quality Assurance is the process of planning and defining the way of monitoring and implementing the quality (test) processes within a team and organization. This method basically defines and sets the quality standards of the projects.

Quality Control is the process of finding defects and providing suggestions to improve the quality of the software. The methods used by Quality Control are usually established by the quality assurance.

It is the primary responsibility of the testing team to implement quality control.

Testing is the process of finding defects/bug. It validates whether the software built by the development team meets the requirements set by the user and the standards set by the organization.

Here the main focus is on finding bugs and testing team acts as a quality gatekeeper.

Q #2) When do you think QA activities should start?

QA activity should start from the beginning of the project. The more early it starts the more benefit it is to set the standards for achieving the quality.

The cost, time and efforts are very challenging in case the QA activities gets delayed.

Q #3) What is the difference between the Test Plan and Test Strategy

Test Strategy is at a higher level, mostly created by the Project Manager which demonstrates the overall approach of the testing for the entire project, whereas Test plan basically depicts the how the testing should be performed for a particular application, falling under a project.

Q #4) Can you explain the software testing life cycle?

Software Testing Life Cycle refers to a testing process which has specific steps to be executed in a definite sequence to ensure that the quality goals have been met.

Please refer to the below link to know more:

Q #5) How do you define a format of writing a good test case?

A test case has the below format:

  • Test case ID,
  • Test case description
  • Severity
  • Priority
  • Environment
  • Build version
  • Steps to execute
  • Expected results
  • Actual results

Also, refer to the below link to get more information:

Q #6) What is a good test case?

In simple words, a good test case is one which finds a defect. But all test case will not find defects, so A good test case can also be one which has all the prescribed details and coverage.

Q #7) What would you do if you have a large suite to execute in very less time?

In case we have less time and have to execute larger volume of test cases, we should prioritize the test case at first instant and execute the high priority test cases first and then move on to the lower priority ones.

This way we can make sure that the important aspects of the software is tested.

Alternatively, we may also seek customer preference that which is the most important functionality of the software according to them, and we should start testing from those areas and then gradually move to those areas which are of less importance.

Q #8) Do you think QA's can also participate to resolve production issues?

Definitely!! It would be a good learning curve for QA's to participate in resolving production issues. Many a time production issues could be resolved by clearing the logs or making some registry settings or by restarting the services.

These kinds of environmental issues could be very well fixed by the QA team.

Also If QAs have an insight on resolving the production issues, they may also include them while writing the test cases, and this way they can contribute to improve quality and try to minimize the production defects.

Q #9) Suppose you find a bug in production, how would you make sure that the same bug is not introduced again?

The best way is to immediately write a test case for the production defect and include it in the regression suite. This way we ensure that the bug does not get introduced again.

Also many a time we can also think of alternate test cases or similar kind of test case and include them in our planned execution.

Q #10) What is the difference between functional and nonfunctional testing?

Functional testing basically deals with the functional aspect of the application. This technique tests that the system is behaving as per the requirement and specification.

These are directly linked with customer requirement. We validate the test cases against the specified requirement and make the test pass or failed accordingly.

Examples include regression, integration, system, smoke etc…

Nonfunctional testing – on the other hand, tests the Nonfunctional aspect of the application. It tests NOT the requirement, but the environmental factors like performance, load and stress.

These are not explicitly specified in the requirement but are prescribed in the quality standards. So as QA we have to make sure that these testing are also given sufficient time and priority.

Q #11) What is negative testing? How is it different from positive testing?

Negative testing is a technique which validates that the system behaves gracefully in case of any invalid inputs.

For example, in case the user enters any invalid data in a text box, the system should display a proper message instead of the technical message which the user does not understand.

Negative testing is different from positive testing in a way that positive testing validates that our system works as expected and compares the test results with the expected results.

Most of the time scenarios for negative testing are not mentioned in the functional requirement documents. As a QA we have to identify the negative scenarios and should have provisions to test those.

Q #12) How would you ensure that your testing is complete and has good coverage?

Requirement traceability matrix and Test coverage matrices will help us to determine that our test cases have good coverage.

Requirement traceability matrices will help us to determine that the test conditions are enough so that all the requirements are covered.

Coverage matrices will help us to determine that the test cases are enough to satisfy all the identified test conditions in RTM.

An RTM will look something like:

Similarly, Test coverage matrices will look like:

Q #13) What are the different artifacts you refer when you write the test cases?

The main artifacts used are:

  • Functional requirement specification
  • Requirement understanding document
  • Use Cases
  • Wireframes
  • User Stories
  • Acceptance criteria
  • Many a time UAT test cases

Q #14) Have you ever managed writing the test cases without having any documents?

Yes, many a time we have a situation where we have to write test cases without having any concrete documents. In that case, the best way is to

  • Collaborate with the BA and development team.
  • Dig into mails which have some information.
  • Dig into older test cases/regression suite
  • If the feature is new, try to read the wiki pages or help of the application to have an idea
  • Sit with the developer and try to understand the changes being made.
  • Based on your understanding, identify the test condition and send it to BA or stakeholders to review them.

Q #15) What is meant by Verification and Validation?

Validation is the process of evaluating the final product to check whether the software meets the business needs.

The test execution which we do in our day to day life is actually the validation activity which includes smoke testing, functional testing, regression testing, systems testing etc…

Verification is a process of evaluating the intermediary work products of a software development lifecycle to check if we are in the right track of creating the final product.

Q #16) What are the different verification techniques you know?

Verification techniques are static in nature. There are 3 verification techniques:

Review, Inspection, and walkthrough.

1) Review – Is a method by which the code/test cases are examined by the individual other than the author who has produced it.

It is one of the easy and best ways to ensure coverage and quality.

2) Inspection – Is a technical and disciplined way to examine and correct the defects in the test artifact or code. Because it is disciplined, it has various roles:

  • Moderator – Who facilitates the entire inspection meeting
  • Recorder – Who records the minutes of the meeting, defects occurred, and other points discussed.
  • Reader – The one who will read out the document/code. The leader also leads the entire inspection meeting.
  • Producer – The author. They are ultimately responsible to update their document/code as per the comments.
  • Reviewer – All the team can be considered as a reviewer. This role can also be played by some group of experts is the project demands.

Top 20 Interview Questions And Responses

3) Walkthrough – Is a process in which the author of the document/code reads the content and gets the feedback.

This is most of the time a kind of FYI (For your information) session rather than seeking corrections.

Q #17) What is the difference between Load and Stress testing?

Stress Testing is a technique which validates the behavior of the system when it executes under stress. To explain, we reduce the resources and check the behavior of the system.

We first understand the upper limit of the system and gradually reduce the resources and check the system behavior.

In Load testing, we validate the system behavior under the expected load. The load can be of concurrent user or resources accessing the system at the same time.

Q #18) In case you have any doubts regarding your project, how do you approach?

In case of any doubts, first try to get it clear by reading the available aartifacts/applicationhelp. In case of doubts still persisting, ask ian mmediate supervisor or the senior member of your team.

BA's would also be a good choice to ask the doubts. We can also touch base with the development team in case of any doubts. The last option would be to follow up with the manager and finally to the stakeholders.

Q #19) Have you used any Automation tools?

The answer to this question is very much exclusive to the individual. Reply with all the tools and strategy of automation that you have used in your project.

Q #20) How do you determine which piece of software require how much testing?

We can know this factor by finding out the Cyclomatic Complexity.

The technique helps to identify the below 3 questions for the programs / features

  • Is the feature / program testable?
  • Is the feature/ program understood by every one?
  • Is the feature / program reliable enough?

Software Design Interview Questions And Answers

As a QA we can use this technique to identify the “level” of our testing.

It is a practice that if the result of cyclomatic complexity is more or a bigger number, we consider that piece of functionality to be of complex nature and hence we conclude as a tester; that the piece of code / functionality requires an in-depth testing.

On the other hand, if the result of the Cyclomatic Complexity is a smaller number, we conclude as QA that the functionality is of less complexity and decide the scope accordingly.

As a QA its very important that we understand the entire testing lifecycle and should be able to suggest changes in our process if required.

The goal is to deliver high quality software and in that way, a QA should take all the necessary measures to improve the process and way testing team executes the tests.

Hope these QA Interview Questions and Answers will be helpful for preparing a Quality Assurance Interview.

Software Developer Interview Questions And Answers

Recommended Reading