Top Software Testing Interview Questions and Answers
Are you aspiring to embark on a rewarding career in software testing? Or perhaps you’re an experienced professional seeking to sharpen your skills and advance in your field? Regardless of your stage in the software testing journey, Instaily Academy’s comprehensive compilation of software testing interview questions and answers is your key to success.
Stay Ahead of the Curve with Our Software Testing Interview Questions and Answers
In the ever-evolving world of software testing, staying abreast of the latest trends and technologies is crucial. With Instaily Academy’s regularly updated collection of new software testing interview questions and answers, you can ensure you’re well-prepared for the ever-changing demands of the industry.
Sharpen your software testing skills, gain a deeper understanding of the industry, and impress your potential employers with our expert-led guidance. This comprehensive software testing interview questions and answers is your key to unlocking a successful career in the dynamic world of software testing.
Let’s dive in!
Q1) How do you define Bug and Defect?
Ans: A bug is a deviation from expected behaviour, impacting the system’s functionality. In contrast, a defect is a broader term encompassing any non-conformance with requirements. A bug is a manifestation of a defect.
Q2) What are the various categories of defects? Explain.
Ans: Defects can be categorized as Functional, Performance, Interface, and Compatibility issues. Functional defects affect core functionalities, while Performance defects impact speed and responsiveness. Interface defects involve interactions, and Compatibility defects relate to cross-platform issues.
Q3) Explain risk-based testing.
Ans: Risk-based testing prioritizes testing efforts based on the probability and impact of potential risks. It ensures efficient resource allocation, focusing on critical areas to minimize project risks.
Q4) What is Decision table based testing and when it is used?
Ans: Decision table-based testing is a technique where inputs and conditions are systematically mapped to outcomes. It’s used for complex scenarios with multiple inputs and varying conditions, ensuring comprehensive test coverage.
Q5) Expand and explain CMM.
Ans: CMM stands for Capability Maturity Model, a framework defining an organization’s maturity in software development processes. It ranges from initial (chaotic) to optimized (innovative), helping organizations enhance their processes.
Q6) Elaborate PDCA cycle.
Ans: The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle is a continuous improvement methodology. Plan outlines goals, Do involves implementation, Check evaluates results, and Act adjusts processes based on feedback, fostering iterative enhancements.
Q7) How do you differentiate these three testing – white box, black box, gray box?
Ans: White box testing examines internal structures, black box focuses on functionalities without internal knowledge, and gray box combines aspects of both, providing a balanced approach with limited internal knowledge.
Q8) What are the steps involved in testing policy?
Ans: Testing policy involves Planning, Designing, Execution, and Closure. Planning defines objectives, Designing outlines test cases, Execution implements tests, and Closure assesses results and concludes the testing process.
Q9) What is Equivalence Class and Equivalence Partitioning?
Ans: Equivalence Class involves grouping input values to ensure representative test cases. Equivalence Partitioning divides the input domain into classes, testing one value from each class to uncover defects efficiently.
Q10) Define Inspection.
Ans: Inspection is a systematic examination of a work product by peers to identify defects early in the development process. It’s a collaborative approach promoting quality and preventing issues downstream.
Q11) What is Bottom Up Testing?
Ans: Bottom-Up Testing is an incremental testing approach where lower-level components are tested first, gradually integrating and testing higher-level components. This ensures that individual units function correctly before combining them into larger modules or systems.
Q12) What RAD stands for? Explain it in your words.
Ans: RAD stands for Rapid Application Development. It’s a software development methodology emphasizing quick development and iteration. RAD involves user feedback, prototyping, and minimal planning, fostering flexibility and faster delivery.
Q13) What do you understand by usability testing?
Ans: Usability testing assesses a software product’s user-friendliness. It involves real users interacting with the system to evaluate its ease of use, efficiency, and overall user satisfaction.
Q14) Is there any difference between testing tools and testing techniques?
Ans: Yes, there is a distinction. Testing tools are software applications aiding in test execution, management, and reporting. Testing techniques, on the other hand, are methods and approaches used to design and execute tests, independent of tools.
Q15) What are the different Agile Development Model methodologies?
Ans: Agile methodologies include Scrum, Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), and Lean. These emphasize iterative development, collaboration, and adaptability to deliver value incrementally.
Q16) What is QA (Quality Assurance)?
Ans: Quality Assurance (QA) is a systematic process ensuring that products or services meet specified requirements. It involves activities throughout the software development life cycle to prevent defects and enhance overall quality.
Q17) Define Quality Circle and Quality Control.
Ans: A Quality Circle involves a group of employees addressing work-related issues and improving processes through collective problem-solving. Quality Control is the process of inspecting, testing, and ensuring that products meet specified standards.
Q18) In which phase, number of defects are more – designing phase or coding phase?
Ans: Typically, the number of defects is higher in the designing phase. Detecting and rectifying issues during the design phase is crucial to prevent downstream errors during coding and implementation.
Q19) Which testing model is best as per your understanding, and why?
Ans: The choice of the testing model depends on project requirements. Agile is often favored for its flexibility and customer collaboration, while Waterfall is suitable for well-defined projects with stable requirements.
Q20) What do you mean by monkey testing?
Ans: Monkey testing, also known as random testing, involves random and chaotic inputs to a software application without predefined test cases. The goal is to discover unforeseen bugs and assess system robustness under unpredictable conditions.
Q21) What are the main phases or steps of a formal review?
Ans: Formal reviews consist of Planning, Kick-off, Preparation, Review Meeting, Rework, and Follow-up. Planning involves defining objectives, Kick-off initiates the review, Preparation includes document analysis, the Review Meeting discusses findings, Rework addresses issues, and Follow-up ensures resolutions.
Q22) Differentiate between positive and negative testing.
Ans: Positive testing validates that the system works as expected under normal conditions, confirming correct responses. Negative testing assesses the system’s ability to handle unexpected inputs or scenarios, identifying potential issues and ensuring robustness.
Q23) What is configuration management?
Ans: Configuration management is the systematic handling of a system’s configurations, including changes, versions, and baselines. It ensures consistency and traceability throughout the software development life cycle.
Q24) What role does the moderator plays in review process?
Ans: The moderator in a review process guides discussions, ensures adherence to the agenda, manages time, and promotes a constructive atmosphere. They facilitate communication among participants and help in reaching consensus.
Q25) What are the types of impact ratings in a project?
Ans: Impact ratings in a project can be categorized as High, Medium, and Low. High impact implies significant consequences on project objectives, Medium suggests moderate consequences, and Low indicates minimal impact.
Q26) Define Quality Audit.
Ans: A Quality Audit is a systematic examination to determine whether quality activities comply with planned arrangements and whether these arrangements are implemented effectively. It helps identify areas for improvement in processes.
Q27) What is Verification, and what are its two types?
Ans: Verification ensures that a product meets specified requirements. The two types are Static Verification (reviews, inspections) done without executing the code, and Dynamic Verification (testing) involves code execution to validate functionality.
Q28) At what time, Regression Testing should be performed?
Ans: Regression Testing should be performed after code modifications, enhancements, or bug fixes to ensure that existing functionalities are unaffected. It helps catch unintended side effects of changes.
Q29) Explain the following testings : – Unit Testing, Integration Testing, System Testing & Acceptance Testing?
Ans:
- Unit Testing: Validates individual units or components in isolation to ensure they function as intended.
- Integration Testing: Verifies interactions between integrated components or systems, exposing interface issues.
- System Testing: Tests the entire system’s functionality, ensuring it meets specified requirements.
- Acceptance Testing: Evaluates the system’s compliance with user requirements, determining if it’s ready for deployment.
Q30) Define test log.
Ans: A test log is a document recording details of test execution, including test case execution results, actual outcomes, and any deviations from expected results. It serves as a valuable reference for future testing and analysis.
Q31) Throw some light on BVA (Boundary Value Analysis).
Ans: Boundary Value Analysis is a testing technique focusing on values at the boundaries of input domains. It explores how the software behaves at the minimum, maximum, and just beyond these boundaries. BVA helps uncover errors that might occur due to the proximity of values to limits.
32) Define Test bed.
Ans: A test bed is the environment configured for testing, comprising hardware, software, network configurations, and test data. It replicates the production environment to assess how the software performs under realistic conditions.
33) Tell the five common problems that come in the path of the software development process.
Ans: Common problems in software development include unclear requirements, scope changes, inadequate testing, poor communication, and unrealistic timelines. Addressing these issues is crucial for successful project delivery.
34) What is your definition of a ‘good design’?
Ans: A good design is one that meets functional requirements, is maintainable, scalable, modular, and follows best practices. It balances simplicity with complexity, ensuring a clear structure, ease of understanding, and efficient performance.
35) How can we test for drastic (severe) memory leakages?
Ans: Testing for severe memory leaks involves executing the software under varying conditions and monitoring memory consumption. Tools like memory profilers can identify abnormal memory growth over time, indicating potential leaks.
36) Which is prepared at the end of testing or once after the testing process for an application is completed?
Ans: A Test Summary Report is prepared at the end of the testing process. It provides an overview of the testing activities, including test execution results, test completion status, issues encountered, and other relevant metrics.
37) What measures the quality and completeness of the software product?
Ans: The Test Coverage metric measures the quality and completeness of a software product. It assesses the extent to which testing exercises the application’s features, ensuring that all critical aspects are tested, and no functionality is left unaddressed.