Top 60+ Software Testing Interview Questions & Answers (2024)

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This page contains software testing interview questions along with their detailed answers. These questions are helpful for the position of Software Tester or Quality Assurance (QA).

Software Testing Interview Questions and Answers

Here are the frequently asked interview questions and answers on software testing. These software testing interview questions and answers are designed especially for freshers and experienced to practice and learn the important topics that are helpful for their interviews.

1. What is software testing?

Software testing is the process of evaluating a software to check if it is working as intended, is able to fulfill the end user requirements, and to detect all possible errors in it. Thus software testing is done with the primary purpose of enhancing its quality.

2. What are the differences between quality control and quality assurances?

Quality control is the process of executing a piece of code to identify bugs in the software and to validate if it is working as expected. The quality assurance is driven by the rules and procedures to produce quality software.

3. What is manual testing and how is it different from automation testing?

In manual testing, the test cases are executed and test reports are generated based on the results, all by manual efforts(with human intervention). While in automation, the test cases are executed using automated test scripts which are executed with the help of tools like Selenium, Cypress etc. The automated testing is faster compared to manual testing as there is no human effort required in this process.

4. Why is manual testing advantages?

The advantages of manual testing are listed below −

• It comes with a very low cost.
• It does not require programming skills of the testers.
• It is used widely for adhoc testing.
• It is really helpful for checking some delicate UI changes in the application.
• Some of the critical scenarios can only be tested manually.

5. What are the disadvantages of manual testing?

The disadvantages of manual testing are listed below −

• It takes a lot of time and human effort to carry out manual testing.
• It has room for human error.
• It gives slower feedback to the application.
• The manual test cases are not always recorded, hence it is difficult to replicate.
• It requires deployment of additional resources to complete the testing cycle, which ultimately adds up the cost.

6. What are the skills needed to become a software tester?

The skills which are needed to become a software tester are listed below −

• Good communication skills.
• Analytical and problem solving skills.
• Thinking out of the box.
• Have an innovative approach to any situation.
• Able to contribute both as an individual contributor and a team player.
• Ability to adapt to new changes quickly.
• Able to work under pressure.
• Ability to go in details for every requirement.

7. What is a software development lifecycle (SDLC)?

The software development life cycle (SDLC) is a group of planned activities that are carried out in a sequential manner. The stages of SDLC are listed below −

• Requirement Analysis & Planning
• Requirement Definition
• Architecture Design
• Coding & Implementation
• Testing
• Production Deployment
• Maintenance

8. What do you mean by a test case?

A test case is a standard document created to verify whether the software is working as per its requirements. It is made up of a group of conditions that are verified to confirm if the actual results are matching with the expected ones.

9. What do you mean by a test scenario?

A test scenario is a document that has every end to end flow. It is mainly created from the end user’s perspective and described in a few words. It is similar to the real life simulation of a scenario that a user may encounter as he works on a software.

10. What are the differences between a test case and a test scenario?

A test scenario is created on the basis of the user requirements, while a test case is designed after converting the test scenarios into one or multiple test cases.

Difference Between Test Scenarios and Test Case

11. What do you mean by a test plan?

A test plan is a critical document that guides the entire testing of the software. It is built to identify as many defects as possible from the early phases of the software development life cycle (SDLC).

It is often seen that a software tested with a detailed test plan has a lesser probability of defect leakage in production. This is due to the fact that the errors are identified early in the SDLC.

12. What do you mean by test data?

A test data is a collection of various inputs that are fed to the software to check if the outputs generated are as per the requirements. The test data generation is done both manually and by automation depending upon the project requirements.

13. What do you mean by a test script?

A test script is a comprehensive description on how to execute a test. It contains all the steps to verify a feature. It is a piece of code that is used to run test cases. The testers create test scripts to test if the actual results generated on the software are correct.

14. What are the different levels of testing?

The different levels of testing are listed below −

• Unit Testing
• Integration Testing
• System Testing
• User Acceptance Testing

15. What are the different methods of testing?

The different methods of testing are listed below −

• Black Box Testing
• White Box Testing
• Gray Box Testing

16. What do you mean by black box testing?

A black box testing is a technique where the tester does not have any understanding of the interior logic of the software. He only verifies if it is able to solve the user's needs and its features are working as per the expectations.

17. What do you mean by a white box testing?

A white box testing is a technique that verifies the program structure, internal logic, and code. It is also known as glass testing. To carry out a white-box testing, a tester should have programming knowledge and he should be aware of the software’s internal code, and its structure.

18. What do you mean by alpha testing?

An alpha testing is used to verify if the software features are working as expected, and its business requirements are fulfilled. It is done by the internal product team, developers or testers. A lab or staging environment is generally available for this type of testing. It is carried out by both black and white box testing techniques.

19. What do you mean by beta testing?

A beta testing is done to confirm if the software is working as expected, and there are no errors on using the software. The beta testers share their feedback on the behavior of the software with the development team.

20. What do you mean by sanity testing?

A sanity testing is a subcategory of the regression testing. It tests if the new code changes in the software are working fine. Also, it is performed to check whether the new build is correct and can be utilized for continuing the testing process.

A sanity testing is performed only to touch upon the overall features and is not an exhaustive approach. It is also carried on a build where production code is deployed after a high priority defect fix.

21. What do you mean by the test documentations?

The test documentations are the testing artifacts that lead the all testing activities. They include project estimation, resources, timelines, project progress, test plan, test case, test strategy, test execution report, test summary report etc.

22. What do you mean by the regression testing?

Software regression testing is done each time there is a code update to fix a defect, to incorporate a new feature, or for code refactoring. So, it is mostly performed to confirm that the existing features of the software are still working amidst the code changes.

23. What do you mean by a test harness?

A test harness is similar to a test framework. It is a group of software, inputs, data etc designed to test a software running in various environments and then evaluate the outcomes. It is performed to help with integration testing.

A test harness is a collection of stubs, drivers, and other tools that can be used for automation testing and to debug tests. It gives the resources and configurations which are currently not ready in a test environment.

24. What do you mean by code coverage?

The code coverage is a white box testing technique performed to gauge the extent to which the software code has been tested. This ensures a quality software and measures how much it has been tested.

25. What do you mean by boundary value analysis?

The boundary value analysis is a black box testing technique where verifications are done around the boundary values of the valid and invalid input ranges. The features of a software occurring at the edge of the equivalence partition have a higher chance of encountering errors rather than at the middle of the partition.

26. What do you mean by a bug life cycle?

Bug life cycle is the journey of a defect in its lifetime. It begins right from the initiation of a defect till it is closed. The different stages of a bug life cycle are listed below −

• New
• Assigned
• Open
• Fixed
• Test
• Verified
• Retest
• Closed
• Reopened
• Deferred
• Rejected
• Cannot be Fixed
• Not a Defect
• Not Reproducible
• Need more information

27. What do you mean by software testing life cycle (STLC)?

The software testing life cycle (STLC) begins from the start of the project when the clients share the requirements. It is followed to streamline the testing activities in the complete software development process. The different stages of a STLC are listed below −

• Requirement Analysis
• Test Planning
• Test Strategizing
• Environment Identification
• Test Data Identification
• Designing of Test Cases
• Execution of Test Cases
• Defect Logging
• Test Closure

28. What do you mean by integration testing?

The integration testing is done after the unit testing phase. It is primarily done to check the interfaces and communications among various components when they are integrated together in a software. The different types of integration testing are listed below −

• Big Bang Integration Testing − After more than one component is integrated, the big bang testing is conducted.
• Top Down Integration Testing − The testing and integration of different components are done from the top and gradually moved downward.
• Bottom Up Integration Testing − The testing and integration of lower level components are performed before moving to the upper levels.
• Hybrid Integration Testing − This type of testing combines both the top down and bottom up integration testing. The testing begins from the middle level components and then carried out bidirectionally (from the both top and down).

29. What do you mean by the equivalence class partitioning?

It is seen that various data produces similar outputs from a software. Due to this reason, instead of using all those data, a range of data which generates the same results are grouped together, such that only one data inside that range is enough to verify a scenario. In this way, the data are grouped into multiple equivalent classes. This is known as the equivalence class partitioning.

30. What do you mean by a test environment?

A test environment is a dedicated environment for the testers. It is built so that the majority of the testing tools can function there. It should have all resources with respect to the hardware, software, network connectivity etc to support the testing activities. The setting up of the test environment is important as the testing team relies on it for further testing.

31. When will we prefer to do manual testing to automation?

We prefer to perform manual testing to automation for verifying the software which is relatively new and does not have the correct stability to support the automation tests. Some of the critical scenarios which require human intervention in the middle of testing, or waiting for some time to complete a scenario, those tests can only be verified manually.

Manual testing is also preferred for exploratory, and usability testing. Moreover, whenever there is absence of the required skill set and coding knowledge within the testing team, manual testing is always preferred over automation.

32. What are the differences between system testing and integration testing?

The system testing is performed right after the integration testing to ensure that the complete integrated software is working correctly as per the user requirements.

The integration testing is performed right after the unit testing to ensure that there is proper communication, data flow among all the different components of the software, and all the components are working together as a single unit.

33. What are the differences between static testing and dynamic testing?

The static testing is a type of testing where the verification is done without running the code of the software. It comprises walkthroughs, inspections, and reviews.

Dynamic testing is a type of testing where the verification is done by running the code of the software to check if a particular function, feature of the software, or the complete software is working as expected. It comprises unit, integration, system, and acceptance testing.

34. What are the best practices to be followed while writing a test case?

The best practices to be followed while writing a test case are listed below −

• It should not be disordered, and be understandable.
• It should be well defined.
• It should be built only after a thorough understanding of requirements, data, and without any room for guessing.
• It should be related to at least one requirement.
• It should be verified with all the combinations of inputs, and conditions.
• Its descriptions, names etc should be self explanatory but described in brief.
• It should verify the client requirements.
• It should be created keeping in mind the customer’s requirements and viewpoints.
• It should be identified by a unique id.
• It should be described with all preconditions and postconditions.
• It should be reused.
• The expected results should be in detail at the same time to the point.

35. Will the automation testing completely replace manual testing?

No, automation testing can never completely replace manual testing. Some testing types like ad hoc, usability etc can only be performed manually. Also, for any new software, it is impossible to have the automation tests ready from the first day. It should be stable enough to begin automation on it.

Automation testing is mostly adopted to convert very lengthy manual test cases which have redundant, and large number of steps to streamline the testing process. Also, they are mostly used for regression testing. Thus automation testing primarily helps to speed up the testing process.

36. Can the system testing be performed at any time during the testing phase?

No system testing cannot be performed at any time during the testing phase. It is generally done after the integration testing when all the modules of the software have been integrated to test if the whole software is working as expected.

37. What are the principles that govern software testing?

The software testing is governed by the seven principles listed below −

• Testing Exposes Defect in Software
• Exhaustive Testing is Impossible
• Defect Clustering
• Pesticide Paradox
• Early Testing
• Testing is Context Dependent
• Absence of Error Fallacy

38. What do you mean by unit testing?

Unit testing is performed by the developers at the initial phases of the software development life cycle (SDLC) when the individual units are not yet integrated.

The unit testing is considered as the first stage of the software functional testing. The unit test cases are created by the developers to test the modules that they have themselves developed.

39. When to stop testing?

We can stop testing after consideration of the items listed below −

• If all the requirements have been successfully tested.
• All the high priority and high severity defects have been closed.
• All the test cases have been completed for execution.
• The regression suites have been successfully run.
• The project deadlines and budget have been met.
• All potential risks have been mitigated.
• All the software quality checklists have been met.

40. What are the difference between bug leakage and bug release?

The bug leakage is a situation where a software is released to the production, and the end users detect a bug at that time. This is considered a miss from the testing team as they have failed to identify it during the actual testing phase.

The bug release is a situation where a software is released to production with some known issues which shall be fixed in the next release of the software. These issues are of very low priority and described clearly in the release notes of the software.

41. What do mean by a defect triage meeting?

A defect triage is a meeting in which a defect is prioritized based on its features, risks, severity, time required to fix it etc. This meeting is attended by the developers, testers, business analysts, and managers. They come to the conclusion on the defects that need to be fixed as early as possible.

42. What do mean by a pesticide paradox?

Pesticide paradox is one of the principles which govern software testing. It states that if the same pesticide is repeated on the crops, then it does not affect the insects any more. Likewise, if the similar tests are run frequently, then they are no longer effective and they fail to identify new defects.

43. What is the severity of a defect?

The severity of a defect is the extent to which a particular defect affects a software. It measures how much it impacts the software functionalities. If it has a big influence on the software, it is known as a high severity defect. The defect severity is determined by the tester.

44. What do mean by a priority of a defect?

The priority of a defect determines the order in which it should be fixed. A defect having a higher priority is fixed earlier than the one with lower priority. The defects which have a huge impact on the end users have a high priority.

45. What are the test metrics?

The metrics are similar to measurable benchmarks of the testing procedures, approaches, overall processes etc. It improves the testing quality. It helps to plan the testing activities for the future with the help of data and evidence.

46. Is it possible to guarantee a software with zero defects?

It is not possible to guarantee a software with zero defects. Testing a software thoroughly only minimizes the probability of finding defects but there is no guarantee to the fact that there will be no defect leakage to production.

47. What do you mean by an adhoc or random testing?

An adhoc or random testing is an informal testing. It is done haphazardly and based on the experience of the testers. It is sometimes called the monkey testing. Adhoc testing does not have a systematic method, and does not require test cases.

48. What do you mean by age testing?

The age testing is done to obtain the software performance in the future and works towards improving it. It describes the characteristics of the software after it has been used for sometime. The age testing report assists in changing, improving, and incorporating new functionalities in the software.

49. What is a software bug?

A bug is an unofficial name for defects when the software is not working as expected. This can be due to coding errors, unclear requirements, time constraints etc. A bug is created on running the test cases or while testing the software.

50. What is the process of verification?

The process of verification is performed to verify whether the entire software, or a part of it has been built as per the development requirements, and design specifications. It is adopted as a part of V-Model of software development.

51. What is the process of validation?

The process of validation is performed to verify whether the entire software, or a part of it has been built as per the user requirements. It is mainly done to check if the software provides a solution to the customers. It is also adopted as a part of V-Model of software development.

52. What do you mean by exploratory testing?

At the time of testing when there is a strict deadline, an exploratory testing technique is taken up. It is mostly done based on the experience of testers. It is not methodical testing.

Exploratory testing is conducted with a black box testing approach. The tester has to gather knowledge about the software and then he combines it with his experiences, skills to perform it.

53. What are the difference between alpha and beta testing?

The alpha testing is conducted by the internal team in charge of development or testing of the software, while beta testing is mostly conducted at the customer’s environment and performed by the customers themselves.

54. What do you mean by a test bed?

A test bed points to a test execution environment dedicated for testing. It comprises particular hardware, software, platform, network connectivity, the application under test, other resources etc.

55. What are the differences between functional and non-functional testing?

The functional testing is conducted with the help of black-box testing technique. The primary purpose of functional testing is to confirm if the software is working as per its requirements and is not concerned with its internal behavior.

It involves feeding inputs to the software and to ensure if the output generated is as per the user needs. It is performed first followed by running the non-functional test cases. The functional testing can be performed at the various testing levels listed below −

• Integration Testing
• System Testing
• Acceptance Testing

The non-functional testing is conducted to verify the non-functional behavior of the software, namely the stability, scalability, performance, stress, security etc. It is done to confirm if the software is behaving as per the user expectations. The non-functional testing involves the stress testing, load testing, performance testing, security testing etc.

56. What are the differences between the positive and negative testing?

The difference between positive and negative testing are listed below −

57. What do you mean by API testing?

An API testing is conducted to test the application programming interfaces (API) and to verify if they fulfill all the functional and non-functional requirements. It is done for a software, which comprises a group of APIs which should be verified.

58. What do you mean by an API?

API means the Application Programming Interface. It describes how one module in a software should communicate with the others. It is governed by a collection of routines, protocols and tools for creating the software.

An API hides the interior functioning of a software and enables the end user to use it by just concentrating on its inputs and outputs/responses it generates.

59. What do you mean by a test report?

A test report consists of the synopsis of the test objectives, summary, processes, metrics, defects, results etc. It is a very important document and helps to conclude if the software is ready for deployment to production. It throws light on the test execution results and makes decisions around them. It helps to get an understanding of the software quality, project status and its progress.

60. Name the various debugging techniques used

The various debugging techniques used are listed below −

• Fault Tree Analysis
• Brute Force Debugging
• Back Tracking
• Root Cause Elimination
• Program Slicing

61. What do you mean by usability testing?

Usability testing comes under the roof of the non-functional testing. It measures how easily the software can be utilized by the end users. In this approach, the customers are requested to use the software and share their experiences and feedback on its behavior while actually using it.