QA and Software Testing Interview Questions and Answers

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Software Testing FAQ

What is quality assurance?
The set of support activities (including facilitation, training, measurement and analysis)
needed to provide adequate confidence that processes are established and continuously
improved in order to produce products that meet specifications and fit for use.
What is the purpose of the testing?

Testing provides information whether or not a certain product meets the requirements.
What is the difference between QA and testing?

Quality Assurance is that set of activities that are carried out to set standards and to
monitor and improve performance so that the care provided is as effective and as safe as
possible. Testing provides information whether or not a certain product meets the
requirements. It also provides information where the product fails to meet the
requirements.
What is software quality'?

OR
Define software quality for me, as you understand it?
Quality software is reasonably bug-free, delivered on time and within budget, meets
requirements and/or expectations, and is maintainable. However, quality is obviously a
subjective term. It will depend on who the 'customer' is and their overall influence in the
scheme of things. Each type of 'customer' will have their own slant on 'quality' - the
accounting department might define quality in terms of profits while an end-user might
define quality as user-friendly and bug-free.
What's the role of documentation in QA?

Critical. (Note that documentation can be electronic, not necessarily paper.) QA practices
should be documented such that they are repeatable. Specifications, designs, business rules,
inspection reports, configurations, code changes, test plans, test cases, bug reports, user
manuals, etc. should all be documented. There should ideally be a system for easily finding
and obtaining documents and determining what documentation will have a particular piece
of information. Change management for documentation should be used if possible.
Explain the software development lifecycle.

There are seven stages of the software development lifecycle
1. Initiate the project – The users identify their Business requirements.
2. Define the project – The software development team translates the business
requirements into system specifications and put together into System Specification
Document.
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3. Design the system – The System Architecture Team designs the system and write
Functional Design Document. During design phase general solutions re hypothesized
and data and process structures are organized.
4. Build the system – The System Specifications and design documents are given to the
development team code the modules by following the Requirements and Design
document.
5. Test the system - The test team develops the test plan following the requirements. The
software is build and installed on the test platform after developers have completed
development and Unit Testing. The testers test the software by following the test plan.
6. Deploy the system – After the user-acceptance testing and certification of the software,
it is installed on the production platform. Demos and training are given to the users.
7. Support the system - After the software is in production, the maintenance phase of the
life begins. During this phase the development team works with the development
document staff to modify and enhance the application and the test team works with the
test documentation staff to verify and validate the changes and enhancement to the
application software.
At what stage of the SDLC does testing begin in your opinion?

QA process starts from the second phase of the Software Development Life Cycle i.e. Define
the System. Actual Product testing will be done on Test the system phase (Phase-5). During
this phase test team will verify the actual results against expected results.
Explain the pre testing phase, acceptance testing and testing phase.
Pre testing Phase:
1. Review the requirements document for the testability: Tester will use the
requirement document to write the test cases.
2. Establishing the hard freeze date: Hard freeze date is a date after which system test
team will not accept any more software and documentation changes from development
team, unless they are fixes of severity 1 MR’s. The date is scheduled so that product test
team will have time for final regression.
3. Writing master test plan: It is written by the lead tester or test coordinator. Master
test plan includes entire testing plan, testing resources and testing strategy.
4. Setting up MR Tool: The MR tool must be set as soon as you know of the different
modules in the product, the developers and testers on the product, the hardware
platform, and operating system testing will be done.
This information will be available upon the completion of the first draft of the
architecture document. Both testers and developers are trained how to use the system.
5. Setting up the test environment: The test environment is set on separate machines,
database and network. This task is performed by the technical support team. First time
it takes some time, Afterwards the same environment can be used by the later releases.
6. Writing the test plan and test cases: Template and the tool is decided to write the
test plan, test cases and test procedures. Expected results are organized in the test plan
according to the feature categories specified in the requirement document. For each
feature positive and negative test cases are written. Writing test plan requires the
complete understanding of the product and its interfaces with other systems. After test

plan is completed, a walkthrough is conducted with the developers and design team
members to baseline the test plan document.
7. Setting up the test automation tool: Planning of test strategy on how to automate the
testing. Which test cases will be executed for regression testing. Not all the test cases
will be executed during regression testing.
8. Identify acceptance test cases: Select subsets that are expected on the first day of
system test. These tests must pass to accept the product in the system test.
Acceptance testing phase:

1. When the product enters system test, check it has completed integration test and must
meet the integration test exit criteria.
2. Check integration exit criteria and product test entrance criteria in the master test plan
or test strategy documents.
3. Check the integration testing sign off criteria sheet.
4. Coordinate release with product development.
5. How the code will be migrated from development environment to the test environment.
6. Installation and acceptance testing.
Product testing phase:

1. Running the test: Execution of test cases and verify if actual functionality of application
matches the expected results.
2. Initial manual testing is recommended to isolate unexpected system behavior. Once
application is stable automated regression test could be generated.
3. Issue MR’s upon detection of the bugs.
What is the value of a testing group? How do you justify your work and budget?
All software products contain defects/bugs, despite the best efforts of their development
teams. It is important for an outside party (one who is not developer) to test the product
from a viewpoint that is more objective and representative of the product user.
Testing group test the software from the requirements point of view or what is required by
the user. Testers job is to examine a program and see if it does not do what it is
supposed to do and also see what it does what it is not supposed to do.
What is master test plan? What it contains? Who is responsible for writing it?
OR
What is a test plan? Who is responsible for writing it? What it contains.
OR
What's a 'test plan'? What did you include in a test plan?
A software project test plan is a document that describes the objectives, scope, approach,
and focus of a software testing effort. The process of preparing a test plan is a useful way to
think through the efforts needed to validate the acceptability of a software product. The
completed document will help people outside the test group understand the 'why' and 'how'
of product validation. It should be thorough enough to be useful but not so thorough that no

one outside the test group will read it. The following are some of the items that might be
included in a test plan, depending on the particular project:
• Title
• Identification of software including version/release numbers
• Revision history of document including authors, dates, approvals
• Table of Contents
• Purpose of document, intended audience
• Objective of testing effort
• Software product overview
• Relevant related document list, such as requirements, design documents, other test
plans, etc.
• Relevant standards or legal requirements
• Trace ability requirements
• Relevant naming conventions and identifier conventions
• Overall software project organization and personnel/contact-info/responsibilties
• Test organization and personnel/contact-info/responsibilities
• Assumptions and dependencies
• Project risk analysis
• Testing priorities and focus
• Scope and limitations of testing
• Test outline - a decomposition of the test approach by test type, feature,
functionality, process, system, module, etc. as applicable
• Outline of data input equivalence classes, boundary value analysis, error classes
• Test environment - hardware, operating systems, other required software, data
configurations, interfaces to other systems
• Test environment validity analysis - differences between the test and production
systems and their impact on test validity.
• Test environment setup and configuration issues
• Software migration processes
• Software CM processes
• Test data setup requirements
• Database setup requirements
• Outline of system-logging/error-logging/other capabilities, and tools such as screen
capture software, that will be used to help describe and report bugs
• Discussion of any specialized software or hardware tools that will be used by testers
to help track the cause or source of bugs
• Test automation - justification and overview
• Test tools to be used, including versions, patches, etc.
• Test script/test code maintenance processes and version control
• Problem tracking and resolution - tools and processes
• Project test metrics to be used
• Reporting requirements and testing deliverables

• Software entrance and exit criteria

• Initial sanity testing period and criteria
• Test suspension and restart criteria
• Personnel allocation
• Personnel pre-training needs
• Test site/location
• Outside test organizations to be utilized and their purpose, responsibilties,
deliverables, contact persons, and coordination issues
• Relevant proprietary, classified, security, and licensing issues.
• Open issues
• Appendix - glossary, acronyms, etc.
The team-lead or a Sr. QA Analyst is responsible to write this document.
Why is test plan a controlled document?

Because it controls the entire testing process. Testers have to follow this test plan during the
entire testing process.
What information you need to formulate test plan?

Need the Business requirement document to prepare the test plan.
What are the entrance and exit criteria in the system test?
Entrance and exit criteria of each testing phase is written in the master test plan.
Enterence Criteria:
- Integration exit criteria have been successfully met.
- All installation documents are completed.
- All shippable software has been successfully built
- Syate, test plan is baselined by completing the walkthrough of the test plan.
- Test environment should be setup.
- All severity 1 MR’s of integration test phase should be closed.
Exit Criteria:
- All the test cases in the test plan should be executed.
- All MR’s/defects are either closed or deferred.
- Regression testing cycle should be executed after closing the MR’s.
- All documents are reviewed, finilized and signed-off.
If there are no requirements, how will you write your test plan?
If there are no requirements we try to gather as much details as possible from:
• Business Analysts
• Developers (If accessible)
• Previous Version documentation (if any)
• Stake holders (If accessible)

• Prototypes.
What is White box testing/unit testing?

Unit testing - The most 'micro' scale of testing; to test particular functions or code modules.
Typically done by the programmer and not by testers, as it requires detailed knowledge of
the internal program design and code. Not always easily done unless the application has a
well-designed architecture with tight code; may require developing test driver modules or
test harnesses.
Difference between Black and White box testing?

Black box testing: Functional testing based on requirements with no knowledge of the
internal program structure or data. Also known as closed-box testing.
White Box testing: Testing approaches that examine the program structure and device test
data from the program logic.
What are the roles of glass-box and black-box testing tools?

Glass-box testing also called as white-box testing refers to testing, with detailed knowledge
of the modules internals. Thus these tools concentrate more on the algorithms, data
structures used in development of modules. These tools perform testing on individual
modules more likely than the whole application. Black-Box testing tools refer to testing the
interface, functionality and performance testing of the system module and the whole system.
What is Black box testing?

Black Box testing is also called system testing which is performed by the testers. Here the
features and requirements of the product as described in the requirement document are
tested.
What is Integration testing?

Integration testing - Testing of combined parts of an application to determine if they
function together correctly. The 'parts' can be code modules, individual applications, client
and server applications on a network, etc. This type of testing is especially relevant to
client/server and distributed systems.
What knowledge you require to do white box, integration and black box testing?
For white box testing you need to understand the internals of the module like data
structures and algorithms and have access to the source code and for black box testing only
understanding/functionality of the application.
What is Regression testing?

Regression testing: Re-testing after fixes or modifications of the software or its
environment. It can be difficult to determine how much re-testing is needed, especially near
the end of the development cycle. Automated testing tools can be especially useful for this
type of testing..
Why do we do regression testing?


In any application new functionalities can be added so the application has to be tested to see
whether the added functionalities have affected the existing functionalities or not. Here
instead of retesting all the existing functionalities baseline scripts created for these can be
rerun and tested.
How do we regression testing?

Various automation-testing tools can be used to perform regression testing like WinRunner,
Rational Robot and Silk Test.
What are positive scenarios?

Testing to see whether the application is doing what it is supposed to do.
What are negative scenarios?

Testing to see whether the application is not doing what it is not suppose to do.
What is the difference between regression automation tool and performance automation
tool?
Regression testing tools capture test and play them back at a later time. The capture and
playback feature is fundamental to regression testing.
Performance testing tool determine the load a server can handle. And must have feature to
stimulate many users from one machine, scheduling and synchronize different users, able to
measure the network load under different number of simulated users.
What is the difference between exception and validation testing?

Validation testing aims to demonstrate that the software functions in a manner that can be
reasonably expected by the customer. Testing the software in conformance to the Software
Requirements Specifications.
Exception testing deals with handling the exceptions (unexpected events) while the AUT is
run. Basically this testing involves how to change the control flow of the AUT when an
exception arises.
What is user acceptance testing?

It is also called as Beta Testing. Once System Testing is done and the system seems stable to
the developers and testers, system engineers usually invite the end users of the software to
see if they like the software. If the users like the software the way it is then software will be
delivered to the user. Otherwise necessary changes will be made to the software and
software will pass through all phases of testing again.
What is manual testing and what is automated testing?

Manual testing involves testing of software application by manually performing the actions
on the AUT based on test plans.

Automated testing involves testing of a software application by performing the actions on

the AUT by using automated testing tool (such as Quick Test Professional, WinRunner,
LoadRunner, Rational Root) based on test plans
What is smoke testing?

The smoke test must evolve as the system evolves. At first, the smoke test will probably test
something simple, such as whether the system can say, "Hello, World." As the system
develops, the smoke test will become more thorough. The first test might take a matter of
seconds to run; as the system grows, the smoke test can grow to 30 minutes, an hour, or
more.
What is soak testing?

The software system will be run for a total of 14 hours continuously. If the system is a
control system, it will be used to continuously move each of the instrument mechanisms
during this time. Any other system will be expected to perform its intended function
continuously during this period. The software system must not fail during this period.
What is stress testing, performance testing, Security testing, Recovery testing and volume
testing.
Stress testing: Testing the system if it can handle peak usage period loads that result from
large number of simultaneous users, transactions or devices. Monitoring should be
performed for throughput and system stability.
Performance Testing: Testing the system whether the system functions are being performed
in an acceptable timeframe under simultaneous user load. Timings for both read and
update transactions should be gathered to determine whether. This should be done stand-
alone and then in a multi-user environment to determine the transaction throughput.
Security Testing: Testing the system for its security from unauthorized use and
unauthorized data access.
Recovery Testing: Testing a system to see how it responds to errors and abnormal
conditions, such as system crash, loss of device, communications, or power.
Volume Testing: Testing to the system to determine if it can correctly process large volumes
of data fed to the system. Systems can often respond unpredictably when large volume
causes files to overflow and need extensions.
What is MR?
MR is a Modification Request also known as Defect Report, a request to modify the
program so that program does what it is supposed to do.

Why you write MR?

MR is written for reporting problems/errors or suggestions in the software.
What information does MR contain?

OR
Describe me to the basic elements you put in a defect report?
OR
What is the procedure for bug reporting?
The bug needs to be communicated and assigned to developers that can fix it. After the
problem is resolved, fixes should be re-tested, and determinations made regarding
requirements for regression testing to check that fixes didn't create problems elsewhere. If a
problem-tracking system is in place, it should encapsulate these processes. A variety of
commercial problem-tracking/management software tools are available.
The following are items to consider in the tracking process:
• Complete information such that developers can understand the bug, get an idea of
its severity, and reproduce it if necessary.
• Current bug status (e.g., 'Released for Retest', 'New', etc.)
• The application name or identifier and version
• The function, module, feature, object, screen, etc. where the bug occurred
• Environment specifics, system, platform, relevant hardware specifics
• Test case name/number/identifier
• One-line bug description
• Full bug description
• Description of steps needed to reproduce the bug if not covered by a test case or if
the developer doesn't have easy access to the test case/test script/test tool
• Names and/or descriptions of file/data/messages/etc. used in test
• File excerpts/error messages/log file excerpts/screen shots/test tool logs that would
be helpful in finding the cause of the problem
• Severity estimate (a 5-level range such as 1-5 or 'critical'-to-'low' is common)
• Was the bug reproducible?
• Tester name
• Test date
• Bug reporting date
• Name of developer/group/organization the problem is assigned to
• Description of problem cause
• Description of fix
• Code section/file/module/class/method that was fixed
• Date of fix
• Application version that contains the fix
• Tester responsible for retest
• Retest date
• Retest results
• Regression testing requirements

• Tester responsible for regression tests

• Regression testing results
Which MR tool you used to write MR?

Quality Center, Test Director, Rational ClearQuest, PVCS Tracker
What criteria you will follow to assign severity and due date to the MR?
Defects (MR) are assigned severity as follows:
Critical: show stoppers (the system is unusable)
High: The system is very hard to use and some cases are prone to convert to critical issues if
not taken care of.
Medium: The system functionality has a major bug but is not too critical but needs to be
fixed in order for the AUT to go to production environment.
Low: cosmetic (GUI related)
If the functionality of an application had an inbuilt bug because of which the test script
fails, would you automate the test?
No, we do the automation once the application is tested manually and it is stabilized.
Automation is for regression testing.
You find a bug and the developer says “It’s not possible” what do u do?
I’ll discuss with him under what conditions (working environment) the bug was produced.
I’ll provide him with more details and the snapshot of the bug.
How do you help developer to track the fault s in the software?

By providing him with details of the defects which include the environment, test data, steps
followed etc… and helping him to reproduce the defect in his environment.
What are the different types of MRs?

MR for suggestions,
MR for defect reports,
MR for documentations changes
What is the role of a bug tracking system?

Bug tracking system captures, manages and communicates changes, issues and tasks,
providing basic process control to ensure coordination and communication within and
across development and content teams at every step..
What is a successful product?

A bug free product, meeting the expectations of the user would make the product
successful.
What Process/Methodologies are you familiar with?

 Waterfall methodology
 Spiral methodology

 V – Model
 Agile
[Or talk about Customized methodology of the specific client]
What are CMM and CMMI? What is the difference?

The Capability Maturity Model for Software (CMM or SW-CMM) is a model for judging
the maturity of the software processes of an organization and for identifying the key
practices that are required to increase the maturity of these processes.
The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) provides the guidance for improving
your organization's processes and your ability to manage the development, acquisition, and
maintenance of products and services. CMM Integration places proven practices into a
structure that helps your organization assess its organizational maturity and process area
capability, establish priorities for improvement, and guide the implementation of these
improvements.
The new integrated model (CMMI) uses Process Areas (known as PAs) which are different
to the previous model, and covers as well systems as software processes, rather than only
software processes as in the SW-CMM.
What you will do during the first day of job?

Get acquainted with my team and application
What was the test team hierarchy?

Project Leader
QA lead
QA Analyst
Tester
What are the different automation tools you know?

Automation tools provided by Mercury Interactive – Quick Test Professionl, WinRunner,
LoadRunner; Rational – Rational Robot; Segue- SilkTest.
What is ODBC?
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is an open standard application-programming
interface (API) for accessing a database. ODBC is based on Structured Query Language
(SQL) Call-Level Interface. It allows programs to use SQL requests that will access
databases without having to know the proprietary interfaces to the databases. ODBC
handles the SQL request and converts it into a request the individual database system
understands.
Did you ever have problems working with developers?

NO. I had a good rapport with the developers.

Describe your experience with code analyzers?

Code analyzers generally check for bad syntax, logic, and other language-specific
programming errors at the source level. This level of testing is often referred to as unit
testing and server component testing. I used code analyzers as part of white box testing.
How do you survive chaos?

I survive by maintaining my calm and focusing on the work.
Tell me about the worst boss you’ve ever had.

Fortunately I always had the best bosses, talking in professional terms I had no complains
on my bosses.
What do you like about Windows?

Interface and User friendliness
Windows is one the best software I ever used. It is user friendly and very easy to learn.
How will you describe testing activities?

Testing planning, scripting, execution, defect reporting and tracking, regression testing.
What is good code?

These are some important qualities of good code
Cleanliness: Clean code is easy to read; this lets people read it with minimum effort so that
they can understand it easily.
Consistency: Consistent code makes it easy for people to understand how a program works;
when reading consistent code; one subconsciously forms a number of
assumptions and expectations about how the code works, so it is easier and
safer to make modifications to it.
Extensibility: General-purpose code is easier to reuse and modify than very specific code
with lots of hard coded assumptions. When someone wants to add a new feature to a
program, it will obviously be easier to do so if the code was designed to be extensible from
the beginning.
Correctness: Finally, code that is designed to be correct lets people spend less time worrying
about bugs and more time enhancing the features of a program.
How you will begin improve the QA process?

By following QA methodologies like waterfall, spiral instead of using ad-hoc procedures.
What is UML and how it is used for testing?

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is the industry-standard language for specifying,
visualizing, constructing, and documenting the artifacts of software systems. It simplifies
the complex process of software design, making a "blueprint" for construction. UML state
charts provide a solid basis for test generation in a form that can be easily manipulated.
This technique includes coverage criteria that enable highly effective tests to be developed.

A tool has been developed that uses UML state charts produced by Rational Software
Corporation's Rational Rose tool to generate test data.
When should testing be stopped?

This can be difficult to determine. Many modern software applications are so complex, and
run in such an interdependent environment, that complete testing can never be done.
Common factors in deciding when to stop are:
- Deadlines (release deadlines, testing deadlines, etc.)
- Test cases completed with certain percentage passed
- Test budget depleted
- Coverage of code/functionality/requirements reaches a specified point
- Bug rate falls below a certain level
- Beta or alpha testing period ends
When do you start developing your automation tests?

First, the application has to be manually tested. Once the manual testing is over and
baseline is established.
What are benefits of the test automation?

1. Fast
2. Reliable
3. Repeatable
4. Programmable
5. Comprehensive
6. Reusable
Describe some problems that you had with automation testing tools
One of the problems with Automation tools is Object recognition
Can test automation improver test effectiveness?

Yes, because of the advantages offered by test automation, which includes repeatability,
consistency, portability and extensive reporting features.
What are the main use of test automation?

Regression Testing. Fast
Does automation replace manual testing?

No, it does not. There could be several scenarios that cannot be automated or simply too
complicated that manual testing would be easier and cost effective. Further automation
tools have several constrains with regard the environment in which they run and IDEs they
support.

How will you choose a tool for test automation?

OR
How we decide which automation tool we are going to use for the regression testing?
• Based on risk analysis like: personnel skills, companies software resources
• Based on Cost analysis
• Comparing the tools features with test requirement.
• Support for the applications IDE, support for the application environment/platform.
What could wrong with automation testing?

There are several things. For ex. Script errors can cause a genuine bug to go undetected or
report a bug in the application when the bug does not actually exist.
What type of scripting techniques for test automation do you know?

Modular tests and data driven test
What are good principles for test scripts?

1. Portable
2. Repeatable
3. Reusable
4. Maintainable
What type of document do you need for QA, QC and testing?

Following is the list of documents required by QA and QC teams
Business requirements
SRS
Use cases
Test plan
Test cases
What are the properties of a good requirement?

Understandable, Clear, Concise, Total Coverage of the application
Have you ever written test cases or did you just execute those written by others?
Yes, I was involved in preparing and executing test cases in all the project.
How do you determine what to test?

Depending upon the User Requirement document.
How do you decide when you have ‘tested enough?’

Using Exit Criteria document we can decide that we have done enough testing.
Realising you won’t be able to test everything-how do you decide what to test first? OR
What if there isn't enough time for thorough testing?
Use risk analysis to determine where testing should be focused. Since it's rarely possible to
test every possible aspect of an application, every possible combination of events, every

dependency, or everything that could go wrong, risk analysis is appropriate to most

software development projects. This requires judgment skills, common sense, and
experience. (If warranted, formal methods are also available.) Considerations can include:
• Which functionality is most important to the project's intended purpose?
• Which functionality is most visible to the user?
• Which functionality has the largest safety impact?
• Which functionality has the largest financial impact on users?
• Which aspects of the application are most important to the customer?
• Which aspects of the application can be tested early in the development cycle?
• Which parts of the code are most complex, and thus most subject to errors?
• Which parts of the application were developed in rush or panic mode?
• Which aspects of similar/related previous projects caused problems?
• Which aspects of similar/related previous projects had large maintenance expenses?
• Which parts of the requirements and design are unclear or poorly thought out?
• What do the developers think are the highest-risk aspects of the application?
• What kinds of problems would cause the worst publicity?
• What kinds of problems would cause the most customer service complaints?
• What kinds of tests could easily cover multiple functionalities?
• Which tests will have the best high-risk-coverage to time-required ratio?
Where do you get your expected results?

Requirement document
If automating-what is your process for determining what to automate and in what order?
OR
Can you automate all the test scripts? Explain ? OR
How do you plan test automation? OR
What criteria do you use when determining when to automate a test or leave it manual?
1. Test that need to be run for every build of the application
2. Tests that use multiple data values for the same actions( data driven tests)
3. Tests that require detailed information from application internals
4. Stress/ load testing
If you’re given a program that will average student grades, what kinds of inputs would you
use?
Name of student, Subject, Score
How do you go about testing a project?

1. Analyze user requirement documents and other documents like software specifications,
design document etc.
2. Write master test plan which describe the scope, objective, strategy, risk/contingencies,
resources
3. Write system test plan and detailed test cases
4. Execute test cases manually and compare actual results against expected results.

5. Identify mismatches, report defect to the development team using defect reporting tool.
6. Track defect, perform regression test to verify that defect is fixed and did not disturb
other parts of the application.
7. Once all the defects are closed and application is stabilized, automate the test scripts for
regression and performance testing.
How do you go about testing a web application?

We check for User interface, Functionality, Interface testing, Compatibility, Load/Stress,
and Security.
What is configuration management? Tools used?

Configuration management: helps teams control their day-to-day management of software
development activities as software is created, modified, built and delivered. Comprehensive
software configuration management includes version control, workspace management,
build management, and process control to provide better project control and predictability
What are Individual test case and Workflow test case? Why we do workflow scenarios
An individual test is one that is for a single features or requirement. However, it is
important that related sequences of features be tested as well, as these correspond to units
of work that user will typically perform. It will be important for the system tester to become
familiar with what users intend to do with the product and how they intend to do it. Such
testing can reveal errors that might not ordinarily be caught otherwise. For example while
each operations in a series might produce the correct results it is possible that intermediate
results get lost or corrupted between operations.
How did you use automating testing tools in your job?

Automating testing tools are used for preparing and managing regression test scripts and
load and perofromenance tests.
What is data-driven automation?

If you want to perform the same operations with differnet set of data, we can create data
driven test with loop. In each iteration test is driven by differnet set of data. In order for
automation to use data to drive the test, we must subsitute the fixed values in the test with
variables.
Describe me the difference between validation and verification?

Verification: typically involves reviews and meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code,
requirements, and specifications. This can be done with checklists, issues lists,
walkthroughs, and inspection meetings.
Validation: typically involves actual testing and takes place after verifications are
completed. The term 'IV & V' refers to Independent Verification and Validation

Is coding required in Regression testing tools?

Yes, to enhance the script for testing the business logic, and when we write the user define
the functions.
What do you mean by “set up the test environment and provide full platform support?
We need to provide the following for setting up the environment
1) Required software
2) Required hardware
3) Required testing tools
4) Required test data
After providing these we need to provide support for any problems that occur during the
testing process.
What are the two ways to copy a file in windows?

1) Using the copy menu item in the edit menu.
2) By dragging the file where ever you want to copy it like a floppy
Were you able to meet deadlines?

Absolutely.
What is test Metrics?

Test metrics contains follwoing details:
• Total test
• Test run
• Test passed
• Test failed
• Tests deferred
• Test passed the first time
What is the use of Metrics?

Provide the accurate measurement of test coverage.
If you have shortage of time, how would you prioritize you testing?
Use risk analysis to determine where testing should be focused. Since it's rarely possible to
test every possible aspect of an application, every possible combination of events, every
dependency, or everything that could go wrong, risk analysis is appropriate to most
software development projects. Considerations can include:
• Which functionality is most important to the project's intended purpose?
• Which functionality is most visible to the user?
• Which functionality has the largest safety impact?
• Which functionality has the largest financial impact on users?
• Which aspects of the application are most important to the customer?
• Which aspects of the application can be tested early in the development cycle?

• Which parts of the code are most complex, and thus most subject to errors?
• Which parts of the application were developed in rush or panic mode?
• Which aspects of similar/related previous projects caused problems?
• Which aspects of similar/related previous projects had large maintenance expenses?
• Which parts of the requirements and design are unclear or poorly thought out?
• What do the developers think are the highest-risk aspects of the application?
• What kinds of problems would cause the worst publicity?
• What kinds of problems would cause the most customer service complaints?
• What kinds of tests could easily cover multiple functionalities?
• Which tests will have the best high-risk-coverage to time-required ratio?
What is the impact of environment on the actual results of performance testing?

Environment plays an important role in the results and effectiveness of test, particularly in
the area of performance testing. Some of the factors will be under our control, while others
will not be. These may involve the DBMS, the operating system or the network. Some of
the items that we cannot control unless you can secure a stand-alone environment (which
will generally be unrealistic) are:
- Other traffic on the network
- Other process running on the server
- Other process running on the DBMS
What is a pre-condition data?

Data required to setup in the system before the test execution.
What are the different documents in QA?

Requirements Document, Test Plan, Test cases, Test Metrics, Task Distribution Diagrams
( Performance), Transaction Mix, User Profiles, Test Log, Test Incident Report, Test
Summary Report
How do you rate yourself in software testing

excellent
Is defect resolution a technical skill or interpersonal skill from QA view point?

It is a combination of both , because it deals with the interaction with developer either
directly or indirectly which needs interpersonal skills and is also based on the skills of the
QA personnel to provide a detailed proof to the developer like snap shots and system
resource utilization and some suggestions which are little bit technical.
What is End to End business logic testing?

Testing the integration of all the modules of the AUT.

What is the task bar and where does it reside?

The task bar shows a task button for each open application. At a glance, it shows you which
applications are running; you can switch applications by clicking different task buttons. In
most cases the task bar is located at the very bottom of your desktop or computer screen.
However the task bar can be moved to the sides or top.
How do you analyze your test results? what metrics do you try to provide?
OR
How do you view test results?
Test log is created for analyzing the test results.This is a chronological record of the Test
executions and events that happened during testing. It includes the following sections:
Description: What’s being tested, including Version ID, where testing is being done, what
hardware and all other configuration information.
Activity and Event Entries: What happened including Execution Description: The
procedure used.
Procedure Result: What happened. What did you see and where did you store the output?
Environment Information: Any changes (hardware substitution) made specifically for this
test.
Unexpected Events: What happened before and after problem/bug occurred.
Incident/Bug Report Identifiers: Problem Report number
If you come onboard, give me a general idea of what your first overall tasks will be as far as
as starting a quality effort?
Try to learn about the application, Environment and Prototypes to have the better
understanding of application and existing testing efforts
How do you differentiate the roles of Quality Assurance Manager and Project Manager?
Quality assurance manager responsibilites includes seting up the standards, the
methodology and the strategies for testing the application and providing guidelines to the
QA team. Project Manager is reponsible to testing and development activities.
What do you like about QA?

QA is the field where in one will be working to multiple environments and can learn more.
Who in the company is responsible for Quality?

Both development and quality assurance departments are responsible for the final product
quality.
Should we test every possible combination/scenario for a program?

Ideally, yes we should test every possible scenario, but this may not always be possible. It
depends on many factors viz., deadlines, budget, complexity of software and so on. In such
cases, we have to prioritize and thoroughly test the critical areas of the application.

What is client-server architecture?

Client-server architecture, a client is defined as a requester of services and a server is
defined as the provider of services. Communication takes place in the form a request
message from the client to the server asking for some work to be done. Then the server does
the work and sends back the reply.
How Intranet is different from client-server?

Internet applications are essentially client/server applications - with web servers and
'browser'
What is three-tier and multi-tier architecture?

A design which separate (1) client, (2) application, and (3) data each into their own separate
areas which allows for more scalable, robust solutions
A three-tier system is one that has presentation components, business logic and data access
physically running on different platforms. Web applications are perfect for three-tier
architecture, as the presentation layer is necessarily separate, and the business and data
components can be divided up much like a client-server application
What is Internet?
The Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," is a worldwide system of computer
networks - a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have
permission, get information from any other computer. Physically, the Internet uses a
portion of the total resources of the currently existing public telecommunication networks.
Technically, what distinguishes the Internet is its use of a set of protocols called TCP/IP (for
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). Two recent adaptations of Internet
technology, the intranet and the extranet, also make use of the TCP/IP protocol.
What is Intranet?
An intranet is a private network that is contained within an enterprise. It may consist of
many interlinked local area networks and also use leased lines in the Wide Area Network.
The main purpose of an intranet is to share company information and computing resources
among employees. An intranet can also be used to facilitate working in groups and for
teleconferences.
What is Extranet?
An extranet is a private network that uses the Internet protocol and the public
telecommunication system to securely share part of a business's information or operations
with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses. An extranet can be
viewed as part of a company's intranet that is extended to users outside the company. It has
also been described as a "state of mind" in which the Internet is perceived as a way to do
business with other companies as well as to sell products to customers.
What is ISO-9000?

A set of international standards for both quality management and quality assurance that
has been adopted by over 90 countries worldwide. The ISO 9000 standards apply to all
types of organizations, large and small, and in many industries. The ISO 9000 series
classifies products into generic product categories: hardware, software, processed
materials, and services.
What is QMO?
The QMO is a set of processes and guidelines that software systems projects and products
that are built under a contract (with a customer ) must follow to comply with ISO-9000
standards. ISO-9000 states that the guidelines for software development must be
documented.
What is Object Oriented model?

In a Object Oriented model each class is a separate module and has a position in a class
hierarchy. Methods or code in one class can be passed down the hierarchy to a subclass or
inherited from a super class. This is called inheritance.
What is Procedural model?

A term used in contrast to declarative language to describe a language where the
programmer specifies an explicit sequence of steps to follow to produce a result. Common
procedural languages include Basic and C.
What is an Object?
An object is a software bundle of related variables and methods. Software objects are often
used to model real-world objects you find in everyday life
What is class?
A class is a blueprint or prototype that defines the variables and the methods common to all
objects of a certain kind.
What is encapsulation? Give one example.

Encapsulation is the ability to provide a well-defined interface to a set of functions in a way
which hides their internal workings. In object-oriented programming, the technique of
keeping together data structures and the methods (procedures) which act on them.
What is inheritance? Give example.

In object-oriented programming, the ability to derive new classes from existing classes. A
derived class (or "subclass") inherits the instance variables and methods of the "base class"
(or "superclass"), and may add new instance variables and methods. New methods may be
defined with the same names as those in the base class, in which case they override the
original one.

What is the difference about web-testing and client server testing?

Web applications are essentially client/server applications - with web servers and 'browser'
clients. Consideration should be given to the interactions between html pages, TCP/IP
communications, Internet connections, firewalls, applications that run in web pages (such as
applets, javascript, plug-in applications), and applications that run on the server side (such
as cgi scripts, database interfaces, logging applications, dynamic page generators, asp, etc.).
Additionally, there are a wide variety of servers and browsers, various versions of each,
small but sometimes significant differences between them, variations in connection speeds,
rapidly changing technologies, and multiple standards and protocols. The end result is that
testing for web sites can become a major ongoing effort.
Is a “Fast database retrieval rate” a testable requirement?

This is not a testable requirement. ‘Fast’ is a subjective term. It could mean different things
depending on a person’s perception. For a requirement to be testable, it should be
quantified and repeatable, so that the actual value could be measured against the expected
value.
What development model should programmers and the test group use?
A Development Model, which helps adopt a structured approach in assessment, design,
integration and implementation of a project and in extending relevant training and support.
Each of these stages is necessarily accompanied with client inputs, checkpoints and reviews
to ensure successful systems implementation.
Basically there are many types of development models to support the development of high-
quality software products. The two most widely used models are Waterfall and Spiral
development model.
Waterfall development model encourages the development team to specify the business
functionality of the software prior to developing a system.
Spiral development model combines the waterfall development model and the prototype
approach, which is a series of partial implementations of the product.
A typical project may include some or all of the following phases:

• requirements analysis
• functional specifications
• architectural design
• detailed design
• coding
• unit testing
• integration testing
• deployment and
• maintenance.

What are the key challenges of load testing?

The key challenges to load testing is handling various components from various vendors.
Have you done explanatory or specification-driven testing?

Yes, specification-driven testing means checking the product’s confirmance with every
statement in every spec, requirements docuement, etc.
What is the role of QA in development project?

Deploy and enforce standards
Continually improve standards, QA process based on previous experiences
Promote effective means for reporting and communication.
How do you promote the concept of phase containment and defect prevention?
Phase Containment refers to detecting and correcting defects in the same phase in which
they’re created.
The purpose of Defect Prevention is to identify the cause of defects and prevent them from
recurring.
What is Walkthrough?
Walkthrough : A 'walkthrough' is an informal meeting for evaluation or informational
purposes. Little or no preparation is usually required.
OR
A process in which a developer leads one or more members of the development team
through a segment of an artifact that he or she has written while the other members ask
questions and make comments about technique, style, possible error, violation of
development standards, and other problems.
What is inspection?
Inspection: An inspection is more formalized than a 'walkthrough', typically with 3-8
people including a moderator, reader, and a recorder to take notes. The subject of the
inspection is typically a document such as a requirements spec or a test plan, and the
purpose is to find problems and see what's missing, not to fix anything. Attendees should
prepare for this type of meeting by reading thru the document; most problems will be found
during this preparation. The result of the inspection meeting should be a written report.
Thorough preparation for inspections is difficult, painstaking work, but is one of the most
cost effective methods of ensuring quality.
OR

Inspection is a formal evaluation technique in which artifacts are examined in detail by a

person or group other than the author to detect errors, violations of development standards,
and other problems.
What is Software Review?

Software Review: An evaluation technique that involves the bringing together a group of
technical personnel to analyze a software artifact in order to improve its quality.
Review types:
• Informal: adhoc process, no planning, no structure
• Formal (Formal Technical Review): Follow a structured process Produce written report
on artifact status Collect and analyze review metrics
What if the application has functionality that wasn't in the requirements?

It may take serious effort to determine if an application has significant unexpected or
hidden functionality, and it would indicate deeper problems in the software development
process. If the functionality isn't necessary to the purpose of the application, it should be
removed, as it may have unknown impacts or dependencies that were not taken into
account by the designer or the customer. If not removed, design information will be needed
to determine added testing needs or regression testing needs. Management should be made
aware of any significant added risks as a result of the unexpected functionality. If the
functionality only effects areas such as minor improvements in the user interface, for
example, it may not be a significant risk.
Build Verification Test (BVT)

“A build acceptance test (sometimes also called build verification test a.k.a. BVT, smoke test,
quick check, or the like) is a set of tests run on each new build of a product to verify that the build
is testable before the build is release into the hands of the test team. The build acceptance test is
generally a short set of tests, which exercises the mainstream functionality of the application. Any
build that fails the build verification test is rejected, and testing continues on the previous build
(provided there has been at least one build that has passed the acceptance test). So build
acceptance tests are a type of regression testing that is done every time a new build is taken. Build
acceptance tests are important because they let developers know right away if there is a serious
problem with the build, and they save the test team wasted time and frustration.”
1. What is verification?
A: Verification ensures the product is designed to deliver all functionality to the customer; it
typically involves reviews and meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code, requirements and
specifications; this can be done with checklists, issues lists, and walkthroughs and inspection
meetings.
2. What is validation?

A: Validation ensures that functionality, as defined in requirements, is the intended behavior of

the product; validation typically involves actual testing and takes place after verifications are
completed.
3. What is a walkthrough?
A: A walkthrough is an informal meeting for evaluation or informational purposes. A
walkthrough is also a process at an abstract level. It's the process of inspecting software code by
following paths through the code (as determined by input conditions and choices made along the
way). The purpose of code walkthroughs is to ensure the code fits the purpose. Walkthroughs also
offer opportunities to assess an individual's or team's competency.
4. What is quality?
A: Quality software is software that is reasonably bug-free, delivered on time and within budget,
meets requirements and expectations and is maintainable
5. What is good code?

A: A good code is code that works, is free of bugs and is readable and maintainable.
6. What is good design?

A: Design could mean to many things, but often refers to functional design or internal design.
Good functional design is indicated by software functionality can be traced back to customer and
end-user requirements. Good internal design is indicated by software code whose overall
structure is clear, understandable, easily modifiable and maintainable; is robust with sufficient
error handling and status logging capability; and works correctly when implemented.
7. What is software life cycle?

A: Software life cycle begins when a software product is first conceived and ends when it is no
longer in use. It includes phases like initial concept, requirements analysis, functional design,
internal design, documentation planning, test planning, coding, document preparation,
integration, testing, maintenance, updates, re-testing and phase-out.
8. What is the role of documentation in QA?

A: Documentation plays a critical role in QA. QA practices should be documented, so that they
are repeatable. Specifications, designs, business rules, inspection reports, configurations, code
changes, test plans, test cases, bug reports, user manuals should all be documented. Ideally, there
should be a system for easily finding and obtaining of documents and determining what
document will have a particular piece of information. Use documentation change management, if
possible.
9. What about requirements?

A: Requirement specifications are important and one of the most reliable methods of insuring
problems in a complex software project is to have poorly documented requirement specifications.
Requirements are the details describing an application's externally perceived functionality and

properties. Requirements should be clear, complete, reasonably detailed, cohesive, attainable and
testable.
10. What is a test plan?

A: A software project test plan is a document that describes the objectives, scope, approach and
focus of a software testing effort. The process of preparing a test plan is a useful way to think
through the efforts needed to validate the acceptability of a software product. The completed
document will help people outside the test group understand the why and how of product
validation. It should be thorough enough to be useful, but not so thorough that none outside the
test group will be able to read it.
11. What is a test case?

A: A test case is a document that describes an input, action, or event and its expected result, in
order to determine if a feature of an application is working correctly. A test case should contain
particulars such as a...
• Test case identifier
• Test case name
• Objective
• Input data requirements/steps
• Expected results.
Please note, the process of developing test cases can help find problems in the requirements or
design of an application, since it requires you to completely think through the operation of the
application. For this reason, it is useful to prepare test cases early in the development cycle, if
possible.
12. What is software quality assurance?

A: Software Quality Assurance, is oriented to *prevention*. It involves the entire software
development process. Prevention is monitoring and improving the process, making sure any
agreed-upon standards and procedures are followed and ensuring problems are found and dealt
with.
13. What is quality assurance?

A: Quality Assurance ensures all parties concerned with the project adhere to the process and
procedures, standards and templates and test readiness reviews. A lot will depend on team leads
or managers, feedback to developers and communications among customers, managers and
testers.
14. Standards and templates - what is supposed to be in a document?

A: All documents should be written to a certain standard and template. Standards and templates
maintain document uniformity. It also helps in learning where information is located, making it
easier for a user to find what they want.
15. How do test case templates look like?

A: Software test cases are in a document that describes inputs, actions, or events, and their
expected results, in order to determine if all features of an application are working correctly. Test

case templates contain all particulars of every test case. Often these templates are in the form of a
table. One example of this table is a 6-column table, where column 1 is the "Test Case ID
Number", column 2 is the "Test Case Name", column 3 is the "Test Objective", column 4 is the
"Test Conditions/Setup", column 5 is the "Input Data Requirements/Steps", and column 6 is the
"Expected Results". All documents should be written to a certain standard and template.
Standards and templates maintain document uniformity. They also help in learning where
information is located, making it easier for users to find what they want
16. Process and procedures - why follow them?

A: Detailed and well-written processes and procedures ensure the correct steps are being executed
to facilitate a successful completion of a task.
18. How do you create a test strategy?

A: The test strategy is a formal description of how a software product will be tested. A test
strategy is developed for all levels of testing, as required. The test team analyzes the
requirements, writes the test strategy and reviews the plan with the project team. The test plan
may include test cases, conditions, the test environment, a list of related tasks, pass/fail criteria
and risk assessment.
19. What is the general testing process?

A: The general testing process is the creation of a test strategy (which sometimes includes the
creation of test cases), creation of a test plan/design (which usually includes test cases and test
procedures) and the execution of tests.
20. What is a test schedule?

A: The test schedule is a schedule that identifies all tasks required for a successful testing effort, a
schedule of all test activities and resource requirements.
21. What are the different levels of testing?

A. Each level of testing is either considered black or white box testing.
22. What is black box testing?

A: Black box testing is functional testing, not based on any knowledge of internal software design
or code. Black box testing are based on requirements and functionality.
23. What is white box testing?

A: White box testing is based on knowledge of the internal logic of an application's code.
Typically done by developers.
24. What is unit testing?

A: Unit testing is the first level of dynamic testing and is first the responsibility of developers and
then that of the test engineers. Unit testing is performed after the expected test results are met or
differences are explainable/acceptable.

25. What is functional testing?

A: Functional testing is black-box type of testing geared to functional requirements of an
application. Test engineers *should* perform functional testing.
26. What is integration testing?

A: Upon completion of unit testing, integration testing begins. Integration testing is black box
testing. The purpose of integration testing is to ensure distinct components of the application still
work in accordance to customer requirements. Test cases are developed with the express purpose
of exercising the interfaces between the components. This activity is carried out by the test team.
Integration testing is considered complete, when actual results and expected results are either in
line or differences are explainable/acceptable based on client input.
27. What is incremental integration testing?

A: Incremental integration testing is continuous testing of an application as new functionality is
recommended. This may require that various aspects of an application's functionality are
independent enough to work separately, before all parts of the program are completed, or that test
drivers are developed as needed. This type of testing may be performed by programmers,
software engineers, or test engineers.
28. What is system testing?

A: System testing is black box testing, performed by the Test Team, The purpose of system
testing is to validate an application's accuracy and completeness in performing the functions as
designed. System testing is deemed complete when actual results and expected results are either
in line or differences are explainable or acceptable, based on client input. Upon completion of
integration testing, system testing is started.
29. What is Gray Box testing?

A style of testing that attempts to blend both “white box” and “black box” test strategies.
30. What is end-to-end testing?

A: Similar to system testing, the *macro* end of the test scale is testing a complete application in
a situation that mimics real world use, such as interacting with a database, using network
communication, or interacting with other hardware, application, or system.
31. What is regression testing?

Regression testing is like retesting after fixing or modification. Expected results from are
compared to results of the software under test
32. What is sanity testing?

A: Sanity testing is performed whenever cursory testing is sufficient to prove the application is
functioning according to specifications. This level of testing is a subset of regression testing. It
normally includes a set of core tests of basic GUI functionality to demonstrate connectivity to the
database, application servers, printers, etc.
33. What is performance testing?


A. Performance testing verifies loads, volumes and response times, as defined by requirements.
34. What is load testing?

A: Load testing is testing an application under heavy loads, such as the testing of a web site under
a range of loads to determine at what point the system response time will degrade or fail.
35. What is stress testing?

A: Stress testing is testing that investigates the behavior of software (and hardware) under
extraordinary operating conditions. For example, when a web server is stress tested, testing aims
to find out how many users can be on-line, at the same time, without crashing the server
36. What is recovery/error testing?

A: Recovery/error testing is testing how well a system recovers from crashes, hardware failures,
or other catastrophic problems.
37. What is compatibility testing?

A: Compatibility testing is testing how well software performs in a particular hardware, software,
operating system, network environment. And different kind of browsers and their versions.
38. What is acceptance testing?

A: Acceptance testing is black box testing that gives the client/customer/project manager the
opportunity to verify the system functionality and usability prior to the system being released to
production. The acceptance test is the responsibility of the client/customer or project manager;
however, it is conducted with the full support of the project team. The test team also works with
the client/customer/project manager to develop the acceptance criteria.
39. What is alpha testing?

A: Alpha testing is testing of an application when the development is nearing completion and
when the application is not steady. Minor design changes can still be made as a result of alpha
testing.
40. What is beta testing?

A: Beta testing is testing an application when development and testing are essentially completed
and final bugs and problems need to be found before the final release. Beta testing is typically
performed by end-users or others, not programmers, software engineers, or test engineers.
41. What is Traceability matrix?

The requirements specified by the users in the business requirement document may not be
exactly translated into a functional specification. Their will be a trace on between functional
specification and business requirements .It is done on a one to one basis. This helps finding the
gap between the documents. These gaps are the closed by the author of the Functional
specifications (FS), or deferred after discussions

Testers should understand these gaps and use them after getting this signed off from the author of
the FS .The final FS form may vary from the original
42. What is configuration management?

A: Configuration management (CM) covers the tools and processes used to control, coordinate
and track code, requirements, documentation, problems, change requests, designs, tools,
compilers, libraries, patches, changes made to them and who makes the changes
43. What can be done if requirements are changing continuously?

A: Work with management early on to understand how requirements might change, so that
alternate test plans and strategies can be worked out in advance. It is helpful if the application's
initial design allows for some adaptability, so that later changes do not require redoing the
application from scratch entails.
44. What if the application has functionality that wasn't in the requirements?
A: It may take serious effort to determine if an application has significant unexpected or hidden
functionality, which it would indicate deeper problems in the software development process. If
the functionality isn't necessary to the purpose of the application, it should be removed, as it may
have unknown impacts or dependencies that were not taken into account by the designer or the
customer.
45. Why do you recommend that we test during the design phase?
A: Because testing during the design phase can prevent defects later on. We recommend verifying
three things...
1. Verify the design is good, efficient, compact, testable and maintainable.
2. Verify the design meets the requirements and is complete (specifies all relationships between
modules, how to pass data, what happens in exceptional circumstances, starting state of each
module and how to guarantee the state of each module).
3. Verify the design incorporates enough memory, I/O devices and quick enough runtime for the
final product.
46. What makes a good test engineer?

A: Has a "test to break" attitude,
• Takes the point of view of the customer,
• Has a strong desire for quality,
• Has an attention to detail, He's also
• Tactful and diplomatic and
• Has good a communication skill, both oral and written. And he
• Has previous software development experience, too.
47. Why are there so many software bugs?


A: Generally speaking, there are bugs in software because of unclear requirements, software
complexity, programming errors, changes in requirements, errors made in bug tracking, time
pressure, poorly documented code and/or bugs in tools used in software development.
48. Give me five common problems that occur during software development.
A: Poorly written requirements, unrealistic schedules, inadequate testing, adding new features
after development is underway and poor communication.
1. Requirements are poorly written when requirements are unclear, incomplete, too general, or
not testable; therefore there will be problems.
2. The schedule is unrealistic if too much work is crammed in too little time.
3. Software testing is inadequate if none knows whether or not the software is any good until
customers complain or the system crashes.
4. It's extremely common that new features are added after development is underway.
5. Miscommunication either means the developers don't know what is needed, or customers have
unrealistic expectations and therefore problems are guaranteed.
49. What should be done after a bug is found?

A: When a bug is found, it needs to be communicated and assigned to developers that can fix it.
After the problem is resolved, fixes should be re-tested.
50. What if the software is so buggy it can't be tested at all?

A: In this situation the best bet is to have test engineers go through the process of reporting
whatever bugs or problems initially show up, with the focus being on critical bugs. Since this
type of problem can severely affect schedules and indicates deeper problems in the software
development process, such as insufficient unit testing, insufficient integration testing, poor
design, improper build or release procedures, managers should be notified and provided with
some documentation as evidence of the problem.
51. How do you know when to stop testing?

A: This can be difficult to determine. Many modern software applications are so complex and run
in such an interdependent environment, that complete testing can never be done. Common factors
in deciding when to stop are...
• Deadlines, e.g. release deadlines, testing deadlines;
• Test cases completed with certain percentage passed;
• Test budget has been depleted;
• Coverage of code, functionality, or requirements reaches a specified point;
• Bug rate falls below a certain level; or
• Beta or alpha testing period ends.
52. What if the project isn't big enough to justify extensive testing?
A: Consider the impact of project errors, not the size of the project. However, if extensive testing
is still not justified, risk analysis is again needed and the considerations listed under "What if

there isn't enough time for thorough testing?" do apply. The test engineer then should do "ad hoc"
testing, or write up a limited test plan based on the risk analysis.
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What’s the role of a QA in a company that produces software?

QA is responsible for managing, implementing, maintaining and continuously
improving the Processes the Company and enables internal projects towards process maturity and
facilitates process improvements and innovations in the organization. Tester is responsible for
carrying the testing effort in the company.
Who writes business requirements? What you do when you have BRD?
Business Analyst writes the Business Requirements. Business requirements (BR) are sent to
the software architect (SA) for validation. SA after understanding the BR makes use cases and
UML diagrams and forwards them to QA manager. QA manager based on scope, BR, use case &
UML diagram writes the overall testing strategy & high-level test cases and forward them to
testers.
What is the difference between SRS and BRS?

BRS is a document, which contains the requirements of a customer during initial phase. It is
prepared by Business Analyst. It plays a vital role in all the phases of SDLC. SRS is also a
document which is prepared on the basis of BRS. It is prepared by System Analyst/Project
manager. It mainly contains tentative plan, technological selection etc.
What are the exit and entry criteria in a test plan?

Exit criteria define when u stops the testing. It defines interims the following: All bug status cycle
are closed, all functionalities are tested, and all high and medium bugs are resolved. Entry
criteria define entry of test execution. It defines interims the following: Test environment
established, Builder received from developer, Test case prepared and reviewed.

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1) Please see the Attached sample test plan template
Testing a project Include:

8. Analyze user requirement documents and other documents like software
specifications, design document etc.
9. Write master test plan which describe the scope, objective, strategy,
risk/contingencies, resources
10. Write system test plan and detailed test cases
11. Execute test cases manually and compare actual results against expected results.
12. Identify mismatches, report defect to the development team using defect reporting
tool.
13. Track defect, perform regression test to verify that defect is fixed and did not disturb
other parts of the application.
14. Once all the defects are closed and application is stabilized, automate the test scripts
for regression and performance testing.
Software development lifecycle

There are seven stages of the software development lifecycle
8. Initiate the project – The users identify their Business requirements.
9. Define the project – The software development team translates the business
requirements into system specifications and put together into System Specification
Document.
10. Design the system – The System Architecture Team designs the system and write
Functional Design Document. During design phase general solutions re hypothesized
and data and process structures are organized.
11. Build the system – The System Specifications and design documents are given to the
development team code the modules by following the Requirements and Design
document.
12. Test the system - The test team develops the test plan following the requirements. The
software is build and installed on the test platform after developers have completed
development and Unit Testing. The testers test the software by following the test
plan.

13. Deploy the system – After the user-acceptance testing and certification of the
software, it is installed on the production platform. Demos and training are given to
the users.
14. Support the system - After the software is in production, the maintenance phase of the
life begins. During this phase the development team works with the development
document staff to modify and enhance the application and the test team works with
the test documentation staff to verify and validate the changes and enhancement to
the application software.
QA process starts from the second phase of the Software Development Life Cycle i.e.
Define the System. Actual Product testing will be done on Test the system phase (Phase-
5). During this phase test team will verify the actual results against expected results.
Test plan
A software project test plan is a document that describes the objectives, scope, approach,
and focus of a software testing effort.
• Outside test organizations to be utilized and their purpose, responsibilities,
deliverables, contact persons, and coordination issues
Need the Business requirement document to prepare the test plan. Test plan controls the
entire testing process. Testers have to follow this test plan during the entire testing
process. Entrance and exit criteria of each testing phase is written in the master test plan.
Enterence Criteria:
- Integration exit criteria have been successfully met.
- All installation documents are completed.
- All shippable software has been successfully built
- System, test plan is base lined by completing the walkthrough of the test
plan.
- Test environment should be setup.
- All severity 1 MR’s of integration test phase should be closed.
Exit Criteria:
- All the test cases in the test plan should be executed.
- All MR’s/defects are either closed or deferred.
- Regression testing cycle should be executed after closing the MR’s.
- All documents are reviewed, finilized and signed-off.
White box testing/unit testing

Unit testing - The most 'micro' scale of testing; to test particular functions or code
modules. Typically done by the programmer and not by testers, as it requires detailed
knowledge of the internal program design and code. Not always easily done unless the

application has a well-designed architecture with tight code; may require developing test
driver modules or test harnesses.
Black box testing

Black Box testing is also called system testing which is performed by the testers. Here the
features and requirements of the product as described in the requirement document are
tested.
Knowledge require to do white box and black box testing

For white box testing you need to understand the internals of the module like data
structures and algorithms and have access to the source code and for black box testing
only understanding/functionality of the application.
What is backend and front end testing?

Front End Testing: when we check the client part of the program is often called the front end
testing and the front end is responsible for checking syntax and detecting error. Back End
Testing: The server part (means Database store part) is called the back end and the back end
performs the actual translation into object code.
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Testing Types:
2. What is the difference between verifying and validating data?

Verifying is to check whether the application is build according to the client specifications.
Validation is testing the product functionality according to the client specifications. Validation
takes place after the verification.
3. How can an object recognition problem be resolved?

We can recognized the object by using GUI Map and GUI Spy In win runner
4. How do we calculate bug rate?

We can calculate the bug rate by depending up on number of test cases and the decreased in the
rate fall of bugs
5. How do you ensure comprehensive test coverage?

The comprehensive test coverage as I get it is the coverage of testing according to the functional
requirements, technical design document, use cases and any specific user requirement.
The testing of Hardware could be considered as the part of load testing.

To make sure that the test coverage as extensive we can prepare a traceability matrix. This could
be a simple excel having one column as the functional specification, the next column could be the
test case name and finally the last column could be the test script id.
After preparation of this document we can uniquely identify each requirement is matched to a test
case and a test script.
This is the best way to track the test coverage. Though a tedious process but this process has
certainly proved to be effective if followed properly.
6. When do you know testing is over?

When the actual requirements are met and system function properly with no bugs then we stop
testing
7. What is QA methodology and what environment would you use to do your QA testing?
QA Testing Methodology: Plan Phase, Capture Phase, Record Phase, Run Phase, Track Phase.
For testing the environment is different from development environment and H/w and S/W
requirements depend on the application.
9. What is Release acceptance testing?

Release Acceptance Testing
Let’s consider the following example:
The business says a bank plans to plan to test a cards application in 3 releases: Release 1,2 & 3.
Each release has few enhancements (functionalities) like Chargebacks, Fraud reporting etc.,
Testing these enhancements release wise is termed as Release Acceptance Testing
10. What is system integration testing?

Clubbing all the modules of an application together and testing it as one single system is termed
as System Integration Testing
11. What is the compatibility testing difference between testing IE explorer and testing in firefox?
Compatibility Testing: The testing processes with ability of testing two or more systems
exchange the information in the case if this newly developed s/w. The access should be carried
out comparability problems between new s/w and other programs.
What is bug leakage?

The bugs un-discovered in the previous stage / cycles is called bug leakage for that stage/cycle.
Eg. Suppose you have completed System Testing (ST) and certified the application as fully tested
and send it for UAT. But UAT certainly uncovers some of the bugs which are not found at ST
stage. so bugs are leaked from ST stage to UAT. This is called bug leakage.
What is requirement traceability?

Requirement traceability is last section of the tester's test plan that measure to cover all the
requirements of the projects/products.

Describe the basic elements you put in a defect report.

Complete information such that developers can understand the bug, get an idea of its severity, and
reproduce it if necessary.
Bug identifier (number, ID, etc.)
Brief description of the bug
Steps to reproduce the bug
Current bug status (e.g., 'Released for Retest', 'New', etc.)
The application name or identifier and version
The function, module, feature, object, screen, etc. where the bug occurred
Environment specifics, system, platform, relevant hardware specifics, appserver, database
Test case name/number/identifier
Full bug description
Severity of the bug
Screen shots where the bug has occurred
17. In a situation where actual result doesn’t match with expected result, what would you do?
You have to register it as a bug and you have to decide the priority, severity and register it in bug
tracking tool so your test lead, developer and project manager get noticed that.
19. What is walkthrough and inspection?

Walk through is an informal run thru of the code whereas inspection is a formal testing where the
application is checked against requirements
20. What is the difference between test scenario and test case?
Test Scenario: From Use Case & Functionality Requirement of the Application Test Case: From
Test Scenario (Use Case & Functionality Requirement) of App.
21. What is the difference between smoke testing and sanity testing?
In Smoke testing we test the main functionality of the system instead of testing the whole system
In Sanity testing we test that system is stable till the end of the testing and not get crashed.
22. What are all the scenarios to be considered while testing reports?
The purpose of the Report generation is to produce lot of data about the system based on
selected criteria. A particular report displays the data from the different modules which are linked
in one or other way. So while testing the Report we should first understand the relation between
different modules about how they are linked each other and how the data flows from the one
module from other. There may be different stages in which data flows. Generate the Report in
each stage and make a check data is being displayed properly or not in the Report. If the data
flows through the different work flows (which is case in most of the Reports), generate the Report
at the every activity through out the work flow. Create some 4 to 5 work flow instances and keep
all these instances at different stages and generate Report and make check whether data is
displayed properly or not. Also make sure that data is being displayed under the proper fields in
the generated report.
23. How do you know all the testing scenarios are covered?

By using the Traceable matrix
24. If test cases are executed with existing requirements and the requirements are frequently
changing, what steps should be taken for the test completion?
You have to edit/update the test cases on a regular basis. As the part of Requirements
Management, any changes in the requirements will be added/edited to the SRS.
25. What is a test strategy?

Test Strategy---> its a statement of overall approach to testing it identifies at what levels the
testing to be conducted, to what phases, what methods, tools to be used. It’s a part of an Test
Plan.
26. What is a checklist?

Check list is the document of input and Expected result of the application and verify it by runing
the application and compare the Actual result with the expected result.
28. What type of testing does non- functional testing include?

Non- functionality testing include 1. graphical user interface 2. usability 3. performance
29. What is the difference between boundary value analysis and equivalence portioning?
Boundary value Analysis: is based on testing on and around the boundaries between partitions.
i.e. Extreme values of the range. Equivalence partitioning: Divide or partition a set of test
conditions into groups or sets that can be considered same or equal, hence equivalence
partitioning. Also called as equivalence classes.
30. What are severity levels?

Severity tells what as actual impact of that particular bug to the module. Levels can be high,
medium, low.
31. What is the diff between quality control and quality assurance?
Quality assurance is set of activities designed to ensure that maintenance process is adequate
to ensure a system will meet it object. Quality control is set of activities designed to evaluate a
developed work product
What is Software Quality Assurance?

Software QA involves the entire software development PROCESS – monitoring and
improving the process, making sure that any agreed-upon standards and procedures are
followed, and ensuring that problems are found and dealt with. It is oriented to
‘prevention’.
What is ‘Software Testing’?


Testing involves operation of a system or application under controlled conditions and

evaluating the results (eg, ‘If the user is in interface A of the application while using
hardware B, and does C, then D should happen’). The controlled conditions should
include both normal and abnormal conditions. Testing should intentionally attempt to
make things go wrong to determine if things happen when they shouldn’t or things don’t
happen when they should. It is oriented to ‘detection’.
Organizations vary considerably in how they assign responsibility for QA and testing,
sometimes they’re the combined responsibility of one group or individual. Also common
are project teams that include a mix of testers and developers who work closely together,
with overall QA processes monitored by project managers. It will depend on what best
fits an organization’s size and business structure.
Common interview questions QA:
1. What types of documents would you need for QA, QC, and Testing?
BRD, FRD
2. What did you include in a test plan?

The detailed doc which gives scope and approach to the application
3. Describe any bug you remember.
4. What is the purpose of the testing?

To have the applications bugs free
5. What do you like (not like) in this job?
6. What is QA (quality assurance)?

Testing of the applications for bugs or any defects and assuring the product is bug free
7. What is the difference between QA and testing? Read the answer for this interview
question for software testers
QA is assuring the application is bug free
Testing is executing the applications, documenting all the results & defects.
8. How do you scope, organize, and execute a test project?

Through Test Plan
9. What is the role of QA in a development project?

Write the test cases, execute the test cases, report the defects. Perform regression testing if there
are any defects or new addition to the application

10. What is the role of QA in a company that produces software?

To check if the application is bug free from end to end.
11. Define quality for me as you understand it

Quality by itself says it all. For me quality means the application should not have any errors on
the user end.
12. Describe to me the difference between validation and verification.

Validation is boundary testing (tel No., zip code)
Verification is verifying the insertion of data
13. Describe to me what you see as a process. Not a particular process, just the basics of having a
process.
14. Describe to me when you would consider employing a failure mode and effect analysis.
15. Describe to me the Software Development Life Cycle as you would define it.
Initiate, Define, Design, Build, Test, Deploy & Support
16. What are the properties of a good requirement?

The req should be specified clearly with all the details of the application
17. How do you differentiate the roles of Quality Assurance Manager and Project Manager?
QA Manager is the one who will manage all the QA Testers. Project Manager will be managing
all the developers and the whole project.
18. Tell me about any quality efforts you have overseen or implemented. Describe some of the
challenges you faced and how you overcame them.
19. How do you deal with environments that are hostile to quality change efforts?
20. In general, how do you see automation fitting into the overall process of testing?
If the application is too big it should be tested by automation. Also if the application is going to
be in regression testing it should be automated
21. How do you promote the concept of phase containment and defect prevention?
22. If you come onboard, give me a general idea of what your first overall tasks will be as far as
starting a quality effort.

Understanding the project thoroughly by reading the BRD, Creating test plans & documents for
that project & attending the meetings to improve my knowledge of this new project
23. What kinds of testing have you done?

The different kinds of testing which I was involved was manual testing, QTP automation testing,
winrunner & loadrunner
24. Have you ever created a test plan?

Yes the test plans for all the projects I have worked were created by me.
25. Have you ever written test cases or did you just execute those written by others?
Most of the times I have written the test cases and executed them, but there were times when I
had to execute the existing test case due to addition of new modules
26. What did your base your test cases?
27. How do you determine what to test?

To ensure the application is clean we have to check all the existing defects & rerun the test. Also
check if the whole application is running without any errors
28. How do you decide when you have 'tested enough?'

When the application is running smoothly from end to end without any errors.
29. How do you test if you have minimal or no documentation about the product?
To run the test we have to have the proper documents but if there are no documents about the
product we should have meetings with the developers and the users, discuss the product.
30. Describe me to the basic elements you put in a defect report?

Priority, assigned to,
Character Traits
1.Do you consider yourself to be a smart person?

A. Yes.
B. Depending on the way I handled with different situations
C. Interacting with other people.
D. Solving Business problems
E. Making decisions
2.How important is job security to you?


A. Security is the basic need. The only true job security comes from making a meaningful
contribution to my employer. I am confident that I will be able to continue getting the
work done always exceeding expectations.
3.Do you get bored doing the same work over and over again?
A. Not really, if the work involves my job. I don’t get bored because it is my
responsibility to complete it.
4.Do you prefer working as a member of a team or alone?

A. Working as a part of a team is one of the most important elements in a successful
career. It really depends on the best way to complete it. I would work equally hard with
the initiative required for success.
5.What are the reasons for your success?

A. When I do a job well, it gives me personal satisfaction.
B. Paying attention to details
C. I usually Recheck the things for missed ones
D. Hard work
E. Respect for others
6.Are you absent from work often?

A. No. My attendance record is very good (unless I have a serious health problem)
7. Hoe do you show your interest in your co-workers?

A. By keeping my eyes and ears open. I try to remember the things that are important to
the people around me. If I am a supervisor, I usually call a quick closed-door conference
to see if there is something that can be done before a problem occurs.
8.If you could be anyone, who would you like to be?

A. Generally I am pretty happy with who I am.
B. If it could be anyone I wanted, it would be a person who used his/her business
skills to make the world a better place.
C. The best way to succeed is by helping others to succeed.
9.How did you react to criticism superiors?

A. I always learned to receive criticism as a feedback to my actions.
10.What would you do if it were your last day on earth?

A. I would gather the people who are important to me and let them know how much
they have contributed to my happiness.

11.Do you have a competitive nature?

A. Yes. It is necessary to be successful in a corporate environment. If I do my work
well the rewards will come and that is the way to succeed.
12.What is your idea of success?

A. To wake up in the morning and feel good about what I will achieve during the
day. To meet the challenges with the confidence in my ability.
13.How would you feel about working with a female executive?

A. I am an equal opportunity employer.
B. Talent has no gender.
C. I enjoy working with anyone who practices good management.
14.What types of people try your patience?

A. Who intentionally & repeatedly don’t do their jobs properly.
15.How well do you cope with your tension?

A. I have adopted several techniques. I eat properly, Exercise regularly. When
Work causes tensions for whatever reasons—Deadlines, Schedules, special projects—I
am ready. There is nothing you can accomplish if you set your mind to it.
16.Do you speak up if your point of view differs from that of your superiors?
A. I am careful about expressing my opinions.
17.Are you an innovative person?

A. Yes. I work well with company creative staff communicating my ideas to them.
18.How often do you lose your temper?

A. Rarely. I realize that it is a waste of time and energy and it makes people
uncomfortable.
19.How have you benefited from your disappointments?

A. Every disappointment is a learning experience. Each time one has occurred, I’ve
been able to tell myself “I know not to do that”.
20.Do you get along with your co-workers?

A. Yes I do. Good working relationships are essential to a successful career and to
getting the work done.
21.What can you tell me about yourself?


A. Self-Starter
B. Highly motivated
C. Energetic
D. Results oriented
E. Enthusiasm and energy are contagious. I am infected with both.
F. As a result the groups I’ve worked become very successful.
22.What do you think you do best?

A. I am adaptable and flexible. I can teach myself new skills and have a proven
ability to transfer my job skills to new areas successfully.
23.What have you learned from mistakes?

A. Almost many things. If you never made a mistake, you will never learn anything new
and it also keep you away from making it again.
31. How do you perform regression testing?

32. At what stage of the life cycle does testing begin in your opinion?
33. How do you analyze your test results? What metrics do you try to provide?
34. Realising you won't be able to test everything - how do you decide what to test first?
35. Where do you get your expected results?
36. If automating - what is your process for determining what to automate and in what order?
37. In the past, I have been asked to verbally start mapping out a test plan for a common situation,
such as an ATM. The interviewer might say, "Just thinking out loud, if you were tasked to test an
ATM, what items might you test plan include?" These type questions are not meant to be
answered conclusively, but it is a good way for the interviewer to see how you approach the task.
38. If you're given a program that will average student grades, what kinds of inputs would you
use?
39. Tell me about the best bug you ever found.
40. What made you pick testing over another career?
41. What is the exact difference between Integration & System testing, give me examples with
your project.
42. How did you go about testing a project?
43. When should testing start in a project? Why?
44. How do you go about testing a web application?
45. Difference between Black & White box testing
46. What is Configuration management? Tools used?
47. What do you plan to become after say 2-5yrs (Ex: QA Manager, Why?)
48. Would you like to work in a team or alone, why?
49. Give me 5 strong & weak points of yours
50. Why do you want to join our company?
51. When should testing be stopped?
52. What sort of things would you put down in a bug report?
53. Who in the company is responsible for Quality?

54. Who defines quality?

55. What is an equivalence class?
56. Is a "A fast database retrieval rate" a testable requirement?
57. Should we test every possible combination/scenario for a program?
58. What criteria do you use when determining when to automate a test or leave it manual?
59. When do you start developing your automation tests?
60. Discuss what test metrics you feel are important to publish an organization?
61. In case anybody cares, here are the questions that I will be asking:
62. Describe the role that QA plays in the software lifecycle.
63. What should Development require of QA?
64. What should QA require of Development?
65. How would you define a "bug?"
66. Give me an example of the best and worst experiences you've had with QA.
67. How does unit testing play a role in the development / software lifecycle?
68. Explain some techniques for developing software components with respect to testability.
69. Describe a past experience with implementing a test harness in the development of software.
70. Have you ever worked with QA in developing test tools? Explain the participation
Development should have with QA in leveraging such test tools for QA use.
71. Give me some examples of how you have participated in Integration Testing.
72. How would you describe the involvement you have had with the bug-fix cycle between
Development and QA?
73. Describe your personal software development process.
74. How do you know when your code has met specifications?
75. How do you know your code has met specifications when there are no specifications?
76. Describe your experiences with code analyzers.
77. How do you feel about cyclomatic complexity?
78. Who should test your code?
79. How do you survive chaos?
80. What processes/methodologies are you familiar with?
81. What type of documents would you need for QA/QC/Testing?
82. How can you use technology to solve problem?
83. What type of metrics would you use?
84. How to find that tools work well with your existing system?
85. What automated tools are you familiar with?
86. How well you work with a team?
87. How would you ensure 100% coverage of testing?
88. How would you build a test team?
89. What problem you have right now or in the past? How you solved it?
90. What you will do during the first day of job?
91. What would you like to do five years from now?
92. Tell me about the worst boss you've ever had.
93. What are your greatest weaknesses?
94. What are your strengths?
95. What is a successful product?

96. What do you like about Windows?

99. What are basic, core, practises for a QA specialist?
100. What do you like about QA?
101. What has not worked well in your previous QA experience and what would you
change?
102. How you will begin to improve the QA process?
103. What is the difference between QA and QC?
104. What is UML and how to use it for testing?
105. What is CMM and CMMI? What is the difference?
106. What do you like about computers?
107. Do you have a favourite QA book? More than one? Which ones? And why.
108. What is the responsibility of programmer’s vs QA?
109.What are the properties of a good requirement?
110.Ho to do test if we have minimal or no documentation about the product?
111.What are all the basic elements in a defect report?
112.Is an "A fast database retrieval rate" a testable requirement?
113.Why should you care about objects and object-oriented testing?
114. What does 100% statement coverage mean?
115. How do you perform configuration management with typical revision control systems?
116. What is code coverage?
117. What types of code coverage do you know?
118. What tools can be used for code coverage analysis?
119. Is any graph is used for code coverage analysis?
120. At what stage of the development cycle software errors are least costly to correct?
121. What can you tell about the project if during testing you found 80 bugs in it?
122. How to monitor test progress?
123. Describe a few reasons that a bug might not be fixed.
124. What are the possible states of software bugï¿½s life cycle?
125. What books about QA (software testing) did you read?
126. What type of testing based specifically on a program code?
127. What type of testing based on any document that describes the "structure of the software"?
128. Please describe test design techniques like: state-transition diagrams, decision tables, activity
diagrams.
129. Describe business process testing and what test design technique would you use for it?
Test Automation job interview questions:

1. What automating testing tools are you familiar with?
2. How did you use automating testing tools in your job?
3. Describe some problem that you had with automating testing tool.
4. How do you plan test automation?
5. Can test automation improve test effectiveness?
6. What is data - driven automation?
7. What are the main attributes of test automation?

8. Does automation replace manual testing?

9. How will you choose a tool for test automation?
10. How you will evaluate the tool for test automation?
11. What are main benefits of test automation?
12. What could go wrong with test automation?
13. How you will describe testing activities?
14. What testing activities you may want to automate?
15. Describe common problems of test automation.
16. What types of scripting techniques for test automation do you know?
17. What are principles of good testing scripts for automation?
18. What tools are available for support of testing during software development life cycle?
19. Can the activities of test case design be automated?
20. What are the limitations of automating software testing?
21. What skills needed to be a good test automator?
25. What testing activities you may want to automate in a project?
27. What are some of the common misconceptions during implementation of an automated
testing tools for the first time?
Testing Interview Questions

Why did you ever become involved in QA/testing?
What is the testing lifecycle and explain each of its phases?
What is the difference between testing and Quality Assurance?
What is Negative testing?
What was a problem you had in your previous assignment (testing if possible)? How
did you resolve it?
What are two of your strengths that you will bring to our QA/testing team?
How would you define Quality Assurance?
What do you like most about Quality Assurance/Testing?
What do you like least about Quality Assurance/Testing?
What is the Waterfall Development Method and do you agree with all the steps?

What is the V-Model Development Method and do you agree with this model?
What is the Capability Maturity Model (CMM)? At what CMM level were the last
few companies you worked?
What is a "Good Tester"?
Could you tell me two things you did in your previous assignment (QA/Testing
related hopefully) that you are proud of?
List 5 words that best describe your strengths.
What are two of your weaknesses?
What methodologies have you used to develop test cases?
In an application currently in production, one module of code is being modified. Is it
necessary to retest the whole application or is it enough to just test functionality
associated with that module?
Define each of the following and explain how each relates to the other: Unit, System,
and Integration testing.
Define Verification and Validation. Explain the differences between the two.
Explain the differences between White-box, Gray-box, and Black-box testing.
How do you go about going into a new organization? How do you assimilate?
Define the following and explain their usefulness: Change Management,
Configuration Management, Version Control, and Defect Tracking.
What is ISO 9000? Have you ever been in an ISO shop?
When are you done testing?
What is the difference between a test strategy and a test plan?
What is ISO 9003? Why is it important
What are ISO standards? Why are they important?
What is IEEE 829? (This standard is important for Software Test Documentation-
Why?)
What is IEEE? Why is it important?
Do you support automated testing? Why?
We have a testing assignment that is time-driven. Do you think automated tests are
the best solution?
What is your experience with change control? Our development team has only 10
members. Do you think managing change is such a big deal for us?
Are reusable test cases a big plus of automated testing and explain why.

Can you build a good audit trail using CPWR's QACenter products. Explain why.
How important is Change Management in today's computing environments?
Do you think tools are required for managing change. Explain and please list some
tools/practices which can help you managing change.
We believe in ad-hoc software processes for projects. Do you agree with this? Please
explain your answer.
When is a good time for system testing?
Are regression tests required or do you feel there is a better use for resources?
Our software designers use UML for modeling applications. Based on their use cases,
we would like to plan a test strategy. Do you agree with this approach or would
this mean more effort for the testers.
Tell me about a difficult time you had at work and how you worked through it.
Give me an example of something you tried at work but did not work out so you had
to go at things another way.
How can one file compare future dated output files from a program which has
change, against the baseline run which used current date for input. The client does
not want to mask dates on the output files to allow compares. - Answer-Rerun
baseline and future date input files same # of days as future dated run of program
with change. Now run a file compare against the baseline future dated output and
the changed programs' future dated output.
Interviewing Suggestions
If you do not recognize a term ask for further definition. You may know the
methodology/term but you have used a different name for it.
Always keep in mind that the employer wants to know what you are going to do for
them, with that you should always stay/be positive.
Preinterview Questions
What is the structure of the company?
Who is going to do the interview-possible background information of interviewer?
What is the employer's environment (platforms, tools, etc.)?
What are the employer's methods and processes used in software arena?
What is the employer's philosophy?
What is the project all about you are interviewing for-as much information as
possible.

Any terminologies that the company may use.
Test Automation:
1. What automating testing tools are you familiar with?
2. How did you use automating testing tools in your job?
4. How do you plan test automation?
5. Can test automation improve test effectiveness?
6. What is data - driven automation?
8. Does automation replace manual testing?
9. How will you choose a tool for test automation?
10. How you will evaluate the tool for test automation?
11. What are main benefits of test automation?
12. What could go wrong with test automation?
13. How you will describe testing activities?
14. What testing activities you may want to automate?
15. Describe common problems of test automation.
16. What types of scripting techniques for test automation do you know?
17. What are principles of good testing scripts for automation?
18. What tools are available for support of testing during software development life
cycle?
19. Can the activities of test case design be automated?
20. What are the limitations of automating software testing?
21. What skills needed to be a good test automator?
23.Describe some problem that you had with automating testing tool.
24.What are the main attributes of test automation?
25.What testing activities you may want to automate in a project?
26.How to find that tools work well with your existing system?

Load Testing:
1.What criteria would you use to select Web transactions for
load testing?
2.For what purpose are virtual users created?
3.Why it is recommended to add verification checks to your
all your scenarios?
4.In what situation would you want to parameterize a
text verification check?
5.Why do you need to parameterize fields in your virtual user script?
6.What are the reasons why parameterization is necessary when
load testing the Web server and the database server?
7.How can data caching have a negative effect on load testing results?
8.What usually indicates that your virtual user script has
dynamic data that is dependent on you parameterized fields?
9.What are the benefits of creating multiple actions within
any virtual user script?
General questions:
1. What types of documents would you need for QA, QC, and Testing?
2. What did you include in a test plan?
3. Describe any bug you remember.
4. What is the purpose of the testing?
5. What do you like (not like) in this job?
6. What is quality assurance?
7. What is the difference between QA and testing?
8. How do you scope, organize, and execute a test project?
9. What is the role of QA in a development project?
10. What is the role of QA in a company that produces software?
11. Define quality for me as you understand it
12. Describe to me the difference between validation and verification.
13. Describe to me what you see as a process. Not a particular process, just the
basics of having a process.
14. Describe to me when you would consider employing a failure mode and effect
analysis.
15. Describe to me the Software Development Life Cycle as you would define it.
16. What are the properties of a good requirement?
17. How do you differentiate the roles of Quality Assurance Manager and Project
Manager?

18. Tell me about any quality efforts you have overseen or implemented. Describe
some of the challenges you faced and how you overcame them.
19. How do you deal with environments that are hostile to quality change efforts?
20. In general, how do you see automation fitting into the overall process of testing?
21. How do you promote the concept of phase containment and defect prevention?
22. If you come onboard, give me a general idea of what your first overall tasks will
be as far as starting a quality effort.
23. What kinds of testing have you done?
24. Have you ever created a test plan?
25. Have you ever written test cases or did you just execute those written by others?
26. What did your base your test cases?
27. How do you determine what to test?
28. How do you decide when you have 'tested enough?'
29. How do you test if you have minimal or no documentation about the product?
30. Describe me to the basic elements you put in a defect report?
31. How do you perform regression testing?
32. At what stage of the life cycle does testing begin in your opinion?
33. How do you analyze your test results? What metrics do you try to provide?
34. Realising you won't be able to test everything - how do you decide what to test
first?
35. Where do you get your expected results?
36. If automating - what is your process for determining what to automate and in
what order?
37. In the past, I have been asked to verbally start mapping out a test plan for a
common situation, such as an ATM. The interviewer might say, "Just thinking out
loud, if you were tasked to test an ATM, what items might you test plan include?"
These type questions are not meant to be answered conclusively, but it is a good way
for the interviewer to see how you approach the task.
38. If you're given a program that will average student grades, what kinds of inputs
would you use?
39. Tell me about the best bug you ever found.
40. What made you pick testing over another career?
41. What is the exact difference between Integration & System testing, give me
examples with your project.
42. How did you go about testing a project?
43. When should testing start in a project? Why?
44. How do you go about testing a web application?
45. Difference between Black & White box testing
46. What is Configuration management? Tools used?
47. What do you plan to become after say 2-5yrs (Ex: QA Manager, Why?)
48. Would you like to work in a team or alone, why?

49. Give me 5 strong & weak points of yours

50. Why do you want to join our company?
51. When should testing be stopped?
52. What sort of things would you put down in a bug report?
53. Who in the company is responsible for Quality?
54. Who defines quality?
55. What is an equivalence class?
56. Is a "A fast database retrieval rate" a testable requirement?
57. Should we test every possible combination/scenario for a program?
58. What criteria do you use when determining when to automate a test or leave it
manual?
59. When do you start developing your automation tests?
60. Discuss what test metrics you feel are important to publish an organization?
61. In case anybody cares, here are the questions that I will be asking:
62. Describe the role that QA plays in the software lifecycle.
63. What should Development require of QA?
64. What should QA require of Development?
65. How would you define a "bug?"
66. Give me an example of the best and worst experiences you've had with QA.
67. How does unit testing play a role in the development / software lifecycle?
68. Explain some techniques for developing software components with respect to
testability.
69. Describe a past experience with implementing a test harness in the development
of software.
70. Have you ever worked with QA in developing test tools? Explain the
participation Development should have with QA in leveraging such test tools for QA
use.
71. Give me some examples of how you have participated in Integration Testing.
72. How would you describe the involvement you have had with the bug-fix cycle
between Development and QA?
73. Describe your personal software development process.
74. How do you know when your code has met specifications?
75. How do you know your code has met specifications when there are no
specifications?
76. Describe your experiences with code analyzers.
77. How do you feel about cyclomatic complexity?
78. Who should test your code?
79.How do you survive chaos?
80. What processes/methodologies are you familiar with?
81. What type of documents would you need for QA/QC/Testing?

82. How can you use technology to solve problem?

83. What type of metrics would you use?
85. What automated tools are you familiar with?
86. How well you work with a team?
87. How would you ensure 100% coverage of testing?
88. How would you build a test team?
89. What problem you have right now or in the past? How you solved it?
90. What you will do during the first day of job?
91. What would you like to do five years from now?
92. Tell me about the worst boss you've ever had.
93. What are your greatest weaknesses?
94. What are your strengths?
95. What is a successful product?
96. What do you like about Windows?
98. Who is Kent Beck, Dr Grace Hopper, Dennis Ritchie?
99. What are basic, core, practises for a QA specialist?
100. What do you like about QA?
101. What has not worked well in your previous QA experience and what would you
change?
102. How you will begin to improve the QA process?
103. What is the difference between QA and QC?
104. What is UML and how to use it for testing?
105. What is CMM and CMMI? What is the difference?
106. What do you like about computers?
107. Do you have a favourite QA book? More than one? Which ones? And why.
108. What is the responsibility of programmers vs QA?
109.What are the properties of a good requirement?
110.Ho to do test if we have minimal or no documentation about the product?
111.What are all the basic elements in a defect report?
112.Is an "A fast database retrieval rate" a testable requirement?
1. What is software quality assurance?

2. What is the value of a testing group? How do you justify your work and budget?
3. What is the role of the test group vis-à¶is documentation, tech support, and so
forth?

4. How much interaction with users should testers have, and why?
5. How should you learn about problems discovered in the field, and what should
you learn from those problems?
6. What are the roles of glass-box and black-box testing tools?
7. What issues come up in test automation, and how do you manage them?
8. What development model should programmers and the test group use?
9. How do you get programmers to build testability support into their code?
10. What is the role of a bug tracking system?
11. What are the key challenges of testing?
12. Have you ever completely tested any part of a product? How?
13. Have you done exploratory or specification-driven testing?
14. Should every business test its software the same way?
15. Discuss the economics of automation and the role of metrics in testing.
16. Describe components of a typical test plan, such as tools for interactive products
and for database products, as well as cause-and-effect graphs and data-flow
diagrams.
17. When have you had to focus on data integrity?
18. What are some of the typical bugs you encountered in your last assignment?
19. How do you prioritize testing tasks within a project?
20. How do you develop a test plan and schedule? Describe bottom-up and top-down
approaches.
21. When should you begin test planning?
22. When should you begin testing?
23. Do you know of metrics that help you estimate the size of the testing effort?
24. How do you scope out the size of the testing effort?
25. How many hours a week should a tester work?
26. How should your staff be managed? How about your overtime?
27. How do you estimate staff requirements?
28. What do you do (with the project tasks) when the schedule fails?
29. How do you handle conflict with programmers?
30. How do you know when the product is tested well enough?
31. What characteristics would you seek in a candidate for test-group manager?
32. What do you think the role of test-group manager should be? Relative to senior
management?
Relative to other technical groups in the company? Relative to your staff?
33. How do your characteristics compare to the profile of the ideal manager that
you just described?
34. How does your preferred work style work with the ideal test-manager role that
you just described? What is different between the way you work and the role you
described?
35. Who should you hire in a testing group and why?

36. What is the role of metrics in comparing staff performance in human resources
management?
37. How do you estimate staff requirements?
38. What do you do (with the project staff) when the schedule fails?
39. Describe some staff conflicts youÂ’ve handled.
Here are some questions you might be asked on a job interview for a testing
opening: (from MU COSC 198 Software Testing by Dr. Corliss)
Why did you ever become involved in QA/testing?
What is the testing lifecycle and explain each of its phases?
What is the difference between testing and Quality Assurance?
What is Negative testing?
What was a problem you had in your previous assignment (testing if possible)?
How did you resolve it?
What are two of your strengths that you will bring to our QA/testing team?
How would you define Quality Assurance?
What do you like most about Quality Assurance/Testing?
What do you like least about Quality Assurance/Testing?
What is the Waterfall Development Method and do you agree with all the steps?
What is the V-Model Development Method and do you agree with this model?
What is the Capability Maturity Model (CMM)? At what CMM level were the
last few companies you worked?
What is a "Good Tester"?
Could you tell me two things you did in your previous assignment (QA/Testing
related hopefully) that you are proud of?
List 5 words that best describe your strengths.
What are two of your weaknesses?
What methodologies have you used to develop test cases?
In an application currently in production, one module of code is being modified.
Is it necessary to retest the whole application or is it enough to just test
functionality associated with that module?
Define each of the following and explain how each relates to the other: Unit,
System, and Integration testing.
Define Verification and Validation. Explain the differences between the two.

Explain the differences between White-box, Gray-box, and Black-box testing.

How do you go about going into a new organization? How do you assimilate?
Define the following and explain their usefulness: Change Management,
Configuration Management, Version Control, and Defect Tracking.
What is ISO 9000? Have you ever been in an ISO shop?
When are you done testing?
What is the difference between a test strategy and a test plan?
What is ISO 9003? Why is it important
What are ISO standards? Why are they important?
What is IEEE 829? (This standard is important for Software Test
Documentation-Why?)
What is IEEE? Why is it important?
Do you support automated testing? Why?
We have a testing assignment that is time-driven. Do you think automated tests
are the best solution?
What is your experience with change control? Our development team has only
10 members. Do you think managing change is such a big deal for us?
Are reusable test cases a big plus of automated testing and explain why.
Can you build a good audit trail using Compuware's QACenter products.
Explain why.
How important is Change Management in today's computing environments?
Do you think tools are required for managing change. Explain and please list
some tools/practices which can help you managing change.
We believe in ad-hoc software processes for projects. Do you agree with this?
Please explain your answer.
When is a good time for system testing?
Are regression tests required or do you feel there is a better use for resources?
Our software designers use UML for modeling applications. Based on their use
cases, we would like to plan a test strategy. Do you agree with this approach
or would this mean more effort for the testers.
Tell me about a difficult time you had at work and how you worked through it.
Give me an example of something you tried at work but did not work out so you
had to go at things another way.

How can one file compare future dated output files from a program which has
change, against the baseline run which used current date for input. The
client does not want to mask dates on the output files to allow compares. -
Answer-Rerun baseline and future date input files same # of days as future
dated run of program with change. Now run a file compare against the
baseline future dated output and the changed programs' future dated output.
Interviewing Suggestions
If you do not recognize a term ask for further definition. You may know the
methodology/term but you have used a different name for it.
Always keep in mind that the employer wants to know what you are going to do
for them, with that you should always stay/be positive.
Preinterview Questions
What is the structure of the company?
Who is going to do the interview-possible background information of
interviewer?
What is the employer's environment (platforms, tools, etc.)?
What are the employer's methods and processes used in software arena?
What is the employer's philosophy?
What is the project all about you are interviewing for-as much information as
possible.
Any terminologies that the company may use.

QA and Software Testing Interview Questions and Answers

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Software Testing FAQ

What is the purpose of the testing?

What is the difference between QA and testing?

What is software quality'?

What's the role of documentation in QA?

Explain the software development lifecycle.

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At what stage of the SDLC does testing begin in your opinion?

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Acceptance testing phase:

Product testing phase:

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• Software entrance and exit criteria

The team-lead or a Sr. QA Analyst is responsible to write this document.

Why is test plan a controlled document?

What information you need to formulate test plan?

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What is White box testing/unit testing?

Difference between Black and White box testing?

What are the roles of glass-box and black-box testing tools?

What is Black box testing?

What is Integration testing?

What is Regression testing?

Why do we do regression testing?

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How do we regression testing?

What are positive scenarios?

What are negative scenarios?

What is the difference between exception and validation testing?

What is user acceptance testing?

What is manual testing and what is automated testing?

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Automated testing involves testing of a software application by performing the actions on

What is smoke testing?

What is soak testing?

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Why you write MR?

What information does MR contain?

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• Tester responsible for regression tests

Which MR tool you used to write MR?

How do you help developer to track the fault s in the software?

What are the different types of MRs?

What is the role of a bug tracking system?

What is a successful product?

What Process/Methodologies are you familiar with?

Join my group on linkedin:

What are CMM and CMMI? What is the difference?

What you will do during the first day of job?

What was the test team hierarchy?

What are the different automation tools you know?

Did you ever have problems working with developers?

Join my group on linkedin:

Describe your experience with code analyzers?

How do you survive chaos?

Tell me about the worst boss you’ve ever had.

What do you like about Windows?

How will you describe testing activities?

What is good code?