Manual Testing Interview Questions

1. What is Manual Testing?

Answer: Manual testing involves executing test cases and scripts without the use of any automated tools. Testers manually interact with the software to identify defects and ensure it meets the specified requirements.

2. What are the different types of Manual Testing?

Answer:

• Unit Testing: Testing individual units or components of the software.
• Integration Testing: Testing the interaction between different units or components.
• System Testing: Testing the entire system as a whole to ensure it meets the specified requirements.
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Testing the software by end-users to ensure it meets their needs and expectations.
• Regression Testing: Retesting the software after making changes to ensure that existing functionality still works correctly.
• Smoke Testing: A quick test to determine if the software is stable enough for further testing.
• Sanity Testing: A shallow test to determine if the software is functioning as expected after a minor change.

3. What are the phases of the Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC)?

Answer:

• Requirements Analysis: Understand the software requirements.
• Test Planning: Create a test plan outlining the scope, objectives, and resources for testing.
• Test Case Design: Design and document test cases based on the requirements.
• Test Environment Setup: Set up the necessary hardware and software for testing.
• Test Execution: Execute the test cases and log the results.
• Defect Reporting: Report and track defects found during testing.
• Test Closure: Analyze the test results, document lessons learned, and close the testing phase.

4. What are the different types of defects in software?

Answer:

• Functional Defects: Issues related to the software’s functionality, such as incorrect calculations, incorrect data display, and unexpected behavior.
• Performance Defects: Issues related to the software’s performance, such as slow response times, high memory usage, and resource leaks.
• Usability Defects: Issues related to the software’s ease of use, such as confusing user interfaces, unclear instructions, and difficulty in navigating.
• Compatibility Defects: Issues related to the software’s compatibility with different browsers, operating systems, and devices.
• Security Defects: Issues related to the software’s security, such as vulnerabilities to hacking, data breaches, and unauthorized access.

5. What are the different testing techniques?

Answer:

• Black Box Testing: Testing the software without knowing the internal structure or code.
• White Box Testing: Testing the software with knowledge of the internal structure and code.
• Gray Box Testing: Testing the software with limited knowledge of the internal structure.
• Equivalence Partitioning: Dividing the input data into equivalent classes and selecting test cases from each class.
• Boundary Value Analysis: Selecting test cases at the boundaries of input and output ranges.
• Decision Table Testing: Representing complex logic in a tabular format and deriving test cases from it.
• State Transition Testing: Testing the software’s behavior in different states.

6. What is the difference between Verification and Validation?

Answer:

• Verification: The process of evaluating whether the software conforms to the specified requirements.
  • Example: Code reviews, inspections, walkthroughs.
• Validation: The process of ensuring that the software meets the needs and expectations of the users.
  • Example: User acceptance testing, alpha testing, beta testing.

7. What is Test Plan?

Answer: A document that outlines the scope, objectives, and resources for testing a software product. It includes details such as testing strategies, test environment, test schedule, and risk assessment.

8. What is Test Case?

Answer: A set of steps to be performed on the software to verify a specific functionality or feature. It includes test data, expected results, and actual results.

9. What is Test Suite?

Answer: A collection of related test cases that are executed together.

10. What is Test Scenario?

Answer: A high-level description of a test that covers a specific feature or functionality.

11. What is Defect Life Cycle?

Answer: The process of tracking and resolving defects found during testing. It typically involves the following stages: * Defect Found * Defect Assigned * Defect Open * Defect Fixed * Defect Retested * Defect Closed/Reopened

12. What are the different severity levels of defects?

Answer:

• Blocker: Prevents further testing or use of the software.
• Critical: A major defect that significantly impacts the software’s functionality.
• Major: A significant defect that impacts the usability or functionality of the software.
• Minor: A minor defect that does not significantly impact the usability or functionality of the software.
• Cosmetic: A minor defect that does not affect the functionality of the software, such as a typographical error.

13. What are the different priority levels of defects?

Answer:

• High: Must be fixed immediately.
• Medium: Should be fixed in the next release.
• Low: Can be fixed in a future release.

14. What is the difference between Severity and Priority?

Answer:

• Severity: The impact of the defect on the software’s functionality.
• Priority: The urgency with which the defect needs to be fixed.

15. What is a Bug?

Answer: A defect in the software that causes it to behave incorrectly.

16. What is a Bug Report?

Answer: A document that describes a bug found during testing. It includes details such as the bug’s description, steps to reproduce, expected behavior, actual behavior, and severity/priority.

17. What is Smoke Testing?

Answer: A quick test to determine if the software is stable enough for further testing. It typically involves a set of critical tests to ensure basic functionality.

18. What is Sanity Testing?

Answer: A shallow test to determine if the software is functioning as expected after a minor change.

19. What is Regression Testing?

Answer: Retesting the software after making changes to ensure that existing functionality still works correctly.

20. What is Integration Testing?

Answer: Testing the interaction between different units or components of the software.

21. What is System Testing?

Answer: Testing the entire system as a whole to ensure it meets the specified requirements.

22. What is User Acceptance Testing (UAT)?

Answer: Testing the software by end-users to ensure it meets their needs and expectations.

23. What is Black Box Testing?

Answer: Testing the software without knowing the internal structure or code.

24. What is White Box Testing?

Answer: Testing the software with knowledge of the internal structure and code.

25. What is Gray Box Testing?

Answer: Testing the software with limited knowledge of the internal structure.

26. What is Equivalence Partitioning?

Answer: Dividing the input data into equivalent classes and selecting test cases from each class.

27. What is Boundary Value Analysis?

Answer: Selecting test cases at the boundaries of input and output ranges.

28. What is Decision Table Testing?

Answer: Representing complex logic in a tabular format and deriving test cases from it.

29. What is State Transition Testing?

Answer: Testing the software’s behavior in different states.

30. What is the role of a Test Lead?

Answer:

• Plan and oversee the testing activities.
• Manage the testing team.
• Create and maintain test plans and test strategies.
• Track and report on testing progress.
• Ensure that testing is conducted effectively and efficiently.

31. What is the role of a Test Engineer?

Answer:

• Design, develop, and execute test cases.
• Identify and report defects.
• Participate in test planning and review meetings.
• Analyze test results and prepare test reports.
• Work closely with developers to resolve defects.

32. What are the qualities of a good tester?

Answer:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Knowledge of software development lifecycle.
• Ability to learn new technologies quickly.

33. How do you handle pressure in a testing environment?

Answer:

• Prioritize tasks and focus on the most important ones.
• Break down large tasks into smaller, more manageable ones.
• Take breaks to avoid burnout.
• Communicate with your team and manager about any challenges you are facing.

34. How do you stay updated with the latest testing tools and technologies?

Answer:

• Read industry blogs and articles.
• Attend industry conferences and webinars.
• Participate in online courses and certifications.
• Experiment with new tools and technologies.

35. What are some of the common testing tools that you have used?

• Selenium: An open-source tool for automating web browser actions.
• JIRA: A popular issue tracking and project management tool.
• TestRail: A test case management tool for managing and tracking tests.
• Postman: An API testing tool for testing RESTful APIs.
• Fiddler: A web debugging proxy that can be used to inspect HTTP traffic.

36. What is Agile Testing?

Answer: Agile testing is an iterative approach to testing that is aligned with the Agile software development methodology. It emphasizes continuous testing throughout the development cycle.

37. What are the principles of Agile Testing?

Answer:

• Continuous testing throughout the development cycle.
• Early and continuous feedback.
• Close collaboration between testers and developers.
• Test automation.
• Focus on customer value.

38. What is DevOps?

Answer: DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development and IT operations to shorten the systems development life cycle and provide continuous delivery with high software quality.   

39. How does testing fit into the DevOps lifecycle?

Answer: Testing is an integral part of the DevOps lifecycle. It is automated and integrated into the continuous integration and continuous delivery pipelines.

40. What is Test Automation?

Answer: The use of software tools to execute tests automatically.

41. What are the benefits of Test Automation?

Answer:

• Increased test coverage.
• Reduced testing time.
• Improved accuracy.
• Increased efficiency.
• Early defect detection.
• Improved test repeatability.

42. What are some of the challenges of Test Automation?

Answer:

• Initial setup and maintenance costs.
• Requires specialized skills.
• Not suitable for all types of testing.
• Maintaining test scripts can be time-consuming.

43. What is the difference between Manual Testing and Test Automation?

Answer:

• Manual Testing: Involves executing test cases and scripts manually without the use of any automated tools.
• Test Automation: Involves using software tools to execute tests automatically.

44. When should you choose Manual Testing over Test Automation?

Answer:

• When the application is new and frequently changing.
• When the tests are complex or require human judgment.
• When the tests are not frequently executed.
• When the cost of automation outweighs the benefits.

45. When should you choose Test Automation over Manual Testing?

Answer:

• When the tests are repetitive and time-consuming.
• When the tests need to be executed frequently.
• When high accuracy and consistency are required.
• When early defect detection is critical.

46. What is Accessibility Testing?

Answer: Testing to ensure that the software is accessible to people with disabilities.

47. What is Performance Testing?

Answer: Testing the software’s performance under different workloads.

48. What is Security Testing?

Answer: Testing the software’s security vulnerabilities.

49. What is Usability Testing?

Answer: Testing the software’s ease of use.

50. How do you ensure that your testing is effective?

Answer:

• By following a well-defined testing process.
• By using effective testing techniques.
• By writing clear and concise test cases.
• By tracking and analyzing test results.
• By continuously improving the testing process.