Software Testing Interview Questions: Can You Answer Them All?

Software testing is a critical component of the Software Development Lifecycle. Perseverance and attention to detail are important traits for a tester.  Knowing when to test and when to scale-back is important to the success of your business.  Let’s have a look at some common interview questions and answers.

** Learn Software Testing with this online, on-demand course **

What is a requirement and how is it different from a specification?

This is important for a candidate to know since a lot of issues that arise during the testing phase come about because of deficient requirements and specifications.  The following is a good explanation:

Requirements are gathered from the customer who indicates what their needs are.  These needs are then translated into specifications which are the blueprint for specifications for the development team.

What are the differences between a test plan and a use case?

A Test Plan describes all the elements that make up the test strategy.  It can include the application to be tested, the scope of the testing, the testing activities, roles and responsibilities and deliverables.  A Use Case describes how the user interacts with a specific function and how the system responds.  It can include diagrams, flowcharts and pre and post conditions.

What is the difference between the severity of a bug and the priority of a bug?

A priority is based on how urgently the bug needs to be fixed.  The factors to consider are what else needs to be fixed, and how important is this bug relative to the others.   A severity measures the impact of the bug on the application.  How much damage can be caused to the integrity of the data in the system if the bug causes an incident?

What is the difference between unit testing and integrated testing?

A developer will perform unit testing on the modules they have changed independently of each other.  Integrated testing involves testing the system as a whole with all the changed modules combined.  It is an end-to-end testing of the application in a real-world simulated environment.

**Learn the Art of Unit Testing with this Online Course**

Define black box testing and white box testing?

Black Box testing involves some form of data that is input into a process and the validation of the output.  A tester cannot see inside the process.  They can only see the output.  White Box testing allows a tester to look inside the process and validate the data before, during, and after processing but prior to the output.  Validation steps on the process may be necessary in white box testing.

What is a test case and a test case walkthrough?

A test describes the input to a test.  This can include the data, the screen that will be used and the parameters that may drive the test.  It will describe the steps necessary to execute the test case.  It will describe the output and the results that are to be expected.  It may include manipulation of the input data to test the particular case.  A Test Case Walkthrough is a review of the test case by Testing Peers.  It can highlight steps that may have been missed or test cases that may have been missed.

What is automated testing?

A large project or system can involve hundreds of test cases.  An automated tool can be used to record actions from a transaction.  This may include menu choices, buttons and clicks.  These tests can be initiated and performed much faster than manual tests.  Whenever a change is made to the source code, the test can be rerun and the logged results can be verified to the expected results.

When is a decision table used? 

A decision table is used to help testers simplify the documentation of test cases when there are a lot of combinations of different inputs that must be used to test business rules.

What is portability testing?

This testing refers to the practice of moving and testing an application on different platforms.  For example, an application may require testing on different windows operating systems.  The time involved and the challenges that occur should be documented as part of testing results including instability and adaptability.

What is the difference between functional and non-functional testing?

Non-functional testing includes test cases that validate security log ons, performance and testing of disk and memory space.  Functional testing includes the testing of the actual functions that the end user will be using, including transactions and reports.

The key to having a successful interview is to prepare and obtain as much information as possible about the opportunity and the company.  Be confident, self-assured and knowledgeable in your role!

** Learn Software Testing with this online, on-demand course **

Interviewing Techniques

Posted by Kasia Mikoluk