Manual Testing Interview Q’s

and A’s
1. What is Acceptance Testing?
Testing conducted to enable a user/customer to determine whether to accept a
software product. Normally performed to validate the software meets a set of
agreed acceptance criteria.
2. What is Accessibility Testing?
Verifying a product is accessible to the people having disabilities (deaf, blind,
mentally disabled etc.).
3. What is Ad-Hoc Testing?
A testing phase where the tester tries to 'break' the system by randomly trying the
system's functionality. Can include negative testing as well. See also Monkey
Testing.
4. What is Agile Testing?
Testing practice for projects using agile methodologies, treating development as
the customer of testing and emphasizing a test-first design paradigm. See also
Test Driven Development.
5. What is Application Binary Interface (ABI)?
A specification defining requirements for portability of applications in binary forms
across different system platforms and environments.
6. What is Application Programming Interface (API)?
A formalized set of software calls and routines that can be referenced by an
application program in order to access supporting system or network services.
7. What is Automated Software Quality (ASQ)?
The use of software tools, such as automated testing tools, to improve software
quality.
8. What is Automated Testing?

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 1

 Testing employing software tools which execute tests without manual intervention.
Can be applied in GUI, performance, API, etc. testing. The use of software to
control the execution of tests, the comparison of actual outcomes to predicted
outcomes, the setting up of test preconditions, and other test control and test
reporting functions.
9. What is Backus-Naur Form?
A metalanguage used to formally describe the syntax of a language.
10. What is Basic Block?
A sequence of one or more consecutive, executable statements containing no
branches.
11. What is Basis Path Testing?
A white box test case design technique that uses the algorithmic flow of the
program to design tests.
12. What is Basis Set?
The set of tests derived using basis path testing.
13. What is Baseline?
The point at which some deliverable produced during the software engineering
process is put under formal change control.

14. What you will do during the first day of job?

What would you like to do five years from now?

15. What is Beta Testing?

Testing of a rerelease of a software product conducted by customers.

16. What is Binary Portability Testing?

Testing an executable application for portability across system platforms and
environments, usually for conformation to an ABI specification.

17. What is Black Box Testing?

Testing based on an analysis of the specification of a piece of software without

reference to its internal workings. The goal is to test how well the component
conforms to the published requirements for the component.

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 2

 18. What is Bottom Up Testing?
An approach to integration testing where the lowest level components are tested
first, then used to facilitate the testing of higher level components. The process is
repeated until the component at the top of the hierarchy is tested.

19. What is Boundary Testing?

Test which focus on the boundary or limit conditions of the software being tested.
(Some of these tests are stress tests).
20. What is Boundary Value Analysis?

BVA is similar to Equivalence Partitioning but focuses on "corner cases" or values

that are usually out of range as defined by the specification. his means that if a
function expects all values in range of negative 100 to positive 1000, test inputs
would include negative 101 and positive 1001.

21. What is Branch Testing?

Testing in which all branches in the program source code are tested at least once.

22. What is Breadth Testing?

A test suite that exercises the full functionality of a product but does not test
features in detail.

23. What is CAST?

Computer Aided Software Testing.

24. What is Capture/Replay Tool?

A test tool that records test input as it is sent to the software under test. The input
cases stored can then be used to reproduce the test at a later time. Most
commonly applied to GUI test tools.
25. What is CMM?

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.

27. What is Cause Effect Graph?

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 3

 A graphical representation of inputs and the associated outputs effects which can
be used to design test cases.
28. What is Code Complete?

Phase of development where functionality is implemented in entirety; bug fixes

are all that are left. All functions found in the Functional Specifications have been
implemented.

29. What is Code Coverage?

An analysis method that determines which parts of the software have been
executed (covered) by the test case suite and which parts have not been executed
and therefore may require additional attention.
30. What is Code Inspection?

A formal testing technique where the programmer reviews source code with
agroup who ask questions analyzing the program logic, analyzing the code with
respect to a checklist of historically common programming errors, and analyzing
its compliance with coding standards.

31. What is Code Walkthrough?

A formal testing technique where source code is traced by a group with a small
set of test cases, while the state of program variables is manually monitored, to
analyze the programmer's logic and assumptions.
32. What is Coding?

The generation of source code.

33. What is Compatibility Testing?

Testing whether software is compatible with other elements of a system with

which it should operate, e.g. browsers, Operating Systems, or hardware.

34. What is Component?

A minimal software item for which a separate specification is available.

35. What is Component Testing?

Testing of individual software components (Unit Testing).

36. What is Concurrency Testing?

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 4

 Multi-user testing geared towards determining the effects of accessing the same
application code, module or database records. Identifies and measures the level
of locking, deadlocking and use of single-threaded code and locking semaphores.

37. What is Conformance Testing?

The process of testing that an implementation conforms to the specification on

which it is based. Usually applied to testing conformance to a formal standard.

38. What is Context Driven Testing?

The context-driven school of software testing is flavor of Agile Testing that

advocates continuous and creative evaluation of testing opportunities in light of
the potential information revealed and the value of that information to the
organization right now.
39. What is Conversion Testing?

Testing of programs or procedures used to convert data from existing systems for
use in replacement systems.

40. What is Cyclomatic Complexity?

A measure of the logical complexity of an algorithm, used in white-box testing.

41. What is Data Dictionary?

A database that contains definitions of all data items defined during analysis.

42. What is Data Flow Diagram?

A modeling notation that represents a functional decomposition of a system.

43. What is Data Driven Testing?

Testing in which the action of a test case is parameterized by externally defined

data values, maintained as a file or spreadsheet. A common technique in
Automated Testing.

44. What is Debugging?

The process of finding and removing the causes of software failures.

45. What is Defect?

Non-conformance to requirements or functional / program specification

46. What is Dependency Testing?

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 5

 Examines an application's requirements for pre-existing software, initial states and
configuration in order to maintain proper functionality.

47. What is Depth Testing?

A test that exercises a feature of a product in full detail.

48. What is Dynamic Testing?

Testing software through executing it. See also Static Testing.

49. What is Emulator?

A device, computer program, or system that accepts the same inputs and
produces the same outputs as a given system.50. What is Endurance Testing?
Checks for memory leaks or other problems that may occur with
prolongedexecution
51. What is End-to-End testing?

Testing a complete application environment in a situation that mimics real-world

use, such as interacting with a database, using network communications, or
interacting with other hardware, applications, or systems if appropriate.

52. What is Equivalence Class?

A portion of a component's input or output domains for which the component's

behaviour is assumed to be the same from the component's specification.

53. What is Equivalence Partitioning?

A test case design technique for a component in which test cases are designed to
execute representatives from equivalence classes.54. What is Exhaustive
Testing?Testing which covers all combinations of input values and preconditions
for an element of the software under test.
55. What is Functional Decomposition?

A technique used during planning, analysis and design; creates a functional

hierarchy for the software.
54. What is Functional Specification?

A document that describes in detail the characteristics of the product with regard
to its intended features.
55. What is Functional Testing?

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 6

 Testing the features and operational behavior of a product to ensure they
correspond to its specifications. Testing that ignores the internal mechanism of a
system or component and focuses solely on the outputs generated in response to
selected inputs and execution conditions. or Black Box Testing.

56. What is Glass Box Testing?

A synonym for White Box Testing.

57. What is Gorilla Testing?

Testing one particular module, functionality heavily.

58. What is Gray Box Testing?

A combination of Black Box and White Box testing methodologies? testing a piece
of software against its specification but using some knowledge of its internal
workings.
59. What is High Order Tests?

Black-box tests conducted once the software has been integrated.

60. What is Independent Test Group (ITG)?
A group of people whose primary responsibility is software testing,

61. What is Inspection?

A group review quality improvement process for written material. It consists of two
aspects; product (document itself) improvement and process improvement (of
both document production and inspection).
62. What is Integration Testing?
Testing of combined parts of an application to determine if they function together
correctly. Usually performed after unit and functional testing. This type of testing
is especially relevant to client/server and distributed systems.
63. What is Installation Testing?

Confirms that the application under test recovers from expected or unexpected
events without loss of data or functionality. Events can include shortage of disk
space, unexpected loss of communication, or power out conditions.

64. What is Load Testing?

See Performance Testing.

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 7

 65. What is Localization Testing?

This term refers to making software specifically designed for a specific locality.
66. What is Loop Testing?
A white box testing technique that exercises program loops.

67. What is Metric?

A standard of measurement. Software metrics are the statistics describing the
structure or content of a program. A metric should be a real objective
measurement of something such as number of bugs per lines of code.
68. What is Monkey Testing?

Testing a system or an Application on the fly, i.e just few tests here and there to
ensure the system or an application does not crash out.
69. What is Negative Testing?

Testing aimed at showing software does not work. Also known as "test to fail".
See also Positive Testing.
70. What is Path Testing?

Testing in which all paths in the program source code are tested at least once.
71. What is Performance Testing?
Testing conducted to evaluate the compliance of a system or component with
specified performance requirements. Often this is performed using an automated
test tool to simulate large number of users. Also know as "Load Testing".
72. What is Positive Testing?

Testing aimed at showing software works. Also known as "test to pass". See also
Negative Testing.
73. What is Quality Assurance?

All those planned or systematic actions necessary to provide adequate

confidence that a product or service is of the type and quality needed and
expected by the customer.

74. What is Quality Audit?

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 8

 A systematic and independent examination to determine whether quality activities
and related results comply with planned arrangements and whether these
arrangements are implemented effectively and are suitable to achieve objectives.

75. What is Quality Circle?

A group of individuals with related interests that meet at regular intervals to
consider problems or other matters related to the quality of outputs of a process
and to the correction of problems or to the improvement of quality.

76. What is Quality Control?

The operational techniques and the activities used to fulfill and verify
requirements of quality.

77. What is Quality Management?

That aspect of the overall management function that determines and implements
the quality policy.
78. What is Quality Policy?
The overall intentions and direction of an organization as regards quality as
formally expressed by top management.
79. What is Quality System?
The organizational structure, responsibilities, procedures, processes, and
resources for implementing quality management.
80. What is Race Condition?
A cause of concurrency problems. Multiple accesses to a shared resource, at
least one of which is a write, with no mechanism used by either to moderate
simultaneous access.
81. What is Ramp Testing?

Continuously raising an input signal until the system breaks down.

82. What is Recovery Testing?
Confirms that the program recovers from expected or unexpected events without
loss of data or functionality. Events can include shortage of disk space,
unexpected loss of communication, or power out conditions
83. What is Regression Testing?

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 9

 Retesting a previously tested program following modification to ensure that faults
have not been introduced or uncovered as a result of the changes made.
84. What is Release Candidate?

A pre-release version, which contains the desired functionality of the final version,
but which needs to be tested for bugs (which ideally should be removed before
the final version is released).

85. What is Sanity Testing?

Brief test of major functional elements of a piece of software to determine if its
basically operational.

86. What is Scalability Testing?

Performance testing focused on ensuring the application under test gracefully
handles increases in work load.

87. What is Security Testing?

Testing which confirms that the program can restrict access to authorized
personnel and that the authorized personnel can access the functions available to
their security level.
88. What is Smoke Testing?

A quick-and-dirty test that the major functions of a piece of software work.

Originated in the hardware testing practice of turning on a new piece of hardware
for the first time and considering it a success if it does not catch on fire.

89. What is Soak Testing?

Running a system at high load for a prolonged period of time. For example,
running several times more transactions in an entire day (or night) than would be
expected in a busy day, to identify and performance problems that appear after a
large number of transactions have been executed.
90. What is Software Requirements Specification?

A deliverable that describes all data, functional and behavioral requirements, all
constraints, and all validation requirements for software/
91. What is Software Testing?

A set of activities conducted with the intent of finding errors in software.

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 10

 92. What is Static Analysis?

Analysis of a program carried out without executing the program.

93. What is Static Analyzer?

A tool that carries out static analysis.

94. What is Static Testing?
Analysis of a program carried out without executing the program.

95. What is Storage Testing?

Testing that verifies the program under test stores data files in the correct
directories and that it reserves sufficient space to prevent unexpected termination
resulting from lack of space. This is external storage as opposed to internal
storage.
96. What is Stress Testing?

Testing conducted to evaluate a system or component at or beyond the limits of

its specified requirements to determine the load under which it fails and how.
Often this is performance testing using a very high level of simulated load.

97. What is Structural Testing?

Testing based on an analysis of internal workings and structure of a piece of
software. See also White Box Testing.

98. What is System Testing?

Testing that attempts to discover defects that are properties of the entire system
rather than of its individual components.

99. What is Testability?

The degree to which a system or component facilitates the establishment of test
criteria and the performance of tests to determine whether those criteria have
been met.
100. What is Testing?
The process of exercising software to verify that it satisfies specified
requirements and to detect errors. The process of analyzing a software item to
detect the differences between existing and required conditions (that is, bugs),

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 11

 and to evaluate the features of the software item (Ref. IEEE Std 829). The process
of operating a system or component under specified conditions, observing or
recording the results, and making an evaluation of some aspect of the system or
component. What is Test Automation? It is the same as Automated Testing.
101. What is Test Bed?

An execution environment configured for testing. May consist of specific

hardware, OS, network topology, configuration of the product under test, other
application or system software, etc. The Test Plan for a project should enumerated
the test beds(s) to be used.
102. What is Test Case?
Test Case is a commonly used term for a specific test. This is usually the smallest
unit of testing. A Test Case will consist of information such as requirements
testing, test steps, verification steps, prerequisites, outputs, test environment, etc.
A set of inputs, execution preconditions, and expected outcomes developed for a
particular objective, such as to exercise a particular program path or to verify
compliance with a specific requirement. Test Driven Development? Testing
methodology associated with Agile Programming in which every chunk of code is
covered by unit tests, which must all pass all the time, in an effort to eliminate unit-
level and regression bugs during development. Practitioners of TDD write a lot of
tests, i.e. an equal number of lines of test code to the size of the production code.
103. What is Test Driver?

A program or test tool used to execute tests. Also known as a Test Harness.
104. What is Test Environment?

The hardware and software environment in which tests will be run, and any other
software with which the software under test interacts when under test including
stubs and test drivers.
105. What is Test First Design?

Test-first design is one of the mandatory practices of Extreme Programming

(XP).It requires that programmers do not write any production code until they have
first written a unit test.

106. What is Test Harness?

A program or test tool used to execute a tests. Also known as a Test Driver.

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 12

 107. What is Test Plan?

A document describing the scope, approach, resources, and schedule of intended

testing activities. It identifies test items, the features to be tested, the testing
tasks, who will do each task, and any risks requiring contingency planning.

108. What is Test Procedure?

A document providing detailed instructions for the execution of one or more test
cases.

109. What is Test Script?

Commonly used to refer to the instructions for a particular test that will be carried
out by an automated test tool.
110. What is Test Specification?
A document specifying the test approach for a software feature or combination or
features and the inputs, predicted results and execution conditions for the
associated tests.
111. What is Test Suite?

A collection of tests used to validate the behavior of a product. The scope of a

Test Suite varies from organization to organization. There may be several Test
Suites for a particular product for example. In most cases however a Test Suite is
a high level concept, grouping together hundreds or thousands of tests related by
what they are intended to test.
112. What is Test Tools?
Computer programs used in the testing of a system, a component of the system,
or its documentation.

113. What is Thread Testing?

A variation of top-down testing where the progressive integration of components
follows the implementation of subsets of the requirements, as opposed to the
integration of components by successively lower levels.
114. What is Top Down Testing?
An approach to integration testing where the component at the top of the
component hierarchy is tested first, with lower level components being simulated

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 13

 by stubs. Tested components are then used to test lower level components. The
process is repeated until the lowest level components have been tested.
115. What is Total Quality Management?
A company commitment to develop a process that achieves high quality product
and customer satisfaction.
116. What is Traceability Matrix?
A document showing the relationship between Test Requirements and Test Cases.
117. What is Usability Testing?
Testing the ease with which users can learn and use a product.
118. What is Use Case?

The specification of tests that are conducted from the end-user perspective. Use
cases tend to focus on operating software as an end-user would conduct their
day-to-day activities.
119. What is Unit Testing?
Testing of individual software components.

120. how do the companies expect the defect reporting to be communicated by

the tester to the development team. Can the excel sheet template be used for
defect reporting. If so what are the common fields that are to be included ? who
assigns the priority and severity of the defect
To report bugs in excel:Sno. Module Screen/ Section Issue detail SeverityPrioriety
Issuestatusthis is how to report bugs in excel sheet and also set filters on the
Columns attributes.But most of the companies use the share point process of
reporting bugs In this when the project came for testing a module wise detail of
project is inserted to the defect management system they are using. It contains
following field1. Date2. Issue brief3. Issue description (used for developer to
regenerate the issue)4. Issue status( active, resolved, on hold, suspend and not
able to regenerate)5. Assign to (Names of members allocated to project)6.
Priority(High, medium and low)7. Severity (Major, medium and low)
121. How do you plan test automation?

1. Prepare the automation Test plan2. Identify the scenario3. Record the
scenario4. Enhance the scripts by inserting check points and Conditional Loops5.

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 14

 Incorporated Error Handler6. Debug the script7. Fix the issue8. Rerun the script
and report the result122. Does automation replace manual testing?There can be
some functionality which cannot be tested in an automated tool so we may have
to do it manually. therefore manual testing can never be replaced. (We can write
the scripts for negative testing also but it is hectic task)when we talk about real
environment we do negative testing manually.
123. How will you choose a tool for test automation?
choosing of a tool depends on many things ...1. Application to be tested2. Test
environment3. Scope and limitation of the tool.4. Feature of the tool.5. Cost of the
tool.6. Whether the tool is compatible with your application which means tool
should be able to interact with your application7. Ease of use

124. How you will evaluate the tool for test automation?
We need to concentrate on the features of the tools and how this could be
beneficial for our project. The additional new features and the enhancements of
the features will also help.125. How you will describe testing activities?Testing
activities start from the elaboration phase. The various testing activities are
preparing the test plan, Preparing test cases, Execute the test case, Log teh bug,
validate the bug & take appropriate action for the bug, Automate the test cases.
126. What testing activities you may want to automate?
Automate all the high priority test cases which needs to be executed as a part of
regression testing for each build cycle.
127. Describe common problems of test automation.
The common problems are:1. Maintenance of the old script when there is a feature
change or enhancement2. The change in technology of the application will affect
the old scripts128. What types of scripting techniques for test automation do you
know?5 types of scripting techniques:LinearStructuredSharedData DrivenKey
Driven
129. What is memory leaks and buffer overflows ?
Memory leaks means incomplete deallocation - are bugs that happen very often.
Buffer overflow means data sent as input to the server that overflows the
boundaries of the input area, thus causing the server to misbehave. Buffer
overflows can be used.

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 15

 130. What are the major differences between stress testing,load testing,Volume
testing?
Stress testing means increasing the load ,and checking the performance at each
level. Load testing means at a time giving more load by the expectation and
checking the performance at that level. Volume testing means first we have to
apply initial.

31. How do you introduce a new software QA process?

A: It depends on the size of the organization and the risks involved. For large
organizations with high-risk projects, a serious management buy-in is required
and a formalized QA process is necessary. For medium size organizations with
lower risk projects, management and organizational buy-in and a slower, step-by-
step process is required. Generally speaking, QA processes should be balanced
with productivity, in order to keep any bureaucracy from getting out of hand. For
smaller groups or projects, an ad-hoc process is more appropriate. A lot depends
on team leads and managers, feedback to developers and good communication is
essential among customers, managers, developers, test engineers and testers.
Regardless the size of the company, the greatest value for effort is in managing
requirement processes, where the goal is requirements that are clear, complete
andtestable.

Q: 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.
132. What makes a good test engineer?
A: Good test engineers have a "test to break" attitude. We, good test engineers,
take the point of view of the customer; have a strong desire for quality and an
attention to detail. Tact and diplomacy are useful in maintaining a cooperative
relationship with developers and an ability to communicate with both technical and

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 16

 non-technical people. Previous software development experience is also helpful
as it provides a deeper understanding of the software development process, gives
the test engineer an appreciation for the developers' point of view and reduces
the learning curve in automated test tool programming.G C Reddy is a good test
engineer because he 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.
Q: 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.Q: 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;• Test conditions/setup;• Input data requirements/steps, and•
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.
Q: 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.
Additionally, determinations should be made regarding requirements, software,
hardware, safety impact, etc., for regression testing to check the fixes didn't
create other problems elsewhere. If a problem-tracking system is in place, it
should encapsulate these determinations. A variety of commercial, problem-
tracking/management software tools are available. These tools, with the detailed
input of software test engineers, will give the team complete information so

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 17

 developers can understand the bug, get an idea of its severity, reproduce it and
fix it.

Q: 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. Rob Davis has had experience with a full range
of CM tools and concepts, and can easily adapt to your software tool and process
needs.
Q: 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.
Q: What if there isn't enough time for thorough testing?
A: 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. Use
risk analysis to determine where testing should be focused. This requires
judgment skills, common sense and experience. The checklist should include
answers to the following questions:• 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-

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 18

 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?
Q: 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.Q: 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. Additionally, try to...• Ensure the code is well commented and well
documented; this makes changes easier for the developers.• Use rapid
prototyping whenever possible; this will help customers feel sure of their
requirements and minimize changes.• In the project's initial schedule, allow for
some extra time to commensurate with probable changes.Move new requirements
to a 'Phase 2' version of an application and use the original requirements for the
'Phase 1' version.Negotiate to allow only easily implemented new requirements
into the project.• Ensure customers and management understand scheduling
impacts, inherent risks and costs of significant requirements changes. Then let
management or the customers decide if the changes are warranted; after all,
that's their job.• Balance the effort put into setting up automated testing with the
expected effort required to redo them to deal with changes.• Design some
flexibility into automated test scripts;• Focus initial automated testing on
application aspects that are most likely to remain unchanged;• Devote
appropriate effort to risk analysis of changes, in order to minimize regression-
testing needs;• Design some flexibility into test cases; this is not easily done;
the best bet is to minimize the detail in the test cases, or set up only higher-level
generic-type test plans;Focus less on detailed test plans and test cases and more
on ad-hoc testing with an understanding of the added risk this entails.
Q: How do you know when to stop testing?

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 19

 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.

Q: 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.

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 affects areas, such as minor improvements in the user interface,
it may not be a significant risk.

Q: What is performance testing?

A: Although performance testing is described as a part of system testing, it can be
regarded as a distinct level of testing. Performance testing verifies loads, volumes
and response times, as defined by requirements.
Q: 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.
Q: What is installation testing?
A: Installation testing is testing full, partial, upgrade, or install/uninstall processes.
The installation test for a release is conducted with the objective of demonstrating
production readiness.This test includes the inventory of configuration items,

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 20

 performed by the application's System Administration, the evaluation of data
readiness, and dynamic tests focused on basic system functionality. When
necessary, a sanity test is performed, following installation testing.
Q: What is security/penetration testing?
A: Security/penetration testing is testing how well the system is protected against
unauthorized internal or external access, or willful damage.This type of testing
usually requires sophisticated testing techniques.
Q: What is recovery/error testing?
A: Recovery/error testing is testing how well a system recovers from crashes,
hardware failures, or other catastrophic problems.
Q: What is compatibility testing?

A: Compatibility testing is testing how well software performs in a particular

hardware, software, operating system, or networkThis test includes the inventory
of configuration items, performed by the application's System Administration, the
evaluation of data readiness, and dynamic tests focused on basic system
functionality. When necessary, a sanity test is performed, following installation
testing.
Q: What is security/penetration testing?

A: Security/penetration testing is testing how well the system is protected against

unauthorized internal or external access, or willful damage.This type of testing
usually requires sophisticated testing techniques.
Q: What is recovery/error testing?
A: Recovery/error testing is testing how well a system recovers from crashes,
hardware failures, or other catastrophic problems.

Q: What is compatibility testing?

A: Compatibility testing is testing how well software performs in a particular
hardware, software, operating system, or network
Q: What is comparison testing?
A: Comparison testing is testing that compares software weaknesses and
strengths to those of competitors' products.

Q: What is acceptance testing?

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 21

 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.

Q: What is alpha testing?

A: Alpha testing is testing of an application when development is nearing
completion. Minor design changes can still be made as a result of alpha testing.
Alpha testing is typically performed by a group that is independent of the design
team, but still within the company, e.g. in-house software test engineers, or
software QA engineers.

Q: 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.
Q: What is a Test/QA Team Lead?

A: The Test/QA Team Lead coordinates the testing activity, communicates testing
status to management and manages the test team.
Q: What testing roles are standard on most testing projects?
A: Depending on the organization, the following roles are more or less standard on
most testing projects: Testers, Test Engineers, Test/QA Team Lead, Test/QA
Manager, System Administrator, Database Administrator, Technical Analyst, Test
Build Manager and Test Configuration Manager.Depending on the project, one
person may wear more than one hat. For instance, Test Engineers may also wear
the hat of Technical Analyst, Test Build Manager and Test Configuration
Manager.You CAN get a job in testing. Click on a link!
Q: What is a Test Engineer?
A: We, test engineers, are engineers who specialize in testing. We, test engineers,
create test cases, procedures, scripts and generate data. We execute test
procedures and scripts, analyze standards of measurements, evaluate results of

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 22

 system/integration/regression testing. We also...• Speed up the work of the
development staff;• Reduce your organization's risk of legal liability;• Give you
the evidence that your software is correct and operates properly;• Improve
problem tracking and reporting;• Maximize the value of your software;•
Maximize the value of the devices that use it;• Assure the successful launch of
your product by discovering bugs and design flaws, before users get
discouraged, before shareholders loose their cool and before employees get
bogged down;• Help the work of your development staff, so the development
team can devote its time to build up your product;• Promote continual
improvement;• Provide documentation required by FDA, FAA, other regulatory
agencies and your customers;• Save money by discovering defects 'early' in the
design process, before failures occur in production, or in the field;• Save the
reputation of your company by discovering bugs and design flaws; before bugs
and design flaws damage the reputation of your company.
Q: What is a Test Build Manager?
A: Test Build Managers deliver current software versions to the test environment,
install the application's software and apply software patches, to both the
application and the operating system, set-up, maintain and back up test
environment hardware.Depending on the project, one person may wear more than
one hat. For instance, a Test Engineer may also wear the hat of a Test Build
Manager.
Q: What is a System Administrator?
A: Test Build Managers, System Administrators, Database Administrators deliver
current software versions to the test environment, install the application's
software and apply software patches, to both the application and the operating
system, set-up, maintain and back up test environment hardware.Depending on
the project, one person may wear more than one hat. For instance, a Test Engineer
may also wear the hat of a System Administrator.
Q: What is a Database Administrator?
A: Test Build Managers, System Administrators and Database Administrators
deliver current software versions to the test environment, install the application's
software and apply software patches, to both the application and the operating
system, set-up, maintain and back up test environment hardware. Depending on

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 23

 the project, one person may wear more than one hat. For instance, a Test Engineer
may also wear the hat of a Database Administrator.
Q: What is a Technical Analyst?

A: Technical Analysts perform test assessments and validate system/functional

test requirements. Depending on the project, one person may wear more than one
hat. For instance, Test Engineers may also wear the hat of a Technical Analyst.
Q: What is a Test Configuration Manager?
A: Test Configuration Managers maintain test environments, scripts, software and
test data. Depending on the project, one person may wear more than one hat. For
instance, Test Engineers may also wear the hat of a Test Configuration Manager.

Q: 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.
Q: What is software testing methodology?

A: One software testing methodology is the use a three step process of...1.
Creating a test strategy;2. Creating a test plan/design; and3. Executing
tests.This methodology can be used and molded to your organization's needs. G
C Reddy believes that using this methodology is important in the development and
ongoing maintenance of his clients' applications.
Q: 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.
Q: How do you create a test plan/design?
A: Test scenarios and/or cases are prepared by reviewing functional requirements
of the release and preparing logical groups of functions that can be further broken
into test procedures. Test procedures define test conditions, data to be used for
testing and expected results, including database updates, file outputs, report
results. Generally speaking...• Test cases and scenarios are designed to
represent both typical and unusual situations that may occur in the application.•
Test engineers define unit test requirements and unit test cases. Test engineers

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 24

 also execute unit test cases.• It is the test team that, with assistance of
developers and clients, develops test cases and scenarios for integration and
system testing.• Test scenarios are executed through the use of test procedures
or scripts.• Test procedures or scripts define a series of steps necessary to
perform one or more test scenarios.• Test procedures or scripts include the
specific data that will be used for testing the process or transaction.• Test
procedures or scripts may cover multiple test scenarios.• Test scripts are
mapped back to the requirements and traceability matrices are used to ensure
each test is within scope.• Test data is captured and base lined, prior to testing.
This data serves as the foundation for unit and system testing and used to
exercise system functionality in a controlled environment.• Some output data is
also base-lined for future comparison. Base-lined data is used to support future
application maintenance via regression testing.• A pretest meeting is held to
assess the readiness of the application and the environment and data to be tested.
A test readiness document is created to indicate the status of the entrance criteria
of the release.Inputs for this process:• Approved Test Strategy Document.•
Test tools, or automated test tools, if applicable.• Previously developed scripts,
if applicable.• Test documentation problems uncovered as a result of testing.•
A good understanding of software complexity and module path coverage, derived
from general and detailed design documents, e.g. software design document,
source code, and software complexity data.Outputs for this process:• Approved
documents of test scenarios, test cases, test conditions, and test data.• Reports
of software design issues, given to software developers for correction.
Q: How do you execute tests?

A: Execution of tests is completed by following the test documents in a methodical

manner. As each test procedure is performed, an entry is recorded in a test
execution log to note the execution of the procedure and whether or not the test
procedure uncovered any defects. Checkpoint meetings are held throughout the
execution phase. Checkpoint meetings are held daily, if required, to address and
discuss testing issues, status and activities.• The output from the execution of
test procedures is known as test results. Test results are evaluated by test
engineers to determine whether the expected results have been obtained. All
discrepancies/anomalies are logged and discussed with the software team lead,
hardware test lead, programmers, software engineers and documented for further
investigation and resolution. Every company has a different process for logging

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 25

 and reporting bugs/defects uncovered during testing.• A pass/fail criteria is
used to determine the severity of a problem, and results are recorded in a test
summary report. The severity of a problem, found during system testing, is
defined in accordance to the customer's risk assessment and recorded in their
selected tracking tool.• Proposed fixes are delivered to the testing environment,
based on the severity of the problem. Fixes are regression tested and flawless
fixes are migrated to a new baseline. Following completion of the test, members of
the test team prepare a summary report. The summary report is reviewed by the
Project Manager, Software QA Manager and/or Test Team Lead.• After a
particular level of testing has been certified, it is the responsibility of the
Configuration Manager to coordinate the migration of the release software
components to the next test level, as documented in the Configuration
Management Plan. The software is only migrated to the production environment
after the Project Manager's formal acceptance.• The test team reviews test
document problems identified during testing, and update documents where
appropriate.Inputs for this process:• Approved test documents, e.g. Test Plan,
Test Cases, Test Procedures.• Test tools, including automated test tools, if
applicable.• Developed scripts.• Changes to the design, i.e. Change Request
Documents.• Test data.• Availability of the test team and project team.•
General and Detailed Design Documents, i.e. Requirements Document, Software
Design Document.• A software that has been migrated to the test environment,
i.e. unit tested code, via the Configuration/Build Manager.• Test Readiness
Document.• Document Updates.Outputs for this process:• Log and summary
of the test results. Usually this is part of the Test Report. This needs to be
approved and signed-off with revised testing deliverables.• Changes to the
code, also known as test fixes.• Test document problems uncovered as a result
of testing. Examples are Requirements document and Design Document
problems.• Reports on software design issues, given to software developers for
correction. Examples are bug reports on code issues.• Formal record of test
incidents, usually part of problem tracking.• Base-lined package, also known as
tested source and object code, ready for migration to the next level.
Q: 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

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 26

 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.Inputs
for this process:• A description of the required hardware and software
components, including test tools. This information comes from the test
environment, including test tool data.• A description of roles and responsibilities
of the resources required for the test and schedule constraints. This information
comes from man-hours and schedules.• Testing methodology. This is based on
known standards.• Functional and technical requirements of the application.
This information comes from requirements, change request, technical and
functional design documents.• Requirements that the system can not provide,
e.g. system limitations.Outputs for this process:• An approved and signed off
test strategy document, test plan, including test cases.• Testing issues requiring
resolution. Usually this requires additional negotiation at the project management
level.
Q: What is security clearance?
A: Security clearance is a process of determining your trustworthiness and
reliability before granting you access to national security information.Q: What are
the levels of classified access?A: The levels of classified access are confidential,
secret, top secret, and sensitive compartmented information, of which top secret
is the highest.
What's 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* Traceability

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 27

 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.
What's a 'test case'?

A test case is a document that describes an input, action, or event and an

expected response, to determine if a feature of an application is working
correctly. A test case should contain particulars such as test case identifier,
test case name, objective, test conditions/setup, input data requirements,
steps, and expected results.Note that the process of developing test cases
can help find problems in the requirements or design of an application, since it
requires completely thinking through the operation of the application. For this

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 28

 reason, it's useful to prepare test cases early in the development cycle if
possible.

What should be done after a bug is found?

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 (see the 'Tools' section for
web resources with listings of such tools). The following are items to consider
in the tracking process:Complete information such that developers can
understand the bug, get an idea of it's severity, and reproduce it if
necessary.Bug identifier (number, ID, etc.)Current bug status (e.g., 'Released
for Retest', 'New', etc.)The application name or identifier and versionThe
function, module, feature, object, screen, etc. where the bug
occurredEnvironment specifics, system, platform, relevant hardware
specificsTest case name/number/identifierOne-line bug descriptionFull bug
descriptionDescription 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 toolNames and/or descriptions of file/data/messages/etc. used in
testFile excerpts/error messages/log file excerpts/screen shots/test tool logs
that would be helpful in finding the cause of the problemSeverity estimate (a
5-level range such as 1-5 or 'critical'-to-'low' is common)Was the bug
reproducible?Tester nameTest dateBug reporting dateName of
developer/group/organization the problem is assigned toDescription of
problem causeDescription of fixCode section/file/module/class/method that
was fixedDate of fixApplication version that contains the fixTester responsible
for retestRetest dateRetest resultsRegression testing requirementsTester
responsible for regression testsRegression testing resultsA reporting or
tracking process should enable notification of appropriate personnel at
various stages. For instance, testers need to know when retesting is needed,
developers need to know when bugs are found and how to get the needed
information, and reporting/summary capabilities are needed for managers.

What if the software is so buggy it can't really be tested at all?

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 29

 The best bet in this situation is for the testers to go through the process of
reporting whatever bugs or blocking-type 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 or insufficient integration testing,
poor design, improper build or release procedures, etc.) managers should be
notified, and provided with some documentation as evidence of the problem.

How can it be known when to stop testing?

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
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 judgement 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

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 30

 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 if the project isn't big enough to justify extensive testing?

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
same considerations as described previously in 'What if there isn't enough
time for thorough testing?' apply. The tester might then do ad hoc testing, or
write up a limited test plan based on the risk analysis.

What can be done if requirements are changing continuously?

A common problem and a major headache

Work with the project's stakeholders early on to understand how requirements

might change so that alternate test plans and strategies can be worked out in
advance, if possible.

It's helpful if the application's initial design allows for some adaptability so that
later changes do not require redoing the application from scratch.

If the code is well-commented and well-documented this makes changes

easier for the developers.

Use rapid prototyping whenever possible to help customers feel sure of their
requirements and minimize changes.

The project's initial schedule should allow for some extra time commensurate
with the possibility of changes.

Try to move new requirements to a 'Phase 2' version of an application, while

using the original requirements for the 'Phase 1' version.

Negotiate to allow only easily-implemented new requirements into the project,

while moving more difficult new requirements into future versions of the
application.

Be sure that customers and management understand the scheduling impacts,

inherent risks, and costs of significant requirements changes. Then let
management or the customers (not the developers or testers) decide if the
changes are warranted - after all, that's their job.

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 31

 Balance the effort put into setting up automated testing with the expected
effort required to re-do them to deal with changes.

Try to design some flexibility into automated test scripts.

Focus initial automated testing on application aspects that are most likely to
remain unchanged.

Devote appropriate effort to risk analysis of changes to minimize regression

testing needs.

Design some flexibility into test cases (this is not easily done; the best bet
might be to minimize the detail in the test cases, or set up only higher-level
generic-type test plans)

Focus less on detailed test plans and test cases and more on ad hoc testing
(with an understanding of the added risk that this entails).

Manual Testing Interview Q’s and A’s 32