Q1. How does quality control differ from quality assurance?

Quality Control vs Quality Assurance

Quality Control Quality Assurance
Quality control is a product-oriented approach of running a program to determine if it has any
defects, as well as making sure that the software meets all of the requirements put forth by the
stakeholders

Quality assurance is a process-oriented approach that focuses on making sure that the
methods, techniques, and processes used to create quality deliverables are applied correctly.

Q2. What is Software Testing?

Software Testing is a process used to identify the correctness, completeness, and quality of
developed software. It includes a series of activities conducted with the intent of finding errors in
software so that it could be corrected before the product is released to the market.

Q3. Why is Software Testing Required?

Software testing is a mandatory process that guarantees that the software product is safe and
good enough to be released to the market. Here are some compelling reasons to prove testing
is needed:

It points out the defects and errors that were made during the development phases.
Reduces the coding cycles by identifying issues at the initial stage of the development.
Ensures that software application requires lower maintenance cost and results in more
accurate, consistent and reliable results.
Testing ensures that the customer finds the organization reliable and their satisfaction in the
application is maintained.
Makes sure that software is bug-free and the quality of the product meets the market standard.
Ensures that the application doesn’t result in any failures.

Q4. What are the two main categories of software testing?

Software testing is a huge domain but it can be broadly categorized into two areas such as :

Manual Testing – This is the oldest type of software testing where the testers manually execute
test cases without using any test automation tools. It means the software application is tested
manually by QA testers.
Automation Testing – This is the process of using the assistance of tools, scripts, and software
to perform test cases by repeating pre-defined actions. Test Automation focuses on replacing
manual human activity with systems or devices that enhance efficiency.

Q5. What is quality control? Is it similar to Quality Assurance?

Quality control is a product-oriented approach of running a program to determine if it has any
defects, as well as making sure that the software meets all of the requirements put forth by the
stakeholders.

Q6. What different types of manual testing are there?

Different types of manual testing are;

Black Box Testing

White Box Testing
Unit Testing
System Testing
Integration Testing
Acceptance Testing
Q7. Explain the difference between alpha testing and beta testing.
Alpha Testing – It is a type of software testing performed to identify bugs before releasing the
product to real users or to the public. Alpha Testing is a type of user acceptance testing.
Beta Testing – It is performed by real users of the software application in a real environment.
Beta Testing is also a type of user acceptance testing.
Q8. What are the different levels of manual testing?
Four levels of manual testing are:

Unit testing – It is a way of testing the smallest piece of code referred to as a unit that can be
logically isolated in a system. It is mainly focused on the functional correctness of the
standalone module.
Integration Testing – It is a level of software testing where individual units are combined and
tested to verify if they are working as they intend to when integrated. The main aim here is to
test the interface between the modules.
System Testing – In system testing all the components of the software are tested as a whole in
order to ensure that the overall product meets the requirements specified. There are dozens of
types of system testing, including usability testing, regression testing, and functional testing.
User Acceptance Testing – The final level, acceptance testing, or UAT (user acceptance
testing), determines whether or not the software is ready to be released.

Q9. What is a testbed in manual testing?

The testbed is an environment configured for testing. It is an environment used for testing an
application, including the hardware as well as any software needed to run the program to be
tested. It consists of hardware, software, network configuration, an application under test, other
related software.

Q10. Explain the procedure for manual testing?

The manual testing process comprises the following steps:

Planning and Control

Analysis and Design
Implementation and Execution
Evaluating exit criteria and Reporting
Test Closure activities
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Q11. What is the test case?

A test case is a document that has a set of conditions or actions that are performed on the
software application in order to verify the expected functionality of the feature.

Test cases describe a specific idea that is to be tested, without detailing the exact steps to be
taken or data to be used. For example, in a test case, you document something like ‘Test if
coupons can be applied on actual price‘.

Q12. What is API testing?

API testing is a type of software testing where application programming interfaces (APIs) are
tested to determine if they meet expectations for functionality, reliability, performance, and
security. In simple terms, API testing is intended to reveal bugs, inconsistencies or deviations
from the expected behavior of an API.

API Testing - Manual Testing Interview Questions - Edureka

Commonly, applications have three separate layers:

Presentation Layer or user interface

Business Layer or application user interface for business logic processing
Database Layer for modeling and manipulating data
API testing is performed at the most critical layer of software architecture, the Business Layer.

Q13. What’s the difference between verification and validation in testing?

Verification Validation
It is a static analysis technique. Here, testing is done without executing the code. Examples
include – Reviews, Inspection, and walkthrough.

It is a dynamic analysis technique where testing is done by executing the code. Examples
include functional and non-functional testing techniques.

Q14. What’s the difference between a bug and a defect?

A bug is a just fault in the software that’s detected during testing time. A defect is a variance
between expected results and actual results, detected by the developer after the product goes
live.

Q15.What are the advantages of manual testing?

Merits of manual testing are:
It is a cheaper way of testing when compared to automated testing
Analysis of product from the point of view of the end-user is possible only with manual testing
GUI testing can be done more accurately with the help of manual testing as visual accessibility
and preferences are difficult to automate
East to learn for new people who have just entered into testing
It is highly suitable for short-term projects when test-scripts are not going to be repeated and
reused for thousands of times
Best suited when the project is at the early stages of its development
Highly reliable, since automated tests can contain errors and missed bugs
Q16.What are the drawbacks of manual testing?
De-merits of manual testing are:

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Highly susceptible to human error and are risky
Test types like load testing and performance testing are not possible manually
Regression tests are really time-consuming if they are done manually
Scope of manual testing is very limited when compared to automation testing
Not suitable in very large organizations and time-bounded projects
The cost adds up, so, it’s more expensive to test manually in the long run
Q17. What’s the role of documentation in Manual Testing?
Documentation - Manual Testing Interview Questions - EdurekaDocumentation plays a critical
role in achieving effective software testing. Details like requirement specifications, designs,
business rules, inspection reports, configurations, code changes, test plans, test cases, bug
reports, user manuals, etc. should all be documented.

Documenting the test cases will facilitate you to estimate the testing effort you will need along
with test coverage and tracking and tracing requirement. Some commonly applied
documentation artifacts associated with software testing are:

Test Plan
Test Scenario
Test Case
Traceability Matrix
With this, we have completed basic questions based on manual testing. In the next part of this
Manual Testing Interview Questions article, let’s discuss advanced level questions related to
manual testing.

Advanced Level Manual Testing Interview Questions

Q18. What is the difference between manual testing and automation testing?
Manual Testing
Automation Testing

In manual testing, the accuracy, and reliability of test cases are low, as manual tests are more
prone to human error.

Automated testing, on the other hand, is more reliable as tools and scripts are used to perform
tests.

The time required for manual testing is high as human resources perform all the tasks.

The time required is comparatively low as software tool execute the tests

In manual testing investment cost is low, but Return of Investment(ROI) is low as well.

In automation testing investment cost and Return of Investment, both are high.

Manual testing is preferred when the test cases are run once or twice. Also suitable for
Exploratory, Usability and Adhoc Testing.

You can use test automation for Regression Testing, Performance Testing, Load Testing or
highly repeatable functional test cases

Allows for human observation to find out any glitches. Therefore manual testing helps in
improving the customer experience.

As there is no human observation involved, there is no guarantee of positive customer

experience.

Q19. When should you opt for manual testing over automation testing?
There are a lot of cases when manual testing is best suited over automation testing, like:

Short-time projects: Automated tests are aimed at saving time and resources yet it takes time
and resources to design and maintain them. For example, if you are building a small
promotional website, it can be much more efficient to rely on manual testing.
Ad-hoc Testing: In ad-hoc testing, there is no specific approach. Ad-hoc testing is a totally
unplanned method of testing where the understanding and insight of the tester is the only
important factor. This can be achieved using manual testing.
Exploratory Test: This type of testing requires the tester’s knowledge, experience, analytical,
logical skills, creativity, and intuition. So human involvement is important in exploratory testing.
Usability Testing: When performing usability testing, the tester needs to measure how
user-friendly, efficient, or convenient the software or product is for the end-users. Human
observation is the most important factor, so manual testing sounds seems more appropriate.
Q20. What are the phases involved in Software Testing Life Cycle?
The different phases involved in the software testing life cycle are:

Phases Explanation
Requirement AnalysisQA team understands the requirement in terms of what we will testing &
figure out the testable requirements.
Test Planning In this phase, the test strategy is defined. Objective & the scope of the project is
determined.
Test Case Development Here, detailed test cases are defined and developed. The testing
team also prepares the test data for testing.
Test Environment Setup It is a setup of software and hardware for the testing teams to
execute test cases.
Test Execution It is the process of executing the code and comparing the expected and
actual results.
Test Cycle Closure It involves calling out the testing team member meeting & evaluating cycle
completion criteria based on test coverage, quality, cost, time, critical business objectives, and
software.
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comment on your problems in the section below.

Q21. What is the difference between a bug, a defect and an error?

Bug – A bug is a fault in the software that’s detected during testing time. They occur because of
some coding error and leads a program to malfunction. They may also lead to a functional issue
in the product. These are fatal errors that could block a functionality, results in a crash, or cause
performance bottlenecks

Defect – A defect is a variance between expected results and actual results, detected by the
developer after the product goes live. The defect is an error found AFTER the application goes
into production. In simple terms, it refers to several troubles with the software products, with its
external behavior, or with its internal features.

Error – An error is a mistake, misunderstanding, or misconception, on the part of a software

developer. The category of developers includes software engineers, programmers, analysts,
and testers. For example, a developer may misunderstand a design notation, or a programmer
might type a variable name incorrectly – leads to an error. An error normally arises in software, it
leads to a change the functionality of the program.

Q22. What makes a good test engineer?

A software test engineer is a professional who determines how to create a process that would
best test a particular product in the software industry.

A good test engineer should have a ‘test to break’ attitude, an ability to take the point of view of
the customer
Strong desire for quality and attention to minute details
Tact and diplomacy to maintain a cooperative relationship with developers
Ability to communicate with both technical (developers) and non-technical (customers,
management) people
Prior experience in the software development industry is always a plus
Ability to judge the situations and make important decisions to test high-risk areas of an
application when time is limited
Q23.What is regression testing? When to apply it?
“Testing of a previously tested program to ensure that defects have not been introduced or
uncovered in unchanged areas of the software, as a result of the changes made is called
Regression Testing.”

Regression Testing Process - Manual Testing Interview Questions - Edureka

A regression test is a system-wide test whose main purpose is to ensure that a small change in
one part of the system does not break existing functionality elsewhere in the system. It is
recommended to perform regression testing on the occurrence of the following events:

When new functionalities are added

In case of change requirements
When there is a defect fix
When there are performance issues
In case of environment changes
When there is a patch fix
Q24. What is the difference between system testing and integration testing?
System Testing Integration Testing
System Testing tests the software application as a whole to check if the system is compliant with
the user requirements

Integration testing tests the interface between modules of the software application

Involves both functional and non-functional testings like sanity, usability, performance, stress an
load

Only functional testing is performed to check whether the two modules when combined give the
right outcome

It is high-level testing performed after integration testing

It is low-level testing performed after unit testing

Q25. Explain the defect life cycle.

A defect life cycle is a process in which a defect goes through various phases during its whole
lifetime. The cycle starts when a defect is found and ends when a defect is closed, after
ensuring it’s not reproduced. Bug or defect life cycle includes the steps as shown in the below
figure.

Bug life cycle - Manual testing interview questions - Edureka

If you wish to learn in-depth about Bug Life Cycle then you can refer this article on Software
Testing Tutorial.

Q26. What is the test harness?

A test harness is the gathering of software and test information arranged to test a program unit
by running it under changing conditions like stress, load, data-driven, and monitoring its
behavior and outputs. Test Harness contains two main parts:

– A Test Execution Engine

– Test script repository

Q27. What is test closure?

Test Closure is a document which gives a summary of all the tests conducted during the
software development life cycle and also gives a detailed analysis of the bugs removed and
errors found. This memo contains the aggregate no. of experiments, total no. of experiments
executed, total no. of imperfections discovered, add total no. of imperfections settled, total no. of
bugs not settled, total no of bugs rejected and so forth.

Q28. What is the difference between Positive and Negative Testing?

Positive Testing

Negative Testing

Positive testing determines that your application works as expected. If an error is encountered
during positive testing, the test fails

Negative testing ensures that your application can gracefully handle invalid input or unexpected
user behavior

In this testing, tester always check for an only valid set of values

Testers apply as much creativity as possible and validating the application against invalid data

Q29. Define what is a critical bug.

A critical bug is a bug that has got the tendency to affect a majority of the functionality of the
given application. It means a large piece of functionality or major system component is
completely broken and there is no workaround to move further. Application cannot be distributed
to the end client unless the critical bug is addressed.

Q30. What is the pesticide paradox? How to overcome it?

According to pesticide paradox, if the same tests are repeated over and over again, eventually
the same test cases will no longer find new bugs. Developers will be extra careful in those
places where testers found more defects and might not look into other areas. Methods to
prevent pesticide paradox:

To write a whole new set of test cases to exercise different parts of the software.
To prepare new test cases and add them to the existing test cases.
Using these methods, it’s possible to find more defects in the area where defect numbers
dropped.

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Q31. What is Defect Cascading in Software Testing?

Defect Cascading is the process of triggering other defects in the application. When a defect
goes unnoticed while testing, it invokes other defects. As a result, multiple defects crop up in the
later stages of development. If defect cascading continues to affect other features in the
application, identifying the affected feature becomes challenging. You may make different test
cases to solve this issue, even then it is difficult and time-consuming.

Q32. What is the term ‘quality’ mean when testing?

In general, quality software is reasonably bug-free, delivered on time and within budget, meets
requirements and/or expectations, and is maintainable. But again ‘quality’ is a subjective term. It
will depend on who the ‘customer’ is and their overall influence in the scheme of things. For
example, 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.

Q33. What is black box testing, and what are the various techniques?
Black-Box Testing, also known as specification-based testing, analyses the functionality of a
software/application without knowing much about the internal structure/design of the item. The
purpose of this testing is to check the functionality of the system as a whole to make sure that it
works correctly and meets user demands. Various black-box testing techniques are:

Equivalence Partitioning
Boundary Value Analysis
Decision Table Based Technique
Cause-effect Graphing
Use Case Testing
Q34. What is white box testing, and what are the various techniques?
White-Box Testing also known as structure-based testing, requires a profound knowledge of the
code as it includes testing of some structural part of the application. The purpose of this testing
is to enhance security, check the flow of inputs/outputs through application and to improve
design and usability. Various white-box testing techniques are:

Statement Coverage
Decision Coverage
Condition Coverage
Multiple Condition Coverage
Q35. What are the Experience-based testing techniques?
Experienced-based testing is all about discovery, investigation, and learning. The tester
constantly studies and analyzes the product and accordingly applies his skills, traits, and
experience to develop test strategies and test cases to perform necessary testing. Various
experience-based testing techniques are:

Exploratory Testing
Error Guessing
Q36.What is a top-down and bottom-up approach in testing?
Top-Down – Testing happens from top to bottom. That is, high-level modules are tested first,
and after that low-level modules. Lastly, the low-level modules are incorporated into a high-level
state to guarantee the framework is working as it is expected to.

Bottom-Up – Testing happens from base levels to high-up levels. The lowest level modules are
tested first and afterward high-level state modules. Lastly, the high-level state modules are
coordinated to a low level to guarantee the framework is filling in as it has been proposed to.

Q37. What is the difference between smoke testing and sanity testing?
Features Smoke Testing Sanity Testing
System Builds

Tests are executed on initial builds of software product Tests are done on builds that have
passed smoke tests & rounds of regression tests
Motive of Testing

To measure the stability of the newly created build to face off more rigorous testing To
evaluate rationality & originality of the functionalities of software builds
Subset of?

Is a subset of acceptance testing Is a subset of regression testing

Documentation
Involves documentation and scripting work Doesn’t emphasize any sort of documentation
Test Coverage

Shallow & wide approach to include all the major functionalities without going too deep Narrow
& deep approach involving detailed testing of functionalities and features
Performed By?

Executed by developers or testers Executed by testers

Q38. What is the difference between static testing and dynamic testing?
Static Testing Dynamic Testing
Static Testing is a white box testing technique, it includes the process of exploring the records to
recognize the imperfections in the very early stages of SDLC.

Dynamic testing includes the process of execution of code and is done at the later stage of the
software development lifecycle. It validates and approves the output with the expected results.

Static Testing is implemented at the verification stage.

Dynamic testing starts during the validation stage.

Static testing is performed before the code deployment.

Dynamic testing is performed after the code deployment

The code error detection and execution of the program is not a concern in this type of testing.

Execution of code is necessary for dynamic testing.

With this, we have completed theory questions. In the next part of this Manual Testing Interview
Questions article, let’s discuss some real-world scenario-based questions.

Real-World Based Manual Testing Interview Questions

Q39. How will you determine when to stop testing?
Deciding when to stop testing can be quite difficult. Many modern software applications are so
complex and run in such an interdependent environment, that complete testing can never be
done. Some common factors in deciding when to stop testing are:

Deadlines (release deadlines, testing deadlines, etc.)

Test cases completed with certain percentage passed
When the test budget is depleted
Coverage of code or functionality or requirements reaches a specified point
Bug rate falls below a certain level
When Beta or alpha testing period ends
Q40. What if the software is so buggy it can’t really be tested at all?
Often testers encounter a bug that can’t be resolved at all. In such situations, the best bet is for
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 cause severe
problems 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.

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comment on your problems in the section below.

Q41. How you test a product if the requirements are yet to freeze?
It’s possible that a requirement stack is not available for a piece of product. It might take serious
effort to determine if an application has significant unexpected 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. Else, create a test plan based on the
assumptions made about the product. But make sure you get all assumptions well documented
in the test plan.

Q42. What if an organization is growing so fast that fixed testing processes are impossible?
What to do in such situations?
This is a very common problem in the software industry, especially considering the new
technologies that are being incorporated when developing the product. There is no easy
solution in this situation, you could:
• Hire good and skilled people
• Management should ‘ruthlessly prioritize’ quality issues and maintain focus on the customer
• Everyone in the organization should be clear on what ‘quality’ means to the end-user

Q43. How do you know the code has met specifications?

‘Good code’ is code that works, that is bug-free, and is readable and maintainable. Most
organizations have coding ‘standards’ that all developers are supposed to adhere to, but
everyone has different ideas about what’s best, or what is too many or too few rules. There are
a lot of tools like traceability matrix which ensures the requirements are mapped to the test
cases. And when the execution of all test cases finishes with success, it indicates that the code
has met the requirement.

Q44. What are the cases when you’ll consider to choose automated testing over manual
testing?
Automated testing can be considered over manual testing during the following situations:

When tests require periodic execution

Tests include repetitive steps
Tests need to be executed in a standard runtime environment
When you have less time to complete the testing phase
When there is a lot of code that needs to be repeatedly tested
Reports are required for every execution
Q45. What is ‘configuration management’?
Every high-functioning organization has a “master plan” that details how they are supposed to
operate and accomplish tasks. Software development and testing are no different. Software
configuration management (SCM) is a set of processes, policies, and tools that organize,
control, coordinate, and track:

code
documentation
problems
change requests
designs and tools
compilers and libraries
Q46. Is it true that we can do system testing at any stage?
In system testing, all the components of the software are tested as a whole in order to ensure
that the overall product meets the requirements specified. So, no. The system testing must start
only if all units are in place and are working properly. System testing usually happens before the
UAT (User Acceptance Testing).

Q47. What are some best practices that you should follow when writing test cases?
Few guidelines that you need to follow while writing test cases are:

Prioritize which test cases to write based on the project timelines and the risk factors of your
application.
Remember the 80/20 rule. To achieve the best coverage, 20% of your tests should cover 80% of
your application.
Don’t try to test cases in one attempt instead improvise them as you progress.
List down your test cases and classify them based on business scenarios and functionality.
Make sure test cases are modular and test case steps are as granular as possible.
Write test cases in such a way that others can understand them easily & modify if required.
Always keep end-users’ requirements in the back of your mind because ultimately the software
designed is for the customer
Actively use a test management tool to manage stable release cycle.
Monitor your test cases regularly. Write unique test cases and remove irrelevant & duplicate test
cases.
Q48. Why is it that the boundary value analysis provides good test cases?
The reason why boundary value analysis provides good test cases is that usually, a greater
number of errors occur at the boundaries rather than in the center of the input domain for a test.

In boundary value analysis technique test cases are designed to include values at the
boundaries. If the input is within the boundary value, it is considered ‘Positive testing.’ If the
input is outside of the boundary value, it is considered ‘Negative testing.’ It includes maximum,
minimum, inside or outside edge, typical values or error values.

Let’s suppose you are testing for an input box that accepts numbers from ’01 to 10′.

Using the boundary value analysis we can define three classes of test cases:

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