Software testing is a procedure used in the software development life-cycle to confirm that the program is accurate and functions as intended. A crucial component of any software development project is testing.
Software testing, at its core, seeks to provide an answer to the following question: How can one make sure that the program performs as intended and doesn’t do anything improper? Gaining sufficient confidence that the software being tested generates the right output for a given input is the main objective of software testing. Below are the software testing interview questions from freshers to experience level.
Table of Contents
Software Testing Interview Questions (Freshers)
1. What is Software Testing?
Software testing is the process of evaluating a software application to find defects or bugs and to ensure that it meets the specific requirements and works as expected.
2. What are the Principles of software testing?
Software testing follows several key principles that ensure effective testing practices. Here are the core principles:
- Exhaustive Testing is Impossible: It’s not feasible to test all combinations of data inputs and scenarios due to time and resource constraints.
- Early Testing: Testing activities should start as early as possible in the software development lifecycle and should be focused on defined objectives. The earlier defects are detected, the cheaper it is to fix them.
- Defect Clustering: Most of the bugs are often found in a few modules. Identifying these risky modules can focus the testing effort.
- Pesticide Paradox: Repeatedly using the same set of tests can lead to diminishing returns; tests need to be regularly reviewed and revised.
- Testing is Context-Dependent: Different applications require tailored testing strategies based on their context and usage.
- Error Fallacy: Finding and fixing defects does not help if the system built is unusable and does not fulfill the users’ needs and expectations. This principle is about understanding that making a system 100% bug-free does not necessarily mean the system is fully useful and meets the requirements of the end-users.
- Testing is a Risk-based Approach: Testing should be used to mitigate risks, focusing on identifying the most critical and impactful defects first. Understanding the risks helps prioritize testing efforts and focus on areas that have the highest impact on the overall quality of the software.
3.What is Black Box Testing?
Black Box Testing is a technique where the tester evaluates the functionality of an application without knowing its internal code structure.
4. What do you mean by Equivalence Partitioning?
Equivalence Partitioning is a testing technique where the input data of a software application is divided into partitions of equivalent data.
- Partitions are called Equivalence classes.
- Partitions that contain valid values are called valid equivalence partitions.
- Partitions that contain Invalid values are called as invalid equivalence partitions.
5. What is White Box Testing?
White Box Testing is a testing technique where the tester evaluates the internal code structure, design, and implementation of an application.
6. What is Cucumber BDD?
- Cucumber is a tool/ framework that supports Behavior Driven Development (BDD) for running automated tests.
- Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) is a software development approach that encourages collaboration between developers, testers, and non-technical stakeholders to define and prioritize the behavior of the system through examples in natural language.
- Cucumber does not automate your test cases!
7. What are the different types of testing?
1. Unit Testing: It involves testing individual components of the software to ensure that each part functions as expected.
A good unit test has the following characteristics:
- It is tested with a single piece of functionality.
- It should run quickly and provide immediate feedback.
- It is fully automated and repeatable.
- It should be isolated and shouldn’t interact with external dependencies such as network, database, or file system unless needed.
2. Integration Testing: It checks the interfaces between components and interactions to different parts of the system such as an operating system, file system, and hardware.
3. Performance Testing: This testing is crucial to determine how a system performs in terms of responsiveness and stability under a particular load. It is not only used to identify the speed or effectiveness of a system but also to demonstrate the current system’s parameters in terms of delay and data processing speed.
5 best performance testing tools
- WebLoad
- StressStimulus
- Apache Jmeter
- SmartMeter.io
- Rational Tester
4. Regression Testing: is a type of testing that ensures that previously developed and tested software still functions correctly after a change.
- Example: It is possible that a change made in one part of the code may accidentally affect the behavior of other parts of the code.
- Regression testing involves running tests to detect such unintended side-effects.
- The main problem in regression testing is tie consumption.
5. Smoke Testing: is a preliminary testing technique performed to check the basic and critical functionalities of an application to ensure it is stable enough for further testing.
8. What are the advantages of using Selenium as an automation tool?
Selenium is an open-source and portable tool widely used for automated testing. Here are some advantages of using Selenium for automated testing:
- Open-Source: Selenium is a free tool that can be downloaded and community-based help is also available. This makes it a cost-effective solution for automated testing.
- Language Support: Selenium supports a variety of programming languages, including Java, Python, C#, Ruby, JavaScript, and more. This gives developers and testers the flexibility to use the language of their choice.
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: Selenium can be run on multiple operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and UNIX, which allows testers to quickly create a customized testing suite on any platform and execute it on another platform.
- Browser Compatibility: Selenium supports a variety of web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. This makes it easy to test applications across multiple browsers simultaneously.
- Framework Support: Selenium works with a variety of programming languages and frameworks, including ANT, Maven, TestNG, and more. It can also be integrated with other open-source tools for additional functionality.
- Mobile Testing: Selenium can automate mobile web application testing on Android and iPhone devices. This helps generate necessary results and resolve bugs in the application.
- User-Friendly Interface: Selenium’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to develop and perform tests. Its open-source capabilities allow users to script their own extensions, making them easy to create, alter actions, and manipulate at a high level.
9. Difference between functional and non functional testing.
| Functional Testing | Non Functional Testing |
|---|---|
Functional testing is performed to determine the system behavior as per the client functional requirements. | Non Functional testing is a process to determine the system performance as per client expectations. |
Functional testing is performed first with the help of manual and automation testing tools. | Non functional testing is performed after functional testing with the effective tools required. |
It is easy to perform manual testing as client requirements are the input in functional testing. | It is difficult to perform manual testing as scalability, reliability, speed and other performance parameters are input in non functional testing. |
Functional testing is of following types:
unit testing, smoke testing, sanity testing integration testing, user acceptance testing and regression testing. | Non functional testing is of following types:
performance testing, load, stress, volume testing, security testing and compatibility testing |
10. What is Exploratory Testing and when can it be used?
Exploratory testing involves simultaneous test design and execution against an application. It is particularly useful when there are no or poor specifications and when there is limited time to conduct testing.
Key Characteristics of Exploratory Testing:
- Simultaneous Learning: As testers explore the software, they simultaneously learn about its behavior and capabilities, which informs their immediate next steps in testing. This continuous learning process helps identify potential problem areas that scripted testing might miss.
- Dynamic Test Design: Unlike traditional test cases, exploratory testing does not rely heavily on documented test cases created in advance. Testers design their tests as they interact with the software, based on their observations and insights gained during testing sessions.
- Adaptive Testing: Testers adapt their approach based on the results they observe. This makes exploratory testing highly flexible and responsive to the application’s behavior under test.
- Critical Thinking: This approach requires a significant amount of creativity and critical thinking, as testers must think on their feet and decide the best course of action to uncover potential defects.
When to Use Exploratory Testing:
- New and Complex Applications: Useful during the initial development phases when not much is known about the product.
- After Formal Testing: Following structured testing phases, to catch any issues missed earlier.
- In Agile Environments: Fits well with agile development methodologies, where speed and iterative testing are prioritized.
11. What are different categories of debugging?
Different categories of debugging include:
- Brute force debugging
- Backtracking
- Cause elimination
- Program slicing
- Fault tree analysis
12. Explain about Boundary Value Analysis (BVA).
- This technique is considered as an extension of equivalence partitioning, but can only be used when the partitions are ordered.
- The minimum and maximum values of a partition are its boundary values.
- Boundary Value Analysis can be applied at all test levels. This technique is generally used to test requirements that call for a range of numbers.
- BVA is always expressed in percentage (%).
- The coverage of BVA is measured as the number of boundary values tested, divided by the total number of identified boundary test values.
13. What is an API?
API stands for Application Programming Interface. It is a means of communication between two software components.
When building software, developers rarely write software from scratch and make use of other third-party libraries. An API allows two software components to talk to each other by providing an interface that they can understand.
Another use of an API is to provide data required by an application. Let’s say you are building a weather application that displays the temperature. Instead of building the technology to collect the temperature yourself, you’d access the API provided by the meteorological institute.
14. What are the most important characteristics in a CI/CD platform?
- Reliability: the team depends on the CI server for testing and deployment, so it must be reliable. An unreliable CI/CD platform can block all development work.
- Speed: the platform should be fast and scalable to obtain results in a few minutes.
- Reproducibility: the tool should always produce the same results when given the same input so the team can trust that their work is consistent.
- Ease of use: It should also be easy to use and understand, so that the team can quickly set it up and solve any issues that may arise.
The most common example of a CI/CD tool is Jenkins.
15. What is a Test Plan? What does it include?
A test plan is basically a dynamic document monitored and controlled by the testing manager. The success of a testing project totally depends upon a well-written test plan document that describes software testing scope and activities. It basically serves as a blueprint that outlines the what, when, how, and more of the entire test process.
A test plan must include the following details:
- Test Strategy
- Test Objective
- Test Scope
- Reason for Testing
- Exit/Suspension Criteria
- Resource Planning
- Test Deliverables
Software Testing Interview Questions (Experienced)
1. What is Software development life cycle
The software and the steps that it goes through in order for it to be delivered to the customer.
- Sequential development models describe the software development process in a linear sequential flow of activities.
- This means that any phase in the development process should begin when the previous phase is complete.
2. Describe the Waterfall model and V model.
Waterfall Model
In the waterfall model, the development activities are completed one after the other.
Also considered as one of the Ancient models.
V Model
Unlike the Waterfall model, the V model integrates the test process throughout the development process implementing the principle of early testing.
In the V model we have two types of requirements, the user requirements and the software requirement specification (SRS).
3. What is Test-Driven-Development?
Test-Driven-Development (TDD) is a popular software development technique, first introduced by Kent Beck in his book with the same name, published in 1999.
In TDD, a developer working on a feature first writes a failing test, then writes just enough code to make that test pass. Once they have a passing test, they add another failing test and then write just enough code to pass the failing test. This cycle repeats until the developer has the fully working feature.
Benefits of TDD:
- Writing tests first forces you to think about the feature you are trying to build, helping you produce better code.
- As you always have a working set of tests at hand, a failing test indicates that the problem is with the code you just added, reducing the time spent in debugging.
- Writing tests help the developer to clarify the requirements and specification. It’s challenging to write good tests for a poor set of requirements.
- It’s tough to produce high-quality software unless you can test the software after each new change. You can never be sure that your new code didn’t break the working software. TDD gives you the confidence to add new code, as you already have a test in place.
4. What is cross-browser testing?
All web applications run in browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Edge Browser, Safari, etc. Though they all work primarily the same in implementing the web standards, there are subtle differences in all of them.
When building the software, it’s not always possible for the software developer to meticulously test the feature on multiple browsers, noticing the subtle inconsistencies.
In cross-browser testing, a software tester launches the web application in all the supported browsers and tries to test the same functionality on all of them.
5. What is 2FA (Two – Factor Authentication)
- It is an additional layer of security on top of the current authentication mechanism.
- This takes the form of a one time password ( OTP).
Implementations:
(i) SMS Based.
(ii) Time Based One Time Password (TOTP) Based (QR Code).
6. Explain Fluent Wait mechanism in Automation testing.
- Fluent weight finds the web element repeatedly at regular intervals of time until the timeout or till the object gets found.
- Unlike WebDriverWait we need to build customized weight methods based on condition.
- Both WebDriverWait and FluentWait classes implement a wait interface.
7. What is OAuth 2.0?
- OAuth 2.0 is the industry standard protocol for authorization.
- OAuth 2.0 can be achieved in different ways, that is with different grant types.
- Authorization code and Client credentials are the most commonly used grant type expert.
8. What are the different HTTP status codes that a server can return?
An HTTP status code is a three-digit number that indicates the status of an incoming HTTP request, that is, if the request has been completed or not.
A server can send the following five types of responses for an HTTP request.
- Information (100 – 199): These status codes provide a temporary response. The response consists of the status line and optional headers and terminates by an empty line.
- Success (200 – 299): Indicate that the incoming HTTP request was successfully received, understood, and accepted.
- Redirect (300 – 399): These status codes indicate further actions the client should take to satisfy the HTTP request. It can mean that the requested resource may have moved temporarily or permanently. It can also redirect the client to another URL.
- A client error (400 – 499): Indicate a problem with the client who initiated the HTTP request.
- Server error (500 – 599): The 5XX status code indicates a problem on the server while processing the request.
9. What is the Difference between Alpha Testing and Beta Testing?
Alpha Testing: It is a type of acceptance testing performed by the internal development team.
Beta Testing: It is a type of acceptance testing performed by a group of end-users.
10. Difference between SOAP and REST API’s
| SOAP | REST |
|---|---|
An XML based message protocol | An XML based message protocol
An architectural style protocol |
For WSDL for communication between consumer and provider. | Uses XML or JSON to send and receive data. |
Invokes service by calling RPC method | Simply call service by URL path |
Does not return human readable result | Result is readable which is just plain XML or JSON |
Transfer over HTTP, also uses other protocols such as SMTP, FTP etc. | Transfer is over HTTP only. |
JavaScript can call SOAP but it is difficult to implement. | Easy to call from JavaScript. |
Performance is not great compared to REST. | Performance is much greater compared to SOAP. |
11. Can you explain the process of conducting a code review?
Code review is an important step in a testing platform especially in Automation Testing. Below are the steps to typically take:
- Preparation: Before diving into the code, familiarize yourself with the context changes. This might involve reviewing some paperwork, considering different scenarios, and investigating the issue raised.
- Automated Checks: For the first pass, I use automated tools to ensure that the project’s coding standards are followed and that syntactical and stylistic errors are caught.
- Security: I’m particularly aware of any potential flaws in the system.
- Comments: Offer thoughtful, practical, and precise comments, try to explain any changes, and make suggestions when making improvements.
- Talk and Follow-Up: willing to talk with the author about any criticism you may have and, if required, review specific sections of the code again once the changes have been made.
12. State difference between verification and validation in software testing.
Validation: It is defined as a process that involves dynamic testing of software products by running it. This process validates whether we are building the right software that meets that customer requirement or not. It involves various activities like system testing, integration testing, user acceptance testing, and unit testing.
Verification: It is defined as a process that involves analyzing the documents. This process verifies whether the software conforms to specifications or not. Its ultimate goal is to ensure the quality of software products, design, architecture, etc.
13. What are the various components of Selenium?
Selenium consists of the following components:
- Selenium Remote Control (RC).
- Selenium Integrated Development Environment (IDE).
- Selenium WebDriver.
- Selenium Grid.
14. What are the common challenges faced in software testing?
QA’s deal with a lot of responsibility, so it makes sense that their daily tasks will present a lot of challenges.
Here are the common problems faced:
- Unstable Environment
- Tight Deadlines
- Testing Documents Created by Others
- Friday Releases
- Fixing bugs during testing
- Last Minute changes to requirements
15. What is meant by the workbench concept?
A workbench is a document that explains how an activity should be completed. Often, it is referred to as a step, phase, or task. Workbenches serve as platforms for building and monitoring testers’ work structures. Using this method, it is possible to divide tasks into each phase and to reach the customer’s expectations using the initial data.
Every workbench has five tasks, which are as follows:
- Input
- Execute
- Check
- Production output
- Rework
Conclusion
Software testing is an important activity that ensures quality, giving the confidence to release the software to the customers. This blog has explained the software testing process and its importance in software development. It also covers important concepts on manual and automation testing.
However, testing is only a single component of a good software development strategy. A development team should use high coding standards, best practices, and patterns to reduce the bug count. As a long-term strategy, the best way to improve the testing process is to test frequently, measure the results, take feedback and use it to get better.
I hope these software testing interview questions discussed above would help you gain more knowledge and understand better concepts that you lag.
References
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Multiple Choice Questions
Question 1: What is the purpose of the 'finally' block in Java exception handling?
Question 2: What is the output of the following code snippet?
int x = 5;
System.out.println(x++ + ++x);
Question 3: What is the purpose of the 'waitForNavigation' method in Playwright?
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of using selectors in Playwright?
Question 5: Which access modifier restricts access to members within the same package?
Question 6: Which HTTP method is typically used for retrieving data from an API without altering it?
Question 7: What is the purpose of an API key?
Question 8: What is the primary difference between synchronous and asynchronous APIs?
Question 9: What is the role of the 'new' keyword in Java?
Question 10: What is the purpose of the 'screenshot' function in Playwright?
Question 11: Which keyword is used to prevent a method from being overridden in Java?
Question 12: Which function in Playwright is used to interact with dropdown menus?
Question 13: What is the purpose of API caching?
Question 14: How can you handle authentication pop-ups in Playwright?
Question 15: Which collection class in Java allows duplicate elements?
Question 16: How do you emulate mobile devices in Playwright?
Question 17: Which exception is thrown by Java if an arithmetic operation produces a result that is too large to represent?
Question 18: Which of these cannot be used for a variable name in Java?
Question 19: What is the correct output for the below code?
class output {
public static void main(String args[])
{
double a, b,c;
a = 3.0/0;
b = 0/4.0;
c=0/0.0;
System.out.println(a);
System.out.println(b);
System.out.println(c);
}
}
Question 20: What will be the output of the following Java program?
class variable_scope {
public static void main(String args[]) {
int x;
x = 5;
{
int y = 6;
System.out.print(x + " " + y);
}
System.out.println(x + " " + y);
}
}
Frequently Asked Questions
- Understand the Basics.
- Update your Resume.
- Practice more of technical questions.
- Before attending interview research about the company first.
- Prepare questions yourself.
Possible Answer: I would like to be acknowledged as a recognized authority in this field within the next five years. I have no doubt that this job will give me an outstanding chance to achieve the same.
Keep learning new things and always keep yourself updated with the latest trends and technologies in the testing world.
- For Junior roles there would be two rounds of interviews. The first one is the aptitude test, followed by the technical interview.
- For Senior roles typically requires four or five rounds of interviews. The first round is a phone call with the recruiter, followed by a technical interview, and a project-based interview.
Super, extremely helpful for my feature interviews
Thanks for the informative blog