Software Testing Interview Questions & Answers

1. What is Software Testing?

-> Software Testing is the process of evaluating and verifying that a software application meets the
required results and is free of defects.

2. Why is Software Testing important?

-> It ensures the quality of the product, detects bugs early, improves performance, and prevents
costly failures.

3. What is the difference between Manual Testing and Automation Testing?

-> Manual Testing is done by humans without tools, while Automation Testing uses scripts and tools
to perform tests automatically.

4. What are the different levels of Testing?

-> Unit Testing, Integration Testing, System Testing, and Acceptance Testing.

5. What is a Test Case?

-> A set of actions executed to verify a particular feature or functionality of the software.

6. What is a Test Scenario?

-> A high-level idea of what to test, focusing on functionality or business flows.

7. What is the difference between Test Case and Test Scenario?

-> Test Case is detailed with steps and data, Test Scenario is broader and focuses on testing flows.

8. What is a Bug/Defect?

-> An error or flaw in the software that causes incorrect or unexpected results.

9. What is the difference between Error, Defect, and Failure?

-> Error: Mistake in code; Defect: Bug found during testing; Failure: System doesn't work in
production.

10. What is a Test Plan?

-> A document outlining the scope, approach, resources, and schedule of testing activities.

11. What is a Test Strategy?

-> A high-level document that defines the testing approach of the organization.
12. What is the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)?

-> A process used by software industry to design, develop, and test high quality software.

13. What is STLC (Software Testing Life Cycle)?

-> STLC defines the steps/stages involved in testing software such as planning, designing,
execution, and closure.

14. What is QA and QC?

-> QA is process-oriented and focuses on preventing defects. QC is product-oriented and focuses

15. What is Verification and Validation?

-> Verification checks if the product is built correctly; Validation checks if the right product is built.

16. What is the difference between Static Testing and Dynamic Testing?

-> Static Testing is done without executing the code. Dynamic Testing involves running the code.

17. What is Functional and Non-Functional Testing?

-> Functional Testing verifies features; Non-Functional Testing checks performance, usability, etc.

18. What is Smoke Testing?

-> A basic test to check if the major functions of an application work correctly.

19. What is Sanity Testing?

-> A narrow regression test that focuses on one or a few areas of functionality.

20. What is Regression Testing?

-> Testing existing features after changes to ensure everything still works.

21. What is Re-Testing?

-> Testing a specific defect again after it has been fixed.

22. What is Exploratory Testing?

-> Testing where the tester actively explores the application to find defects.

23. What is Ad-hoc Testing?

-> Informal testing without any planning or documentation.

24. What is Compatibility Testing?

25. What is Usability Testing?

-> Testing to ensure the application is user-friendly and easy to use.

26. What is Acceptance Testing?

-> Testing performed by the client to decide whether to accept the product.

27. What is Alpha Testing and Beta Testing?

-> Alpha: In-house testing by developers. Beta: External user testing before release.

28. What is End-to-End Testing?

-> Testing the complete workflow of the application from start to finish.

29. What is Black Box Testing?

-> Testing without knowing the internal structure of the application.

30. What is White Box Testing?

-> Testing with knowledge of the internal workings of the application.

31. What is Grey Box Testing?

-> Combination of Black and White Box Testing techniques.

32. What is Unit Testing?

-> Testing individual components or functions in isolation.

33. What is Integration Testing?

-> Testing the interfaces and interactions between integrated components.

34. What is Test Coverage?

-> A metric to measure how much of the code or features are tested.

35. What is a Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM)?

-> A document that maps and traces user requirements with test cases.

36. What is the Defect Life Cycle?

-> The journey of a defect from discovery to closure.

37. What is Severity and Priority in bug tracking?

-> Severity: Impact of defect. Priority: Urgency to fix it.

-> Testing at the boundaries between partitions.

39. What is Equivalence Partitioning?

-> Dividing input data into valid and invalid partitions to reduce test cases.

40. What is Decision Table Testing?

-> A technique used to test different input combinations and their outputs.

41. What is State Transition Testing?

-> Testing the transitions between different states of the application.

42. What is Defect Leakage?

-> When a defect is missed in testing and found in later stages or production.

43. What is Test Closure?

-> Final phase of testing where testing is completed and results are documented.

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

-> Positive: Valid input testing. Negative: Invalid input to test error handling.

45. What is Portability Testing?

-> Testing how easily software can be transferred to other environments.

46. What is Risk-Based Testing?

-> Testing functions based on risk of failure or business impact.

47. What is Big Bang Integration Testing?

-> Integrating all modules at once and testing after integration.

48. What is Top-Down and Bottom-Up Testing?

-> Top-Down: Starts from top modules to bottom. Bottom-Up: Starts from bottom modules upward.

49. What is a Test Environment?

-> Hardware/software configuration where testers perform their tests.

50. What is Test Data and why is it important?

-> Data used to execute tests. It's crucial for meaningful and valid test results.