Top 25 Functional Testing Interview
Questions & Answers
Q1. What is Functional Testing?
Answer: Functional testing validates the software system against the functional
requirements. It focuses on what the system does rather than how it works.
Q2. How is functional testing different from non-functional testing?
Answer: Functional testing checks features, inputs/outputs, and workflows. Non-functional
testing checks performance, scalability, usability, and security.
Q3. What documents are used to prepare a functional test plan?
Answer: SRS (Software Requirement Specification), BRD (Business Requirement
Document), user stories, use cases, and wireframes.
Q4. What are the key components of a functional test plan?
Answer: Scope, objectives, strategy, test environment, entry/exit criteria, schedule, risks,
roles, and reporting.
Q5. How do you decide what to test first?
Answer: By prioritizing based on business impact, risk level, and critical functionality.
Q6. What are entry and exit criteria in functional testing?
Answer: Entry: Requirements signed off, environment ready, test data prepared. Exit: All
critical test cases executed, no major defects open, coverage achieved.
Q7. How do you handle incomplete or unclear requirements?
Answer: Raise clarifications with BA/PO, document assumptions, and use exploratory
testing if needed.
Q8. How do you ensure functional test coverage?
Answer: Using a traceability matrix to map requirements to test cases, along with risk-
based prioritization.
Q9. What are common types of functional test cases?
Answer: Positive, negative, boundary value, and equivalence partitioning test cases.
Q10. Explain smoke, sanity, and regression testing.
Answer: Smoke: Basic build verification. Sanity: Narrow check after changes. Regression:
Ensure existing functionality works after updates.
Q11. What kind of defects are usually found in functional testing?
Answer: Incorrect calculations, broken workflows, validation errors, navigation issues,
incorrect error messages.
Q12. How do you prioritize defects?
Answer: Based on severity (impact) and priority (business urgency).
Q13. What metrics do you track in functional test planning?
Answer: Test coverage, pass/fail rate, defect density, defect leakage, execution progress.
Q14. How would you test the login functionality of a website?
Answer: Check valid login, invalid login, empty fields, boundary values, and account lock
after multiple failed attempts.
Q15. How do you test an e-commerce 'Add to Cart' feature?
Answer: Add/remove items, update quantity, validate total price, handle invalid inputs, test
across browsers.
Q16. You are short on time, how do you prioritize functional testing?
Answer: Test high-risk, business-critical modules like login, payments, and checkout first.
Q17. What is regression testing and why is it important?
Answer: Regression testing ensures that recent changes have not broken existing
functionality.
Q18. What is boundary value testing?
Answer: Testing at the edges of input ranges, e.g., min, max, just inside, and just outside
values.
Q19. What is equivalence partitioning?
Answer: Dividing input data into valid/invalid partitions to reduce the number of test cases
while maintaining coverage.
Q20. What is a traceability matrix?
Answer: A document mapping requirements to test cases to ensure full coverage.
Q21. What is UAT (User Acceptance Testing)?
Answer: UAT ensures the system meets business needs and is ready for production use.
Q22. What is the difference between black box and white box testing?
Answer: Black box tests functionality without internal knowledge, white box tests internal
logic and structure.
Q23. What is the difference between verification and validation?
Answer: Verification = Are we building the product right? Validation = Are we building the
right product?
Q24. What is defect leakage?
Answer: Defects missed in testing but found later in production or UAT.
Q25. What challenges do you face in functional test planning?
Answer: Changing requirements, environment instability, limited time, lack of clear
documentation, test data issues.
