Top 50 Manual Testing Interview Questions you Need to know In 2023

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Advanced Level Manual Testing Interview Questions

Q23. What is the difference between manual testing and automation testing?

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Q24. 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.

Q25. What are the phases involved in Software Testing Life Cycle?

The different phases involved in the software testing life cycle are:

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Q26. 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.

You can even check out the details of Manual Testing with the Manual Testing course.

Q27. 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

Q28.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.”

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

Q29. What is the difference between system testing and integration testing?

Q30. 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.

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

Q31. 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

Q32. 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.

Q33. What is the difference between Positive and Negative Testing?

34. What is your approach towards a severely buggy program? How would you handle it?

When dealing with a severely buggy program, a systematic approach is essential to identify, prioritize, and resolve the issues effectively. Here’s how I would handle it:

Bug Triage: Start by categorizing and prioritizing the bugs based on their severity and impact on the program’s functionality. Critical bugs affecting core functionalities should be addressed first.

Isolate and Reproduce: Reproduce the bugs in a controlled environment to understand their triggers and conditions. Isolating the bugs helps in diagnosing the root causes.

Root Cause Analysis: Conduct a thorough investigation to identify the root causes of the bugs. This may involve reviewing the code, logs, and system behavior to pinpoint the areas requiring correction.

Fix the Bugs: Develop patches or fixes to address the identified issues. Implement solutions that not only resolve the immediate problems but also consider the potential implications on other parts of the program.

Unit Testing: Test the individual fixes rigorously through unit testing to ensure that they don’t introduce new problems or regressions.

Q35. 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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Q36. 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.

Q37. 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.

Q38. 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 system’s functionality as a whole to ensure 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

Q39. 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

Q40. 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

Q41.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.

Q42. What is the difference between smoke testing and sanity testing?

Q43. What is the difference between static testing and 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

Q44. 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

Q44. 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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Q45. 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.

Q46. 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

Q47. What is a cause-effect graph?

A cause-effect graph, also known as a cause-and-effect diagram or Ishikawa diagram, is a visual tool used for problem-solving and root cause analysis. It was developed by Japanese quality control expert Kaoru Ishikawa and is often referred to as the “fishbone diagram” due to its resemblance to a fish skeleton.

The diagram helps identify and explore the potential causes leading to a particular problem or effect. It’s particularly useful in understanding the complex relationships between various factors that contribute to an issue. The main components of a cause-effect graph include:

1. Effect: The problem or issue you’re trying to address is placed at the head of the diagram.

2. Major Causes: These are the main categories of factors that could contribute to the problem. They are typically categorized into branches stemming from the main horizontal line (the “spine” of the fishbone).

3. Sub-causes: Each major cause is further broken down into sub-causes or specific factors that could be contributing to the problem. These are detailed within the branches of the diagram.

Q48. 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

Q49. 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

Q50. 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).

Q51. 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.

Q52. 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:

• Test cases with test data exactly as the input boundaries of input: 1 and 10 (in this case)
• Values just below the extreme edges of input domains: 0 and 9
• Test data with values just above the extreme edges of input domains: 2 and 11

So the boundary values would be 0, 1, 2 and 9, 10, 11.

Q53.Why is it impossible to test a program thoroughly or 100% bug-free?

It is impossible to build a software product that is 100% bug-free. You can just minimize the error, flaw, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result.

Here are the two principal reasons that make it impossible to test a program entirely.

• Software specifications can be subjective and can lead to different interpretations.
• A software program might require too many inputs, outputs, and path combinations to test.

Q54. Can automation testing replace manual testing?

Automation testing isn’t a replacement for manual testing. No matter how good automated tests are, you cannot automate everything. Manual tests play an important role in software development and come in handy whenever you have a case where you cannot use automation. Automated and manual testing each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Manual testing helps us understand the entire problem and more flexibly explore other angles of tests. On the other hand, automated testing helps save time in the long run by accomplishing a large number of surface-level tests in a short time.

That’s it, folks! We have reached the end of this ‘Manual Testing Interview Questions.’ You could also look at Automation Testing Interview Questions while you’re at it.

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