QA Interview Questions

What does a bug mean?

A bug is any type of mistake, failure or error in the software code that prevents the function of the software from running correctly.

When should we start QA?

QA should be initiated as early as possible. The sooner the QA analysts, the leads and the testers are involved in the process; the more errors are avoided later in the development cycle. Static tests may be done prior to the software being completely functional. Cost, efforts and time are extremely difficult when quality assurance activities are delayed.

            Want to get QA Training From Experts? Enroll Now to get free demo on QA Online Course.

What is the lifecycle of QA testing?

• Requirements gathering
• Planning
• Analysis
• Design
• Implementation
• Execution 
• Conclusion
• Closure

What is a test plan?

A test plan is a document that provides a comprehensive overview of the planned Test. It specifies the potential risks, roles required, resources and solutions that will be used prior to the commencement of testing.

What is included in the test plan?

Test plans must contain the resources required, approach, Scope and the intended schedule of the tests.

What do you mean by a good test case?

A good test case indicates the parameters clearly within which the Test will be carried out and the bugs it expects to find. To keep it simple, a good test case is the one that identifies a defect. But all test cases will not detect any defects. So a good test case may also be the one with all the required details and coverage. A test case format includes the test case id, description, priority, severity, build version, environment, expected results, steps to execute and the actual results.

What is a use case?

A use case will describe the causes and effects of a function. It ensures that the action of the user and the response of the system communicate with each other correctly.

                                 We have the perfect professional QA Tutorial for you. Enroll now!

What is a test strategy?

The test strategy describes the plan for the software development test stage. In contrast to the testing plan, which describes a particular test, the testing strategy covers the whole testing phase of the development and contains the description of the test tools, test priorities, test groups, test summary and test record maintenance.

Are the test strategies and test plans similar?

No, Test plans gather and arrange test cases. Test strategies outline the testing approach. Generally, QA Lead or QA Manager manage the test strategies, whereas QA testers manage the test plans. Test strategy illustrates the overall testing approach for the complete project, while the test plan describes how the tests should be carried out for a specific application as part of a project.

. What is Testware?

Testware is test artefacts such as test data, test cases, test plans necessary for designing and executing a test.

Intermediate QA Interview Questions:

. How is severity different from priority?

The following are the important differences that must be recognized for good time management. Severity is the difficulty in resolving the problem. The priority is to determine the importance of dealing with the problem. The very fact that a problem is very serious does not necessarily mean that it is a high priority and vice versa.

The following is an example of low priority and high severity issues:

• The application will crash when an unused feature runs on existing software to which most users cannot access.

The following is an example of high priority and low severity issue:

• The wrong logo of the company is posted at startup.

QA Training

• Master Your Craft
• Lifetime LMS & Faculty Access
• 24/7 online expert support
• Real-world & Project Based Learning

Explore Curriculum

. Explain the differences between Assert and Verify commands.

The two commands have many similarities. Both of them verify whether the code conditions are true. What's different is what happens after that.

If an assert command fails, then it stops executing the code and pauses the Test.

If a Verify command fails, it moves forward and executes the remaining code.

. How does quality assurance, quality control and testing differ?

Quality Assurance: It is the planning process and determining how to monitor and implement quality processes across a team and the organization. This method determines and sets project quality standards.

Quality Control: It involves identifying defects and giving suggestions to enhance the software quality. The methods used for quality control are generally established through quality assurance. The main responsibility for implementing quality control rests with the testing team.

Testing: It is the process of checking for defects/bugs. It validates if the software developed by the development team satisfies the requirements established by the user and the standards established by the organization.

Here, the primary objective is to find bugs and the test teams work as quality guardians.

. What are the different types of testing?

There are a number of tests available. They include Regression testing, functional testing, exploratory testing, integration testing, white box testing, black-box testing, alpha testing, unit testing and beta testing.

. How does functional and non-functional testing differ?

Functional Testing: It focuses on the functionality of the application. This technique tests the behaviour of the system in accordance with requirements and specifications. They are directly related to the customer's requirements. We validate the test cases based on the given requirement and make sure that the test results are passed or not.

E.g., integration, regression, system, etc.

Non-Functional Testing: Non-functional tests, however, test the non-functional appearance of the application. It will not focus on requirements; rather, it focuses on environmental factors such as performance, load and stress. These are not specifically stated in the requirement and are provided in the quality standards. Therefore, as a QA, we must ensure that these tests also receive adequate time and priority.

. What various artefacts do you refer to when writing test cases?

• The primary artefacts used include:
• User Stories
• Wireframes
• Use Cases
• Acceptance criteria
• Multiple UAT test cases
• Specification of function requirements
• Requirement understanding document

. Have you ever managed to prepare test cases without having documents?

Yes, there will be some situations where we have to write test cases without actual documentation. In such situations, the best way to do so is to:

• Interact with BA and development team
• Look into the emails that have some information.
• Examine previous test cases/regression suite.
• If that feature is new, try reading the wiki pages or the app help to get an idea.
• Have a discussion with the developer and try to figure out what the changes are.
• According to your understanding, determine the condition of the Test and forward it to BA or stakeholders for review.

. What is meant by Validation and Verification?

Validation: It is the final product evaluation process to verify that the software satisfies the needs of the business. Performing the tests we perform on a daily basis is the validation activity like smoke testing, regression testing, functional testing, system testing, etc.

Verification: It is a process for evaluating intermediate work products in a software development cycle to verify that we are on track to create the final product.

. What do you mean by Quality Audit?

An audit refers to the on-site verification activity like examination, inspection for the processor quality system. It is the systematic analysis process for a quality system performed by an audit team or an external or internal quality auditor. Quality audits are conducted at predefined intervals to make sure that the institution has clearly defined internal control procedures related to effective action. The Audits are a critical management tool for checking objective proofs of processes.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new updates..!

Subscribe

. What is the traceability Matrix?

It is a document which maps and traces the needs of users with test cases. The primary purpose of the requirements traceability matrix is to ensure that every test case is covered so that there will be no functionality missing during software testing.

Experienced QA Interview Questions

. What types of verification techniques are you familiar with?

Three verification techniques are available. They are as follows: 

• Review: It is a method in which code/test cases are reviewed by a person other than the author who generated them. This is one of the easiest and most efficient ways to guarantee coverage and quality.
• Inspection: It is a technical and disciplined means of examining and correcting any faults in the test artefact or code. It has different roles. They include:
  • Recorder: It records the defects that occurred, minutes of meets and the points discussed.
  • Moderator: It facilitates the full inspection meeting.
  • Reader: Reads the document or code. The leader also conducts the full inspection meeting.
  • Reviewer: Any team member may be considered as a reviewer. This role may also be carried out by a group of experts.
  • Producer: The person who produced. It is ultimately their responsibility to update their document or code based on the comments.
• Walkthrough: It is a process where the document or code's author reads the content and obtains feedback. It is primarily an informational session rather than a correction section.

. What is Load testing, Volume testing and Stress testing?

Load testing: It refers to testing an application under an expected heavy load is called Load testing. In this case, the load refers to the huge volume of data, users, requests, messages, etc.

Volume testing: It refers to the process of checking the system if it can handle the desired amount of user data, requests, etc.

Stress Testing: If the system load is elevated beyond the normal range, it is called Stress testing.

. What is Test Metric, and what information is included in it?

Test Metric is called the Standard of test measurement. It consists of statistics describing the structure/content of a test. It includes information such as Test run, Total Test, Test passed, Test passed the first time, Test failed, and Tests deferred.

. What are a test driver and test stub, and why do we need them?

The stub is invoked from the Software element to be tested. This is utilized in the top-down approach.

The driver calls the components for testing. This is utilized in the bottom-up approach.

. What is ad hoc testing?

It is an informal means for testing the software. It will not go through the formal process such as requirement documents, test cases, test plans, etc.

Following are the Characteristics of Adhoc testing:

• It is carried out after the end of the formal testing of an application.
• The primary purpose of the ad hoc testing is to divide the application without going through any process.
• Testers who are performing the ad hoc tests should have a thorough understanding of a product.

. What is a 'Test-Driven Development' rule?

. What role does QA play in software development?

QA represents Quality Assurance. The QA team ensures quality by supervising the entire development process. QA monitors outcomes and adjusts processes to meet expectations.

Quality Assurance's roles include:

• The QA team is liable for monitoring the process that should be carried out for development.
• The Quality Assurance team is responsible for planning, testing and the execution process.
• The QA Lead will develop the schedule and agree on a QA plan for the product.
• The QA team conveys the QA process to its team members.
• The quality assurance team ensures that test cases are traceable to the requirements.

. How does Retesting and Regression testing differ?

Regression Testing: It is used to check whether or not new code changes affected the unchanged functionality. The main purpose of regression testing is to ensure that changes to the code do not affect existing functionality. Depending on the resources available, the regression test is performed along with the retesting.

Retesting: It is the Test for modules that failed during the last execution. Retesting is the Test which is carried out on the defects which have been corrected. The retesting has more priority than the regression test. Therefore it is always carried out before performing the regression test.

. What is the life cycle of a bug?

The bug life cycle is also called the defect life cycle. It is a specified set of states through which a bug passes. The number of states in which a defect passes varies according to the project.

New: When the new defect is initially recorded and displayed, the status is assigned to New.

Assigned: When the tester posts the bug, it is approved by the tester and assigned to the developing team.

Open: The developer begins the analysis and works on troubleshooting the defect.

Fixed: After making the required changes, the developer verifies the change and makes the status of the bug fixed.

Retest: At this stage, the tester performs the retesting and verifies the defect is fixed or not and changes the status as retest.

Reopen: If the bug exists even after the bug is fixed, then the tester changes the status to reopen. Then the bug goes through the bug life cycle once again. 

Verified: The bug is checked again by the tester after it has been fixed. if no bugs are found, then the status is changed to Verified.

Closed: If no bugs exist, it will go to Closed status.

Duplicate: if the defect matches with the previous bug or it is repeated twice, then it will become Duplicate.

Rejected: If the defect is considered as not a genuine defect, the status changes to Rejected.

Deferred: If the defect is not having priority and can be fixed in the upcoming release, then the status can be deferred.

. How do Preventive and Reactive approaches differ?

Preventive Approach: It is also called the Verification process. It is the process of preventing defects. Here, the tests are designed at the beginning of the software development cycle before software development takes place. The testers try to prevent the defects in the first steps; this is part of the quality analysis.

Reactive Approach: It is also called the Validation process. The reactive approach involves identifying defects. Here the tests are designed to be carried out after the software has been developed. We attempt to discover the faults. It falls under quality control.

Conclusion

The above are just a few of the frequently asked interview questions by the topmost companies. We hope you found the Frequently Asked Questions helpful. We would try to put in additional questions. We are trying to add more FAQs to assist you in preparing for your interview. Stay tuned to HKR Trainings blogs for more interview questions.