Interview questions on Software
Testing
1. What is PDCA cycle and where testing fits in?
Software testing is an important part of the software development
process. In normal software development, there are four important
steps, in short, the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle.
Plan
Act Do
Check
Plan: Define the goal and the plan for achieving that goal.
Do/Execute: Depending on the plan strategy decided during the
plan stage we do execution accordingly in this phase.
Check: Check/Test to ensure that we are moving according to
plan and we are getting the desired results.
Act: During the check cycle, if any issues are there, then we
take appropriate action accordingly and revise our plan.
Developers and other stakeholders of the project do the "planning
and building," while testers do the check part of the cycle.
Therefore, software testing is done in check part of the PDCA
cycle.
2. What is usability testing?
Usability testing is a testing methodology where the end customer
is asked to use the software to see if the product is easy to use, to
see the customer's perception and the amount of time taken to use
the software for a task. The best way to finalize the customer point
of view for usability is by using prototype software during the
initial stages. This way we can confirm that we are not missing
anything from the user point of view.
3. Which is the best testing model?
In real projects, tailored models are proven to be the best, because
they share features from The Waterfall, Iterative, Evolutionary
models, etc. and can fit into real life time projects. Tailored models
are most productive and beneficial for many organizations. If it's a
pure testing project, then the V model is the best.
, Interview questions on Software
Testing
4. What is the difference between a defect and a failure?
When a defect reaches the end customer it is called a failure and if
the defect is detected internally and resolved it's called a defect.
5. Should testing be done only after the build and execution
phases are complete?
In traditional testing methodology testing is always done after the
build and execution phases. Fixing a defect in maintenance is ten
times costlier than fixing it during execution. So the earlier we
catch a defect the more cost effective it is.
In the requirement phase we can verify if the requirements are met
according to the customer needs. During design we can check
whether the design documents cover all the requirements. In this
stage we can also generate rough functional data. We can also
review the design document from the architecture and the
correctness perspectives. In the build and execution phase we can
execute unit test cases and generate structural and functional data.
And finally comes the testing phase, done in the traditional way i.e.
run the system test cases and see if the system works according to
the requirements. During installation we need to see if the
hardware system is compatible with the software. Finally, during
the maintenance phase when any fixes are made we can retest the
fixes and follow the regression testing.
Therefore, testing should occur in conjunction with each phase of
the software development.
6. Will there be more defects in the design phase or in the
coding phase?
The design phase is more error prone than the execution phase.
One of the most frequent defects which occur during design is that
the product does not cover the complete requirements of the
customer.
Since the design phase drives the execution phase it is the most
critical phase to test. The testing of the design phase can be done
by reviews and inspections. On average, 60% of defects occur
during design and 40% during the execution phase.
Testing
1. What is PDCA cycle and where testing fits in?
Software testing is an important part of the software development
process. In normal software development, there are four important
steps, in short, the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle.
Plan
Act Do
Check
Plan: Define the goal and the plan for achieving that goal.
Do/Execute: Depending on the plan strategy decided during the
plan stage we do execution accordingly in this phase.
Check: Check/Test to ensure that we are moving according to
plan and we are getting the desired results.
Act: During the check cycle, if any issues are there, then we
take appropriate action accordingly and revise our plan.
Developers and other stakeholders of the project do the "planning
and building," while testers do the check part of the cycle.
Therefore, software testing is done in check part of the PDCA
cycle.
2. What is usability testing?
Usability testing is a testing methodology where the end customer
is asked to use the software to see if the product is easy to use, to
see the customer's perception and the amount of time taken to use
the software for a task. The best way to finalize the customer point
of view for usability is by using prototype software during the
initial stages. This way we can confirm that we are not missing
anything from the user point of view.
3. Which is the best testing model?
In real projects, tailored models are proven to be the best, because
they share features from The Waterfall, Iterative, Evolutionary
models, etc. and can fit into real life time projects. Tailored models
are most productive and beneficial for many organizations. If it's a
pure testing project, then the V model is the best.
, Interview questions on Software
Testing
4. What is the difference between a defect and a failure?
When a defect reaches the end customer it is called a failure and if
the defect is detected internally and resolved it's called a defect.
5. Should testing be done only after the build and execution
phases are complete?
In traditional testing methodology testing is always done after the
build and execution phases. Fixing a defect in maintenance is ten
times costlier than fixing it during execution. So the earlier we
catch a defect the more cost effective it is.
In the requirement phase we can verify if the requirements are met
according to the customer needs. During design we can check
whether the design documents cover all the requirements. In this
stage we can also generate rough functional data. We can also
review the design document from the architecture and the
correctness perspectives. In the build and execution phase we can
execute unit test cases and generate structural and functional data.
And finally comes the testing phase, done in the traditional way i.e.
run the system test cases and see if the system works according to
the requirements. During installation we need to see if the
hardware system is compatible with the software. Finally, during
the maintenance phase when any fixes are made we can retest the
fixes and follow the regression testing.
Therefore, testing should occur in conjunction with each phase of
the software development.
6. Will there be more defects in the design phase or in the
coding phase?
The design phase is more error prone than the execution phase.
One of the most frequent defects which occur during design is that
the product does not cover the complete requirements of the
customer.
Since the design phase drives the execution phase it is the most
critical phase to test. The testing of the design phase can be done
by reviews and inspections. On average, 60% of defects occur
during design and 40% during the execution phase.
