Top 50 Manual Testing Interview Questions and Answers to Prepare

Software testing is a critical aspect of software development, ensuring that applications meet the required quality standards and deliver reliable performance to end-users. Manual testing refers to the process of evaluating software manually to identify defects and ensure its functionality aligns with the specified requirements. Excelling in a manual testing interview requires a comprehensive understanding of various manual testing concepts and methodologies, which can be acquired through manual testing courses. In this article, we will delve into the top 50 manual testing interview questions and answers for freshers as well as experienced professionals and provide detailed answers to help them prepare effectively.

These manual testing interview questions and answers are categorised into three sections:

• Basic Manual Testing Interview Questions and Answers

• Intermediate Manual Testing Interview Questions and Answers

• Advanced Manual Testing Interview Questions and Answers

Additionally, there are bonus questions for further exploration that one must consider while preparing for manual testing interview questions and answers.

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Basic Manual Testing Interview Questions And Answers

Given below are some of the manual testing interview questions for freshers that help them clear the interview. Through these questions they can understand various manual testing concepts involved in some aspects of software development.

Q.1 What is software testing, and why is it essential for software development?

This is one of the best manual testing interview questions for freshers. Software testing is the process of evaluating software applications to identify defects and ensure they meet the specified requirements. It is crucial for software development as it enhances product quality, reduces the risk of post-release failures, and improves end-user satisfaction.

Q.2 Differentiate between quality assurance and quality control in software testing?

This is another one of the most common manual testing questions for freshers that must be included in your preparation list. Quality assurance focuses on processes and methodologies to prevent defects, while quality control aims to identify and rectify defects through testing.

Q.3 What are the key differences between manual testing and automated testing?

With this amongst the best manual testing interview questions, the interviewer will test your understanding of the topic. Manual testing involves human testers executing test cases, while automated testing utilises testing tools and scripts to automate test execution.

Also Read: 14+ Courses for Freshers to Start a Career in Automation Testing

Q.4 Explain the advantages of manual testing in software development.

Manual testing is cost-effective, provides immediate visual feedback, and excels in ad hoc and exploratory testing, ensuring a better understanding of the software's behaviour.

Q.5 Identify the potential drawbacks of manual testing and how to overcome them?

This is one of the frequently asked manual testing interview questions for freshers. Manual testing is susceptible to human errors, time-consuming for repetitive tasks, and may lack scalability. It requires careful test planning and applying test automation where it is feasible to overcome these challenges.

Q.6 What are the essential skills required to become a successful software tester?

Successful software testers possess problem-solving abilities, excellent communication skills, attention to detail, adaptability, and proficiency in related technical skills.

Q.7 Define Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and its key stages?

This is one of the top manual testing interview questions for freshers that will help them crack the interview. SDLC is a structured approach to software development, comprising stages like requirements gathering, design, coding, testing, deployment, and maintenance.

Q.8 What is a test case, and what elements should it include?

A test case is a set of conditions and steps to validate specific software functionality. It includes prerequisites, input values, expected outcomes, and test execution steps. This is one of the most basic manual testing interview questions for freshers.

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Q.9 Describe the importance of test data and its significance in software testing?

This is another one of the frequently asked manual testing interview questions that you should practise. Test data is essential to validate software behaviour under various scenarios, ensuring comprehensive test coverage and accurate results.

Q.10 What is a test plan, and what are its components?

A test plan is a comprehensive document outlining the testing approach, objectives, scope, resources, and schedule. It includes test strategy, test environment, entry and exit criteria, and risk assessment.

Q.11 What is the purpose of a test case execution phase in manual testing?

The test case execution phase involves running test cases to validate software functionality and identify defects, ensuring the application meets specified requirements.

Q.12 How do you ensure traceability between test cases and requirements in manual testing?

Traceability between test cases and requirements can be ensured by maintaining a traceability matrix that maps test cases to corresponding requirements, ensuring comprehensive test coverage and easy identification of untested functionalities.

Q.13 What is the significance of test closure activities in manual testing?

The significance of test closure activities is that they involve reviewing test results, documenting lessons learned, and generating test summary reports, providing stakeholders with an overview of the testing process and outcomes.

Intermediate Manual Testing Interview Questions And Answers For Freshers

Q.14 How do you prioritise test cases for execution during a testing cycle?

Test cases are prioritised based on risk assessment, business impact, and requirements criticality to ensure high-priority functionalities are thoroughly tested. This is one of the most common manual testing questions to prepare for.

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Q.15 What is regression testing, and why is it vital in software development?

Regression testing verifies that new changes do not adversely affect existing functionality. It is vital to ensure the stability of the software after every change. You should practice this manual testing interview question for your upcoming interview.

Q.16 Explain exploratory testing and when it is most beneficial?

This is amongst the top manual testing interview questions for experienced professionals that must be included in your preparation list. Exploratory testing involves simultaneous test design and execution, allowing testers to uncover defects through real-time exploration. It is beneficial in situations with limited test documentation or unclear requirements.

Q.17 How do you manage test dependencies to ensure effective testing?

Managing test dependencies involves identifying interdependent test cases and executing them in the appropriate sequence to avoid false test results. This is one of the most asked manual testing interview questions and answers for experienced candidates.

Q.18 Describe the role of the test environment in manual testing?

You should include this amongst the most common manual testing interview questions for freshers as well as experienced individuals in your preparation list. The test environment replicates the production environment, ensuring that testing conditions closely resemble real-world scenarios.

Q.19 What is defect severity, and how does it affect the testing process?

Defect severity indicates the impact of a defect on the system's functionality. High-severity defects require immediate attention, while low-severity defects can be addressed later.

Q.20 How do you handle ambiguous or incomplete requirements during testing?

In such cases, it is best to collaborate with stakeholders to clarify requirements and ensure that test cases align with their expectations. Questions like this help a lot during the manual testing interview.

Q.21 Explain the concept of smoke testing and its significance?

When preparing for manual testing interview questions and answers, you must consider this one of the top manual testing interview questions for experienced professionals. Smoke testing verifies whether the software is stable enough for further testing. It helps identify critical defects early in the testing process.

Also Read: Free Manual Testing Courses & Certifications

Q.22 How do you ensure comprehensive test coverage during testing?

This is a basic manual testing interview question. Comprehensive test coverage is achieved by designing test cases that address all functional and non-functional aspects of the software.

Q.23 What steps do you take when a test case fails unexpectedly?

When a test case fails unexpectedly, investigating the root cause, documenting the findings, and communicating the issue to the development team for resolution is crucial.

Q.24 How do you handle data-driven testing in manual testing?

In data-driven testing, using different sets of test data to validate software functionality, and ensuring it performs accurately under varying input conditions can be a significant approach.

Q. 25 What is a test harness, and how does it facilitate automated testing?

This type of manual testing interview questions and answers is asked a lot during the interview. A test harness is a set of test scripts and the test environment that supports automated test execution, allowing seamless automation of repetitive test scenarios.

Q. 26 Explain the concept of equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis in software testing?

Equivalence partitioning groups test cases into sets with similar behaviours, while boundary value analysis focuses on test cases at the edges of equivalence partitions to identify potential defects.

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Advanced Level Manual Testing Interview Questions For Experienced Participants

Q.27 How do you implement risk-based testing in your testing process?

This is one of the manual testing interview questions for experienced individuals as well as freshers. Risk-based testing involves prioritising test cases based on their impact on high-risk areas to optimise testing efforts and focus on critical functionalities.

Q.28 Explain the role of test data management tools in manual testing?

Test data management tools help create, maintain, and manage test data, ensuring consistency and privacy in testing. This is one of the important manual testing questions for freshers as well as experienced that will help you prepare for the manual testing interview.

Q.29 How do you conduct security testing and vulnerability assessments?

Performing security testing by using techniques like penetration testing and vulnerability assessments can be crucial in identifying and addressing potential security risks.

Q.30 Describe the process of usability testing and its importance?

Usability testing involves evaluating the application's user interface and overall user experience. It is crucial to ensure the software meets user expectations and is user-friendly.

Q.31 How do you handle test data privacy and protection during testing?

Ensuring sensitive data to be anonymized or masked during testing is important to safeguard user privacy and comply with data protection regulations. This is another one of the important manual testing questions for freshers that will help you prepare for the manual testing interview.

Q.32 What tools and techniques do you use for performance testing?

It is best to use performance testing tools like JMeter or LoadRunner to simulate user traffic and stress the application, assessing its scalability and responsiveness.

Q.33 Explain the integration of manual testing with continuous integration and deployment?

Manual testing interview questions and answers for experienced individuals consists of questions like this. Manual testing is integrated into CI/CD pipelines to ensure smooth testing cycles and timely deployment of high-quality software.

Q.34 Describe non-functional testing, including stress, load, and security testing?

This is amongst the frequently asked manual testing questions for freshers and people with experience alike. Non-functional testing focuses on evaluating aspects like performance, load handling capacity, and resilience against security threats. It also covers other aspects such as usability, maintainability, scalability, compliance, portability, and reliability of the software. Non-functional testing can be categorised into various types such as performance testing, load testing, stress testing, volume testing, security testing, disaster recovery testing, and many more. Each type of non-functional testing has its own objectives, methods, and tools.

Q.35 How do you ensure proper documentation of test artifacts and results?

Proper documentation of test artifacts and results can be ensured by maintaining comprehensive test documentation, including test plans, test cases, test execution reports, and defect logs.

Q.36 How do you stay updated with the latest trends and best practices in manual testing?

By actively participating in conferences, webinars, online forums, and reading industry publications it is essential to stay abreast of the latest developments in manual testing.

Q.37 How do you conduct risk-based testing in projects with limited time and resources?

In such projects, prioritising test cases based on high-risk areas and focusing on critical functionalities, ensuring optimal test coverage with the available resources is the best approach to conduct risk-based testing in projects with limited time and resources. This is one of the important manual testing interview questions for experienced people.

Q.38 Describe the role of test automation in continuous integration and delivery pipelines?

Test automation enables frequent and efficient testing in CI/CD pipelines, ensuring quick feedback and enabling faster software releases with minimal manual intervention.

Q.39 How do you handle compatibility testing across various browsers and devices?

By using the browser and device matrix to identify supported configurations and performing compatibility testing is essential to ensure the application functions correctly across different platforms.

Q.40 What are the best practices for effective defect reporting and resolution in manual testing?

Effective defect reporting involves providing clear steps to reproduce the issue, attaching relevant logs, and collaborating with developers to ensure timely resolution.

Bonus Section - Agile Testing Interview Questions

Below, you will find bonus manual testing interview questions and answers focusing on agile testing. These types of interview questions will help you explore and understand advanced concepts in manual testing for software development. You must include these types of questions in your preparation for your upcoming manual testing interview.

Q.41 How does manual testing fit into Agile software development?

Manual testing is integral to Agile development, enabling frequent and rapid validation of new features in short iterations. Manual testing has different roles in agile development, such as testing together, testing creatively, testing for user experience, and testing for customer satisfaction.

Q.42 Describe the role of the manual tester in Agile Scrum teams?

In Agile Scrum teams, the manual tester collaborates closely with developers, product owners, and other stakeholders to validate user stories and ensure continuous testing.

Q.43 How do you handle rapid changing requirements in Agile projects?

In Agile projects, it is essential to adapt quickly to changing requirements by revisiting and updating test cases, and ensuring that testing aligns with the latest specifications is crucial. This is one of the important manual testing interview questions and answers for freshers as well as experienced individuals.

Q.44 What strategies do you use to manage frequent test execution in Agile?

This is a basic manual testing interview question. In Agile, the best strategy is to prioritise test cases and focus on automating repetitive tests to reduce manual testing effort and ensure timely delivery.

Q.45 Explain the importance of continuous testing in Agile development?

Continuous testing in Agile ensures that every code change is thoroughly validated through automated tests, leading to early detection of defects and faster feedback loops.

Bonus Section - Test Management Interview Questions

Given below are some bonus manual testing interview questions and answers for experienced individuals to prepare for test management. These kinds of interview questions will help you understand concepts in manual testing for test management. You must prepare for these questions for your upcoming manual testing interview.

Q.46 How do you estimate testing efforts for a project?

Testing efforts are estimated based on project complexity, requirements, scope, and past testing experience.

Q.47 How is tracking and reporting defects during testing accomplished?

Defects are tracked, logged, and prioritized using defect-tracking tools, and stakeholders are kept informed of their status through the generation of regular defect reports.

Q.48 Elaborate on the process of test reporting and communication with stakeholders?

Test progress, results, and significant issues are communicated to stakeholders through well-defined and succinct test reports.

Q.49 What is the approach for prioritizing test automation in manual testing projects?

Test cases are prioritized for automation based on the frequency of execution and the complexity of test scenarios.

Q.50 Discuss the handling of test case versioning and test case management?

Version control systems are utilized to manage test case versioning, ensuring an organised test case repository and efficient test case management.

Also Read: What is Software Testing? All you need to know about Methods and Testing

Conclusion

By familiarising yourself with these manual testing interview questions and their comprehensive answers, you can confidently showcase your expertise and excel in your manual testing career. Remember to combine technical skills with effective communication during interviews to create an impact on potential employers and secure your dream job in the dynamic world of software testing. Continuous learning and staying updated with industry trends will further enhance your proficiency as a manual tester.