Question 1

What is the difference between verification and validation in testing?

Accepted Answer

The 30-Second Answer: Verification asks "Are we building the product right?" by checking if the software conforms to specifications and design documents. Validation asks "Are we building the right product?" by ensuring the final product meets user needs and business requirements. Verification focuses on process compliance, while validation focuses on product fitness.

Question 2

What is the difference between functional and non-functional testing?

Accepted Answer

The 30-Second Answer: Functional testing validates what the system doesâ€”verifying that features work according to requirements and specifications. Non-functional testing validates how well the system performsâ€”evaluating quality attributes like performance, security, usability, and reliability. Functional testing answers "Does it work?" while non-functional testing answers "Does it work well?

Question 3

What is the difference between manual testing and automated testing?

Accepted Answer

The 30-Second Answer: Manual testing involves human testers executing test cases without automation tools, allowing for exploratory testing and human judgment. Automated testing uses scripts and tools to execute tests automatically, enabling faster execution, repeatability, and continuous integration. Manual testing is better for exploratory and usability testing, while automated testing excels at regression testing and repetitive tasks.

Question 4

What is the difference between a bug, defect, error, and failure?

Accepted Answer

The 30-Second Answer: An error is a human mistake made during development, a defect (or bug) is the flawed code that results from that error, and a failure is the observable incorrect behavior when the system executes the defective code. Error â†’ Defect â†’ Failure represents the chain from cause to effect: developers make errors, which create defects, which cause failures when conditions are right.

Question 5

What is the difference between a test strategy and a test plan?

Accepted Answer

The 30-Second Answer: A test strategy is a high-level, long-term document that defines the overall testing approach for an organization or product line, including methodologies, tools, and standards. A test plan is a tactical, project-specific document that details how testing will be executed for a particular release or feature, including scope, schedules, and resources.

Question 6

What is the difference between Definition of Done and acceptance criteria?

Accepted Answer

The 30-Second Answer: Acceptance criteria are specific conditions that a user story must meet to be considered complete, while Definition of Done is a universal checklist of quality standards that applies to all stories. Acceptance criteria are story-specific and written during planning; Definition of Done is team-wide and includes technical standards like test coverage, code review, and documentation.

Question 7

What is the difference between TDD and BDD?

Accepted Answer

The 30-Second Answer: TDD focuses on testing implementation from a developer's perspective using unit tests, while BDD (Behavior-Driven Development) focuses on testing behavior from a user's perspective using natural language specifications. BDD extends TDD with better communication tools for non-technical stakeholders and emphasizes scenarios over test cases.

Question 8

What is the difference between BDD scenarios and TDD unit tests?

Accepted Answer

The 30-Second Answer: BDD scenarios focus on system behavior from the user's perspective using business language, testing complete features end-to-end, while TDD unit tests focus on individual code units using technical language, testing implementation details in isolation. BDD scenarios verify that the system delivers business value; TDD unit tests verify that code components work correctly. The 2-Minute Answer (If They Want More): The fundamental difference lies in perspective and scope.

Question 9

What is the difference between imperative and declarative BDD scenarios?

Accepted Answer

The 30-Second Answer: Imperative scenarios describe how to do something step-by-step, detailing UI interactions and technical actions, while declarative scenarios describe what should happen from a business perspective, focusing on intent and outcomes. Declarative scenarios are more maintainable because they're decoupled from implementation details and remain stable when the UI changes.

Question 10

What is software testing and why is it important?

Accepted Answer

The 30-Second Answer: Software testing is the process of evaluating and verifying that a software application works as expected, meets requirements, and is free of defects. It's important because it ensures quality, prevents costly production failures, builds user trust, and validates that the software solves the intended problem before reaching end users.

Testing Fundamentals(8 questions)

What is software testing and why is it important?

What is the difference between verification and validation in testing?

What are the different levels of testing (unit, integration, system, acceptance)?

What is the difference between functional and non-functional testing?

What is the difference between manual testing and automated testing?

What is regression testing and when should it be performed?

What is the cost of fixing bugs at different stages of development?

What is the difference between a bug, defect, error, and failure?

Test Organization and Maintainability(8 questions)

How do you organize test files in a project?

What is the test naming convention you follow?

How do you keep tests DRY without sacrificing readability?

What is test fixture and how do you manage shared test data?

How do you refactor tests as code evolves?

What is the testing anti-pattern of testing implementation details?

How do you balance test coverage with test maintenance costs?

What is the boy scout rule applied to tests?

Continuous Testing and CI/CD(9 questions)

What is continuous testing?

How do you integrate tests into CI/CD pipelines?

What tests should run on every commit vs nightly builds?

How do you handle slow tests in CI pipelines?

What is test parallelization and how does it speed up CI?

What is a test gate or quality gate?

How do you handle flaky tests in CI?

What is shift-left testing?

How do you implement test result reporting in CI?

Test Strategy and Planning(10 questions)

What is a test strategy?

How do you create a test plan for a new feature?

What is risk-based testing?

How do you prioritize what to test?

What is exploratory testing and when would you use it?

How do you balance automated and manual testing?

What is the role of QA in an agile team?

How do you estimate testing effort?

What is the difference between a test strategy and a test plan?

How do you measure testing effectiveness?

Testing in Agile and DevOps(8 questions)

How does testing fit into agile development?

What is the role of automated testing in DevOps?

How do you implement testing in a sprint?

What is the difference between Definition of Done and acceptance criteria?

How do you handle testing when requirements are evolving?

What is continuous quality?

How do you balance speed and quality in rapid release cycles?

What is the whole team approach to testing?

Test-Driven Development (TDD)(18 questions)

What is Test-Driven Development (TDD)?

Explain the Red-Green-Refactor cycle in TDD.

What are the three laws of TDD according to Robert C. Martin?

What are the benefits of practicing TDD?

What are the common challenges and criticisms of TDD?

How does TDD differ from writing tests after code?

What is the difference between TDD and BDD?

How do you handle legacy code when adopting TDD?

What is the role of refactoring in TDD?

How do you know when to stop refactoring in TDD?

What types of tests are typically written in TDD?

How do you practice TDD with external dependencies (databases, APIs)?

What is "test-first" development and how does it relate to TDD?

How do you handle complex algorithms with TDD?

What is the transformation priority premise in TDD?

How do you avoid over-engineering when practicing TDD?

What is ATDD (Acceptance Test-Driven Development)?

How does TDD influence software design?

Behavior-Driven Development (BDD)(19 questions)

What is Behavior-Driven Development (BDD)?

How does BDD extend TDD?

What is the Given-When-Then format in BDD?

What is the role of ubiquitous language in BDD?

What are the Three Amigos in BDD?

What is a feature file in BDD?

What is Gherkin syntax and how is it used in BDD?

What are popular BDD frameworks (Cucumber, SpecFlow, Behave)?

What is the difference between BDD scenarios and TDD unit tests?

How do you write effective BDD scenarios?

What is a step definition in BDD?

How do you avoid brittle BDD tests?