Software Testing Basics - Software Testing Interview Questions and Answers

1. Can you explain the PDCA cycle and where testing fits in?
Software testing is an important part of the software development process. In no
rmal software development there are four important steps, also referred to, in s
hort, as the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle.
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Let's review the four steps in detail.
1. Plan: Define the goal and the plan for achieving that goal.
2. Do/Execute: Depending on the plan strategy decided during the plan stage we d
o execution accordingly in this phase.
3. Check: Check/Test to ensure that we are moving according to plan and are gett
ing the desired results.
4. Act: During the check cycle, if any issues are there, then we take appropriat
e action accordingly and revise our plan again.
So developers and other stakeholders of the project do the "planning and buildi
ng," while testers do the check part of the cycle. Therefore, software testing i
s done in check part of the PDCA cyle.
2. What is the difference between white box, black box, and gray box testing?
Black box testing is a testing strategy based solely on requirements and specifi
cations. Black box testing requires no knowledge of internal paths, structures,
or implementation of the software being tested.
White box testing is a testing strategy based on internal paths, code structures
, and implementation of the software being tested. White box testing generally r
equires detailed programming skills.
There is one more type of testing called gray box testing. In this we look into
the "box" being tested just long enough to understand how it has been implement
ed. Then we close up the box and use our knowledge to choose more effective blac
k box tests.
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The above figure shows how both types of testers view an accounting application
during testing. Black box testers view the basic accounting application. While
during white box testing the tester knows the internal structure of the applicat
ion. In most scenarios white box testing is done by developers as they know the
internals of the application. In black box testing we check the overall function
ality of the application while in white box testing we do code reviews, view the
architecture, remove bad code practices, and do component level testing.
3. Can you explain usability testing?

Usability testing is a testing methodology where the end customer is asked to us

e the software to see if the product is easy to use, to see the customer's perce
ption and task time. The best way to finalize the customer point of view for usa
bility is by using prototype or mock-up software during the initial stages. By g
iving the customer the prototype before the development start-up we confirm that
we are not missing anything from the user point of view.
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4. What are the categories of defects?
There are three main categories of defects:
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1. Wrong: The requirements have been implemented incorrectly. This defect is a v
ariance from the given specification.
2. Missing: There was a requirement given by the customer and it was not done. T
his is a variance from the specifications, an indication that a specification wa
s not implemented, or a requirement of the customer was not noted properly.
3. Extra: A requirement incorporated into the product that was not given by the
end customer. This is always a variance from the specification, but may be an at
tribute desired by the user of the product. However, it is considered a defect b
ecause it's a variance from the existing requirements.

5. How do you define a testing policy?

The following are the important steps used to define a testing policy in general
. But it can change according to your organization. Let's discuss in detail the
steps of implementing a testing policy in an organization.
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Definition: The first step any organization needs to do is define one unique def
inition for testing within the organization so that everyone is of the same mind
set.
How to achieve: How are we going to achieve our objective? Is there going to be
a testing committee, will there be compulsory test plans which need to be execut
ed, etc?.
Evaluate: After testing is implemented in a project how do we evaluate it? Are w
e going to derive metrics of defects per phase, per programmer, etc. Finally, it
's important to let everyone know how testing has added value to the project?.
Standards: Finally, what are the standards we want to achieve by testing? For in
stance, we can say that more than 20 defects per KLOC will be considered below s
tandard and code review should be done for it.

6. On what basis is the acceptance plan prepared?

In any project the acceptance document is normally prepared using the following
inputs. This can vary from company to company and from project to project.

1.Requirement document: This document specifies what exactly is needed in the pr

oject from the customers perspective.
2. Input from customer: This can be discussions, informal talks, emails, etc.
3. Project plan: The project plan prepared by the project manager also serves as
good input to finalize your acceptance test.
The following diagram shows the most common inputs used to prepare acceptance t
est plans.
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