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21 Best Programming Movies For Software Testers (2024 Update)

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Sometimes, the best way to recharge your software testing brain is to step away from the screen. That’s where these 21 incredible programming movies come in. They’ll transport you to worlds of innovation, problem-solving, and the sheer brilliance of coding – all from the comfort of your couch.

These films aren’t just entertaining; they have the power to:

  • Ignite your passion: Rediscover the thrill of building, testing, and refining software through the stories of iconic coders and tech pioneers.
  • Boost your problem-solving skills: Watch as characters tackle complex coding challenges, inspiring you to approach your own work with fresh eyes.
  • Provide a much-needed mental break: Sometimes, shifting your focus from code to compelling narratives is the best way to clear your headspace and return to testing with renewed energy.

So, grab some popcorn, get comfortable, and let these 21 must-watch programming movies wash over you. You might just be surprised at how much they inspire your work as a software tester.

Also Read:- Are you A Tester? Then This Memes are Gonna Make you Laugh

#1) THE SOCIAL NETWORK

THe social network movie poster

Plot: A whirlwind of ambition, betrayal, and legal battles unfold as Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) launches a simple social networking site called “The Facebook” that quickly explodes into a global phenomenon. The film delves into the friendships fractured, the coding brilliance ignited, and the complex moral and ethical dilemmas that come with rapid success and power.

Director: David Fincher (known for his meticulous direction in films like “Se7en,” “Fight Club,” and “Zodiac”).

Trailer

Cast:

Release Date: October 1st, 2010 (United States)

OTT Platforms: The Social Network is available on several platforms, including:

Why It’s a Must-Watch for Software Testers:

  • The Birth of a Giant: Witness the raw coding, design iterations, and the explosive growth of one of the world’s most influential software platforms.
  • Innovation and Ambition: See the relentless drive, problem-solving mindset, and the ambition that fuels disruptive technology.
  • Ethics and Consequences: The film raises key questions about privacy, user data, intellectual property, and the unforeseen social impacts of code.
  • Brilliant Storytelling: Fincher’s direction, Aaron Sorkin’s razor-sharp script, and memorable performances make this a captivating watch, even if you’re not a hardcore programmer.

#2) Deep Web

Deep Web Documentary Poster

Premise: “Deep Web” dives into the world of the hidden internet, going beyond everyday search engines to explore the marketplaces, forums, and encrypted networks that exist in the deep web. The film focuses on the infamous Silk Road, an online black market for drugs, weapons, and other illicit goods, and the subsequent trial of its alleged founder, Ross Ulbricht (aka Dread Pirate Roberts).

Director: Alex Winter (an actor and filmmaker known for the “Bill and Ted” movies, as well as directing other documentaries).

Narration: Keanu Reeves

Release Date: March 15, 2015 (SXSW Premiere); May 31, 2015 (Epix)

Where to Watch:

Why It’s Relevant for Software Testers:

  • Understanding the Dark Side of Technology: The deep web demonstrates how powerful tools like encryption and anonymity, while also essential for privacy, can be misused for illegal activities.
  • Cybersecurity Awareness: The film showcases the sophisticated methods used to conceal online activities, highlighting the challenges in tracking and combating cybercrime.
  • Bitcoin and Blockchain: Silk Road operated primarily on Bitcoin, offering a real-world case study of early cryptocurrency use and its potential for both legitimate and illegitimate purposes.
  • Ethics and Regulation: “Deep Web” raises questions about the balance between online freedom and accountability, prompting testers to consider the broader social impacts of the technology they help create.

Important Note: “Deep Web” has faced some criticism for potentially oversimplifying technical aspects of the deep web and overdramatizing certain elements. However, it remains a thought-provoking starting point for discussions around online anonymity, cybersecurity, and the ethical implications of the software we build.

#3) The Circle

The circle MOvie Poster

Plot

 Mae Holland (Emma Watson) lands a dream job at the powerful tech company The Circle, a blend of social media giant and futuristic technological conglomerate.

The company’s seemingly utopian goals of openness and transparency initially excite Mae, but she soon finds herself drawn into a world where personal boundaries are fluid and privacy is obsolete.

As The Circle’s influence grows, Mae grapples with the ethical implications of its technology and the potential for misuse.

Director

 James Ponsoldt (known for “The Spectacular Now” and “The End of the Tour”)

Trailer

Cast:

  • Emma Watson as Mae Holland
  • Tom Hanks as Eamon Bailey (The Circle’s charismatic co-founder)
  • John Boyega as Ty Lafitte (a mysterious Circle employee)
  • Karen Gillan as Annie Allerton (Mae’s close friend and fellow Circle employee)
  • Bill Paxton as Mae’s Father (his final film role)

Release Date: April 28th, 2017

OTT Platforms:

  • HBO Max
  • Amazon Prime Video (Rent or Buy)
  • Apple TV (Rent or Buy)

Why It’s a Must-Watch for Software Testers:

  • The Cult of Tech: The film offers a cautionary tale about the seductive ease with which well-meaning technology can be transformed into a tool for surveillance and control.
  • Big Data and Behavior Manipulation: The Circle demonstrates how user data, aggregated on a massive scale, can be used to predict and influence behavior, raising concerns for those in the fields of software testing and development.
  • Ethics vs. Innovation: The film highlights the clash between the drive for technological progress and the potential for unintended consequences that threaten privacy and individual freedoms.
  • Social Responsibility: It prompts testers to consider their role in creating software that not only functions well but also serves the greater good and protects user rights.

Note: “The Circle” received mixed reviews upon release, with criticism surrounding its plot and execution. However, the core themes it explores remain deeply relevant for software testers, prompting ethical reflection and consideration of the broader impact of technology.

#4) Mr. Robot (TV Series)

MR Robot Series Poster

Premise: Based on the real-life story of computer hacker Kevin Mitnick, “Takedown” dramatizes his exploits as he manipulates systems and outsmarts authorities. It follows his pursuit by famed security expert Tsutomu Shimomura, culminating in Mitnick’s eventual arrest.

Director: Joe Chappelle (known for TV series like “The Wire,” “CSI:Miami”)

Trailer

Cast:

  • Skeet Ulrich as Kevin Mitnick
  • Russell Wong as Tsutomu Shimomura
  • Donal Logue as Alex Lowe

Where to Watch:

Why It’s a Must-Watch for Software Testers:

  • Early Cybercrime Exploration: “Takedown” provides a glimpse into hacking tactics and social engineering techniques of the late 1990s, highlighting the evolving threats in cybersecurity.
  • The Hacker Mindset: The movie depicts Kevin Mitnick as a complex person who thrives on intellectual challenge, thrill-seeking, and a disregard for repercussions. This offers insight into the motivations behind hacking.
  • Ethical Dilemmas: It raises questions about the boundaries between security research and criminal activities, as well as the methods used in pursuing cybercriminals.
  • Historical Context: The film acts as a time capsule, showcasing internet and computer security in their earlier stages, valuable for anyone interested in cybersecurity’s evolution.

Important Note: “Takedown” takes dramatic liberties with the real-life events it portrays. While entertaining, viewers should be aware that it’s not a strictly accurate documentary.

#5) Takedown

Take Down (2000) mOvie Poster

About Takedown Movie

“Takedown” (also known as “Track Down” internationally) is a drama film based on the real-life story of computer hacker and security expert Kevin Mitnick (played by Skeet Ulrich).

It chronicles his pursuit by famed computer security specialist Tsutomu Shimomura (Russell Wong) and FBI agents, culminating in Mitnick’s eventual capture and imprisonment.

Trailer

Why It’s Relevant for Software Testers

  • Early Cybercrime Exploration: “Takedown” offers a dramatized look at hacking methodologies and social engineering tactics used in the late 1990s, highlighting the evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats.
  • The Hacker Mindset The film attempts to delve into Kevin Mitnick’s motivations, portraying him as a complex figure driven by curiosity, a desire for control, and a disregard for consequences.
  • Ethical Dilemmas: It raises questions about the line between security research and criminal hacking, as well as the methods used by law enforcement to pursue cybercriminals.
  • Historical Context: Provides a snapshot of the internet and computer security in its nascent stages, making it a valuable time capsule for anyone interested in cybersecurity history.

Where to Watch:

Unfortunately, “Takedown” is slightly harder to find on major streaming platforms. Here’s where you might locate it:

  • DVD: The film is available on DVD, which can be purchased from online retailers like Amazon https://www.amazon.com/.
  • Smaller Streaming Services: Check less mainstream platforms, as it occasionally turns up on services depending on your region.
  • YouTube: There are uploads of the full movie on YouTube, though the quality and legality might be questionable.

Cast and Crew

#6)  PIRATES OF SILICON VALLEY

Pirates of silicon valley poster

Plot

“Pirates of Silicon Valley” is a biographical drama television film that chronicles the rise of Apple Computer and Microsoft.

Focusing on the key figures of Steve Jobs (Noah Wyle) and Bill Gates (Anthony Michael Hall), the film dramatizes their personal and professional rivalry throughout the 1970s and 1980s, showcasing the early days of the personal computer revolution.

Why It’s a Must-Watch for Software Testers

  • Tech History Deep Dive: The film provides a semi-fictionalized but engaging look at the formative years of two tech giants, offering insights into the personalities that shaped the industry.
  • Innovation and Competition: “Pirates of Silicon Valley” highlights the relentless drive, ambition, and cutthroat tactics that fueled the race for technological dominance between Apple and Microsoft.
  • Birth of an Industry: It showcases the transformative power of personal computers, from their humble garage-built origins to becoming mainstream, world-changing products.
  • Legacy of Code: While not focusing heavily on the code itself, the film underscores the fundamental role of software in shaping both Apple and Microsoft’s innovations.

Where to Watch:

Cast and Crew

#7) Imitation Game

Imitation Game MOvie Poster

Premise

 A gripping historical drama based on the life of British mathematician and cryptanalyst Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch). During World War II, Turing and his team at Bletchley Park work tirelessly to crack the seemingly unbreakable German Enigma code. Their success has a profound impact on the war effort, but Turing’s personal life and groundbreaking work remain shrouded in secrecy for decades.

Director: Morten Tyldum (known for “Passengers” and “Headhunters”)

Cast:

  • Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing
  • Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke (a fellow cryptanalyst and Turing’s close collaborator)
  • Matthew Goode as Hugh Alexander (a chess champion and cryptanalyst)
  • Charles Dance as Commander Denniston (head of Bletchley Park)

Where to Watch:

Trailer:

Why It’s a Must-Watch for Software Testers:

  • Pioneering Computer Science: The film delves into the foundations of computing and cryptography, showcasing Turing’s brilliant work that laid the groundwork for modern computers.
  • Problem-Solving Under Pressure: Turing and his team demonstrate extraordinary determination and innovative thinking, overcoming immense challenges against a ticking clock.
  • The Cost of Codebreaking: It explores the ethical dilemmas of exploiting intelligence and the high personal toll secrecy takes on those involved in this crucial war effort.
  • Logic and Algorithms: The film offers a glimpse into the mathematical and logical processes behind codebreaking, relevant to the foundations of software design and testing.

Important Note: “The Imitation Game” fictionalizes certain events and relationships for dramatic effect. For a completely accurate understanding of Alan Turing’s contributions, it’s recommended to supplement this viewing with biographies or documentaries.

#8) Fifth Estate

Fifth Estate Movie poster

Premise

 A biographical drama centered on the rise and controversies of WikiLeaks, the whistleblowing website.

It tracks the partnership between Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch), the site’s enigmatic founder, and Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl), a disillusioned early collaborator.

The film explores their attempts to expose secrets, the backlash they face, and the ethical complexities of their mission.

Director: Bill Condon (known for “Dreamgirls,” and the “Twilight” saga)

Cast:

  • Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange
  • Daniel Brühl as Daniel Domscheit-Berg
  • Laura Linney as Sarah Shaw (US State Department official)
  • Anthony Mackie as Sam Coulson (US military source)
  • Stanley Tucci as James Boswell (Guardian journalist)

Where to Watch:

Trailer:

Why It’s a Must-Watch for Software Testers:

  • Power of Code: The film underscores how code can be wielded as a tool for radical transparency and disruption of established power structures.
  • Security vs. Accessibility: “The Fifth Estate” delves into the challenges of developing secure platforms for handling sensitive information and protecting sources.
  • Anonymity & Online Identity: It highlights the use of encryption, anonymity, and the deep web in relation to whistleblowing and journalism.
  • Ethics of Exposure: The film forces testers to consider the potential consequences (both positive and negative) of revealing hidden information on a massive scale.
  • The Price of Leaks: It illustrates the personal and legal battles faced by those involved in releasing classified information, leading to discussions about freedom of speech vs. national security.

Important Note: Julian Assange and other WikiLeaks participants criticized “The Fifth Estate” for how it depicted events. It’s important to remember that it’s a dramatization and to seek other sources for a balanced perspective on this complex topic.

#9) The Great Hack (2019)

The great hack movie poster

Premise

 This provocative documentary investigates the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the personal data of millions of Facebook users was harvested without consent and used for political manipulation.

It follows whistleblowers, journalists, and investigators as they uncover the shocking implications for democracy and data privacy.

Directors

 Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer (Academy Award-nominated filmmakers)

Cast

  • Brittany Kaiser: Former Business Development Director at Cambridge Analytica (turned whistleblower)
  • Carole Cadwalladr: Investigative journalist at ‘The Guardian’ and ‘The Observer’
  • David Carroll: Professor at Parsons School of Design, pursued legal action to obtain his data from Cambridge Analytica

Where to Watch:

Trailer:

Why It’s a Must-Watch for Software Testers:

  • The Power (and Vulnerability) of Data: The film starkly demonstrates how vast amounts of user data can be collected, analyzed, and weaponized to influence behavior on a massive scale.
  • Security & Privacy Concerns: “The Great Hack” highlights the need for robust security measures, ethical data practices, and stricter regulations to protect user privacy.
  • Algorithmic Manipulation: It exposes how algorithms and personalized targeting can be used to spread misinformation and manipulate public opinion.
  • Ethics of Influence: The film prompts testers to think critically about the potential for social media platforms and data-driven technologies to be used for harmful purposes.
  • Call to Transparency: It underscores the importance of transparency in how data is collected, used, and the need for users to have greater awareness and control.

Important Note: The issues raised in “The Great Hack” are ongoing and complex. The documentary offers a compelling entry point into discussions about data ethics, online security, and the urgent need for greater accountability in the tech industry.

#10) AlphaGo (2017)

AlphaGo (2017) poster

Premise

“AlphaGo” chronicles the incredible journey of Google’s DeepMind team as they develop the AlphaGo artificial intelligence program.

The film culminates in the groundbreaking match between AlphaGo and legendary Go master Lee Sedol, where the AI demonstrates its astounding ability to learn and surpass human expertise within this complex strategy game.

Director

  • Greg Kohs (known for his work on documentaries exploring science and technology)

Key Figures

  • Demis Hassabis: CEO and Co-founder of DeepMind
  • Aja Huang: DeepMind team member, pivotal in AlphaGo’s development
  • Lee Sedol: Legendary South Korean Go master, considered one of the greatest players in history
  • Fan Hui: European Go champion who faced an earlier version of AlphaGo

Where to Watch

Trailer

Why It’s a Fascinating Watch

  • Milestone in AI: “AlphaGo” documents a historic moment where AI surpassed top human capabilities in a game long thought to be too complex for machines.
  • Understanding Machine Learning: The film provides a glimpse into the strategies used, including neural networks and reinforcement learning, offering insights applicable to broader AI concepts.
  • Human Emotion vs. Logic: It contrasts Sedol’s intuitive playing style against AlphaGo’s calculated and unconventional moves, generating discussions about the strengths and limitations of both approaches.
  • The Future of AI: “AlphaGo” provokes questions about the vast potential of artificial intelligence, its implications, and the ethical considerations that must accompany advancements in this field.

Important Note: “AlphaGo” serves as a captivating snapshot of a particular AI achievement. It encourages further exploration of the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence and its potential impact on various aspects of our lives.

#11) Primer

Primer Movieposter

Premise

 Two engineers, Abe (Shane Carruth) and Aaron (David Sullivan), accidentally invent a time-travel device while working on a side project.

They are initially ecstatic about the possibilities but soon start using it for their own benefit, which causes timelines to become more complicated, relationships to break up, and a growing sense of paranoia as they struggle to control the unintended consequences of their creation.

Director

 Shane Carruth (also wrote, produced, starred in, and composed the music for the film)

Cast:

  • Shane Carruth as Abe
  • David Sullivan as Aaron
  • Casey Gooden as Robert
  • Anand Upadhyaya as Granger

Where to Watch:

Trailer:

Why It’s a Mind-Bending Watch (Especially for Testers):

  • Non-Linear Narrative: “Primer” famously employs an extremely intricate and confusing timeline, demanding multiple viewings and sparking endless online discussions to decipher the events.
  • The Logic of Time Travel: The film delves into the theoretical paradoxes and meticulous planning involved in manipulating the flow of time, forcing viewers to think like meticulous testers tracing cause and effect.
  • Code as Manipulation: Much like programming alters the behavior of a system, the characters manipulate reality itself, leading to a constant need to debug unexpected outcomes.
  • Technological Obsession: Abe and Aaron become obsessed with their invention, mirroring the potential for coders to become mired in a problem and ignore wider ethical implications.
  • The Price of Innovation: The film serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked experimentation and the unforeseen, potentially destructive ripple effects of altering fundamental ‘code’ like time itself.

Important Note: “Primer” is intentionally disorienting and notoriously difficult to fully grasp. It was made on a micro-budget and its technical dialogue can be dense. However, the challenge of unraveling its puzzle is part of the appeal.

#12) Antitrust

Antitrust poster

Premise: Young programmer Milo Hoffman (Ryan Phillippe) lands his dream job at a powerful tech giant called NURV. As he gets drawn into the company’s inner workings, he uncovers a sinister plot involving market dominance, surveillance, and ruthless tactics to eliminate competition.

Director: Peter Howitt (known for films like “Sliding Doors” and “Johnny English”)

Cast:

  • Ryan Phillippe as Milo Hoffman
  • Tim Robbins as Gary Winston (a charismatic CEO clearly inspired by figures like Bill Gates)
  • Rachael Leigh Cook as Lisa Calighan
  • Claire Forlani as Alice Poulson

Where to Watch:

Trailer:

Why It’s Relevant for Software Testers

  • Monopolies and Innovation: The film explores the dangers of a single company controlling a vast software ecosystem, raising questions about how such dominance can stifle competition and alternative technological approaches.
  • Open Source Ideals: Milo champions open-source philosophy, contrasting it with NURV’s closed and proprietary systems, sparking debate about the best models for software development.
  • Ethics vs. Ambition: The film showcases the moral dilemmas faced by individuals within large tech corporations, weighing personal ambition against their concerns over unethical practices.
  • Surveillance and Privacy: It highlights the potential for abuse of user data collection and tracking, foreshadowing modern controversies surrounding tech giants.
  • Early Vision of Tech Power: While some aspects might seem dated, “Antitrust” offers an interesting time capsule of anxieties around the growing dominance of technology companies in the early 2000s.

Important Note: “Antitrust” is a fictional thriller and takes dramatic liberties with its portrayal of the tech industry. However, it acts as a good conversation starter about the potential downsides of unchecked corporate power, ethical use of technology, and the importance of safeguarding innovation.

#12) Her

Her Movie poster

Premise

 In a near-future Los Angeles, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely writer, develops a deep connection with an advanced artificial intelligence operating system named Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). Their relationship unfolds, exploring themes of love, companionship, and the evolving nature of human-technology interaction.

Director

 Spike Jonze (acclaimed filmmaker known for “Being John Malkovich” and “Where the Wild Things Are”)

Cast:

  • Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore Twombly
  • Scarlett Johansson as Samantha (voice)
  • Amy Adams as Amy (Theodore’s friend)
  • Rooney Mara as Catherine (Theodore’s ex-wife)
  • Olivia Wilde as Blind Date

Where to Watch:

Trailers

Why It’s a Must-Watch for Software Testers:

  • Humanizing AI: The film delves into the emotional and psychological complexities that can arise from interaction with a seemingly sentient AI, forcing testers to consider the user experience not just from a functional perspective, but an emotional one.
  • The Illusion of Connection: “Her” prompts questions about the nature of genuine connection, and whether true intimacy can exist between a human and a programmed entity.
  • Evolving User Expectations: It highlights the potential for users to form powerful bonds with AI systems, raising the bar for future software to incorporate empathy and understanding.
  • Testing the Limits of the Turing Test: Samantha’s ability to pass as a human companion challenges the boundaries of traditional Turing Tests, used to determine machine intelligence.
  • Ethical Considerations: The film raises ethical concerns of developing AI capable of manipulating human emotions, and the responsibilities of those creating such systems.

Important Note “Her” is a work of speculative fiction, but it offers thought-provoking starting points for discussions around the future of AI, user interaction, and the potential unintended emotional consequences of advanced software.

#13) Hackers

Hackers Movie poster

Premise

 Teenager Dade “Zero Cool” Murphy (Jonny Lee Miller), previously banned from computers after a notorious childhood hack, gets entangled with a new group of elite hackers in New York City. Their online exploits attract the attention of a rival hacker, “The Plague,” and a corrupt corporate security agent, leading to a high-stakes battle within cyberspace.

Director

Iain Softley (known for “The Wings of the Dove” and “Inkheart”)

Cast:

  • Jonny Lee Miller as Dade Murphy / “Zero Cool” / “Crash Override”
  • Angelina Jolie as Kate Libby / “Acid Burn”
  • Jesse Bradford as Joey Pardella
  • Matthew Lillard as Emmanuel Goldstein / “Cereal Killer”
  • Laurence Mason as Paul Cook / “The Plague”
  • Fisher Stevens as Eugene Belford / “The Plague”

Where to Watch:

Trailer:

Why It’s a Cult Classic (and Relevant for Software Testers):

  • Stylized Vision of 90s Hacking: While its depiction of hacking is often wildly unrealistic, the film captures the energy and rebellious spirit of certain online subcultures in the early days of widespread internet.
  • Cybersecurity Awareness: The film, in its exaggerated way, highlights concepts like network intrusion, viruses, social engineering, and the importance of strong password practices.
  • Hacker Archetypes: “Hackers” presents romanticized versions of hacker stereotypes, which can be a fun starting point to discuss the diverse motivations and skills of real-world security experts and testers.
  • Pop Culture Touchstone: The film’s visuals, soundtrack, and dialogue have become iconic, making it an entertaining reference point within conversations about cyberculture.
  • Cautionary Tale: It showcases how easily hacking can spiral out of control, emphasizing the need for both technical safeguards and ethical considerations in cyberspace.

Important Note: “Hackers” is best enjoyed as a product of its time. Its portrayal of technology is often fantastical. However, even in its absurdity, it offers glimpses into the beginnings of widespread cybersecurity concerns and the enduring fascination with hacking culture.

#14) War Games

War Games Movie Poster

Premise

Young computer whiz David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) thinks he’s stumbled upon a new video game company.

In reality, he’s accidentally hacked into a military supercomputer controlling the US nuclear arsenal.

David’s playful simulations escalate into a very real threat, as the computer, convinced it’s engaged in World War III, prepares to launch an actual strike.

Trailer

YouTube

Director

John Badham (known for “Saturday Night Fever” and “Blue Thunder”)

Cast:

  • Matthew Broderick as David Lightman
  • Dabney Coleman as Dr. John McKittrick
  • Ally Sheedy as Jennifer Mack
  • John Wood as Dr. Stephen Falken

Where to Watch:

Why It’s a Landmark Film for Software Testers:

  • Early Depiction of Hacking: “WarGames” was one of the first mainstream films to showcase hacking concepts to a wide audience, sparking public interest and raising awareness of computer vulnerabilities.
  • The Power of Unchecked AI: The film portrays an early example of an AI system running out of control due to poor safeguards, highlighting the need for rigorous testing and failsafes.
  • Human Error as the Biggest Threat: The central crisis of the film stems not from the AI’s malice, but from a human misunderstanding of its purpose, emphasizing the role of human oversight in complex technological systems.
  • Cold War Anxieties Reflected in Code: The film taps into the very real fears of the time about nuclear war and the potential for miscalculations to lead to devastating consequences.
  • Consequences of Simulation: “WarGames” forces viewers to confront the idea that seemingly harmless ‘games’ within computer systems might have unforeseen and disastrous real-world implications.

Important Note: Like many tech-focused films, “WarGames” takes liberties with realistic hacking and computer science. However, its core message about the fragility of complex systems and the ever-present potential for human error remains powerfully relevant within the world of software testing.

#15) Office Space

Office Space Movie poster

Premise

 Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), a disillusioned software engineer at a mind-numbing tech company, finds himself in a hypnotism session gone wrong. His newfound indifference towards work, rules, and expectations leads to a series of bizarrely liberating events as he rebels against the absurdity of office culture.

Trailer

YouTube

Director and Writer: Mike Judge (creator of “Beavis and Butt-head,” “King of the Hill,” and “Silicon Valley”)

Cast:

  • Ron Livingston as Peter Gibbons
  • Jennifer Aniston as Joanna
  • Stephen Root as Milton Waddams
  • Gary Cole as Bill Lumbergh
  • David Herman as Michael Bolton
  • Ajay Naidu as Samir Nagheenanajar

Where to Watch:

Why It’s a Must-Watch for Software Testers:

  • Satirizing Software Development: While not strictly about programming, the film pokes fun at the frustrations of buggy software, pointless TPS reports, and nonsensical management directives often encountered in tech workplaces.
  • The Dreaded Office Environment: “Office Space” hyperbolizes, yet accurately captures, the soul-sucking energy of cubicles, pointless meetings, and corporate jargon, making any tester cringe with recognition.
  • Bureaucracy vs. Logic: The constant clashes between reasonable fixes and absurd office mandates highlight the disconnect between those who build software and those who manage the process.
  • The Joys of Rebellion: While not advisable in real life, it’s undeniably satisfying to watch Peter’s revolt against the system, however destructive it gets. It emphasizes the importance of finding outlets for frustrations in software development.
  • Iconic Humor: The film is packed with memorable characters (Milton and his stapler!) and quotable lines that perfectly encapsulate shared workplace frustrations.

Important Note: “Office Space” is a heightened comedy designed to skewer the worst of office life. While testers will likely relate to many of the scenarios, it’s important to remember that not every workplace reaches this level of absurdity!

#16) Source Code

Source Code Movie Poster

Premise: Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up on a train he doesn’t recognize. He’s part of a government experiment called “Source Code” that allows him to inhabit the last eight minutes of another person’s life. His mission: find the bomber on the train before it explodes again. With each reset, he gathers more clues, but the stakes escalate as he uncovers a larger threat.

Director: Duncan Jones (known for “Moon”)

Cast:

  • Jake Gyllenhaal as Captain Colter Stevens
  • Michelle Monaghan as Christina Warren
  • Vera Farmiga as Colleen Goodwin
  • Jeffrey Wright as Dr. Rutledge

Where to Watch:

Trailer:

Why It’s a Must-Watch for Software Testers

  • Code as a Simulation: The “Source Code” program treats the past eight minutes of a person’s life as code that can be re-run, mirroring the way testers might iterate through simulations to find bugs.
  • Debugging a Crisis: Stevens’ task resembles a time-sensitive debugging process, where he identifies anomalies, tries different actions, and seeks the root cause to prevent disaster.
  • Troubleshooting With Limited Data: Each reset offers Stevens slightly more information, highlighting the challenge of fixing problems within complex systems with incomplete knowledge.
  • Ethical Considerations: The film raises questions about the manipulation of reality for personal gain or security purposes, a crucial concern in software ethics regarding AI and user privacy.
  • Mind-bending and Entertaining: Beyond its testing parallels, “Source Code” is a thrilling action movie with a twisty sci-fi concept that’ll keep viewers engaged.

Important Note: “Source Code” primarily plays with the concept of a code-based simulation for dramatic purposes. However, it sparks interesting discussions about debugging, alternate realities, and the potential for misuse of powerful software.

#17) Jobs

Jobs Movie POster

Premise

 This biographical drama charts the rise of Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher), co-founder of Apple, from his early days as a college dropout to his transformative influence on the personal computer industry.

It highlights his turbulent relationship with Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad), the genius engineer behind early Apple products, and explores his sometimes ruthless quest for innovation.

Director

 Joshua Michael Stern (known for “Swing Vote”)

Cast:

  • Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs
  • Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak
  • Dermot Mulroney as Mike Markkula (early Apple investor)
  • J.K. Simmons as Arthur Rock (venture capitalist)
  • Matthew Modine as John Sculley (Apple CEO)

Where to Watch:

Trailer:

Why It’s Relevant for Software Testers:

  • Visionary Drive: While the film delves into Jobs’ controversial personality, it showcases his relentless drive for perfection, reflecting the ambition at the heart of many tech innovators.
  • Product vs. Engineering: The tension between Jobs’ focus on design and user experience versus Wozniak’s engineering-centric approach highlights the potential clash between these crucial elements of software development.
  • The Power of Simplicity: The film emphasizes Apple’s focus on intuitive, user-friendly products, underscoring the vital importance of thorough user experience (UX) testing.
  • Legacy of Innovation: Regardless of one’s opinion on Jobs himself, it’s undeniable that Apple reshaped the industry, pushing constant improvement and redefining standards in technology.
  • Historical Context: The film offers a glimpse (though somewhat dramatized) into the early days of the personal computer revolution, a useful historical perspective for those in the field.

Important Note: “Jobs” received mixed reviews due to its portrayal of historical events and figures. It’s best viewed as a semi-fictionalized depiction that emphasizes Jobs’ impact on the technology world, rather than a strictly accurate biography.

#18) Tron

Tron 1982 MOvie POster

Premise: Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a rebellious computer programmer, finds himself digitized and transported inside the world of a powerful mainframe computer. He teams up with security programs like Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) to battle the oppressive Master Control Program (MCP) and escape back to reality.

Director: Steven Lisberger (his feature film directorial debut)

Cast:

  • Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn/Clu
  • Bruce Boxleitner as Tron/Alan Bradley
  • David Warner as Ed Dillinger/Sark/MCP
  • Cindy Morgan as Lora/Yori
  • Barnard Hughes as Dr. Walter Gibbs/Dumont

Where to Watch:

Trailer:

Why It’s a Landmark Film for Software Testers:

  • Early Vision of Cyberspace: “Tron” was groundbreaking in its depiction of a digital world within a computer system, visualizing data, software, and processes as living entities.
  • Programs as Characters: The concept of anthropomorphizing programs offers a unique way to think about software interactions and their potential for agency.
  • User vs. System: Flynn’s struggle against the MCP represents the battle between a user trying to exercise control and a system that may have its own goals, foreshadowing later concerns about AI.
  • Visual Innovation: “Tron” pioneered the use of computer animation alongside live-action, pushing the boundaries of special effects in cinema at the time.
  • Cult Classic Status: The film’s unique aesthetic, electronic score, and concept have solidified its cult status, sparking the imaginations of generations interested in the intersection of technology and visual storytelling.

Important Note: “Tron” was created in the infancy of personal computers. While revolutionary in its visual style, its representation of computing is more metaphorical than technically accurate.

Also Read:- Check Out Programming Memes that Will Make You Go ROFL

#19) Disclosure

Disclosure Poster

Premise

 Tom Sanders (Michael Douglas), a rising star at a computer technology company, finds himself the target of a sexual harassment accusation by his new boss, Meredith Johnson (Demi Moore). When he’s passed over for promotion, he suspects retaliation and digs deeper, uncovering a conspiracy that could put his career and personal life at risk.

Director

 Barry Levinson (Academy Award Winner known for “Rain Man” and “Wag the Dog”)

Cast

  • Michael Douglas as Tom Sanders
  • Demi Moore as Meredith Johnson
  • Donald Sutherland as Bob Garvin (company CEO)
  • Caroline Goodall as Susan Hendler (Tom’s wife)
  • Roma Maffia as Catherine Alvarez (investigator)
  • Dylan Baker as Philip Blackburn

Where to Watch

Trailer

Why It’s Relevant for Software Testers:

  • Power Imbalance in the Workplace: “Disclosure” explores how office hierarchies can be exploited, with accusations used as weapons for personal or professional gain. This serves as a reminder of ethical responsibility in the often competitive tech world.
  • The Manipulation of Digital Evidence: The film features staged virtual reality scenarios used to frame Tom, highlighting the potential for technology to be used for deceit and the need for careful verification processes.
  • Corporate Culture and Ethics: The film exposes the cutthroat environment of a tech corporation, where ambition and unethical actions can lead to coverups and abuse of power.
  • Pioneering Its Topics: While controversial at the time, “Disclosure” was one of the first mainstream films to tackle sexual harassment with a male victim, and it sparked wider conversations around workplace dynamics.
  • Dated but Important: The film’s portrayal of technology might feel dated, yet the core themes of power, manipulation, and ethics within corporate settings remain relevant.

Important Note: “Disclosure” contains mature themes and depictions of sexual harassment that could be triggering for some viewers. While it generated important discussions, the film’s execution has been criticized. Yet, it offers a starting point for conversations about workplace harassment dynamics and the potential for technology to be misused.

#20) TPB AFK – The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard (2013)

TPB AFK - The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard (2013) poster

Premise

TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard (2013) is a compelling documentary that delves deep into the heart of digital piracy, freedom of information, and the legal battles faced by the founders of The Pirate Bay (TPB), one of the world’s most notorious file-sharing websites.

Directed by Simon Klose, the film offers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the lives of the site’s co-founders during their trial in Sweden, where they were charged with copyright infringement, ultimately challenging global conversations about copyright and the open internet.

Director: Simon Klose

Featuring:

  • Gottfrid Svartholm as Himself
  • Fredrik Neij as Himself
  • Peter Sunde as Himself
  • Various legal and technology experts

Where to Watch:

Trailer:

Why It’s Relevant for Software Testers:

  1. Ethics and the Digital Age: TPB AFK presents a nuanced discussion on the ethics of file sharing, copyright laws, and digital content distribution, prompting viewers to consider where they stand on these pivotal issues.
  2. Understanding the Impact of Digital Platforms: The documentary showcases the power and reach of digital platforms and the challenges they pose to traditional copyright laws, highlighting the ongoing battle between technological innovation and intellectual property rights.
  3. Legal and Moral Complexities: By following the trial of The Pirate Bay founders, the film explores the legal and moral complexities of the internet, offering insights into how laws struggle to keep pace with technological advancements.
  4. Community and Culture in the Digital World: TPB AFK illustrates the strong community and culture that can form around digital platforms, emphasizing the role of user-driven sites in shaping the internet landscape.
  5. Inspiration for Digital Activism: The documentary serves as an inspiration for digital activism, encouraging viewers to think critically about internet freedom, privacy, and how they can contribute to the ongoing dialogue around these issues.

Important Note: While TPB AFK is celebrated for its candid look at the intersection of technology, law, and ethics, it also presents a perspective that is sympathetic to the founders of The Pirate Bay, which some viewers might find controversial. The documentary opens up a broader conversation about the future of the internet, digital rights, and how society navigates the balance between freedom of information and copyright protection.

#21) We are Legion

We are Legion poster

Premise

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (2012) is a riveting documentary that dives into the world of hacktivism, focusing on the origins, ideology, and actions of Anonymous, a loosely organized collective of hackers and activists.

Directed by Brian Knappenberger, the film provides an in-depth look at the group’s evolution from internet mischief-makers to a potent political force that has taken on corporations, governments, and various institutions around the world.

Through interviews with current and former members, as well as experts and victims of the group’s activities, “We Are Legion” paints a comprehensive picture of the digital age’s most infamous hacktivist group.

Director: Brian Knappenberger

Cast

  • Interviews with members of Anonymous
  • Journalists
  • Activists
  • Experts in digital culture

Where to Watch:

Trailer:

Why It’s Relevant for Software Testers:

  1. Understanding Cybersecurity Threats: The documentary sheds light on the methods and motivations behind hacktivism, providing valuable insights into potential cybersecurity threats and the importance of robust security measures.
  2. Ethical Implications of Technology: “We Are Legion” prompts viewers to consider the ethical implications of their work in technology, especially regarding privacy, free speech, and the power of digital platforms to effect social and political change.
  3. The Power of Collective Action: The film illustrates the impact that a decentralized group can have on global events, highlighting the potential for collective action through digital means.
  4. Cultural Impact of Hacktivism: By exploring the culture and ethos of Anonymous, the documentary offers a unique perspective on how digital communities can influence societal norms and values.
  5. Inspiration for Advocacy and Activism: For those interested in the intersection of technology and social justice, “We Are Legion” serves as an inspiration for leveraging technical skills in advocacy and activism.

Important Note: While “We Are Legion” provides a fascinating look into the world of hacktivism, it also presents complex moral and legal questions about the tactics and impacts of Anonymous’s activities. The documentary encourages viewers to reflect on the balance between digital freedom and the rule of law, making it a thought-provoking watch for anyone interested in the future of the internet and digital rights.

The list doesn’t end here.. Here are some other programming movies which we think are good choices to satisfy the programmer in you

  1. Middle Men (2009)
  2. The Internship (2013)
  3. Pirates of Silicon Valley (TV Movie 1999)
  4. Startup.com (2001)
  5. Good Will Hunting (1997)
  6. 21 (2008)
  7. Wall Street (1987)
  8. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
  9. Infinity (1996)
  10. Breaking the Code (TV Movie 1996)
  11. Cube (1997)
  12. Pi (1998)
  13. 23 (1998)
  14. The Bank (2001)
  15. Pay It Forward (2000)
  16. Minority Report (2002)
  17. The Code Conspiracy (2002)
  18. Equilibrium (2002)
  19. The Time Machine (2002)
  20. Cube²: Hypercube (2002)
  21. Fermat’s Room (2007)
  22. The Number 23 (2007)
  23. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)
  24. Moneyball (2011)
  25. Travelling Salesman (2012)
  26. Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
  27. TRON: Legacy (2010)
  28. Digimon: The Movie (2000)
  29. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
  30. Revolution OS (2001)
  31. Paranoia (2013)
  32. Untraceable (2008)
  33. We Live in Public (2009)
  34. The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest (2002)
  35. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
  36. Source Code (2011)
  37. Paycheck (2003)

All these programming movies are fun to watch but at the same time are informative as well. Hope you find it useful.

How Many Roles Can a Software Tester Play

Posted on by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Software testing involves inspecting a programme or application to ensure that it performs as intended. It is an essential part of the software development life cycle since it prevents spending a lot of money and time on addressing software bugs. A business may avoid several significant mistakes in the software development life cycle by having a solid grasp of when and how to execute software tests. Although each organisation has its unique team structure, there are several roles that are essential to the testing process’ success.

A software tester will take part in quality assurance as well as deployment of the software. You will also be in charge of running both automated and human tests to ensure that the code written by developers meet the requirements of the task and that any bugs or errors are fixed before the final product hits the market.

Read Also: What is the Optimum Software Developer to Software Tester Ratio?

The role of a software tester is of great importance to the development of technology-based products, including software systems and cars, electronics, defence as well as healthcare. You could work on specialised, one-of-a-kind projects or globally distributed, multibillion-dollar enterprises.

Software Tester Role Play

Software tester as Scrum Master

After doing some in-depth research, I’ve come to the conclusion that some of the qualities needed to be a Scrum Master are already present in the position of a software tester.

  • There are more similarities between the two jobs than differences, like:

1. They are in charge of overseeing the procedure and are committed to enhancing quality by assisting the development team in producing high-quality items.

2. They assist in establishing the user acceptability criteria and are knowledgeable about corporate needs.

3. They are confident that every need for admission has been satisfied.

4. Regarding the notion of done, the tester and the Scrum Master ensure that all the user stories are finished at the conclusion of each sprint.

5. They support the software development lifecycle’s overall goal of continual improvement.

6. They promote the development team’s productivity and cooperation.

7. They must plan ahead proactively to reduce pressure during the testing phase and later stages of the software development lifecycle.

8. They can find issues and flaws with the system.

9. They are able to evaluate the danger of any change.

10. They possess social and soft skills

Read Also: What’s The Role of a Computer Game Tester?

  • Aside from the traits that these two jobs have in common, each of these roles requires a different set of skills, which help each project progress smoothly.
  • As a Scrum Master, the tester develops the ability to observe team activities on a daily basis and get insight into the project’s progress as well as expertise of the product. They also learn how to listen carefully and pay attention to the difficulties the development team faces every day. They proactively stop issues and flaws as a result.
  • Having the tester and Scrum Master positions under the same person is advantageous for a team as well as for an organisation operating in Scrum or wishing to change its development process to Scrum. Participating in the development process and gaining knowledge from various stages of the process aid in locating the key difficulties. Due to this, someone who performs the dual roles of tester and scrum master will offer a unique viewpoint, enhancing the entire development process and assisting the team in producing deliverables of higher quality. Additionally, they will benefit the process and be better equipped to influence the development team.
  • A tester may also make the ideal Scrum Master, given the correct conditions!
Software tester as Release Manager
  • Within the field of software development, the procedures of quality control and release management are intertwined. They are two branches that work closely together and frequently merge to form one team or individual. You could say that QA and RM are inseparable, that they must always be in touch, and that they cannot afford to take a break. In this article, I’ll go over the fundamental rules that every quality tester should adhere to and comprehend regarding the procedure of software release management, bringing both areas together in the pursuit of creating high-quality software.
  • A tester’s primary responsibility is to run tests to ensure software quality and verify that earlier work is free of mistakes. The success of the implementation greatly influences how well the testing process goes. The QA team will be able to spot numerous flaws that may be connected to the implementation phase if the tester thoroughly followed the development process and is aware that the back-end and front-end teams ran into specific issues when implementing the code. Consequently, it will also be simpler to suggest the appropriate solution to the appropriate teams.
  • Testers will comprehend and value the significance of completing their jobs within the scheduled timeframe if they are aware of how the implementation process has evolved. If testers were properly informed about the software deployment process, many problems may be prevented.
  • If the tester and the release manager are the same person, the organization’s working efficiency suffers slightly because they have similar thinking styles and problem-solving perspectives.
  • The dependency also decreases, and proficiency increases, which is good for the organization.
Software tester as Project Manager
  • The project manager is accountable for the final product’s quality and on-time development. In order to balance the costs of the job, workflow productivity, product dependability, capabilities, and development time, he must use new resources or, if necessary, reallocate those that are already accessible. The issue tracking system’s database becomes a crucial source of knowledge about the present status of the product and its adherence to the requirement specification during this activity.
  • An expert in quality assurance (QA) is aware of exactly how software products need to behave instead of how a product manager imagined they ought to. A creative software quality tester shouldn’t have any trouble trying to succeed as a software product manager.
  • Who, in essence, is a software tester? A software tester is a remarkable person who serves as the final stage of the web development lifecycle. He stands as the final person between the client and the web developer.

Similar traits of a project manager and a software tester

1. Honesty

  • One of the most important talents that software project managers must consistently keep in mind is that it takes their actions, not just their words, to establish a certain business as usual for a group. This skill is comparable to the abilities necessary for software testers. reasonable managerial demands and demonstration of moral behaviour.
  • The honesty that underpins project management or leadership refers to a set of principles, a commitment to sincerity, and consistency in teamwork. Sincere software project managers accept responsibility for creating high standards for moral behaviour for themselves and for rewarding those who uphold these standards.

2. They make wise decisions.

  • A software tester’s ability to make sound decisions is one of the key duties and obligations of project managers on software projects.
  • The excellent project manager position in software project management is crucial for both personal and professional success. The best project management software is used to decide on a number of options that will assist define the project’s course.
  • We all know that even a small mistake in a choice may quickly put the entire enterprise in jeopardy. A software tester should be capable of thinking quickly and responding decisively in this way.

3. They Encourage a Common Vision

  • In software development, the productive tasks of the project manager are typically characterised as having a vision of the future and the ability to articulate it. A software project manager is a person who empowers you, gives you a sense of purpose, and provides you with the vision and spirit to transform.
  • People are empowered by the creative project managers to feel like they truly matter to the work.
  • The software tester also gives their co-workers the opportunity to experience their own vision and gives others the option to create their own vision, explore what the vision will mean for their jobs and personal life, or even see their future as a key component of the association’s vision.

4. They are excellent at solving issues!

  • The finest project management position in software development is to collaborate with a team of professionals and use their expertise to solve problems in the most effective manner.
  • Only the roles and responsibilities of software testers will foresee that the software project managers will have a prepared response in due time regarding every issue; software project managers are required to be able to use the knowledge of their partners and even colleagues to create an aggregate reaction to any issues they encounter on their approach to delivering a project.
  • The only person who truly understands how and when it will be best for the end user to interact with the programme is a software tester. This isn’t, exactly, the question of online usability. The only person who can judge if something is done effectively or not is the tester, who uses the software product themselves several times while testing it. A tester then specifies how it must be.

Read Also: 50 Automation Testing Questions for Interview Preparation

Conclusion:-

This article shows how software testers are versatile and able to play various roles along with performing testing tasks. In this article, we will attempt to cover the actual role that the tester can play and how to be helpful in making things easier. After conducting research and consulting with various sources, we concluded that the qualities required of a scrum master are already present in a QA tester.

The software tester is successfully able to do the responsibilities of the release manager; if one person plays both roles, it will help them complete their jobs within the scheduled timeframe. If a software tester takes on the project manager role, the organisation benefits because they share qualities such as honesty, decision-making ability, vision, and problem-solving skills. As per research and literature, it is proved that testers play various roles and are helpful for achieving milestones in the software profession.

Top 75 Manual Testing Interview Questions

Posted on by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Manual testers will always be in demand. Without manual inspection, the emotional engagement of the software cannot be measured. But to get that dream salary package in that dream company, you need to crack the interview. Both verbal and in the form of tasks.

For all the aspiring testers, freshers, and experienced ones who are looking for a job change, please have a look at these manual testing interview questions before going for the interview.

Like it’s mentioned before, the Q and A used in these blogs can be helpful for

  • Manual testing interview questions for freshers
  • Manual testing interview questions for experienced
  • Manual testing interview questions for 2-5 years experience

Before digging deep let’s have a look at questions that have frequently been asked. FAQ!

  1. What is the Severity and Priority of a bug?
  2. What is a traceability matrix? Why is it important?
  3. What are the different levels of testing?
  4. What are the most common risks associated with project failure?
  5. What is an exit criterion and why is it used?
  6. What are the details included in a test case?
  7. How does testing fit into a CI pipeline?
  8. What is risk-based testing?
  9. Name some best practices in software testing
  10. What are the qualities of a good tester?
  11. Name some challenges in software testing?

Manual Testing Interview Questions and Answers pdf

Q 1: What are the 2 main types of testing?
Ans: The 2 main types of testing are:

  • Manual Testing: where the testing activities are performed by testers without the help of any tools.
  • Automation Testing: where the testing is carried out with the help of tools or stand-alone scripts that can replicate the manual operations performed.

Q 2: What is BVA?
Ans: BVA, Boundary Value Analysis, is a validation technique used for checking the edit boxes that take in numbers. For example, if a field takes the values 1 to 100, under BVA you would test the field with values +1 and -1 from the boundaries. So, in this case, the tester would check to see if the field with values 0,2,99, and 101.

Q 3: What is DOA and how is it used?
Ans: DOA, Dead on Arrival, is used to refer to applications build that are unsuitable for testing. There can be several situations where a build is declared as DOA. Some of these are:

  • Smoke Test fails
  • Application is unstable and crashes intermittently
  • The functionalities mentioned in the release notes are not included in the build or are not available for testing

Q 4: What is the Severity and Priority of a bug?
Ans: The severity and priority are important aspects of a bug. The Severity is decided by the tester based on the impact on the testing and the functionality of the application. For example, an app crash or user unable to login, back end server down, etc would all be high severity defects.

Priority on the other hand is decided by the developer based on how soon they can fix it or how much time would be needed to fix the defects.

Some in most cases high severity and high priority bugs would be the same. But there can be some cases where the Severity is low but priority is high. Like a spelling mistake in the company name on the home page.

Now, an example of high severity but a low priority can be unable to open a link in a web page, when the link is rarely used by the customer.

Q 5: What is a traceability matrix? Why is it important?
Ans: Traceability matrix is the link between a client requirement or use case and the test case.

While writing a test case, a tester should ensure there is at least 1 test case for every use case of functional requirement. This mapping between the requirements and test cases is called traceability.

The traceability matrix helps to ensure that each requirement in the functional document is considered for testing, thus avoiding any misses.

Q 6: What are the different levels of testing?
Ans: Testing is done at different levels, they are

  • Unit testing or component level testing
  • Functional and module testing
  • Integration testing
  • System testing
  • Acceptance testing

Q 7: What is a test plan?
Ans: A test plan is a document that enlists all the aspects of the testing project. Some of the main headers under a test plan are:

  • In scope and out of scope features.
  • The hardware, software, and resource requirements
  • Entry and exit criteria
  • Test strategy
  • Test deliverables
  • Risks and contingencies
  • Roles and responsibilities
  • Escalation mechanism

Q 8: What is the difference between regression and retesting?
Ans: Regression testing refers to repeated testing of the functionalities already delivered and tested in previous testing cycles.

Regression testing is done to ensure that the new code changes in the current build have not broken or adversely impacted any previous functionalities.

In many companies, regression testing is automated to ensure more time can be dedicated to the thorough testing of the new features.

Retesting, on the other hand, refers to rechecking the defects after they are fixed, to ensure the issue is completed resolved.

For retesting, a tester would perform the same steps as mentioned in the defect steps to reproduce to ensure the defect is fixed, and then based on their discretion they would also check areas that might get affected by the defect fix.

Q 9: What is a defect?
Ans: Any deviation from the expected behavior of the application can be termed as a defect.

Q 10: What are the different stages in a defect life cycle?
Ans: The different stages in a defect life cycle are:

  • New
  • Assigned
  • Fixed
  • Moved to QA / Ready to test
  • Retested
  • Closed
  • Reopen
  • Duplicate
  • Redundant
  • Moved to next iteration / Deferred

Q 11: What is a latent defect?
Ans: There are some defects in the system that may not cause failures or impact the customer usage of the application because the preconditions for these defects are rarely met.

Such defects that are silently present in the system are known as latent defects.

Q 12: What are the most common risks associated with project failure?
Ans: The most common risks are:

  • Shortage of time or squeezed timelines
  • Shortage of skilled resources to perform the testing activities
  • Limited Budget
  • Absence of a stable environment for testing

Q 13: What are stubs and drivers?
Ans: Stubs and drivers are used in incremental testing. Testing follows either a top-down or a bottom-up approach.

In the top-down approach, a stub is used to help in the testing of other modules. Similarly, a driver is used in the bottom-up approach for facilitating the testing.

Q 14: What would you do if you find a defect?
Ans: Here is what you should do once you find a defect.

  • Recreate the defect to make sure it is consistent
  • Try to recreate the defect in a different device, browser, or OS to make sure if it occurring everywhere or is specific to any particular device, browser, or OS.
  • Take the screenshot of the error
  • Capture the required logs as applicable
  • Log the details in the bug tracking tool used by the team

Q 15: What is fuzz testing?
Ans: Fuzz testing is commonly used in security testing to find vulnerabilities and coding errors in the system. In fuzz testing, data is added to the system to make it crash.

Sometimes, a fuzz tester is also used to find the causes of the vulnerability as well. It is mostly done in big projects and may not prove cost-effective for smaller projects.

Q 16: What are the test cases you can create for a simple login screen with username, password, and login buttons?
Ans: Some of the test cases that can be created for the login screen are:

  • Test cases for login edit box, what type of characters it can take.
  • Test cases for password edit box, what type of characters it can take.
  • Password should be masked and should not be visible
  • Valid credentials should allow users to log in and move to the next screen
  • Invalid credentials should block the user, the appropriate message should be displayed
  • Username blank – appropriate message should be displayed
  • Password blank – appropriate message should be displayed
  • The edit boxes should be aligned properly
  • A forgot password link should be available
  • Appropriate labels should be written for the login and password edit boxes

Q 17: What is the difference between a latent and masked defect?
Ans: Latent defects are those that are existing in the system but do not impact the functionality since the preconditions for the defects are never met.

A masked defect, on the other hand, is those which are hidden behind another defect. And they can be found only once the other defect is found.

Q 18: What techniques can be used to understand the test coverage?
Ans: The 3 different techniques used for ensuring the test coverage are:

  • Statement coverage: testing ensures that each line of the code is executed at least once.
  • Decision coverage: testing is done to ensure that each path of the decision code loops and decision boxes are executed at least once.
  • Path coverage: testing is done to ensure every possible code path for a particular functionality is executed at least once.

Q 19: What is a code walk-through?
Ans: A code walkthrough is an informal analysis of any code to check if the logic is correct and if the proper coding standards are followed. It is an unmoderated review.

Q 20: What are the different parts of a defect report?
Ans: A defect report would ideally include:

  • Summary
  • Tested By
  • Assigned to
  • Tested environment
  • Build No.
  • Severity
  • Steps to reproduce
  • Expected and Actual Results
  • Screenshots
  • Logs
  • Defect status
  • Comments

Q 21: What is an exit criterion and why is it used?
Ans: Exit criteria list the conditions in which the testing would be stopped at any point in the project.

It is very useful during the project execution as a guide to reject the testing build.
Some of the main exit criteria are:

  • Build Failure
  • Login failure
  • App Crash in critical functionalities
  • No data in the application
  • Failed smoke test

Q 22: What is alpha testing?
Ans: Alpha testing is the testing done by a subset of potential users or clients in the developer’s site with the development infrastructure.

Q 23: What is beta testing?
Ans: Beta testing is the testing done by a subset of the potential users or clients at their locations which is generally different from the environment where the product was developed.

Q 24: What is crowdsourced testing?
Ans: Crowdsourced testing is a new and upcoming form of testing that involves people, not necessarily testers, from across the globe to test the product and provide their feedback. These people get paid to perform the task.

Q 25: What is a smoke test?
Ans: A smoke test is the first test that is done to ensure the shared build is ready for testing and the critical functionalities are working.

In many companies, the build is accepted for further testing only if the smoke test is a pass.

Q 26: How does testing fit into a CI pipeline?
Ans: In a CI pipeline all the tasks are automated, hence testing is also automated.

A trigger is set to start the testing suite every time there is a new code check-in and build.

Once the testing is complete a pass/fail report is sent out to the stakeholders and based on the results the decision is taken to push the build to production or to roll it back.

Q 27: How is testing possible in the agile/scrum sprints?
Ans: In Agile and Scrum the testing would start early along with the development. As and when a block of code is ready, testing starts for that functionality with the help of stubs, drivers, and harness.

Q 28: What are positive and negative testing?
Ans: Positive testing refers to all the happy paths where the application performs as expected with the correct input.

Negative tests, on the other hand, involves giving incorrect data to the system to ensure it responds appropriately.

Q 29: What is an exploratory test?
Ans: Random tests that are done without any pre-decided steps to just traverse through the application and find defects are called exploratory testing.

Q 30: What is DRE?
Ans: DRE, defect removal efficiency, a metrics commonly used for evaluating the effectiveness of the testing process. It is defined as the percentage of the defect found in testing by the sum of defects in testing and production.

Q 31: What is the career path for a tester?
Ans: Just like a developer there is a great career path for testers. It starts with a tester or junior tester, test analyst, test lead, test manager, and test consultant.

Q 32: What are the roles and responsibilities of a tester?
Ans: A tester is expected to

  • Take care of the day to day testing activities
  • Report bugs when found
  • Retest the bugs

Q 33: What are the roles and responsibilities of a test lead?

Ans: A test lead would

  • Assign the tasks to the team members
  • Monitor the defects raised by the team
  • Participate in defect triages when required.
  • Consolidate and share the daily or weekly testing status with the manager
  • Help the manager while creating a test plan
  • Inform the manager of any foreseen risks

Q 34: What are the roles and responsibilities of a test manager?
Ans: A test manager is responsible for

  • Getting the testing projects from clients and stakeholders
  • Preparing and presenting the strategy document
  • Preparing the test plan with the help of a lead
  • Help the team with the resources needed
  • Help the team with mitigating the risk
  • Prepare and present the testing metrics to the team
  • Help in escalations as and when needed

Q 35: What are the different types of testing. Name a few types in each.
Ans: Testing can be divided mainly into 2 types:

  • Functional Testing: It deals with testing the functionality of the application under test. Some of the testings under functional testing are:
    1. Unit Testing
    2. System testing
    3. User Acceptance testing
    4. Integration testing
  • Non-functional testing: it involves testing the non-functional features like performance, scalability, security reliability, etc.
      1. Load testing
      2. Stress testing
      3. User Acceptance testing
      4. Security testing
      5. Endurance testing
      6. Installation testing

     

Q 36: What are the stages in the software testing lifecycle?
Ans: The stages in the software testing lifecycle are:

    1. Requirement Analysis
    2. Test Planning
    3. Test Case Development
    4. Test Environment Setup
    5. Testing
    6. Test Closure and deliverables handover

Q 37: What are the qualities of a good tester?
Ans: Some qualities of a good tester are:

    1. An eye for finding details and mistakes in the system
    2. A good understanding of the application under test and how the users would be using the application
    3. A good domain knowledge
    4. Good communication skills are important for a tester
    5. Good contacts within and outside the team help the tester reach out to people and get issues resolved easily speeding up the process.

Q 38: What is cross-browser testing?
Ans: Cross-browser testing refers to testing a web application on different browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, etc. to ensure it performs equally well in each.

Q 39: What is responsive testing?
Ans: Responsive testing involves testing a website or mobile app on devices of different screen sizes to ensure it renders properly in each device. This testing also helps to eliminate any alignment issues during the rendering.

Q 40: What is a software bug?
Ans: Any deviation from the expected functionality of the application as documented in the specifications document is called a software bug.

Q 41: What is black box testing?
Ans: A type of testing where the tester understands and has access only to the input and output of a system through a graphics interface is called black-box testing. Here the tester would not know the code or how it is written.

Q 42: What is white box testing:
Ans: In white-box testing, the tester has access to the code implementation.

The test cases are designed to cover the different paths and loops in the implementation.

For white-box testing, some basic coding knowledge and background are an additional advantage.

Q 43: What are the advantages of manual testing?
Ans: The advantages of manual testing are:

    1. It is more suitable for small projects
    2. A tester can find more bugs when performing test cases unlike automation
    3. The test cases can be easily tuned to adjust to the changes in the code and UI
    4. Difficult scenarios and switching between systems and modules can be easily done
    5. Very useful in ad-hoc, exploratory, and usability testing
    6. Needs fewer skills and can be learned easily

Q 44: What are the disadvantages of manual testing?
Ans: Some disadvantages of manual testing are:

    1. It is time-consuming and not suitable for projects with strict timelines
    2. It can become redundant for functionalities that are stable with no code change
    3. Performance tests can not be performed manually
    4. It proves more expensive in the long run.
    5. With every iteration or release, the timelines keep on increasing.
    6. It is prone to human errors

Q 45: When will you choose manual testing over automation?
Ans: Under some situations, manual testing is preferred over automation, these are:

    1. Bug re-testing
    2. For testing cases, that need to be run only a few times for the project.
    3. For Adhoc and exploratory testing.
    4. For checking the user-friendliness of the application
    5. While handling complex scenarios.
    6. For testing cases, where some random decision-making is involved.

Q 46: What is a testbed?
Ans: The environment for testing with the needed parameters is called a testbed. It is a digital platform that can include the OS, hardware, software, database, network, etc.

Q 47: What is a test case?
Ans: A test case is a set of instructions that the tester is expected to perform to test functionality.

A good test case can be easily understood and run by any person even if they do not have a testing background.

Q 48: What are the details included in a test case?
Ans: A test case would include:

    1. S No.
    2. Traceability reference to the requirements document
    3. Pre-conditions
    4. Steps to reproduce
    5. Expected result
    6. Actual result
    7. Result (Pass/Fail)
    8. Bug ID
    9. Comments

Q 49: What is user acceptance testing?
Ans: Also known as end-user testing, it is performed by a subset of the actual users to understand if the application is working as expected for the users. In UAT, the users would suggest some improvements in the application that would make it more suitable.

Q 50: What is Soak Testing?Ans: Soak testing is a kind of performance testing in which the system is kept under continuous load for a long time to find defects and bottlenecks in the system. It is also called as Endurance test.

Most commonly memory leaks and system utilization-related issues can be found during these tests.

Q 51: What is localization testing?
Ans: The localization testing is done to check the functionalities that the dependent on the location. These can be related to map, search features, regional languages, etc.

Q 52: What is A/B testing?
Ans: A/B testing is done when there are 2 or more versions of the app. Both these apps are given to the client or each app is given to a set of clients,        for testing to decide which one is better and should be deployed to production.

Q 53: What are the different types of integration testing?
Ans: The different types of integration testing are:

    1. Big bang testing
    2. Bottom-up testing
    3. Top-down testing

Q 54: What is called the pesticides paradox?
Ans: When the same tests are conducted on the same system, again and again, no new defects can be found and the system becomes immune to these tests. This situation is called the pesticides paradox.

To avoid such a scenario, the tests should be modified with new strategies and approaches.

Q 55: Name some test deliverables?
Ans: Some test deliverables are:

    1. Test Plan
    2. Effort estimation report
    3. Test cases
    4. Traceability matrix
    5. Defect report
    6. Test report
    7. Test summary

Q 56: What is big-bang testing?
Ans: Testing all the modules together once the development is complete is called the big-bang testing approach. The defects found in big-bang testing have a very high fixing cost since they are found towards the end of the development cycle.

Q 57: What is top-down testing?
Ans: In the top-down testing approach, the top modules are tested first and then moved on to the smaller modules.

Stubs are used as a temporary module to assist in testing the higher modules.

Q 58: What is bottom-up testing?
Ans: Bottom-up approach is the opposite of the top-down approach, here the lower modules are tested first as and when they are ready. Moving up to bigger integrated modules.

Drivers are used to doing integration testing till the module development is complete.

Q 59: What is end-to-end testing?
Ans: End-to-end testing means testing the entire flow of the application from the start to the end. One of the biggest challenges in end-to-end testing is that it spans multiple systems, so the verification can become complex.

Q 60: What is GUI testing?
Ans: Testing an application using only the graphical user interface is called GUI testing. In this, apart from the functionality, a tester would also check the alignment, color combinations, readability, ease of navigation, etc.

Q 61: What is recovery testing?
Ans: This testing is done to check how soon the system can recover after a system crash. It is a type of non-functional testing.

Q 62: What is risk-based testing?
Ans: In risk-based testing, the critical modules and those which are likely to have more failures are tested first. This type of test prioritization based on risk is the basis of risk-based testing.

Q 63: What is security testing?
Ans: The testing that is done to find the vulnerabilities in the system, protect the data, and ensure the functionalities are working as expected is called security testing.

It also involves checking the access to systems. This means people with different access levels should be able to access only parts of the system they are allowed to as per the business.

Q 64: What is load testing?
Ans: Load testing is done to see the performance of the application under load. A load is simulated on the system and then functional testing is performed to find the bottlenecks in the system.

Q 65: Name some best practices in software testing.
Ans: Some best practices are:

    1. Start early
    2. Update your test cases, and test approach frequently to identify more defects
    3. Always think like the client
    4. Think out of the box
    5. Automate repeated tests and focus more testing on new modules

Q 66: What is exhaustive testing?
Ans: Exhaustive testing is testing the system with all the valid and invalid inputs.

In most cases, exhaustive testing is not possible and a tester would go with BVA or equivalence partition techniques to test the application.

Q 67: What is the 80:20 rule?
Ans: The 80:20 rule states that 80% of the defects are found in 20% of the code. This is also called defect clustering.

Q 68: What is defect cascading?
Ans: The phenomenon where one defect if left undetected, triggers multiple defects in other modules and later stages are called defect cascading.

The cost of fixing this defect cascading can be high, due to the greater number of defects in the system.

Q 69: What is outsourced testing?
Ans: Assigning the testing task to a third party or separate team within or outside the company is called outsourced testing.

This is done to ensure free and unbiased testing. Sometimes it is also helpful in giving a fresh perspective to the testing activity.

Q 70: What is bug leakage?
Ans: A bug that is missed by the testing team during the testing phase and escapes undetected to production, where it is discovered by the actual user is called leaked bug and the phenomenon is called bug leakage.

Q 71: What is a show stopper defect?
Ans: A defect that does not allow the testing activities to proceed is called a show stopper defect.

App crash on launch and login failures are examples of show stopper defects.

Q 72: What is a hotfix?
Ans: Sometimes a build that is deployed to production would have some critical error and it would be rolled back.

Now an emergency fix for the issue is released as a new patch and this build is called a hotfix.

Q 73: What are the different models of SDLC?
Ans: The main models are:

    1. Waterfall model
    2. V model
    3. Spiral model
    4. Agile

Q 74: Name some challenges in software testing?
Ans: Some challenges in software testing

    1. Insufficient documentation or unfrozen requirements.
    2. Unavailability of skilled testing resources
    3. Stringent timelines
    4. Unstable systems and incomplete modules are given for testing

Q 75: What is the age of a defect?
Ans: The age of the defect is defined as the number of days between the day the defect is accepted or assigned by the development team and the day it is verified and closed by the testing team.

The age of the defect can be defined in hours and days.

Conclusion

We wholeheartedly hope that you crack the next manual tester interview and the manual testing interview questions that we have prepared for you have helped in it.

Performance Tester Salary in India

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How much does a performance tester/performance engineer earn in india based on their experience and expertise? if you reached this blog seeking the answer your direction is right! Let’s have a look at performance tester salaries in India.
Let us now look at the performance tester salary of employees at present vs average expected salary in various IT hubs in India.
Performance Tester Salary in Pune
After Mumbai Pune is the second-best tech hub in the state, Pune plays a pivotal role in the growth of the IT hub in Maharashtra.
The salary packages for performance testers vary based on the city and also the size or number of organizations in the area. There are several companies in Pune with excellent opportunities for performance testers.  There are more than 80+ companies are Pune that has performance testing as one of their major services.
Based on data gathered from performance testers, we are trying to compare the current as well as the expected salary of employees who are looking for a job change

Experience Current salary Expected salary
2-4 yrs 4-6 LPA 5-7 LPA
4-5 yrs 8-7 LPA 7-8 LPA
5-6+ yrs 7-9 LPA 10-12 LPA


Performance Tester Salary in Bangalore
Bangalore in our very own Silicon Valley, the biggest IT hub of the country. Bangalore has always been the favorite of IT-based employees owing to the salary package offered by the companies there. When it comes to performance tester salary story remains the same. Let’s have a look

Experience Current salary Expected salary
2-4 yrs 5.7-6.25 LPA 5.20-7.30 LPA
4-5 yrs 8.15-7.20 LPA 7-8 LPA
5-6+ yrs 7.5-9 LPA 10.5-12.5 LPA

 Performance Tester Salary in Chennai
Chennai is one of the fast-growing and one of the biggest IT hubs in South India. Today Chennai is home to many big companies and well-known IT parks of the country including Elcot SEZ, Tidel Park, MEPS, Ramanujan IT  Park, Mahindra World City, ASV Suntech Park, RMZ Millenia, and many more.
Chennai is the right place to be if you are a fresher. The place offers a decent package as well as a fertile ground for budding performance testers.  Let’s have a look at the salary disparities.

Experience Current salary Expected salary
2-4 yrs 5.1-5.25 LPA 5.3-6.30 LPA
4-5 yrs 6.75-7 LPA 7.2-8.3 LPA
5-6+ yrs 7.5-9 LPA 10.5-12.5 LPA

Performance Tester Salary in Hyderabad
Another upcoming IT hub of South India is Hyderabad which is locally also called Cyberabad for obvious reasons. There are many IT hubs created in the area for the promotions of IT Infrastructure.
At present Hyderabad is home to many well-known names in IT including Google, Microsoft, GE, Qualcomm, Facebook, Amazon, and more. This list itself speaks volumes of the opportunities available in the region for every IT professional.

Also Read: Salary of testers in various countries revealed

Let’s have a look at the current average salary employees are drawing vs the expected average salary of performance testers

Experience Current salary Expected salary
2-4 yrs 3.7-5.8 LPA 5-7 LPA
4-5 yrs 6.5-8 LPA 7-8 LPA
5-6+ yrs 7-9 LPA 8-10 LPA

Performance Tester Salary in Mumbai
Mumbai! the name says it all. It’s a known fact that Mumbai is indeed one of the most prominent tech hubs in India. The salary package offered by various companies dwindles drastically owing to the budget variances of the company located there. From MNCs and here is what we got to know from the survey we conducted from performance testers working in Mumbai.

Experience Current salary Expected salary
2-4 yrs 4.20 -5.8 LPA 5-6.5 LPA
4-5 yrs 6.05-7 LPA 6-7 LPA
5-6+ yrs 8-8.5 LPA 9-11 LPA


Conclusion
Hope the idea about performance tester salary in India is clear now.  It’s expected that the role of a performance tester to performance engineer will happen widely across the dev world soon.

Being a tester for a long time affects your behavior? Answer is here!

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Do you think that testing is an easy job? It has never been. The conflict is intense and the it’s stressful
testing is over meme
But what makes us continue what we are doing is the love towards QA. However, many have to pay a price for that sweet love! Without even realizing it.

I talked to one of my friends lately who was going through an introspection phase of his life and said that being a tester has made him a bit too attentive towards things, rather too much he said.

He added that perfection has gotten hold of his life and has become a roadblock for many things that could have been easily one.

I took it lightly at first, owing to the nature of the conversation. But unknowingly the words got stuck inside and came out in my lone time.

Is it true that there is only a thin line between work life and personal life? Do testers tend to be doubtful or suspicious more than a normal person would?

Does our line of work affect us on a personality level?

I think it does, life situations that an individual is in for a prolonged time period will have a serious impact on his behavior.

What happens in the life of a tester as time pass by

Let’s admit it as testers; we all get pleasure out of poking things to see how things work.

And it is indeed true we all have that evil mastermind laugh when we find faults. It’s human nature.
Evil Laugh meme
But is it bad?

Absolutely no!

If you know how to harness such a mindset for the greater good it’s absolutely fine. I know that many of you have! Bravo! Kudos to that.
You are all indeed awesome.

But some might not be able to draw that line between personal life and work-life after-effects of their work nature will breach their personal life.  Not just that,

In fact, many of my friends with whom I had conversations for the research purpose for this blog have admitted that they have become too attentive and interrogative than they used to be.

To elaborate, They started watching things around them more closely as time passed by. Their eyes got hold of the negatives and demanded perfectness in whatever they do.

To an extent, it’s good, indeed! However, perfection is a colloquial term! Near perfection is achievable and it’s a realistic goal. Making things perfect is beyond humane intervention.

Research that showed us personality has a great effect on testing skills and vice versa

Your personality trait has a great effect on your testing skills. Da Cunha and Greathead have done the research and found out that Logical and ingenious people tend to be great and code review.

Another research by Hana Almodaimeegh revealed that Locus of control (the extent to which one believes that an event is the result of external factors than his/her own effort) has no effect on debugging skill of a tester. On the other hand, social learning style coupled with experience has a high influence on debugging skills.

There is one more piece of research that can cement my claim. Beer and Ramler concluded that testers with experience using their domain knowledge are much better at carrying out the testing process than others.

What do these studies converge to?

The effect is not just unidirectional. The way your personality and skills are related, and your daily bread and butter have an effect on your behavior too.

Trait Activation theory is a legit theory to prove that our job does affect our personality

What should be done to keep that barrier strong?

Take a break, not for a kit-kat, your mind and body deserves it

Testers usually work for 8+ hours, But, at present many are working at home owing to the Corona pandemic situation and the work hours are turning out to be indefinite.

So this can take a toll on your mental health as prolonged stress is a killer.  Importantly major shares of your active time are spent on scrutinizing software to find faults. So breaks are necessary to do things that have nothing to do with your work.

  1. Yes, it’s a pandemonium! But planning can be so effective

Stress is an after-effect of improper planning most of the time.

If you set goals and time frame for it you will get a lot of personal time than usual. Thus, you can spend a lot of time with your friends and family.

  1. Accept the reality! There is no way to separate both lives

Dedicated time for both work and personal life will not work positively according to many research papers.

So the right thing to do here is to create a perfect balance between work and personal life.

It’s obvious that many personal matters will come in between your work time. Deal with it! It need not be discarded if it’s that important.

  1. Unplug yourself! It helps!

Be it work life or personal life, sometimes indulging is something that can calm you always help. For instance, you can read a book while your daily commute to the office.

By doing so you will be planted in an imaginary world where you can interact with unrealistic characters in the book.

The process will decompress you from the stress. Too much work will consume your natural behavior and replace it with its.

  1. Personality conflicts are not mythical like a unicorn. It’s real! Address it

You might the coolest person. However; your work has put you under so much stress that you started changing.

Stress will soon engulf you and will make you this arrogant person that even you are not even used to.

To get out of such a situation you need to address that there is this issue. Once you address it many possible ways out will be there.

Conclusion

Acceptance of the issue, and understanding and handling it in a professional way is the only to keep that barrier strong between work life and personal life.

Third-party intervention is good, however, making sure that the person who is trying to help has the ability to help you.

We know very well that many of you testers have or have been handling the issue.

Be proud that you have managed to suppress such conflicts and have emerged as exceptional testers and good social beings.

Those who are not able to cop up, no problem, it’s absolutely ok. Personality traits do not define your skills or even how good you are at what you do.

But to be happier, all you need is a better understanding of the change and how it is affecting you.

Why is it hard to hire versatile testers? What’s the solution?

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The quality of software decides its success. We are at a juncture where quality matters the most than anything. When it comes to people who are responsible for the quality, there is a huge scarcity. And it’s a big problem!
Let’s have a few statistics that might reveal an important question

  • The most accepted tester to developer ratio is 1:4.
  • Requirement volatility and lack of skilled testers are some of the biggest problems when it comes to test execution challenges
  • 69% of testers working in the organization agreed that formal training is required
  • 24% agreed that they got into testing accidentally
  • 65% of testers agreed that they have never been formally taught

Is there a fertile ground to nurture skilled testers? The answer would be no!
There are certificate courses on software testing. True that. But, is that enough?
We are moving to a phase where software quality has of utmost importance to be successful. So Quality assurance has to be given prime importance and nurturing tester skills has to be done ASAP.

An Ample Hiring example
Suppose a company is diligently looking for an automation tester. But, when it comes to the responsibilities of a tester, don’t you think he has to do much more than that of being proficient in tools?
Automating time-consuming tasks such as writing script and maintaining a test environment has to be done to make sure there is a stable agile/DevOps environment. His duty does not end there he has to be the central part that grantees efficiency in any project.
In short, software developers are adding features on a constant basis to keep up with testing there has to be testers who can think out of the box.
But unfortunately, we are at a dilemma where the supply of such skilled testers is in scarce considering the demand.
The organizational dilemma in QA
There exists a situation where developers perform QA to make sure that SDLC is at its right pace.  One of the major reason would be the  few software testing companies to choose from  considering the humongous number of software development companies.
So what happens when developers becomes tester is that, most of the time developers tend to leave their codes unchecked resulting in a bottleneck at any point in the development.
So it’s an urgent requirement that we need companies who can efficiently test software and can be in the loop when it comes to continuous development.
Most of the testers are self-made out of sheer hard work and perseverance
Only 44% of testers across the globe have been formally taught. The rest of them learned with the help of books, video tutorials, and through experience.
But there is a huge problem here. Experience = time. A person who has started his testing career or if he is someone who is interested in QA will require years of experience to master the craft. Learning theory alone most probably won’t land them a job either.
Be it fresher’s, we need testers who can get into the process within a short span of time.
What’s the solution here? 
Make sure that testers are deeply trained and nurtured in a way that they become more than mere testers. They should have a holistic approach to software quality rather than able to carry out certain processes.
What are the basic traits an organization will be looking for in hiring testers?

  1. Knowledge of DevOps and Agile Methodology 

With software expected to be delivered in a short time period, testers should be knowledgeable about these collaborative as well as iterative working modules. Agile methodology offers testing speed, whereas DevOps provides cross-functional teamwork from the outset. 
2. The Efficiency with Web and Mobile Technologies 
A tester must have a strong understanding of the latest mobile and web technologies. The knowledge will allow them to understand the particular application and related specifications in order to apply effective testing actions. 
Testers must update themselves of the advancements in the web as well as mobile technologies. Their level of awareness is what helps them understand the coding structure and technical pitfalls to extend relevant Q/A solutions. 
3. Rational Analysis and Logical Thinking 
Testers must be logical, analytical, and rational because these skills when applied to tests, enable them to determine errors, comprehend challenges, assess irregularities within the application, and perform testing accordingly.
Moreover, these skills also help them to validate application against various scenarios and test its performance and elements against the predetermined standards.
Having a logical approach further allows testers to interpret the information, highlight relevant questions, and identify strengths and weaknesses, and eventually implement the right course of action. 
4. SDLC 
Software Life-cycle Management Skills or SDLC allows testers to understand the tasks and plan testing cycles of an application. Having a thorough understanding of the SDLC cycle helps them to figure out complexities within the application. 
By determining the issues in the early stages, allows testers to take the right measures at the right time.
In this, testers must essentially learn certain development methodologies, including Scrum, Waterfall, Lean, and Kanban. 
5. Programming 
Understanding of programming languages helps testers understand an application’s inside out. The ability to comprehend every aspect of the application is what makes a successful tester stand out from the crowd. 
The knowledge of programming language assists testers in efficiently determining potential errors within the code, thereby reducing the chances of inefficiencies and bugs. 
6. Communication Skills 
By imbibing good communication skills, testers will be able to interact with the clients and clearly make them understand the status and requirements of the projects.
Moreover, testers will be able to communicate issues with the development team and translate the technical reports in an easy way to help the management team understand the process.
Additionally, good communication skills help testers provide insights and feedback to both technical and non-technically teams in a more understandable manner. 
Test your app in various screens
Final take
The answer is simple. Many budding testers  are not aware of the huge paradigm shift that has happened or is happening when it comes to quality assurance. Organisational requirement is entirely different from what most of the testers have learned.
Rather than being  a part of a module, software testing has to be taught in its entirety as a full length bachelors or master program so that when it comes to hiring freshers companies will have much more reliable medium than going through the painful experience similar to finding needle in a haystack.
 

My Journey as a Video Game Tester

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Hi, my name is Hari Panicker. A passionate video game tester, Also, I am a die-hard fan of playing (Role-Playing, Adventure, MMORPG & arcade games.  My unmeasurable love towards game is the main reason why my career as a video game tester flourished.
It all started with the game called Contra and Dangerous Dev in my 4th standard.
The game was so interesting that after school I used to dash towards home to complete my homework then sit and play till bedtime without even flinching. Ah! How can I forget?
As I grew up I discovered more and more intense games like CS, Dota I, Red Alert, AOE (Age of Empires), GunZ the Reloaded Duel and many more. Among the huge list, hands down my favorite, the one, and only Ragnarok Online.
About the game, Ragnarok is an MMORPG created by Gravity. I was so into this game that I used to sometimes skip my study hours for playing the game with my friends (lol..).  I and my friends used to party up and level up our characters, hunt equips /attribute card from morning till noon.
Then in the evening, we party up again for some PVP (Player vs. Player) and GVG (Guild vs. Guild) fights. It was not just playing the game for me and my friends we started to make money by selling some rare items in-game which was very hard to obtain.
After a few years, the game server closed so I had to move to another Ragnarok server. This was a Malaysian Server called Happy Ragnarok Online. I was the No.1 Player of the server which gave me the opportunity to work as a Game Master for this game.
From there my Game Testing life started I had to report Bugs, find out who is using Cheat (Botting) result to permanent BAN and Ragnarok Support (Help players if they have any questions regarding the game).
Moving on I realized that my career is into Game Testing and further started to work in a game testing company where I got to learn many new things about games and how it works (many new terms used in-game, writing bugs, uploading them on Jira, Mantis, etc.) in testing.
Within 6 to 7 months I got promoted to a Senior Test Engineer where I had to handle a team of 8 to 15 people, explains them the task to do, solve their queries about the game, review the bugs properly and send daily status reports.
Games I have tested:

My team had good times and bad times in projects we tested. we were gifted with immense pleasure when the tested game gets positive feedback from the clients with some Goodies (Gifts) 😊, and of course, there is a lot of pressure when the delivery date approaches. But yes, after all, its fun testing more and more games 😊

My craving for games and testing them will never end. It’s like my hobby turned in to my career.

ISTQB Certification: What you need to do?

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The present situation of the market is aggressive. Taking an online test can enable you to separate yourself from the rest, expand your work possibilities, and result in higher compensation.
One such certification is the ISTQB certification that can help you out with your career choice. ISTQB stands for the “International Software Testing Qualifications Board.” It offers an internationally recognized certification for testers which is also known as “ISTQB Certified Tester”.
So before you think about taking up this course, let us take you through some key points.
1. No certification is complete without good hands-on experience on live projects. It also provides you with crucial knowledge and an understanding of what will work and what won’t.
2. Candidates having work experience are always a preferred choice for people undertaking any course.
3. If you are a fresher, or new to the field of software testing, this certification can certainly come to your rescue. You could also think about taking up an internship program or a higher education course.
The ISTQB certification is divided into 3 levels
Foundation Level
An entry-level certification, this level is designed for both fresher as well as experienced professionals.
The objective of this course is to make sure the key concepts and fundamental practices are well understood by everyone. The syllabus includes 6 major topics:
1. Fundamentals of testing
2. Software testing lifecycle 
3. Static techniques like black box testing and white box testing
4. Testing tools and management
Advance Level
The advanced level course is designed for mid-level professionals who possess a minimum of 5 years of experience. The objective is to learn and understand advanced best practices and concepts of testing. The syllabus includes the following topics:
1. Advanced behavioral testing and standards for business-oriented testers
2. Advanced structural testing for technically-oriented testers
3. Experienced test management concepts for managers.
Expert Level
As the name suggests, the expert level courses are designed for true leaders in the field of software testing.
These professionals have experience of more than 8 years. The objective is to make understanding and execution of the current cutting edge technology.
Since the professionals are leaders in the field, the syllabus covers topics like:
1. Test process improvement
2. Test management
3. Test automation
4. Industry-specific techniques.
How Can You Appear For the ISTQB Certifications?
It is advisable to enroll for the certification well in advance for the given date. The following instructions are designed for ISTQB certification in India.
1. Find the upcoming ISTQB exam dates at (click here)
2. For enrolment, (click here) and complete your signup process
The Course Fee For the ISTQB Foundation Level Course is Currently $229
IQBBA Business Analyst exam fee:  $199
ISTQB Advanced Level exam fees: $249
ISTQB Expert Level exam fee: $375
1. Send a demand draft (DD) in favor of the Software Testing Certification Board, payable at ‘NEW DELHI’ to the ITB office in Noida at their given address.
2. The board will inform you about the time and procedure for taking up the exam.
Don’t forget to mention your registration details that you filled during the enrolment and also mention your contact information at the back of the DD.
1. On the scheduled date and time, be present at the exam venue.

  • Unlike any other exam, do carry your photo identity card like an Aadhar card and voter ID.
  • Since the exam is carried out online, you will be notified of the results immediately.

For all the other exams, the results are notified after 2 weeks.
1. For any other queries, visit their contact page at http://www.istqb.in/contact-us1
Why choose ISTQB Certification?
Several different certifications are available for testers. But the ISTQB continues to be the most favored one among most tester. Here is why:

  1. It is the number one testing certification, globally, with over 6,00,000 testing professionals across 100+ countries.
  2. The syllabus is updated frequently and is always in line with the trending developments in the testing domain. This adds more value to it.
  3. The certification focuses on the practical implementation of the testing concepts rather than theory. This means only professionals with expertise will be able to complete it.
  4. Through the 3 different levels, the certification helps in building a career path for the testing professional. Each level caters to a similar project designation in the organization.
  5. Most companies prefer ISTQB certified candidates over those without the certification. This opens many new and exciting career avenues for testing professionals.

Know More: Must Learn Selenium interview Questions

Is the ISTQB Certification Worth the Try?
Having the ISTQB certification on your resume can certainly add those stars to your qualification.
It is conducted by a non-profit organization which comprises of renowned knowledge experts having years of experience.
The other benefits of undertaking the course include:

  • The course is based on multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and is practical in nature.
  • There’s no specified or minimum qualification required to appear for the test.
  • Every individual with, IT, or non-IT background, can take up the exam. This means you can appear for the exam even when you are about to complete your college studies.
  • Certifications like ISTQB shows your mastery and interest in the software testing industry. You can have the best concepts and knowledge about the field and can help you advance in your career.
  • Also, the course is much less expensive than the course offered by private institutions. You do not need to attend extra classes outside to take up the exam. All the study material and guides will be provided to you.

What’s the Certificate Validity of ISTQB?

  1. Foundation Level: the certification is valid for a lifetime
  2. Advanced Level: also valid for a lifetime
  3. Expert Level: This is valid only for 5 years. It needs to be renewed after 5 years either by taking the exam again or by completing 200 certification extension credits (CECs).

What are the Certification Streams of ISTQB?
In line with the latest changes in the testing domain, it is now possible to take the certification in the chosen stream. Below are the details of the 3 streams currently offered by ISTQB:

  1. Core: Core is the traditional testing certification that was and continues to be followed by ISTQB. It includes the core testing concepts and understandings that are valid across multiple domains.
  2. Agile: This certification corresponds to testing practices and implementation in an Agile environment. With changing project development scenario and the industry-wide acceptance of the agile practices, ISTQB introduced this stream to specifically cater to agile testing.
  3. Specialist: As the name suggests, this certification is for specialization in different fields of testing. It follows a deep-down approach in a particular type of testing and expects the testing professionals to have a deeper understanding and knowledge of these specialized branches of testing. Currently available streams for foundation level include:
  • Acceptance Testing
  • Performance Testing
  • Mobile Application Testing
  • Gaming Industry Tester
  • Automotive Software Tester
  • Usability Testing
  • Model-based Testing

ISTQB Certification
How to prepare for the ISTQB exam?
Here are some points that will help prepare for the ISTQB certification.

  1. Plan well in advance. Do not rush into the certification.
  2. Understand the concepts and don’t just mug up the theory. It may not help.
  3. Get some hands-on experience or read case studies to help you understand the practical implementation of the testing concepts.
  4. Study in a group if possible. Sharing knowledge is the best and the fastest way of learning new things.
  5. If you are going in for a Specialist certificate, chose your niche according to knowledge and expertise.
  6. Avoid dependencies on dumps. The dumps can be used to check your preparedness for the exam but can’t substitute the learning. Do not make the mistake of taking the exam without the dumps.
  7. While preparing always take notes of important things you may want to refer to before the exam.
  8. Read the questions carefully. Sometimes they can be tricky. Take time to read and understand the question before answering them.
  9. During the exam do not spend too much time on a single question. If you find it confusing or you do not know the answer. Move to the next one and come back to it later.
  10. DO NOT PANIC. Ba calm and composed while answering the questions. Give it your best shot. Remember there is always the next time.

Top 11 QA companies in India

Posted on by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Software testing or Quality Assurance is one of the most essential domains in the IT industry. Over the years, the domain has taken a new turn with a huge influence on the success of software or application.

This is helping in improving the business image and enhancing the quality of a project. The best thing is that it saves thousands of bucks to maintain or building the whole process or testing. To matter easier, there are a number of topmost companies that work specifically in the testing industry only. They provide cost-effective solutions to software with the best strategy to keep the top-notch quality.
Here is a list of top 11 companies that work in the testing domain to offer best services in India.
1. ISHIR
ISHIR’s Independent Testing and Quality Assurance (QA) services ensure that applications are vigorously examined using test methods with industry standards and QA processes. ISHIR has people and processes to build a test plan abroad for our clients. They follow rigorous testing procedures and standards and work in a structured environment that meets the Level 3 standards of SEI CMM. ISHIR offers a complete range of Software Testing and Quality Assurance (QA) services by maximizing the quality, performance, and availability of the software application while managing the costs and risks for our clients.
2. Testbytes
It is one of the biggest QA companies in Pune. The company is known as a community of software testers who are committed towards their profession and love to test bugs. The expertise of the company lies in App Testing for both Android and iOS. Along with this, Testbytes assures qualities of Web Apps together with automation testing, game testing, and desktop testing. With the best testing tool, the company ensures high software performance, utmost security, and functionality.
3. Resourcology
Another of the good testing company is Resourcology that deals in complying software development and testing cycle based on the concept of SDLC. In addition to this, the company covers testing of ERP, CRM, SAP, Web, and Mobile and all other types of Mainframe app. Their goal is to provide the best and error-free service to the customer ensuring that no errors are left. They also offer a trial form to ensure that the quality and solution is to the mark before signing the project.

Know More: Top 10 Mobile App Testing Companies in India

4. WebImprint
They are software testing Automation Company based in Mexico, India and Dubai. They provide quality management services and automated tests. They are also a solution provider for security testing, automation, acceptance testing, QA quality management system, validation testing, functional testing, performance testing, regression testing, system testing, integration testing and unit testing. They offer and guarantee faultless software at the customer’s end.
5. Mann India Technology
The Company is a Noida based QA  company that works with software development and is registered with the government as a private In addition to this, the company is famous for testing, development, design, on-time delivery, etc.

6. CresTech
CresTech is a leading software testing company with 300+ consultants spread across its delivery centers at Noida, Gurugram, Bangalore, Australia, and California in the US. It is an Independent company in the field of software testing to be assessed at CMMI Level 3 SVC. In addition, they work for test optimization, application performance, and transformation, application security, test automation, and mobile testing, etc.
7. Ironcode Gaming
This is the professional, creative and experienced company based in Dehradun. They deal in the development process of games and test off the product accurately. They work on different platforms such as Android, iOS, Window, Mac, and On top of that, the cross-platform is the main niche follow up by them and games are famous in the e-commerce market with Google Play, Amazon, Stream, Appstore, BigFish, AOL, Yahoo and Google. Their experts work in the direction of 2D/3D art, Game designing, Angkor, Riotball, Standing Game, etc. In addition to this, they follow the development concept to get the best service and work routine to follow up the testing and games.
8. Vyshnavi Information Technology
It is an international Information Technology Company rooted in the year 2001 with headoffice in Bangalore. The company has its development centers in Pune, the United States and Canada. . The company is a reputed firm for its Development, Design, testing, etc. Apart from Bangalore, the company also has offices in the US, Pune, and The main product for them is testing with a turn-key solution in the e-Governance, retail, mining, facilities, utility, etc. The firm is also famous as a product of Oracle Gold Partner and Microsoft Certified Gold Partner.

Know More: Top 25 Software Testing COmpanies to look out for in 2018

9. Terstriq QA Lab
With more than 12 years of experience in the industry, Terstriq has managed to have a strong reputation in the market. Quality Assurance, Project Management, Requirement Analysis, Test Planning and Execution, Software Quality Consulting and so forth serving to a vast industry domain, in the field of e-commerce, tourism, education, real estate, telecommunication, and many related fields.
10. Krify-Innovations
For the game fanatic, this is the QA company that might be familiar with and works in the direction of localization and working domains. There are a number of different platforms on which the company works in such as Mobile applications, Web, Wearable app development etc. They have a team of professionals that work for in-house games as well that include designing, development, testing, promotion, and With the workplace at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India the company has managed to gain huge popularity over time along with global establishment at Chigwell and UK.
11. T&A Solutions
It is the Chandigarh based QA company that deals in the testing and development phase. The company deals in Manufacturing, R&D, Industrial Engineering, and Information Technology & Telecommunications Media Process Industries, Entertainment & Advertisement, Banking & Financial Services, FMCG & Consumer Durables, Pharmaceuticals & Medicine, IT Enabled Services Consulting, Marketing, Textiles & Garments Industries, Human Resource Personnel, and Industrial Relations.

The company is well known for its amazing and effortful work in development and non-development work phase. They are one of the major companies that have a chain of top quality and quantity workflow with a valuable customer.
These are a few of the top qa companies in India that are having a huge impact on the market over time. However, they are now reaching the global market and time is not far when they will be able to witness the success all across the world.

Top 75 QA Interview Questions and Answers to land your Dream Job

Posted on by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

QA interview questions!  In order to triumph your oral interview and skill test, you might be asked many QA-related interview questions and that’s the reason why we have compiled the most probable Quality Assurance interview question and answers just for you.

How can I prepare to rightly answer QA interview questions

  • Make sure that you are well aware of the project you have been a part of. Not just the quality aspect of it.  From design to release you need to have a clear idea about what went on with the project. To make things easier, pen down the project details that contain all the details in bullet points regarding the project and company you were a part of. 
  • The project sheet must have, Name of the company, project details such as the name of the software, database, client base,  time period, your role, team information, SDLC, tools used, and task performed
  • A personal retrospective about the project, tasks performed,  your professional and personal gain, hurdles that came up, and how you tacked it
  • Perform mock interview by referring to most probable Q and A
  • Be confident about what you know and be upfront about what you don’t
  • Ensure interaction by asking your doubts
  • Do not imitate anyone. Be yourself!

Top 75 QA Interview Questions and Answers

1. What is the difference between QA and software testing?

Quality Assurance refers to the activity of monitoring the process of developing software in order to assure customers that the requirements for quality will be met. Through QA, we can identify the inconsistencies and flaws present in the development process.

2. What does Quality mean?

The quality of a product or service is determined by how well they meet the expectations and the requirements set by the customers. A good quality product must be error-free, does not have any lacking areas or any present inconsistencies. Therefore, there are some quality standards that need to be met for a product to be considered to have good quality.

3. Why is checking for quality so important in business?

The following factors are the reasons why quality is very important in business:

  • Dependency- The success of every business depends on the quality of its products and services.
  • Business Reputation- If a business provides quality services to its clients and customers, only then will it gain a good reputation in the market.
  • More Transactions- If customers are satisfied with the quality of services and products that the business provides them, they will keep making transactions with them in the future.
  • Automatic Advertisement- When the business guarantees and provides quality, the customers remain satisfied, which translates into them referring your business to other people as well

 

4. What is the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control?

QA is the process of creating, documentation, and agreeing on the guidelines that assure quality. This means that at the end of QA, we get the quality standards for the software that need to be met.

QC on the other hand is a process that focuses on identifying defects in the quality of the developed product. This means that the software is tested at various stages of its development cycle against the various requirements set by the customer.

5. What is the meaning of Testware?

Testware entails all the artifacts or materials that are used while performing tests. This includes test cases, test plans, test scripts, etc.

6. What is the difference between release and build?

The build is the software developed for the customers which is handed over to the testing team by the development team.

A release is an installable application that is officially released for the customer after it is completely tested and certified by the testing team.

A build turns into a release after is removed of any prevalent bugs and errors in it.

What are QA roles and responsibilities?

7. At what point should the QA activities start?

The process of quality assurance must start as soon as the development of software starts. The sooner the QA activities start, the better. This is because QA can help avoid risks that have already been specified in the specification phase.

If QA activities are delayed, they can prove to be very costly, efforts and time-consuming.

8. What is a cause-effect graph?

A graph that represents all possible input domains and the outputs associated with them is called a cause-effect graph. This graph comes into use during the process of test case designing.

9. What is bug leakage and bug release?

When software is handed over to the team of testers knowing that a particular set of errors exist in the release, it is called a bug release. The severity and priority of these errors are known to be very low, as they can be resolved before the final release of the software.

When errors or bugs which went unnoticed by the testing team, are detected by the customers or the end-users after the software’s release, then it is known as a bug leakage.

10. What is the importance of a Bug Triage?

Bug Triage is the process of prioritizing every bug on the basis of its frequency, severity, risks, etc. It helps to evaluate and then assign the solution to these bugs in a very efficient manner.

11. How is Test Plan different from Test Strategy?

A test plan can be considered as a document that defines the objective, scope, approach, and emphasis that will go into the software testing efforts. Test plans can include the features that are to be tested, testing techniques to use, pass and fail criteria, etc.

A test strategy on the other hand can be defined as a set of guidelines that define the test designs in detail and provide instructions on how to conduct the testing process. It includes documentation formats, scope, and objectives, testing processes, test deliverables, etc.

12. What is meant by data-driven testing?

It is a testing methodology where test scripts are created which read test data, such as input and output values, directly from data files. The data sources can be of any type such as CSV files, ODBC files, ADO files, data pools, etc.

13. What are the different phases in the QA testing cycle?

The QA cycle has 4 phases:

  • Plan- Businesses first need to plan the processes that are related to the goals and objectives and determine what is required to be done to develop a good quality product.
  • Do- Here the development of the software and its testing is conducted.
  • Check- An important aspect of QA is to monitor the processes and methodologies that are used to check whether they meet the previously determined objectives or not.
  • Act- Finding out inconsistencies and flaws in the process and acting accordingly to improve them.

14. What is meant by a test case?

A test case contains conditions and specifications according to which a particular software must be tested for bugs. It includes details of the acceptable inputs, conditions for execution, procedures for testing, ideal outputs, etc.

15. What constitutes a good test case?

A test case can be considered as good if it is capable of finding defects and errors. Therefore, a test case that exhibits the following characteristics can be considered as a good one:

  • Accuracy- It must exact its purpose
  • Economic- It must not include unnecessary words or steps
  • Traceable- It should be traceable to the requirements
  • Repeatable- The test case must be usable again and again
  • What are High-level and Low-level test cases?
  • High-level: The cases which cover all the core functionalities of a product are considered high-level test cases.
  • Low-level: The cases which are related to the UI of the application are considered low-level test cases.
  • Which are the most important functions of QA?

The important functions of QA include validation, creation of improvement plans, documentation, and technology transfers.

16. What are the common challenges faced by the testing team when automating the QA process?

The most common automation challenges that are faced in QA testing are:

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  • Reusability of automation script
  • Mastering the tools for automation
  • Adapting the test cases for automation
  • Automating complex test cases

17. What are the different types of software testing approaches?

There are many types of software testing approaches, among which the commonly used ones are:

  • Unit Testing
  • Integration Testing
  • Systems Testing
  • Functional testing
  • Non-Functional Testing
  • Black and White box testing
  • Regression Testing
  • Exploratory testing
  • Agile Testing
  • Ad-Hoc Testing
  • Smoke Testing
  • Alpha and Beta Testing

18. What are the stages in a Bug Life Cycle?

  • The bug life cycle includes all the stages through which a bug goes, throughout its lifetime. The different stages in a bug lifecycle ate as follows:
  • The bug is detected and identified, its state is ‘new’
  • A tester approves the bug as genuine and its state becomes ‘assigned’
  • It is checked whether the bug is in the scope or not. If it is not, then the bug is postponed for later
  • Its state becomes ‘in-progress once a tester starts working on it
  • When the bug is fixed, its state changes to ‘fixed’
  • If it passes the final testing process, the state is set as ‘closed’

22. What does Bug Control mean in product development?

It is an approach that aims at developing software products that are free from bugs and errors. In this approach, efforts are made to detect and avoid errors only in the testing phase, and not after that.

23. What are functional and non-functional tests?

Functional tests are those which check the functional aspects of the software to validate their efficiency. Smoke testing, unit testing, integration testing, user acceptance, regression testing, etc. come under functional testing.

Non-functional tests are those which check the non-functional aspects of the software to validate its performance. Performance testing, load testing, stress testing, scalability, volume testing, etc. come under non-functional testing.

24. What is Agile Testing?

Agile testing is a software testing approach where continuous iteration of developing and testing the software takes place throughout the SDLC. In this approach, the requirements are gradually developed during the development lifecycle by the customers and the testers. This means, in agile testing, the coding and the testing processes are conducted simultaneously.

25. When a bug is found in production, how can you make sure that the same bug doesn’t occur again?

Whenever a bug is detected in production, the best practice is to create a test case immediately for it and to include it in the regression suite. We can also create alternate or similar test cases to include them in the suite. This way, we can prevent the occurrence of that same bug again in production.

Know More: Top 10 Software Testing Certifications 2019

26. What are un-reproducible bugs?

The following kind of bugs can be categorized as un-reproducible bugs:

  • Defects that surface due to issues of low memory.
  • Errors or bugs that arise due to addresses pointing to memory locations that do not exist.
  • Race conditions are error scenarios that occur when the time of execution of one event impacts another even executing in a sequence.

27. How can you handle unreproducible bugs?

  • To handle un-reproducible bugs, a tester can follow these steps:
  • Executing test steps that are as close to the bug description as possible.
  • Evaluating the environment of that test.
  • Examining and evaluating the results produced by the test execution.
  • Keeping the time and resource constraints under check

28. What is the difference between a Test Driver and Stub?

A test driver is that piece of code that calls the software component that needs to go under test. Test drivers prove to be very useful when following the bottom-up testing approach.

A test stub is a dummy piece of code or program which is integrated with an application to complete the application’s functionality. Test stubs come into use when following the top-down testing approach.

29. What is meant by Entry and Exit criteria?

Entry Criteria- The process which needs to be run when the testing begins. It includes:

  • Software Requirement Specification (SRS)
  • Functional Requirement Specification (FRS)
  • Test cases
  • Use cases
  • Test plans

Exit Criteria- It tells when a product is completely testing and when it should be formally released. It includes:

  • Metrics
  • Test Summary Reports
  • Defect Analysis Report

30. What are the roles of White and Black box testing?

The black box testing approach does not require the tester to have knowledge of the internal code and structure of the software. The tests in this approach are based on the software’s functionalities and requirements.

White box testing on the other hand requires the testers to test the internal designs, implementation, and structure of the software. Therefore, in this approach, the tests are concentrated on path coverage, statement coverage, and branch coverage.

31. What is the aim of smoke testing?

Smoke testing is done to confirm the basic functionalities of a product. Through smoke testing, you can identify the most basic test cases to execute.

32. Why is sanity testing used?

Through sanity testing, you can ensure whether the software runs without the occurrences of any logical errors or not. It helps to avoid the wastage of cost and time involved in testing when the entire build fails.

33. What is the difference between negative and positive testing?

In negative testing, the software is validated by evaluating how it behaves when invalid inputs are provided to it. Therefore, it is conducted by keeping a negative point of view to check whether the software behaves as expected when negative inputs are provided.

In positive testing, however, the software is tested by providing positive inputs to it and checking how whether the results match with the expected results or not.

34. How is verification different from validation?

Verification is the process of thoroughly evaluating the software in the development phase to check whether it meets the specified requirements or not. It is done to make sure that the software is capable of meeting the requirements. Activities like meetings, reviews, and inspections are involved in verification.

Validation is the process of thoroughly evaluating the software after it has been developed completely to make sure that it meets the customer’s requirements and expectations. Activities such as black and white box testing are involved in validation.

35. What is the cause-effect graph?

A cause-effect graph is the graphical representation of all the inputs and their respective output effects that can be used while designing test cases.

36. What is meant by Quality Audit?

It is a process where systematic examination of software is conducted by an audit team or by a quality auditor. Here, tests related to the effectiveness of procedures adopted in quality control are performed. It is done after all tasks related to the software are completed.

37. Which Two Levels commonly come under Quality Certification?

  • Optimization
  • Repeatable sequences

38. Which factors must be given higher importance in the development of a product in QA?

Testers must first concentrate on planning before starting to work on any software. Adopting and integrating the latest technologies in processes is also very important. Attention must also be focused on identifying the factors on which the software is heavily dependent.

Sometimes quality can be assured simply by paying close attention to the development process of the software. Testing also plays an important role in assuring the efficiency and quality of software.

39. Why is Quality Assurance a ‘proactive approach?

QA testing takes place during the development process and starts as soon as the software goes into development. This is why quality assurance is considered as a proactive approach.

Know More: Top 50 Selenium Interview Question that will help you land a Job

40. How is QA defined in the ISO 9000, Clause 3.2.11?

Quality assurance is defined as that aspect of quality management that deals with assuring the customers that their set requirements for the software’s quality will be fulfilled.

41. How to know if software specifications have been met or not?

By using the traceability matrix tool, we can map requirements to test cases. When all test cases in the matrix are executed successfully, it will mean that the code meets all software specifications.

42. What is a traceability matrix?

It is a document that captures all the requirements proposed by the client and the traceability.

A traceability matrix is a document that traces and maps the test cases and the user requirements.

43. Which QA practices can be considered the best?

There are many good practices for QA, among which the best are:

  • Thoroughly evaluating the selected release criteria
  • Automating testing for highly sensitive areas
  • Creating a testing environment that is robust
  • Simulating final outcomes for evaluation

44. What is Recovery Testing?

Recovery testing is conducted to recover the software from any unexpected or expected events so as to prevent loss of functionalities and data. Events can include unexpected communication loss, shortage in the disk space, etc.

Nearing software tester interview? Have a look at this Q and A

    45. Which are the key factors of a test plan?

    A test plan contains the following key factors:

    • Test scope
    • Objectives
    • The environment
    • Testing the frame
    • Risk factors
    • Deliverables
    • Reasons for testing
    • Entry and exit criteria

    46. What is meant by QA automation?

    It is the process of automating as many parts of the testing process as possible so as to make QA testing more accurate, efficient, and quick.QA automation can be done by using various automation tools.

    • Name a few QA automation tools.
    • Selenium- It is an open-source automation tool that is the most widely used tool for QA.
    • UTF (Unified Functional testing) – It is an automation tool by SmartBear Software. A few significant features of this tool include Scripted Testing, Test Visualizers, and GUI Testing.
    • TestingWhiz- It is a QA automation tool by Cygnet Infotech that provides code-less scripting. Some of its features include Integration with Test Management Tools, record and Playback test frameworks, and Keyword Driven Testing.

    47. How is retesting different from regression testing?

    Retesting is conducted to check whether the errors have been successfully removed or not, while regression testing is conducted to check the impact that error fixes have on other software functionalities.

    48. What is meant by MR?

    MR or Modification Request can also be called as a Defect report. It is a document that is created to report all the errors and defects in the software and any suggestions which can be taken into account.

    49. How are validation activities conducted?

    Following techniques are used to conduct validation activities:

    • Hiring third-party independent people for validation
    • Assigning team members who are not involved in the verification activities
    • Getting the software independently evaluated

    50. Which types of documents are created during software QA?

    The following documents are created during the software quality assurance process:

    • Requirement document
    • Test cases and Test plans
    • Test Metrics
    • User profiles
    • Test log
    • Transaction Mix
    • Task distribution flow chart
    • Test incident report
    • Test summary report

     51: What is BVA? Name any other testing technique.

     BVA stands for Boundary Value Analysis. This technique is used for doing field-level testing for numerical fields. This test is performed by entering a number +1 and -1 from the extreme values that the input box can take. E.g., if a field can take values from 0 to 100, then by applying the BVA technique, we will try to enter the values -1, 1, 99, and 101. Of these, -1 and 101 should not be accepted by the system.

    Equivalence Class, Decision Table, Error Guessing are some other software testing techniques that are used frequently.

     52: What is the difference between the severity and priority of a bug?

    The severity of a bug is determined by the tester, based on the expected impact of the bug on the application from the perspective of a tester.  The highest severity bugs are related to a crash in the application or a functional issue with the most business-critical functionality. The least severe bugs are cosmetic bugs like alignment, spelling mistakes, or color variations.

    The priority on the other hand is determined by the developers, based on when they plan to fix the reported issue. Priority 1 issues are of the highest priority and need to be fixed at the earliest. The lowest priority is generally given to cosmetic bugs or those bugs that are likely to be moved to the next iteration or project cycle.

    53: What is exploratory testing?

      Exploratory testing is an informal testing technique where the tester randomly navigates through the application without any defined steps followed. The testers just check for the overall look and feel smooth page transitions, and expected messages to ensure the application is not crashing at any point.

    54: What is UAT? How is it different from functional testing?

    UAT or User Acceptance Testing is a form of function done by a subset of the users. For eg, if the software is developed for a departmental store, the UAT should be performed by somebody from the store to see how easily they can adapt to the new software, if they can perform their daily operations, and also understand if any improvements need to be done before handing over the application to the client.

    55: What are the test cases you can prepare for a login screen?

     There are several test cases that we can write for a login screen, some of them are:

    1. Correct login and password should allow the user to log in.
    2. Incorrect credentials should block the user
    3. For incorrect input, an appropriate error message should be displayed.
    4. The combination of blank login and/or password needs to be checked for appropriate error messages.
    5. For the login edit box, check the maximum character limit along with all field level validations.
    6. For the password edit box, check the maximum character limit along with all field level validations.
    7. Forgot password link should be available.
    8. The register or create account button should be available as per business or requirements.
    9. The alignment of the screen and the spellings should be checked.
    10. The company or product logo should be available as per business or requirement.

    56: What is defect density?

    Defect density is defined as the number of accepted defects per 1000 lines of code (LOC). It helps the development team to understand more problematic areas in the code and if needed do a restructuring of the code as well.

    57: What is the 80-20 rule?

     The 80-20 rule is also called the Pareto Principle and in software testing, it means that 80% of the defects come from 20% of the code. This principle helps us to identify the areas of the code or the functionalities that need more rigorous testing to ensure the best quality.

    58: Explain the different test coverage techniques.

     There are 3 main types of test coverage techniques:

    1. Statement Coverage: here testing aims to cover every line of code. This is the most exhaustive testing and most often the testing team would not have the bandwidth for this type of coverage.
    2. Decision Coverage: As the name suggests, in this testing each decision flow in the code is tested. In this where ever there is a decision box, each flow of the code is tested.
    3. Path Coverage: Path coverage ensures, all the paths leading to a code or functionality are covered as part of the testing.

    59: What is DRE?

     DRE, Defect Removal Efficiency is a metric used to measure the effectiveness of the testing activity. It is a ratio of the number of defects found by the testing team vs the defects found in production. Higher DRE means more effective testing.

    DRE = No. of defects found during testing / (No. of defects found in testing + No. of defects in Prod)

    60: What is big bang testing?

    After the completion of testing of individual modules, all the modules are combined or integrated and tested. This type of end-to-end testing is called the big bang testing and it is carried out towards the end of the testing life cycle.

    61: What is the top-down approach?

    In top-down testing, the highest-level modules are tested first. Type of testing uses stubs and drivers to simulate data if any modules are not available for testing. The testing is done downwards, after the highest-level modules, the next highest is testing till the unit level code.

    62: What is the bottom-up approach?

    In a bottom-up approach to testing, the lowest modules are tested first followed up by the modules above them. The sequence continues till the highest modules are integrated and tested together. The bottom-up approach is very useful in finding code-level and module-level defects at the early stage itself.

    63: What is Alpha testing?

    Alpha testing is similar to user acceptance testing and is done by either the developers, testers, or the clients at the tester or developer location. It is done right before shipping the product to the clients. This is done to ensure that there are no last-minute missing functionalities or defects and the client can use the product as expected.

    Are you an automation test engineer waiting for that dream job? Have a look at this most probable Q and A as a good start.

    64: What is Beta testing?

    Beta testing is carried out by the client at their location with their infrastructure before the product is deployed for wider use. The purpose of this testing is to find out issues that are related to the infrastructure and set up at the deployment location that could not be replicated during the testing phase.

    65: What is user experience testing? How is it different from functional testing?

    User experience (UX) testing is a form of performance testing where the performance of the UI of the application is measured. For eg the time taken for the results to be displayed, time taken for the page transitions, etc.

    UX testing and functional testing are similar in the way the testing procedures and steps are defined. But they differ in the expected results. Let us take a login scenario. The user enters the login credentials and password and hits the login button. For a functional test, the expectation would be that the user is logged into the application and an appropriate application page is displayed. Whereas for a UX test, the expected result would be to achieve this login within a specific time say 5-7 seconds. If the login happens successfully after 7 seconds, it would be considered a failure for the UX test.

    66: What is localization testing?

    Localization testing, also known as location-based testing is used to test functionalities that are specific to the location where it is deployed. These tests can be related to language, location maps, mobile or internet data speed, or any other regional data. The best example for localization testing would be the search functionality in mobile phones. Whatever you search, be it hotels or petrol pumps, the expectation is to get results closest to your current location.

    67: What is Soak Testing?

     Soak testing is a type of performance testing where the system is subjected to a load over a long period ranging from a day to a week or more. This type of testing is very useful in finding defects and issues that occur only when the system is in use for a long period. Like issues caused by memory leaks.

    68: When will use automation for your project and why?

    Automation can be used in the projects to cover regression testing of stable functionalities as well as for smoke testing the build before it is accepted for further detailed testing.

    The main benefit of automation testing is that it helps the testers to thoroughly test the newly implemented functionalities by letting the already stable functionalities be tested by the tool. This ensures that the new code changes have not impacted the existing functionalities. And at the same time gives more bandwidth to the testers to test new and more business-critical modules.

    69: What is CI/CD and how does testing fit into the pipeline?

    CI/CD refers to the continuous implementation and continuous deployment of software from code to production. As the name suggests, every time there is a new code check-in, it gets deployed to the production branch as well. All this happens automatically.

    Most companies have automated batch processes that check for any code changes. Once a code change is detected, a new build is triggered. This build then triggers an automation suite. This is where the testing comes in. Based on the results of the automated test, the build is deployed to the production of rolled back.

    70 What outsourced and crowd-sourced testing?

    Many companies would give the testing of their application to a different company or group of people who specialize in testing. This is done to get better test results and hence better quality. Sometimes, when the project timelines are crunched, in that case also the testing work is assigned to another team or company. This is called outsourced testing.

    In crowd-sourced testing, the testing work is assigned to a completely unknown pool of people who may or may not be testers. It is like a crowd of people who are given some benefits for testing an application or software. This concept of testing is picking up fast and allows companies to test their application across different regions, devices, and operating systems.

    71: What is a showstopper in software testing?

    Showstopper is a defect that blocks the testing activities from proceeding. In such cases, the testing is stopped till the issue is resolved or a new build is cut. An example of a showstopper defect would be login failure, app crash, or not database connectivity.

    72: What is a hotfix?

    A hotfix is a special build that is rolled out to fix a critical issue. The issue would be very urgent and hence it is not possible to wait till the next build. These builds are very critical and need to be rolled out as soon as possible because they directly impact the customers.

    73: What are the different models followed in SDLC?

      There are several models to choose to streamline the Software Development Life Cycle. These are:

    • Waterfall model
    • Spiral model
    • V model
    • Agile/Scrum model

    74: What is API testing and what tools can be used for API Testing?

     In API testing, we test the API directly with different inputs and verify the response and response time. API testing is also used for integration testing. The most common tools used for API testing are Postman and SoapUI. There are several other free and paid tools as well.

    75: What are the different environments in project development?

     The different environments in a project are:

    1. DEV: the development environment
    2. QA/STAGE: the testing environment
    3. PERF: the performance testing environment
    4. UAT: the user acceptance testing environment or a pre-prod environment
    5. PROD: the production or client or deployment environment.

    Conclusion

    With all our heart we hope that the questions that we have compiled are beneficial for you in the next QA interview. All the best

    QA interview questions!  In order to triumph your oral interview and skill test, you might be asked many QA-related interview questions and that’s the reason why we have compiled the most probable Quality Assurance interview question and answers just for you.

    How can I prepare to rightly answer QA interview questions

    • Make sure that you are well aware of the project you have been a part of. Not just the quality aspect of it.  From design to release you need to have a clear idea about what went on with the project. To make things easier, pen down the project details that contain all the details in bullet points regarding the project and company you were a part of. 
    • The project sheet must have, Name of the company, project details such as the name of the software, database, client base,  time period, your role, team information, SDLC, tools used, and task performed
    • A personal retrospective about the project, tasks performed,  your professional and personal gain, hurdles that came up, and how you tacked it
    • Perform mock interview by referring to most probable Q and A
    • Be confident about what you know and be upfront about what you don’t
    • Ensure interaction by asking your doubts
    • Do not imitate anyone. Be yourself!

    Top 75 QA Interview Questions and Answers

    1. What is the difference between QA and software testing?

    Quality Assurance refers to the activity of monitoring the process of developing software in order to assure customers that the requirements for quality will be met. Through QA, we can identify the inconsistencies and flaws present in the development process.

    2. What does Quality mean?

    The quality of a product or service is determined by how well they meet the expectations and the requirements set by the customers. A good quality product must be error-free, does not have any lacking areas or any present inconsistencies. Therefore, there are some quality standards that need to be met for a product to be considered to have good quality.

    3. Why is checking for quality so important in business?

    The following factors are the reasons why quality is very important in business:

    • Dependency- The success of every business depends on the quality of its products and services.
    • Business Reputation- If a business provides quality services to its clients and customers, only then will it gain a good reputation in the market.
    • More Transactions- If customers are satisfied with the quality of services and products that the business provides them, they will keep making transactions with them in the future.
    • Automatic Advertisement- When the business guarantees and provides quality, the customers remain satisfied, which translates into them referring your business to other people as well

     

    4. What is the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control?

    QA is the process of creating, documentation, and agreeing on the guidelines that assure quality. This means that at the end of QA, we get the quality standards for the software that need to be met.

    QC on the other hand is a process that focuses on identifying defects in the quality of the developed product. This means that the software is tested at various stages of its development cycle against the various requirements set by the customer.

    5. What is the meaning of Testware?

    Testware entails all the artifacts or materials that are used while performing tests. This includes test cases, test plans, test scripts, etc.

    6. What is the difference between release and build?

    The build is the software developed for the customers which is handed over to the testing team by the development team.

    A release is an installable application that is officially released for the customer after it is completely tested and certified by the testing team.

    A build turns into a release after is removed of any prevalent bugs and errors in it.

    What are QA roles and responsibilities?

    7. At what point should the QA activities start?

    The process of quality assurance must start as soon as the development of software starts. The sooner the QA activities start, the better. This is because QA can help avoid risks that have already been specified in the specification phase.

    If QA activities are delayed, they can prove to be very costly, efforts and time-consuming.

    8. What is a cause-effect graph?

    A graph that represents all possible input domains and the outputs associated with them is called a cause-effect graph. This graph comes into use during the process of test case designing.

    9. What is bug leakage and bug release?

    When software is handed over to the team of testers knowing that a particular set of errors exist in the release, it is called a bug release. The severity and priority of these errors are known to be very low, as they can be resolved before the final release of the software.

    When errors or bugs which went unnoticed by the testing team, are detected by the customers or the end-users after the software’s release, then it is known as a bug leakage.

    10. What is the importance of a Bug Triage?

    Bug Triage is the process of prioritizing every bug on the basis of its frequency, severity, risks, etc. It helps to evaluate and then assign the solution to these bugs in a very efficient manner.

    11. How is Test Plan different from Test Strategy?

    A test plan can be considered as a document that defines the objective, scope, approach, and emphasis that will go into the software testing efforts. Test plans can include the features that are to be tested, testing techniques to use, pass and fail criteria, etc.

    A test strategy on the other hand can be defined as a set of guidelines that define the test designs in detail and provide instructions on how to conduct the testing process. It includes documentation formats, scope, and objectives, testing processes, test deliverables, etc.

    12. What is meant by data-driven testing?

    It is a testing methodology where test scripts are created which read test data, such as input and output values, directly from data files. The data sources can be of any type such as CSV files, ODBC files, ADO files, data pools, etc.

    13. What are the different phases in the QA testing cycle?

    The QA cycle has 4 phases:

    • Plan- Businesses first need to plan the processes that are related to the goals and objectives and determine what is required to be done to develop a good quality product.
    • Do- Here the development of the software and its testing is conducted.
    • Check- An important aspect of QA is to monitor the processes and methodologies that are used to check whether they meet the previously determined objectives or not.
    • Act- Finding out inconsistencies and flaws in the process and acting accordingly to improve them.

    14. What is meant by a test case?

    A test case contains conditions and specifications according to which a particular software must be tested for bugs. It includes details of the acceptable inputs, conditions for execution, procedures for testing, ideal outputs, etc.

    15. What constitutes a good test case?

    A test case can be considered as good if it is capable of finding defects and errors. Therefore, a test case that exhibits the following characteristics can be considered as a good one:

    • Accuracy- It must exact its purpose
    • Economic- It must not include unnecessary words or steps
    • Traceable- It should be traceable to the requirements
    • Repeatable- The test case must be usable again and again
    • What are High-level and Low-level test cases?
    • High-level: The cases which cover all the core functionalities of a product are considered high-level test cases.
    • Low-level: The cases which are related to the UI of the application are considered low-level test cases.
    • Which are the most important functions of QA?

    The important functions of QA include validation, creation of improvement plans, documentation, and technology transfers.

    16. What are the common challenges faced by the testing team when automating the QA process?

    The most common automation challenges that are faced in QA testing are:

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    • Reusability of automation script
    • Mastering the tools for automation
    • Adapting the test cases for automation
    • Automating complex test cases

    17. What are the different types of software testing approaches?

    There are many types of software testing approaches, among which the commonly used ones are:

    • Unit Testing
    • Integration Testing
    • Systems Testing
    • Functional testing
    • Non-Functional Testing
    • Black and White box testing
    • Regression Testing
    • Exploratory testing
    • Agile Testing
    • Ad-Hoc Testing
    • Smoke Testing
    • Alpha and Beta Testing

    18. What are the stages in a Bug Life Cycle?

    • The bug life cycle includes all the stages through which a bug goes, throughout its lifetime. The different stages in a bug lifecycle ate as follows:
    • The bug is detected and identified, its state is ‘new’
    • A tester approves the bug as genuine and its state becomes ‘assigned’
    • It is checked whether the bug is in the scope or not. If it is not, then the bug is postponed for later
    • Its state becomes ‘in-progress once a tester starts working on it
    • When the bug is fixed, its state changes to ‘fixed’
    • If it passes the final testing process, the state is set as ‘closed’

    22. What does Bug Control mean in product development?

    It is an approach that aims at developing software products that are free from bugs and errors. In this approach, efforts are made to detect and avoid errors only in the testing phase, and not after that.

    23. What are functional and non-functional tests?

    Functional tests are those which check the functional aspects of the software to validate their efficiency. Smoke testing, unit testing, integration testing, user acceptance, regression testing, etc. come under functional testing.

    Non-functional tests are those which check the non-functional aspects of the software to validate its performance. Performance testing, load testing, stress testing, scalability, volume testing, etc. come under non-functional testing.

    24. What is Agile Testing?

    Agile testing is a software testing approach where continuous iteration of developing and testing the software takes place throughout the SDLC. In this approach, the requirements are gradually developed during the development lifecycle by the customers and the testers. This means, in agile testing, the coding and the testing processes are conducted simultaneously.

    25. When a bug is found in production, how can you make sure that the same bug doesn’t occur again?

    Whenever a bug is detected in production, the best practice is to create a test case immediately for it and to include it in the regression suite. We can also create alternate or similar test cases to include them in the suite. This way, we can prevent the occurrence of that same bug again in production.

    Know More: Top 10 Software Testing Certifications 2019

    26. What are un-reproducible bugs?

    The following kind of bugs can be categorized as un-reproducible bugs:

    • Defects that surface due to issues of low memory.
    • Errors or bugs that arise due to addresses pointing to memory locations that do not exist.
    • Race conditions are error scenarios that occur when the time of execution of one event impacts another even executing in a sequence.

    27. How can you handle unreproducible bugs?

    • To handle un-reproducible bugs, a tester can follow these steps:
    • Executing test steps that are as close to the bug description as possible.
    • Evaluating the environment of that test.
    • Examining and evaluating the results produced by the test execution.
    • Keeping the time and resource constraints under check

    28. What is the difference between a Test Driver and Stub?

    A test driver is that piece of code that calls the software component that needs to go under test. Test drivers prove to be very useful when following the bottom-up testing approach.

    A test stub is a dummy piece of code or program which is integrated with an application to complete the application’s functionality. Test stubs come into use when following the top-down testing approach.

    29. What is meant by Entry and Exit criteria?

    Entry Criteria- The process which needs to be run when the testing begins. It includes:

    • Software Requirement Specification (SRS)
    • Functional Requirement Specification (FRS)
    • Test cases
    • Use cases
    • Test plans

    Exit Criteria- It tells when a product is completely testing and when it should be formally released. It includes:

    • Metrics
    • Test Summary Reports
    • Defect Analysis Report

    30. What are the roles of White and Black box testing?

    The black box testing approach does not require the tester to have knowledge of the internal code and structure of the software. The tests in this approach are based on the software’s functionalities and requirements.

    White box testing on the other hand requires the testers to test the internal designs, implementation, and structure of the software. Therefore, in this approach, the tests are concentrated on path coverage, statement coverage, and branch coverage.

    31. What is the aim of smoke testing?

    Smoke testing is done to confirm the basic functionalities of a product. Through smoke testing, you can identify the most basic test cases to execute.

    32. Why is sanity testing used?

    Through sanity testing, you can ensure whether the software runs without the occurrences of any logical errors or not. It helps to avoid the wastage of cost and time involved in testing when the entire build fails.

    33. What is the difference between negative and positive testing?

    In negative testing, the software is validated by evaluating how it behaves when invalid inputs are provided to it. Therefore, it is conducted by keeping a negative point of view to check whether the software behaves as expected when negative inputs are provided.

    In positive testing, however, the software is tested by providing positive inputs to it and checking how whether the results match with the expected results or not.

    34. How is verification different from validation?

    Verification is the process of thoroughly evaluating the software in the development phase to check whether it meets the specified requirements or not. It is done to make sure that the software is capable of meeting the requirements. Activities like meetings, reviews, and inspections are involved in verification.

    Validation is the process of thoroughly evaluating the software after it has been developed completely to make sure that it meets the customer’s requirements and expectations. Activities such as black and white box testing are involved in validation.

    35. What is the cause-effect graph?

    A cause-effect graph is the graphical representation of all the inputs and their respective output effects that can be used while designing test cases.

    36. What is meant by Quality Audit?

    It is a process where systematic examination of software is conducted by an audit team or by a quality auditor. Here, tests related to the effectiveness of procedures adopted in quality control are performed. It is done after all tasks related to the software are completed.

    37. Which Two Levels commonly come under Quality Certification?

    • Optimization
    • Repeatable sequences

    38. Which factors must be given higher importance in the development of a product in QA?

    Testers must first concentrate on planning before starting to work on any software. Adopting and integrating the latest technologies in processes is also very important. Attention must also be focused on identifying the factors on which the software is heavily dependent.

    Sometimes quality can be assured simply by paying close attention to the development process of the software. Testing also plays an important role in assuring the efficiency and quality of software.

    39. Why is Quality Assurance a ‘proactive approach?

    QA testing takes place during the development process and starts as soon as the software goes into development. This is why quality assurance is considered as a proactive approach.

    Know More: Top 50 Selenium Interview Question that will help you land a Job

    40. How is QA defined in the ISO 9000, Clause 3.2.11?

    Quality assurance is defined as that aspect of quality management that deals with assuring the customers that their set requirements for the software’s quality will be fulfilled.

    41. How to know if software specifications have been met or not?

    By using the traceability matrix tool, we can map requirements to test cases. When all test cases in the matrix are executed successfully, it will mean that the code meets all software specifications.

    42. What is a traceability matrix?

    It is a document that captures all the requirements proposed by the client and the traceability.

    A traceability matrix is a document that traces and maps the test cases and the user requirements.

    43. Which QA practices can be considered the best?

    There are many good practices for QA, among which the best are:

    • Thoroughly evaluating the selected release criteria
    • Automating testing for highly sensitive areas
    • Creating a testing environment that is robust
    • Simulating final outcomes for evaluation

    44. What is Recovery Testing?

    Recovery testing is conducted to recover the software from any unexpected or expected events so as to prevent loss of functionalities and data. Events can include unexpected communication loss, shortage in the disk space, etc.

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    45. Which are the key factors of a test plan?

    A test plan contains the following key factors:

    • Test scope
    • Objectives
    • The environment
    • Testing the frame
    • Risk factors
    • Deliverables
    • Reasons for testing
    • Entry and exit criteria

    46. What is meant by QA automation?

    It is the process of automating as many parts of the testing process as possible so as to make QA testing more accurate, efficient, and quick.QA automation can be done by using various automation tools.

    • Name a few QA automation tools.
    • Selenium- It is an open-source automation tool that is the most widely used tool for QA.
    • UTF (Unified Functional testing) – It is an automation tool by SmartBear Software. A few significant features of this tool include Scripted Testing, Test Visualizers, and GUI Testing.
    • TestingWhiz- It is a QA automation tool by Cygnet Infotech that provides code-less scripting. Some of its features include Integration with Test Management Tools, record and Playback test frameworks, and Keyword Driven Testing.

    47. How is retesting different from regression testing?

    Retesting is conducted to check whether the errors have been successfully removed or not, while regression testing is conducted to check the impact that error fixes have on other software functionalities.

    48. What is meant by MR?

    MR or Modification Request can also be called as a Defect report. It is a document that is created to report all the errors and defects in the software and any suggestions which can be taken into account.

    49. How are validation activities conducted?

    Following techniques are used to conduct validation activities:

    • Hiring third-party independent people for validation
    • Assigning team members who are not involved in the verification activities
    • Getting the software independently evaluated

    50. Which types of documents are created during software QA?

    The following documents are created during the software quality assurance process:

    • Requirement document
    • Test cases and Test plans
    • Test Metrics
    • User profiles
    • Test log
    • Transaction Mix
    • Task distribution flow chart
    • Test incident report
    • Test summary report

     51: What is BVA? Name any other testing technique.

     BVA stands for Boundary Value Analysis. This technique is used for doing field-level testing for numerical fields. This test is performed by entering a number +1 and -1 from the extreme values that the input box can take. E.g., if a field can take values from 0 to 100, then by applying the BVA technique, we will try to enter the values -1, 1, 99, and 101. Of these, -1 and 101 should not be accepted by the system.

    Equivalence Class, Decision Table, Error Guessing are some other software testing techniques that are used frequently.

     52: What is the difference between the severity and priority of a bug?

    The severity of a bug is determined by the tester, based on the expected impact of the bug on the application from the perspective of a tester.  The highest severity bugs are related to a crash in the application or a functional issue with the most business-critical functionality. The least severe bugs are cosmetic bugs like alignment, spelling mistakes, or color variations.

    The priority on the other hand is determined by the developers, based on when they plan to fix the reported issue. Priority 1 issues are of the highest priority and need to be fixed at the earliest. The lowest priority is generally given to cosmetic bugs or those bugs that are likely to be moved to the next iteration or project cycle.

    53: What is exploratory testing?

      Exploratory testing is an informal testing technique where the tester randomly navigates through the application without any defined steps followed. The testers just check for the overall look and feel smooth page transitions, and expected messages to ensure the application is not crashing at any point.

    54: What is UAT? How is it different from functional testing?

    UAT or User Acceptance Testing is a form of function done by a subset of the users. For eg, if the software is developed for a departmental store, the UAT should be performed by somebody from the store to see how easily they can adapt to the new software, if they can perform their daily operations, and also understand if any improvements need to be done before handing over the application to the client.

    55: What are the test cases you can prepare for a login screen?

     There are several test cases that we can write for a login screen, some of them are:

    1. Correct login and password should allow the user to log in.
    2. Incorrect credentials should block the user
    3. For incorrect input, an appropriate error message should be displayed.
    4. The combination of blank login and/or password needs to be checked for appropriate error messages.
    5. For the login edit box, check the maximum character limit along with all field level validations.
    6. For the password edit box, check the maximum character limit along with all field level validations.
    7. Forgot password link should be available.
    8. The register or create account button should be available as per business or requirements.
    9. The alignment of the screen and the spellings should be checked.
    10. The company or product logo should be available as per business or requirement.

    56: What is defect density?

    Defect density is defined as the number of accepted defects per 1000 lines of code (LOC). It helps the development team to understand more problematic areas in the code and if needed do a restructuring of the code as well.

    57: What is the 80-20 rule?

     The 80-20 rule is also called the Pareto Principle and in software testing, it means that 80% of the defects come from 20% of the code. This principle helps us to identify the areas of the code or the functionalities that need more rigorous testing to ensure the best quality.

    58: Explain the different test coverage techniques.

     There are 3 main types of test coverage techniques:

    1. Statement Coverage: here testing aims to cover every line of code. This is the most exhaustive testing and most often the testing team would not have the bandwidth for this type of coverage.
    2. Decision Coverage: As the name suggests, in this testing each decision flow in the code is tested. In this where ever there is a decision box, each flow of the code is tested.
    3. Path Coverage: Path coverage ensures, all the paths leading to a code or functionality are covered as part of the testing.

    59: What is DRE?

     DRE, Defect Removal Efficiency is a metric used to measure the effectiveness of the testing activity. It is a ratio of the number of defects found by the testing team vs the defects found in production. Higher DRE means more effective testing.

    DRE = No. of defects found during testing / (No. of defects found in testing + No. of defects in Prod)

    60: What is big bang testing?

    After the completion of testing of individual modules, all the modules are combined or integrated and tested. This type of end-to-end testing is called the big bang testing and it is carried out towards the end of the testing life cycle.

    61: What is the top-down approach?

    In top-down testing, the highest-level modules are tested first. Type of testing uses stubs and drivers to simulate data if any modules are not available for testing. The testing is done downwards, after the highest-level modules, the next highest is testing till the unit level code.

    62: What is the bottom-up approach?

    In a bottom-up approach to testing, the lowest modules are tested first followed up by the modules above them. The sequence continues till the highest modules are integrated and tested together. The bottom-up approach is very useful in finding code-level and module-level defects at the early stage itself.

    63: What is Alpha testing?

    Alpha testing is similar to user acceptance testing and is done by either the developers, testers, or the clients at the tester or developer location. It is done right before shipping the product to the clients. This is done to ensure that there are no last-minute missing functionalities or defects and the client can use the product as expected.

    Are you an automation test engineer waiting for that dream job? Have a look at this most probable Q and A as a good start.

    64: What is Beta testing?

    Beta testing is carried out by the client at their location with their infrastructure before the product is deployed for wider use. The purpose of this testing is to find out issues that are related to the infrastructure and set up at the deployment location that could not be replicated during the testing phase.

    65: What is user experience testing? How is it different from functional testing?

    User experience (UX) testing is a form of performance testing where the performance of the UI of the application is measured. For eg the time taken for the results to be displayed, time taken for the page transitions, etc.

    UX testing and functional testing are similar in the way the testing procedures and steps are defined. But they differ in the expected results. Let us take a login scenario. The user enters the login credentials and password and hits the login button. For a functional test, the expectation would be that the user is logged into the application and an appropriate application page is displayed. Whereas for a UX test, the expected result would be to achieve this login within a specific time say 5-7 seconds. If the login happens successfully after 7 seconds, it would be considered a failure for the UX test.

    66: What is localization testing?

    Localization testing, also known as location-based testing is used to test functionalities that are specific to the location where it is deployed. These tests can be related to language, location maps, mobile or internet data speed, or any other regional data. The best example for localization testing would be the search functionality in mobile phones. Whatever you search, be it hotels or petrol pumps, the expectation is to get results closest to your current location.

    67: What is Soak Testing?

     Soak testing is a type of performance testing where the system is subjected to a load over a long period ranging from a day to a week or more. This type of testing is very useful in finding defects and issues that occur only when the system is in use for a long period. Like issues caused by memory leaks.

    68: When will use automation for your project and why?

    Automation can be used in the projects to cover regression testing of stable functionalities as well as for smoke testing the build before it is accepted for further detailed testing.

    The main benefit of automation testing is that it helps the testers to thoroughly test the newly implemented functionalities by letting the already stable functionalities be tested by the tool. This ensures that the new code changes have not impacted the existing functionalities. And at the same time gives more bandwidth to the testers to test new and more business-critical modules.

    69: What is CI/CD and how does testing fit into the pipeline?

    CI/CD refers to the continuous implementation and continuous deployment of software from code to production. As the name suggests, every time there is a new code check-in, it gets deployed to the production branch as well. All this happens automatically.

    Most companies have automated batch processes that check for any code changes. Once a code change is detected, a new build is triggered. This build then triggers an automation suite. This is where the testing comes in. Based on the results of the automated test, the build is deployed to the production of rolled back.

    70 What outsourced and crowd-sourced testing?

    Many companies would give the testing of their application to a different company or group of people who specialize in testing. This is done to get better test results and hence better quality. Sometimes, when the project timelines are crunched, in that case also the testing work is assigned to another team or company. This is called outsourced testing.

    In crowd-sourced testing, the testing work is assigned to a completely unknown pool of people who may or may not be testers. It is like a crowd of people who are given some benefits for testing an application or software. This concept of testing is picking up fast and allows companies to test their application across different regions, devices, and operating systems.

    71: What is a showstopper in software testing?

    Showstopper is a defect that blocks the testing activities from proceeding. In such cases, the testing is stopped till the issue is resolved or a new build is cut. An example of a showstopper defect would be login failure, app crash, or not database connectivity.

    72: What is a hotfix?

    A hotfix is a special build that is rolled out to fix a critical issue. The issue would be very urgent and hence it is not possible to wait till the next build. These builds are very critical and need to be rolled out as soon as possible because they directly impact the customers.

    73: What are the different models followed in SDLC?

      There are several models to choose to streamline the Software Development Life Cycle. These are:

    • Waterfall model
    • Spiral model
    • V model
    • Agile/Scrum model

    74: What is API testing and what tools can be used for API Testing?

     In API testing, we test the API directly with different inputs and verify the response and response time. API testing is also used for integration testing. The most common tools used for API testing are Postman and SoapUI. There are several other free and paid tools as well.

    75: What are the different environments in project development?

     The different environments in a project are:

    1. DEV: the development environment
    2. QA/STAGE: the testing environment
    3. PERF: the performance testing environment
    4. UAT: the user acceptance testing environment or a pre-prod environment
    5. PROD: the production or client or deployment environment.

    Conclusion

    With all our heart we hope that the questions that we have compiled are beneficial for you in the next QA interview. All the best