1. What is Software testing?

Answer: Software testing is the process of evaluating a software application to ensure it meets specified requirements and functions correctly. It helps identify defects, improve quality, and enhance user satisfaction.

2. What are the different types of testing?

Answer: Types of testing include:

• Functional Testing: Validates features against requirements.
• Non-functional Testing: Assesses aspects like performance and security.
• Manual Testing: Human execution of tests.
• Automated Testing: Use of tools for test execution.

3. What are the principles of software testing?

Answer: Key principles include:

• Testing reveals defects but doesn’t prove absence.
• Exhaustive testing is impractical; focus on risk.
• Early testing is cost-effective.
• Defects often cluster; focus on high-risk areas.

4. What is regression testing in software testing?

Answer: Regression testing checks that recent changes haven’t adversely affected existing features, ensuring the software continues to function as intended.

5. What is exploratory testing?

Answer: Exploratory testing is an informal approach where testers explore the application without predefined cases, allowing for real-time discovery of defects.

6. What is end-to-end testing?

Answer: End-to-end testing validates the complete workflow of an application, ensuring that all components function together as expected.

7. What is unit testing?

Answer: Unit testing tests individual components or functions of software in isolation, typically conducted by developers during coding.

8. What is an API?

Answer: An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of protocols that allows different software applications to communicate, enabling integration.

9. What is a test environment?

Answer: A test environment is the setup—hardware, software, and configurations—where testing occurs to simulate real-world conditions.

10. Can you describe the different types of test coverage techniques?

Answer: Test coverage techniques include:

• Statement Coverage: Ensures every statement is executed.
• Branch Coverage: Tests all branches in the code.
• Path Coverage: Tests all possible paths through the code.
• Condition Coverage: Ensures all boolean expressions are evaluated.

11. Explain black-box testing, white-box testing, and grey-box testing.

Answer:

• Black-box Testing: Tests functionality without knowledge of internal code.
• White-box Testing: Tests internal structures and logic of the code.
• Grey-box Testing: Combines both methods, with some knowledge of the internal workings.

12. Is Automation testing in agile methodology useful?

Answer: Yes, automation testing is beneficial in Agile for rapid feedback, supporting continuous integration, and enhancing testing efficiency.

13. Explain test scenarios, test scripts, and test cases in software testing.

Answer:

• Test Scenario: High-level description of what to test.
• Test Script: Instructions executed to verify functionality.
• Test Case: Detailed document outlining test conditions and expected results.

14. What is a bug in software testing?

Answer: A bug is a defect in the software that causes it to produce incorrect or unexpected results.

15. State the difference between bugs and errors.

Answer:

• Bugs: Flaws in the software code.
• Errors: Mistakes made by developers during coding.

16. What is a Test Plan? What does it include?

Answer: A Test Plan outlines the testing strategy and objectives. It includes test objectives, scope, approach, resources, schedule, and risk assessment.

17. What is a Test Report? What does it include?

Answer: A Test Report summarizes testing activities and results. It includes a summary, executed test cases, identified defects, coverage, and recommendations.

18. What do you mean by Test Deliverables?

Answer: Test Deliverables are documents produced during testing, including test plans, cases, scripts, reports, and defect logs.

19. What are different categories of debugging?

Answer: Categories include:

• Print Debugging: Using print statements to track variables.
• Interactive Debugging: Using tools to step through code.
• Automated Debugging: Tools that identify bugs automatically.

20. Write some common mistakes that lead to major issues.

Answer: Common mistakes include inadequate requirements analysis, poor test planning, ignoring regression tests, and lack of documentation.

21. What is a user story?

Answer: A user story is a simple description of a software feature from an end-user perspective, typically formatted as: “As a [user role], I want [feature] so that [benefit].”

22. List some of the popular software testing tools/frameworks, providing a brief description of each.

Answer:

• Selenium: Tool for automating web applications across browsers.
• JIRA: Tool for bug tracking and project management.
• Postman: API testing tool for sending requests and analyzing responses.
• JUnit: Framework for unit testing Java applications.

23. What is A/B testing?

Answer: A/B testing compares two versions of a web page or application to see which performs better based on user interactions.

24. What is defects in software testing?

Answer: Defects are flaws in software that deviate from expected behavior or requirements, causing errors or failures.

25. What do you mean by latent defect and masked defect?

Answer:

• Latent Defect: A defect hidden until certain conditions are met.
• Masked Defect: A defect hidden by another defect, preventing detection.

26. Can you explain sanity testing in software testing?

Answer: Sanity testing is a quick check to verify that specific functions or bug fixes work as intended after changes.

27. What is the purpose of TestNG?

Answer: TestNG is a testing framework designed to cover all categories of testing, offering advanced features like data-driven testing and parallel execution.

28. Is it possible to skip a method or a code block in TestNG?

Answer: Yes, you can skip methods in TestNG using @Test(enabled = false) or by throwing an exception to indicate that a method should not run.