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Software Testing interview questions and answers

Use this software testing interview questions template to find and assess qualified candidates for your company.

Alexandra Marinaki
Alexandra Marinaki

Alexandra is a psychologist with a MSc in Talent Development and Creativity.



Crafting appropriate software testing interview questions

Software testing is the process of checking the quality and completion of a developed computer software before it reaches the end user. It helps detect errors, gaps, and missing requirements and is executed either manually or with test automation tools, such as Selenium and TestingWhiz.

A good software tester has a strong understanding of software testing technical features. They can analyze complex data with attention to detail and have hands-on experience with automation, defect tracking and test management tools.

As for the non-technical skills, a software tester should be able to deliver their projects on time and communicate testing results efficiently to managers and customers. You can assess the candidate’s technical and soft skills by following these two steps:

  • Ask candidates to complete an exercise that shows their software testing competency and familiarity with testing tools.
  • Ask role-specific and operational questions during the interview to assess how qualified they are for the role. Manual testing interview questions bring additional value to the evaluation process.

Software Testing interview questions

These are some of the most common software tester interview questions to ask (including some manual testing interview questions):

Operational questions

  • What are the differences between a Bug, an Error, a Defect, a Mistake, and a Fault?
  • What is the difference between STLC (Software Testing Life Cycle) and SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)?
  • Is it possible to do system testing at all stages during SDLC?
  • Tell us the testing methods you know. Which one do you prefer and why?
  • Describe briefly the process of manual testing.
  • What tools do you use for bug or defect management?
  • What would you include in a report about a defect?
  • How can you remove product risk in your project?
  • What are the different types of defects you can run into?

Role-specific questions

  • How did you get into software testing? What do you find interesting about it?
  • When and how do you know that testing is done?
  • When and how do you know that a project has failed?
  • Do you prefer manual or automatic tests? Explain why.
  • Based on what criteria would you assign tasks to your team members? 
  • How well do you work within tight deadlines?
  • You have finished software testing but the developers do not agree with the results. How do you respond?
  • What is your approach when you craft documents? Do you keep them short and concise or prefer to provide more descriptive documentation? Why?
  • Why do you think a risk approach is important in testing?
  • Describe the biggest challenge you faced in software testing.

 

Feel free to download the software testing interview questions PDF below for future use.

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