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Test engineers and their expertise are required to maintain product quality and ensure a smooth product development process. And if you're going to apply for this position, you'll need to be prepared for all of the important test engineer interview questions.
These questions are designed to assess your technical abilities as well as your ability to work well with others. Recruiters want to know if you'll be a good fit for the job, which is where test engineer interview questions come in.
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To kickstart your interview prep, we have compiled a list of the top test engineer interview questions. We’ll cover:
- Software Test Engineer Interview Questions and Answers
- Senior Test Engineer Interview Questions and Answers
- Sample Software Test Engineer Interview Questions for Practice
- FAQs on Test Engineer Interview Questions
Software Test Engineer Interview Questions and Answers
As you begin your prep to crack your next tech interview, here are some software test engineer interview questions and answers to help you get started:
Q1. List the different methods of testing.
Software testing can be divided into three methods:
- Black-box testing: A testing strategy based only on requirements and specifications. No knowledge of interval paths, structures, or implementation of the software is tested.
- White box testing: A testing strategy consisting of internal paths, code structures, and implementation of the software that is being tested. Generally, this strategy requires good programming skills.
- Gray box testing: A strategy that is used for debugging software where the tester has limited information about the internal details of the program.
If you’re a fresher preparing for an interview, this is an important one in the list of test engineer interview questions because it tests your basics.
Find out What Does a Test Engineer Do? Learn about the role, skills, and responsibilities.
Q2. What are the different levels of testing?
The four primary levels of testing (in the order in which they are executed):
- Unit testing
- Integration testing
- System testing
- Acceptance testing
Q3. Define a test case.
A set of conditions or variables based on which a tester determines whether a system under test satisfies the requirements and works correctly is known as a test case.
Q4. What is a bug life cycle or defect life cycle?
The process where a defect goes through the different stages during its life cycle is called a defect life cycle. It begins when the defect is detected and ends when the defect is closed, and it’s ensured that it won’t be reproduced.
The defect life cycle varies from company to company and even project to project because it’s based on a number of factors. These are — organization policy, software development model being used, project timelines, and so on.
All freshers going in for the interview can expect such software test engineer interview questions. So ensure that you prepare accordingly since they cover your basics.
Q5. Is it compulsory to do testing only after the build and execution phases are completed?
Yes, it is. Testing is only done when the build and execution phases are complete. As the sooner you catch a defect, the earlier you can resolve it making it a more cost-effective method. For instance, when you fix a defect in maintenance, it becomes ten times costlier than it would have been during execution.
Q6. Explain regression and confirmation testing.
Regression testing: The type of software testing that confirms that a recent code change hasn’t negatively impacted the existing features is called regression testing.
Confirmation testing: Whenever a test fails due to some defect, this defect gets reported, and when the new version of this software is submitted after getting fixed, it is known as confirmation testing or re-testing.
Q7. What is meant by boundary value analysis?
Boundary Value Analysis or BVA is a black box test design technique. It is applied whenever the test engineer needs to see if there are any bugs present on the boundary of the input domain.
When applying for mid-level roles, you can expect such test engineer interview questions.
Q8. How do you arrive at a project estimation?
When working on a project, an estimate is made based on the following factors:
- Firstly, the whole project is divided into smaller tasks
- Then these tasks are allotted to different members of the team
- The effort that'll go into carrying out each task is estimated
- Finally, the estimation is validated
Q9. Which test cases are written first? White box or black box?
Mostly, black box test cases are written first, followed by the white box test cases. This is because when black box test cases are written, they need the required document and design or project plan. These documents are easily available in the initial phase of the project.
But white box test cases can’t be started in the initial phase because they need more architectural clarity that isn’t available in the beginning. So usually, white box test cases are written after black box test cases.
Q10. List the basic components of the defect report format.
The basic components of the defect report format are:
- Project Name
- Module Name
- Defect detected on
- Defect detected by
- Defect ID and Name
- Snapshot of the defect
- Priority and Severity status
- Defect resolved by
- Defect resolved on
So if you’re going looking for intermediate-level questions, do keep the test engineer interview questions given above in mind and prepare more such questions.
Senior Test Engineer Interview Questions and Answers
These five questions are advanced-level senior test engineer interview questions, and you should expect to face such questions as you advance up the ladder.
Q1. What is meant by the workbench concept?
A workbench is a way of documenting how a particular needs to be performed. It is mostly known as phases, steps, and tasks. Every workbench has five tasks, and they are:
- Input
- Execute
- Check
- Production output
- Rework
Q2. Give the different strategies for rollout to end users.
For rollout, the strategies that need to be followed are:
- Pilot
- Gradual Implementation
- Phased Implementation
- Parallel Implementation
Q3. How do you take screenshots in Selenium WeDriver?
With the help of the TakeScreenshot function, you can take a screenshot. Using the getScreenshotAs() method, you can save any screenshot that you take. For instance,
File scrFile = ((TakeScreenshot)driver).getScreenshotAs(outputType.FILE);
If you’re looking for advanced-level questions, you can focus on such test engineer interview questions.
Q4. If frame id and frame name are not available, how will you select a frame?
When the frame name and frame id aren’t there, one can use frame by index. For instance, if there are three frames in a web page and none of them have a frame name and frame id, then you select those frames with the help of the frame index attribute (zero-based) .
All the frames have an index number, just like the first frame will be at index “0”, the second will be at index “1,” and the third will be at index “2”.
Q5. How do you skip a method or code block in TestNG?
If you want to skip a particular test or a code, you can just set the ‘enabled’ parameter in the test annotation to false.
@Test(enabled = false)
Learning the answers to these test engineer interview questions for senior and fresher software engineers will help you prepare for your tech interview.
Sample Software Test Engineer Interview Questions
Now that you have a good idea of what sort of questions you can expect at the different levels, here are some more sample software test engineer interview questions for practice:
Q1. Explain verification and validation in software testing.
Q2. What is meant by defect cascading?
Q3. How should one go about creating a test script?
Q4. How can you use Selenium WebDriver to find broken links on a page?
Q5. What input is needed from the end-user to begin proper testing?
Q6. What do you do when certain documents for a given test are missing?
Q7. Differentiate between smoke testing and sanity testing.
Q8. What are the challenges of software testing?
Q9. In software testing, what are test closure tasks?
Q10. What is the difference between system testing and integration testing?
The right test engineer interview questions can really change the game for you as they help you develop the right mindset for these interviews. Your competence, confidence, and patience as a test engineer must be reflected in your responses to these test engineer interview questions. So prepare diligently and thoroughly.
FAQs on Test Engineer Interview Questions
Q1. What are some important test engineer interview questions?
Some common test engineer interview questions are: What troubleshooting systems do you use to finalize your testing procedures? How do you stay updated with product and engineering knowledge? What information is vital for creating testing procedures for a product?
Q2. How to prepare for test engineer interview questions?
Research the company you’re going to interview for and practice answering questions. Be sure of your answers since, as a test engineer, your confidence and decision-making skills are tested.
Q3. How many rounds are there in a test engineer interview?
There are three rounds in a test engineer interview. The first is the technical interview, followed by an interview with the manager (non-technical), and finally, salary negotiations with HR.
Q4. What technical skills do test engineers need to have?
Some important technical skills that a test engineer needs are: Agile Testing, Automation Testing, Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), Technologies in Web and Mobile, among others.
Q5. Do test engineers need to know how to code when preparing for test engineer interview questions?
Coding is not a prerequisite for becoming a test engineer because they aren’t exactly responsible for doing that. They just need to ensure that the required output is being produced.
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