eGigSoftware testing and QA interview questions and answers
QA interviews cover testing basics, writing test cases, bug reports and automation tools. Expect to test something live, like a login page.
12 questions. Read each one, start the timer and answer out loud as if you were in the room, then open the tip. Nothing is recorded.
What is the difference between verification and validation?
What a good answer covers
Verification asks “are we building it right?” with reviews. Validation asks “are we building the right thing?” with testing.
What are the stages of the testing life cycle?
What a good answer covers
Requirement analysis, test planning, test case design, environment setup, execution and closure.
What is the difference between smoke and sanity testing?
What a good answer covers
Smoke tests check a new build’s main functions work. Sanity tests check a specific fix or area after a small change.
Explain the bug life cycle.
What a good answer covers
New, assigned, open, fixed, retest, then closed or reopened. Some bugs are deferred or rejected.
Severity or priority: what is the difference?
What a good answer covers
Severity is impact on the system, priority is how soon to fix. A logo typo is low severity but can be high priority.
How do you write a good test case?
What a good answer covers
An ID, a clear title, preconditions, steps, test data, the expected result and the actual result.
What is regression testing?
What a good answer covers
Re-testing existing features after a change to make sure nothing else broke. A good candidate for automation.
What is the difference between black box and white box testing?
What a good answer covers
Black box tests behaviour without seeing the code. White box tests with knowledge of the code paths.
Which automation tools have you used?
What a good answer covers
Selenium, Cypress, Playwright or Appium, with TestNG, JUnit or PyTest. Describe a suite you built.
How do you test APIs?
What a good answer covers
Postman or Rest Assured: check status codes, response data, errors, authentication and response time.
How would you test a login page?
What a good answer covers
Valid and invalid logins, empty fields, password masking, lockout after failures, SQL injection, session expiry and accessibility.
A developer says “it’s not a bug”. What do you do?
What a good answer covers
Show the steps, evidence and the requirement. If still unclear, ask the product owner to decide.
All 12 questions with answers
1. What is the difference between verification and validation?
Verification asks “are we building it right?” with reviews. Validation asks “are we building the right thing?” with testing.
2. What are the stages of the testing life cycle?
Requirement analysis, test planning, test case design, environment setup, execution and closure.
3. What is the difference between smoke and sanity testing?
Smoke tests check a new build’s main functions work. Sanity tests check a specific fix or area after a small change.
4. Explain the bug life cycle.
New, assigned, open, fixed, retest, then closed or reopened. Some bugs are deferred or rejected.
5. Severity or priority: what is the difference?
Severity is impact on the system, priority is how soon to fix. A logo typo is low severity but can be high priority.
6. How do you write a good test case?
An ID, a clear title, preconditions, steps, test data, the expected result and the actual result.
7. What is regression testing?
Re-testing existing features after a change to make sure nothing else broke. A good candidate for automation.
8. What is the difference between black box and white box testing?
Black box tests behaviour without seeing the code. White box tests with knowledge of the code paths.
9. Which automation tools have you used?
Selenium, Cypress, Playwright or Appium, with TestNG, JUnit or PyTest. Describe a suite you built.
10. How do you test APIs?
Postman or Rest Assured: check status codes, response data, errors, authentication and response time.
11. How would you test a login page?
Valid and invalid logins, empty fields, password masking, lockout after failures, SQL injection, session expiry and accessibility.
12. A developer says “it’s not a bug”. What do you do?
Show the steps, evidence and the requirement. If still unclear, ask the product owner to decide.
Before the interview
- Read the job description twice and match two of your examples to what it asks for.
- Keep printed copies of your resume, ID proof and certificates ready, even for online rounds.
- Know your current CTC, expected salary and notice period. Check typical pay in our salary guide, and compare offers with the in-hand salary calculator.
- Genuine employers never ask you to pay for an interview, training kit or joining. Report anyone who does.