100 manual testing interview questions to ask talented professionals

New software and applications are increasingly in demand and play a key role in helping businesses to solve complex technical issues more quickly and efficiently. 

If your organization aims to produce high-quality apps, a vital step to achieving this goal is ensuring that your team has a software-testing employee with the skills and experience to take your business to the next level. 

If your team doesn’t have a suitable expert to handle these responsibilities, you may need to hire a professional.

Your process may involve two steps: the first, inviting software testers to complete an assessment with a QA skills test and then checking the results by interviewing applicants later. This allows you to streamline the process, and save valuable time and resources.

When it comes to the interviews, preparing the right manual testing interview questions for your applicants is crucial – so we have made this list of 100 good questions for you to ask candidates.

10 general manual testing interview questions

At the beginning of the interview, ask applicants these general manual testing interview questions to determine their general skills and experience.

1. Name four test levels related to software testing. 

2. Which soft skills make software testing easier?

3. Which hard skills do you use for manual software testing?

4. Give some examples of categories for debugging.

5. Name three factors that test reports contain.

6. Are there any benefits of test reports? Explain your answer.

7. Which best practices do you use when completing software quality assurance tasks?

8. Why is test independence important for software testing?

9. What does software testing mean? How is the field changing?

10. How is verification different from validation?

5 general manual testing interview questions and answers for reviewing responses

Here are the answers to five important manual testing interview questions – use the answers as a guide when assessing your applicants’ responses.

1. Are there any benefits of test reports? Explain your answer.

If applicants are experienced manual testers, they should understand the many advantages of test reports and be able to describe the benefits. A few advantages of test reports are:

• Testers can find out the current quality of the product and the current project status

• Customers or clients can implement corrective action if the product requires it

• Testers can refer to a final document to determine if the product is release-ready

2. Which soft skills make software testing easier?

From communication to problem-solving skills, several soft skills are necessary to succeed in software testing. 93% of managers look for soft skills, so applicants should be able to name a few examples and explain why they are important to prove their knowledge.

For instance, they may explain that good communication skills help testers share information with different team members, including technical staff, experienced testers, and non-technical staff. 

Consider whether your applicants have the required soft skills related to manual testing by asking this interview question after assessing applicants for a simple skill review process.

3. Which hard skills do you use for manual software testing?

Bug tracking and using particular programming languages are examples of hard skills applicants may use for manual software testing. While bug tracking and fixing ensure that programs remain bug-free, understanding particular programming languages is a key requirement for handling user interface testing automation.

This interview question is crucial for checking whether your applicants understand how to track and fix bugs or use particular programming languages. Check whether their responses correlate with their skill test results, including Programming skill tests

4. What does software testing mean? How is the field changing?

Candidates should understand what software testing means. They may explain that software testing is an evaluation and verification process that ensures an application meets the required expectations and does what it’s meant to do. 

Applicants may outline the many advantages of software testing, including bug prevention, cost efficiency, development enhancement, and performance improvement. 

They may also mention that significant restaffing changes will likely occur soon in the software testing field.

5. Which best practices do you use when completing software quality assurance tasks?

To complete software quality assurance tasks efficiently, testers should understand and use software quality assurance best practices and aim to:

• Create documentation

• Use the correct tools

• Aim for continuous improvement

• Focus on continuous monitoring

72 manual testing interview questions related to technical definitions 

Test your candidates’ technical manual testing knowledge by asking them these 72 questions related to technical definitions. 

1. Explain what exploratory testing means.

2. Define use case testing.

3. Explain what the software testing lifecycle means.

4. Explain what the software development lifecycle means,

5. What do you understand by the term “traceability matrix?”

6. Explain what equivalence partitioning testing means.

7. Can you define white box testing?

8. Define statement coverage in the context of white box testing.

9. Define decision coverage in the context of white box testing.

10. Can you define black box testing?

11. Define equivalence partitioning in the context of black box testing.

12. Define boundary value analysis in the context of black box testing.

13. Explain what cause-effect graphing is.

14. What does static testing mean?

15. What does dynamic testing mean?

16. Explain what integration testing is.

17. Explain what UAT means.

18. Explain what system testing means.

19. Can you define data-driven testing?

20. Can you define retesting?

21. Explain what test scenarios are.

22. Explain what test cases are.

23. Explain what test scripts are.

24. Can you define latent defects?

25. What are test deliverables? Why are they important?

26. What do you understand about fault-masking?

27. Define test management review.

28. Explain what stubs are in manual testing

29. Explain what drivers are in manual testing.

30. Explain what a DFD is.

31. What do you understand about fuzz testing?

32. Name three defect categories and explain each type.

33. How are failures different from defects in software testing?

34. Can you define bottom-up testing?

35. Define statement coverage in the context of software testing.

36. Define decision coverage in the context of software testing.

37. Define path coverage in the context of software testing.

38. Explain what breadth testing is.

39. What are test harnessing tools? Explain what they do.

40. Explain what preventative testing is.

41. Explain what reactive testing is.

42. Explain what exit criteria mean.

43. Explain what alpha testing means.

44. Explain what beta testing means.

45. Explain what pilot testing means.

46. Can you define component testing?

47. What does negative testing mean?

48. What does positive testing mean?

49. Explain what a test bed is.

50. What are test plans?

51. What are test scenarios?

52. Explain what a bug is in manual testing.

53. Explain what defect density means.

54. Explain what defect priority means.

55. Explain what defect severity means.

56. Explain what blockers are.

57. Tell me what a critical bug is.

58. Describe the lifecycle of bugs in a program.

59. Explain what ad-hoc testing is.

60. Name one difference between ad-hoc and monkey testing.

61. Explain what endurance testing is.

62. Explain what spike testing is.

63. What does compatibility testing mean?

64. Explain what localization testing is.

65. Explain what globalization testing is.

66. Define penetration testing.

67. Explain what concurrency testing means.

68. Explain what robustness testing means.

69. Describe the difference between retesting and regression testing.

70. Explain what smoke testing is.

71. Explain what sanity testing is.

72. Explain the difference between sanity and smoke testing.

5 manual testing interview questions and answers about technical definitions

Use these manual testing interview questions and answers as a guide to analyzing your interviewee’s responses.

1. Define equivalence partitioning in the context of black-box testing.

Candidates with the right experience, and a background in using equivalence partitioning, will be able to explain how this testing technique works. They may mention that the process involves grouping test data into equivalence classes based on the assumption that the data items affect the application similarly.

Applicants may also explain that equivalence partitioning is a black-box testing technique as it involves completing tests based on the system’s specifications despite not knowing the internal architecture.

2. Can you define component testing?

Component testing involves searching for errors or defects in a program and verifying that the software functions efficiently. 

Manual testers complete component testing separately from the entire system and work to test the classes, modules, objects, and programs.

3. What do you understand about fuzz testing?

Not only does fuzzing find vulnerabilities often missed by static program analysis, but it also enhances software security. This technique has three subcategories or types, including:

• Blackbox random fuzzing

• Grammar-based fuzzing

• Whitebox fuzzing

Skilled applicants will understand what these subcategories do and be able to provide in-depth descriptions of each. For instance, black-box fuzzing involves examining an application’s behavior at runtime without using the source code. 

4. Can you define white-box testing?

White-box testing is a testing technique that involves selecting by considering the internal structure of the components or system. Testers will consider the code, branch, path, and system condition when completing white-box testing. 

Applicants may mention two main types of white-box testing: Statement and decision coverage.

5. Can you define latent defects?

Experienced manual testers will be aware that latent defects in a system remain unnoticed, hidden, or undetected by customers, and don’t usually cause failure until a precise set of conditions are fulfilled. 

When responding to this question, expert manual testers may provide an example of latent defects in software, such as the Y2K error – a glitch that caused some system errors due to date formatting after the year 2000.

5 behavioral manual testing interview questions and answers to ask candidates

Ask your applicants these five behavioral manual testing interview questions, and use the answers provided to gauge whether the answers match your expectations.

1. Have you ever made a mistake that created issues? What did you learn?

When completing manual testing work, testers may make several mistakes. Even the most experienced testers are not perfect, and some of the common errors they may make that lead to issues includes:

• Ignoring minor problems

• Aligning resources to the incorrect projects

• Organizing unit tests poorly

If your applicants mention that they have made a mistake, ask them how they learned from it. For instance, they may have attempted to organize their unit tests more efficiently. 

This will show that they understand where they went wrong and that they have the skills and experience to learn from any errors.

2. You discover a defect hindering an application. What are your next steps?

Applicants with substantial manual testing experience will follow particular steps when they find a defect hindering an application. Six steps form part of an error management process, including:

• Identifying the error

• Recreating the error

• Finding sufficient issue-related information

• Finding the cause of the error

• Indicating when manual testers should fix the error

• Checking whether the tester has fixed the error

3. In which situation would you use fuzz testing?

Manual tester candidates answering this question may mention that fuzz testing is a process they complete to detect coding errors and software security loopholes. 

During the process, manual testers add random data to the system and attempt to crash it. If they notice that the system’s vulnerability continues, they will use fuzz testers to find the potential causes.

4. You notice there is a conflict within your team. How would you handle the situation?

Several conflict resolution steps can help manual testers resolve disagreements in a team. When your applicants respond, listen for answers that include:

• Talking to each team member and noting their concerns

• Proposing mutually beneficial answers that help all team members

• Leading a team meeting in which team members discuss how to handle the disagreement

Don’t forget that communication is an important skill that can help manual testers resolve team conflicts, so consider checking your applicants’ communication skills with a Communication test before the interview.

5. You discover bugs in a program. Which debugging tools would you use?

Several debugging tools are available for handling bug management responsibilities – applicants may mention a few examples, such as Mantis or Bugzilla, and either compare them or explain why they are useful.

If you need a method to review your applicants’ debugging skills, check our test library for debugging skills tests and compare your applicants’ responses to their skill assessment results.

13 manual testing interview questions about processes and testing methods

Ask interviewees these 13 manual testing interview questions about processes and testing methods to assess their software development lifecycle and processes knowledge.

1. Which factors should you verify when completing white box testing?

2. Name three steps to handle issues when testing.

3. Name two parameters you would use to determine test execution quality.

4. Explain the processes involved in mutation testing.

5. Describe the process you would use to complete risk analysis.

6. Which process would you use to mitigate product risk in a project?

7. Describe your approach to allocating tasks to team members.

8. Are there any testing activities that you would automate? Give two examples.

9. Explain why you would design tests early in the lifecycle.

10. In which situation would you use decision table testing?

11. At which stage would you perform regression testing?

12. Why is automation testing beneficial?

13. Are there any disadvantages of automation testing during the testing process?

5 manual testing interview questions and answers about processes and testing methods

Here are five manual testing interview questions and answers about processes and testing methods to help you review your candidates’ testing knowledge.

1. Why is automation testing beneficial?

Candidates may mention several advantages of automation testing when responding to this question, including the following points:

• It’s a fast, time-saving process

• Test scripts mitigate human error during the testing process

• Manual testers can schedule test execution for nightly runs

2. Are there any disadvantages of automation testing during the testing process?

Experienced applicants should know that there are several disadvantages of automation testing. They may mention the following drawbacks when answering this question:

• Manual testers must be experts in writing the required test scripts

• Teams must maintain and update the script for each minor application change

• Some tests may not detect every error – including obvious ones

3. Which process would you use to mitigate product risk in a project?

A few steps can help manual testers reduce product risk in a project. Candidates may provide the following examples when responding to this question:

• Manual testers can look at the specification documents

• Teams can discuss the project with stakeholders and developers

4. Are there any testing activities that you would automate? Give two examples.

Automating testing activities is an important step that many teams aim to complete, and candidates should know that automation is ideal for saving time. In response to this question, applicants may mention some of the following types of activities they would automate:

• Tests that require several types of data for repeated actions

• Tests that manual testers use for applications across different browsers

5. Explain why you would design tests early in the lifecycle.

Manual testers may design tests early in the lifecycle to mitigate the defects or errors developers introduce into the code. This method helps teams reduce the rework costs required at the end of the software development lifecycle.

5 tips for using manual testing interview questions to assess professionals

Refer to the five tips in this section for the best methods to conduct interviews and use manual testing interview questions effectively to learn more about your applicants’ skills.

1. Complete interviews at the right moment in the hiring process

Your hiring process should include a few essential steps, such as inviting applicants to take an assessment when they respond to your advert.

• Create a manual testing skills assessment that features skills tests related to the skills of the manual software testing role.

• Invite applicants to complete the skills assessment and use the results to shortlist candidates for an interview.

• Use manual testing interview questions to learn more about your candidates’ experience, personality, and skills.

• Hire and onboard a skilled software tester for your team and provide training based on the skills the new employee needs to improve.

Using the processes listed here, you can shortlist applicants for interviews more quickly and eliminate applicants who don’t have the required skills to complete manual testing responsibilities before they get to the interview stage.

2. Take notes to compare responses to skill assessment results

Since you may find it difficult to remember your applicants’ interview responses, make sure you take notes. You may want to use a scorecard to make this easier, and it could include the following features:

• A standardized ranking system

• The specific manual testing interview questions related to skills and traits

• Hiring criteria that relate to the manual testing role

• A section for recording the candidates’ total scores

Always mention that taking notes is part of your hiring process to keep candidates informed and prepared – taking notes without informing applicants may negatively affect the candidate experience.

3. Think of interview questions related to your candidates’ skills gaps 

You can build on the quantitative data you receive from your candidates’ skill assessments by compiling a list of manual testing interview questions related to their skills gaps. 

For instance, if your candidate receives a low score for questions related to test execution but excellent scores for all other aspects of manual testing, you may want to ask questions related to test execution in the interview. 

This will allow you to test the candidates’ prowess in this area and can be a useful indicator that they may need more assistance or support here.

Insightful questions related to skill gaps may include topics such as upskilling or training. You might ask applicants how they would address their skill gaps if you hired them for the manual testing role.

4. Use active listening and avoid talking too much

If you’re a non-technical or inexperienced HR team member, knowing how to lead an interview may be difficult. You may wonder how much an interviewer should speak when interviewing candidates. 

A good approach is to use the 80/20 rule: 20% speaking and 80% active listening is a good balance to target.

Active listening will help you notice when to ask a follow-up question and avoid influencing your candidate’s responses. 

Listen for the majority of the time, speak when you need to ask a new question, inform candidates about which type of questions you are transitioning to, or thank an applicant for their answer.

5. Review the questions your candidates ask you about the open position

After encouraging your applicants to ask questions about the role at the end of the interview, you may want to use these questions to assess their passion for joining your organization. Consider whether they ask enough questions, whether the questions are accurate, astute, and relevant, and show their eagerness to learn more.

You may even compare their questions to other candidates to determine who is most interested. For instance, if one applicant doesn’t ask any questions and another asks insightful questions, you may consider hiring the one who has more questions – this suggests an applicant is more passionate about the role and your organization.

Find your next manual tester with manual testing interview questions and TestGorilla

Although finding manual testers with experience may not always be simple, you can find a suitable candidate with a combination of skills testing and interview questions.

If you need more details about combining skills testing with interviews and onboarding processes, you will find them at TestGorilla.

Learn how TestGorilla works by signing up for a free 30-minute demo, or get started with your free plan.