Manual testing quiz: 20 questions with explanations

Reviewing a requirements document for contradictions, without running any software, is an example of:

• Validation
• Verification
• Regression testing
• Load testing

Answer: Verification. Verification checks work products against specifications without executing the software (reviews, walkthroughs, inspections). Validation needs the running software.

Which activity normally comes first in the software testing life cycle?

• Requirement analysis
• Test execution
• Test closure
• Test environment set-up

Answer: Requirement analysis. Testers start by studying the requirements to understand what must be tested and to find gaps. Planning, design, set-up, execution and closure follow. In agile teams the phases overlap within a sprint.

A field accepts ages from 18 to 60 inclusive. Which set of values do you test with two-value boundary value analysis?

• 18, 39, 60
• 0, 18, 60, 100
• 17, 18, 60, 61
• 19, 59

Answer: 17, 18, 60, 61. Two-value BVA tests each boundary and its nearest value on the other side: 17 and 18 at the lower edge, 60 and 61 at the upper edge. Three-value BVA would also add 19 and 59.

A shop gives 0% discount on orders under ₹1,000, 5% from ₹1,000 to ₹4,999, and 10% from ₹5,000. How many valid equivalence partitions are there for the order amount?

• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Answer: 3. Inputs that the system treats the same form one partition. Here there are three valid partitions (one per discount band). Negative amounts, zero and non-numeric input form invalid partitions, which you test separately.

The company name is spelt wrongly in the header of the home page the day before a launch event. How would you classify the defect?

• High severity, low priority
• Low severity, low priority
• High severity, high priority
• Low severity, high priority

Answer: Low severity, high priority. Nothing is functionally broken, so severity is low. But every visitor sees it and the launch is tomorrow, so the business wants it fixed immediately: high priority.

A developer investigates a reported bug and decides the behaviour is as designed. Which state does the bug usually move to?

• Rejected (not a bug)
• Fixed
• Reopened
• Closed after retest

Answer: Rejected (not a bug). When the developer decides it is not a defect, it is marked Rejected (some tools say Invalid or Works as designed). The tester can still raise it with the product owner if the design hurts users.

After a bug fix, a tester runs the exact steps that failed before, to confirm the fix works. This is:

• Regression testing
• Smoke testing
• Retesting (confirmation testing)
• Exploratory testing

Answer: Retesting (confirmation testing). Retesting repeats the failed test after the fix. Regression testing runs other tests to check the fix did not break something else.

What is the main purpose of a smoke test on a new build?

• To find every defect in the build
• To measure performance under load
• To check that the new code follows the coding standard
• To decide whether the build is stable enough for detailed testing

Answer: To decide whether the build is stable enough for detailed testing. A smoke test is a quick, broad check of the main functions (start, log in, main page, core flow). If it fails, the build goes back and deeper testing waits.

Which of these does NOT belong in a good bug report?

• Steps to reproduce
• The name of the developer you think caused it
• Expected and actual results
• Build, browser and operating system

Answer: The name of the developer you think caused it. A bug report describes the problem, not who caused it. Blame does not help reproduction and damages trust. Steps, expected versus actual result and environment details are what a developer needs.

User acceptance testing (UAT) is usually carried out by:

• Business users or client representatives
• Developers who wrote the code
• Only the automation team
• The build engineer

Answer: Business users or client representatives. UAT checks that the system meets business needs, so it is done by the people who will use it or who represent them, normally just before release.

Which description fits exploratory testing best?

• Running a fixed script of test cases written in advance
• Running only automated checks overnight
• Learning the product, designing tests and running them at the same time, guided by a short charter
• Reading the code to find defects

Answer: Learning the product, designing tests and running them at the same time, guided by a short charter. Exploratory testing combines learning, test design and execution, usually in a time-boxed session with a goal and notes. It finds problems scripted tests miss.

Black box testing is based on:

• Knowledge of the internal code paths
• Code coverage numbers only
• The structure of the database schema
• The expected behaviour from requirements, without needing the internal code

Answer: The expected behaviour from requirements, without needing the internal code. In black box testing you provide inputs and check outputs against the requirements. Knowing the code is not needed (that is white box testing).

A loan is approved depending on several combinations of conditions (income, credit score, existing loans). Which technique helps you cover the combinations systematically?

• State transition testing
• Decision table testing
• Error guessing
• Smoke testing

Answer: Decision table testing. A decision table lists combinations of conditions and the resulting action, making missing and conflicting business rules easy to spot.

An ATM locks the card after three wrong PIN attempts. Which technique is most natural for testing this?

• State transition testing
• Boundary value analysis of the PIN digits
• Compatibility testing
• Usability testing

Answer: State transition testing. The system moves between states (ready, one wrong attempt, two wrong attempts, locked) on events. State transition testing covers the valid and invalid paths between them.

Which of these is a typical test closure activity?

• Writing the first test cases
• Setting up the test environment
• Preparing the test summary report and recording lessons learned
• Reviewing the requirements

Answer: Preparing the test summary report and recording lessons learned. Closure wraps up: summary report, final metrics, archiving test assets, and a review of what went well or badly so the next release improves.

A requirement traceability matrix maps:

• Developers to the bugs they created
• Test cases to testers
• Defects to severity levels
• Requirements to the test cases that cover them

Answer: Requirements to the test cases that cover them. Traceability shows which tests cover which requirement, so you can spot requirements without tests and see which tests to rerun when a requirement changes.

Defect leakage is high for a release. What does it tell you?

• Developers wrote very few bugs
• A large share of defects were found after release, so testing missed them
• The test environment was too fast
• The team executed too many test cases

Answer: A large share of defects were found after release, so testing missed them. Defect leakage compares defects found in production with the total found. A high value means bugs escaped earlier testing, so it is worth asking why (missing cases, environment differences, rushed regression).

Which statement about beta testing is correct?

• It is done by a limited group of real users in their own environment before the full release
• It is done by developers on their laptops
• It is another name for unit testing
• It is done only after the product has been released to everyone

Answer: It is done by a limited group of real users in their own environment before the full release. Beta testing exposes a near-final product to real users outside the development team to find problems the team's environment did not reveal. Alpha testing is the internal equivalent.

Which is the best title for a test case?

• Login test
• Check login
• Verify that login fails with a wrong password and shows an error message
• Test number 14

Answer: Verify that login fails with a wrong password and shows an error message. A good title says what is verified and the expected outcome, so anyone can understand the test without opening it and the report is readable.

Which is a sensible exit criterion for a test cycle?

• The tester is tired
• The sprint has started
• Every developer has written unit tests
• No open critical defects and the agreed share of planned tests executed and passed

Answer: No open critical defects and the agreed share of planned tests executed and passed. Exit criteria are measurable conditions agreed in advance, such as no open critical or high defects and a coverage target met. They stop testing from ending on a feeling or on a date alone.