10 Software QA Tester interview questions and answers

It’s important to verify a QA tester has experience with the methods, levels, and types of testing that you will require. You might consider having a checklist prepared with the testing techniques that you’re most likely to need. Consider asking about some of the most common types of testing:

• Acceptance testing
• Automation testing
• Beta testing
• Black box testing
• Exploratory testing
• Integration testing
• Load testing
• Manual testing
• Negative testing
• Non-functional testing
• Performance testing
• Positive testing
• Smoke testing
• Stress testing
• System testing
• Regression testing
• White box testing

A qualified contractor will understand the skills and experience essential for QA and quality control testing, and they’ll be able to demonstrate that they have those qualities. Those qualities might be an understanding of the testing process, an intense focus on quality control, experience with many testing tools, knowledge of the software testing life cycle, great communication skills, understanding end-user challenges, attention to detail, and more.

A software quality assurance tester with experience in automation can be an asset. With automation tools, smoke test cases, regression test cases, and more can be made more efficient. Experience with automated testing, especially in agile methodology, can be beneficial.

There are many QA testing challenges, so it’s important that a QA engineer is aware of them and finds ways to overcome them. Those challenges might include gathering metrics, changing expectations in the development process, test strategy and test process requirements that are unfamiliar, and more.

Every software testing life cycle requires careful planning and execution from the test plan phase to the test case development and execution. Ask about the candidate’s experience with each cycle stage, but also ask which stages they’ve overseen and implemented in a leadership role. Consider how their experience will factor into their role with your business and their intended involvement at each testing phase.

A quality assurance engineer should be able to describe a bug life cycle in detail, and should be able to explain what bug leakage and bug reports are, too. They should be aware of factors that affect the life cycle, like timelines, the QA team structure, and the software development model, like Agile testing.

A QA software tester will generally be a part of a testing team, and their ability to work well with other team members is essential. Ask questions about their relationships with previous testing and development team members, including their project manager or client, and have them discuss how they work with a team.

If you’re contracting a remote QA tester, then ask specific questions about how much experience they have in working remotely. Also, be sure to clarify any challenges they’ve faced in remote work and how they’ve overcome them.

Get detailed information about how a contractor prefers to work. Ask about how much and what types of support they find helpful, and be sure to get information on how they prefer to handle questions and answers with their client or team. Communication preferences may vary depending on if the tester is working with a remote team, so ask these questions ahead of time to understand how they work best.

QA testing is full of challenges, and testers may encounter situations where they’re uncertain of project specifics. Look for a contractor who responds that they carefully read over available information, but that they also verify any uncertain details with a client or manager before proceeding.