Software Testing Life Cycle Interview Questions and Answers.

Introduction

Want a successful career as a manual tester? Make sure you are well-prepped with the topic Software Testing Life Cycle. It is a crucial aspect of manual testing and is frequently asked in interviews. That is why you should practice top Software Testing Life Cycle Interview Questions and Answers that can help you ace your interview and land the dream job you have been looking for. To be more efficient, check out manual testing training and certification. Take your first steps towards a bright future. Now, let us check out the crucial interview questions and the answers. 

Q1 What Is Stlc in Software Testing?

Ans- Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) tests software and meets quality standards. In this, tests are carried out systematically over several phases. During product development, the various phases of the STLC may be repeated multiple times until a product is deemed suitable for release.

• Software Testing Life Cycle or STLC has 6 phases
• STLC is a testing process that is executed in a sequence to meet the quality standards. 
• It is not a single activity but consists of many activities executed to achieve a good quality product.
• The testing team follows STLC.
• STLC is similar to the SLDC, following a similar path, and can run in parallel to the SDLC.

Q2. What Are The 6 Stlc Phases?

Ans- Everything you need to know about STLC is covered in these six phases. The 6 primary STLC Phases are:

• Requirement analysis
• Test Planning
• Test case development
• Environment Setup
• Test Execution
• Test Cycle Closure

Q3. What Is Test Planning?

Ans- The test Planning phase starts soon after the completion of the Requirement Analysis phase. In this phase, the QA manager or QA Lead prepares the Test Plan and Test strategy documents. As per these documents, they also develop the testing effort estimations.

Activities to be done in the Test Planning phase are given below:

• Estimation of the testing effort
• Selection of Testing Approach
• Preparation of Test Plan, Test strategy documents
• Resource planning and assigning roles and responsibilities to them
• Selection of Testing tool

Deliverables (Outcome) of the Test Planning phase are:

• Test Plan document
• Test Strategy document
• Best-suited Testing Approach
• Number of Resources, skills required, and their roles and responsibilities
• Testing tool to be used

Q4. What Is the Basic Difference Between Sdlc and Stlc?

Ans- Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a process of software development, presented as a set of sequential phases such as:

• Planning
• Analysis and Design
• Implementation (Coding)
• Testing
• Deployment and Maintenance (in some sources called ‘Evolution,’ to emphasize the importance of Retrospective analysis and Lessons Learned practices, which become a background for another software development cycle)

So, the Software Testing Life Cycle is a part of the Software Development Life Cycle and represents testing activities. A rule of thumb is to have a testing activity for every development activity and to start it as early as possible. For instance, test design for each test level should start in parallel with the corresponding development activity. Learn more about the software development life cycle vs software testing life cycle in detail to gain in-depth knowledge. 

Q5. What Activities Are Performed in Each Phase of Stlc?

Ans- Requirements Analysis – The requirements are gathered, examined, and tested. Issues in Software Requirements Specifications (SRS) are detected. Automation feasibility is evaluated.

Test Planning – In this phase, the test objectives are defined, the test strategy and plan are created, and the test effort is estimated. Tools and resources are then determined.

Test Design – This phase involves designing test cases, creating automation test scripts, and preparing test data.

Test Environment Setup – During this phase, the environment and test data are set up, and a smoke test is usually run to confirm that the environment is ready. This phase is sometimes excluded from STLC, being performed separately, but in some cases, it is not distinguished as a separate phase and is considered part of the Test Design.

Test Implementation – This is when the actual testing takes place. Functional and non-functional types of testing are executed, test cases and test scripts are run, bugs are logged, and test results are reported. Regression testing, bug verification, and closure also belong to this phase.

Test Closure – During this phase, we prepare a test summary report of her test metrics and report them to stakeholders. We also archive the project documents and hold Lessons Learned sessions to improve the efficiency of future projects.

Q6. What Srs (Software Requirement Specifications) Issues Can Be Detected During the Requirements Review?

Ans- Anything that doesn’t conform to the criteria of reasonable requirements, such as the following:

• Testable (verifiable)
• Clear and concise
• Complete
• Feasible
• Independent
• Atomic
• Consistent
• Traceable
• Implementation-free.

Q7. What is the main purpose of the test closure phase?

Ans- Test closure activities have several goals, such as:

• Ensure the completion of testing
• Gather and hand-test artifacts
• Hold retrospective meetings and come up with Lessons Learned

Q8. How Would You Define That Testing Is Sufficient and It’s Time to Enter the Test Closure Phase?

Ans- The exit criteria are defined at the test planning stage and can include the following items which can signify the end of testing activities:

• Sufficient coverage of requirements by test cases is achieved
• All test cases planned for the phase have been executed
• All critical and high-priority bugs are fixed and verified
• High-risk areas are addressed and properly tested
• Acceptance testing is passed

Q9. At which phase is the test environment prepared?

Ans- If it is to be focused on separately, this phase is usually prepared during the Test Environment Setup. If not, this activity usually falls into the Test Design phase. Sometimes, this phase also includes setting up test servers. Once environments are deployed, smoke tests are performed to ensure that environments are working as expected with all intended functionality.

Q10. Which Phase of Stlc Includes Bug Closure Activities?

Ans- The Test Execution phase is where the actual testing activities are performed. Functional and non-functional types of testing are executed, test cases and test scripts are run, bugs are logged, and test results are reported. Regression testing, bug verification, and closure also belong to this phase.

Q11. How Do You Map Stlc to Sdlc? Specify What Testing Activities Are Held in Each Phase of Sdlc.

Ans- It is recommended that testing activity starts as early as possible in the corresponding SDLC phase. In real life, though, it only sometimes happens this way.

Phase of SDLC	Phase of STLC
Planning Analysis  Implementation Testing Deployment and Maintenance	Requirement analysis Test planning Test Design and Environment setup Test execution Test Closure
SDLC defines all the standard phases that are involved during the software development process	STLC process defines various activities to improve the quality of the product.
SDLC is a Development Life Cycle	STLC is a Testing Life Cycle
In SDLC, the development team creates the high and low-level design plans,	In STLC, the test analyst creates the System, Integration Test Plan
In SDLC, real code is developed, and actual work takes place as per the design documents,	In STLC, the testing team prepares the test environment and executes test cases.
The SDLC life cycle helps a team complete the software’s successful development	the STLC phases only cover software testing.

Q12. What Is Meant by Entry Criteria and Exit Criteria in Stlc?

Ans- Entry Criteria: This gives the prerequisite items that must be completed before testing can begin. 

Exit Criteria: It defines the items that must be completed before testing can be concluded. 

Once the entry criteria are met, the testing environment is set up correctly, and test cases and data are ready for execution. The exit criteria in test execution confirm that the test execution phase has been completed according to the defined testing scope and objectives.

While setting the entry criteria, it is also essential to define when the entry criteria item is available to start the process.

Q13. What Are the Entry Criteria for Requirements Analysis During Stlc?

Ans- You can perform the test environment setup in sequence or execute it after the requirement analysis phase, as it is independent of all the previous phases. The entry criteria of this phase are requirement documents (both functional and non-functional), system architecture details, defined acceptance criteria, and application design. 

Q14. What Is Done During the Test Environment Setup?

Ans- Each test environment or QA Environment is set up with a combination of the following elements:

• The software to be tested.
• The operating system, database, and testing server.
• Test data.
• Network configuration.
• The device on which the software is to be tested – desktop or mobile devices.

Q15. When Do We Verify the Test Case and Script in the Stlc?

Ans- The Test Case Development Phase involves the creation, verification, and rework of test cases & test scripts after the test plan is ready. Initially, the test data is identified crea, coded, reviewed, and reworked based on the preconditions. Test cases should be transparent, efficient, and adaptable. Once all test cases are created, test coverage should be 100%. Any necessary automation scripts are also created during this phase. Verifying a test case for testing the conformance of protocol implementations against the formal description of the protocol involves verifying three aspects of the test case: expected input/output test behavior, test verdicts, and the test purpose.

Conclusion

These are the most important and most frequently asked interview questions on STLC. For further reading, look at this post on STLC phases and find answers to some Basic Software Testing interview questions. If a career in quality assurance is your one true dream, you should check out the quality assurance courses and certifications that will boost your career for good.