When interviewing candidates for a Quality Assurance (QA) position, asking the right questions is essential to gauge their technical expertise, problem-solving abilities, and ability to think critically under pressure. While standard questions can help assess basic skills, tricky QA interview questions provide insight into how candidates handle complex scenarios, tackle challenges, and demonstrate their overall understanding of quality processes.

Here are 30+ tricky QA interview questions to ask your interviewees and evaluate their knowledge and problem-solving skills.

1. What is the difference between Verification and Validation?

This question assesses the candidate’s fundamental understanding of QA principles. Verification ensures the product is being built correctly, while Validation ensures the right product is being built.

2. How would you test a product without any specifications or documentation?

This question tests a candidate’s creativity and ability to think on their feet when dealing with incomplete information.

3. Explain the concept of Boundary Value Analysis (BVA) and provide an example.

Boundary Value Analysis is a critical test design technique. This question helps assess a candidate’s understanding of identifying edge cases.

4. What is the difference between a defect, bug, and error?

The answer will show if the candidate is aware of subtle distinctions in common QA terminology.

5. How do you prioritize test cases when time is limited?

This question helps you assess how well a candidate can prioritize and manage testing tasks under pressure.

6. What is regression testing, and why is it important?

This tests the candidate’s understanding of ensuring that recent changes haven’t affected the existing functionality.

7. How would you test a web application that requires user authentication?

A question that explores testing security, user sessions, and login mechanisms for web-based applications.

8. What is the difference between Load Testing, Stress Testing, and Performance Testing?

This question assesses a candidate’s understanding of different types of non-functional testing.

9. How do you determine the severity and priority of a defect?

An essential skill in QA is knowing when to escalate or prioritize issues. The answer will show how well they evaluate defects.

10. Can you explain the difference between a test plan and a test strategy?

This question is aimed at understanding how the candidate plans and organizes testing processes.

11. How do you handle situations when developers disagree with you about the severity of a bug?

This question assesses communication and conflict resolution skills within a team.

12. What is a test case, and what should it include?

A question aimed at determining whether the candidate knows how to structure effective and thorough test cases.

13. Can you explain the difference between black-box testing and white-box testing?

This question tests a candidate’s knowledge of testing methods based on their view of the system’s internal logic.

14. How would you test an application that handles payments?

This tests the candidate’s ability to conduct functional, security, and usability tests for critical financial transactions.

15. What would you do if you found a defect after a release?

This question helps you assess how the candidate handles post-release issues and if they have a proactive mindset.

16. How do you ensure that you test all possible paths of a given feature?

This tests the candidate’s attention to detail and how they ensure complete coverage in testing.

17. Explain the V-Model and its relevance in the software development lifecycle.

A question aimed at assessing understanding of different testing models and their application.

18. What is a use case and how is it relevant in the testing process?

Use cases are crucial for test design and understanding of system interactions. This question helps assess how they leverage use cases for testing.

19. How do you deal with incomplete or vague requirements from the product team?

This evaluates how a candidate manages ambiguity in project specifications and adapts their approach to testing.

20. What is the difference between static testing and dynamic testing?

This assesses understanding of reviewing code or documentation (static) vs. testing the functionality of the application (dynamic).

21. How do you ensure proper version control in testing?

This question looks at knowledge of managing test scripts and test environments during different development stages.

22. Describe the steps you would take if you identified a security vulnerability in the application you were testing.

This assesses the candidate’s ability to address security concerns during testing.

23. How would you test a mobile application differently from a web application?

This question evaluates knowledge of cross-platform testing techniques for different devices and interfaces.

24. What are the key benefits of automated testing over manual testing?

This question tests the candidate’s understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of both testing approaches.

25. How would you approach testing an API?

A question focused on testing APIs, which is an important aspect of modern software applications.

26. What do you understand by Smoke Testing?

This tests a candidate’s knowledge of preliminary testing used to check if the basic functions of an application work.

27. How do you ensure that the testing process is scalable as the product grows?

This is aimed at assessing their foresight and approach to scaling QA processes for larger, evolving products.

28. What is Continuous Integration (CI) and how does it affect the testing process?

CI is important for modern software development, and this question evaluates their understanding of integrating testing into the CI pipeline.

29. Can you describe a situation where you found a critical bug in production? How did you handle it?

A situational question that evaluates problem-solving and crisis management skills in real-life scenarios.

30. How do you stay updated with the latest trends and tools in QA testing?

This shows whether the candidate is proactive in keeping up with the constantly evolving field of QA.

31. Describe a situation when you had to test a product that was already under development. What challenges did you face?

This assesses their experience with testing in fast-paced environments and how they manage challenges.

Try Free QA assessments before doing an interview will help you assess the technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and overall approach to quality assurance in your candidates. These questions go beyond theoretical knowledge and allow you to gauge how a candidate thinks on their feet, how they tackle challenges, and whether they have the practical skills required to ensure software quality in a dynamic environment.