50+ Top Automation Testing Interview Questions and Answers

Here are Automation Testing interview questions and answers for fresher and experienced candidates to get their dream job.

1) What is Automation testing?

Automation Testing uses an automation tool to execute test cases. The main goal of Automation Testing is to reduce the number of test cases to be run manually and not eliminate Manual Testing.

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2) When will you automate a test?

Automation is preferred in the following cases

Repetitive Tasks.
Regression Testing
Smoke and Sanity Tests.
Test with multiple data sets.

Testing is not recommended for one-off test cases. Usually, the decision on which test cases to automate is based on the ROI (Return on Investment). The more times the automated test is executed, the better the ROI.

3) When will you not Automate testing?

One should not automate in the following cases

When the Application Under Test changes frequently
One-time test cases
Adhoc – Random Testing
Exploratory Testing
Usability tests that generally need manual intervention to check the test results
Test cases with detailed setup requirements to be done before each execution
Test cases that return unpredicted test results
Exclude unplanned test case

4) What are the steps involved in the Automation Process?

In the automation process, the steps involved are

Selecting the Test tool
Define the scope of automation
Planning, design, and development
Test execution
Maintenance

5) What are the points covered while planning the phase of automation?

During the planning phase of automation, things that must be taken into concern are:

Selection of the “right” Automation tool
Selection Automation Framework, if any.
List of in-scope and out-of-scope items for automation.
Test Environment Setup.
Preparing Gantt Chart of Project timelines for test script development & execution.
Identify Test Deliverables.

6) In what condition you can’t use automation testing for the Agile method?

Automation testing is not helpful for agile methods in the following conditions:

When user stories are constantly changing
When an exhaustive level of documentation is required in Agile.
Only suitable for regression tests during agile testing, like continuous integration.

Learn more about Agile Testing.

7) What is a test script?

A test script is a code to perform a set of instructions on an application. It is used to verify whether the application is functioning as per the software requirements.

When you run your script, it gives the test results as a pass or fails, which is determined by whether the application works as per the expectations.

8) How to select a good test automation tool?

Wide Test Environment support
Easy to use
Good debugging facility
Robust object identification
Record and Playback
Supports common programming languages for test script creation, for example, Java
Image testing abilities
Testing of database
Parameterization
Support multiple automation frameworks
Type of support is available for the tools like documentation, tutorials, training, etc
Cost and budget
Good reporting system

9) Can you tell me some good coding practices while automation?

Here are good automation practices:

Add appropriate comments to explain that coding part.
You should identify the reusable methods and write them in a separate file.
Must follow the language-specific coding conventions.
Store the test data in a separate file.
Run your scripts regularly.

10) What is a Modular Testing framework?

Modular Testing framework is built on the concept of abstraction. In this type of framework, the tester creates scripts for all the application modules under test, and then these scripts are combined in a hierarchical order to create test cases.

11) Data-Driven Testing framework

In Data driven testing framework, the input and expected output data corresponding to the input data is stored in a file or database.

The automated script runs the same test steps for multiple data sets. It also allows you to run multiple test cases where only the input data differs, but the steps of execution remain the same.

12) What version control systems do you use?

We use GitHub. Version control helps you to track code changes. It controls the test script source code with a recorded history of changes to simplify the modification process. You may also revert to previous code versions if you make a mistake.

13) What are XPath Axes? Name some of them.

XPath is a syntax that manipulates XML (Extensible Markup Language) data. They help to locate nodes related to those on the tree. Some important XPath Axes are ancestor, child, namespace, parent, etc.

14) How can you speed up an auto test suite?

Applications that require UI testing that interacts with multiple elements can slow down the testing process. It’s better to create a simple test script that speeds up test execution.

15) Is documentation necessary in Automation Testing?

Documentation plays a vital role in Test Automation. You should document all the methods and procedures to ensure their repeatability. Test specifications, designs, code changes, test cases, automation plans, bug reports

16) What types of frameworks are used in software automation testing?

Four types of frameworks used are

Data-driven automation framework
Keyword-driven automation framework
Modular automation framework
Hybrid automation framework

Learn more about automation frameworks

17) Is it possible to achieve 100% automation?

No, it is not possible to automate everything. Achieving 100% automation is difficult as there are some scenarios where a registration page has a captcha or some test cases we don’t execute often. Moreover, automating these test cases will not add value to the automation or bring positive ROI.

18) What is the average number of test cases you have automated per day?

The answer depends on the length and complexity of the test scenario. Generally, a QA tester can automate 2-4 test scenarios daily when the complexity is limited. However, sometimes it might reduce to 1-2 when the complexity is high.

19) What is the scripting standard while performing automation testing?

While writing the scripts for automation, you must consider the following things:

Uniform naming convention.
3 lines of comments for every 10 lines of code.
Adequate indentation.
Robust error handling and recovery scenario.
Use of Frameworks wherever possible.

20) What are the most popular tools for automation testing?

The most popular test tool for automation testing are:

Selenium
UFT.
Rational Robot.

Here is a complete list of automation testing tools.

21) How can you measure the success of automation testing?

Following criteria can map the success of automation testing:

Defect Detection Ratio
Automation execution time and time savings to release the product
Reduction in Labour & other costs

22) Can you list out some disadvantages of manual testing?

Manual testing requires more time and more resources.
Inaccuracy
Executing the same test case repeatedly is error-prone and tedious.
It is impractical to do manual testing on very large and time-bound projects.

23) What are the differences between open-source tools, vendor tools, & in-house tools in automation testing?

Here are the differences between all:

Open-Source Tools: They are free tools with source code available on the internet. Example: Selenium
Vendor Tools: These testing tools are developed by companies, and you need to purchase their licenses. Example: Microfocus UFT.
In-house Tools: It is built by companies for their use.

24) What are the Prerequisites of Automation Testing?

A few important pre-requisites of Automation Testing are:

A stable build
Functionalities to be tested
Test cases for automated Testing

25) Can you do automation without a framework?

Frameworks are guidelines and not mandatory to create and execute automation scripts. So, yes, we can automate without a framework. Enhancing and maintaining test scripts would be easy if we created and followed a framework.

26) Tell me what you know about Selenium

Selenium is a free (open source) test automation suite. It is used to automate Web and Mobile environments. It consists of the following.

Selenium IDE (Browser Addon–Record and Playback Tool)
Selenium WebDriver
Selenium Grid (Distributed Testing)
Selenium supports scripting in languages like Java, C#, Python, Ruby, PHP, Perl, and JavaScript.

27) Tell me about QTP

QTP (Quick Test Professional) is now known as Microfocus UFT. It is a commercial automation tool and supports an extensive range of test environments: Web, Desktop, SAP, Delphi, Net, ActiveX, Flex, Java, Oracle, Mobile, PeopleSoft, PowerBuilder, Siebel, Stingray, and Visual Basic, amongst others.

The scripting language is VBScript. The tool gels well with ALM (Test Management Tool) and LoadRunner (Performance Testing Tool).

Salient features of QTP include Business Process Testing, keyword-driven framework, XML support, robust checkpoints, and test results.

28) What is SikuliX?

SikuliX is a tool that uses the “Visual Image Match” method to automate the graphical user interface. All the web elements in SikuliX should be taken as an image and stored inside the project.

SikuliX is comprised of

SikuliX Script
Visual Scripting API for Jython
SikuliX IDE

Practical uses of SikuliX are:

It can automate window-based applications and anything you see on screen without using internal API support.
It provides a simple API.
It can be easily linked with tools like Selenium.
Web applications can be automated.
SikuliX offers extensive support to automate flash objects.
It can work on any technology -.NET, Java.

29) Mention what the difference between Selenium and SikuliX is?

SikuliX	Selenium
It provides extensive support to automate flash objects	It cannot automate flash objects like video players or audio players.
It has a simple API	It has got complicated API
It uses a visual match to find elements on the screen. So, we can automate anything we see on the screen.	It uses CSS, ID, locators, and other selected to identify GUI elements
It can automate the web as well as windows application	It can automate only web applications

30) What are the attributes of a good automation framework?

Here are some important attributes of a good automation framework:

Modular: It is a framework that should be adaptable to change. So that testers should be able to modify the scripts as per the environment.
Reusable: It should be reusable so that methods or utilities should be written in a common file accessible to all the scripts.
Consistent: It should be written in a consistent format.
Independent: The automation scripts should be written in such a way that they are independent of each other.
Integration: Automation Framework should be developed in such a way that it is easy to integrate with other applications.

31) What is Cross-Browser Testing?

It is a subset of browser automation testing that helps you ensure that the online application operates correctly across different browsers. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, etc.

The main aim of cross-browser testing is to check that your website or web app works correctly on different combinations of browsers and OS.

32) Which Testing can be done using the Selenium Framework?

You can use a Selenium framework for the following testing:

Load testing of web applications.
Regression testing of web applications.
Functional testing of web applications.

33) Is Automation testing white box testing or black box testing?

Automation testing is primarily black box testing.

34) What keyword is used to fetch the URL of the current page in Selenium?

Selenium WebDriver can help you find the current URL of a page with the getcurrentURL(). This method will find the URL of the open applications and result in a string.

35) Where will you maintain information like URL, login, and password?

URL, login, and password are important information used very often and change frequently. They should always be maintained in a separate file. If not done, then the automation tester must change it in every file with its reference.

36) What are the Extensions and Test Assets of QTP?

Some Important Test Assets and extensions of QTP are:

Results .xml
Recovery scenario .qrs
Test batch runner .mtb
Shared object repository .tsr
Local object repository .mtr
Test file .mts
Function library .qfl

37) What are the differences between manual testing and automation testing?

Here are some major differences between manual and automation testing:

Parameters	Manual Testing	Automation Testing
Time consumption	More	Less
STLC	Follow manually	Follows using tool
Cos	Less expensive	Expensive
Reliability	Less Reliable	Highly Reliable
Quality	Low	High
Skill Set	Less skill set required	High skill set is required.

38) What are the essential modules of an automation testing framework?

Here are some essential modules of the automation testing framework:

Test Assertion Tool: This testing tool will provide assert statements for assessing the expected values in the application under test. For Example, Junit, TestNG, Junit, etc.
Data Setup: Ensures that each test case takes the test data from the database, a file, or embedded in the test script.
Build Management Tool: The framework requires to be built and deployed to create test scripts.
Continuous integration tool: They are required to integrate and deploy the changes done in the framework at each iteration.
Reporting tool: It helps to generate a readable report after the test cases for a better view of the steps, failures, and results.
Logging tool: They help in better debugging of the error and bugs.

39) What is Cucumber?

Cucumber is an open-source (BDE) behavior-driven development tool. It is used tool for web-based application automation testing and supports languages like Java, Ruby, Ruby, Scala, Groovy, etc. Cucumber reads executable specifications written in plain text and tests the application under test for those specifications.

40) What is Test Complete?

TestComplete is an automated UI testing tool for desktop applications, web, mobile, etc. It offers the flexibility to record a test case on one browser and run it on multiple browsers, thus supporting cross browsers testing.

41) What is Cypress?

Cypress is an open-source testing framework. It is developed in JavaScript and has lately gained popularity because of its simplicity and extensive capabilities that enable browser testing, and user manuals should be thoroughly documented.

42) How can you handle the alert popups in Selenium WebDriver?

Selenium gives alerts if there are issues while you test. The pop-up interface allows you to handle the alert by switching the control to the pop-up, pressing the OK or Cancel buttons, and turning back to the source page screen.

String srcPage = driver.getWindowHandle();
Alert pop = driver.switchTo().alert(); // shift control to the alert pop-up.
Pop.accept(); // click k button.

43) What is a Hybrid Testing framework?

The Hybrid Testing framework develops the test cases from modular scripts by combining them in the modular testing framework.

44) Write steps to automate primary “login” functionality test cases for an application?

Here are the steps to automate basic login functionality:

Step 1) Understand the project requirement.

Step 2) Identify the Test scenarios

Step 3) Prepare a data input file with the data corresponding to each scenario

Step 4) Launch the tool from the program.

Step 5) Identify the username, password, and login buttons.

Step 6) Verify that the error message for negative scenarios is the same as the success message for positive test -scenarios.

These interview questions will also help in your viva(orals)