Practical tasks: "How would you test this?"
The most important part of manual QA interviews is the practical task: "How would you test this form/pencil/elevator?" What's evaluated is not the number of answers but the structure of thought. A universal answer framework:
- First ask questions: what are the requirements, who will use it, which platforms? (not diving straight into listing tests signals middle level)
- Functional positive → functional negative → boundary scenarios
- UI/UX, compatibility (browser/device), performance, security, accessibility
- Finally prioritise: which ones first, and why
Odd-object tasks ("test a pencil") check exactly this structure: ask the purpose, identify the user, split into functional/stress/environment scenarios. It may sound funny — answer seriously.