Test and validation: interview prep

Interview questions

Key points for each answer are in the app's question bank.

1. Explain the difference between verification and validation.Basic
2. Compare black-box, white-box and grey-box testing.Basic
3. Write test cases for a function that converts ADC counts to temperature with a valid range of −40 to 125 °C.Basic
4. Explain boundary value analysis and equivalence partitioning.Basic
5. What are MIL, SIL and HIL testing?Basic
6. Design a HIL test for an ECU's door-switch input with debounce.Intermediate
7. Write CAN test cases for a message an ECU must transmit every 100 ms.Intermediate
8. Write UDS test cases for security access (0x27).Intermediate
9. What is requirements-based testing and a traceability matrix?Basic
10. What makes a good defect report?Basic
11. How do you choose which tests to automate?Intermediate
12. In Python, parse a CAN log and report each message ID's period and jitter.Intermediate
13. Write a Python script that sends a command over a serial port and checks the response with a timeout.Intermediate
14. Which test frameworks and tools have you used for embedded testing?Intermediate
15. Explain statement, branch and MC/DC coverage.Intermediate
16. How do you unit test embedded C code that touches hardware?Intermediate
17. A HIL test passes 9 times out of 10. How do you deal with it?Intermediate
18. How do you test a bootloader and OTA update against power loss?Advanced
19. What is fault injection testing? Give embedded examples.Intermediate
20. Smoke, sanity and regression testing: what's the difference?Basic
21. What goes into a test plan?Basic
22. How do you verify timing with an oscilloscope or logic analyzer?Intermediate
23. How do you test that a watchdog actually resets the device?Intermediate
24. What are stress and soak testing?Intermediate
25. Give examples of negative testing for an embedded device.Basic
26. What's the difference between severity and priority of a defect?Basic

Hands-on challenges

Design rounds

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