Categories of Testing at Microsoft

Humans seem to have a natural tendency to categorize. Software Test Engineers are no exception, especially when it comes into breaking down our work items. Different “types” of Testing include the following:

  • Functional Testing
  • Specification Testing
  • Security Testing
  • Regression Testing
  • Automation Testing
  • Beta Testing

A popular Microsoft Test interview question involves asking a candidate to test “Object X”, where that object is something similar to a Salt Shaker. We don't expect candidates to blindly rattle off categories of testing, of course. How much fun would you have listening to someone listing off categories from their memory? It's not that much fun, exactly! Interviewing is our change of pace from the daily Microsoft routine, and we're hoping to watch a great mind solve a problem. Ideally, we'll feel impressed and entertained during an interview. Hopefully you'll be inventing great, innovative, and applicable test cases from each of the categories above!

So, here's the fun part. The list above is intentionally incomplete. There are some important categories of testing that are still missing. Fill in some of the blanks in the comments on this post... I'll try to throw in a little prize to the people with the best answers!