Effective Work Sample Exercises for Hiring Manual Testers

Manual testing remains a critical component of quality assurance in software development despite the rise of automation. A skilled manual tester brings a human perspective to software evaluation, identifying usability issues and edge cases that automated tests might miss. Their ability to think critically, document meticulously, and communicate effectively can significantly impact product quality and development efficiency.

Finding the right manual tester requires more than reviewing resumes and conducting standard interviews. Practical work samples provide invaluable insights into a candidate's actual testing abilities, problem-solving approach, and attention to detail. These exercises reveal how candidates apply their knowledge in realistic scenarios, demonstrating their technical skills and testing mindset.

The following work samples are designed to evaluate key competencies essential for manual testers: test case development, bug identification and reporting, test planning, and exploratory testing. By observing candidates perform these tasks, hiring managers can assess their methodical approach, documentation skills, and ability to identify issues that might affect user experience.

These exercises also evaluate a candidate's adaptability and receptiveness to feedback—crucial traits in the iterative world of software testing. A tester who can quickly incorporate suggestions and improve their approach will likely thrive in collaborative development environments where continuous improvement is valued.

Activity #1: Test Case Creation and Execution

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to create clear, comprehensive test cases and execute them methodically. Effective test case creation requires understanding requirements, identifying test scenarios, and documenting steps precisely—skills that form the foundation of manual testing.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide the candidate with a written specification for a simple feature (e.g., a login form, shopping cart, or user profile page).
• Include acceptance criteria and any relevant business rules.
• Allow the candidate 30-45 minutes to create test cases and execute them against a staging or development environment.
• If providing access to an actual environment isn't feasible, create a simplified mock-up or prototype for testing purposes.
• Ensure the feature has some intentional issues or edge cases that aren't immediately obvious.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided feature specification and acceptance criteria.
• Create a set of test cases that cover the functionality, including positive scenarios, negative scenarios, and edge cases.
• Use a structured format for your test cases, including test ID, description, preconditions, steps, expected results, and actual results.
• Execute your test cases against the provided environment or mock-up.
• Document any issues or discrepancies found during testing.
• Prioritize the issues based on their potential impact on users.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After reviewing the candidate's test cases, provide feedback on their coverage, structure, and clarity.
• Highlight one strength (e.g., "Your edge case scenarios were particularly thorough") and one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider adding more validation tests for input fields").
• Ask the candidate to revise or expand one section of their test cases based on your feedback.
• Observe how they incorporate the feedback and whether they ask clarifying questions.

Activity #2: Bug Identification and Reporting

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to identify issues and document them clearly for developers. Effective bug reporting is crucial for efficient resolution and requires attention to detail, clear communication, and an understanding of what information developers need.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a web page, application, or prototype with several intentionally placed bugs of varying severity.
• Include functional bugs (e.g., a button that doesn't work), UI issues (e.g., misaligned elements), and logic problems (e.g., incorrect calculations).
• Provide the candidate with access to the application and a bug reporting template or tool.
• Allow 30-45 minutes for the exercise.
• Consider recording the candidate's screen during the exercise to observe their testing approach.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Explore the provided application to identify as many bugs as possible within the time limit.
• For each bug found, create a detailed bug report that includes:
• A clear, concise summary
• Steps to reproduce
• Expected vs. actual results
• Environment information (browser, OS, etc.)
• Screenshots or screen recordings where applicable
• Severity and priority assessment
• Organize your findings in a way that would be helpful for a development team.
• Be prepared to explain your rationale for severity/priority assignments.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Review the candidate's bug reports and provide feedback on their completeness, clarity, and usefulness.
• Point out one particularly well-documented bug and one report that could be improved.
• Ask the candidate to revise one bug report based on your feedback.
• Discuss how they determined which issues to prioritize and whether they would change their approach based on your feedback.

Activity #3: Test Planning for a New Feature

This exercise evaluates a candidate's strategic thinking and ability to plan testing activities effectively. A good test plan demonstrates understanding of testing principles, risk assessment, and resource allocation—skills essential for more senior testing roles.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide a detailed description of a new feature to be implemented, including user stories, acceptance criteria, and any technical constraints.
• Choose a feature with moderate complexity that would require various testing approaches.
• Include information about the development timeline and available resources.
• Allow 45-60 minutes for the exercise.
• Prepare questions about specific aspects of the test plan to discuss afterward.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the feature description and create a comprehensive test plan that includes:
• Testing scope and objectives
• Features to be tested and not tested
• Testing approach (types of testing required)
• Entry and exit criteria
• Test environment requirements
• Risk assessment and mitigation strategies
• Testing schedule and resource allocation
• Test deliverables
• Consider dependencies, potential bottlenecks, and how to maximize test coverage with available resources.
• Be prepared to explain your rationale for the proposed testing strategy.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After reviewing the test plan, provide feedback on its comprehensiveness, practicality, and alignment with the feature requirements.
• Highlight one strength of the plan and one area that could be enhanced.
• Introduce a new constraint or requirement (e.g., "We just learned the deadline has been moved up by two weeks") and ask the candidate to adjust their plan accordingly.
• Evaluate how they adapt their strategy while maintaining testing quality.

Activity #4: Exploratory Testing Session

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to perform unscripted testing, think critically, and identify issues without predefined test cases. Exploratory testing reveals a tester's intuition, creativity, and ability to discover problems that might be missed in scripted testing.

Directions for the Company:

• Select a feature or application that the candidate hasn't seen in previous exercises.
• Provide minimal documentation—just enough to understand the feature's purpose.
• Ask the candidate to perform a 30-minute exploratory testing session.
• Provide tools for note-taking and bug documentation.
• If possible, observe the session or ask the candidate to think aloud during testing.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Spend 5 minutes reviewing the provided information and planning your exploratory testing approach.
• Conduct a 30-minute exploratory testing session, focusing on discovering potential issues.
• Document your testing process, including:
• Areas explored and testing techniques used
• Questions that arose during testing
• Observations about the application's behavior
• Any bugs or issues discovered
• Areas that would benefit from more thorough testing
• Take notes on your thought process and testing strategy as you go.
• Be prepared to explain how you decided which areas to focus on and why.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the session, discuss the candidate's approach and findings.
• Provide feedback on their testing coverage, issue discovery, and documentation.
• Highlight one effective technique they used and suggest one additional approach they could have tried.
• Ask them to spend 10 more minutes testing a specific area using the suggested approach.
• Evaluate how they incorporate the feedback and whether they discover additional issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allocate for these work sample exercises?

Each exercise typically requires 30-60 minutes, plus time for feedback and discussion. For a comprehensive assessment, consider scheduling a half-day session or splitting the exercises across multiple interviews. If time is limited, select the 1-2 exercises most relevant to your specific needs.

Should we tell candidates about these exercises in advance?

Providing general information about the types of exercises helps candidates prepare appropriately. For example, you might inform them they'll be creating test cases and performing exploratory testing. However, specific details should be revealed only during the interview to assess their real-time problem-solving abilities.

What if we don't have a test environment available?

For exercises requiring a test environment, consider using publicly available websites with known issues, creating simple prototypes, or using tools like Figma for UI testing. Alternatively, provide screenshots with intentional issues for the candidate to identify.

How should we evaluate candidates who use different testing methodologies than our team?

Focus on the effectiveness of their approach rather than strict adherence to your methodology. A candidate using different but sound testing principles may bring valuable new perspectives to your team. Evaluate whether their fundamental testing skills are strong and whether they can adapt to your processes.

What if a candidate finds different bugs than the ones we intentionally placed?

This is actually valuable information! If a candidate finds legitimate issues you weren't aware of, it demonstrates their keen eye for detail and testing intuition. Evaluate the validity and importance of these unexpected findings alongside their ability to find the intentional issues.

How can we make these exercises fair for candidates with different experience levels?

Adjust your expectations based on the seniority of the role. For junior positions, focus more on fundamental skills like test case creation and bug reporting. For senior roles, place greater emphasis on test planning and strategic thinking. Consider providing more guidance to junior candidates during the exercises.

Manual testers play a crucial role in delivering high-quality software by providing the human perspective that automation cannot replicate. By incorporating these work samples into your hiring process, you'll gain deeper insights into candidates' practical skills, problem-solving approaches, and attention to detail. This comprehensive evaluation helps ensure you select testers who can contribute effectively to your quality assurance efforts from day one.

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