Interview questions for Software Engineer

1. What programming languages do you use? Which three do you prefer or are most familiar with?

Interviewers expect engineers to be familiar with multiple languages. They might look for an engineer who has experience with C++ and with Java, to demonstrate the applicant has programming chops to rapidly pick up a new language. Python is a highly sought after language. If you are applying for a full-stack role, then you should be familiar with JavaScript frameworks like React and Node.
Having some scripting experience with Perl or Python is also a big plus.

2. How do you implement your error handling?

Talk about writing tests, wrapping the code to catch exceptions, trying try/catch statements, and looking through the WOMM development process. Make sure that you have a well-thought-out answer to this question.

3. What is the software development life cycle? What are the differences between them?

SDLC or the Software Development Life Cycle is a process that produces software with the highest quality and lowest cost in the shortest time. SDLC includes a detailed plan for how to develop, alter, maintain, and replace a software system.
SDLC involves several distinct stages, including planning, design, building, testing, and deployment. Popular SDLC models include the waterfall model, spiral model, and Agile model.

4. What is a Software Project Scope?

A scope is utilized to outline the activities performed to design, develop and deliver a software product. In other words, scope contains information on what project is intended to deliver and what it does not intend to. The scope also outlines information on what software product developed contains and what it does not contain.

5. What is Software Project Estimation?

Project Estimation is a process utilized to calculate the development costs such as effort, time and resources required to deliver a project. Project Estimations are derived through past project experiences or with the help of consulting experts or with the help of standard predefined business formulas.
Let us move to the next software Engineering Interview Questions.

6. Explain Functional Points?

Functional points are used to measure the size of the software product. In some business, scenarios play a key role in tracking and estimating the project delivery.

7. What is a Baseline?

Baselines are put forth by the project managers to track the overall project delivery. Baselines are usually placed to track the overall tasks listed under a phase or stage. Baselines help project managers to track and monitor the overall execution of a project.

8. What is Software Configuration Management?

Software Configuration Management helps users to track the overall changes made in software product delivery. Updates or changes made to the software are tracked in terms of development and requirements gathering.
Let us move to the next software Engineering Interview Questions.

9. What is Change Control?

Change control tracks the changes made in software to ensure consistency and updates are incorporated as per the enterprise standards.

10. Mention few project management tools?

Many project management tools are utilized as per the enterprise standards some of them include: Gantt Charts, PERT Charts, Milestone Checklists, Histograms, MS project, Status reports etc.

11. What is a Software requirement?

Requirements play a key role in providing a detailed description of the software product being developed. Software requirements help the developers and other support teams associated with project delivery, to understand the proposed target system and their expectations on it.

12. What are functional and non-functional requirements?

Functional requirements are functional features which are expected by users from the proposed software product.
Non-functional requirements are related to security, performance, look, and feel of the user interface.

13. What is software metric?

Software Metrics offers measures for various aspects of software process which are divided into:
1. Requirement metrics: Length requirements, completeness
2. Product metrics: Number of coding Lines, Object-oriented metrics, design and test metrics.

14. What is modularization?

Modularization is a technique which is used for dividing a software system into various discreet modules. That is expected to carry out the tasks independently.

15. What is cohesion?

Cohesion is a measure that defines the intra-dependability among the elements of the module.

16.  Mentions some software analysis & design tools?

Some of the most important software analysis and designing tools are:
• Data Flow Diagrams
• Structured Charts
• Structured English
• Data Dictionary
• Hierarchical Input Process Output diagrams
• Entity Relationship Diagrams and Decision tables
Build a single page application with multiple sections using any framework that you feel most comfortable with
Interviewers might prefer React.js and React Router in 2020, but you can use anything you want. The purpose of this testing is to see how you build applications, even simple ones, and if you can build them at all. Oftentimes, an interviewer will observe you in a pair programming like setting, and will observe every step of your work process.

17. What is black box testing? What is white box testing?

Software Testing can be majorly classified into two categories:
• Black Box Testing is a software testing method in which the internal structure/ design/ implementation of the item being tested is not known to the tester.
• White Box Testing is a software testing method in which the internal structure/ design/ implementation of the item being tested is known to the tester.

18. What are some ways to make websites faster? Name as many different techniques as you can.

1. Implement your own content delivery network (CDN).
2. Use adaptive images.
3. Cache, cache, cache.
4. Evaluate your plugins.
5. Combine images into CSS sprites.
6. Enable HTTP keep-alive response headers.
7. Compress your content.
8. Configure expires headers.
9. Minify JavaScript and CSS.
10. Review your hosting package.

19. What has your experience been like as part of an Agile software development process, if any?

Agile software development refers to software development methodologies centered around the idea of iterative development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams. The ultimate value in Agile development is that it enables teams to deliver value faster, with greater quality and predictability, and greater aptitude to respond to change.

20. What is responsive design? What is the difference between fixed and fluid layouts?

1. Responsive website design. Websites that are built with responsive design use media queries to target breakpoints that scale images, wrap text, and adjust the layout so that the website can ‘shrink to fit’ any size of screen, such as the difference between desktops and mobiles.
2. Fluid website design. Websites that are built with fluid design use percentages as relative indicators for widths.
3. Fixed design. Websites that are built using fixed design rely on fixed pixel widths. While a design with fixed dimensions can sometimes be the quickest way to get up and running, it’ll provide a less user-friendly experience across multiple devices.