Software Testing and QA Interview Questions with Answers

What is quality assurance?

The set of support activities (including facilitation, training, measurement and analysis) needed to provide adequate confidence that

processes are established and continuously improved in order to produce products that meet specifications and fit for use.

 

What is the purpose of the testing?

Testing provides information whether or not a certain product meets the requirements.

 

What is the difference between QA and testing?

Quality Assurance is that set of activities that are carried out to set standards and to monitor and improve performance so that the

care provided is as effective and as safe as possible. Testing provides information whether or not a certain product meets the

requirements.  It also provides information where the product fails to meet the requirements.

What is software quality'?

OR

Define software quality for me, as you understand it?

Quality software is reasonably bug-free, delivered on time and within budget, meets requirements and/or expectations, and is

maintainable. However, quality is obviously a subjective term. It will depend on who the 'customer' is and their overall influence in

the scheme of things. Each type of 'customer' will have their own slant on 'quality' - the accounting department might define quality

in terms of profits while an end-user might define quality as user-friendly and bug-free.

What's the role of documentation in QA?

Critical. (Note that documentation can be electronic, not necessarily paper.) QA practices should be documented such that they are

repeatable. Specifications, designs, business rules, inspection reports, configurations, code changes, test plans, test cases, bug

reports, user manuals, etc. should all be documented. There should ideally be a system for easily finding and obtaining documents

and determining what documentation will have a particular piece of information. Change management for documentation should be

used if possible.

 

Explain the software development lifecycle.

There are seven stages of the software development lifecycle

1. Initiate the project – The users identify their Business requirements.

2. Define the project – The software development team translates the business requirements into system specifications and put

together into System Specification Document.

3. Design the system – The System Architecture Team designs the system and write Functional Design Document. During design

phase general solutions re hypothesized and data and process structures are organized.

4. Build the system – The System Specifications and design documents are given to the development team code the modules by

following the Requirements and Design document.

5. Test the system - The test team develops the test plan following the requirements. The software is build and installed on the test

platform after developers have completed development and Unit Testing. The testers test the software by following the test plan.

6. Deploy the system – After the user-acceptance testing and certification of the software, it is installed on the production platform.

Demos and training are given to the users.

7. Support the system - After the software is in production, the maintenance phase of the life begins.  During this phase the

development team works with the development document staff to modify and enhance the application and the test team works with

the test documentation staff to verify and validate the changes and enhancement to the application software.

At what stage of the SDLC does testing begin in your opinion?

QA process starts from the second phase of the Software Development Life Cycle i.e. Define the System. Actual Product testing will

be done on Test the system phase (Phase-5). During this phase test team will verify the actual results against expected results.

Explain the pre testing phase, acceptance testing and testing phase.

Pre testing Phase:

1. Review the requirements document for the testability: Tester will use the requirement document to write the test cases.

2. Establishing the hard freeze date: Hard freeze date is a date after which system test team will not accept any more software and

documentation changes from development team, unless they are fixes of severity 1 MR's. The date is scheduled so that product test

team will have time for final regression.

3. Writing master test plan: It is written by the lead tester or test coordinator. Master test plan includes entire testing plan, testing

resources and testing strategy.

4. Setting up MR Tool: The MR tool must be set as soon as you know of the different modules in the product, the developers and

testers on the product, the hardware platform, and operating system testing will be done.

This information will be available upon the completion of the first draft of the architecture document. Both testers and developers

are trained how to use the system.

5. Setting up the test environment: The test environment is set on separate machines, database and network. This task is performed

by the technical support team.  First time it takes some time, Afterwards the same environment can be used by the later releases.

6. Writing the test plan and test cases:  Template and the tool is decided to write the test plan, test cases and test procedures. 

Expected results are organized in the test plan according to the feature categories specified in the requirement document.  For each

feature positive and negative test cases are written.  Writing test plan requires the complete understanding of the product and its

interfaces with other systems.  After test plan is completed, a walkthrough is conducted with the developers and design team

members to baseline the test plan document.

7. Setting up the test automation tool: Planning of test strategy on how to automate the testing. Which test cases will be executed

for regression testing.  Not all the test cases will be executed during regression testing.

8. Identify acceptance test cases: Select subsets that are expected on the first day of system test.  These tests must pass to accept

the product in the system test.

Acceptance testing phase:

1. When the product enters system test, check it has completed integration test and must meet the integration test exit criteria.

2. Check integration exit criteria and product test entrance criteria in the master test plan or test strategy documents.

3. Check the integration testing sign off criteria sheet.

4. Coordinate release with product development.

5. How the code will be migrated from development environment to the test environment.

6. Installation and acceptance testing.

Product testing phase:

1. Running the test: Execution of test cases and verify if actual functionality of application matches the expected results.

2. Initial manual testing is recommended to isolate unexpected system behavior. Once application is stable automated regression

test could be generated.

3. Issue MR's upon detection of the bugs.

What is the value of a testing group? How do you justify your work and budget?

All software products contain defects/bugs, despite the best efforts of their development teams.  It is important for an outside party

(one who is not developer) to test the product from a viewpoint that is more objective and representative of the product user.

Testing group test the software from the requirements point of view or what is required by the user.  Testers job is to examine a

program and see if it does not do what it is supposed to do and also see what it does what it is not supposed to do.

 

What is master test plan? What it contains? Who is responsible for writing it?

OR

What is a test plan? Who is responsible for writing it? What it contains.

OR

What's a 'test plan'? What did you include in a test plan?

A software project test plan is a document that describes the objectives, scope, approach, and focus of a software testing effort. The

process of preparing a test plan is a useful way to think through the efforts needed to validate the acceptability of a software

product. The completed document will help people outside the test group understand the 'why' and 'how' of product validation. It

should be thorough enough to be useful but not so thorough that no one outside the test group will read it. The following are some

of the items that might be included in a test plan, depending on the particular project:

Title

Identification of software including version/release numbers

Revision history of document including authors, dates, approvals

Table of Contents

Purpose of document, intended audience

Objective of testing effort

Software product overview

Relevant related document list, such as requirements, design documents, other test plans, etc.

Relevant standards or legal requirements

Trace ability requirements

Relevant naming conventions and identifier conventions

Overall software project organization and personnel/contact-info/responsibilties

Test organization and personnel/contact-info/responsibilities

Assumptions and dependencies

Project risk analysis

Testing priorities and focus

Scope and limitations of testing

Test outline - a decomposition of the test approach by test type, feature, functionality, process, system, module, etc. as

applicable

Outline of data input equivalence classes, boundary value analysis, error classes

Test environment - hardware, operating systems, other required software, data configurations, interfaces to other

systems

Test environment validity analysis - differences between the test and production systems and their impact on test validity.

Test environment setup and configuration issues

Software migration processes

Software CM processes

Test data setup requirements

Database setup requirements

Outline of system-logging/error-logging/other capabilities, and tools such as screen capture software, that will be used to

help describe and report bugs

Discussion of any specialized software or hardware tools that will be used by testers to help track the cause or source of

bugs

Test automation - justification and overview

Test tools to be used, including versions, patches, etc.

Test script/test code maintenance processes and version control

Problem tracking and resolution - tools and processes

Project test metrics to be used

Reporting requirements and testing deliverables

Software entrance and exit criteria

Initial sanity testing period and criteria

Test suspension and restart criteria

Personnel allocation

Personnel pre-training needs

Test site/location

Outside test organizations to be utilized and their purpose, responsibilties, deliverables, contact persons, and coordination

issues

Relevant proprietary, classified, security, and licensing issues.

Open issues

Appendix - glossary, acronyms, etc.

The team-lead or a Sr. QA Analyst is responsible to write this document.

Why is test plan a controlled document?

Because it controls the entire testing process. Testers have to follow this test plan during the entire testing process.

What information you need to formulate test plan?

Need the Business requirement document to prepare the test plan.

What are the entrance and exit criteria in the system test?

Entrance and exit criteria of each testing phase is written in the master test plan.

Enterence Criteria:

-          Integration exit criteria have been successfully met.

-          All installation documents are completed.

-          All shippable software has been successfully built

-          Syate, test plan is baselined by completing the walkthrough of the test plan.

-          Test environment should be setup.

-          All severity 1 MR's of integration test phase should be closed.

Exit Criteria:

-          All the test cases in the test plan should be executed.

-          All MR's/defects are either closed or deferred.

-          Regression testing cycle should be executed after closing the MR's.

-          All documents are reviewed, finilized and signed-off.

If there are no requirements, how will you write your test plan?

If there are no requirements we try to gather as much details as possible from:

Business Analysts

Developers (If accessible)

Previous Version documentation (if any)

Stake holders (If accessible)

Prototypes.

What is White box testing/unit testing?

Unit testing - The most 'micro' scale of testing; to test particular functions or code modules. Typically done by the programmer and

not by testers, as it requires detailed knowledge of the internal program design and code. Not always easily done unless the

application has a well-designed architecture with tight code; may require developing test driver modules or test harnesses.

Difference between Black and White box testing?

Black box testing: Functional testing based on requirements with no knowledge of the internal program structure or data. Also

known as closed-box testing.

White Box testing: Testing approaches that examine the program structure and device test data from the program logic.

What are the roles of glass-box and black-box testing tools?

Glass-box testing also called as white-box testing refers to testing, with detailed knowledge of the modules internals. Thus these

tools concentrate more on the algorithms, data structures used in development of modules. These tools perform testing on

individual modules more likely than the whole application. Black-Box testing tools refer to testing the interface, functionality and

performance testing of the system module and the whole system.

What is Black box testing?

Black Box testing is also called system testing which is performed by the testers. Here the features and requirements of the product

as described in the requirement document are tested.

What is Integration testing?

Integration testing - Testing of combined parts of an application to determine if they function together correctly. The 'parts' can be

code modules, individual applications, client and server applications on a network, etc. This type of testing is especially relevant to

client/server and distributed systems.

What knowledge you require to do white box, integration and black box testing?

For white box testing you need to understand the internals of the module like data structures and algorithms and have access to the

source code and for black box testing only understanding/functionality of the application.

What is Regression testing?

Regression testing: Re-testing after fixes or modifications of the software or its environment. It can be difficult to determine how

much re-testing is needed, especially near the end of the development cycle. Automated testing tools can be especially useful for

this type of testing..

Why do we do regression testing?

In any application new functionalities can be added so the application has to be tested to see whether the added functionalities

have affected the existing functionalities or not. Here instead of retesting all the existing functionalities baseline scripts created for

these can be rerun and tested.

How do we regression testing?

Various automation-testing tools can be used to perform regression testing like WinRunner, Rational Robot and Silk Test.

What are positive scenarios?

Testing to see whether the application is doing what it is supposed to do.

What are negative scenarios?

Testing to see whether the application is not doing what it is not suppose to do.

What is the difference between regression automation tool and performance automation tool?

Regression testing tools capture test and play them back at a later time. The capture and playback feature is fundamental to

regression testing.

 

Performance testing tool determine the load a server can handle. And must have feature to stimulate many users from one

machine, scheduling and synchronize different users, able to measure the network load under different number of simulated users.

What is the difference between exception and validation testing?

Validation testing aims to demonstrate that the software functions in a manner that can be reasonably expected by the customer.

Testing the software in conformance to the Software Requirements Specifications.

Exception testing deals with handling the exceptions (unexpected events) while the AUT is run. Basically this testing involves how to

change the control flow of the AUT when an exception arises.

What is user acceptance testing?

It is also called as Beta Testing. Once System Testing is done and the system seems stable to the developers and testers, system

engineers usually invite the end users of the software to see if they like the software.  If the users like the software the way it is then

software will be delivered to the user. Otherwise necessary changes will be made to the software and software will pass through all

phases of testing again.

What is manual testing and what is automated testing?

Manual testing involves testing of software application by manually performing the actions on the AUT based on test plans.

Automated testing involves testing of a software application by performing the actions on the AUT by using automated testing tool

(such as Quick Test Professional, WinRunner, LoadRunner, Rational Root) based on test plans

What is smoke testing?

The smoke test must evolve as the system evolves. At first, the smoke test will probably test something simple, such as whether the

system can say, "Hello, World." As the system develops, the smoke test will become more thorough. The first test might take a

matter of seconds to run; as the system grows, the smoke test can grow to 30 minutes, an hour, or more.

What is soak testing?

The software system will be run for a total of 14 hours continuously. If the system is a control system, it will be used to continuously

move each of the instrument mechanisms during this time. Any other system will be expected to perform its intended function

continuously during this period. The software system must not fail during this period.

What is stress testing, performance testing, Security testing, Recovery testing and volume testing.

Stress testing: Testing the system if it can handle peak usage period loads that result from large number of simultaneous users,

transactions or devices. Monitoring should be performed for throughput and system stability.

Performance Testing: Testing the system whether the system functions are being performed in an acceptable timeframe under

simultaneous user load. Timings  for both read and update transactions should be gathered to determine whether.  This should be

done stand-alone and then in a multi-user environment to determine the transaction throughput.

Security Testing: Testing the system for its security from unauthorized use and unauthorized data access.

Recovery Testing: Testing a system to see how it responds to errors and abnormal conditions, such as system crash, loss of device,

communications, or power.

Volume Testing: Testing to the system to determine if it can correctly process large volumes of data fed to the system. Systems can

often respond unpredictably when large volume causes files to overflow and need extensions.

 

 

What is MR?

MR is a Modification Request also known as Defect Report, a request to modify the program so that program does what it is

supposed to do.

Why you write MR?

MR is written for reporting problems/errors or suggestions in the software.

What information does MR contain?

OR

Describe me to the basic elements you put in a defect report?

OR

What is the procedure for bug reporting?

The bug needs to be communicated and assigned to developers that can fix it. After the problem is resolved, fixes should be re-

tested, and determinations made regarding requirements for regression testing to check that fixes didn't create problems

elsewhere. If a problem-tracking system is in place, it should encapsulate these processes. A variety of commercial problem-

tracking/management software tools are available.

The following are items to consider in the tracking process:

Complete information such that developers can understand the bug, get an idea of its severity, and reproduce it if

necessary.

Current bug status (e.g., 'Released for Retest', 'New', etc.)

The application name or identifier and version

The function, module, feature, object, screen, etc. where the bug occurred

Environment specifics, system, platform, relevant hardware specifics

Test case name/number/identifier

One-line bug description

Full bug description

Description of steps needed to reproduce the bug if not covered by a test case or if the developer doesn't have easy

access to the test case/test script/test tool

Names and/or descriptions of file/data/messages/etc. used in test

File excerpts/error messages/log file excerpts/screen shots/test tool logs that would be helpful in finding the cause of the

problem

Severity estimate (a 5-level range such as 1-5 or 'critical'-to-'low' is common)

Was the bug reproducible?

Tester name

Test date

Bug reporting date

Name of developer/group/organization the problem is assigned to

Description of problem cause

Description of fix

Code section/file/module/class/method that was fixed

Date of fix

Application version that contains the fix

Tester responsible for retest

Retest date

Retest results

Regression testing requirements

Tester responsible for regression tests

Regression testing results

 

Which MR tool you used to write MR?

Quality Center, Test Director, Rational ClearQuest, PVCS Tracker

 

What criteria you will follow to assign severity and due date to the MR?

Defects (MR) are assigned severity as follows:

Critical: show stoppers (the system is unusable)

High: The system is very hard to use and some cases are prone to convert to critical issues if not taken care of.

Medium: The system functionality has a major bug but is not too critical but needs to be fixed in order for the AUT to go to

production environment.

Low: cosmetic (GUI related)

If the functionality of an application had an inbuilt bug because of which the test script fails, would you automate the test?

No, we do the automation once the application is tested manually and it is stabilized. Automation is for regression testing.

You find a bug and the developer says "It's not possible" what do u do?

I'll discuss with him under what conditions (working environment) the bug was produced. I'll provide him with more details and the

snapshot of the bug.

How do you help developer to track the fault s in the software?

By providing him with details of the defects which include the environment, test data, steps followed etc… and  helping him to

reproduce the defect in his environment.

What are the different types of MRs?

MR for suggestions,

MR for defect reports,

MR for documentations changes

What is the role of a bug tracking system?

Bug tracking system captures, manages and communicates changes, issues and tasks, providing basic process control to ensure

coordination and communication within and across development and content teams at every step..

What is a successful product?

A bug free product, meeting the expectations of the user would make the product successful.

What Process/Methodologies are you familiar with?

ü  Waterfall methodology

ü  Spiral methodology

ü  V – Model

ü  Agile

[Or  talk about Customized methodology of the specific client]

What are CMM and CMMI? What is the difference?

The Capability Maturity Model for Software (CMM or SW-CMM) is a model for judging the maturity of the software processes of an

organization and for identifying the key practices that are required to increase the maturity of these processes.

The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) provides the guidance for improving your organization's processes and your ability

to manage the development, acquisition, and maintenance of products and services. CMMIntegration places proven practices into a

structure that helps your organization assess its organizational maturity and process area capability, establish priorities for

improvement, and guide the implementation of these improvements.

The new integrated model (CMMI) uses Process Areas (known as PAs) which are different to the previous model, and covers as well

systems as software processes, rather than only software processes as in the SW-CMM.

What you will do during the first day of job?

Get acquainted with my team and application

 

What was the test team hierarchy?

Project Leader

QA lead

QA Analyst

Tester

What are the different automation tools you know?

Automation tools provided by Mercury Interactive – Quick Test Professionl, WinRunner, LoadRunner;  Rational – Rational Robot;

Segue- SilkTest.

What is ODBC?

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is an open standard application-programming interface (API) for accessing a database. ODBC is

based on Structured Query Language (SQL) Call-Level Interface. It allows programs to use SQL requests that will access databases

without having to know the proprietary interfaces to the databases. ODBC handles the SQL request and converts it into a request

the individual database system understands.

Did you ever have problems working with developers?

NO. I had a good rapport with the developers.

Describe your experience with code analyzers?

Code analyzers generally check for bad syntax, logic, and other language-specific programming errors at the source level. This level

of testing is often referred to as unit testing and server component testing. I used code analyzers as part of white box testing.

How do you survive chaos?

I survive by maintaining my calm and focusing on the work.

Tell me about the worst boss you've ever had.

Fortunately I always had the best bosses, talking in professional terms I had no complains on my bosses.

What do you like about Windows?

Interface and User friendliness

Windows is one the best software I ever used. It is user friendly and very easy to learn.

How will you describe testing activities?

Testing planning, scripting, execution, defect reporting and tracking, regression testing.

What is good code?

These are some important qualities of good code

Cleanliness: Clean code is easy to read; this lets people read it with minimum effort so that they can understand it easily.

Consistency: Consistent code makes it easy for people to understand how a program works; when reading consistent code; one

subconsciously forms a number of assumptions and expectations about how the code works, so it is easier and safer to make

modifications to it.

Extensibility: General-purpose code is easier to reuse and modify than very specific code with lots of hard coded assumptions. When

someone wants to add a new feature to a program, it will obviously be easier to do so if the code was designed to be extensible

from the beginning.

Correctness: Finally, code that is designed to be correct lets people spend less time worrying about bugs and more time enhancing

the features of a program.

How you will begin improve the QA process?

By following QA methodologies like waterfall, spiral instead of using ad-hoc procedures.

What is UML and how it is used for testing?

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is the industry-standard language for specifying, visualizing, constructing, and documenting

the artifacts of software systems. It simplifies the complex process of software design, making a "blueprint" for construction. UML

state charts provide a solid basis for test generation in a form that can be easily manipulated. This technique includes coverage

criteria that enable highly effective tests to be developed. A tool has been developed that uses UML state charts produced by

Rational Software Corporation's Rational Rose tool to generate test data.

When should testing be stopped?

This can be difficult to determine. Many modern software applications are so complex, and run in such an interdependent

environment, that complete testing can never be done. Common factors in deciding when to stop are:

-          Deadlines (release deadlines, testing deadlines, etc.)

-          Test cases completed with certain percentage passed

-          Test budget depleted

-          Coverage of code/functionality/requirements reaches a specified point

-          Bug rate falls below a certain level

-          Beta or alpha testing period ends

When do you start developing your automation tests?

First, the application has to be manually tested. Once the manual testing is over and baseline is established.

What are benefits of the test automation?

1. Fast

2. Reliable

3. Repeatable

4. Programmable

5. Comprehensive

6. Reusable

Describe some problems that you had with automation testing tools

One of the problems with Automation tools is Object recognition

Can test automation improver test effectiveness?

Yes, because of the advantages offered by test automation, which includes repeatability, consistency, portability and extensive

reporting features.

What are the main use of test automation?

Regression Testing. Fast

Does automation replace manual testing?

No, it does not. There could be several scenarios that cannot be automated or simply too complicated that manual testing would be

easier and cost effective. Further automation tools have several constrains with regard the environment in which they run and IDEs

they support.

How will you choose a tool for test automation?

OR

How we decide which automation tool we are going to use for the regression testing?

Based on risk analysis like: personnel skills, companies software resources

Based on Cost analysis

Comparing the tools features with test requirement.

Support for the applications IDE, support for the application environment/platform.

What could wrong with automation testing?

There are several things. For ex. Script errors can cause a genuine bug to go undetected or report a bug in the application when the

bug does not actually exist.

What type of scripting techniques for test automation do you know?

Modular tests and data driven test

What are good principles for test scripts?

1. Portable

2. Repeatable

3. Reusable

4. Maintainable

What type of document do you need for QA, QC and testing?

Following is the list of documents required by QA and QC teams

Business requirements

SRS

Use cases

Test plan

Test cases

What are the properties of a good requirement?

Understandable, Clear, Concise, Total Coverage of the application

Have you ever written test cases or did you just execute those written by others?

Yes, I was involved in preparing and executing test cases in all the project.

How do you determine what to test?

Depending upon the User Requirement document.

How do you decide when you have ‘tested enough?'

Using Exit Criteria document we can decide that we have done enough testing.

Realising you won't be able to test everything-how do you decide what to test first? OR

What if there isn't enough time for thorough testing?

Use risk analysis to determine where testing should be focused. Since it's rarely possible to test every possible aspect of an

application, every possible combination of events, every dependency, or everything that could go wrong, risk analysis is appropriate

to most software development projects. This requires judgment skills, common sense, and experience. (If warranted, formal

methods are also available.) Considerations can include:

Which functionality is most important to the project's intended purpose?

Which functionality is most visible to the user?

Which functionality has the largest safety impact?

Which functionality has the largest financial impact on users?

Which aspects of the application are most important to the customer?

Which aspects of the application can be tested early in the development cycle?

Which parts of the code are most complex, and thus most subject to errors?

Which parts of the application were developed in rush or panic mode?

Which aspects of similar/related previous projects caused problems?

Which aspects of similar/related previous projects had large maintenance expenses?

Which parts of the requirements and design are unclear or poorly thought out?

What do the developers think are the highest-risk aspects of the application?

What kinds of problems would cause the worst publicity?

What kinds of problems would cause the most customer service complaints?

What kinds of tests could easily cover multiple functionalities?

Which tests will have the best high-risk-coverage to time-required ratio?

Where do you get your expected results?

Requirement document

If automating-what is your process for determining what to automate and in what order?  OR

Can you automate all the test scripts? Explain ?  OR

How do you plan test automation?  OR

What criteria do you use when determining when to automate a test or leave it manual?

1. Test that need to be run for every build of the application

2. Tests that use multiple data values for the same actions( data driven tests)

3. Tests that require detailed information from application internals

4. Stress/ load testing

If you're given a program that will average student grades, what kinds of inputs would you use?

Name of student, Subject, Score

How do you go about testing a project?

1. Analyze user requirement documents and other documents like software specifications, design document etc.

2. Write master test plan which describe the scope, objective, strategy, risk/contingencies, resources

3. Write system test plan and detailed test cases

4. Execute test cases manually and compare actual results against expected results.

5. Identify mismatches, report defect to the development team using defect reporting tool.

6. Track defect, perform regression test to verify that defect is fixed and did not disturb other parts of the application.

7. Once all the defects are closed and application is stabilized, automate the test scripts for regression and performance testing.

How do you go about testing a web application?

We check for User interface, Functionality, Interface testing, Compatibility, Load/Stress, and Security.

What is configuration management? Tools used?

Configuration management:  helps teams control their day-to-day management of software development activities as software is

created, modified, built and delivered. Comprehensive software configuration management includes version control, workspace

management, build management, and process control to provide better project control and predictability

What are Individual test case and Workflow test case? Why we do workflow scenarios

An individual test is one that is for a single features or requirement. However, it is important that related sequences of features be

tested as well, as these correspond to units of work that user will typically perform. It will be important for the system tester to

become familiar with what users intend to do with the product and how they intend to do it. Such testing can reveal errors that

might not ordinarily be caught otherwise. For example while each operations in a series might produce the correct results it is

possible that intermediate results get lost or corrupted between operations.

How did you use automating testing tools in your job?

Automating testing tools are used for preparing and managing regression test scripts and load and perofromenance tests.

What is data-driven automation?

If you want to perform the same operations with differnet set of data, we can create data driven test with loop. In each iteration test

is driven by differnet set of data. In order for automation to use data to drive the test, we must subsitute the fixed values in the test

with variables.

Describe me the difference between validation and verification?

Verification: typically involves reviews and meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code, requirements, and specifications. This can

be done with checklists, issues lists, walkthroughs, and inspection meetings.

Validation: typically involves actual testing and takes place after verifications are completed. The term 'IV & V' refers to Independent

Verification and Validation

 

Is coding required in Regression testing tools?

Yes, to enhance the script for testing the business logic, and when we write the user define the functions.

What do you mean by "set up the test environment and provide full platform support?

We need to provide the following for setting up the environment

1) Required software

2) Required hardware

3) Required testing tools

4) Required test data

After providing these we need to provide support for any problems that occur during the testing process.

What are the two ways to copy a file in windows?

1) Using the copy menu item in the edit menu.

2) By dragging the file where ever you want to copy it like a floppy

Were you able to meet deadlines?

Absolutely.

What is test Metrics?

Test metrics contains follwoing details:

Total test

Test run

Test passed

Test failed

Tests deferred

Test passed the first time

What is the use of Metrics?

Provide the accurate measurement of test coverage.

If you have shortage of time, how would you prioritize you testing?

Use risk analysis to determine where testing should be focused. Since it's rarely possible to test every possible aspect of an

application, every possible combination of events, every dependency, or everything that could go wrong, risk analysis is appropriate

to most software development projects. Considerations can include:

Which functionality is most important to the project's intended purpose?

Which functionality is most visible to the user?

Which functionality has the largest safety impact?

Which functionality has the largest financial impact on users?

Which aspects of the application are most important to the customer?

Which aspects of the application can be tested early in the development cycle?

Which parts of the code are most complex, and thus most subject to errors?

Which parts of the application were developed in rush or panic mode?

Which aspects of similar/related previous projects caused problems?

Which aspects of similar/related previous projects had large maintenance expenses?

Which parts of the requirements and design are unclear or poorly thought out?

What do the developers think are the highest-risk aspects of the application?

What kinds of problems would cause the worst publicity?

What kinds of problems would cause the most customer service complaints?

What kinds of tests could easily cover multiple functionalities?

Which tests will have the best high-risk-coverage to time-required ratio?

What is the impact of environment on the actual results of performance testing?

Environment plays an important role in the results and effectiveness of test, particularly in the area of performance testing. Some of

the factors will be under our control, while others will not be.  These may involve the DBMS, the operating system or the network.  

Some of the items that we cannot control unless you can secure a stand-alone environment (which will generally be unrealistic) are:

-          Other traffic on the network

-          Other process running on the server

-          Other process running on the DBMS

What is a pre-condition data?

Data required to setup in the system before the test execution.

What are the different documents in QA?

Requirements Document, Test Plan, Test cases, Test Metrics, Task Distribution Diagrams ( Performance), Transaction Mix, User

Profiles, Test Log, Test Incident Report, Test Summary Report

How do you rate yourself in software testing

excellent

Is defect resolution a technical skill or interpersonal skill from QA view point?

It is a combination of both , because it deals with the interaction with developer either directly or indirectly  which needs

interpersonal skills and is also based on the skills of the QA personnel to provide a detailed proof  to the developer like snap shots

and system resource utilization and some suggestions which are little bit technical.

What is End to End business logic testing?

Testing the integration of all the modules of the AUT.

What is the task bar and where does it reside?

The task bar shows a task button for each open application. At a glance, it shows you which applications are running; you can switch

applications by clicking different task buttons. In most cases the task bar is located at the very bottom of your desktop or computer

screen.  However the task bar can be moved to the sides or top.

How do you analyze your test results? what metrics do you try to provide?

OR

How do you view test results?

Test log is created for analyzing the test results.This is a chronological record of the Test executions and events that happened

during testing. It includes the following sections:

Description: What's being tested, including Version ID, where testing is being done, what hardware and all other configuration

information.

Activity and Event Entries: What happened including Execution Description: The procedure used.

Procedure Result: What happened.  What did you see and where did you store the output?

Environment Information: Any changes (hardware substitution) made specifically for this test.

Unexpected Events: What happened before and after problem/bug occurred.

Incident/Bug Report Identifiers:  Problem Report number

If you come onboard, give me a general idea of what your first overall tasks will be as far as as starting a quality effort?

Try to learn about the application, Environment and Prototypes to have the better understanding of application and existing testing

efforts

How do you differentiate the roles of Quality Assurance Manager and Project Manager?

Quality assurance manager responsibilites includes seting up the standards, the methodology and the strategies for testing the

application and providing guidelines to the QA team. Project Manager is reponsible to testing and development activities.

What do you like about QA?

QA is the field where in one will be working to multiple environments and can learn more.

Who in the company is responsible for Quality?

Both development and quality assurance departments are responsible for the final product quality.

Should we test every possible combination/scenario for a program?

Ideally, yes we should test every possible scenario, but this may not always be possible. It depends on many factors viz., deadlines,

budget, complexity of software and so on. In such cases, we have to prioritize and thoroughly test the critical areas of the

application.

What is client-server architecture?

Client-server architecture, a client is defined as a requester of services and a server is defined as the provider of services.

Communication takes place in the form a request message from the client to the server asking for some work to be done. Then the

server does the work and sends back the reply.

How Intranet is different from client-server?

Internet applications are essentially client/server applications - with web servers and 'browser'

What is three-tier and multi-tier architecture?

A design which separate (1) client, (2) application, and (3) data each into their own separate areas which allows for more scalable,

robust solutions

A three-tier system is one that has presentation components, business logic and data access physically running on different

platforms. Web applications are perfect for three-tier architecture, as the presentation layer is necessarily separate, and the

business and data components can be divided up much like a client-server application

What is Internet?

The Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," is a worldwide system of computer networks - a network of networks in which users

at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer. Physically, the Internet uses a portion

of the total resources of the currently existing public telecommunication networks. Technically, what distinguishes the Internet is its

use of a set of protocols called TCP/IP (for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). Two recent adaptations of Internet

technology, the intranet and the extranet, also make use of the TCP/IP protocol.

What is Intranet?

An intranet is a private network that is contained within an enterprise. It may consist of many interlinked local area networks and

also use leased lines in the Wide Area Network. The main purpose of an intranet is to share company information and computing

resources among employees. An intranet can also be used to facilitate working in groups and for teleconferences.

What is Extranet?

An extranet is a private network that uses the Internet protocol and the public telecommunication system to securely share part of a

business's information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses. An extranet can be viewed

as part of a company's intranet that is extended to users outside the company. It has also been described as a "state of mind" in

which the Internet is perceived as a way to do business with other companies as well as to sell products to customers.

What is ISO-9000?

A set of international standards for both quality management and quality assurance that has been adopted by over 90 countries

worldwide. The ISO 9000 standards apply to all types of organizations, large and small, and in many industries. The ISO 9000 series

classifies products into generic product categories: hardware, software, processed materials, and services.

What is QMO?

The QMO is a set of processes and guidelines that software systems projects and products that are built under a contract (with a

customer ) must follow to comply with ISO-9000 standards. ISO-9000 states that the guidelines for software development must be

documented.

What is Object Oriented model?

In a Object Oriented model each class is a separate module and has a position in a class hierarchy. Methods or code in one class can

be passed down the hierarchy to a subclass or inherited from a super class. This is called inheritance.

What is Procedural model?

A term used in contrast to declarative language to describe a language where the programmer specifies an explicit sequence of

steps to follow to produce a result. Common procedural languages include Basic and C.

What is an Object?

An object is a software bundle of related variables and methods. Software objects are often used to model real-world objects you

find in everyday life

What is class?

A class is a blueprint or prototype that defines the variables and the methods common to all objects of a certain kind.

What is encapsulation? Give one example.

Encapsulation is the ability to provide a well-defined interface to a set of functions in a way which hides their internal workings. In

object-oriented programming, the technique of keeping together data structures and the methods (procedures) which act on them.

What is inheritance? Give example.

In object-oriented programming, the ability to derive new classes from existing classes. A derived class (or "subclass") inherits the

instance variables and methods of the "base class" (or "superclass"), and may add new instance variables and methods. New

methods may be defined with the same names as those in the base class, in which case they override the original one.

What is the difference about web-testing and client server testing?

Web applications are essentially client/server applications - with web servers and 'browser' clients. Consideration should be given to

the interactions between html pages, TCP/IP communications, Internet connections, firewalls, applications that run in web pages

(such as applets, javascript, plug-in applications), and applications that run on the server side (such as cgi scripts, database

interfaces, logging applications, dynamic page generators, asp, etc.). Additionally, there are a wide variety of servers and browsers,

various versions of each, small but sometimes significant differences between them, variations in connection speeds, rapidly

changing technologies, and multiple standards and protocols. The end result is that testing for web sites can become a major

ongoing effort.

Is a "Fast database retrieval rate" a testable requirement?

This is not a testable requirement. ‘Fast' is a subjective term. It could mean different things depending on a person's perception. For

a requirement to be testable, it should be quantified and repeatable, so that the actual value could be measured against the

expected value.

What development model should programmers and the test group use?

A Development Model, which helps adopt a structured approach in assessment, design, integration and implementation of a project

and in extending relevant training and support. Each of these stages is necessarily accompanied with client inputs, checkpoints and

reviews to ensure successful systems implementation.

Basically there are many types of development models to support the development of high-quality software products. The two most

widely used models are Waterfall and Spiral development model.

Waterfall development model encourages the development team to specify the business functionality of the software prior to

developing a system.

Spiral development model combines the waterfall development model and the prototype approach, which is a series of partial

implementations of the product.

A typical project may include some or all of the following phases:

requirements analysis

functional specifications

architectural design

detailed design

coding

unit testing

integration testing

deployment and

maintenance.

What are the key challenges of load testing?

The key challenges to load testing is handling various components from various vendors.

Have you done explanatory or specification-driven testing?

Yes, specification-driven testing means checking the product's confirmance with every statement in every spec, requirements

docuement, etc.

What is the role of QA in development project?

Deploy and enforce standards

Continually improve standards, QA process based on previous experiences

Promote effective means for reporting and communication.

How do you promote the concept of phase containment and defect prevention?

Phase Containment  refers to detecting and correcting defects in the same phase in which they're created.

The purpose of Defect Prevention is to identify the cause of defects and prevent them from recurring.

What is Walkthrough?

Walkthrough : A 'walkthrough' is an informal meeting for evaluation or informational purposes. Little or no preparation is usually

required.

OR

A process in which a developer leads one or more members of the development team through a segment of an artifact that he or

she has written while the other members ask questions and make comments about technique, style, possible error, violation of

development standards, and other problems.

What is inspection?

Inspection: An inspection is more formalized than a 'walkthrough', typically with 3-8 people including a moderator, reader, and a

recorder to take notes. The subject of the inspection is typically a document such as a requirements spec or a test plan, and the

purpose is to find problems and see what's missing, not to fix anything. Attendees should prepare for this type of meeting by

reading thru the document; most problems will be found during this preparation. The result of the inspection meeting should be a

written report. Thorough preparation for inspections is difficult, painstaking work, but is one of the most cost effective methods of

ensuring quality.

OR

Inspection is a formal evaluation technique in which artifacts are examined in detail by a person or group other than the author to

detect errors, violations of development standards, and other problems.

What is Software Review?

Software Review: An evaluation technique that involves the bringing together a group of technical personnel to analyze a software

artifact in order to improve its quality.

Review types:

Informal: adhoc process, no planning, no structure

Formal (Formal Technical Review): Follow a structured process Produce written report on artifact status Collect and

analyze review metrics

What if the application has functionality that wasn't in the requirements?

It may take serious effort to determine if an application has significant unexpected or hidden functionality, and it would indicate

deeper problems in the software development process. If the functionality isn't necessary to the purpose of the application, it should

be removed, as it may have unknown impacts or dependencies that were not taken into account by the designer or the customer. If

not removed, design information will be needed to determine added testing needs or regression testing needs. Management should

be made aware of any significant added risks as a result of the unexpe

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