QA Interview Questions & Answers – Part 1

1.Can you tell me about yourself?

Ans wer: In my QA career, I have been working on various system platforms and operating
systems like Windows 95, Windows 2000, Windows XP and UNIX. I have tested applications
developed in Java, C++, Visual Basic and so on. I have tested Web-based applications as well as
client server applications.

As a QA person, I have written Test Plans, Test Cases, attended walkthrough meetings with the
Business Analysts, Project Managers, Business Managers and QA Leads. I have attended
requirement review meetings and provided feedback to the Business Analysts. I have worked in
different databases like Oracle and DB2, wrote SQL queries to retrieve data from the database.
As far as different types of testing is concerned, I have performed Smoke Testing, Functional
Testing, Backend Testing, Black Box Testing, Integration Testing, Regression Testing and UAT
(User Acceptance Testing) Testing. I have participated in Load Testing and Stress Testing.

I have written defects as they are found using ClearQuest and TestDirector. Once the defects
were fixed, retested them and if the passed, closed them. If the defects were not fixed, then
reopened them. I have also attended the defect assessment meetings as necessary.In the
meantime, a continuous interaction with developers was necessary.This is pretty much what I
have been doing as a QA person.

2. What did you do in your last project?

Ans wer: In my last project, the application was a web-based application developed in Java
platform. As a QA Person, I wrote Test Plans from the requirement docume nts and Use Cases. I
performed Smoke Testing, Functional Testing, Backend Testing, Black Box Testing, Integration
Testing, Regression Testing and UAT (User Acceptance Testing). I have participated in Load
Testing and Stress Testing. I attended several walk through meetings for requirement reviews and
provided feedback to the Business Analysts. Mostly, I was in the backend testing, which required
writing SQL queries directly to the database.

Besides these, I wrote defects using ClearQuest. Once the defects were fixed, retested them and
if the passed, closed them. If the defects were not fixed, then reopened them.

3. Have you written Test Plan? What is a Test Plan? What does it include ?

Ans wer: Yes.

What is a Test Plan?

Ans wer: A Test Plan is a document that describes the scope, approach, resources, and schedule
of intended testing activities. It identifies test items, the features to be tested, the testing tasks and
who will do each task (roles and responsibilities) and any risks and its solutions.
What does it include?

Ans wer: A Test Plan includes Heading, Revision History, Table of Contents, Introduction,
Scope, Approach, Overview, different types of testing that will be carried out, what software and
hardware will be required, issues, risks, assumptions and sign off section.

4. Have you written Test Cases?

Ans wer: Yes.

What is a Test Case? What does it include?

Ans wer: A Test Case is a document that describes step-by-step process how to test the
application. A Test Case includes Test Case ID, Steps Description, Expected Output, Actual
Output, Pass/Fail, and Remarks. (Remember, this is NOT a part of Test Plan. It is a separate
document written using Excel. In some companies, they use Rational TestManager or
TestDirector. But for companies, who do not have these tools, use Excel sheet. In t he example
below, it is in the Excel sheet)

Did you use any tools to write Test Cases?

Ans wer: Yes. I have used TestDirector (now called QualityCenter) and Rational TestManager to
write Test Cases. However, in most of the companies, I used Excel sheet.

How many Test Cases did you write in your last project?

Ans wer: I wrote about 1100 Test Cases in my last project. (The reasonable number of Test
Cases varies from 500 to thousands. The number 1100 test cases can be completed in 6- month
project duration).

What docume nt did you refer to write the Test Cases?

Ans wer: Requirement document. (NOTE: It can also be Use Cases, or Design Document. It
depends company to company. In some company, they use Use Cases. In some companies, they
use Requirement Documents and in companies, they use Design Document. However, in
practical scenario, most of the companies have requirement document at least).

5. Did you have a situation whe re you did not have any docume nts (no require ment
document, no Use Cases, or no Design Docume nt) and you had to write the Test Cases?
How did you write the Test Cases in this situation?

Ans wer: Yes. I have been to that kind of scenarios several times. There were companies where
they had no documents at all. In that case, I had to discuss the application scenario and
functionalities with the Business Analysts or developer. On the basis of that discussion, I
prepared a document in consultation with Business Analysts and Developers and then started
writing Plans and Test Cases.
6. What you worked with Use Cases before?

Ans wer: Yes. I have written Test Cases using Use Cases.

Can you tell me what a Use Case is?

Ans wer: A use case is a document that describes the user action and system response for a
particular functionality.

7. What is SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)?

Ans wer: SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) is the process of developing software
through business needs, analysis, design, implementation and maintenance. Software has to go
through various phases before it is born which are as follows:

(i)Generating a Concept – A concept comes from the users of the software. For example, a Pizza
Hut may need software to sell pizza. An Indian store may need software to sell its newly arrived
movies or grocery. The owner of the company feels that he needs software that would help him
in tracking his expenses and income as well as enhance the selling process. This is how the
concept is generated. The owner will specifically tell the software company what kind of
software he would need. In other words, he will specify his requirements.

(ii) Requirements analysis – After the owner (user) knows his requirements, then it is given to a
software team (company) who will analyze the requirement and prepare requirement document
that will explain every functionality that are needed by the owner. The requirement document
will be the main document for developers, testers and database administrators. In other words,
this is the main document that will be referred by everyone. After the requirement documents,
other detailed documents many be needed. For example, the architectural design which is a
blueprint for the design with the necessary specifications for the hardware, software, people and
data resources.

(iii) Development: After the detailed requirement documents (some companies have design
documents instead of requirement documents), the developers start writing their code (program)
for their modules. On the other hand, the testers in the QA (Quality Assurance) Department start
writing Test Plans (one module=1 test plan), test cases and get ready for testing.

(iv) Testing: Once the code (programs) are ready, they are compiled together and to make a
build. This build is now tested by the software testers (QA Testers)

(v) Production: After testing, the application (software) goes into production (meaning, it will be
handed over to the owner).

(vi) End: And one day, the owner will have say bye to the software either because the business
grows and this software does not meet the demand or for some reason, the he does not need the
software. That’s the end of it.
8. What is Business Requirement Document (BRD)?

Ans wer: It is a document that describes the details of the application functionalities which is
required by the user. This document is written by the Business Analysts.

9. What is Business Design Document?

Ans wer: It is the document that describes the application functionalities of the user in detail.
This document has the further details of the Business Requirement Document. This is a very
crucial step in Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Sometimes the Business Requirement
Document and Business Design Document can be lumped together to make only one Business
Requirement Document.

10. What is a Module?

Ans wer: A ‘Module’ is a software component that has a specific task. It can be a ‘link’, which
can go inside to its component detail. (This is NOT a very common question for the interview.
This is just for your knowledge, if you don’t know what a module is.)

11. What is walk-through meeting?

Ans wer: Once the Business Analysts complete the requirement document, they call a meeting to
explain how the functionalities work, what the process is in the designed application and other
details. The Business Analysts explain the high level functionalities of the application (software)
that is going to the built. The participant members in the meeting may provide feedback and
various point of views are expressed. This is walk-through meeting.

12. What is a Use Case and what does it include?

Ans wer: A Use Case is a document that describes the user action and system response for a
particular functionality. It includes cover page, Revision History, Table of Contents, Flow of
Events (normal flow and alternative flow), Exceptions, Special Requirements, Pre-conditions
and Post-conditions.

13. What is Build?

Ans wer: When each of the different modules of software is prepared, the Configuration
Management Team (CMT) puts them in a single folder and it is called the ‘Build’. . (This is NOT
a very common question for the interview. This is just for your knowledge, if you don’t know
what a build is.)

14. What does the Build Deployme nt mean?

Ans wer: When the Build so prepared by the CMT (Configuration Management Team), it is
deployed (put) to different Test Environments, it is called the Build Deployment.
15. What is Test Strategy?

Ans wer: A Test Strategy is a document that describes the test efforts, test configuration, testing
tools to be employed, test environments, exit criteria and entry criteria for testing, what different
types of testing will be carried out (for example, smoke test, regression, load test, functional test
and so on) types of testing to be carried out and system requirement. The Test Manager or Lead
writes it. (Remember, the Tester does NOT write Test Strategy. A Tester writes Test Plans and
Test Cases)

QA Interview Questions & Answers – Part 2

1. Are Test Plan and Test Strategy same type of docume nts?

Answer: No, they are different documents. A Test Plan is a document that collects and
organizes test cases by functional areas and/or types of testing in a form that can be
presented to the other teams and/or customer (see the definition on this page for Test Plan)
where as the Test Strategy (see the definition in the above question) is the docum ented
approach to testing. The tester prepares test Plan whereas the Manager or lead prepares
the Test Strategy. Both are important pieces of Quality Assurance processes since they
help comm unicate the test approach scope and ensure test coverage while improving the
efficiency of the testing effort.

2. What does Test Strategy include?

Answer: It includes introduction, Test Objectives, Test Process, Test Methodology, Test
Scope, Release Criteria for Testing (exit criteria), Test Lab configuration, resource and
schedule for test activities, acceptance criteria, test environment, test tools, test priorities,
test planning, executing a test pass and types of test to be perform ed.

3. What are different types of software testing and define the m?

Answer: Different types of testing are:

1) Unit testing

2) Shakeout testing

3) Smoke testing (Ad-hoc testing)

4) Functional testing

5) Integration testing

6) Regression testing

7) System testing
8) Load testing

9) Stress testing

10) Perform ance testing

11) User acceptance testing

12) Black box testing

13) White box testing

14) Alpha testing

15) Beta testing

(Note: Except the Shakeout testing and Unit testing (which are respectively done by th e
CMT (Configuration Management Team) and Coder/Developer), all other testing are done
by the QA tester.)

What is Unit testing? It is a test to check the code whether it is properly working or not as
per the requirement.

What is Shakeout testing?

This test is basically carried out to check the networking facility, database connectivity and
the integration of modules. The Configuration Management team, who prepare builds for
test environm ents, normally does this test. They also test whether the major components of
the software are not broken. This test is done BEFORE the build is deployed in the test
environm ent. After the shakeout testing, the next step is smoke testing (which is done by
the testers after the build is deployed in the test environment)

What is smoke testing?

This test is done when the build is just prepared (fresh build) and deployed in the test
environm ents. This is basically an ad hoc test to check roughly to make sure the m ajor
functionalities are not broken. It is the prelim inary a test carried out by the QA tester. After
the smoke test, the testers perform functional testing.

What is Functional testing?

It is a test to check whether each and every function of that application is working as per the
requirement (remember this work ―as per requirement document‖-you must say this in the
interview). It is a major test where 80% of the tests are done. In this test, the Test Cases are
executed (or run).

What is Integration te sting?

It is a test to check whether all the m odules are com bined t ogether or not and working
successfully as specified in the requirement docum ent. (Just for your information: Each
developer works on different modules. W hen they finish their code, the configuration
managem ent team puts them together and prepares a build. We, as testers, need to make
sure that these modules, which are now combined, work as per requirement document)

What is Regression testing?

When a new functionality is added to the software, we need to make sure that the added
new functionality does not break the other parts of the application. Or when defects (bugs)
are fixed, we need to make sure that the bug fix has not broken the other parts of the
application. To test this, we perform a repetitive test, which is called regression test.

What is Syste m testing?

When testers complete testing (The testers test the application in the test environments,
meaning they test with the test data only, NOT with the real data), the application (software)
has to be tested in the real environm ent. What it means is, si nce the testers test it in the test
environm ent with the test data, we have to make sure that the application works well in the
real environment with the real data. In test environm ent, some of the things cannot be
simulated or tested. Al though the test environment is very similar to the production (real)
environm ent, we need to m ake sure that we get a smooth delivery in the real system as well
(As servers are different and database is different, things may not work as expected when
the application is moved from test environment to production environment)

What is Load testing?

It is a test to check the user‘s response time for number of users using any one scenario
(single business process) of the sam e application at the sam e tim e.

What is Performance testing?

It is a test to check the user‘s response time for number of users using multiple scenarios
(multiple business process) of the same application at the same tim e.

(Did you notice the difference between Load Testing and Performance testing? What is it?
See the highlighted bold letters)

What is Stress testing?

In this type of testing the application is tested against heavy load such as complex
numerical values, large number of inputs, large num ber of queries etc. which checks for the
stress/load the applic ations can withstand.

What is User acceptance testing (UAT)?

In this type of testing, the software is handed over to the user in order to find out if the
software m eets the user expectations and works as it is expected to. In this testing, the
tester may do the testing or the clients may have their own testers (For example, banks may
have their own teller employees who can test the application) .

What is Black box testing?

It is test where a tester performs testing without looking into the code. (OR it is a testing
method where the application under test is viewed as a black box and the internal behavior
of the program is completely ignored. Testing occurs based upon the external
specifications. Also known as behavioral testing, since only the external behavior of the
program is evaluated and analyzed.)

What is White box te sting?

It is a test where a tester looks into the code and performs the testing.

What is Alpha testing?

In this type of testing, the users are invited at the development center where they us e the
application and the developers note every particular input or action carried out by the user.
Any type of abnorm al behavior of the system is noted and rectified by the developers .

What is Beta testing?

In this type of testing, the software is distributed as a beta version to the users and users
test the application at their sites. As the users explore the software, in case if any
exception/defect occurs that is reported to the developers.

4. What is the difference between Load Testing and Performance Testing ?

Answer: Basically Load, Stress and Performance Testing are the same. However, Load
testing is the test to check the users‘ response time of num ber of users of any one scenario
of the application whereas Perform ance Testing is the test to check the user response tim e
for multiple scenario of the sam e application.

5. What was the process of QA testing in your company where you worked for the
last time ? (Or As far as the QA process is involved, what was the testing process in
your company?)

Answer: The QA testing process that was followed in m y last company where I worked was
as follows:

First of all the Business Requirement Document was prepared as per the client‘s
requirement (with the m uck-up). Then on the basis of the requirem ent document, QA Team
wrote Test Plans, Test Cases and Test Strategies. The developers started coding their
modules (started programming). Once the developers finished coding, the Configuration
Managem ent Team com piled the code together and prepared a build. This Build is now
deployed to different testing environments where different types of testing were performed.
Once the defects were found, the testers would log the defect using the tools available (like
TestDirecotor, ClearQuest and so on. For the com panies who cannot afford these
expensive tools, they can use Excel sheet as well). Once the defects are logged, then those
defects would be discussed in the defect status meeting and would take further actions
(meaning, closing, reopening, retesting of defects etc).

6. What is Change Control?

Answer: It is a document that describes the additional functionalities that are added after
the Business Requirement Document is signed off. It can be updated in the old business
requirement docum ent or it can be a separate document. (For example, in the Business
Requirement Document, on the login page, there are User Name and Password fields. The
owner of the software wants to add, ―If you do not have User Name and Password, please
click here.‖ This is a change. But this change came after the docum ent is signed off by the
Project Managers. Now this is a change control and comes as a separate document. (It is
also called Change Request, Modification Request).

7. Have you written Change Control?

Answer: Yes. There was a situation where in one page of an application in my previous
project, when the user clicked ―Contact‖ link, it would pop up a different window (new
separate window). But it was NOT the way it was described in the requirement document. In
the requirem ent document, when the user clicks ―Contact‖ link, then it should navigate to
another page (Not a separate new window. Then was it a problem? Functionality wise, it
was NOT a problem, however, on all the other pages, when the user clicked ―Contact‖ link,
the system would navigate to next page (not a separate window). So, it was NOT
CONSISTENT with the other functionalities on the other pages. Therefore, it was a
consistency issue. I reported this as a bug. But the Project Manager asked me to write it as
a Change Control (because it requires more budget to fix this issue) so that he can address
this issue at a later time. So I wrote this as a Change Control. (However, it is NOT a job of a
tester to write change control. It‘s the business analyst‘s job)

8. What is Backend Testing?

Answer: It is a test to check whether the data displayed in the GUI front-end matches with
the particular data in the backend.

9. Have you done any Backend Testing and/or if you did, how did you do it in your
last project?

Answer: Yes. I have done backend testing. When I was working in my last project, this was
my scenario of backend testing:

I was working on Reports. It was the scenario of testing one application used in the bank,
where a customer com es to a bank‘s front desk, the bank teller is requested to open a
Checking Account. The associate then asks for the personal information about the
customer, which, are the prim ary data, such as: First Nam e, Last Name, Date of Birth,
Address and Social Security Number. The associate then puts these prim ary data of that
particular customer into the com puter, which then afterwards batch-processed (norm ally
happens in the middle of the nigh). Now, after the batch process, the information of that
customer goes into the central database in the XML format. The data now from the
database goes to ETL (Extract-Transform-Load). (ETL is a tool made by two companies
‗AbInitio‘ and ‗Inform atica‘) ETL now processes the job to create a file (output file) to
produce the report. The file is now displayed in the GUI Front End report with the help of
Business Object (or Crystal Reports. These are tools that display data in GUI format). In the
GUI Front End report, let us say, if for January, the deposit of that person was displayed as
$ 900.00. Then m y job was to validate whether this $900 is correct or not. I val idated this
data by writing SQL queries directly to the database. The data pulled from my SQL query
should m atch to the data in the GUI front end. In other words, m y SQL query should also
display $900. If it m atches, it is well and good. If it doesn‘t, the n it‘s a bug. This is how I
have done my Back End Testing.

How can you be sure that the query you wrote is correct? Or how do you know that
the data you pulled from the database is correct?

Answer: I write SQL query based on the requirem ent document. In th e requirement
docum ent, various conditions are given for the query. Based on those conditions, I write
SQL query. Therefore, anything different from the requirement document is definitely a
defect.

10. From your resume , I see that you have been working in one place for a very short
period of time . This raises me questions why. Can you explain why?

Answer: As a consultant, I am hired for a certain period of time (for project duration only),
normally for 6 m onths to 1 year. Once the project is over, I needed to move to another
project. That‘s why you see me in the resum e jumping frequently here and there .

11. What is done on the first day of the work?

Answer: On the first day, the Manager will com e to receive at the lobby. He/she will
welcom e you; tell where you will be sitting. The next thing will be will show you login nam e
and password and they want to make sure that the login name and password works so that
you can use your com puter. Then the Manager will tell you where the documents are
located in the network drive (or shared drive, or ClearCase, or Sharepoint—different
companies use different software for this purpose). Once you find the documents, then you
will ask them what you will be working on what are the related docum ents that you should
read. You start reading the documents, which lasts normally one week or more.

12. What do you do on the job every day? What is the first thing you go when you go
to work on a day? (What is your routine job?)

Answer: Go to work, have a cup of coffee (coffee is free in any work place), then check
emails. I will check in m y calendar whether there is any meeting for the day. If there is
anything urgent work that needs to take care of, then I will start with that job. Otherwise, I
will start what is left from yesterday on a priority basis.
(This question was asked to one of m y friends while he was attending interview in one of
the companies. When they asked him this question, his answer was, he said, ―I start
testing‖. This was his wrong answer. The answer varies in which p hase of testing the
application is. If the application is in very beginning state-meaning that the coding has just
begun, then the tester‘s job will be to analyze and read the requirement docum ents, write
test plans and write test cases. Probably attend walkthrough meeting and so on. However,
the daily routine job would be, as mentioned above, check emails, read docum ents, attend
meeting and so on. It‘s not that as soon as you enter the office, you start testing)

13. What do you do if you have any questions to ask? Who do you ask?

At the beginning, we all panic, what kind of questions to ask? What if the y ask
questions that I don’t know? Is it OK to ask questions? What do I do if I don’t know
how to do the job I am assigned to? and so on.

Answer: As mentioned earlier, on the first day, your Manager will give you the system
(computer) (They normally call system, not com puter), will tell you what the User ID and
Password is, where are the QA documents on the shared drive (or Network drive) are and
so on. They will definitely ask you to read a lot of documents at the beginning (And you
must read read and read those docum ents AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. At the beginning,
allocate about 2 hours extra at home for reading these documents. This habit will put you on
the top of your job). These documents are norm ally design specification document (DSD).
Different com panies call it with different nam es, for example, Requirement Specification
Document (RSD) and so on. After reading the documents, you will be asked to write Test
Plans or Test Cases (Don‘t panic. The Test Plans and Test Cases templates will be give by
your manager or test lead and they will tell you what to do and how to do because different
companies have different formats they follow. If they don‘t have one, then you can always
prepare a sample from this website (see on the right colum n) and give it to them. You will
be hero)

Who do you ask?

Now let‘s say you did not understand something while reading documents. Who are you
going to ask? Answer-Business Analysts who wrote this document. If you have any other
questions that you don‘t know, you will be asking that to you friend first, if he/she is not able
to answer, then ask this question to the Lead (or Manager). Do not ask too many questions
(some people get irritated). Therefore, it is im portant to read read and read. That‘s the only
way to succeed.

If you have any questions in TestDirector, or QTP or any other automation tools, then there
is a HELP m enu as well as tutorial. Please go through these, read them before you ask any
questions to anyone else.

What kind of questions should I ask in the meeting?

Nothing. My advice is, keep your mouth shut. Just listen. This is the best way to handle the
job until you are confident enough to speak and you know what you are talking about. If
they ask you some questions, then reply gently, wisely.
How to deal with your team me mbers?

Most probably, you will not be the only tester in the team. There will be more than you.
Sometimes, dealing with you team mem bers is frustrating, especially when you are new.
They try to ignore you. They want to show themselves smart. Don‘t worry. Don‘t blam e
them. This part of the hum an nature. Try to cope with it. Invite them when you go for coffee
(in the coffee room in your office, don‘t go outside), try to share your feelings and so on. It is
all how you handle your friends. It is part of your daily activities, handle it ge ntly. This is part
of the situation I have gone through, my friends have gone through. I am just sharing this
with you.

14. Have you used automation tools?

(Normally, when someone asks this question, we tend to think about automation
functional testing tools, like WinRunner, LoadRunner, QTP (Quick Test Pro), Rational
Robot, Experian and so on. But the reality is, even a Manual Tester also uses
automation tools like bug tracking tools like TestDirector, ClearQuest, PVC Tracker
and so on. Therefore, your answer should be Yes)

Answer: Yes. I have used TestDirector and ClearQuest as defect tracking tools. (Your
answer is based on whether you have used autom ation tools specially for functional and
load testing. If you have NOT used, but read about these tools, th en you may be better off
saying, ―I know about the tools. I was involved in some of the testing using these tools, but
would need some brush up in order to work independently.‖ I am saying this because these
tools are difficult to tackle in the interview and have to know in depth. In order to pass the
interview on functional automation tools, it may not be easy unless you really know the stuff.
But, since there is not much to learn in ClearQuest and TestDirector, you only have to know
what different types of fields are there in the defect logging window when writing a defect. )

15. When you log a defect using TestDirector (or Cle arQuest) what fields do you see ?

Answer: When we log a defect, we see Defect ID (it shows later in TestDirector), Summary
(where we write short description of the defect), Description (long description of the defect),
Detected by (Person who found the defect, (it‘s you), Severity (m eaning-is the defect
critical? High? Medium ? Or Low?), Date, Detected in Version, Priority, Project, Status,
Assigned to and so on.

QA Interview Questions & Answers – Part 3

1. Are you better working in a team or working alone?
Answer: I am a team player. I get along with team mem bers very well. As far as the
working is concerned, I can be equally productive in team or working alone.

(Caution: Never say, I like working alone. This could lead you to not getting a job as they
are always looking for people who can get along with other people.)

2. Do you have any situations in the past where you have some arguments with your
team me mbers?

Answer: No. I never had that type of situation wherever I have worked.

(Even if you had one, it‘s a good idea to say ―No‖. This could be a red flag, which might stop
you from getting the job)

3. What do you like about a Manager? And what don’t you like?

Answer: The best thing I like about a Manager is that the Manager should be able to
coordinate with the other teams so that we can get the updated documents, for example,
updated requirem ents documents right away. A Manager who can efficiently in distributes
the work to the team, without being biased and easily accessible and protective to his team
for the right cause. As far as ―what I don‘t like‖ is concerned, I don‘t like a manager who
keeps com ing to desk 10 times a day to check m y work even if it is just a regular work.
Once the responsibility is given, the team mem ber should be trusted and let his work done.

4. Where do you see yourself in another 5 years?

Answer: I see m yself a QA Lead in another 5 years.

(You can also say ―QA Manager‖, but since the QA Manager is taking your interview most of
the tim e, they sometimes feel challenged. Therefore, it m ight be a good idea to limit you to
QA Lead)

5. Why are you in QA?

Answer: I am in QA because I like this job.

6. Why do you like this job?

Answer: I like this job, because it is process oriented. Meaning that I get an opportunity to
work from analyzing the requirement documents to writing test plans, test cases, testing the
application, logging defects, retesting, preparing reports and finally testing in production as
well. Therefore, I am involved from the very beginning to the end of the software
development life cycle (SDLC) process. I like this.

Another reason is I like to find defects. I enjoy logging defects. The m ore defects I find, the
happier I am .

7. How do you determine what to test in an application?

 Answer: First of all we have the test cases (or test scripts) that are written based on the
requirement docum ent. This pretty much covers what functionalities to test. Therefore,
looking at the test cases tells us what to test in the application.

8. If you have no docume ntation about the product, how do you test an application?
Describe the process.

Answer: Well, this is a situation where I have come across several times. Some of the
companies in my previous projects did not have any documents. In this case, I went to the
Business Analyst and sometimes to developers to find out how exactly the functionalities
work, how to navigate from one page to another page and so on. After getting a clear vision,
I write test cases based on the conversation (which is a step by step procedure to test an
application) and get ready for testing.

9. What do you do once you find a defect?

Answer : Once you find a defect, this is what we need to do:

Recreate the Defect: Once you find a defect, we must try to recreate (m eaning that we
should be able to reproduce it) at least 3 times so that we are sure that it is a defect.
Sometimes, once we find it log it without recreating, may put us in a false situation (because
sometimes the application does not behave in the sam e way). Therefore, it is important to
recreate the sam e defect several tim es.

1. Attach the Screen Shot (supporting docum ent): Once we confirm that it is a defect, and then
it is a good idea to attach supporting documents when we log (write) a defect. For example,
screen shot, requirement docum ent etc. For instance, let us say that instead of ―Continue‖
button on a page, there is a typo ―Contiinuee‖. Now, we will make a screen shot of this page
(To m ake screen shot, press ―Print Screen‖ button on the keyboard, and open a Word
docum ent, and Click Edit on the Word document and ―Past‖ it. You will see the screen now)
Now, a tester needs to write defects in easy and clear language to make all the developers
to understand easily.
2. Log the Defect: Now, the next step is, we need to log it. Depending on the company what
kind of tools they are using (for example, some companies use TestDirector to log defects,
some companies use Rational ClearQuest, some use PVC Tracker and so on). If the
company is small and cannot afford these expensive tools, then they may sim ply use Excel
sheet to log defects. We log the defect.

What are the basic ele ments you put in a defect?

Answer: Basic elements we put in a defect are: SEVERITY, PRIORITY, CREATED BY,
VERSION NO, HEADER, DESCRIPTION OF THE DEFECT where we write how to
recreate a defect, in what module the defect is found, Status, and so on.

10. What is the biggest bug you have ever found?

Answer: Well, there are many big defects I have found in various projects. For example, in
the last project, on a page, there was a button called ―More Information‖. Once the user
clicked that button, the system would open a new window (pop up).

We could close the new window in 3 ways:

-By clicking X at the top right corner of the page

-By clicking ―Close‖ button on the page

-By pressing combination keys (Alt+F4) on the key board

Although the combination key (Alt+F4) was not mentioned in the test case, I just wanted to
try how the application reacts when Alt+F4 is pressed. Then I pressed Alt+F4. The result
was a disaster-the application crashed (broke). The application disappeared from the
computer m onitor. Since it was the last day of testing for us, it brought chaos in our
Managers, Leads and the whole teams. Finally, the developers disabled Alt+F4 as a
temporary solution and the application went into production.

11. How do you make sure that it is quality software?

Answer: There is a certain process how the quality of software is guaranteed (ensured). If
is defined by the ‗exit criteria‘. (What it means is, a QA Manager writes a document called
Test Strategy. This Test Strategy defines the ‗exit criteria‘.) Exit Criteria gives the
measurement, for exam ple, in order to confirm the quality, how many critical defects, high
defects, medium defect and low defect are acceptable? These are all defined in the exit
criteria. (Norm ally in practice, for a quality software, there should no critical defects (0
critical), no high defect (0 high), no medium defect (0 m edium) and may be 1 low defect)

12. As a QA Tester, can you tell me the situation when you felt the most proud of it?

Answer: When I find the defect that norm ally others don‘t find, then I feel very proud. For
example, there were situations where I found bugs that crashed the whole system at the
end of testing phase. I tried the scenarios where the scenarios were NOT mentioned in the
test cases. For example, we can close the windows by clicking X on the page, with ―Close‖
button and so on. But there is another way that you can close the window, by pressing
Alt+F4 on the keyboard. Not many testers test this scenario. I have done this in m y last two
projects. Both the tim e, the application crashed which became a big issue. I felt proud.

13. What made you to choose testing career?

Answer: I am a very detailed oriented person and I like process-oriented job. The way QA
process works is just the kind of work I like. For example, analyzing requirement
docum ents, attending walk-through meetings, writing test plans, writing test cases,
executing the test cases (or running the test cases) testing the application, logging defects,
retesting them and so on. I think I really like the process and that‘s why I chose this career.

14. When should testing start in a project? Why?

Answer: We should start testing as soon as the following things are ready:

-Test Data are ready

-Build (all the developers have coded their code and merged them together)

-Test Environm ent (servers, network etc) is set up and ready

-When the manager asks us to go ahead and start testing.

15. Let us say you have a web application to test. How do you go about testing it?
What is the process?

Answer: First of all, I will look at the requirement docum ents (or design document in some
companies). The requirem ent document will tell us what the functionalities in the application
(software) are. Once I analyze the requirement documents (one module=one requir ement
docum ent). After that, I will write test plans for each module (one module =one test plan).
Then after the test plan is complete, I will write test cases (One module can have hundreds,
even thousands test cases). Once the test cases are ready and the application is ready (or
once the build is ready), then I will start testing. Before I start testing, however, I will make
sure the test environments, test data and defect logging tools are in place. This is how I will
go about testing an application.

QA Interview Questions & Answers – Part 4

1. What is a “bug?”

Answer : A bug is a bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer code
(program) that prevents it from behaving as intended (e.g., producing an incorrect result).
(You can also add this: When the expected results (accordingly to the requirement
docum ents) don‘t match with the actual results (while testing), then it is considered a bug)

2. How would you ensure that you have covered 100% testing ?

Answer: The testing coverage is defined by exit criteria (There is exit criteria and entry
criteria in the Test Strategy). For example, if the exit criteria says ―The software will be
acceptable to the client only if there are no critical defects, no high defects, no medium
defects and only two low defects‖, then all the critical, high, m edium should be zero. Only 2
low defects are acceptable. Thus, 100% coverage is measured by the exit criteria. Also,
100% test cases must be executed in order to cover 100% of testing.
3. What proble ms did you face in the past? How did you solve it?

(You will be OK if you just give one of the problems below, not all of them)

Answer: I had many problems while testing applications in the past.

As far as I remem ber one of them (then describe one of them from below), this was the
scenario:

(i) It was a web-based application. I was working on a module called ―Transaction

Summary‖. There was ―Submit‖ button on that page. After entering data in the all the fields,
for example, First Nam e, Last Name, Social Security Num ber, Date of Birth and so on, I
clicked the Submit button. Once I clicked Submit button, an error page displayed, ―Page
cannot be found…‖. Since it was a critical defect, I immediately inform ed the Test Lead.
There was a chaos in the room. All the developers, Database Administrators and Testers
gathered in my cube (room). Nobody could tell exactly what was wrong with it. Finally, one
smart guy checked into the database and found out that one of the files in the database was
closed. The status of all the files should be in the open status. Once the status of the closed
file was put in the ―open‖ status, the application worked fine.

(ii) One of the problems was in the Login window (page). When the user enters and Login
Name and Password, then Password should be encrypted. One of the Test Cases was that
I needed to open databas e and see whether the password is encrypted or not. I found out it
was not encrypted. I reported it as a bug (defect) and it was fixed in the next release (build).

(iii) Defects I have found in a project was a defect to close a window (pop up).

For example, in the last project, on a page, there was a button called ―More Information‖.
Once the user clicked that button, the system would open a new window (pop up).We could
close the new window in 3 ways:

-By clicking X at the top right corner of the page

-By clicking ―Close‖ button on the page

-By pressing combination keys (Alt+F4) on the key board

Although the combination key (Alt+F4) was not mentioned in the test case, I just wanted to
try how the application reacts when Alt+F4 is pressed. Then I pressed Alt+F4. The result
was a disaster-the application crashed (broke). The application disappeared from the
computer m onitor. Since it was the last day of testing for us, it brought chaos in our
Managers, Leads and the whole teams. Finally, the developers disabled Alt+F4 as a
temporary solution and the application went into production.

(iv) Another problem was that a user would search for branch location inform ation of a bank.
The user logs in by using User Name and Password. After the log in, on the ―Search
Location‖ page, the user enters and zip code of the location he wants to find, then clicks
Find button. After that the system (application) gives a number of branch locations. The
user now clicks ―Request Inform ation‖ for one of the branches. As soon as the user clicks
―Request Inform ation‖ button, the application breaks (displays ―Page cannot be found‖
error). I logged this defect as a critical defect. When the developers and database
administrator looked into it, then they found out that in one of the tables, t he data was not
recorded. In all the tables (UserProfile table, ClientID table and SessionID table), the data
should be populated with the inform ation entered by the user. For some reason, in one of
the tables, it was blank (null). Once they wrote a small code to populate data (enter data) to
the table, the application started working.

(v) In m y previous project, when the customer wants to upload a docum ent, for example, a
copy of a monthly statement (in Word form at), on the website, the system should
automatically change the Word document into .pdf form at. Once the document was
uploaded, I saw that the fields in the .pdf document were interchanged (misplaced). For
example, the First Name displayed in the Last Name section. Date of Birth displayed in the
Social Security Num ber field and so on. We found out that the problem was a mapping
problem (rem ember this word). Once the m apping was correct, I tested in the new build. It
was fixed.

(vi) The most common problem that I have faced in my previous projects ar e the Java
script errors, data connectivity, error, HTTP 500 error (This error occurs when server is
down), HTTP 400 error (when file is not found) and so on.

(vii) ―Father‖ pop up displayed when Print/Print Preview button clicked. (This was coded by
the developer to m ark this coding portion (for his/her own purpose as a mark to indicate
where he/she m ade changes, however, forgot to rem ove it). Once the developer fixed it, it
still displayed the sam e thing (because it was in the servers memory and could not go).
Now, I had to reset mem ory of the server from m y machine. Therefore, what I did is, I went
to the website I was testing (for exam ple, http://mysite.app.org/My_profile) and added
reset.aspx at the end of the URL (Now the URL becomes
http://m ysite.app.org/My_profile/reset.aspx and hit enter. It took me to the server m emory
and I selected section and submitted the query and it was cleared. Retested again and it is
now OK.

(viii) I was testing a web application. On one page, I clicked Save & Continue button twice
(my mistake). Once this button is clicked twice, the system displayed an error message,
―Could not save the answers, please contact technical support‖. (When clicked only once,
the button works fine.).

Solution: Once the user clicks the button once, the button was disabled later so that the
user cannot click twice.

(ix) I was testing a web-based application. Once all the fields are entered on the one of the
pages, we had Print Preview button. If the user clicks this button, we were supposed see
the same inform ation in a new window in PDF form at. While looking at the data in PDF file,
there were some fields missing, for example, Date of Birth was missing in the PDF file.

4. Tell me about the worst boss you’ve ever had. (Here, you should be careful not to
say any negative words about the past boss. This will give a reflection that you
cannot work with different nature of people. You should be able to show the m that
you can cope with any king of boss. Therefore, just take an idea below how the
answer should be.)

Answer: I can hardly think of any Manager that was really bad. But when I com pare, then I
remember of a Test Lead who was just made a lead from the developers team. She used to
feel that she has been very proud of her position and used to boss around. Sometimes, she
used to call home and check where I was and what I was doing. Or have I completed my
job before leaving and so on. I think, whatever she did, was in the benefit of the company
and myself in the long run which would give me more confidence in future.

5. What do you like about QA?

Answer: The best thing I like about QA is, I like the job which is more process oriented. For
example, we have to work right from reading the requirem ent documents, providing
feedback to the Business Analysts as necessary, writing test plans, test cases, execute the
test cases, interaction with different developers, attend walk-through m eeting and so on. I
am a very detailed oriented person. When I test applications, I try to get into the depth of
functionality so that I don‘t miss out anything. Finally, I love logging defects.

6. What are all the basic ele ments in a defect report ?

Answer: The basic elements in a defect report are: Defect ID, Header, Description, Defect
Reported by, Date, Status, Version, Assigned to, Approved by, Module where the defect
was found and so on.

7. What is the difference between verification and validation?

Answer :

Verification: Verification is a process to ensure that the software that is made, matches the
original design. In other words, it checks whether the software is made according to the
criteria and specification described in the requirement document. It is to check whether you
built the product right as per design. It is a low level checking. (It is done in walk-through
meetings generally). It checked whether it is made accordingly to the design..

Validation: Validation is a process to check whether the product design fits the client‘s need.
It checks whether you built the right thing. It checks whether it is designed properly.

8. How do you know it is sufficient testing?

Answer: Every com pany has entry and exit criteria. When we test applications, we ref er to
exit criteria. When we are about to finish testing, then the QA Team (QA Manager) refers to
the exit criteria (exit criteria tells the level of defect that you can be comfortable with before it
goes to production. For example, there should be ZERO cr itical defect, ZERO high level
defect, ZERO m edium defect, 1 Low level defect, all the test cases must be 100% executed
etc). Once the exit criteria meet the requirements, then the software is considered to be
sufficiently tested.
Every company has entry and exit criteria. When we test applications, we refer to exit
criteria. When we are about to finish testing, then the QA Team (QA Manager) refers to the
exit criteria (exit criteria tells the level of defect that you can be comfortable with before it
goes to production. For example, there should be ZERO critical defect, ZERO high level
defect, ZERO m edium defect, 1 Low level defect, all the test cases must be 100% executed
etc). Once the exit criteria meet the requirements, then the software is considered to be
sufficiently tested.

9. How to derive test scenarios and use cases? What are the contents and format?

Answer: Test scenarios are derived from requirement documents. We follow each and
every functionality (called business rules) mentioned in the requirem ent document. One
functionality can have multiple business rules. For example, let us say in there is one
requirement called ―Login‖. This ―Login‖ may have various scenarios. For example, one
scenario is, enter the right User ID and wrong password. The s ystem should display an
error message. Another scenario would be to enter wrong User ID and right Password. The
system should display an error m essage. The third scenario could be to enter the right User
Name and right Password. The system should allow the user to get into the system. This is
how the test cases are derived from the requirement docum ents or from the Use Cases.

10. What are the types of test cases that you write?

Answer: We write test cases for smoke testing, integration testing, functional t esting,
regression testing, load testing, stress testing, system testing and so on.

11. How to write Integration test cases?

Answer: I have never written separate Test Cases Integration Testing. Since Integration
Testing is a test to check whether the all the modules are integrated together or not
(meaning that when the developers compile all their module and make a build, all m odules
should be working when they are combined together and those modules when combined,
should work as expected). If they are not integrated (com bined) in a nice way, then the
application breaks. Basically, when we do the functional testing, the integration testing is
automatically done. This is my experience.

12. How to write Regression test cases? What are the criteria ?

Answer: Regression test cases are also based on the requirement documents. They are
written m ore into detail and with every release (build), the testers need to do regression
testing. The criteria for regression testing are; there should be no m ajor defects while we do
our smoke test and functional testing.

13. Is there a format for a test case? Do you follow any methodology for numbering
test cases?

Answer: Yes. It depends upon the company how the com pany has followed the numbering
of test cases. However, normally, it is just a sim ple numbering in most of the time But some
companies may also relate this numbering to the requirement num ber. For example, if the
requirement for Login is ―REQ-LOG-001‖, then we can number the test cases like REQ-
LOG-001-001 and so on.

14. What is Test Harness?

Answer: (Definition from www.wikipedia.org) ―In software testing, a test harness or

automated test framework is a collection of software and test data configured to test a
program unit by running it under varying conditions and monit or its behavior and outputs. It
has two main parts: the test execution engine and the test script repository.‖

15. How to write User Acceptance Test plan & test cases?

Answer: The way of writing Test Plan and Test Cases is the same in all the test phases.
However, specifically for User Acceptance Testing, the testers use data nearly real data
(meaning that the data is very m uch similar to the production data or real data).

QA Interview Questions & Answers – Part 5

1. What are the different matrices that you follow?

Answer: There are various reports we norm ally prepare in QA:

Test summary Report – It is a report that has list of the total test cases, list of executed test
cases, rem aining test case to be executed, executed date, pass/fail

Defect Report – In this report we norm ally prepare a list of defect in spreadsheet e.g. defect
# CQ12345 [ if you log a defect in the application called Rational ClearQuest]

Traceability Matrix [also called RTM (Requirement Traceability Matrix)] Report – the
docum ent which shows the relationship between the functionalities or the business rules
and the test cases. So, with the help of Traceability Matrix we m ake sure that we i ncludes
all the functionalities in our test cases according to the requirement document.

2. Explain Bug Life Cycle.

Answer: I would describe this as below:

A Tester finds a defect and logs it. (But before you log it, you m ust try to recreate it for 3 or
4 tim es so that you are 100% sure that it is a bug)

The defect is now approved or disapproved by the Test Lead.

(If it is disapproved, then the test lead will come to you ask for more details and you have
explain to him why it is a bug)
After the Test Lead approves the bug, it is now assigned to a development Team Lead (or
Developm ent Manager). He/she now assigns that bug to the concerned developer. The
developer now looks into the bug and fixes it. Once the fix is ready, there will be another
build ready to test. The tester now tests the defect. It the defect is fixed, then the tester
closes the defect, if not then the test will reopen it and sam e cycle starts.

3. What will you do if developer doe s not accept the bug?

Answer: If the developer does not accept the defect, then he will reject it. Once it is
rejected, then it com es back to the tester. Now, the tester will ask for clarification with the
developer why the defect is rejected. Since everything is based on the requirement
docum ents, both tester and developer will have to look at the requirement docum ent,
validate it and then reopen it if necessary or close.

4. What are the different tests that can be done for Client Server Application and
Web-based Application. Give details.

Answer: For both client server and web based applications, the testing is the same except
one thing: We test web based applications in different browsers, for exam ple, Internet
Explorer (will test in different versions like IE 5.0, IE 6.0, IE 7.0), Firefox, Safari (for Mac)
and so on where as for client server, we don‘t need to test in the browsers.

5. What is an inspection?

Answer: An inspection is a form al meeting, m ore form alized than a walkthrough and
typically consists of 3-10 people including a m oderator, reader (the author of w hatever is
being reviewed) and a recorder (to make notes in the docum ent). The subject of the
inspection is typically a document, such as a requirements document or a test plan. The
purpose of an inspection is to find problems and see what is missing, not to fix anything.
The result of the meeting should be documented in a written report. Attendees should
prepare for this type of meeting by reading through the document, before the meeting starts;
most problems are found during this preparation. Preparation for inspections is difficult, but
is one of the most cost-effective methods of ensuring quality, since bug prevention is m ore
cost effective than bug detection.

6. Give me five common proble ms that occur during software development.

Answer: Poorly written requirements, unrealistic schedules, inadequate testing, adding new
features after developm ent is underway and poor communication. Requirements are poorly
written when requirements are unclear, incomplete, too general, or not testable; therefore
there will be problems. The schedule is unrealistic if too m uch work is crammed in too little
time.

Software testing is inadequate if none knows whether or not the software is any good until
customers com plain or the system crashes. It‘s extrem ely common that new fe atures are
added after development is underway.
Miscommunication either means the developers don‘t know what is needed, or customers
have unrealistic expectations and therefore problems are guaranteed

7. What is the role of documentation in QA?

Answer: Doc umentation plays a critical role in QA. QA practices should be documented, so
that they are repeatable. Specifications, designs, business rules, inspection reports,
configurations, code changes, test plans, test cases, bug reports, user manuals should all
be documented. Ideally, there should be a system for easily finding and obtaining of
docum ents and determining what document will have a particular piece of information. Use
docum entation change m anagement, if possible.

8. What if the software is so buggy it can’t be tested at all?

Answer: In this situation the best bet is to have test engineers go through the process of
reporting whatever bugs or problems initially show up, with the focus being on critical bugs.
Since this type of problem can severely affect schedules and indicates deeper problems in
the software development process, such as insufficient unit testing, insufficient integration
testing, poor design, improper build or release procedures, managers should be notified and
provided with some documentation as evidence of the problem.

9. How do you know when to stop testing?

Answer: This can be difficult to determ ine. Many modern software applications are so
complex and run in such an interdependent environment, that com plete testing can never
be done. Common factors in deciding when to stop are…

Deadlines, e.g. release deadlines, testing deadlines;

Test cases completed with certain percentage passed;

Test budget has been depleted;

Coverage of code, functionality, or requirements reaches a specified point;

Bug rate falls below a certain level; or

Beta or alpha testing period ends.

10. What if there isn’t enough time for thorough testing?

Answer: 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 developm ent projects. Use risk analysis to
determine where testing should be focused. This requires judgment skills, common sense
and experience. The checklist should include answers to the following questions:

Which functionality is most im portant 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 m ode?

Which aspects of similar/related previous projects caused problems?

Which aspects of similar/related previous projects had large m aintenance 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?

11. What can be done if require ments are changing continuously?

Answer: Work with m anagement early on to understand how requirem ents might change,
so that alternate test plans and strategies can be worked out in advance. It is helpful if the
application‘s initial design allows for some adaptability, so that later changes do not require
redoing the application from scratch. Additionally, try to… • Ensure the code is well
commented and well docum ented; this makes changes easier for the developers.

 Use rapid prototyping whenever possible; this will help custom ers feel sure of
their requirements and minimize changes.
 In the project‘s initial schedule, allow for some extra tim e to commensurate with probable
changes.
 Move new requirements to a ‗Phase 2′ version of an application and use the
original requirem ents for the ‗Phase 1′ version.
 Negotiate to allow only easily implemented new requirem ents into the project; move m ore
difficult, new requirem ents into future versions of the application.
 Ensure customers and management understand scheduling impacts, inherent risks
and costs of significant requirem ents changes. Then let m anagement or the
customers decide if the changes are warranted; after all, that‘s their job.
 Balance the effort put into setting up automated testing with the expected effort required to
redo them to deal with changes.
 Design som e flexibility into automated test scripts;
 Focus initial automated testing on application aspects that are most likely to
remain unchanged;
 Devote appropriate effort to risk analysis of changes, in order to minimize regression-testing
needs;
 Design som e flexibility into test cases; this is not easily done; the best bet is to minimize the
detail in the test cases, or set up only higher-level generic-type test plans;
 Focus less on detailed test plans and test cases and more on ad -hoc testing with an
understanding of the added risk this entails.

12. What if the application has functionality that wasn’t in the require ments?

Answer: It may take serious effort to determine if an application has significant unexpected
or hidden functionality, which it would indicate deeper problems in the software
development process. If the functionality isn‘t necessary to the purpose of the applicati on, it
should be rem oved, as it m ay have unknown im pacts or dependencies that were not taken
into account by the designer or the custom er.

If not removed, design information will be needed to determine added testing needs or
regression testing needs. Management should be m ade aware of any significant added
risks as a result of the unexpected functionality. If the functionality only affects areas, such
as minor im provements in the user interface, it may not be a significant risk.

13. How can software QA processes be imple mented without stifling productivity?

Answer: Implem ent QA processes slowly over time. Use consensus to reach agreement on
processes and adjust and experiment as an organization grows and matures. Productivity
will be im proved instead of stifled. Problem prevention will lessen the need for problem
detection. Panics and burnout will decrease and there will be improved focus and less
wasted effort. At the same time, attempts should be made to keep processes sim ple and
efficient, m inimize paperwork, prom ote computer-based processes and automated tracking
and reporting, minimize tim e required in meetings and prom ote training as part of the QA
process. However, no one, especially talented technical types, like bureaucracy and in the
short run things may slow down a bit. A typical scenario would be that more days of
planning and development will be needed, but less time will be required for late-night bug
fixing and calming of irate customers.

14. What is parallel/audit testing?

Answer: Parallel/audit testing is testing where the user reconciles the output of the new
system to the output of the current system to verify the new system performs the operations
correctly. Let us say, for example, the currently software is in the mainframe system which
calculates the interest rate. The com pany wants to change this mainframe system to web-
based application. While testing the new web based application, we need to verify that the
web-based application calculates the sam e interest rate. This is parallel testing.

15. What is syste m testing?

Answer: System testing is black box testing, performed by the Test Team, and at the start
of the system testing the complete system is configured in a controlled environm ent. The
purpose of system testing is to validate an application‘s accuracy and com pleteness in
performing the functions as designed. System testing simulates real life scenarios that
occur in a ―simulated real life‖ test environment and test all functions of the system that are
required in real life. System testing is deemed complete when actual results and expected
results are either in line or differences are explainable or acceptable, based on client input.

Upon completion of integration testing, system testing is started. Before system testing, all
unit and integration test results are reviewed by Software QA to ensure all problems have
been resolved. For a higher level of testing it is important to understand unresolved
problems that originate at unit and integration test levels. You CAN learn system testing ,
with little or no outside help. Get CAN get free inform ation. Click on a link!

QA Interview Questions & Answers – Part 6

1. What is end-to-end te sting?

Answer: Sim ilar to system testing, the *macro* end of the test scale is testing a com plete
application in a situation that mimics real world use, such as interacting with a database,
using network communication, or interacting with other hardware, application, or system.

2. What is security/penetration testing?

Answer: Security/penetration testing is testing how well the system is protected against
unauthorized internal or external access, or willful dam age. This type of testing usually
requires sophisticated testing techniques.

3. What is recovery/error testing?

Answer: Recovery/error testing is testing how well a system recovers from crashes,
hardware failures, or other catastrophic problems.

4. What is compatibility testing?

Answer: Com patibility testing is testing how well software performs in a particular
hardware, software, operating system, or network environment.

5. What is comparison testing?

 Answer: Com parison testing is testing that compares software weaknesses and strengths
to those of competitors‘ products.

6. What is acceptance testing?

Answer: Acceptance testing is black box testing that gives the client/customer/project
manager the opportunity to verify the system functionality and usability prior to the system
being released to production. The acceptance test is the responsibility of the client/customer
or project m anager, however, it is conducted with the full support of the project team. The
test team also works with the client/customer/project manager to develop the acc eptance
criteria.

7. What is a Test/QA Team Le ad?

Answer: The Test/QA Team Lead coordinates the testing activity, communicates testing
status to m anagement and manages the test team.

8. What is software testing methodology?

Answer: One software testing methodology is the use a three step process of…
1. Creating a test strategy;
2. Creating a test plan/design; and
3. Executing tests. This methodology can be used and molded to your organization‘s needs.
Rob Davis believes that using this methodology is im portant in the development and in
ongoing maintenance of his customers‘ applications.

9. What is the general testing process?

Answer: The general testing process is the creation of a test strategy (which sometimes
includes the creation of test cases), creation of a test plan/design (which usually includes
test cases and test procedures) and the execution of tests.

10. How do you create a test strategy?

Answer: The test strategy is a form al description of how a software product will be tested. A
test strategy is developed for all levels of testing, as required. The test team analyzes the
requirements, writes the test strategy and reviews the plan with the project team. The test
plan m ay include test cases, conditions, the test environm ent, a list of related tasks ,
pass/fail criteria and risk assessment. Inputs for this process:

 A description of the required hardware and software components, including test tools. This
information com es from the test environm ent, including test tool data.
 A description of roles and responsibilities of the resources required for the test and
schedule constraints. This inform ation comes from man-hours and schedules.
 Testing methodology. This is based on known standards.
 Functional and technical requirem ents of the application. This information comes from
requirements, change request, technical and functional design documents.
 Requirements that the system cannot provide, e.g. system limitations. Outputs for this
process:
 An approved and signed off test strategy document, test plan, including test cases.
 Testing issues requiring resolution. Usually this requires additional negotiation at the project
managem ent level.

11. How do you create a test plan/design?

Answer: Test scenarios and/or cases are prepared by reviewing functional requirem ents of
the release and preparing logical groups of functions that can be further broken into test
procedures. Test procedures define test conditions, data to be used for testing and
expected results, including database updates, file outputs, report results. Generally
speaking…
Test cases and scenarios are designed to represent both typical and unusual situations that
may occur in the application.
Test engineers define unit test requirements and unit test cases. Test engineers also
execute unit test cases.
It is the test team that, with assistance of developers and clients, develops test cases and
scenarios for integration and system testing.
Test scenarios are executed through the use of test procedures or scripts.
Test procedures or scripts define a series of steps necessary to perform one or more test
scenarios.
Test procedures or scripts include the specific data that will be used for testing the process
or transaction.
Test procedures or scripts may cover multiple test scenarios.
Test scripts are mapped back to the requirements and traceability m atrices are used to
ensure each test is within scope.
Test data is captured and base lined, prior to testing. This data serves as the foundation for
unit and system testing and used to exercise system functionality in a controlled
environm ent.
Some output data is also base-lined for future comparison. Base-lined data is used to
support future application maintenance via regression testing.
A pretest meeting is held to assess the readiness of the application and the environment
and data to be tested. A test readiness docum ent is created to indicate the status of the
entrance criteria of the release.
Inputs for this process:
Approved Test Strategy Docum ent.
Test tools, or automated test tools, if applicable.
Previously developed scripts, if applicable.
Test docum entation problems uncovered as a result of testing.
A good understanding of software complexity and m odule path coverage, derived from
general and detailed design documents, e.g. software design document, source code and
software com plexity data.
Outputs for this process:
Approved docum ents of test scenarios, test cases, test conditions and test data.
Reports of software design issues, given to software developers for correction.

12. How do you execute tests?

 Answer: Execution of tests is completed by following the test documents in a methodical
manner. As each test procedure is performed, an entry is recorded in a test execution log to
note the execution of the procedure and whether or not the test procedure uncovered any
defects. Checkpoint meetings are held throughout the execution phase. Checkpoint
meetings are held daily, if required, to address and discuss testing issues, status and
activities. The output from the execution of test procedures is known as test results. Test
results are evaluated by test engineers to determine whether the expected results have
been obtained. All discrepancies/anomalies are logged and discussed with the software
team lead, hardware test lead, programmers, software engineers and docum ented for
further investigation and resolution. Every company has a different process for logging and
reporting bugs/defects uncovered during testing. A pass/fail criteria is used to det ermine the
severity of a problem, and results are recorded in a test summary report. The severity of a
problem, found during system testing, is defined in accordance to the customer‘s risk
assessment and recorded in their selected tracking tool. Proposed fixes are delivered to the
testing environment, based on the severity of the problem. Fixes are regression tested and
flawless fixes are migrated to a new baseline. Following com pletion of the test, m embers of
the test team prepare a summary report. The summary report is reviewed by the Project
Manager, Software QA Manager and/or Test Team Lead.
After a particular level of testing has been certified, it is the responsibility of the
Configuration Manager to coordinate the migration of the release software com ponents to
the next test level, as documented in the Configuration Management Plan. The software is
only m igrated to the production environm ent after the Project Manager‘s formal acceptance.

13. What te sting approaches can you tell me about?

Answer: Each of the followings represents a different testing approach:

 Black box testing

 White box testing
 Unit testing
 Incremental testing
 Integration testing
 Functional testing
 System testing
 End-to-end testing
 Sanity testing
 Regression testing
 Acceptance testing
 Load testing
 Performance testing
 Usability testing
 Install/uninstall testing
 Recovery testing
 Security testing
 Compatibility testing
 Exploratory testing
 ad-hoc testing
 User acceptance testing
 Comparison testing
 Alpha testing
 Beta testing
 Mutation testing

14. How do you divide the application into different sections to create scripts?

Answer: First of all, the application is divided in different parts when a business analyst
writes the requirement docum ent (or Use Cases or Design Document), he/she writes EAC H
requirement docum ent for EACH module. Let us say, if there are 12 different modules in an
application that a business analyst has written the requirements for, then a tester would
write the test cases for each m odule, which means in 12 different sections . This is the
standard practice. There might be scenarios where you might have to break down scripts
into sub-categories. For example, if a tester is writing a script for Login Page, he/she might
write one for positive and negative testing and another sub -set of test cases would be for
error message when the wrong information is entered. In short, the test cases are divided
according to the m odules.
(The following questions were asked to Padma in one of her interviews very recently)

15. What is your goal?

(This question is asked to check how am bitious you are as far as your career is concerned,
whether you like the job you are doing and so on. Therefore, no matter what, you should
stick to your QA job at this point and say that you love this so much and your goal is
something similar to the one below)
Answer: My goal is to be QA Lead (or QA Manager) in near future.

QA Interview Questions & Answers – Part 7

1. What are you expecting from our company?

Answer: My expectation from you com pany would be I will have more challenges and new
things to learn and whatever the skills I have to contribute, hopefully, I will be able to
contribute if they are in any way helpful to enhance productivity of the com pany .

2. What did you learn from your previous companies?

Answer: I learned a lot from the previous companies wherever I have worked. Wherever I
have worked, I found out the there is always something to learn. Different companies have
different ways of working. The environm ent and technology always differ from one company
to another company. I have never found one company‘s environm ent matching with another
company. For example, if one company is using docum ents called requirement documents,
then the other company m ight be using Use Cases and some companies might be using
Design Document and so on. Therefore, in m y experience, there are always new things to
learn in every company and we can always contribute these thing in the next company if
they help to be more productive.

3. What do you want to be in next 2 ye ars?

Answer: I want to be QA Lead in another two years.

4. Why QA Lead? Why not something else?

Answer: QA is the only thing I love doing it. I love this job and want to progress in this
sector. I want to know how to manage QA process, how to handle different jobs and so on.
Since the next step is the QA Lead, that would preferably be one I will targeting for.

5. Why do you want to work for this company?

Answer: (This is a tricky question. They want to know what really interests you and you
have to be careful when you answer this question. You must admire the line of that
company. For example, if you are being interviewed by a pharmaceutical com pany, then tell
them that you are always interested in the m edical applications and the better part of your
company is that it has exciting products that I am really curious to learn. That‘s why I would
feel really great if I am given the opportunity to work in your company)

6. Did you get any complime nts from your previous e mployers? What were those
situations?

Answer: Yes. I did. There were m any occasions where I had complim ents. For example, I
was testing an application going a little bit off my test cases. After I finished executing m y
test cases, I always think in a way what a real user would possibly click in various parts of
the application. So I was just clicking back and forth and at one specific scenario, the
application simply broke and displayed an error message. T hat scenario was not in the test
cases. The m anager really appreciated m e and thanked for finding this kind of critical
defect. Answer: Yes. I did. There were m any occasions where I had com plim ents. For
example, I was testing an application going a little bit off my test cases. After I finished
executing my test cases, I always think in a way what a real user would possibly click in
various parts of the application. So I was just clicking back and forth and at one specific
scenario, the application simply broke and displayed an error message. That scenario was
not in the test cases. The manager really appreciated me and thanked for finding this kind
of critical defect.

7. What are your strengths?

Answer: I am a very detailed oriented person. I have the sense of urgency. I can prioritize
my job according to the deadline. I am very much dedicated towards m y job. I am honest. I
have the skills and expertise in QA process. These are som e of my strengths .

8. What is your weakness?

Answer: I think my weakness is that whenever I am given som e responsibilities and there
is a deadline for it, I work day and night, 7 days a week. This is probably bad for my fam ily
life, but I can‘t sleep unless I am done with m y assignments.
(Note: You should think of your weakness where because of your weakness (like the one
above), still the employer benefits. DON‘T SAY anything negative thing, like ―I cannot work
long hours, it is hard for me pick up things, it is difficult for me to understand requirem ent
docum ents etc)

9. What is your salary require me nt?

Answer: $70k (negotiable), or ($35 per hour)

10. Please provide information (an example) of your experience testing Linux and
UNIX environme nts (including type of syste m tested, how tested, actual commands
and steps used for test) Testing applications using Linux and UNIX .

Answer: I have tested applications using UNIX. For every backend testing I have done in
the past, I have used UNIX platform while performing backend testing. For example, when
the data is fed into the system in the front end, that data goes to the database after the
batch processing. From the database, the data is now sent to the ETL system (in XML
format) for data manipulation as per our need (ETL is a software tool of Ab Initio company
which is used to m anipulate data in the data warehouse). In the ETL system, we m anipulate
those data according to our need), for example, it could be income statement of the
company, balance sheet, monthly reports, and so on. In order to produce income statement,
we need to run a job in ETL. To run this job, we use UNIX. In the same way, different types
of jobs are created for each need (creating balance sheet is another job, creating reports is
next job etc) then I had to run different jobs in the ETL system. Once we run the job, the
running job finally creates an output file which is now validated by us tester. This output file
can be in text form at or GUI format. Thus, this is the scenario where I had to use UNIX. (I
have used Linux much, however, since UNIX and Linux are the same thing, I should have
no problem in using Linux)

Some of the commands I used while testing using UNIX are;

Ls –l ———>to check the file list
Pwd———-> to see which directory I am in
Cd ———–>change the directory
Cd .. ———>change the directory one level up
Mkdir ———>make a directory
Rmdir ———>Delete the directory
setenv name v ——>Set environm ent
kill% ——–>Kill the running job
vi ———>editor Used to write scripts
more——-> to see the contents page by page
cat —–>list contents of the file
chmod ——–>change permission
cp ——–>copy
rm —–>delete a file
11. How do you do risk assessment? (This que stion was asked to Mona in her
interview)

Answer: (This is what Mona answered): The risks by understanding the infrastructure of the
application, hard drive and system capabilities etc. Also added ―Risk and Mitigation
Strategy‖ column within the test plan. The major risk for the com pany was system getting
crashed upon receiving several hits by the users . Company did not set any metrics at the
development phase as to what it can handle. I told him that i noted mitigation strategy to
deal with each known risk within the test plan.

12. What is SQL and how is it used?

Answer: The following are the some of the things that a tester has to know (but may not be
asked in the interview)What is a cookie? (You must know how to clean cookies)
A small text file of inform ation that certain Web sites attach to a user‘s hard drive while the
user is browsing the Web site. A Cookie can contain information such as user ID, user
preferences, archive shopping cart inform ation, etc. Cookies can contain Personally
Identifiable Information.

13. Does a tester have to know about cookie?

Answer: Yes. A tester has to know HOW TO CLEAN cookies (Does not have to know the
definition).

14. Why do we need to clean cookies?

Answer: A tester can clean cookies by opening Internet Explorer browser and Firefox
browser (whatever you are using). We need to clean cookies BECAUSE :
When we get a new build, we must clean cookies. (Remember, once the developers fix the
defects, the configuration team makes a build and this process continues until the product
(application) is ready to handover to the custom er). If we don‘t clean cookies, then there is a
possibility that we m ay get the same error which was already fixed by the developer. Why?
Because the error is sitting inyour computer hard drive and the com puter feels easy to get
the same inform ation from the hard drive rather than going to the server and pulling new
thing for the sam e thing. For example, let us say, when you were testing a page, there was
a button called ―OK‖. The client decided that ―OK‖ is NOT the right button here, therefore,
that button name was changed from ―OK‖ to ―Continue‖. Accordingly, you wrote a defect
saying that ―OK‖ button should be changed to ―Continue‖ button. Now, this defect is fixed
(the developer changed the ―OK‖ button to ―Continue‖). Now, you started testing, there is a
possibility that you might see ―OK‖ button again. Why? Because you DID NOT clean your
cookies.
Therefore, you must clean your cookies before you starting testing a new build .

15. How to clean cookies?

Answer: Cookies are cleaned in the browsers like IE (Internet Explorer), Firefox, Safari (for
MAC and windows both), Netscape and so on.
However, the mostly used (90%) browser is IE (Internet Explorer)
Here is how you clean cookies in IE (Internet Explorer):
1.Open IE (Internet Explorer)
2. On the m enu, click Tools–>Internet Options–>Click Delete button (It is in General Tab)
(You will see different buttons now, for example, Delete Files, Delete Cookies, Delete
History, Delete Forms, Delete Passwords,
Delete All).
3. Click Delete All button.
Now the cookies are cleaned in IE.
Here is how you can clean cookies in Fire Fox:
1. Open Firefox Brower.
2. Click Tools.
3. Click Error Console.
4. Click Clear.
Now the cookies are cleaned in Firefox.