JIRA Notes

1)JIRA-Jira is a project management and issue tracking tool by Atlassian, used for bug tracking, agile
project management, and workflow management.

Key Uses:

• Track bugs, tasks, and project progress.

• Manage sprints and backlogs (Agile).

• Customize workflows and reports.

2)Agile - Agile is a project management and software development approach that emphasizes flexibility,
collaboration, and customer feedback. It focuses on delivering small, incremental improvements
frequently, rather than waiting for a large release. Agile encourages adaptability to changing requirements
and continuous improvement throughout the project lifecycle.

Scrum and Kanban are the most widely used frameworks, but the choice depends on project needs
and team structure.

3)Difference between on Agile and waterfall? - Agile is an iterative, flexible approach where work is
delivered in small, frequent increments with continuous customer feedback.

Waterfall is a linear, sequential approach where each phase must be completed before moving to the
next, with minimal flexibility for changes.

When to Prefer Agile:

• Complex or evolving projects where requirements are likely to change frequently.

• Tight deadlines requiring quick, incremental delivery of features.

• Collaboration and customer feedback are crucial throughout development.

• The project involves uncertain or unclear requirements at the start.

When to Prefer Waterfall:

• Well-defined and predictable projects where requirements are unlikely to change.

• Fixed scope and clear objectives with a detailed plan upfront.

• Projects where documentation and process adherence are more important.

• Ideal for smaller projects or those with simple, structured workflows.

4)Difference between Scrum and Kanban Board? - A Kanban Board is a visual tool used to track the
flow of work with stages like To Do, In Progress, and Done, focusing on continuous delivery without fixed
time frames.

A Scrum Board is used to track tasks within a specific sprint, with columns like To Do, In Progress, and
Done, focusing on completing tasks within a set sprint duration.

Key Difference:

• Kanban Board: Continuous flow of tasks.

• Scrum Board: Tasks are time-boxed within a sprint.

5)Epic- In JIRA, an Epic is a large feature or project that consists of multiple smaller tasks or stories. It
helps teams manage and track complex work that spans across multiple sprints or releases.

Key Points:

• Large Scope: Represents major deliverables or initiatives.

• Breakdown: Epics are divided into stories, tasks, and sub-tasks.

• Tracking: Provides a high-level overview of progress.

• Duration: Usually takes longer to complete than individual stories.

6)Stories-In JIRA, a Story (or User Story) is a small, manageable unit of work that describes a feature or
functionality from the user's perspective. Stories follow the format: As a [user], I want to [do something]
so that I can [achieve a goal].

Key Points:

• Purpose: Describes a piece of functionality delivering value to the end user.

• Size: Smaller than Epics and typically completed within a single sprint.

• Acceptance Criteria: Defines conditions for when the story is considered done.

• Estimation: Stories are estimated in story points or hours for effort.

• Usage: Managed in Scrum/Kanban boards, moving through statuses like "To Do", "In Progress",
and "Done".

7)Backlog- In JIRA, the Backlog is a list of all the pending tasks, user stories, bugs, and issues for a
project. It helps organize and prioritize work before it's moved into a sprint.

Key Points:

• Organizes Work: Stores unresolved issues, such as stories, tasks, and bugs.

• Prioritization: Items are prioritized by business value or urgency.

 • Sprint Planning: Issues are selected from the backlog for the next sprint.

• Backlog Grooming: Regularly refined to ensure issues are ready for upcoming sprints.

8)Backlog Grooming (or Backlog Refinement)- It is the process of reviewing, updating, and prioritizing
the product backlog in Agile. It ensures that the backlog is well-organized, detailed, and ready for future
sprints.

Key Points:

• Reviewing Items: Ensure backlog items are relevant and properly defined.

• Prioritizing: The Product Owner prioritizes work based on value and urgency.

• Estimating Effort: The team estimates effort (e.g., story points) for tasks.

• Clarifying Requirements: Make sure each item is well-defined with clear acceptance criteria.

• Preparing for Sprints: Ensures top-prioritized items are ready for sprint planning.

9)Sizing- Sizing in Agile is the process of estimating the effort required to complete a task, usually in
terms of Story Points, time, or T-shirt sizes. It helps the team understand the complexity and scope of
work.

Who Decides the Sizing?

• The Development Team decides the sizing based on their experience and expertise.

• Product Owner and Scrum Master may be involved but the team makes the final decision.

10)Subtask- A Subtask is a smaller piece of work that breaks down a larger Story or Task into manageable
steps. It helps track progress and allows different team members to work on parts of the same issue.

Key Points:

• Linked to Parent Issue (e.g., Story, Task, or Bug).

• Tracks Specific Steps of the larger task.

• Assigned Individually to team members.

• Progress Visibility by updating subtask statuses.

11)Sprint- A Sprint is a short, time-boxed period (1-4 weeks) in Agile where teams work to complete
specific tasks and deliver a potentially shippable product increment. It involves planning, daily stand-
ups, development, review, and retrospective. Sprints ensure continuous progress, adaptability, and
regular delivery of value.

12)Difference between Scrum and Sprint? - Scrum is an Agile framework for managing projects, while a
Sprint is a short, time-boxed period (1-4 weeks) within Scrum where the team works to complete specific
tasks.
 • Scrum = The overall process and structure.

• Sprint = One cycle of work within that process.

Scrum guides the project; sprints drive progress by delivering small, usable increments.

13)Sprint Planning- Sprint Planning is a meeting at the start of a sprint where the Scrum Team decides
what tasks to complete.

• Goal: Set the Sprint Goal and plan work.

• Outcome: A Sprint Backlog (list of tasks).

• Who Attends: Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team. It ensures the team has a
clear, focused plan for the sprint.

14)Daily Stand-up Calls -It (also known as Daily Scrum) are short, time-boxed meetings (typically 15
minutes) held every day during the sprint.

15)Retrospective -A Retrospective (or Sprint Retrospective) is a meeting held at the end of a sprint,
where the Scrum Team reflects on the sprint to identify what went well, what could be improved, and
what actions to take for the next sprint.

Key Points:

• Purpose: Continuous improvement of the team’s processes and performance.

• Focus: Discussing challenges, successes, and areas for growth.

• Outcome: Actionable insights and process improvements for the next sprint.

• Participants: Scrum Team (Development Team, Scrum Master, Product Owner).

16)Xray - Xray is a test management tool for Jira that helps teams create, execute, and track test cases
directly within Jira.

Key Features of Xray:

• Test Case Management: Create, manage, and organize test cases directly in Jira.

• Test Execution: Run tests and track results, linking them to Jira issues (stories, bugs, etc.).

• Traceability: Provides full traceability between requirements, tests, and defects.

• Reporting: Generates detailed test execution reports and metrics.

• Integration: Supports automation tools (like Selenium) and CI/CD pipelines.

Xray Components in Jira:

• Test – Represents a single test case.

• Pre-Conditions – Defines conditions that must be met before test execution.

 • Test Plan – Groups multiple tests for execution.

• Test Execution – Tracks the results of running tests.

17)STLC (Software Testing Life Cycle) – It is a systematic process for testing software to ensure its
quality and functionality. It involves several phases to detect and fix defects.

Phases of STLC (Brief):

1. Requirement Analysis: Understand and analyses testing requirements.

2. Test Planning: Define the scope, strategy, and resources for testing.

3. Test Case Development: Design and prepare test cases and test data.

4. Test Environment Setup: Configure the environment to execute tests.

5. Test Execution: Run test cases and log defects.

6. Test Closure: Evaluate test results, report, and archive testing artifacts.

18)Different types of Testing-

a-Regression Testing- It ensures that new changes haven’t broken existing functionality by re-running
previously passed test cases. It is performed after code changes, bug fixes, or feature additions.

b-Smoke Testing- It checks if the core functionalities of the application are working, ensuring the build is
stable for further testing. It is done after every new build release.

c-Component Testing (Unit Testing) - It involves testing individual modules or components in isolation to
verify their correctness. It is usually performed during development.

d-Integration Testing - It verifies the interaction between integrated components or systems, ensuring
they work together as expected. This occurs after component testing.

e-System/End-to-End Testing - It evaluates the entire application to ensure it meets all requirements by
testing complete workflows from start to finish. It is performed after integration testing.

f-Exploratory Testing - It is an ad-hoc approach where testers actively explore the application without
predefined test cases to find defects. It relies on the tester’s experience and creativity, often used when
documentation is limited.

g-UAT Testing- This is typically the last step before the product goes live or before the delivery of the
product is accepted. UAT is after the product itself is thoroughly tested

h-Load Testing-Load Testing help us to study the behaviour of the application under various loads. The
main parameter to focus is response time. This study reveals how many concurrent users that server can
handle effectively and quickly.

i-Stress Testing- Stress Testing help us to observe the stability of the application. The main intention is to
identify the breaking point of the server

j- Black Box Testing-It focuses on testing software functionality without knowing the internal code. It
checks if inputs produce expected outputs. E.g.-Functional Testing, System Testing, Acceptance Testing,
Regression Testing, Smoke Testing.
k-White Box Testing- It involves testing the internal code, logic, and structure of the software to ensure all
paths and conditions work correctly. E.g.-Unit Testing, Integration Testing, Code Coverage Testing, Path
Testing, Security Testing.

19)Difference Between Verification and Validation-

a-Verification: The process of evaluating work-products (not the actual final product) of a development
phase to determine whether they meet the specified requirements for that phase.

b-Validation: The process of evaluating software during or at the end of the development process to
determine whether it satisfies specified business requirements.

20)Functional and Non-Functional Requirements -Functional Requirements define what the system
should do, focusing on specific features, operations, and behaviours of the software. They describe tasks
the system must perform to meet user needs.

Non-Functional Requirements define how the system performs tasks, focusing on system qualities like
performance, usability, reliability, and scalability.

“Functional testing focuses on features, while non-functional testing ensures system quality and user
experience. Both are crucial for delivering reliable software.”

Testing Based on Requirements:

1. Functional Requirements Testing:

• Purpose: Verify that the software behaves as expected and meets user needs.

• Testing Types:

• Unit Testing – Tests individual components or functions.

• Integration Testing – Ensures that different modules work together.

• System Testing (End-to-End) – Validates the entire system.

• Regression Testing – Ensures new changes do not break existing functionality.

• User Acceptance Testing (UAT) – Confirms the system meets business requirements.

2. Non-Functional Requirements Testing:

• Purpose: Assess how well the system performs under different conditions.

• Testing Types:

• Performance Testing – Measures system speed, responsiveness, and stability.

• Load Testing – Checks how the system handles heavy user loads.

• Security Testing – Evaluates the system’s ability to resist security threats.

• Usability Testing – Ensures the system is user-friendly and easy to navigate.

• Compatibility Testing – Validates the system across different devices, OS, and browsers.