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Q1.Canyoutellmeaboutyourself?
Thisisreallymoreofarequestthanaquestion.Butthesefewwords
canputyouonthespotinawaynoquestioncan.Manyquicklylose
controloftheinterviewduringthemostcriticaltimethefirstfive
minutes.Thisisnotthetimetogointoalengthyhistoryorwanderoff
indifferentdirections.Yourresponseshouldbefocusedand
purposeful.Communicateapatternofinterestsandskillsthatrelate
tothepositioninquestion.Consideryourresponsetothisquestion
asacommercialthatsellsyourautobiography.Provideananswer
thatincludesinformationaboutwhereyougrewup,whereyouwent
toschool,yourinitialworkexperience,additionaleducationand
specialtraining,whereyouarenow,andwhatyouintendtodonext.
Oneofthemosteffectivewaystoprepareforthisquestionisto
developa60secondbiographicsketchthatemphasizesapatternof
interests,skills,andaccomplishments.Focusyourresponsearound
acommonthemerelatedtoyourmajorinterestsandskills.Take,for
example,thefollowingresponse,whichemphasizesQAexperience
andeducation.
InmyQAcareer,Ihavebeenworkingonvarioussystemplatforms
andoperatingsystemsWindowsXP,WindowsVista,Windows7,
Windows8andUNIX.IhavetestedapplicationsdevelopedinJava,
.NET,Ruby,PHPandsoon.IhavetestedWebbasedapplications
aswellasclientserverapplications.AsaQAperson,Ihavewritten
TestPlans,TestCases,attendedwalkthroughmeetingswiththe
BusinessAnalysts,ProjectManagers,BusinessManagersandQA
Leads.Attendedrequirementreviewmeetingsandprovided
feedbacktotheBusinessAnalysts.
IhavealsotestedMobileApplicationsondifferentIOSandAndroid
platformstomakesurethattheapplicationsalsoworksaccordingly

searchhere
Go

inmobiledevices.
IhaveworkedindifferentdatabaseslikeOracle,MySQLandSQL,
wrotequeriestoretrievedatafromthedatabase.Asfarasdifferent
typesoftestingisconcerned,IhaveperformedSmokeTesting,
FunctionalTesting,BackendTesting,BlackBoxTesting,Integration
Testing,RegressionTestingandUAT(UserAcceptanceTesting)
Testing.IhaveparticipatedinLoadTestingandStressTesting.Ihave
writtendefectsastheyarefoundusingApplicationLifeCycle
Management(ALM)/QC,BugZeroandJIRA.Oncethedefectswere
fixed,retestedthemandiftheypassed,closedthem.Ifthedefects
4
werenotfixed,thenupdatedthestatusaccordingly.Ihavealso
Like
attendedthedefectassessmentmeetingsasnecessary.Inthe
meantime,acontinuousinteractionwithdeveloperswasnecessary.
Tweet
ThisisprettymuchwhatIhavebeendoingasaQAperson.

4
Iampreparedtoansweranyquestionsyoumayhaveaboutmy
educationandexperience.
Thisresponsesetsanicetoneforstartingtheinterview.The
intervieweeisabletosayalotwithin60secondsbystayingfocused.
Themessageisclear:theintervieweehasbothpassionandfocus
relatingtotheposition.Hestaysonmessageandconcludesby
leavingthedooropenforadditionalquestionsabouthiseducation
andexperience.Unfortunatelysomecandidatesgetoffonthewrong
footbyramblingonforseveralminutesabouttheirchildhood,family,
hobbies,travels,andinterests.
Q2.Whatdidyoudoinyourlastproject?
Ans:Inmylastproject,theapplicationwasawebbasedapplication
developedinJavaplatform.AsaQAPerson,IwroteTestPlansfrom
therequirementdocumentsandUseCases.IperformedSmoke
Testing,FunctionalTesting,BackendTesting,BlackBoxTesting,
IntegrationTesting,RegressionTestingandUAT(UserAcceptance
Testing).IhaveparticipatedinLoadTestingandStressTesting.I
attendedseveralwalkthroughmeetingsforrequirementreviewsand
providedfeedbacktotheBusinessAnalysts.Mostly,Iwasinthe
backendtesting,whichrequiredwritingSQLqueriesdirectlytothe
database.Besidesthese,IwrotedefectsusingClearQuest.Oncethe
defectswerefixed,retestedthemandifthepassed,closedthem.If
thedefectswerenotfixed,thenreopenedthem.
Q3.HaveyouwrittenTestPlan?WhatisaTestPlan?Whatdoes
itinclude?
Ans:ATestPlanisadocumentdescribingthescope,approach,
resources,andscheduleofintendedtestingactivities.Itidentifies
testitems,thefeaturestobetested,thetestingtasksandwhowilldo
eachtask(rolesandresponsibilities)andanyrisksanditssolutions.

Whatdoesitinclude?ATestPlanincludesHeading,Revision
History,TableofContents,Introduction,Scope,Approach,Overview,
differenttypesoftestingthatwillbecarriedout,whatsoftwareand
hardwarewillberequired,issues,risks,assumptionsandsignoff
section.Asampletestplanisgivenbelow:
SampleTestPlan
Q4.HaveyouwrittenaTestCase?WhatisaTestCase?What
doesitinclude?
Ans:Yes.Writingtestcasesisoneofmymaindutyinmycurrentand
previousjobs.ATestCaseisadocumentthatdescribesstepbystep
processofhowtotesttheapplication.ATestCasemainlyincludes
TestCaseID,StepsDescription,ExpectedOutput,ActualOutput,
Pass/Fail,Remarks.Butitmainlydependsonaorganizationneeds
andhowtheywanttheirtestcasestobedesigned.Thelinkofsome
sampletestcasedocumentsaregivenbelow:
SampleTestCase1
SampleTestCase2
SampleTestCase3
Q5.HowmanyTestCasesdidyouwriteinyourlastproject?
Ans:Iwroteabout1100TestCasesinmylastproject.(The
reasonablenumberofTestCasesvariesfrom500tothousands.The
number1100testcasescanbecompletedina6monthproject
duration).
Q6.WhatdocumentdidyourefertowritetheTestCases?
Ans:Requirementdocument.(NOTE:ItcanalsobeUseCases,or
DesignDocument)(Note:Itdependscompanytocompany.Insome
companies,theyuseUseCases.Insomecompanies,theyuse
RequirementDocumentsandinsomecompanies,theyuseDesign
Document.However,inpracticalscenario,mostofthecompanies
haverequirementdocumentatleast).
Q7.Whatispositivetesting?Negativetesting?Comparethe
two.
Ans:Whenyoutestanapplicationwiththecorrectdata,ensuring
thateverythingworksasitshouldwithexpecteduserbehavior,you
areperformingapositivetest.Forexample,ifapasswordonlyallows
numbers,youwouldonlyputnumbersintothisfieldwithapositive
test.Ifeverythingworksasitshould,yourprogramhaspassedthis

particularpositivetest.
Whenyoutestanapplicationwithincorrectdata,ensuringthaterrors
dontoccurwithunexpecteduserbehavior,youareperforminga
negativetest.Usingthepreviousexample,youwouldputboth
numbersandlettersintothepasswordfieldwithanegativetest.Ifan
errormessageoccurs,youknowthatyourprogramhaspassedthis
particularnegativetestitdidntletyouintothesystemwhenthere
wasunexpectedbehavior.
Negativetestingensuresthateverythingworkswhenthereis
unexpecteduserbehavior,whilepositivetestingensuresthat
everythingworkswhentheenduserdoeswhattheprogramexpects.
Inotherwords,negativetestingmakessurethatthingsthatshouldnt
work,dont,whilepositivetestingmakessurethatthingsthatshould
work,do.
Q8.Whatisaprimarykey?Whatisauniquekey?Howarethey
different?
Ans:Aprimarykeyisacolumninadatabasewhereeachrowhasa
uniquevalue.Eachtablehasonlyoneprimarykey.NoNULLvalues
areallowed.Auniquekeyisacolumnorgroupofcolumnsthat
togetherholduniquevalues.Atablecanhavemorethanoneunique
key.Forexample,inalistofAmericanCitizens,thecolumnwith
socialsecuritynumberswouldbeaprimarykeywhereasthefirstand
lastnamecolumnscombinedwithphonenumberwouldbeaunique
key.
Q9.Whatisthedifferencebetweenrequirementsand
specifications?
Ans:Requirementsarethefeatures,functions,andgoalsofthe
proposedsoftwaresystemasdefinedbytheclient.Forexample,a
companymaywanttheirsoftwaretoStoreshoppingcartdataforat
least30days.Thiswouldbearequirement.
Specifications,ontheotherhand,explainhowthesefeatures,
functions,andgoalsaretobemet.Forexample,aspecification
wouldbeAuserssessioninformationwillbepersistedintothe
operationaldatastoreuponlogoutorsessiontimeoutandmaintained
for30days.
Q10.Whendoweperformfunctionaltesting?
Ans:Functionaltestingteststhecodefromendtoend,makingsure
thatallpartsoftheapplicationareworkingeventhepartsthat
occurduringfailures.Functionaltestingshouldstartearly.Planning
canbeinitiatedduringtheanalysisphase,andfunctionaltesting

shouldstartwellbeforedevelopmentiscomplete.Itiscommonto
startrunningfunctionaltestswithintheQAdepartmentoncea
MinimumViableProductisreleased.
Q11.Didyouhaveasituationwhereyoudidnothaveany
documents(norequirementdocument,noUseCases,orno
DesignDocument)andyouhadtowritetheTestCases?How
didyouwritetheTestCases?
Ans:Yes.Ihavebeentothatkindofscenariosseveraltimes.There
werecompanieswheretheyhadnodocumentsatall.Inthatcase,I
hadtodiscusstheapplicationscenarioandfunctionalitywiththe
BusinessAnalystsordeveloper.Ikindofpreparedadocumentin
consultationwithBusinessAnalystsandDevelopersandthenstarted
writingTestCases.
Q12.HaveyouworkedwiththeUsesCasesbefore?
Ans:Yes.IhavewrittenTestCasesusingUseCases.
Q13.CanyoutellmewhataUseCaseis?
Ans:Ausecaseisadocumentthatdescribestheuseractionand
systemresponseforaparticularfunctionality.Forexample,aUse
CaseforATMSystemcanhavethefollowinguserinteractions:
SampleUseCase
FlowsofeventsfortheaboveUseCase:

SystemStartupUseCase
Thesystemisstartedupwhentheoperatorturnstheoperatorswitch
totheonposition.Theoperatorwillbeaskedtoentertheamountof
moneycurrentlyinthecashdispenser,andaconnectiontothebank
willbeestablished.Thentheservicingofcustomerscanbegin.

SystemShutdownUseCase
Thesystemisshutdownwhentheoperatormakessurethatno
customerisusingthemachine,andthenturnstheoperatorswitchto
theoffposition.Theconnectiontothebankwillbeshutdown.Then
theoperatorisfreetoremovedepositedenvelopes,replenishcash
andpaper,etc.

SessionUseCase
AsessionisstartedwhenacustomerinsertsanATMcardintothe
cardreaderslotofthemachine.Thecustomermayabortthesession

bypressingtheCancelkeywhenenteringaPINorchoosinga
transactiontype.
(TheabovearesomesampleUsecaseflowjustforunderstanding)
Q14.WhatisaUseCaseandwhatdoesitinclude?
Ans:AUseCaseisadocumentthatdescribestheuseractionand
systemresponseforaparticularfunctionality.Itincludescoverpage,
RevisionHistory,TableofContents,FlowofEvents(normalflowand
alternativeflow)
Q15.WhatisSoftwareDevelopmentLifeCycle?
Ans:Thesystems(orsoftware)developmentlifecycle(SDLC)isa
conceptualmodelusedinprojectmanagementthatdescribesthe
stagesinvolvedinaninformationsystemdevelopmentproject,from
aninitialfeasibilitystudythroughmaintenanceofthecompleted
application.
Itincludesthefollowingdifferentstages:
1.Requirementphase
2.Designphase
3.Coding(programming)
4.Testing
5.Release(Production)
6.Maintenance(Support)
SDLCDiagram
Q16.WhatisBusinessRequirementDocument(BRD)?
Ans:Itisadocumentthatdescribesthedetailsoftheapplication
functionalitywhichisrequiredbytheuser.Thisdocumentiswritten
bytheBusinessAnalysts.
Q17.WhatisSoftwareTestingLifeCycle(STLC)?
Ans:Thetestingofsoftwarehasitsownlifecycle.Itstartswithstudy
andanalyzingtherequirements.
Hereisthesoftwaretestinglifecycle:

1.RequirementStudy
2.TestPlanning
3.WritingTestCases
4.ReviewtheTestCases
5.ExecutingtheTestCases
6.Bugloggingandtracking
7.CloseorReopenbugs
STLCDiagram
Q18.WhatisBusinessDesignDocument?
Ans:Itisthedocumentwhichdescribestheapplicationfunctionality
oftheuserindetail.Thisdocumentisthefurtherdetailsofthe
BusinessRequirementDocument.Thisisaverycrucialstepinthe
SDLC.SometimestheBusinessRequirementDocumentand
BusinessDesignDocumentcanbelumpedtogethertomakeonly
oneBusinessRequirementDocument.
Q19.WhatisCodeGenerationorProgram?
Ans:CodingistheprocessoftranslatingtheBusinessDesign
Documentintothemachinereadableform.Ifthedesignisdonein
detailedmanner,theCodeGenerationcanbedonewithoutmuch
application.ProgrammingtoolslikeCompilers,Interpretersand
Debuggersareusedtogeneratethecodethrudifferenthighlevel
languagelikeC,C++,Pascal,Java.
Q20.WhatisaModule?
Ans:AModuleisasoftwarecomponentthathasaspecifictask.It
canbealinkwhichcangoinsidetoitscomponentdetail.
Q21.WhatismeantbyWalkthrumeeting?
Ans:Beforestartworkinginamoduleand/orafteraccomplishingthe
testingofamodule,thetestercallsameetingtodisseminatehis
findingsortosharehisqueriestoothertesterorleadsofthe
companyworkingonthesameapplicationthatiscalledtheWalkthru
meeting.
Q22.WhatisBuild?

Ans:Wheneachofthedifferentmodulesofsoftwareisprepared,
theyareputinasinglefolderbytheConfigurationManagement
Team(CMT)anditiscalledtheBuild.Inotherword,thedevelopers
puttheircodeinthesharedlocation(folder)andallthosecode
(modules)arecombinedtogethersothatitisacompleteapplication
thatworks.
Q23.WhatismeantbytheBuildDeployment?
Ans:WhentheBuildsopreparedbytheCMTissenttodifferentTest
Environments,itiscalledtheBuildDeployment.
Q24.WhatisTestStrategy?
Ans:Ateststrategyisanoutlinethatdescribesthetestingportionof
thesoftwaredevelopmentcycle.Itiscreatedtoinformproject
managers,testers,anddevelopersaboutsomekeyissuesofthe
testingprocess.Thisincludesthetestingobjective,methodsof
testingnewfunctions,totaltimeandresourcesrequiredforthe
project,andthetestingenvironment.Theteststrategydescribeshow
theproductrisksofthestakeholdersaremitigatedatthetestlevel,
whichtypesoftestaretobeperformed,andwhichentryandexit
criteriaapply.Theteststrategyiscreatedbasedondevelopment
designdocuments..ItiswrittenbytheTestManagerorLead.
Q25.AreTestPlanandTestStrategysametypeofdocument?
Ans:No.Theyaredifferentdocuments.TestPlanisadocumentthat
collectsandorganizestestcasesbyfunctionalareasand/ortypesof
testinginaformthatcanbepresentedtotheotherteamsand/or
customerwhereastheTestStrategyisthedocumentedapproachto
testing.TestPlanispreparedbythetesterwhereastheTestStrategy
ispreparedbytheQAManagerorQAlead.Bothareimportant
piecesofQualityAssuranceprocessessincetheyhelpcommunicate
thetestapproachscopeandensuretestcoveragewhileimproving
theefficiencyofthetestingeffort.
Q26.WhatdoestheTestStrategyinclude?
Ans:Itincludesintroduction,scope,resourceandschedulefortest
activities,acceptancecriteria,testenvironment,testtools,test
priorities,testplanning,executingatestpassandtypesoftesttobe
performed.
Q27.Whataredifferenttypesofsoftwaretesting?
Differenttypesoftestingcarriedoutare:
1. Unittesting

2. Shakeouttesting
3. Smoketesting(Adhoctesting)
4. Functionaltesting
5. Integrationtesting
6. Regressiontesting
7. Systemtesting
8. Loadtesting
9. Stresstesting
10. Performancetesting
11. Useracceptancetesting
12. Blackboxtesting
13. Whiteboxtesting
14. Alphatesting
15. Betatesting
Note:ExcepttheShakeouttestingandUnittestingwhichare
respectivelydonebytheCMTandCoder/Developer,allothertesting
aredonebytheQAEngineer(Tester).
AbriefDefinitionofeachoftheabovetypesoftestingisgivenbelow:
1. Unittesting:Itisatesttocheckthecodewhetheritis
properlyworkingornotaspertherequirement.Itisdoneby
thedevelopers(Nottesters).
2. Shakeouttesting:Thistestisbasicallycarriedouttocheck
thenetworkingfacility,databaseconnectivityandthe
integrationofmodules.(ItisdonebytheConfigurationTeam)
3. Smoketesting:Itisaninitialsetoftesttocheckwhetherthe
majorfunctionalityareworkingornotandalsotocheckthe
majorbreakdownsintheapplication.Itisthepreliminarytest
carriedoutbytheSQAtester.
4. Functionaltesting:Itisatesttocheckwhethereachand
everyfunctionalityofthatapplicationisworkingasperthe
requirement.Itismajortestwhere80%ofthetestsaredone.
Inthistest,theTestCasesareexecuted.
5. Integrationtesting:Itisatesttocheckwhetherallthe
modulesarecombinedtogetherornotandworking
successfullyasspecifiedintherequirementdocument.
6. Regressiontesting:Whenafunctionalityisaddedtoan
application,weneedtomakesurethatthenewlyadded
functionalitydoesnotbreaktheapplication.Inordertomake
itsure,weperformarepeatedtestingwhichiscalled
RegressionTesting.Wealsodoregressiontestingafterthe
developersfixthebugs.
7. Systemtesting:Testingwhichisbasedonoverall
requirementsspecificationanditcoversallcombinedpartsof
asystem.Itisalsoablackboxtypeoftesting.

8. Loadtesting:Itisatesttochecktheusersresponsetimeof
numberofusersusinganyonescenario(singlebusiness
process)ofthesameapplicationatthesametime.
9. Stresstesting:Inthistypeoftestingtheapplicationistested
againstheavyloadsuchascomplexnumericalvalues,large
numberofinputs,largenumberofqueriesetc.whichchecks
forthestress/loadtheapplicationscanwithstand.
10. Performancetesting:Itisatesttochecktheusers
responsetimeofnumberofusersusingmultiplescenarios
(multiplebusinessprocess)ofthesameapplicationatthe
sametime.
1. Useracceptancetesting:Inthistypeoftesting,the
softwareishandedovertotheuserinordertofindoutifthe
softwaremeetstheuserexpectationsandworksasitis
expectedto.
2. Blackboxtesting:Itistestwhereatesterperformstesting
withoutlookingintothecode.ORAtestingmethodwherethe
applicationundertestisviewedasablackboxandthe
internalbehavioroftheprogramiscompletelyignored.
Testingoccursbasedupontheexternalspecifications.Also
knownasbehavioraltesting,sinceonlytheexternalbehavior
oftheprogramisevaluatedandanalyzed.
3. Whiteboxtesting:Itisatestwhereatesterlooksintothe
codeandperformsthetesting.
4. Alphatesting:Inthistypeoftesting,theusersareinvitedat
thedevelopmentcenterwheretheyusetheapplicationand
thedevelopersnoteeveryparticularinputoractioncarried
outbytheuser.Anytypeofabnormalbehaviorofthesystem
isnotedandrectifiedbythedevelopers.
5. Betatesting:Inthistypeoftesting,thesoftwareis
distributedasabetaversiontotheusersanduserstestthe
applicationattheirsites.Astheusersexplorethesoftware,in
caseifanyexception/defectoccursthatisreportedtothe
developers.
Q28.WhatisNegativeTesting?
Ans:Testingthesystemorapplicationusingnegativedataiscalled
negativetesting,forexample,testingpasswordentering6characters
whereitshouldbe8charactersshoulddisplayamessage.Whenwe
testanapplicationbyputtingnegativevalues(insteadofactual
values),thenthesystemshouldnotallowtheothervaluesrather
thantheactualvalue.Thesystemshouldgiveanmessagethatthe
valueisnotcorrect.Thisiscallednegativetesting.Anotherexample
is,ifausertriestotypealetterinanumericfield,thecorrect
behaviorinthiscasewouldbetodisplaytheIncorrectdatatype,
pleaseenteranumbermessage.Thepurposeofnegativetestingis

todetectsuchsituationsandpreventapplicationsfromcrashing.
Also,negativetestinghelpsyouimprovethequalityofyour
applicationandfinditsweakpoints.(source:JerryRuban)
Q29.WhatisthedifferencebetweenLoadTestingand
PerformanceTesting?
Ans:BasicallyLoad,StressandPerformanceTestingarethesame.
However,Loadtestingisthetesttochecktheusersresponsetime
ofnumberofusersofanyonescenariooftheapplicationwhereas
PerformanceTestingisthetesttochecktheuserresponsetimefor
multiplescenarioofthesameapplication.
Q30.WhatwastheprocessofQAtestinginyourcompany
whereyouworkedforthelasttime?(orAsfarastheQA
processisinvolved,whatwasthetestingprocessinyour
company?)
Ans:TheQAtestingprocessthatwasfollowedinmylastcompany
whereIworkedwaslikethis:FirstofalltheBusinessRequirement
Documentwaspreparedaspertheclientsrequirement(withthe
muckupscreenshots).Thenonthebasisoftherequirement
document,TestStrategy,TestPlansandTestCaseswerewrittenin
sequentialorder.OncetheBuildismadeanddeployedtothe
differenttestingenvironmentswheredifferenttypesoftestingwere
performedtocheckwhetherthereareanydefects.
Q31.WhatisSQL?
Ans:SQLstandsforStructuredQueryLanguage.SQLisanANSI
(AmericanNationalStandardsInstitute)standardcomputerlanguage
foraccessingandmanipulatingdatabasesystems.SQLstatements
areusedtoretrieveandupdatedatainadatabase.SQLworkswith
databaseprogramslikeMSAccess,DB2,Informix,MSSQLServer,
Oracle,Sybase,etc.Unfortunately,therearemanydifferentversions
oftheSQLlanguage,buttobeincompliancewiththeANSI
standard,theymustsupportthesamemajorkeywordsinasimilar
manner(suchasSELECT,UPDATE,DELETE,INSERT,WHERE,
andothers).Note:MostoftheSQLdatabaseprogramsalsohave
theirownproprietaryextensionsinadditiontotheSQLstandard.
Q32.WheredoyouwriteSQLquery?
Ans:WewriteSQLqueriesusingsomethesetools:MicrosoftSQL
ServerManagementStudio,OracleSQLDeveloper,Toad,Squirrel
andRapidSQL.
Q33.DoyoureallyneedtowriteSQLasaQAEngineer?

Ans:Yes.Youneedto.Nomatterwhetheritisasmallcompanyor
big,theyhaveadatabaseandyouneedtovalidatethedataby
writingSQLqueriesgoingintothedatabase.Thestrongeryouarein
SQL,thebetterthechanceofgettingajob.
Q34.WhatarethebasiccommandsinSQL+?
Ans:Theyare:
SQL>select*fromtabtodirectoryof
databasetables
SQL>edtoeditthe
queriesinthenotepad
SQL>/torunorexecute
thequerycommand
SQL>createtabletablenametocreateatable
SQL>desctablenametodisplaytablewith
columnnamewithtype
SQL>altertabletablenametoaddacolumnadd
columnnametype
SQL>altertabletablenametomodifythename
andtypeofacolumnmodifycolumnnametype
Q35.Whatisthemostcommonsyntaxyouhaveusedwhile
writingSQLquery?
Ans:SELECT
Q36.WhatisaPrimaryKey?
Ans:Inadatabasetable,thePrimaryKeyisacolumnwhichhasa
uniquevalueforeachoftherowwithinthatcolumn.Itcanthave
NULLvalue.
Q37.WhatisaUniqueKey?
Ans:Inadatabasetable,theUniqueKeyisacolumnwhichmayor
maynothavenullvalueofeachoftherowwithinthatcolumn.
Q38.WhatisData?
Ans:Dataisnumber,characterorimagewhichhassome
information.
Q39.WhatisDatabase?
Ans:Itiscollectionoflogicallyrelateddatadesignedinatabularform
tomeettheinformationneedsofoneormoreusers.

Q40.WhatisChangeControl(ORChangeRequest)?
Ans:Itisadocumentthatdescribestheadditionalfunctionalitythat
areaddedaftertheBusinessRequirementDocumentissignedoff.It
canbeupdatedintheoldbusinessrequirementdocumentoritcan
beaseparatedocument.(Forexample,intheBusinessRequirement
Document,ontheloginpage,thereareUserNameandPassword
fields.Theownerofthesoftwarewantstoadd,Ifyoudonothave
UserNameandPassword,pleaseclickhere.Thisisachange.But
thischangecameafterthedocumentissignedoffbytheProject
Managers.Nowthisisachangecontrolandcomesasaseparate
document.(ItisalsocalledChangeRequest,ModificationRequest).
Q41.HaveyouwrittenChangeControl?
Ans:Yes.Therewasasituationwhereinonepageofanapplication
inmypreviousproject,whentheuserclickedContactlink,itwould
popupadifferentwindow(newseparatewindow).ButitwasNOT
thewayitwasdescribedintherequirementdocument.Inthe
requirementdocument,whentheuserclicksContactlink,thenit
shouldnavigatetoanotherpage(Notaseparatenewwindow.Then
wasitaproblem?Functionalitywise,itwasNOTaproblem,
however,onalltheotherpages,whentheuserclickedContactlink,
thesystemwouldnavigatetonextpage(notaseparatewindow).So,
itwasNOTCONSISTENTwiththeotherfunctionalityontheother
pages.Therefore,itwasaconsistencyissue.Ireportedthisasa
bug.ButtheProjectManageraskedmetowriteitasaChange
Control(becauseitrequiresmorebudgettofixthisissue)sothathe
canaddressthisissueatalatertime.SoIwrotethisasaChange
Control.(However,itisNOTajobofatestertowritechangecontrol.
Itsthebusinessanalystsjob)
Q42.WhatisBackendTesting?
Ans:ItisatesttocheckwhetherthedatadisplayedintheGU I front
endreportformatmatcheswiththeparticulardataintheoriginal
database.
Q43.HaveyoudoneanyBackEndTestingand/orifyoudid,
howdidyoudoitinyourlastproject?
Ans:YesIdid.IwasworkingonReports.WhenIwasworkinginmy
lastproject,thiswasmyscenario:Itwasthecaseoftestingonepart
ofapplicationusedinthebank,whereacustomercomestoabanks
frontdeskassociateandaskforopeninganaccount.Theassociate
thenasksforthepersonalinformationaboutthecustomerwhich,are
theprimarydata,suchas:FirstName,LastName,DateofBirth,
AddressandSocialSecurityNumber.Theassociatethenputthese
primarydataofthatparticularcustomerintothecomputer,which

thenafterwardsbatchprocessedintotheDATABASEinXMLFormat.
ThenthebatchprocesseddataissenttoETL(ExtractTransform
Load,whichissoftwaremadebyAbInitioorInformatica)which
processesthejobtocreateafiletoproducethereport.Thefileis
displayedtoaGU I FrontEndreportformatwiththehelpofCrystal
Report/BusinessObject.IntheGU I FrontEndreport,letussay,iffor
January,theincomeofthatpersonwasdisplayedas$900.00,then
myjobwastovalidatethisdatabywritingSQLquerieswhetherthis
displayeddatamatcheswiththeoriginalinputdatainthedatabase,
beingcalledastheBackEndTesting.
Q44.Howcanyoubesurethatthequeryyouwroteiscorrect?
Orhowdoyouknowthatthedatayoupulledfromthedatabase
iscorrect?
Ans:IwriteSQLquerybasedontherequirementdocument.Inthe
requirementdocument,variousconditionsaregivenforthequery.
Basedonthoseconditions,IwriteSQLquery.Therefore,anything
differentfromtherequirementdocumentisdefinitelyadefect.
Q45.WhatisXML?
Ans:XMLstandsforEXtensibleMarkupLanguage.XMLisa
markuplanguagemuchlikeH T M L .XMLwasdesignedtodescribe
data.XMLtagsarenotpredefinedandwemustdefineourowntags.
XMLusesaDocumentTypeDefinition(DTD)oranXMLSchemato
describedata.XMLwithaDTDorXMLSchemaisdesignedtobe
selfdescriptive.XMLisaW 3C Recommendation.
Q46.Fromyouresume,Iseethatyouhavebeenworkinginone
placeforaveryshortperiodoftime.Thisraisesmequestions
why.Canyouexplainwhy?
Ans:Asaconsultant,Iamhiredforacertainperiodoftime,normally
for6monthsto1year.Oncetheprojectisover,Ineededtomoveto
anotherproject.Thatswhyyouseemeintheresumejumping
frequentlyhereandthere.
Q47.Whatdoyoudoonyourfirstdayofthework?
Ans:(Note:Thepersonwhoisaskingthisquestionprobablywants
toknowhowtherealscenarioofaworkingpersonatwork.Itisa
hardquestionforthosewhohasneverworkedinaworkplaceasa
SoftwareTester.)Onthefirstday,normally,wewillbegivena
computerandsupportpeoplewillsetuptheUserNameand
Passwordforthecomputer.Ifthatisdonealready,thentheQALead
orQAManagerwillgivemeabriefwalkthroughofthedocuments
(whichdocumentsarewhere),introducetodifferentteammembers
(normallytotheonesyouwillbeworkingwith).Thenyourbosswill

askyoutostepintoworkwhatneedstobedone.However,thefirst
thingnormallyis,theywillaskyoutoreadthedocumentsavailable
forthatproject.
Q48.Whatdoyoudoifyouhaveanyquestionstoask?Whodo
youask?
Ans:Atthebeginning,weallpanic,whatkindofquestionstoask?
WhatiftheyaskquestionsthatIdontknow?IsitOKtoask
questions?WhatdoIdoifIdontknowhowtodothejobIam
assignedto?andsoon.Asmentionedearlier,onthefirstday,your
Managerwillgiveyouthesystem(computer)(Theynormallycall
system,notcomputer),willtellyouwhattheUserIDandPassword
is,wherearetheQAdocumentsontheshareddrive(orNetwork
drive)areandsoon.Theywilldefinitelyaskyoutoreadalotof
documentsatthebeginning(Andyoumustreadreadandreadthose
documentsASMUCHASPOSSIBLE.Atthebeginning,allocate
about2hoursextraathomeforreadingthesedocuments.Thishabit
willputyouonthetopofyourjob).Thesedocumentsarenormally
designspecificationdocument(DSD).Differentcompaniescallitwith
differentnames,forexample,RequirementSpecificationDocument
(RSD)andsoon.Afterreadingthedocuments,youwillbeaskedto
writeTestPlansorTestCases(Dontpanic.TheTestPlansandTest
Casestemplateswillbegivebyyourmanagerortestleadandthey
willtellyouwhattodoandhowtodobecausedifferentcompanies
havedifferentformatstheyfollow.Iftheydonthaveone,thenyou
canalwaysprepareasamplefromthiswebsite(seeontheright
column)andgiveittothem.Youwillbehero)
Q49.Whodoyouask?
Ans:Nowletssayyoudidnotunderstandsomethingwhilereading
documents.Whoareyougoingtoask?AnswerBusinessAnalysts
whowrotethisdocument.Ifyouhaveanyotherquestionsthatyou
dontknow,youwillbeaskingthattoyoufriendfirst,ifhe/sheisnot
abletoanswer,thenaskthisquestiontotheLead(orManager).Do
notasktoomanyquestions(somepeoplegetirritated).Therefore,it
isimportanttoreadreadandread.Thatstheonlywaytosucceed.If
youhaveanyquestionsinTestDirector,orQTPoranyother
automationtools,thenthereisaHELPmenuaswellastutorial.
Pleasegothroughthese,readthembeforeyouaskanyquestionsto
anyoneelse.WhatkindofquestionsshouldIaskinthemeeting?
Nothing.Myadviceis,keepyourmouthshut.Justlisten.Thisisthe
bestwaytohandlethejobuntilyouareconfidentenoughtospeak
andyouknowwhatyouaretalkingabout.Iftheyaskyousome
questions,thenreplygently,wisely.
Q50.Howtodealwithyourteammembers?

Ans:Mostprobably,youwillnotbetheonlytesterintheteam.There
willbemorethanyou.Sometimes,dealingwithyouteammembers
isfrustrating,speciallywhenyouarenew.Theytrytoignoreyou.
Theywanttoshowthemselvessmart.Dontworry.Dontblamethem.
Thispartofthehumannature.Trytocopewithit.Invitethemwhen
yougoforcoffee(inthecoffeeroominyouroffice,dontgooutside),
trytoshareyourfeelingsandsoon.Itisallhowyouhandleyour
friends.Itispartofyourdailyactivities,handleitgently.Thisispartof
thesituationIhavegonethrough,myfriendshavegonethrough.I
amjustsharingthiswithyou.
Q51.Haveyouusedautomationtools?
Ans:(Normally,whensomeoneasksthisquestion,wetendtothink
aboutautomationfunctionaltestingtools,likeWinRunner,
LoadRunner,QTP(QuickTestPro),RationalRobot,Experianandso
on.Buttherealityis,evenaManualTesteralsousesautomation
toolslikebugtrackingtoolslikeTestDirector,JIRA,PVCTrackerand
soon.Therefore,youranswershouldbeYes)
Yes.IhaveusedJIRAAndTestDirectorasdefecttracking
tools.(Youranswerisbasedonwhetheryouhaveusedautomation
toolsspeciallyforfunctionalandloadtesting.IfyouhaveNOTused,
butreadaboutthesetools,thenyoumaybebetteroffsaying,Iknow
aboutthetools.Iwasinvolvedinsomeofthetestingusingthese
tools,butwouldneedsomebrushupinordertoworkindependently.
Iamsayingthisbecausethesetoolsaredifficulttotackleinthe
interviewandhavetoknowindepth.Inordertopasstheinterview
onfunctionalautomationtools,itmaynotbeeasyunlessyoureally
knowthestuff.But,sincethereisnotmuchtolearninJIRAand
TestDirector,youonlyhavetoknowwhatdifferenttypesoffieldsare
thereinthedefectloggingwindowwhenwritingadefect.)
Q52.WhenyoulogadefectusingTestDirectororJIRAwhat
fieldsdoyousee?
Ans:Whenwelogadefect,weseeDefectID(itshowslaterin
TestDirector),Summary(wherewewriteshortdescriptionofthe
defect),Description(longdescriptionofthedefect),Detectedby
(Personwhofoundthedefect,(itsyou),Severity(meaningisthe
defectcritical?High?Medium?OrLow?),Date,DetectedinVersion,
Priority,Project,Status,Assignedtoandsoon.Clickthelinkbelowto
seethefieldswhenyoureportdefectsinJIRAorTestDirector:
DefectFieldsinJIRA
DefectFieldsinTestDirector
Q53.Areyoubetterworkinginateamorworkingalone?

Ans:Iamateamplayer.Igetalongwithteammembersverywell.As
farastheworkingisconcerned,Icanbeequallyproductiveinteam
orworkingalone.(Caution:Neversay,Ilikeworkingalone.This
couldleadyoutonotgettingajobastheyarealwayslookingfor
peoplewhocangetalongwithotherpeople.)
Q54.Doyouhaveanysituationsinthepastwhereyouhave
someargumentswithyourteammembers?
Ans:No.IneverhadthattypeofsituationwhereverIhaveworked.
(Evenifyouhadone,itsagoodideatosayNo.Thiscouldbeared
flag,whichmightstopyoufromgettingthejob)
Q55.WhatdoyoulikeaboutaManager?Andwhatdontyou
like?
Ans:ThebestthingIlikeaboutaManageristhattheManager
shouldbeabletocoordinatewiththeotherteamssothatwecanget
theupdateddocuments,forexample,updatedrequirements
documentsrightaway.AManagerwhocanefficientlyindistributes
theworktotheteam,withoutbeingbiasedandeasilyaccessibleand
protectivetohisteamfortherightcause.AsfaraswhatIdontlike
isconcerned,Idontlikeamanagerwhokeepscomingtodesk10
timesadaytocheckmyworkevenifitisjustaregularwork.Once
theresponsibilityisgiven,theteammembershouldbetrustedand
lethisworkdone.
Q56.Wheredoyouseeyourselfinanother5years?
Ans:IseemyselfaQALeadinanother5years.(Youcanalsosay
QAManager,butsincetheQAManageristakingyourinterview
mostofthetime,theysometimesfeelchallenged.Therefore,itmight
beagoodideatolimityoutoQALead)
Q57.WhyareyouinQA?
Ans:IaminQAbecauseIlikethisjob.
Q58.Whydoyoulikethisjob?
Ans:Ilikethisjob,becauseitisprocessoriented.MeaningthatIget
anopportunitytoworkfromanalyzingtherequirementdocumentsto
writingtestplans,testcases,testingtheapplication,loggingdefects,
retesting,preparingreportsandfinallytestinginproductionaswell.
Therefore,Iaminvolvedfromtheverybeginningtotheendofthe
softwaredevelopmentlifecycle(SDLC)process.Ilikethis.Another
reasonisIliketofinddefects.Ienjoyloggingdefects.Themore
defectsIfind,thehappierIam.

Q59.Howdoyoudeterminewhattotestinanapplication?
Ans:Firstofallwehavethetestcases(ortestscripts)thatare
writtenbasedontherequirementdocument.Thisprettymuchcovers
whatfunctionalitiestotest.Therefore,lookingatthetestcasestells
uswhattotestintheapplication.
Q60.Ifyouhavenodocumentationabouttheproduct,howdo
youtestanapplication?Describetheprocess.
Ans:Well,thisisasituationwhereIhavecomeacrossseveraltimes.
Someofthecompaniesinmypreviousprojectsdidnothaveany
documents.Inthiscase,IwenttotheBusinessAnalystandsome
timestodeveloperstofindouthowexactlythefunctionalitieswork,
howtonavigatefromonepagetoanotherpageandsoon.After
gettingaclearvision,Iwritetestcasesbasedontheconversation
(whichisastepbystepproceduretotestanapplication)andget
readyfortesting.
Q61.Whatdoyoudoonceyoufindadefect?
Ans:Onceyoufindadefect,thisiswhatweneedtodo:1.Recreate
theDefect:Onceyoufindadefect,wemusttrytorecreate(meaning
thatweshouldbeabletoreproduceit)atleast3timessothatweare
surethatitisadefect.Sometimes,oncewefinditlogitwithout
recreating,mayputusinafalsesituation(becausesometimesthe
applicationdoesnotbehaveinthesameway).Therefore,itis
importanttorecreatethesamedefectseveraltimes.2.Attachthe
ScreenShot(supportingdocument):Onceweconfirmthatitisa
defect,andthenitisagoodideatoattachsupportingdocuments
whenwelog(write)adefect.Forexample,screenshot,requirement
documentetc.Forinstance,letussaythatinsteadofContinue
buttononapage,thereisatypoContinue.Now,wewillmakea
screenshotofthispage(Tomakescreenshot,pressPrintScreen
buttononthekeyboard,andopenaWorddocument,andClickEdit
ontheWorddocumentandPastit.Youwillseethescreennow)
Now,atesterneedstowritedefectsineasyandclearlanguageto
makeallthedeveloperstounderstandeasily.3.LogtheDefect:Now,
thenextstepis,weneedtologit.Dependingonthecompanywhat
kindoftoolstheyareusing(forexample,somecompaniesuse
TestDirectortologdefects,somecompaniesuseRational
ClearQuest,someusePVCTrackerandsoon).Ifthecompanyis
smallandcannotaffordtheseexpensivetools,thentheymaysimply
useExcelsheettologdefects.Welogthedefect.
Q62.Whatarethebasicelementsyouputinadefect?
Ans:Basicelementsweputinadefectare:SEVERITY,PRIORITY,
CREATEDBY,VERSIONNO,HEADER,DESCRIPTIONOFTHE

DEFECTwherewewritehowtorecreateadefect,inwhatmodule
thedefectisfound,Status,andsoon.
Q63.Whatisthebiggestbugyouhaveeverfound?
Ans:Well,therearemanybigdefectsIhavefoundinvarious
projects.Forexample,inthelastproject,onapage,therewasa
buttoncalledMoreInformation.Oncetheuserclickedthatbutton,
thesystemwouldopenanewwindow(popup).Wecouldclosethe
newwindowin3ways:ByclickingXatthetoprightcornerofthe
pageByclickingClosebuttononthepageBypressing
combinationkeys(Alt+F4)onthekeyboardAlthoughthe
combinationkey(Alt+F4)wasnotmentionedinthetestcase,Ijust
wantedtotryhowtheapplicationreactswhenAlt+F4ispressed.
ThenIpressedAlt+F4.Theresultwasadisastertheapplication
crashed(broke).Theapplicationdisappearedfromthecomputer
monitor.Sinceitwasthelastdayoftestingforus,itbroughtchaosin
ourManagers,Leadsandthewholeteams.Finally,thedevelopers
disabledAlt+F4asatemporarysolutionandtheapplicationwentinto
production.
Q64.Howdoyoumakesurethatitisqualitysoftware?
Ans:Thereisacertainprocesshowthequalityofsoftwareis
guaranteed(ensured).Ifisdefinedbytheexitcriteria.(Whatit
meansis,aQAManagerwritesadocumentcalledTestStrategy.
ThisTestStrategydefinestheexitcriteria.)ExitCriteriagivesthe
measurement,forexample,inordertoconfirmthequality,howmany
criticaldefects,highdefects,mediumdefectandlowdefectare
acceptable?Thesearealldefinedintheexitcriteria.(Normallyin
practice,foraqualitysoftware,thereshouldnocriticaldefects(0
critical),nohighdefect(0high),nomediumdefect(0medium)and
maybe1lowdefect)
Q65.AsaQATester,canyoutellmethesituationwhenyoufelt
themostproudofit?
Ans:WhenIfindthedefectthatnormallyothersdontfind,thenIfeel
veryproud.Forexample,thereweresituationswhereIfoundbugs
thatcrashedthewholesystemattheendoftestingphase.Itriedthe
scenarioswherethescenarioswereNOTmentionedinthetest
cases.Forexample,wecanclosethewindowsbyclickingXonthe
page,withClosebuttonandsoon.Butthereisanotherwaythat
youcanclosethewindow,bypressingAlt+F4onthekeyboard.Not
manytesterstestthisscenario.Ihavedonethisinmylasttwo
projects.Boththetime,theapplicationcrashedwhichbecameabig
issue.Ifeltproud.
Q66.Whatmadeyoutochoosetestingcareer?

Ans:IamaverydetailedorientedpersonandIlikeprocessoriented
job.ThewayQAprocessworksisjustthekindofworkIlike.For
example,analyzingrequirementdocuments,attendingwalkthrough
meetings,writingtestplans,writingtestcases,executingthetest
cases(orrunningthetestcases)testingtheapplication,logging
defects,retestingthemandsoon.IthinkIreallyliketheprocessand
thatswhyIchosethiscareer.
Q67.Whenshouldtestingstartinaproject?Why?
Ans:Weshouldstarttestingassoonasthefollowingthingsare
ready:TestDataarereadyBuild(allthedevelopershavecoded
theircodeandmergedthemtogether)TestEnvironment(servers,
networketc)issetupandreadyWhenthemanagerasksustogo
aheadandstarttesting.
Q68.Letussayyouhaveawebapplicationtotest.Howdoyou
goabouttestingit?Whatistheprocess?
Ans:Firstofall,Iwilllookattherequirementdocuments(ordesign
documentinsomecompanies).Therequirementdocumentwilltell
uswhatthefunctionalitiesintheapplication(software)are.OnceI
analyzetherequirementdocuments(onemodule=onerequirement
document).Afterthat,Iwillwritetestplansforeachmodule(one
module=onetestplan).Thenafterthetestplaniscomplete,Iwill
writetestcases(Onemodulecanhavehundreds,eventhousands
testcases).Oncethetestcasesarereadyandtheapplicationis
ready(oroncethebuildisready),thenIwillstarttesting.BeforeI
starttesting,however,Iwillmakesurethetestenvironments,test
dataanddefectloggingtoolsareinplace.ThisishowIwillgoabout
testinganapplication.
Q69.Whatisabug?
Ans:Abugisabugisanerror,flaw,mistake,failure,orfaultina
computercode(program)thatpreventsitfrombehavingasintended
(e.g.,producinganincorrectresult).(Youcanalsoaddthis:When
theexpectedresults(accordinglytotherequirementdocuments)
dontmatchwiththeactualresults(whiletesting),thenitis
consideredabug)
Q70.Howwouldyouensurethatyouhavecovered100%
testing?
Ans:Thetestingcoverageisdefinedbyexitcriteria(Thereisexit
criteriaandentrycriteriaintheTestStrategy).Forexample,iftheexit
criteriasaysThesoftwarewillbeacceptabletotheclientonlyif
therearenocriticaldefects,nohighdefects,nomediumdefectsand
onlytwolowdefects,thenallthecritical,high,mediumshouldbe

zero.Only2lowdefectsareacceptable.Thus,100%coverageis
measuredbytheexitcriteria.Also,100%testcasesmustbe
executedinordertocover100%oftesting.
Q71.Whatproblemsdidyoufaceinthepast?Howdidyou
solveit?
Ans:(YouwillbeOKifyoujustgiveoneoftheproblemsbelow,not
allofthem)Ihadmanyproblemswhiletestingapplicationsinthe
past.AsfarasIrememberoneofthem(thendescribeoneofthem
frombelow),thiswasthescenario:(i)Itwasawebbased
application.IwasworkingonamodulecalledTransaction
Summary.TherewasSubmitbuttononthatpage.Afterentering
dataintheallthefields,forexample,FirstName,LastName,Social
SecurityNumber,DateofBirthandsoon,IclickedtheSubmit
button.OnceIclickedSubmitbutton,anerrorpagedisplayed,Page
cannotbefound.Sinceitwasacriticaldefect,Iimmediately
informedtheTestLead.Therewasachaosintheroom.Allthe
developers,DatabaseAdministratorsandTestersgatheredinmy
cube(room).Nobodycouldtellexactlywhatwaswrongwithit.
Finally,onesmartguycheckedintothedatabaseandfoundoutthat
oneofthefilesinthedatabasewasclosed.Thestatusofallthefiles
shouldbeintheopenstatus.Oncethestatusoftheclosedfilewas
putintheopenstatus,theapplicationworkedfine.(ii)Oneofthe
problemswasintheLoginwindow(page).Whentheuserentersand
LoginNameandPassword,thenPasswordshouldbeencrypted.
OneoftheTestCaseswasthatIneededtoopendatabaseandsee
whetherthepasswordisencryptedornot.Ifoundoutitwasnot
encrypted.Ireporteditasabug(defect)anditwasfixedinthenext
release(build).(iii)DefectsIhavefoundinaprojectwasadefectto
closeawindow(popup).Forexample,inthelastproject,onapage,
therewasabuttoncalledMoreInformation.Oncetheuserclicked
thatbutton,thesystemwouldopenanewwindow(popup).Wecould
closethenewwindowin3ways:ByclickingXatthetoprightcorner
ofthepageByclickingClosebuttononthepageBypressing
combinationkeys(Alt+F4)onthekeyboardAlthoughthe
combinationkey(Alt+F4)wasnotmentionedinthetestcase,Ijust
wantedtotryhowtheapplicationreactswhenAlt+F4ispressed.
ThenIpressedAlt+F4.Theresultwasadisastertheapplication
crashed(broke).Theapplicationdisappearedfromthecomputer
monitor.Sinceitwasthelastdayoftestingforus,itbroughtchaosin
ourManagers,Leadsandthewholeteams.Finally,thedevelopers
disabledAlt+F4asatemporarysolutionandtheapplicationwentinto
production.(iv)Anotherproblemwasthatauserwouldsearchfor
branchlocationinformationofabank.TheuserlogsinbyusingUser
NameandPassword.Afterthelogin,ontheSearchLocationpage,
theuserentersandzipcodeofthelocationhewantstofind,then
clicksFindbutton.Afterthatthesystem(application)givesanumber

ofbranchlocations.TheusernowclicksRequestInformationfor
oneofthebranches.AssoonastheuserclicksRequest
Informationbutton,theapplicationbreaks(displaysPagecannotbe
founderror).Iloggedthisdefectasacriticaldefect.
Whenthedevelopersanddatabaseadministratorlookedintoit,then
theyfoundoutthatinoneofthetables,thedatawasnotrecorded.In
allthetables(UserProfiletable,ClientIDtableandSessionIDtable),
thedatashouldbepopulatedwiththeinformationenteredbythe
user.Forsomereason,inoneofthetables,itwasblank(null).Once
theywroteasmallcodetopopulatedata(enterdata)tothetable,the
applicationstartedworking.(v)Inmypreviousproject,whenthe
customerwantstouploadadocument,forexample,acopyofa
monthlystatement(inWordformat),onthewebsite,thesystem
shouldautomaticallychangetheWorddocumentinto.pdfformat.
Oncethedocumentwasuploaded,Isawthatthefieldsinthe.pdf
documentwereinterchanged(misplaced).Forexample,theFirst
NamedisplayedintheLastNamesection.DateofBirthdisplayedin
theSocialSecurityNumberfieldandsoon.Wefoundoutthatthe
problemwasamappingproblem(rememberthisword).Oncethe
mappingwascorrect,Itestedinthenewbuild.Itwasfixed.(vi)The
mostcommonproblemthatIhavefacedinmypreviousprojectsare
theJavascripterrors,dataconnectivity,error,HTTP500error(This
erroroccurswhenserverisdown),HTTP400error(whenfileisnot
found)andsoon.
(vii)FatherpopupdisplayedwhenPrint/PrintPreviewbutton
clicked.(Thiswascodedbythedevelopertomarkthiscoding
portion(forhis/herownpurposeasamarktoindicatewherehe/she
madechanges,however,forgottoremoveit).Oncethedeveloper
fixedit,itstilldisplayedthesamething(becauseitwasintheservers
memoryandcouldnotgo).Now,Ihadtoresetmemoryoftheserver
frommymachine.Therefore,whatIdidis,IwenttothewebsiteI
wastesting(forexample,http://mysite.app.org/My_profile)and
addedreset.aspxattheendoftheU R L (Now
theU RL becomeshttp://mysite.app.org/My_profile/reset.aspxandhit
enter.IttookmetotheservermemoryandIselectedsectionand
submittedthequeryanditwascleared.Retestedagainanditisnow
OK.
(viii)Iwastestingawebapplication.Ononepage,IclickedSave&
Continuebuttontwice(mymistake).Oncethisbuttonisclicked
twice,thesystemdisplayedanerrormessage,Couldnotsavethe
answers,pleasecontacttechnicalsupport.(Whenclickedonlyonce,
thebuttonworksfine.).
Solution:Oncetheuserclicksthebuttononce,thebuttonwas
disabledlatersothattheusercannotclicktwice.(ix)Iwastestinga
webbasedapplication.Onceallthefieldsareenteredontheoneof

thepages,wehadPrintPreviewbutton.Iftheuserclicksthisbutton,
weweresupposedseethesameinformationinanewwindowin
PDFformat.WhilelookingatthedatainPDFfile,thereweresome
fieldsmissing,forexample,DateofBirthwasmissinginthePDFfile.
Q72.Tellmeabouttheworstbossyouveeverhad.
Ans:(Here,youshouldbecarefulnottosayanynegativewords
aboutthepastboss.Thiswillgiveareflectionthatyoucannotwork
withdifferentnatureofpeople.Youshouldbeabletoshowthemthat
youcancopewithanykingofboss.Therefore,justtakeanidea
belowhowtheanswershouldbe.)IcanhardlythinkofanyManager
thatwasreallybad.ButwhenIcompare,thenIrememberofaTest
Leadwhowasjustmadealeadfromthedevelopersteam.Sheused
tofeelthatshehasbeenveryproudofherpositionandusedtoboss
around.Sometimes,sheusedtocallhomeandcheckwhereIwas
andwhatIwasdoing.OrhaveIcompletedmyjobbeforeleaving
andsoon.Ithink,whatevershedid,wasinthebenefitofthe
companyandmyselfinthelongrunwhichwouldgivememore
confidenceinfuture.
Q73.WhatdoyoulikeaboutQA?
Ans:ThebestthingIlikeaboutQAis,Ilikethejobwhichismore
processoriented.Forexample,wehavetoworkrightfromreading
therequirementdocuments,providingfeedbacktotheBusiness
Analystsasnecessary,writingtestplans,testcases,executethetest
cases,interactionwithdifferentdevelopers,attendwalkthrough
meetingandsoon.Iamaverydetailedorientedperson.WhenItest
applications,ItrytogetintothedepthoffunctionalitysothatIdont
missoutanything.Finally,Iloveloggingdefects.
Q74.Whatareallthebasicelementsinadefectreport?
Ans:Thebasicelementsinadefectreportare:DefectID,Header,
Description,DefectReportedby,Date,Status,Version,Assignedto,
Approvedby,Modulewherethedefectwasfoundandsoon.
Q75.Whatisthedifferencebetweenverificationandvalidation?
Ans:Verification:Verificationisaprocesstoensurethatthesoftware
thatismade,matchestheoriginaldesign.Inotherwords,itchecks
whetherthesoftwareismadeaccordingtothecriteriaand
specificationdescribedintherequirementdocument.Itistocheck
whetheryoubuilttheproductrightasperdesign.Itisalowlevel
checking.(Itisdoneinwalkthroughmeetingsgenerally).Itchecked
whetheritismadeaccordinglytothedesign..Validation:Validationis
aprocesstocheckwhethertheproductdesignfitstheclientsneed.
Itcheckswhetheryoubuilttherightthing.Itcheckswhetheritis

designedproperly.
Q76.Howdoyouknowitissufficienttesting?
Ans:Everycompanyhasentryandexitcriteria.Whenwetest
applications,werefertoexitcriteria.Whenweareabouttofinish
testing,thentheQATeam(QAManager)referstotheexitcriteria
(exitcriteriatellsthelevelofdefectthatyoucanbecomfortablewith
beforeitgoestoproduction.Forexample,thereshouldbeZERO
criticaldefect,ZEROhighleveldefect,ZEROmediumdefect,1Low
leveldefect,allthetestcasesmustbe100%executedetc).Oncethe
exitcriteriameettherequirements,thenthesoftwareisconsideredto
besufficientlytested.Everycompanyhasentryandexitcriteria.
Whenwetestapplications,werefertoexitcriteria.Whenweare
abouttofinishtesting,thentheQATeam(QAManager)referstothe
exitcriteria(exitcriteriatellsthelevelofdefectthatyoucanbe
comfortablewithbeforeitgoestoproduction.Forexample,there
shouldbeZEROcriticaldefect,ZEROhighleveldefect,ZERO
mediumdefect,1Lowleveldefect,allthetestcasesmustbe100%
executedetc).Oncetheexitcriteriameettherequirements,thenthe
softwareisconsideredtobesufficientlytested.
Q77.Howtoderivetestscenariosandusecases?Whatarethe
contentsandformat?
Ans:Testscenariosarederivedfromrequirementdocuments.We
followeachandeveryfunctionality(calledbusinessrules)mentioned
intherequirementdocument.Onefunctionalitycanhavemultiple
businessrules.Forexample,letussayinthereisonerequirement
calledLogin.ThisLoginmayhavevariousscenarios.For
example,onescenariois,entertherightUserIDandwrong
password.Thesystemshoulddisplayanerrormessage.Another
scenariowouldbetoenterwrongUserIDandrightPassword.The
systemshoulddisplayanerrormessage.Thethirdscenariocouldbe
toentertherightUserNameandrightPassword.Thesystemshould
allowtheusertogetintothesystem.Thisishowthetestcasesare
derivedfromtherequirementdocumentsorfromtheUseCases.
Q78.Whatarethetypesoftestcasesthatyouwrite?
Ans:Wewritetestcasesforsmoketesting,integrationtesting,
functionaltesting,regressiontesting,loadtesting,stresstesting,
systemtestingandsoon.
Q79.HowtowriteIntegrationtestcases?
Ans:IhaveneverwrittenseparateTestCasesIntegrationTesting.
SinceIntegrationTestingisatesttocheckwhethertheallthe
modulesareintegratedtogetherornot(meaningthatwhenthe

developerscompilealltheirmoduleandmakeabuild,allmodules
shouldbeworkingwhentheyarecombinedtogetherandthose
moduleswhencombined,shouldworkasexpected).Iftheyarenot
integrated(combined)inaniceway,thentheapplicationbreaks.
Basically,whenwedothefunctionaltesting,theintegrationtestingis
automaticallydone.Thisismyexperience.
Q80.HowtowriteRegressiontestcases?Whatarethecriteria?
Ans:Regressiontestcasesarealsobasedontherequirement
documents.Theyarewrittenmoreintodetailandwitheveryrelease
(build),thetestersneedtodoregressiontesting.Thecriteriafor
regressiontestingarethereshouldbenomajordefectswhilewedo
oursmoketestandfunctionaltesting.
Q81.Isthereaformatforatestcase?Doyoufollowany
methodologyfornumberingtestcases?
Ans:Yes.Itdependsuponthecompanyhowthecompanyhas
followedthenumberingoftestcases.However,normally,itisjusta
simplenumberinginmostofthetime(seepreviousquestionsof
qaquestions.org).Butsomecompaniesmayalsorelatethis
numberingtotherequirementnumber.Forexample,ifthe
requirementforLoginisREQLOG001,thenwecannumberthe
testcaseslikeREQLOG001001andsoon.
Q82.WhatisTestHarness?
Ans:(Definitionfromwww.wikipedia.org)Insoftwaretesting,atest
harnessorautomatedtestframeworkisacollectionofsoftwareand
testdataconfiguredtotestaprogramunitbyrunningitundervarying
conditionsandmonitoritsbehaviorandoutputs.Ithastwomain
parts:thetestexecutionengineandthetestscriptrepository.
Q83.HowtowriteUserAcceptanceTestplan&testcases?
Ans:ThewayofwritingTestPlanandTestCasesisthesameinall
thetestphases.However,specificallyforUserAcceptanceTesting,
thetestersusedatanearlyrealdata(meaningthatthedataisvery
muchsimilartotheproductiondataorrealdata).
Q84.Whatarethedifferentmatricesthatyoufollow?
Ans:TherearevariousreportswenormallyprepareinQA:Test
summaryReportItisareportthathaslistofthetotaltestcases,list
ofexecutedtestcases,remainingtestcasetobeexecuted,executed
date,pass/failDefectReportInthisreportwenormallypreparea
listofdefectinspreadsheete.g.defect#CQ12345[ifyouloga
defectintheapplicationcalledRationalClearQuest]Traceability

Matrix[alsocalledRTM(RequirementTraceabilityMatrix)]Report
thedocumentwhichshowstherelationshipbetweenthefunctionality
orthebusinessrulesandthetestcases.So,withthehelpof
TraceabilityMatrixwemakesurethatweincludesallthefunctionality
inourtestcasesaccordingtotherequirementdocument.
Q85.ExplainBugLifeCycle.
Ans:Iwoulddescribethisasbelow:ATesterfindsadefectandlogs
it.(Butbeforeyoulogit,youmusttrytorecreateitfor3or4timesso
thatyouare100%surethatitisabug)Thedefectisnowapproved
ordisapprovedbytheTestLead.(Ifitisdisapproved,thenthetest
leadwillcometoyouaskformoredetailsandyouhaveexplainto
himwhyitisabug)AftertheTestLeadapprovesthebug,itisnow
assignedtoadevelopmentTeamLead(orDevelopmentManager).
He/shenowassignsthatbugtotheconcerneddeveloper.The
developernowlooksintothebugandfixesit.Oncethefixisready,
therewillbeanotherbuildreadytotest.Thetesternowteststhe
defect.Itthedefectisfixed,thenthetesterclosesthedefect,ifnot
thenthetestwillreopenitandsamecyclestarts.
Q86.Whatwillyoudoifdeveloperdoesnotacceptthebug?
Ans:Ifthedeveloperdoesnotacceptthedefect,thenhewillrejectit.
Onceitisrejected,thenitcomesbacktothetester.Now,thetester
willaskforclarificationwiththedeveloperwhythedefectisrejected.
Sinceeverythingisbasedontherequirementdocuments,bothtester
anddeveloperwillhavetolookattherequirementdocument,
validateitandthenreopenitifnecessaryorclose.
Q87.WhatarethedifferentteststhatcanbedoneforClient
ServerApplicationandWebbasedApplication.Givedetails.
Ans:Forbothclientserverandwebbasedapplications,thetestingis
thesameexceptonething:Wetestwebbasedapplicationsin
differentbrowsers,forexample,InternetExplorer(willtestindifferent
versionslikeIE 8.0,IE 9.0,IE 11.0),Firefox,Safari(forMac)andso
onwhereasforclientserver,wedontneedtotestinthebrowsers.
Q88.Whatisaninspection?
Ans:Aninspectionisaformalmeeting,moreformalizedthana
walkthroughandtypicallyconsistsof310peopleincludinga
moderator,reader(theauthorofwhateverisbeingreviewed)anda
recorder(tomakenotesinthedocument).Thesubjectofthe
inspectionistypicallyadocument,suchasarequirementsdocument
oratestplan.Thepurposeofaninspectionistofindproblemsand
seewhatismissing,nottofixanything.Theresultofthemeeting
shouldbedocumentedinawrittenreport.Attendeesshouldprepare

forthistypeofmeetingbyreadingthroughthedocument,beforethe
meetingstartsmostproblemsarefoundduringthispreparation.
Preparationforinspectionsisdifficult,butisoneofthemostcost
effectivemethodsofensuringquality,sincebugpreventionismore
costeffectivethanbugdetection.
Q89.Givemefivecommonproblemsthatoccurduringsoftware
development.
Ans:Poorlywrittenrequirements,unrealisticschedules,inadequate
testing,addingnewfeaturesafterdevelopmentisunderwayandpoor
communication.Requirementsarepoorlywrittenwhenrequirements
areunclear,incomplete,toogeneral,ornottestablethereforethere
willbeproblems.Thescheduleisunrealisticiftoomuchworkis
crammedintoolittletime.Softwaretestingisinadequateifnone
knowswhetherornotthesoftwareisanygooduntilcustomers
complainorthesystemcrashes.Itsextremelycommonthatnew
featuresareaddedafterdevelopmentisunderway.
Miscommunicationeithermeansthedevelopersdontknowwhatis
needed,orcustomershaveunrealisticexpectationsandtherefore
problemsareguaranteed
Q90.WhatistheroleofdocumentationinQA?
Ans:DocumentationplaysacriticalroleinQA.QApracticesshould
bedocumented,sothattheyarerepeatable.Specifications,designs,
businessrules,inspectionreports,configurations,codechanges,test
plans,testcases,bugreports,usermanualsshouldallbe
documented.Ideally,thereshouldbeasystemforeasilyfindingand
obtainingofdocumentsanddeterminingwhatdocumentwillhavea
particularpieceofinformation.Usedocumentationchange
management,ifpossible.
Q91.Whatifthesoftwareissobuggyitcantbetestedatall?
Ans:Inthissituationthebestbetistohavetestengineersgothrough
theprocessofreportingwhateverbugsorproblemsinitiallyshowup,
withthefocusbeingoncriticalbugs.Sincethistypeofproblemcan
severelyaffectschedulesandindicatesdeeperproblemsinthe
softwaredevelopmentprocess,suchasinsufficientunittesting,
insufficientintegrationtesting,poordesign,improperbuildorrelease
procedures,managersshouldbenotifiedandprovidedwithsome
documentationasevidenceoftheproblem.
Q92.Howdoyouknowwhentostoptesting?
Ans:Thiscanbedifficulttodetermine.Manymodernsoftware
applicationsaresocomplexandruninsuchaninterdependent
environment,thatcompletetestingcanneverbedone.Common

factorsindecidingwhentostopareDeadlines,e.g.release
deadlines,testingdeadlinesTestcasescompletedwithcertain
percentagepassedTestbudgethasbeendepletedCoverageof
code,functionality,orrequirementsreachesaspecifiedpointBug
ratefallsbelowacertainlevelorBetaoralphatestingperiodends.
Q93.Whatifthereisntenoughtimeforthoroughtesting?
Ans:Sinceitsrarelypossibletotesteverypossibleaspectofan
application,everypossiblecombinationofevents,everydependency,
oreverythingthatcouldgowrong,riskanalysisisappropriateto
mostsoftwaredevelopmentprojects.Useriskanalysistodetermine
wheretestingshouldbefocused.Thisrequiresjudgmentskills,
commonsenseandexperience.Thechecklistshouldinclude
answerstothefollowingquestions:Whichfunctionalityismost
importanttotheprojectsintendedpurpose?Whichfunctionalityis
mostvisibletotheuser?Whichfunctionalityhasthelargestsafety
impact?Whichfunctionalityhasthelargestfinancialimpacton
users?Whichaspectsoftheapplicationaremostimportanttothe
customer?Whichaspectsoftheapplicationcanbetestedearlyin
thedevelopmentcycle?Whichpartsofthecodearemostcomplex
andthusmostsubjecttoerrors?Whichpartsoftheapplication
weredevelopedinrushorpanicmode?Whichaspectsof
similar/relatedpreviousprojectscausedproblems?Whichaspects
ofsimilar/relatedpreviousprojectshadlargemaintenance
expenses?Whichpartsoftherequirementsanddesignareunclear
orpoorlythoughtout?Whatdothedevelopersthinkarethe
highestriskaspectsoftheapplication?Whatkindsofproblems
wouldcausetheworstpublicity?Whatkindsofproblemswould
causethemostcustomerservicecomplaints?Whatkindsoftests
couldeasilycovermultiplefunctionality?Whichtestswillhavethe
besthighriskcoveragetotimerequiredratio?
Q94.Whatcanbedoneifrequirementsarechanging
continuously?
Ans:Workwithmanagementearlyontounderstandhow
requirementsmightchange,sothatalternatetestplansand
strategiescanbeworkedoutinadvance.Itishelpfulifthe
applicationsinitialdesignallowsforsomeadaptability,sothatlater
changesdonotrequireredoingtheapplicationfromscratch.
Additionally,trytoEnsurethecodeiswellcommentedandwell
documentedthismakeschangeseasierforthedevelopers.Use
rapidprototypingwheneverpossiblethiswillhelpcustomersfeel
sureoftheirrequirementsandminimizechanges.Intheprojects
initialschedule,allowforsomeextratimetocommensuratewith
probablechanges.MovenewrequirementstoaPhase2version
ofanapplicationandusetheoriginalrequirementsforthePhase1
version.Negotiatetoallowonlyeasilyimplementednew

requirementsintotheprojectmovemoredifficult,newrequirements
intofutureversionsoftheapplication.Ensurecustomersand
managementunderstandschedulingimpacts,inherentrisksand
costsofsignificantrequirementschanges.Thenletmanagementor
thecustomersdecideifthechangesarewarrantedafterall,thats
theirjob.Balancetheeffortputintosettingupautomatedtesting
withtheexpectedeffortrequiredtoredothemtodealwithchanges.
DesignsomeflexibilityintoautomatedtestscriptsFocusinitial
automatedtestingonapplicationaspectsthataremostlikelyto
remainunchangedDevoteappropriateefforttoriskanalysisof
changes,inordertominimizeregressiontestingneedsDesign
someflexibilityintotestcasesthisisnoteasilydonethebestbetis
tominimizethedetailinthetestcases,orsetuponlyhigherlevel
generictypetestplansFocuslessondetailedtestplansandtest
casesandmoreonadhoctestingwithanunderstandingofthe
addedriskthisentails.
Q94.Whatiftheapplicationhasfunctionalitythatwasntinthe
requirements?
Ans:Itmaytakeseriousefforttodetermineifanapplicationhas
significantunexpectedorhiddenfunctionality,whichitwouldindicate
deeperproblemsinthesoftwaredevelopmentprocess.Ifthe
functionalityisntnecessarytothepurposeoftheapplication,it
shouldberemoved,asitmayhaveunknownimpactsor
dependenciesthatwerenottakenintoaccountbythedesignerorthe
customer.Ifnotremoved,designinformationwillbeneededto
determineaddedtestingneedsorregressiontestingneeds.
Managementshouldbemadeawareofanysignificantaddedrisks
asaresultoftheunexpectedfunctionality.Ifthefunctionalityonly
affectsareas,suchasminorimprovementsintheuserinterface,it
maynotbeasignificantrisk.
Q95.HowcansoftwareQAprocessesbeimplementedwithout
stiflingproductivity?
Ans:ImplementQAprocessesslowlyovertime.Useconsensusto
reachagreementonprocessesandadjustandexperimentasan
organizationgrowsandmatures.Productivitywillbeimproved
insteadofstifled.Problempreventionwilllessentheneedfor
problemdetection.Panicsandburnoutwilldecreaseandtherewill
beimprovedfocusandlesswastedeffort.Atthesametime,attempts
shouldbemadetokeepprocessessimpleandefficient,minimize
paperwork,promotecomputerbasedprocessesandautomated
trackingandreporting,minimizetimerequiredinmeetingsand
promotetrainingaspartoftheQAprocess.However,noone,
especiallytalentedtechnicaltypes,likebureaucracyandintheshort
runthingsmayslowdownabit.Atypicalscenariowouldbethat
moredaysofplanninganddevelopmentwillbeneeded,butlesstime

willberequiredforlatenightbugfixingandcalmingofirate
customers.
Q96.Whatisparallel/audittesting?
Ans:Parallel/audittestingistestingwheretheuserreconcilesthe
outputofthenewsystemtotheoutputofthecurrentsystemtoverify
thenewsystemperformstheoperationscorrectly.Letussay,for
example,thecurrentlysoftwareisinthemainframesystemwhich
calculatestheinterestrate.Thecompanywantstochangethis
mainframesystemtowebbasedapplication.Whiletestingthenew
webbasedapplication,weneedtoverifythatthewebbased
applicationcalculatesthesameinterestrate.Thisisparalleltesting.
Q96.Whatissystemtesting?
Ans:Systemtestingisblackboxtesting,performedbytheTest
Team,andatthestartofthesystemtestingthecompletesystemis
configuredinacontrolledenvironment.Thepurposeofsystem
testingistovalidateanapplicationsaccuracyandcompletenessin
performingthefunctionsasdesigned.Systemtestingsimulatesreal
lifescenariosthatoccurinasimulatedreallifetestenvironment
andtestallfunctionsofthesystemthatarerequiredinreallife.
Systemtestingisdeemedcompletewhenactualresultsand
expectedresultsareeitherinlineordifferencesareexplainableor
acceptable,basedonclientinput.Uponcompletionofintegration
testing,systemtestingisstarted.Beforesystemtesting,allunitand
integrationtestresultsarereviewedbySoftwareQAtoensureall
problemshavebeenresolved.Forahigherleveloftestingitis
importanttounderstandunresolvedproblemsthatoriginateatunit
andintegrationtestlevels.YouCANlearnsystemtesting,withlittle
ornooutsidehelp.GetCANgetfreeinformation.Clickonalink!
Q97.Whatisendtoendtesting?
Ans:Similartosystemtesting,the*macro*endofthetestscaleis
testingacompleteapplicationinasituationthatmimicsrealworld
use,suchasinteractingwithadatabase,usingnetwork
communication,orinteractingwithotherhardware,application,or
system.
Q98.Whatissecurity/penetrationtesting?
Ans:Security/penetrationtestingistestinghowwellthesystemis
protectedagainstunauthorizedinternalorexternalaccess,orwillful
damage.Thistypeoftestingusuallyrequiressophisticatedtesting
techniques.
Q99.Whatisrecovery/errortesting?

Ans:Recovery/errortestingistestinghowwellasystemrecovers
fromcrashes,hardwarefailures,orothercatastrophicproblems.
Q100.Whatiscompatibilitytesting?
Ans:Compatibilitytestingistestinghowwellsoftwareperformsina
particularhardware,software,operatingsystem,ornetwork
environment.
Q101.Whatiscomparisontesting?
Ans:Comparisontestingistestingthatcomparessoftware
weaknessesandstrengthstothoseofcompetitorsproducts.
Q102.Whatisacceptancetesting?
Ans:Acceptancetestingisblackboxtestingthatgivesthe
client/customer/projectmanagertheopportunitytoverifythesystem
functionalityandusabilitypriortothesystembeingreleasedto
production.Theacceptancetestistheresponsibilityofthe
client/customerorprojectmanager,however,itisconductedwiththe
fullsupportoftheprojectteam.Thetestteamalsoworkswiththe
client/customer/projectmanagertodeveloptheacceptancecriteria.
Q103.WhatisaTest/QATeamLead?
Ans:TheTest/QATeamLeadcoordinatesthetestingactivity,
communicatestestingstatustomanagementandmanagesthetest
team.
Q104.Whatissoftwaretestingmethodology?
Ans:Onesoftwaretestingmethodologyistheuseathreestep
processof1.Creatingateststrategy2.Creatingatest
plan/designand3.Executingtests.Thismethodologycanbeused
andmoldedtoyourorganizationsneeds.RobDavisbelievesthat
usingthismethodologyisimportantinthedevelopmentandin
ongoingmaintenanceofhiscustomersapplications.
Q105.Whatisthegeneraltestingprocess?
Ans:Thegeneraltestingprocessisthecreationofateststrategy
(whichsometimesincludesthecreationoftestcases),creationofa
testplan/design(whichusuallyincludestestcasesandtest
procedures)andtheexecutionoftests.
Q106.Howdoyoucreateateststrategy?
Ans:Theteststrategyisaformaldescriptionofhowasoftware

productwillbetested.Ateststrategyisdevelopedforalllevelsof
testing,asrequired.Thetestteamanalyzestherequirements,writes
theteststrategyandreviewstheplanwiththeprojectteam.Thetest
planmayincludetestcases,conditions,thetestenvironment,alist
ofrelatedtasks,pass/failcriteriaandriskassessment.Inputsforthis
process:Adescriptionoftherequiredhardwareandsoftware
components,includingtesttools.Thisinformationcomesfromthe
testenvironment,includingtesttooldata.Adescriptionofrolesand
responsibilitiesoftheresourcesrequiredforthetestandschedule
constraints.Thisinformationcomesfrommanhoursandschedules.
Testingmethodology.Thisisbasedonknownstandards.Functional
andtechnicalrequirementsoftheapplication.Thisinformation
comesfromrequirements,changerequest,technicalandfunctional
designdocuments.Requirementsthatthesystemcannotprovide,
e.g.systemlimitations.Outputsforthisprocess:Anapprovedand
signedoffteststrategydocument,testplan,includingtestcases.
Testingissuesrequiringresolution.Usuallythisrequiresadditional
negotiationattheprojectmanagementlevel.
Q107.Howdoyoucreateatestplan/design?
Ans:Testscenariosand/orcasesarepreparedbyreviewing
functionalrequirementsofthereleaseandpreparinglogicalgroups
offunctionsthatcanbefurtherbrokenintotestprocedures.Test
proceduresdefinetestconditions,datatobeusedfortestingand
expectedresults,includingdatabaseupdates,fileoutputs,report
results.GenerallyspeakingTestcasesandscenariosaredesigned
torepresentbothtypicalandunusualsituationsthatmayoccurinthe
application.Testengineersdefineunittestrequirementsandunittest
cases.Testengineersalsoexecuteunittestcases.Itisthetestteam
that,withassistanceofdevelopersandclients,developstestcases
andscenariosforintegrationandsystemtesting.Testscenariosare
executedthroughtheuseoftestproceduresorscripts.Test
proceduresorscriptsdefineaseriesofstepsnecessarytoperform
oneormoretestscenarios.Testproceduresorscriptsincludethe
specificdatathatwillbeusedfortestingtheprocessortransaction.
Testproceduresorscriptsmaycovermultipletestscenarios.Test
scriptsaremappedbacktotherequirementsandtraceability
matricesareusedtoensureeachtestiswithinscope.Testdatais
capturedandbaselined,priortotesting.Thisdataservesasthe
foundationforunitandsystemtestingandusedtoexercisesystem
functionalityinacontrolledenvironment.Someoutputdataisalso
baselinedforfuturecomparison.Baselineddataisusedtosupport
futureapplicationmaintenanceviaregressiontesting.Apretest
meetingisheldtoassessthereadinessoftheapplicationandthe
environmentanddatatobetested.Atestreadinessdocumentis
createdtoindicatethestatusoftheentrancecriteriaoftherelease.
Inputsforthisprocess:ApprovedTestStrategyDocument.Testtools,
orautomatedtesttools,ifapplicable.Previouslydevelopedscripts,if

applicable.Testdocumentationproblemsuncoveredasaresultof
testing.Agoodunderstandingofsoftwarecomplexityandmodule
pathcoverage,derivedfromgeneralanddetaileddesigndocuments,
e.g.softwaredesigndocument,sourcecodeandsoftwarecomplexity
data.Outputsforthisprocess:Approveddocumentsoftest
scenarios,testcases,testconditionsandtestdata.Reportsof
softwaredesignissues,giventosoftwaredevelopersforcorrection.
Q108.Howdoyouexecutetests?
Ans:Executionoftestsiscompletedbyfollowingthetestdocuments
inamethodicalmanner.Aseachtestprocedureisperformed,an
entryisrecordedinatestexecutionlogtonotetheexecutionofthe
procedureandwhetherornotthetestprocedureuncoveredany
defects.Checkpointmeetingsareheldthroughouttheexecution
phase.Checkpointmeetingsarehelddaily,ifrequired,toaddress
anddiscusstestingissues,statusandactivities.Theoutputfromthe
executionoftestproceduresisknownastestresults.Testresultsare
evaluatedbytestengineerstodeterminewhethertheexpected
resultshavebeenobtained.Alldiscrepancies/anomaliesarelogged
anddiscussedwiththesoftwareteamlead,hardwaretestlead,
programmers,softwareengineersanddocumentedforfurther
investigationandresolution.Everycompanyhasadifferentprocess
forloggingandreportingbugs/defectsuncoveredduringtesting.A
pass/failcriteriaisusedtodeterminetheseverityofaproblem,and
resultsarerecordedinatestsummaryreport.Theseverityofa
problem,foundduringsystemtesting,isdefinedinaccordancetothe
customersriskassessmentandrecordedintheirselectedtracking
tool.Proposedfixesaredeliveredtothetestingenvironment,based
ontheseverityoftheproblem.Fixesareregressiontestedand
flawlessfixesaremigratedtoanewbaseline.Followingcompletion
ofthetest,membersofthetestteamprepareasummaryreport.The
summaryreportisreviewedbytheProjectManager,SoftwareQA
Managerand/orTestTeamLead.Afteraparticularleveloftesting
hasbeencertified,itistheresponsibilityoftheConfiguration
Managertocoordinatethemigrationofthereleasesoftware
componentstothenexttestlevel,asdocumentedinthe
ConfigurationManagementPlan.Thesoftwareisonlymigratedto
theproductionenvironmentaftertheProjectManagersformal
acceptance.
Q109.Whattestingapproachescanyoutellmeabout?
Eachofthefollowingsrepresentsadifferenttestingapproach:Black
boxtesting,Whiteboxtesting,Unittesting,Incrementaltesting,
Integrationtesting,Functionaltesting,Systemtesting,Endtoend
testing,Sanitytesting,Regressiontesting,Acceptancetesting,Load
testing,Performancetesting,Usabilitytesting,Install/uninstalltesting,
Recoverytesting,Securitytesting,Compatibilitytesting,Exploratory

testing,adhoctesting,Useracceptancetesting,Comparisontesting,
Alphatesting,Betatesting,andMutationtesting.
Q110.Howdoyoudividetheapplicationintodifferentsections
tocreatescripts?
Ans:Firstofall,theapplicationisdividedindifferentpartswhena
businessanalystwritestherequirementdocument(orUseCasesor
DesignDocument),he/shewritesEACHrequirementdocumentfor
EACHmodule.Letussay,ifthereare12differentmodulesinan
applicationthatabusinessanalysthaswrittentherequirementsfor,
thenatesterwouldwritethetestcasesforeachmodule,which
meansin12differentsections.Thisisthestandardpractice.There
mightbescenarioswhereyoumighthavetobreakdownscriptsinto
subcategories.Forexample,ifatesteriswritingascriptforLogin
Page,he/shemightwriteoneforpositiveandnegativetestingand
anothersubsetoftestcaseswouldbeforerrormessagewhenthe
wronginformationisentered.Inshort,thetestcasesaredivided
accordingtothemodules.(Thefollowingquestionswereaskedto
Padmainoneofherinterviewsveryrecently)(Thisquestionisasked
tocheckhowambitiousyouareasfarasyourcareerisconcerned,
whetheryoulikethejobyouaredoingandsoon.Therefore,no
matterwhat,youshouldsticktoyourQAjobatthispointandsaythat
youlovethissomuchandyourgoalissomethingsimilartotheone
below)
Q111.Whatisyoursalaryrequirement?
Ans:$70k(negotiable),or($35perhour)
Q112.Pleaseprovideinformation(anexample)ofyour
experiencetestingLinuxandUNIXenvironments(including
typeofsystemtested,howtested,actualcommandsandsteps
usedfortest)TestingapplicationsusingLinuxandUNIX.
Ans:IhavetestedapplicationsusingUNIX.Foreverybackend
testingIhavedoneinthepast,IhaveusedUNIXplatformwhile
performingbackendtesting.Forexample,whenthedataisfedinto
thesysteminthefrontend,thatdatagoestothedatabaseafterthe
batchprocessing.Fromthedatabase,thedataisnowsenttothe
ETLsystem(inXMLformat)fordatamanipulationasperourneed
(ETLisasoftwaretoolofAbInitiocompanywhichisusedto
manipulatedatainthedatawarehouse).IntheETLsystem,we
manipulatethosedataaccordingtoourneed),forexample,itcould
beincomestatementofthecompany,balancesheet,monthly
reports,andsoon.Inordertoproduceincomestatement,weneed
torunajobinETL.Torunthisjob,weuseUNIX.Inthesameway,
differenttypesofjobsarecreatedforeachneed(creatingbalance
sheetisanotherjob,creatingreportsisnextjobetc)thenIhadtorun

differentjobsintheETLsystem.Oncewerunthejob,therunningjob
finallycreatesanoutputfilewhichisnowvalidatedbyustester.This
outputfilecanbeintextformatorGUI format.Thus,thisisthe
scenariowhereIhadtouseUNIX.(IhaveusedLinuxmuch,
however,sinceUNIXandLinuxarethesamething,Ishouldhaveno
probleminusingLinux)SomeofthecommandsIusedwhiletesting
usingUNIXare:
Lsl>tocheckthefilelist
PwdtoseewhichdirectoryIamin
Cd>changethedirectory
Cd..>changethedirectoryonelevelup
Mkdir>makeadirectory
Rmdir>Deletethedirectory
setenvnamev>Setenvironment
kill%>Killtherunningjob
vi>editorUsedtowritescriptsmore
cat>listcontentsofthefile
chmod>changepermission
cp>copy
rm>deleteafile
Q113.Whatisacookie?
Ans:(Youmustknowhowtocleancookies)Asmalltextfileof
informationthatcertainWebsitesattachtoausersharddrivewhile
theuserisbrowsingtheWebsite.ACookiecancontaininformation
suchasuserID,userpreferences,archiveshoppingcartinformation,
etc.CookiescancontainPersonallyIdentifiableInformation.
Q114.Doesatesterhavetoknowaboutcookie?
Ans:Yes.AtesterhastoknowHOWTOCLEANcookies(Doesnot
havetoknowthedefinition)
Q115.Howtocleancookies?

Ans:CookiesarecleanedinthebrowserslikeIE (InternetExplorer),
Firefox,Safari(forMACandwindowsboth),Netscapeandsoon.
However,themostlyused(90%)browserisIE (InternetExplorer).
HereishowyoucleancookiesinIE (InternetExplorer):
1.OpenIE (InternetExplorer)2.Onthemenu,clickTools>Internet
Options>ClickDeletebutton(ItisinGeneralTab)(Youwillsee
differentbuttonsnow,forexample,DeleteFiles,DeleteCookies,
DeleteHistory,DeleteForms,DeletePasswords,DeleteAll).3.Click
DeleteAllbutton.NowthecookiesarecleanedinIE .
HereishowyoucancleancookiesinFireFox:
1.OpenFirefoxBrower.2.ClickTools.3.ClickErrorConsole.4.
ClickClear.NowthecookiesarecleanedinFirefox.
Q116.DoesaTesterneedSQL?
Ans:Yes.ForaTester,SQLisneeded.Ihadthesamequestionin
mindbecoreIcametotheactualimplicationwhatisSQLusedfor?
Andnow,Iknowthatwhenwedothebackendtesting(see
qaquestions.comfordetails),weneedtowriteSQLqueriesto
retrievethedatafromthedatabaseandcomparethisdatatotheone
withreportsoroutput.Anotherscenariois,ifsomethinggoeswrong
intheapplication,forexample,ifthereisanerror,thenwemight
havetowriteSQLqueriestoretrievethedatafromthedatabaseand
checkwhatwentwrong.Letssay,weneedtocheckintheErrorLog
tablewhatwentwrong.Tocheckthis,weopenthedatabase,goto
ErrorLogtableandfindoutthathappened.IntheErrorLogtable,
therearemanyrecords,sowhichoneisyourerrorthen?Tofindout
whichoneisyours,weneedtowriteSQLqueries.Example,you
loggedintotheapplicationwithUserandpassword=sn992jj.Now,
toretrieveyourrecord,youcanwriteaquerysomethinglikethis:
select*fromError_LogwhereuserID=devin99Thisquerywill
retrievyourrecordonlysothatyoucanseewhathappened.
Q117.WhatisaShowStopper?
Ans:Ashowstopperisadefectorbugthatstopstheuserforfurther
action(testing).Ithasnoworkaround.Inotherwords,itstopsevery
thingandtheusercannotgoanyfuther.Thisiscalledshowstopper
insoftwareindustry.
Q118.Whatareyouexpectingfromourcompany?
Ans:MyexpectationfromyoucompanywouldbeIwillhavemore
challengesandnewthingstolearnandwhatevertheskillsIhaveto
contribute,hopefully,Iwillbeabletocontributeiftheyareinanyway

helpfultoenhanceproductivityofthecompany.
Q119.Whatdidyoulearnfromyourpreviouscompanies?
Ans:IlearnedalotfromthepreviouscompanieswhereverIhave
worked.WhereverIhaveworked,Ifoundoutthethereisalways
somethingtolearn.Differentcompanieshavedifferentwaysof
working.Theenvironmentandtechnologyalwaysdifferfromone
companytoanothercompany.Ihaveneverfoundonecompanys
environmentmatchingwithanothercompany.Forexample,ifone
companyisusingdocumentscalledrequirementdocuments,then
theothercompanymightbeusingUseCasesandsomecompanies
mightbeusingDesignDocumentandsoon.Therefore,inmy
experience,therearealwaysnewthingstolearnineverycompany
andwecanalwayscontributethesethinginthenextcompanyifthey
helptobemoreproductive.
Q120.Whatdoyouwanttobeinnext2years?
Ans:IwanttobeQALeadinanothertwoyears.
Q121.WhyQALead?Whynotsomethingelse?
Ans:QAistheonlythingIlovedoingit.Ilovethisjobandwantto
progressinthissector.IwanttoknowhowtomanageQAprocess,
howtohandledifferentjobsandsoon.SincethenextstepistheQA
Lead,thatwouldpreferablybeoneIwilltargetingfor.
Q121.Whydoyouwanttoworkforthiscompany?
Ans:(Thisisatrickyquestion.Theywanttoknowwhatreally
interestsyouandyouhavetobecarefulwhenyouanswerthis
question.Youmustadmirethelineofthatcompany.Forexample,if
youarebeinginterviewedbyapharmaceuticalcompany,thentell
themthatyouarealwaysinterestedinthemedicalapplicationsand
thebetterpartofyourcompanyisthatithasexcitingproductsthatI
amreallycurioustolearn.ThatswhyIwouldfeelreallygreatifIam
giventheopportunitytoworkinyourcompany)
Q122.Didyougetanycomplimentsfromyourprevious
employers?Whatwerethosesituations?
Ans:Yes.Idid.ThereweremanyoccasionswhereIhad
compliments.Forexample,Iwastestinganapplicationgoingalittle
bitoffmytestcases.AfterIfinishedexecutingmytestcases,I
alwaysthinkinawaywhatarealuserwouldpossiballyclickin
variouspartsoftheapplication.SoIwasjustclickingbackandforth
andatonespecificscenario,theapplicationsimplybrokeand
displayedanerrormessage.Thatscenariowasnotinthetest

cases.Themanagerreallyappreciatedmeandthankedforfinding
thiskindofcriticaldefect.
Q123.Whatareyourstrengths?
Ans:Iamaverydetailedorientedperson.Ihavethesenseof
urgency.Icanprioritizemyjobaccordingtothedeadline.Iamvery
muchdedicatedtowardsmyjob.Iamhonest.Ihavetheskillsand
expertiseinQAprocess.Thesearesomeofmystrengths.
Q124.Whatisyourweakness?
Ans:IthinkmyweaknessisthatwheneverIamgivensome
responsibilitiesandthereisadeadlineforit,Iworkdayandnight,7
daysaweek.Thisisprobablybadformyfamilylife,butIcantsleep
unlessIamdonewithmyassignments.(Note:Youshouldthinkof
yourweaknesswherebecauseofyourweakness(liketheone
above),stilltheemployerbenefits.DONTSAYanythingnegative
thing,likeIcannotworklonghours,itishardformepickupthings,it
isdifficultformetounderstandrequirementdocumentsetc)
Q125.Whatisyourgoal?
Ans:Mygoalinthenext4yearsistobeaQAManager.
Q126.WhatisRTM(RequirementTraceabilityMatrix)?
Ans:Tractabilitymatrixisusedtocrosscheckthetestcasesasper
therequirementofthetestcases.Inotherwords,itcheckswhether
theeachfunctionalityiscoveredintheTestCasesasper
requirementdocument.(WecreateRTMusingQualityCenter/ALM
tool)
Q127:CreateTESTSCENARIOSfortestinganelevator
TestScenario:
Verifyelevatorgoesup
TestCases:
Verifyuserisabletogototopfloorfrombasement
Verifyuserisabletogototopfloorfromgroundfloor
Verifyuserisabletogotoanymiddlefloorsectionfromgroundfloor
Verifyuserisabletogototopfloorfromanymiddlefloor
Verifyparkedelevatoronanylowerfloorgoesupwhenusercalls
elevatorfromanyupperfloor
TestScenario:
Verifyelevatorgoesdown
TestCases:

Verifyuserisabletogotobasementfromgroundfloor
Verifyuserisabletogotobasementfromanymiddlefloorsection
Verifyuserisabletogotobasementfromtopfloor
Verifyuserisabletogotogroundfloorfromtopfloor
Verifyuserisabletogotogroundfloorfromanymiddlefloorsection
Verifyparkedelevatoronanyupperfloorgoesdownwhenusercalls
elevatorfromanylowerfloor
TestScenario:
Verifyelevatorissafe
TestCase:
Verifyelevatoralarmsifoverloadedandismorethenpassengerlimit
Verifyelevatordoorsopenwhenopendoorbuttonispressed
Verifyelevatordoorsclosewhenclosedoorbuttonispressed
Verifyelevatordoorsopenwhensensordetectuserinbetween
pathway
TestScenario:
Verifyelevatorisinsyncwithfloordisplaypanel
TestCase:
Verifyelevatorfloorindicatedinfloordisplaypanelisthesamewith
thefloorwhereelevatorislocated
Q128.WhataredirectandindirectscenariosinTesting?
First,itdependsonthewaytheorganizationdefinesthingswhata
particularbusinessconsidersdirectandindirectscenarioscouldwell
bedifferentthanwhatyoudexpect.
IfIwasrespondingtothisquestioninaninterview,Idstartbysaying
thatinmyexperiencedirectscenariosarethosewherethetest
explicitlyexercisestherequirementorfunctionbeingtested,and
indirectscenariosarethosewheretheresultshavetobeinferred
fromthetestersobservations.
Idalsogivesomeexamples,suchas:
DirecttestingscenarioDateofbirthhastobeintheformat
MM/DD/YYYY.Totestthis,enterdatevaluessuchas1/1/11
(shouldbeinvalidordependingonthespecifications/use
casesconvertedto01/01/2011),20/12/1967(shouldbe
invalid),12/20/1967(shouldbeaccepted)andsoforth.
IndirecttestingscenarioAddresswillbevalidatedbyGIS
services.Hereyoudontactuallyhaveaccesstotheservices
andyoumayormaynothaveloggingshowingthecallbut
youcanenterarealaddressandonethatyouknowdoesnt
exist(e.g.astreetthatisnotinthetownyouenter,orastreet

numberthatdoesntexistonthatstreet)andinferthatifthe
pageshowsalevelofconfidenceindicatorfortheaddress
thatmatchesyourknowledgeoftheaddressthenthe
addressyouenteredisbeingvalidatedasexpected.
Imsureyouveencounteredotherexamples.Thesearetwosimple
scenariosIverunintorecentlyittypicallyworksbetterininterviews
ifyougiveexamplesfromyourexperience(withconfidential
informationomitted,ofcourse).
Q129.Whatinterviewquestionscanafreshcollegegraduate
withnoextensiveexperiencecanexpectinaninterview?
IfIwereinterviewingasoftwaretester,Idbemostinterestedin
findingouttheirlevelofgeneralcomputerknowledge.Thisis
becausethemoreexperienceandknowledgetheyhaveof
computingingeneral,themoreunderstandingtheywillhaveofhow
programsworkandthepotentialproblemstowatchfor.This
knowledgeisusuallyonlycementedinsomeonewhohasanactive
interestincomputersandspendsalotoftheirsparetimeusingone.
Thepersonwhoonlystartedusingacomputerincollegeoronly
usesonewhentheyhavetoisnotusuallyveryknowledgeableabout
them.
TokickoffIwouldaskgeneralquestions.Didtheyhaveacomputer
growingup,orfrequentlyuseone?Dotheyknowwhatbasic
hardwarecomponentsareinacomputerandwhattheirrespective
functionsare?Dotheyunderstandwhatanoperatingsystemis?I
wouldnothiresomeonewhoflounderedaboutatthislevel.
Iftheyaregoingtobetestinginternetapplications,Iwouldalso
checkforsomegeneralknowledgeabouttheInternet.WhatisDNS?
Whatisarouter?Dotheyunderstandclientside(browser)versus
serversideprocessing?Lackofknowledgeherewouldntbean
automaticfail,butitwouldleaveseriousdoubtsinmymind.
Iwouldgraduallygetmoredetailedinmyquestions,especiallyifthe
candidateexpressedthattheyareexpertsorveryknowledgeablein
acertainarea.
Mythirdapproachwouldbetotesttheirproblemsolvingskills.Your
QAtestermightnotbefixingthebugsinthecode,butthemorethey
cannarrowdowntheproblemandidentifythespecificcircumstances
thattriggerit,thefasterandcheaperitwillbeforyourdevelopersto
correctthebug.TodothisIwouldpresentsomesampleproblems
andaskthecandidatehowtheywouldproceedandreportthebug.
PresentinganactuallivedemoonaPCwouldbeideal,but
hypotheticalswouldworkaswell.

Andfinally,Itryandseehowmethodicalthecandidateis.Theideal
candidateisgoingtoapproachtestingmethodicallyhe/sheis
goingtobeabletocreateatestingchecklist/methodwhichwill
coveralltheimportantaspectsoftheprogramsfunctionality
thoroughly.Thisisahardonetotestfor.Youmaypickitupwhile
posingthehypothetical(orreal)problemstothecandidate,and
watchingcarefullyhowtheyproceed.
Ifyouarerunningtheinterview,anddontreallyhavegood
knowledgeoftheaboveareas,tryandgetsomeonewhodoesto
interview,orthesmoothtalkingcandidateswilleasilypullthewool
overyoureyesandimpressyouwiththeirconfidentignorance.Ifyou
arethatpotentialcandidate,andyouknowyouarenotvery
competentinanyoftheaboveareas,saveyourselfandanypotential
employersalotofpain,andtakesomecareeraptitudeteststofind
yourtruecareerpath.
Q130.WhichtestingweperformfirstSmokeorSanity,Also
whataredifferencebetweenthem?
Obviouslyweperformsmoketestingfirsttotestwhetherthebuildis
readyforfurtherdetailstesting.
Sanitytestingisdoneafterbugfixingtoverifywhetherthefixes
worksornot.
Letshavealookindetails:
SmokeTesting
Designedtotoucheverypartoftheapplicationinacursory
way.Itsshallowandwide.
Conductedtoensurewhetherthemostcrucialfunctionsofa
programareworking,butnotbotheringwithfinerdetails.
(Suchasbuildverification).
SanityTesting
Focusesononeorafewareasoffunctionality.Usually
narrowanddeep.
Usuallytestsspecificfunctionalitythatwasjustadded.
Q131.Whatisbenchtestingcode?
Inshort,itsasynonymforunittestcode.
Ibelieveitoriginatesfromhardwaredesign:
Ahardwaredeveloperwouldcreateadevice,thenplugthatdevice

intoatestbench,whichwouldthenrunsampleinputsandverify
thattheoutputonthepinsofthedevicewascorrect.Itwasbasically
thefirst(automated)unittesting.
Flashforwardtotoday,itsasynonymforsomethingthatperforms
unittests.ATestFixtureclassinNunitisanalagoustoatestbench:
YouplugyourclassintotheTestFixture,anditdoesitsthingsimilar
tohowaphysicaltestbenchworksforhardware.
Q132.Canyouactlikeanormal,ornonexperienceduser?
(Thisseemssilly,butitgivesaverygoodinsight.Ifthecandidate
saysyes,quitefrankly,theyrenotwhattheyappeartobe.Noperson
whoworksinthefieldofInformationTechnologyinadevelopment(in
particular),analysisortestrolecandothissimplyforthefactthatwe
arewaypastthelevelofaninexperienceduser.Theanswershould
be:)
No,howeverIcancreatetestcasesthatcanaccuratelymaptoa
socallednormalusersbehavior.
Q133.WhatisthedifferencebetweenSeverityandPriority?
1)Severity:
Itistheextenttowhichthedefectcanaffectthesoftware.Inother
wordsitdefinestheimpactthatagivendefecthasonthesystem.
Forexample:Ifanapplicationorwebpagecrasheswhenaremote
linkisclicked,inthiscaseclickingtheremotelinkbyanuserisrare
buttheimpactofapplicationcrashingissevere.Sotheseverityis
highbutpriorityislow.
Severitycanbeoffollowingtypes:
Critical:Thedefectthatresultsintheterminationofthecomplete
systemoroneormorecomponentofthesystemandcauses
extensivecorruptionofthedata.Thefailedfunctionisunusableand
thereisnoacceptablealternativemethodtoachievetherequired
resultsthentheseveritywillbestatedascritical.
Major:Thedefectthatresultsintheterminationofthecomplete
systemoroneormorecomponentofthesystemandcauses
extensivecorruptionofthedata.Thefailedfunctionisunusablebut
thereexistsanacceptablealternativemethodtoachievetherequired
resultsthentheseveritywillbestatedasmajor.
Moderate:Thedefectthatdoesnotresultinthetermination,but
causesthesystemtoproduceincorrect,incompleteorinconsistent
resultsthentheseveritywillbestatedasmoderate.

Minor:Thedefectthatdoesnotresultintheterminationanddoesnot
damagetheusabilityofthesystemandthedesiredresultscanbe
easilyobtainedbyworkingaroundthedefectsthentheseverityis
statedasminor.
Cosmetic:Thedefectthatisrelatedtotheenhancementofthe
systemwherethechangesarerelatedtothelookandfieldofthe
applicationthentheseverityisstatedascosmetic.
2)Priority:
Prioritydefinestheorderinwhichweshouldresolveadefect.
Shouldwefixitnow,orcanitwait?Thisprioritystatusissetbythe
testertothedevelopermentioningthetimeframetofixthedefect.If
highpriorityismentionedthenthedeveloperhastofixitatthe
earliest.Theprioritystatusissetbasedonthecustomer
requirements.Forexample:Ifthecompanynameismisspelledinthe
homepageofthewebsite,thenthepriorityishighandseverityislow
tofixit.
Prioritycanbeoffollowingtypes:
Low:Thedefectisanirritantwhichshouldberepaired,butrepair
canbedeferreduntilaftermoreseriousdefecthasbeenfixed.
Medium:Thedefectshouldberesolvedinthenormalcourseof
developmentactivities.Itcanwaituntilanewbuildorversionis
created.
High:Thedefectmustberesolvedassoonaspossiblebecausethe
defectisaffectingtheapplicationortheproductseverely.Thesystem
cannotbeuseduntiltherepairhasbeendone.
Fewveryimportantscenariosrelatedtotheseverityandpriority
whichareaskedduringtheinterview:
HighPriority&HighSeverity:Anerrorwhichoccursonthebasic
functionalityoftheapplicationandwillnotallowtheusertousethe
system.(Eg.Asitemaintainingthestudentdetails,onsavingrecord
ifit,doesntallowtosavetherecordthenthisishighpriorityandhigh
severitybug.)
HighPriority&LowSeverity:Thespellingmistakesthathappens
onthecoverpageorheadingortitleofanapplication.
HighSeverity&LowPriority:Anerrorwhichoccursonthe
functionalityoftheapplication(forwhichthereisnoworkaround)and
willnotallowtheusertousethesystembutonclickoflinkwhichis
rarelyusedbytheenduser.

LowPriorityandLowSeverity:Anycosmeticorspellingissues
whichiswithinaparagraphorinthereport(Notoncoverpage,
heading,title).
SomeSpecificExamplesrelatedtodefectsPriorityand
Severity:
Inwebapplication,iftheLogoorthecompanynameisnotdisplayed
fine,thenitshighseverityandlowpriorityissue.Ifintheapplication
homepage,ifalinkisnotworkingthenitsahighprioritybutalow
severitydefect.
Priorityishowsoontheissueneedstoberesolved.Severitydefines
theimpactoftheissue.Goingbythequestion,itsahighpriority
issueasitimpactthebrandingoftheimageratherthanaffectingany
functionalityinthewebsites.
Priorityshouldbesetafterdiscussionwiththebusiness(whichis
usuallydonebythefunctionaltester)Severityissetafterdiscussing
withthedevteam.
SupposeaLogotextisnotproperthatwillbeaffecttocompany
WorkthanthatisacalledHighSeverityandLowPriority.
Highseveritylowpriority:Logoofthecompany
Highseverityhighpriority:Submitbuttonofloginpagenotworkingor
pagenotdisplaying
Lowseverityhighpriority:e.g.:ifinabikeyourselfstartisnot
workingbutkickstartisitsahighprioritythatukickstartalsocan
stopbutseverityislowbecausefornowyouhaveanoptiontowork
with
Lowseveritylowpriority:spellingmistakesintextofhomescreen
Followingisanexampleforhighseverityandlowpriority:
Highseverity:Affectingenduser
Lowpriority:Typos

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