English interview questions for QA tester

 

Interview Questions for QA Tester (Software Tester)

 

These questions and answers are totally based on theinterview I attended during my 6 years of working experience as a QA Tester. Insome sections, I have started including the interview questions that were askedby companies to some of the candidates who visited this website and wanted toshare.

If you are attending an interview, you have to knowthese questions and answers by heart must be very fluent in answering thesequestions. Practice in front of the mirror, loud and clear (talk to yourself).Most of the time, when we read the questions, we feel good and feelcomfortable, but the reality is, at the time of the interview, even though wefeel we have the knowledge, can’t express it well. It may sound a little rough,but this is my experience. When we come out the door, we regret.

 

HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS:

 

1. Can you tell me about yourself?

Answer: In my QA career, I have been working onvarious system platforms and operating systems like Windows 95, Windows 2000,Windows XP and UNIX. I have tested applications developed in Java, C++, VisualBasic and so on. I have tested Web-based applications as well as client serverapplications.

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

I have written defects as they are found usingClearQuest and TestDirector. Once the defects were fixed, retested them and ifthe passed, closed them. If the defects were not fixed, then reopened them. Ihave also attended the defect assessment meetings as necessary.

In the meantime, a continuous interaction withdevelopers was necessary.

This is pretty much what I have been doing as a QAperson.

 

2. What did you do in your last project?

Answer: In my last project, the application was aweb-based application developed in Java platform. As a QA Person, I wrote TestPlans from the requirement documents and Use Cases. I performed Smoke Testing,Functional Testing, Backend Testing, Black Box Testing, Integration Testing,Regression Testing and UAT (User Acceptance Testing). I have participated inLoad Testing and Stress Testing. I attended several walkthrough meetings forrequirement reviews and provided feedback to the Business Analysts. Mostly, Iwas in the backend testing, which required writing SQL queries directly to thedatabase.

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

 

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

Answer: Yes.

What is a Test Plan?

Answer: A Test Plan is a document that describes thescope, approach, resources, and schedule of intended testing activities. Itidentifies test items, the features to be tested, the testing tasks and whowill do each task (roles and responsibilities) and any risks and its solutions.See how the Test Plan looks like.

What does it include?

Answer: A Test Plan includes Heading, RevisionHistory, Table of Contents, Introduction, Scope, Approach, Overview, differenttypes of testing that will be carried out, what software and hardware will berequired, issues, risks, assumptions and sign off section.

 

4. Have you written Test Cases?

Answer: Yes.

What is a Test Case? What does it include?

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

Did you use any tools to write Test Cases?

Answer: Yes. I have used TestDirector (now calledQualityCenter) and Rational TestManager to write Test Cases. However, in mostof the companies, I used Excel sheet. See a sample Test Case.

How many Test Cases did you write in your lastproject?

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

What document did you refer to write the Test Cases?

Answer: Requirement document. (NOTE: It can also beUse Cases, or Design Document. It depends company to company. In some company,they use Use Cases. In some companies, they use Requirement Documents and incompanies, they use Design Document. However, in practical scenario, most ofthe companies have requirement document at least).

 

5. Did you have a situation where you did not have anydocuments (no requirement document, no Use Cases, or no Design Document) andyou had to write the Test Cases? How did you write the Test Cases in thissituation?

Answer: Yes. I have been to that kind of scenariosseveral times. There were companies where they had no documents at all. In thatcase, I had to discuss the application scenario and functionalities with theBusiness Analysts or developer. On the basis of that discussion, I prepared adocument in consultation with Business Analysts and Developers and then startedwriting Plans and Test Cases.

 

6. What you worked with Use Cases before?

Answer: Yes. I have written Test Cases using UseCases.

Can you tell me what a Use Case is?

Answer: A use case is a document that describes theuser action and system response for a particular functionality. See how a UseCase looks like.

 

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

Answer: SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) is theprocess of developing software through business needs, analysis, design,implementation and maintenance. Software has to go through various phases beforeit is born which are as follows:

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

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

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

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

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

(vi) End: And one day, the owner will have saybye to the software either because the business grows and this software doesnot meet the demand or for some reason, the he does not need the software.That’s the end of it.

 

8. What is Business Requirement Document (BRD)?

Answer: It is a document that describes the details ofthe application functionalities which is required by the user. This document iswritten by the Business Analysts.

 

9. What is Business Design Document?

Answer: It is the document that describes the applicationfunctionalities of the user in detail. This document has the further details ofthe Business Requirement Document. This is a very crucial step in SoftwareDevelopment Life Cycle (SDLC). Sometimes the Business Requirement Document andBusiness Design Document can be lumped together to make only one BusinessRequirement Document.

 

10. What is a Module?

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

 

11. What is walk-through meeting?

Answer: Once the Business Analysts complete therequirement document, they call a meeting to explain how the functionalitieswork, what the process is in the designed application and other details. TheBusiness Analysts explain the high level functionalities of the application(software) that is going to the built. The participant members in the meetingmay provide feed back and various point of views are expressed. This iswalk-through meeting.

 

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

Answer: A Use Case is a document that describes theuser action and system response for a particular functionality. It includescover page, Revision History, Table of Contents, Flow of Events (normal flowand alternative flow), Exceptions, Special Requirements, Pre-conditions andPost-conditions. See how a Use Case looks like.

 

13. What is Build?

Answer: When each of the different modules of softwareis prepared, the Configuration Management Team (CMT) puts them in a singlefolder and it is called the ‘Build’. . (This is NOT a very common question forthe interview. This is just for your knowledge, if you don’t know what a buildis.) See how the build is prepared.

 

14. What does the Build Deployment mean?

Answer: When the Build so prepared by the CMT(Configuration Management Team), it is deployed (put) to different TestEnvironments; it is called the Build Deployment.

 

15. What is Test Strategy?

Answer: A Test Strategy is a document that describesthe test efforts, test configuration, testing tools to be employed, testenvironments, exit criteria and entry criteria for testing, what differenttypes of testing will be carried out (for example, smoke test, regression, loadtest, functional test and so on) types of testing to be carried out and systemrequirement. The Test Manager or Lead writes it. (Remember, the Tester does NOTwrite Test Strategy. A Tester writes Test Plans and Test Cases) See how a TestStrategy looks like.

 

16. Are Test Plan and Test Strategy same type ofdocuments?

Answer: No, they are different documents. A Test Planis a document that collects and organizes test cases by functional areas and/ortypes of testing in a form that can be presented to the other teams and/orcustomer (see the definition on this page for Test Plan) where as the TestStrategy (see the definition in the above question) is the documented approachto testing. The tester prepares test Plan whereas the Manager or lead preparesthe Test Strategy. Both are important pieces of Quality Assurance processessince they help communicate the test approach scope and ensure test coveragewhile improving the efficiency of the testing effort.

 

17. What does Test Strategy include?

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

 

18. What are different types of software testing anddefine them?

Answer: Different types of testing are:

1) Unit testing

2) Shakeout testing

3) Smoke testing (Ad-hoc testing)

4) Functional testing

5) Integration testing

6) Regression testing

7) System testing

8) Load testing

9) Stress testing

10) Performance testing

11) User acceptance testing

12) Black box testing

13) White box testing

14) Alpha testing

15) Beta testing

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

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

What is Shakeout testing? This test is basically carried out to check the networking facility,database connectivity and the integration of modules. The ConfigurationManagement team, who prepare builds for test environments, normally does thistest. They also test whether the major components of the software are notbroken. This test is done BEFORE the build is deployed in the test environment.After the shake out testing, the next step is smoke testing (which is done bythe testers after the build is deployed in the test environment)

What is smoke testing? This test is done when the build is just prepared (fresh build) anddeployed in the test environments. This is basically an ad hoc test to checkroughly to make sure the major functionalities are not broken. It is thepreliminary a test carried out by the QA tester. After the smoke test, thetesters perform functional testing.

What is Functional testing? It is a test to check whether each and every function of that applicationis working as per the requirement (remember this work “as per requirementdocument”-you must say this in the interview). It is a major test where 80% ofthe tests are done. In this test, the Test Cases are executed (or run).

What is Integration testing? It is a test to check whether all the modules are combined together or notand working successfully as specified in the requirement document. (Just foryour information: Each developer works on different modules. When they finishtheir code, the configuration management team puts them together and prepares abuild. We, as testers, need to make sure that these modules, which are nowcombined, work as per requirement document)

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

What is System testing? When testers complete testing (The testers test the application in thetest environments, meaning they test with the test data only, NOT with the realdata), the application (software) has to be tested in the real environment.What it means is, since the testers test it in the test environment with thetest data, we have to make sure that the application works well in the realenvironment with the real data. In test environment, some of the things cannotbe simulated or tested. Al though the test environment is very similar to theproduction (real) environment, we need to make sure that we get a smoothdelivery in the real system as well (As servers are different and database isdifferent, things may not work as expected when the application is moved fromtest environment to production environment)

What is Load testing? It is a test to check the user’s response time for number of users usingany one scenario (single business process) of the same application at the sametime.

What is Performance testing? It is a test to check the user’s response time for number of users usingmultiple scenarios (multiple business process) of the same application at thesame time.

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

What is Stress testing? In this type of testing the application is tested against heavy load suchas complex numerical values, large number of inputs, large number of queriesetc. which checks for the stress/load the applications can withstand.

What is User acceptance testing (UAT)? In this type of testing, the software is handed over to the user in orderto find out if the software meets the user expectations and works as it isexpected to. In this testing, the tester may do the testing or the clients mayhave their own testers (For example, banks may have their own teller employeeswho can test the application).

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

What is White box testing? It is a test where a tester looks into the code and performs the testing.

What is Alpha testing? In this type of testing, the users are invited at the development centerwhere they use the application and the developers note every particular inputor action carried out by the user. Any type of abnormal behavior of the systemis noted and rectified by the developers.

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

 

19. What is the difference between Load Testing andPerformance Testing?

Answer: Basically Load, Stress and Performance Testingare the same. However, Load testing is the test to check the users’ responsetime of number of users of any one scenario of the application whereasPerformanceTesting is the test to check the user response time for multiplescenario of the same application.

 

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

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

First of all the Business Requirement Document wasprepared as per the client’s requirement (with the muck-up). Then on the basisof the requirement document, QA Team wrote Test Plans, Test Cases and TestStrategies. The developers started coding their modules (started programming).Once the developers finished coding, the Configuration Management Team compiledthe code together and prepared a build. This Build is now deployed to differenttesting environments where different types of testing were performed. Once thedefects were found, the testers would log the defect using the tools available(like TestDirecotor, ClearQuest and so on. For the companies who cannot affordthese expensive tools, they can use Excel sheet as well). Once the defects arelogged, then those defects would be discussed in the defect status meeting andwould take further actions (meaning, closing, reopening, retesting of defectsetc).

 

21. What is Change Control?

Answer: It is a document that describes the additionalfunctionalities that are added after the Business Requirement Document issigned off. It can be updated in the old business requirement document or itcan be a separate document. (For example, in the Business Requirement Document,on the login page, there are User Name and Password fields. The owner of thesoftware wants to add, “If you do not have User Name and Password, please clickhere.” This is a change. But this change came after the document is signed offby the Project Managers. Now this is a change control and comes as a separatedocument. (It is also called Change Request, Modification Request).

 

22. Have you written Change Control?

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

 

23. What is Backend Testing?

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

 

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

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

I was working on Reports. It was the scenario oftesting one application used in the bank, where a customer comes to a bank’sfront desk, the bank teller is requested to open a Checking Account. Theassociate then asks for the personal information about the customer, which, arethe primary data, such as: First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, Address andSocial Security Number. The associate then puts these primary data of that particularcustomer into the computer, which then afterwards batch-processed (normallyhappens in the middle of the nigh). Now, after the batch process, theinformation of that customer goes into the central database in the XML format.The data now from the database goes to ETL (Extract-Transform-Load). (ETL is atool made by two companies ‘AbInitio’ and ‘Informatica’) ETL now processes thejob to create a file (output file) to produce the report. The file is nowdisplayed in the GUI Front End report with the help of Business Object (orCrystal Reports. These are tools that display data in GUI format). In the GUIFront End report, let us say, if for January, the deposit of that person wasdisplayed as $ 900.00. Then my job was to validate whether this $900 is corrector not. I validated this data by writing SQL queries directly to the database.The data pulled from my SQL query should match to the data in the GUI frontend. In other words, my SQL query should also display $900. If it matches, itis well and good. If it doesn’t, then it’s a bug. This is how I have done myBack End Testing.

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

Answer: I write SQL query based on the requirementdocument. In the requirement document, various conditions are given for thequery. Based on those conditions, I write SQL query. Therefore, anythingdifferent from the requirement document is definitely a defect.

 

25. From you resume, I see that you have been workingin one place for a very short period of time. This raises me questions why. Canyou explain why?

Answer: As a consultant, I am hired for a certainperiod of time (for project duration only), normally for 6 months to 1 year.Once the project is over, I needed to move to another project. That’s why yousee me in the resume jumping frequently here and there.

 

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

Answer: On the first day, the Manager will come toreceive at the lobby. He/she will welcome you; tell where you will be sitting.The next thing will be will show you login name and password and they want tomake sure that the login name and password works so that you can use yourcomputer. Then the Manager will tell you where the documents are located in thenetwork drive (or shared drive, or ClearCase, or Sharepoint—different companiesuse different software for this purpose). Once you find the documents, then youwill ask them what you will be working on what are the related documents thatyou should read. You start reading the documents, which lasts normally one weekor more.

 

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

Answer: Go to work, have a cup of coffee (coffee isfree in any work place), then check emails. I will check in my calendar whetherthere is any meeting for the day. If there is anything urgent work that needsto take care of, then I will start with that job. Otherwise, I will start whatis left from yesterday on a priority basis.

(This question was asked to one of my friends while hewas attending interview in one of the companies. When they asked him thisquestion, his answer was, he said, “I start testing”. This was his wronganswer. The answer varies in which phase of testing the application is. If theapplication is in very beginning state-meaning that the coding has just begun,then the tester’s job will be to analyze and read the requirement documents,write test plans and write test cases. Probably attend walkthrough meeting andso on. However, the daily routine job would be, as mentioned above, checkemails, read documents, attend meeting and so on. It’s not that as soon as youenter the office, you start testing)

What do you do if you have any questions to ask? Whodo you ask?

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

As mentioned earlier, on the first day, your Managerwill give you the system (computer) (They normally call system, not computer),will tell you what the User ID and Password is, where are the QA documents onthe shared drive (or Network drive) are and so on. They will definitely ask youto read a lot of documents at the beginning (And you must read, read and read thosedocuments AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. At the beginning, allocate about 2 hours extraat home for reading these documents. This habit will put you on the top of yourjob). These documents are normally design specification document (DSD).Different companies call it with different names, for example, RequirementSpecification Document (RSD) and so on. After reading the documents, you willbe asked to write Test Plans or Test Cases (Don’t panic. The Test Plans andTest Cases templates will be give by your manager or test lead and they willtell you what to do and how to do because different companies have differentformats they follow. If they don’t have one, then you can always prepare asample from this website (see on the right column) and give it to them. Youwill be hero)

Who do you ask?

Now let’s say you did not understand something whilereading documents. Who are you going to ask? Answer-Business Analysts who wrotethis document. If you have any other questions that you don’t know, you will beasking that to you friend first, if he/she is not able to answer, then ask thisquestion to the Lead (or Manager). Do not ask too many questions (some peopleget irritated). Therefore, it is important to read, read and read. That’s theonly way to succeed.

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

What kind of questions should I ask in the meeting?

Nothing. My advice is, keep your mouth shut. Justlisten. This is the best way to handle the job until you are confident enoughto speak and you know what you are talking about. If they ask you somequestions, then reply gently, wisely.

How to deal with your team members?

Most probably, you will not be the only tester in theteam. There will be more than you. Sometimes, dealing with you team members isfrustrating, specially when you are new. They try to ignore you. They want toshow themselves smart. Don’t worry. Don’t blame them. This part of the humannature. Try to cope with it. Invite them when you go for coffee (in the coffeeroom in your office, don’t go outside), try to share your feelings and so on.It is all how you handle your friends. It is part of your daily activities,handle it gently. This is part of the situation I have gone through, my friendshave gone through. I am just sharing this with you.

 

28. Have you used automation tools?

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

Answer: Yes. I have used TestDirector and ClearQuestas defect tracking tools. (Your answer is based on whether you have usedautomation tools specially for functional and load testing. If you have NOT used,but read about these tools, then you may be better off saying, “I know aboutthe tools. I was involved in some of the testing using these tools, but wouldneed some brush up in order to work independently.” I am saying this becausethese tools are difficult to tackle in the interview and have to know in depth.In order to pass the interview on functional automation tools, it may not beeasy unless you really know the stuff. But, since there is not much to learn inClearQuest and TestDirector, you only have to know what different types offields are there in the defect logging window when writing a defect.)

 

29. When you log a defect using TestDirector (orClearQuest) what fields do you see?

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

See the fields in TestDirector (go to page 24-27)

See the fields in ClearQuest (go to page 9)

 

30. Are you better working in a team or working alone?

Answer: I am a team player. I get along with teammembers very well. As far as the working is concerned, I can be equallyproductive in team or working alone.

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

 

31. Do you have any situations in the past where youhave some arguments with your team members?

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

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

 

32. What do you like about a Manager? And what don’tyou like?

Answer: The best thing I like about a Manager is thatthe Manager should be able to coordinate with the other teams so that we canget the updated documents, for example, updated requirements documents rightaway. A Manager who can efficiently in distributes the work to the team,without being biased and easily accessible and protective to his team for theright cause. As far as “what I don’t like” is concerned, I don’t like a managerwho keeps coming to desk 10 times a day to check my work even if it is just aregular work. Once the responsibility is given, the team member should betrusted and let his work done.

 

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

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

(You can also say “QA Manager”, but since the QAManager is taking your interview most of the time, they some times feelchallenged. Therefore, it might be a good idea to limit you to QA Lead)

 

34. Why are you in QA?

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

 

35. Why do you like this job?

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

Another reason is I like to find defects. I enjoylogging defects. The more defects I find, the happier I am.

 

36. How do you determine what to test in anapplication?

Answer: First of all we have the test cases (or testscripts) that are written based on the requirement document. This pretty muchcovers what functionalities to test. Therefore, looking at the test cases tellsus what to test in the application.

 

37. If you have no documentation about the product,how do you test an application?Describe theprocess.

Answer: Well, this is a situation where I have comeacross several times. Some of the companies in my previous projects did nothave any documents. In this case, I went to the Business Analyst and some timesto developers to find out how exactly the functionalities work, how to navigatefrom one page to another page and so on. After getting a clear vision, I writetest cases based on the conversation (which is a step by step procedure to testan application) and get ready for testing.

What do you do once you find a defect?

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

1. Recreate the Defect: Once you find a defect,we must try to recreate (meaning that we should be able to reproduce it) atleast 3 times so that we are sure that it is a defect. Some times, once we findit log it without recreating, may put us in a false situation (becausesometimes the application does not behave in the same way). Therefore, it isimportant to recreate the same defect several times.

2. Attach the Screen Shot (supportingdocument): Once we confirm that it is a defect, and then it is a good idea toattach supporting documents when we log (write) a defect. For example, screenshot, requirement document etc. For instance, let us say that instead of“Continue” button on a page, there is a typo “Continuee”. Now, we will make ascreen shot of this page (To make screen shot, press “Print Screen” button onthe keyboard, and open a Word document, and Click Edit on the Word document and“Past” it. You will see the screen now) Now, a tester needs to write defects ineasy and clear language to make all the developers to understand easily.

3. Log the Defect: Now, the next step is, weneed to log it. Depending on the company what kind of tools they are using (forexample, some companies use TestDirector to log defects, some companies useRational ClearQuest, some use PVC Tracker and so on). If the company is smalland cannot afford these expensive tools, then they may simply use Excel sheetto log defects. We log the defect.

 

38. What are the basic elements you put in a defect?

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

 

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

Answer: Well, there are many big defects I have foundin various projects. For example, in the last project, on a page, there was abutton called “More Information”. Once the user clicked that button, the systemwould open a new window (pop up).

We could close the new window in 3 ways:

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

-By clicking “Close” button on the page

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

Although the combination key (Alt+F4) was notmentioned in the test case, I just wanted to try how the application reactswhen Alt+F4 is pressed. Then I pressed Alt+F4. The result was a disaster-theapplication crashed (broke). The application disappeared from the computermonitor. Since it was the last day of testing for us, it brought chaos in ourManagers, Leads and the whole teams. Finally, the developers disabled Alt+F4 asa temporary solution and the application went into production.

 

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

Answer: There is a certain process how the quality ofsoftware is guaranteed (ensured). If is defined by the ‘exit criteria’. (Whatit means is, a QA Manager writes a document called Test Strategy. This TestStrategy defines the ‘exit criteria’.) Exit Criteria gives the measurement, forexample, in order to confirm the quality, how many critical defects, highdefects, medium defect and low defect are acceptable? These are all defined inthe exit criteria. (Normally in practice, for a quality software, there shouldno critical defects (0 critical), no high defect (0 high), no medium defect (0medium) and may be 1 low defect)

 

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

Answer: When I find the defect that normally othersdon’t find, then I feel very proud. For example, there were situations where Ifound bugs that crashed the whole system at the end of testing phase. I triedthe scenarios where the scenarios were NOT mentioned in the test cases. Forexample, we can close the windows by clicking X on the page, with “Close”button and so on. But there is another way that you can close the window, bypressing Alt+F4 on the keyboard. Not many testers test this scenario. I havedone this in my last two projects. Both the time, the application crashed whichbecame a big issue. I felt proud.

 

42. What made you to choose testing career?

Answer: I am a very detailed oriented person and Ilike process-oriented job. The way QA process works is just the kind of work Ilike. For example, analyzing requirement documents, attending walk-throughmeetings, writing test plans, writing test cases, executing the test cases (orrunning the test cases) testing the application, logging defects, retestingthem and so on. I think I really like the process and that’s why I chose thiscareer.

 

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

Answer: We should start testing as soon as thefollowing things are ready:

-Test Data are ready

-Build (all the developers have coded their code andmerged them

together)

-Test Environment (servers, network etc) is set up andready

-When the manager asks us to go ahead and starttesting.

 

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

Answer: First of all, I will look at the requirementdocuments (or design document in some companies). The requirement document willtell us what the functionalities in the application (software) are. Once Ianalyze the requirement documents (one module=one requirement document). Afterthat, I will write test plans for each module (one module =one test plan). Thenafter the test plan is complete, I will write test cases (One module can havehundreds, even thousands test cases). Once the test cases are ready and theapplication is ready (or once the build is ready), then I will start testing.Before I start testing, however, I will make sure the test environments, testdata and defect logging tools are in place. This is how I will go about testingan application.

 

45. What is a “bug?”

Answer: A bug is a bug is an error, flaw, mistake,failure, or fault in a computer code (program) that prevents it from behavingas intended (e.g., producing an incorrect result). (You can also add this: Whenthe expected results (accordingly to the requirement documents) don’t matchwith the actual results (while testing), then it is considered a bug)

 

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

Answer: The testing coverage is defined by exitcriteria (There is exit criteria and entry criteria in the Test Strategy). Forexample, if the exit criteria says “The software will be acceptable to theclient only if there are no critical defects, no high defects, no mediumdefects and only two low defects”, then all the critical, high, medium shouldbe zero. Only 2 low defects are acceptable. Thus, 100% coverage is measured bythe exit criteria. Also, 100% test cases must be executed in order to cover100% of testing.

 

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