QA Interview QuestionGuide to How to prepare for your interview and what to accept from your new QA Testers JobHere are some very common interview questions you will be asked or you can relate to; Please NOTE this is only for your understanding and post interview preparations ONLY (in this document Bullet points are related to the Interview questions) Tell me about yourself? I have been in the quality assurance field for the past five years. I have worked in insurance and financial industries or (whatever industry you put on your resume) with both web based and windows based applications. I have been involved in writing test plans, test cases, and test scripts. I have performed regression, smoke, functional and database testing.

Tell me about your last project:In my last project I was involved in testing a Web Based Application. As the QA tester, I wrote test cases and test scripts, performed functional, regression and performance testing. I attended several walkthrough meetings for requirements reviews and provided feedback to the business analysts. I also did quite a lot of backend testing which required writing SQL queries directly to the database.

OR What was your last job?( Make a story about your job)

I worked for First Financial Insurance Company (It can be any company you put on your resume) , I was involved in testing web base application which was integrated between insurance agents, Customer and the Insurance company. I have been involved in writing test plans, test cases, and test scripts. I have performed regression, performance, smoke, functional and database testing

OR What did you do at your last job? In my last Job I was involved in testing a Web based application. As a QA tester, I wrote test cases and test scripts. Performed functional, regression and testing. I attended several walkthrough meetings for requirements reviews and provided

feedback to the business analysts. I also did quite a lot of backend testing which required writing SQL queries directly to the database.

What were your day-to-day activities?

My day-to-day activities involved writing test cases/scripts, review my coworkers scripts, execute them. Log the defect and retest the fixed bugs. Also we have biweekly meeting in which we discuss bugs found last week, weekly status report and plan for next week. Have you written a test plan? Yes What is a Test Plan? A test plan is a document detailing a systematic approach to testing a system. It identifies test items, features to be tested, the testing tasks and who will do each task. It includes a table of contents, introduction, scope (intended audience, document terminology and acronyms, references), overview of planned tests (test inclusions and exclusions) different types of testing that will be carried out, what software and hardware will be required, issues, risks, assumptions and a sign off section. Yes How did you write a Test Case? Have you written any Test Cases?

You take the Use Cases and Software requirement Specifications (SRS) and create the test cases from them, and make sure you cover all the functionalities in your test case. You also prioritize the test cases according to the severity levels. What is a test case and what does it include. Test cases form a checklist. Each test case describes in a short statement what should occur. Yes

Have you written any Test Scripts? How did you write a test script?

Test script is a detailed step-by-step instruction on how to test the application. It includes action, expected results, pass/fail and comments.

What is a Test script? A test script is detailed step-by-step instructions on how to test the application. It includes action, expected results, pass/fail and comments. How many test scripts did you write in your last project? About 80+

Give me an example of a test case you wrote?

Scenario: The policyholder was able to see his payment history. o Login in the system with the valid login and password. o Click on the Payment tab located on left top of the page. o Click on the Payment History button. o Chose the date from the calendar. o Click on submit button. o Verify that the chosen dates are showing the payment history.

What was your biggest accomplishment at your last job?

When an application was taken from a policyholder and then transmitted to headquarters, all personal applicant information was to clear off the application. I found a policy that when completed and transmitted, could still be viewed on the application which posed privacy concerns. What did you do what makes you different and valuable at your last job?

I brought a vast domain experience from Insurance, Financial and retail with me. I had great communicating and analytical skills. I was one of the Senior QA and was testing the High priority functionalities.

How big was the last team you worked in?

I have worked in a team of 4o people, which included 10-15 developers and 5 QAs.

What was the smallest team you worked in?

Smallest team worked with is 18 people, with 7 developers and 2 QAs.

What is a software team and how is involved in it?(This is only for your knowledge base)

Software team: 1) PM 2) IT Manager 3) Systems Architect 4) Database people, 5) 1 BA (Business Analyst) (Project Manager)

6) 10-15 Developers 7) 4 QA About 35 peopleUsually it is Minimum: 3:1 ratio, 3 developers, to 1 QA 18, 7 developers, 2 QA but it can vary

(Quality Assurance Analyst)

What document did you refer to write the test scripts? I have always referred to Use cases or SRSs to write my test cases and then test scripts written from the test cases.

Can you tell me what would you do if you were not provided documents to refer to? In that case I will discussed the application functionalities with the business analysts and developers. I will prepare a simple document in consultation with them and then started writing the test Cases to test.

What is the biggest bug you ever found? When an application was taken from a policyholder and then transmitted to headquarters, all personal applicant information was to clear off the application. I found a policy that when completed and transmitted, could still be viewed on the application which posed privacy concerns.

What is?What is a use Case? A use case is a checklist for the developer that describes user action and systems response to each functionality of the application What is the software development life cycle? Conceptual model used in project management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project, from requirements gathering to maintenance. Requirements gathering Analysis Design Development Testing Maintenance

What is the business requirements document? This is a document that describes the details of the application functionalities which is required by the user. It is written by the BA

What is the software-testing life cycle? The testing of software has its own life cycle: Requirement study Test planning Writing test scripts Reviewing test scripts Executing test scripts Bug logging and tracking Close or reopen bugs What is a business design document? Business Design Document breaks down into further detail each functionality. Sometimes lumped together with the BRD What is a module? A software component that has a specific task It can be a link, which can go inside to its component detail. What is a walk through meeting? Before start working in a module and/or after accomplishing the testing of a module, the tester calls a meeting to disseminate their findings or to share queries to other testers or leads of the company working on the same application. What is Build? When each of the different modules of software is prepared, they are put in a single folder by the configuration management team (CMT) and it is called the build. In other words, the developers put their code in the shared location folder and all those code modules are combined together so that it is a complete application that works. (PUTTING TOGETHER ALL THE CODE INTO AN APP THAT WORKS) Different types of testing: Unit testing: Eg. For login: With valid id and pw With invalid Empty Shakeout testing: to check the networking facility, database connectivity and the integration of modules-done by the configuration team. Test each unit (module) separately. Mostly done by the developer.

Smoke testing: initial testing to check whether the major functionalities are working. Functional testing: test the functionalities of the application to make sure its working as per the business requirement document. Major test where 80% of the tests are done Integration testing: test that they system is integrating in the right manner (connecting with databases, information is being pulled properly from other websites). Developers and testers can work together on this. Individual modules are combined and tested as a group. Data transfers between modules are tested. Regression testing: test all units from a to z over and over again. Its the final phase of testing. System Testing: Concerned with the behavior of a system as a whole. Checks complete end-to-end scenarios as the way a customer would use the system. Load testing: to test how the application handles volume Stress testing: stresses the application with complex numerical values, large number of inputs etc. Performance testing: tests the performance of the application such as think time. User acceptance testing (UAT): done by the end user or QA Being the end user Black box testing: testing without the understanding of code White box testing: testing with the understanding of code Beta testing: preliminary UAT with defects reported back to the developers.

What is negative testing?Test to make sure the system is not doing what its not supposed to do What is SQL?

(Structured query language)

SQL statements are used to retrieve, review, edit or update data in a database.

Where and how did you use SQL queries in your last job? In my last project, field agents would capture primary data such as name, address, dob, and social security number and enter it into the application. Then,

depending on which policies were sold to them, a report was generated listing policyholders along with policies that they had purchased. My job was to validate this data by writing SQL queries about whether the displayed data matches with the original input data in the database. What is a primary key? It is a column, which has a unique value for each or the rows within that column. It cannot have a null value. What is a unique key? Is a column, which may or may not have null value of each of the rows within that column Have you done Backend Testing? Yes. What is Backend Testing? Test to check whether the data displayed in the front-end matches with the data in the original database.

Have you done any Web Application Testing? Yes

How do you test a Web Application? Look at the requirements document, write the test plan, cases for your self to make your self understand what are you going to do or what steps are you going to take to testing the application or the module you are suppose to test and then write the test scripts for your test How or when do you stop testing? You follow the guidelines you are given according to the testing exit criteria or go by the test case

What to expect and do at your new job

What is your first week like?On the first day, we well be given a computer and support people will set up the user name and password for the computer. Then the QA lead or Manager will give you a brief walk through of the documents (which documents are where in the system), you will be introduced you to other team members. Then you are given time to read and familiarize yourself with the documents and the environment.

How do you know what to test?You will be given Test cases and test scripts to test

What do you do when you find a defect?1) Recreate the defect. Once it is found, it must be reproduced at least three times to make sure it is a defect. 2) Attach the screen shot. Need to have supporting documents. 3) Log the defect. In whatever format the company is using. Could be a program or excel.

Basic elements in defect logging:Severity, priority, created by, version no, header, description of the defect

Things to remember in defect reporting/Logging a BUG

Defect logging:Always be very detailed when writing a test case/test script. Always write a detail FOR A BLIND MAN to follow Can be documented in QC or any given program your company LOG there BUGS in

1) Defect id: Every defect has or should be given a unique id for the defect to be tracked and logged into the SYSTEM 2) Defect description: Always provide a detailed description of the defect 3) Version: Make sure you always put the version of the application 4) Steps: Always provide detailed steps in which defect was found 5) Date raised/Logged: Always date when defect was raised or LOGGED 6) Reference: Always try to give screenshots of the defect 7) Detected by: Always put your Name/id of tester for the future references.

Severity & Priority could be High/Medium/Low based on the impact & urgency at which the defect/bug should be fixed. 8) Severity: which describes the impact of the defect on the application

Always put the severity level of the defect/bug 9) Priority: Always put the priority level on the defect/bug to let the developers know the urgency of fixing found defect. 10) Status: Always give a status of the defect/bug 11) Fixed by: Always put the Name/ID of the developer who fixed it 12) Date Closed: Always put a date when the defect is closed after getting fixed or otherwise.