QA常见面试问题答与问(English)

Interview questions on WinRunner

• How you used WinRunner in your project?- Yes, I have been using WinRunner for creating automated scripts for GUI, functional and regression testing of the AUT.
• Explain WinRunner testing process?- WinRunner testing process involves six main stages
  • Create GUI MapFile so that WinRunner can recognize the GUI objects in the application being tested
  • Create testscripts by recording, programming, or a combination of both. While recording tests, insert checkpoints where you want to check the response of the application being tested.
  • Debug Test:run tests in Debug mode to make sure they run smoothly
  • Run Tests:run tests in Verify mode to test your application.
  • View Results:determines the success or failure of the tests.
  • Report Defects:If a test run fails due to a defect in the application being tested, you can report information about the defect directly from the Test Results window.
• What is contained in the GUI map?  - WinRunner stores information it learns about a window or object in a GUI Map. When WinRunner runs a test, it uses the GUI map to locate objects. It reads an object.s description in the GUI map and then looks for an object with the same properties in the application being tested. Each of these objects in the GUI Map file will be having a logical name and a physical description. There are 2 types of GUI Map files.Global GUI Map file: a single GUI Map file for the entire application.GUI Map File per Test:WinRunner automatically creates a GUI Map file for each test created.
• How does WinRunner recognize objects on the application?- WinRunner uses the GUI Map file to recognize objects on the application. When WinRunner runs a test, it uses the GUI map to locate objects. It reads an object.s description in the GUI map and then looks for an object with the same properties in the application being tested.
• Have you created test scripts and what is contained in the test scripts?  - Yes I have created test scripts. It contains the statement in Mercury Interactive.s Test Script. Language (TSL). These statements appear as a test script. in a test window. You can then enhance your recorded test script, either by typing in additional TSL functions and programming elements or by using WinRunner.s visual programming tool, the Function Generator.
• How does WinRunner evaluate test results?- Following each test run, WinRunner displays the results in a report. The report details all the major events that occurred during the run, such as checkpoints, error messages, system messages, or user messages. If mismatches are detected at checkpoints during the test run, you can view the expected results and the actual results from the Test Results window.
• Have you performed debugging of the scripts?- Yes, I have performed debugging of scripts. We can debug the script. by executing the script. in the debug mode. We can also debug script. using the Step, Step Into, Step out functionalities provided by the WinRunner.
• How do you run your test scripts?- We run tests in Verify mode to test your application. Each time WinRunner encounters a checkpoint in the test script, it compares the current data of the application being tested to the expected data captured earlier. If any mismatches are found, WinRunner captures them as actual results.
• How do you analyze results and report the defects?- Following each test run, WinRunner displays the results in a report. The report details all the major events that occurred during the run, such as checkpoints, error messages, system messages, or user messages. If mismatches are detected at checkpoints during the test run, you can view the expected results and the actual results from the Test Results window. If a test run fails due to a defect in the application being tested, you can report information about the defect directly from the Test Results window. This information is sent via e-mail to the quality assurance manager, who tracks the defect until it is fixed.
• What is the use of Test Director software?- TestDirector is Mercury Interactive.s software test management tool. It helps quality assurance personnel plan and organize the testing process. With TestDirector you can create a database of manual and automated tests, build test cycles, run tests, and report and track defects. You can also create reports and graphs to help review the progress of planning tests, running tests, and tracking defects before a software release.
• Have you integrated your automated scripts from TestDirector?- When you work with WinRunner, you can choose to save your tests directly to your TestDirector database or while creating a test case in the TestDirector we can specify whether the script. in automated or manual. And if it is automated script. then TestDirector will build a skeleton for the script. that can be later modified into one which could be used to test the AUT.
• What are the different modes of recording?- There are two type of recording in WinRunner.  Context Sensitive recordingrecords the operations you perform. on your application by identifying Graphical User Interface (GUI) objects.Analog recordingrecords keyboard input, mouse clicks, and the precise x- and y-coordinates traveled by the mouse pointer across the screen.
• What is the purpose of loading WinRunner Add-Ins?  - Add-Ins are used in WinRunner to load functions specific to the particular add-in to the memory. While creating a script. only those functions in the add-in selected will be listed in the function generator and while executing the script. only those functions in the loaded add-in will be executed else WinRunner will give an error message saying it does not recognize the function.
• What are the reasons that WinRunner fails to identify an object on the GUI?  - WinRunner fails to identify an object in a GUI due to various reasons.  The object is not a standard windows object. If the browser used is not compatible with the WinRunner version, GUI Map Editor will not be able to learn any of the objects displayed in the browser window.
• What is meant by the logical name of the object? -An object.s logical name is determined by its class. In most cases, the logical name is the label that appears on an object.
• If the object does not have a name then what will be the logical name?  - If the object does not have a name then the logical name could be the attached text.
• What is the different between GUI map and GUI map files?- The GUI map is actually the sum of one or more GUI map files. There are two modes for organizing GUI map files.Global GUI Map file: a single GUI Map file for the entire application.GUI Map File per Test:WinRunner automatically creates a GUI Map file for each test created. GUI Map file is a file which contains the windows and the objects learned by the WinRunner with its logical name and their physical description.
• How do you view the contents of the GUI map?- GUI Map editor displays the content of a GUI Map. We can invoke GUI Map Editor from the Tools Menu in WinRunner. The GUI Map Editor displays the various GUI Map files created and the windows and objects learned in to them with their logical name and physical description.
• When you create GUI map do you record all the objects of specific objects?  - If we are learning a window then WinRunner automatically learns all the objects in the window else we will we identifying those object, which are to be learned in a window, since we will be working with only those objects while creating scripts.

LoadRunner interview questions

• What is load testing? -Load testing is to test that if the application works fine with the loads that result from large number of simultaneous users, transactions and to determine weather it can handle peak usage periods.
• What is Performance testing?- Timing for both read and update transactions should be gathered to determine whether system functions are being performed in an acceptable timeframe. This should be done standalone and then in a multi user environment to determine the effect of multiple transactions on the timing of a single transaction.
• Did u use LoadRunner? What version?- Yes. Version 7.2.
• Explain the Load testing process?-
  Step 1: Planning the test.Here, we develop a clearly defined test plan to ensure the test scenarios we develop will accomplish load-testing objectives.Step 2: Creating Vusers.Here, we create Vuser scripts that contain tasks performed by each Vuser, tasks performed by Vusers as a whole, and tasks measured as transactions.Step 3: Creating the scenario.A scenario describes the events that occur during a testing session. It includes a list of machines, scripts, and Vusers that run during the scenario. We create scenarios using LoadRunner Controller. We can create manual scenarios as well as goal-oriented scenarios. In manual scenarios, we define the number of Vusers, the load generator machines, and percentage of Vusers to be assigned to each script. For web tests, we may create a goal-oriented scenario where we define the goal that our test has to achieve. LoadRunner automatically builds a scenario for us.Step 4: Running the scenario.
  We emulate load on the server by instructing multiple Vusers to perform. tasks simultaneously. Before the testing, we set the scenario configuration and scheduling. We can run the entire scenario, Vuser groups, or individual Vusers.Step 5: Monitoring the scenario.
  We monitor scenario execution using the LoadRunner online runtime, transaction, system resource, Web resource, Web server resource, Web application server resource, database server resource, network delay, streaming media resource, firewall server resource, ERP server resource, and Java performance monitors.Step 6: Analyzing test results.During scenario execution, LoadRunner records the performance of the application under different loads. We use LoadRunner.s graphs and reports to analyze the application.s performance.
• When do you do load and performance Testing?- We perform. load testing once we are done with interface (GUI) testing. Modern system architectures are large and complex. Whereas single user testing primarily on functionality and user interface of a system component, application testing focuses on performance and reliability of an entire system. For example, a typical application-testing scenario might depict 1000 users logging in simultaneously to a system. This gives rise to issues such as what is the response time of the system, does it crash, will it go with different software applications and platforms, can it hold so many hundreds and thousands of users, etc. This is when we set do load and performance testing.
• What are the components of LoadRunner?- The components of LoadRunner are The Virtual User Generator, Controller, and the Agent process, LoadRunner Analysis and Monitoring, LoadRunner Books Online.
• What Component of LoadRunner would you use to record a Script?- The Virtual User Generator (VuGen) component is used to record a script. It enables you to develop Vuser scripts for a variety of application types and communication protocols.
• What Component of LoadRunner would you use to play Back the script. in multi user mode?- The Controller component is used to playback the script. in multi-user mode. This is done during a scenario run where a vuser script. is executed by a number of vusers in a group.
• What is a rendezvous point?- You insert rendezvous pointsinto Vuser scripts to emulate heavy user load on the server. Rendezvous pointsinstruct Vusers to wait during test execution for multiple Vusers to arrive at a certain point, in order that they may simultaneously perform. a task. For example, to emulate peak load on the bank server, you can insert a rendezvous point instructing 100 Vusers to deposit cash into their accounts at the same time.
• What is a scenario?- A scenario defines the events that occur during each testing session. For example, a scenario defines and controls the number of users to emulate, the actions to be performed, and the machines on which the virtual users run their emulations.
• Explain the recording mode for web Vuser script?- We use VuGen to develop a Vuser script. by recording a user performing typical business processes on a client application. VuGen creates the script. by recording the activity between the client and the server. For example, in web based applications, VuGen monitors the client end of the database and traces all the requests sent to, and received from, the database server. We use VuGen to: Monitor the communication between the application and the server; Generate the required function calls; and Insert the generated function calls into a Vuser script.
• Why do you create parameters?- Parameters are like script. variables. They are used to vary input to the server and to emulate real users. Different sets of data are sent to the server each time the script. is run. Better simulate the usage model for more accurate testing from the Controller; one script. can emulate many different users on the system.
• What is correlation? Explain the difference between automatic correlation and manual correlation?- Correlation is used to obtain data which are unique for each run of the script. and which are generated by nested queries. Correlation provides the value to avoid errors arising out of duplicate values and also optimizing the code (to avoid nested queries). Automatic correlation is where we set some rules for correlation. It can be application server specific. Here values are replaced by data which are created by these rules. In manual correlation, the value we want to correlate is scanned and create correlation is used to correlate.
• How do you find out where correlation is required? Give few examples from your projects?- Two ways:First we can scan for correlations, and see the list of values which can becorrelated. From this we can pick a value to be correlated. Secondly, we can record two scripts and compare them. We can look up the difference file to see for the values which needed to be correlated.  In my project, there was a unique id developed for each customer, it was nothing but Insurance Number, it was generated automatically and it was sequential and this value was unique. I had to correlate this value, in order to avoid errors while running my script. I did using scan for correlation.
• Where do you set automatic correlation options?- Automatic correlation fromweb point of viewcan be set in recording options and correlation tab. Here we can enable correlation for the entire script. and choose either issue online messages or offline actions, where we can define rules for that correlation. Automatic correlation for database can be done using show output window and scan for correlation and picking the correlate query tab and choose which query value we want to correlate. If we know the specific value to be correlated, we just do create correlation for the value and specify how the value to be created.
• What is a function to capture dynamic values in the web Vuser script?- Web_reg_save_param function saves dynamic data information to a parameter.
• When do you disable log in Virtual User Generator, When do you choose standard and extended logs?- Once we debug our script. and verify that it is functional, we can enable logging for errors only. When we add a script. to a scenario, logging is automatically disabled.Standard Log Option:When you select
  Standardlog, it creates a standard log of functions and messages sent during script. execution to use for debugging. Disable this option for large load testing scenarios. When you copy a script. to a scenario, logging is automatically disabledExtended Log Option:Select
  extendedlog to create an extended log, including warnings and other messages. Disable this option for large load testing scenarios. When you copy a script. to a scenario, logging is automatically disabled. We can specify which additional information should be added to the extended log using the Extended log options.
• How do you debug a LoadRunner script?- VuGen contains two options to help debug Vuser scripts-the Run Step by Step command and breakpoints. The Debug settings in the Options dialog box allow us to determine the extent of the trace to be performed during scenario execution. The debug information is written to the Output window. We can manually set the message class within your script. using the lr_set_debug_message function. This is useful if we want to receive debug information about a small section of the script. only.
• How do you write user defined functions in LR? Give me few functions you wrote in your previous project?- Before we create the User Defined functions we need to create the external
  library (DLL) with the function. We add this library to VuGen bin directory. Once the library is added then we assign user defined function as a parameter. The function should have the following format: __declspec (dllexport) char* (char*, char*)Examples of user defined functions are as follows:GetVersion, GetCurrentTime, GetPltform. are some of the user defined functions used in my earlier project.
• What are the changes you can make in run-time settings?- The Run Time Settings that we make are: a)Pacing- It has iteration count. b)Log- Under this we have Disable Logging Standard Log and c)ExtendedThink Time- In think time we have two options like Ignore think time and Replay think time. d)General- Under general tab we can set the vusers as process or as multithreading and whether each step as a transaction.
• Where do you set Iteration for Vuser testing?- We set Iterations in the Run Time Settings of the VuGen. The navigation for this is Run time settings, Pacing tab, set number of iterations.
• How do you perform. functional testing under load?- Functionality under load can be tested by running several Vusers concurrently. By increasing the amount of Vusers, we can determine how much load the server can sustain.
• What is Ramp up? How do you set this?- This option is used to gradually increase the amount of Vusers/load on the server. An initial value is set and a value to wait between intervals can be
  specified. To set Ramp Up, go to ‘Scenario Scheduling Options’
• What is the advantage of running the Vuser as thread?- VuGen provides the facility to use multithreading. This enables more Vusers to be run per
  generator. If the Vuser is run as a process, the same driver program is loaded into memory for each Vuser, thus taking up a large amount of memory. This limits the number of Vusers that can be run on a single
  generator. If the Vuser is run as a thread, only one instance of the driver program is loaded into memory for the given number of
  Vusers (say 100). Each thread shares the memory of the parent driver program, thus enabling more Vusers to be run per generator.
• If you want to stop the execution of your script. on error, how do you do that?- The lr_abort function aborts the execution of a Vuser script. It instructs the Vuser to stop executing the Actions section, execute the vuser_end section and end the execution. This function is useful when you need to manually abort a script. execution as a result of a specific error condition. When you end a script. using this function, the Vuser is assigned the status "Stopped". For this to take effect, we have to first uncheck the .Continue on error. option in Run-Time Settings.
• What is the relation between Response Time and Throughput?- The Throughput graph shows the amount of data in bytes that the Vusers received from the server in a second. When we compare this with the transaction response time, we will notice that as throughput decreased, the response time also decreased. Similarly, the peak throughput and highest response time would occur approximately at the same time.
• Explain the Configuration of your systems?- The configuration of our systems refers to that of the client machines on which we run the Vusers. The configuration of any client machine includes its hardware settings, memory, operating system, software applications, development tools, etc. This system component configuration should match with the overall system configuration that would include the network infrastructure, the web server, the database server, and any other components that go with this larger system so as to achieve the load testing objectives.
• How do you identify the performance bottlenecks?- Performance Bottlenecks can be detected by using monitors. These monitors might be application server monitors, web server monitors, database server monitors and network monitors. They help in finding out the troubled area in our scenario which causes increased response time. The measurements made are usually performance response time, throughput, hits/sec, network delay graphs, etc.
• If web server, database and Network are all fine where could be the problem?- The problem could be in the system itself or in the application server or in the code written for the application.
• How did you find web server related issues?- Using Web resource monitors we can find the performance of web servers. Using these monitors we can analyze throughput on the web server, number of hits per second that
  occurred during scenario, the number of http responses per second, the number of downloaded pages per second.
• How did you find database related issues?- By running .Database. monitor and help of .Data Resource Graph. we can find database related issues. E.g. You can specify the resource you want to measure on before running the controller and than you can see database related issues
• Explain all the web recording options?
• What is the difference between Overlay graph and Correlate graph?-Overlay Graph: It overlay the content of two graphs that shares a common x-axis. Left Y-axis on the merged graph show.s the current graph.s value & Right Y-axis show the value of Y-axis of the graph that was merged.Correlate Graph:Plot the Y-axis of two graphs against each other. The active graph.s Y-axis becomes X-axis of merged graph. Y-axis of the graph that was merged becomes merged graph.s Y-axis.
• How did you plan the Load? What are the Criteria?- Load test is planned to decide the number of users, what kind of machines we are going to use and from where they are run. It is based on 2 important documents, Task Distribution Diagram and Transaction profile. Task Distribution Diagram gives us the information on number of users for a particular transaction and the time of the load. The peak usage and off-usage are decided from this Diagram. Transaction profile gives us the information about the transactions name and their priority levels with regard to the scenario we are deciding.
• What does vuser_init action contain?- Vuser_init action contains procedures to login to a server.
• What does vuser_end action contain?- Vuser_end section contains log off procedures.
• What is think time? How do you change the threshold?-  Think timeis the time that a real user waits between actions. Example: When a user receives data from a server, the user may wait several seconds to review the data before responding. This delay is known as thethink time. Changing the Threshold: Threshold level is the level below which the recorded think time will be ignored. The default value is five (5) seconds. We can change the think time threshold in the Recording options of the Vugen.
• What is the difference between standard log and extended log?- The standard log sends a subset of functions and messages sent during script. execution to a log. The subset depends on the Vuser type Extended log sends a detailed script. execution messages to the output log. This is mainly used during debugging when we want information about: Parameter substitution. Data returned by the server. Advanced trace.
• Explain the following functions:-lr_debug_message- The lr_debug_message function sends a debug message to the output log when the specified message class is set.lr_output_message- The lr_output_message function sends notifications to the Controller Output window and the Vuser log file.lr_error_message- The lr_error_message function sends an error message to the LoadRunner Output window.lrd_stmt- The lrd_stmt function associates a character string (usually a SQL statement) with a cursor. This function sets a SQL statement to be processed.lrd_fetch- The lrd_fetch function fetches the next row from the result set.
• Throughput-  If the throughput scales upward as time progresses and the number of Vusers increase, this indicates that the bandwidth is sufficient.If the graphwere to remain relatively flat as the number of Vusers increased, it would
  be reasonable to conclude that the bandwidth is constraining the volume of
  data delivered.
• Types of Goals in Goal-Oriented Scenario-  Load Runner provides you with five different types of goals in a goal oriented scenario:
  • The number of concurrent Vusers
  • The number of hits per second
  • The number of transactions per second
  • The number of pages per minute
  • The transaction response time that you want your scenario
• Analysis Scenario (Bottlenecks):In Running Vuser graph correlated with the response time graph you can see that as the number of Vusers increases, the average response time of the check itinerary transaction very gradually increases. In other words, the average response time steadily increases as the load
  increases. At 56 Vusers, there is a sudden, sharp increase in the average response
  time. We say that the testbroke the server.That is the mean time before failure (MTBF). The response time clearly began to degrade when there were more than 56 Vusers running simultaneously.
• What is correlation? Explain the difference between automatic correlation and manual correlation?- Correlation is used to obtain data which are unique for each run of the script. and which are generated by nested queries. Correlation provides the value to avoid errors arising out of duplicate values and also optimizing the code (to avoid nested queries). Automatic correlation is where we set some rules for correlation. It can be application server specific.Here values are replaced by data which are created by these rules. In manual correlation, the value we want to correlate is scanned and create correlation is used to correlate.
• Where do you set automatic correlation options?- Automatic correlation from web point of view, can be set in recording options and correlation tab. Here we can enable correlation for the entire script. and choose either issue online messages or offline actions, where we can define rules for that correlation.  Automatic correlation for database, can be done using show output window and scan for correlation and picking the correlate query tab and choose which query value we want to correlate. If we know the specific value to be correlated, we just do create correlation for the value and specify how the value to be created.
• What is a function to capture dynamic values in the web vuser script?- Web_reg_save_param function saves dynamic data information to a parameter.

Software tester (SQA) interview questionsThese questions are used for software tester or SQA (Software Quality Assurance) positions. Refer toThe Real World of Software Testingfor more information in the field.

• The top management was feeling that when there are any changes in the technology being used, development schedules etc, it was a waste of time to update the Test Plan. Instead, they were emphasizing that you should put your time into testing than working on the test plan. Your Project Manager asked for your opinion. You have argued that Test Plan is very important and you need to update your test plan from time to time. It’s not a waste of time and testing activities would be more effective when you have your plan clear. Use some metrics. How you would support your argument to have the test plan consistently updated all the time.
• The QAI is starting a project to put the CSTE certification online. They will use an automated process for recording candidate information, scheduling candidates for exams, keeping track of results and sending out certificates. Write a brief test plan for this new project.
• The project had a very high cost of testing. After going in detail, someone found out that the testers are spending their time on software that doesn’t have too many defects. How will you make sure that this is correct?
• What are the disadvantages of overtesting?
• What happens to the test plan if the application has a functionality not mentioned in the requirements?
• You are given two scenarios to test. Scenario 1 has only one terminal for entry and processing whereas scenario 2 has several terminals where the data input can be made. Assuming that the processing work is the same, what would be the specific tests that you would perform. in Scenario 2, which you would not carry on Scenario 1?
• Your customer does not have experience in writing Acceptance Test Plan. How will you do that in coordination with customer? What will be the contents of Acceptance Test Plan?
• How do you know when to stop testing?
• What can you do if the requirements are changing continuously?
• What is the need for Test Planning?
• What are the various status reports you will generate to Developers and Senior Management?
• Define and explain any three aspects of code review?
• Why do you need test planning?
• Explain 5 risks in an e-commerce project. Identify the personnel that must be involved in the risk analysis of a project and describe their duties. How will you prioritize the risks?
• What are the various status reports that you need generate for Developers and Senior Management?
• You have been asked to design a Defect Tracking system. Think about the fields you would specify in the defect tracking system?
• Write a sample Test Policy?
• Explain the various types of testing after arranging them in a chronological order?
• Explain what test tools you will need for client-server testing and why?
• Explain what test tools you will need for Web app testing and why?
• Explain pros and cons of testing done development team and testing by an independent team?
• Differentiate Validation and Verification?
• Explain Stress, Load and Performance testing?
• Describe automated capture/playback tools and list their benefits?
• How can software QA processes be implemented without stifling productivity?
• How is testing affected by object-oriented designs?
• What is extreme programming and what does it have to do with testing?
• Write a test transaction for a scenario where 6.2% of tax deduction for the first $62,000 of income has to be done?
• What would be the Test Objective for Unit Testing? What are the quality measurements to assure that unit testing is complete?
• Prepare a checklist for the developers on Unit Testing before the application comes to testing department.
• Draw a pictorial diagram of a report you would create for developers to determine project status.
• Draw a pictorial diagram of a report you would create for users and management to determine project status.
• What 3 tools would you purchase for your company for use in testing? Justify the need?
• Put the following concepts, put them in order, and provide a brief description of each:
  • system testing
  • acceptance testing
  • unit testing
  • integration testing
  • benefits realization testing
• What are two primary goals of testing?
• If your company is going to conduct a review meeting, who should be on the review committe and why?
• Write any three attributes which will impact the Testing Process?
• What activity is done in Acceptance Testing, which is not done in System testing?
• You are a tester for testing a large system. The system data model is very large with many attributes and there are a lot of inter-dependencies within the fields. What steps would you use to test the system and also what are the effects of the steps you have taken on the test plan?
• Explain and provide examples for the following black box techniques?
  • Boundary Value testing
  • Equivalence testing
  • Error Guessing
• What are the product standards for?
  • Test Plan
  • Test Script. and Test Report
• You are the test manager starting on system testing. The development team says that due to a change in the requirements, they will be able to deliver the system for SQA 5 days past the deadline. You cannot change the resources (work hours, days, or test tools). What steps will you take to be able to finish the testing in time?
• Your company is about to roll out an e-commerce application. It’s not possible to test the application on all types of browsers on all platforms and operating systems. What steps would you take in the testing environment to reduce the business risks and commercial risks?
• In your organization, testers are delivering code for system testing without performing unit testing. Give an example of test policy:
  • Policy statement
  • Methodology
  • Measurement
• Testers in your organization are performing tests on the deliverables even after significant defects have been found. This has resulted in unnecessary testing of little value, because re-testing needs to be done after defects have been rectified. You are going to update the test plan with recommendations on when to halt testing. Wwhat recommendations are you going to make?
• How do you measure:
  • Test Effectiveness
  • Test Efficiency
• You found out the senior testers are making more mistakes then junior testers; you need to communicate this aspect to the senior tester. Also, you don’t want to lose this tester. How should one go about constructive criticism?
• You are assigned to be the test lead for a new program that will automate take-offs and landings at an airport. How would you write a test strategy for this new program?

[转贴] QA常见面试问题答与问(English)

 

SQL Servers
What is a major difference between SQL Server 6.5 and 7.0 platform. wise?
  SQL Server 6.5 runs only on Windows NT Server. SQL Server 7.0 runs on Windows NT Server, workstation and Windows 95/98.
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Is SQL Server implemented as a service or an application?
  It is implemented as a service on Windows NT server and workstation and as an application on Windows 95/98.
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What is the difference in Login Security Modes between v6.5 and 7.0?
  7.0 doesn't have Standard Mode, only Windows NT Integrated mode and Mixed mode that consists of both Windows NT Integrated and SQL Server authentication modes.
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What is a traditional Network Library for SQL Servers?
  Named Pipes
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What is a default TCP/IP socket assigned for SQL Server?
  1433
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If you encounter this kind of an error message, what you need to look into to solve this problem? "[Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][Named Pipes]Specified SQL Server not found."
  1.Check if MS SQL Server service is running on the computer you are trying to log into
2.Check on Client Configuration utility. Client and Server have to in sync.
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What are the two options the DBA has to assign a password to sa?
  a) to use SQL statement
Use master
Exec sp_password NULL,
b) to use Query Analyzer utility
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What is new philosophy for database devises for SQL Server 7.0?
  There are no devises anymore in SQL Server 7.0. It is file system now.
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When you create a database how is it stored?
  It is stored in two separate files: one file contains the data, system tables, other database objects, the other file stores the transaction log.
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Let's assume you have data that resides on SQL Server 6.5. You have to move it SQL Server 7.0. How are you going to do it?
  You have to use transfer command.
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DirectConnect

  
Have you ever tested 3 tier applications?
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Do you know anything about DirectConnect software? Who is a vendor of the software?
  Sybase.
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What platform. does it run on?
  UNIX.
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How did you use it? What kind of tools have you used to test connection?
  SQL Server or Sybase client tools.
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How to set up a permission for 3 tier application?
  Contact System Administrator.
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What UNIX command do you use to connect to UNIX server?
  FTP Server Name
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Do you know how to configure DB2 side of the application?
  Set up an application ID, create RACF group with tables attached to this group, attach the ID to this RACF group.
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Web Application

  
What kind of LAN types do you know?
  Ethernet networks and token ring networks.
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What is the difference between them?
  With Ethernet, any devices on the network can send data in a packet to any location on the network at any time. With Token Ring, data is transmitted in 'tokens' from computer to computer in a ring or star configuration.
  
Steve Dalton from ExchangeTechnology:  "This is such a common mistake that people make about TR I didn't want it to propagated further!"
Token ring is the IEEE 802.5 standard that connects computers together in a closed ring. Devices on the ring cannot transmit data until permission is received from the network in the form. of an electronic 'token'. The token is a short message that can be passed around the network when the owner is finished. At any time, one node owns the token and is free to send messages. As with Ethernet the messages are packetized. The packet = start_flag + address + header + message + checksum + stop_flag. The message packets circulate around the ring until the addressed recipient receives them. When the sender is finished sending the full message (normally many packets),he sends the token.
An Ethernet message is sent in packets too. The sending protocol goes like this:
wait until you see no activity on the network .
begin sending your message pocket.
while sending, check simultaneously for interference (another node wants to send data).
as long as all clear, continue sending your message.
if you detect interference abort your transmission, wait a random length of time and try again.

Token ring speed is 4/16 Mbit/sec , Ethernet - 10/100 Mbit/sec
For more info see http://www.flgnetworking.com/usefuli4.html
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What protocol both networks use? What it stands for?
  TCP/IP. Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol.
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How many bits IP Address consist of?
  An IP Address is a 32-bit number.
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How many layers of TCP/IP protocol combined of?
  Five. (Application, Transport, Internet, Data link, Physical)
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How to define testing of network layers?
  Reviewing with your developers to identify the layers of the Network layered architecture, your Web client and Web server application interact with. Determine the hardware and software configuration dependencies for the application under test.
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How to test proper TCP/IP configuration Windows machine?
  To run command on:
Windows NT: IPCONFIG/ALL
Windows 95: WINIPCFG
Ping or ping
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What is a component-based Architecture? How to approach testing of a component based application?
· Define how many and what kind of components your application has.
· Identify how server-side components are distributed
· Identify How server-side software components interact with each other
· Identify how Web-To- Database connectivity is implemented
· Identify how processing load is distributed between client and server to prepare for load stress and performance testing
· Prepare for compatibility and reliability testing
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How to maintain Browser settings?
  Go to Control Panel, Internet Option.
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What kind of testing considerations you have to have in mind for Security Testing?
  In client/server system, every component carries its own security weaknesses.
The primary components which need to be tested are:
· application software
· the database
· servers
· the client workstations
· the network

How to Hire a QA Person
What criteria do people use to select QA engineers? It’s natural to think that the right kinds of people to hire are people just like you—but this can be a mistake. In fact, every job requires its own unique set of skills and personality types, and the skills that make you successful in your field may have significant differences from the skills needed for the QA job.
If you read many job posting specifications for QA roles, you’ll find that they commonly describe skills that are much more appropriate for a developer, including specific knowledge of the company’s unique technology. Some specifications are so unique and lofty that it seems the only qualified candidates would be former heads of development!

Realistically, the QA person you seek should have the adaptability, intelligence, and QA-specific skills that will enable them to come up to speed on your project quickly. Relevant experience includes testing procedures, test writing, puzzle solving, follow-through, communication, and the "QA mindset."

Unless they are testing a programming interface or scripting language, a QA person’s role is to test the product from the end user’s perspective. Contrast this with developers, who look at the product from a code perspective. Consider the difference between being focused on making the code perform. in a very specific way and wondering what would happen if you did "this" instead of "that" through the user interface.

It’s remarkable that the people who are assigned to interview QA candidates tend to be anything but QA people themselves. Most often, developers and HR people do the bulk of the interviewing. Yet QA is a unique discipline, and candidates need to be evaluated from a QA point of view, as would accountants, advertising staff, and other specialized professionals. QA people often have the feeling that they need to have two sets of skills: those that interview well with development engineers, and those that they actually need once they get the job.

What Not to Do
The first mistake you can make is to assume that you don’t really need a QA person. Code-based unit tests do not represent the end user’s interaction with the product. If you tell your boss that you "just know" it works, or base your assumptions on unit tests, she probably won’t feel reassured. Before the big rollout, she is going to want metrics, generated by a professional.

The second mistake is to conduct the interview as you would for a development position. Even though more and more QA people are getting into programming, most of them aren’t developers. If you give most QA people a C++ test, they will fail.

Quite often, developers are tagged and thrown into a room with a QA candidate just to round out the interview process and make sure that everyone on the team feels comfortable with the choice. But many developers only know how to interview from a developer’s perspective. When asked to interview someone, they will usually give them a programming test, which might eliminate candidates who have the best QA skills.

Unless they are testing from the API level, most QA people don’t go near the code. They approach the product from a user’s perspective. You are not looking for a programmer; you are looking for someone to represent the user and evaluate the product from their perspective.

What QA People Do
If the actual requirements of QA almost never involve any experience with the programming language, environment, and operating system, and very little to do with the type of program being created, what criteria should we be looking for? If QA people aren’t programmers, what do they do?

1. They Are Sleuths. Perhaps most important, a QA person needs to be an investigator in order to define the job and understand the project. There may or may not be a product specification (spec) available defining the project. Too often the spec is nonexistent, bare bones, or woefully out of date. Furthermore, the difference between the original bare-bones spec and the current but undocumented reality is known and discussed only in private development meetings at which QA people are usually not present. QA is usually not deliberately excluded, just overlooked because development’s focus is to accomplish the task, not necessarily to share their information with everyone.

Thus a QA person needs to have the investigative skills to seek out information through all available means: manuals, specs, interviews, emails, and good old trial and error. What is the product really supposed to do? What is the customer expectation? How will management know when the product is ready to ship? What measurable standards must be met? What are the individual developers working on now and what are they most concerned about? This investigation is the job of all QA people. Some experienced developers may find this in conflict with their experience, as some organizations set development tasks in a hierarchical way, with job specifications coming down from the architect and individual contributors dealing with specific focused subsets. It may seem natural to expect QA to work the same way, but in fact each QA person needs to be an independent investigator with a broad picture. Where developers are making code conform. to specifications, QA people are looking for the needle-in-a-haystack problems and unexpected scenarios, in addition to verifying that the product actually works as expected.

2. They Know How to Plan. A QA person needs to plan and set priorities. There is a definable project to test. Given all the possible combinations of expected uses, as well as all the potential unexpected scenarios including human and mechanical failure, one can imagine an infinite number of possibilities. Organizing one’s activity to get the most effective results in the (usually) limited time available is of paramount importance.

Further, this is an ever-changing evaluation. In ideal circumstances, QA is on pace with or even ahead of development. QA should be included in the earliest planning so that at the same time developers are figuring out how to build the code, QA is figuring out how to test the code, anticipating resource needs and planning training. But more likely, QA is brought to the project late in its development and is racing to catch up. This requires planning and prioritization with a vengeance.

Consider also that each new build represents a threat to established code. Code that worked in previous builds can suddenly fail because of coding errors, new conflicts, miscommunication, and even compiler errors introduced in the latest build. Therefore, each new build needs to be verified again to assure that good code remains good. A useful prioritization of tasks would be to

spot-check the new build for overall integrity before accepting it for general testing
verify that new bug fixes have indeed been fixed
exercise new code that was just added, as this is the area most likely to have problems
revalidate the established code in general as much as you can before the next build is released
Outside of straightforward functional testing, there may be requirements for performance testing, platform. testing, and compatibility testing that should run in environments separate from the standard development and test environment. That’s a lot of testing to manage. QA people have to be able to react at a moment’s notice to get on top of sudden changes in priority, then return to the game plan again after the emergency has been met.

3. They See the Big Picture. A QA person needs the "QA mindset." Generally, a development engineer needs to be a focused person who drives toward a specific goal with a specific portion of the larger program. Highly focused and detail-oriented persons tend to do well at this. QA, however, is not a good place for a highly focused person. QA in fact needs to have multiple perspectives and the ability to approach the task at many levels from the general to the specific, not to mention from left field. A highly focused person could miss too many things in a QA role by exhaustively testing, say, the math functions, but not noticing that printing doesn’t work.

4. They Know How to Document. A major portion of the QA role involves writing. Plans need to be written, both the master plan kind and the detailed test script. kind. As the project evolves, these documents need to be updated as well. A good QA person can write testing instructions so that any intelligent person with basic user skills can pick up the script. and test the product unaided. Bug reports are another major communication tool and QA people need to have the ability to define the bug in steps that are easy to understand and reproduce. It would be good to ask a candidate to bring samples of bug reports and testing instructions to the interview. Lacking these, look for any technical writing samples that show that the candidate can clearly and economically communicate technical subject matter.

5. They Care About the Whole Project. It’s also important for the candidate to have a passion for getting things right. Ultimately, QA is entrusted with watching the process with a big-picture perspective, to see that it all comes together as well as possible. Everyone has that goal, but most are too busy working on their individual trees to see how the forest is doing. QA candidates should exhibit a passion for making the project successful, for fighting for the right thing when necessary, yet with the practical flexibility to know when to let go and ship the project.

How to Hire Right
So how do you evaluate a complete stranger for QA skills?

Here’s one idea. Find a simple and familiar window dialog such as a print dialog, and ask your candidates to describe how they would go about writing a test for it. Look for thoroughness and for the ability to approach the items from many angles. A good QA person will consider testing that the buttons themselves work (good QA people don’t trust things that are supposed to work without question), then that the functions are properly hooked up to the buttons. They should suggest various kinds of print jobs. They should suggest testing the same dialog on various supported platforms and exception testing if the network is down or a printer is out of paper. They should mention the appearance and perhaps the working of the dialog. Performance testing may also come up, as well as the handling of various kinds of content. The more variations on a theme they come up with, the stronger a candidate they are.

Another idea is to present them with a function-testing scenario in which there is no specification from which to develop a test plan. Ask them how they would learn about the function and the test. Their answers should include documentation, old tests, marketing people, conversations with the developers, reading the bug database, trial and error, and writing up presumptions to be presented to developers for evaluation and correction. Again, look for variety and creativity in finding solutions.

QA people need to be creative problem solvers. They like to grab onto a problem and figure out the solution by whatever means they can. They will peek at the answers of a crossword puzzle to break a deadlock. They will come up with a new solution to an old problem. They are aware of the details when finding a solution, yet they have the ability to think outside the box, to appreciate new and experimental aspects. Some successful interviewers keep one or two "brain teaser" types of puzzles on hand for the candidates to work out. Candidates are asked to solve the problem and explain their thinking as they go. Whether they find the answer is not as important. Listen to their thinking process as they work. If they are able to attack the problem from many directions and not give up after the first failures, they are showing the right thinking style. Particularly look to see if they dig into the problem with real enjoyment. A true QA person would.

Of course, QA people need to be intuitively technical. They can usually program a VCR and use most technical equipment without needing the instructions (at least for basic functionality). Other people go to them for help with technical things. Listen for examples of this in their conversation. For example, if they are computer inquisitive, they don't just use software, they tinker with it. They inquire into the details and obscure corners of functionality and try things to see how they work. They may have stories of some creative accomplishment using software differently than intended by the developers, such as using a spreadsheet to write documents.

Good QA people are always learning, whether advancing their technical skills or learning something entirely new. Listen for signs of self-directed learning in the interview.

Conclusion
Good QA people have a sense of ownership and follow-through in their work. They are directly responsible for their work and its contribution to the overall process. They are good at taking a general instruction and fleshing out the details of their work on their own. They will work long and hard at it. Let them tell stories of their achievements and successes in overcoming bad situations. Look for the passion, the ownership, and the pride.

The key thing to remember is that the kinds of skills and mindset needed for QA work is different from those needed for other roles. Spend some time getting to know good QA people in your organization and getting to know what characteristics make them successful. Seek out their opinions on what to look for. Develop a consistent interviewing approach that you use over and over so that you become familiar with the range of responses from various candidates. And for goodness’ sake, use your own QA people, even the new ones, to evaluate new candidates.



About the Author

Bill Bliss is a QA manager and consultant whose clients include Lotus Development, Digital, and Dragon Systems. You can send him email at [email protected]or visit his Web site at http://www.sqacenter.com.

Mitch Allen is an author and consultant whose many clients have included Fleet, Caterpillar, IBM, Lotus Development and Dragon Systems. He is currently working on a book about Flash programming, due to be published by the end of 2002. You can send him an email at [email protected]or visit his Web site at http://www.mitchallen.com.

What is 'Software Quality Assurance'?
Software QA involves the entire software development PROCESS - monitoring and improving the process, making sure that any agreed-upon standards and procedures are followed, and ensuring that problems are found and dealt with. It is oriented to 'prevention'. (See the Bookstore section's 'Software QA' category for a list of useful books on Software Quality Assurance.)
What is 'Software Testing'?
Testing involves operation of a system or application under controlled conditions and evaluating the results (eg, 'if the user is in interface A of the application while using hardware B, and does C, then D should happen'). The controlled conditions should include both normal and abnormal conditions. Testing should intentionally attempt to make things go wrong to determine if things happen when they shouldn't or things don't happen when they should. It is oriented to 'detection'. (See the Bookstore section's 'Software Testing' category for a list of useful books on Software Testing.)

Organizations vary considerably in how they assign responsibility for QA and testing. Sometimes they're the combined responsibility of one group or individual. Also common are project teams that include a mix of testers and developers who work closely together, with overall QA processes monitored by project managers. It will depend on what best fits an organization's size and business structure.
What are some recent major computer system failures caused by software bugs?


A September 2006 news report indicated problems with software utilized in a state government's primary election, resulting in periodic unexpected rebooting of voter checkin machines, which were separate from the electronic voting machines, and resulted in confusion and delays at voting sites. The problem was reportedly due to insufficient testing.
In August of 2006 a U.S. government student loan service erroneously made public the personal data of as many as 21,000 borrowers on it's web site, due to a software error. The bug was fixed and the government department subsequently offered to arrange for free credit monitoring services for those affected.
A software error reportedly resulted in overbilling of up to several thousand dollars to each of 11,000 customers of a major telecommunications company in June of 2006. It was reported that the software bug was fixed within days, but that correcting the billing errors would take much longer.
News reports in May of 2006 described a multi-million dollar lawsuit settlement paid by a healthcare software vendor to one of its customers. It was reported that the customer claimed there were problems with the software they had contracted for, including poor integration of software modules, and problems that resulted in missing or incorrect data used by medical personnel.
In early 2006 problems in a government's financial monitoring software resulted in incorrect election candidate financial reports being made available to the public. The government's election finance reporting web site had to be shut down until the software was repaired.
Trading on a major Asian stock exchange was brought to a halt in November of 2005, reportedly due to an error in a system software upgrade. The problem was rectified and trading resumed later the same day.
A May 2005 newspaper article reported that a major hybrid car manufacturer had to install a software fix on 20,000 vehicles due to problems with invalid engine warning lights and occasional stalling. In the article, an automotive software specialist indicated that the automobile industry spends $2 billion to $3 billion per year fixing software problems.
Media reports in January of 2005 detailed severe problems with a $170 million high-profile U.S. government IT systems project. Software testing was one of the five major problem areas according to a report of the commission reviewing the project. In March of 2005 it was decided to scrap the entire project.
In July 2004 newspapers reported that a new government welfare management system in Canada costing several hundred million dollars was unable to handle a simple benefits rate increase after being put into live operation. Reportedly the original contract allowed for only 6 weeks of acceptance testing and the system was never tested for its ability to handle a rate increase.
Millions of bank accounts were impacted by errors due to installation of inadequately tested software code in the transaction processing system of a major North American bank, according to mid-2004 news reports. Articles about the incident stated that it took two weeks to fix all the resulting errors, that additional problems resulted when the incident drew a large number of e-mail phishing attacks against the bank's customers, and that the total cost of the incident could exceed $100