Types of testing can be done on a first build

Question

Today I attended an interview. These are the questions that I thought I needed more clarification.

1. What are the types of testing that can be conducted on the first build which was released in the first sprint in agile development model?

2. To whom we will report the status in scrum call? Can scrum master be a product owner?

3. There is a software which converts the data inside a file according to the mapping sheet. We have to upload the input file and the mapping sheet and output is converted file. Derive scenarios and test cases?

4. How testing varies from web applications to desktop applications?

Answer 1

I'm going to answer the first two points because I think the other two should be put as separate questions instead.

What are the types of testing that can be conducted on first build which was released in first sprint in agile development model?

There is no specific check-list. It depends solely on the architecture and complexity of the project. Team size and availability of resources, module risks and integration are also points to be considered while finalizing this process.

Some of the testing that I think are absolutely necessary are:

• Unit Testing
• Build Verification Testing (Or Smoke Testing)
• Integration Testing
• Regression Testing

I would give real emphasis on Unit testing of the individual modules, because the sooner you'll find and flush out defects, the better the build will be going forward.

For reference, there is an excellent discussion on SQA SE regarding this. You can find a lot of good answers here.

Another good link.

Now getting to the second point:

To whom we will report the status in scrum call?

I think you're confusing a scrum meeting with a status update call. They are not same at all. The daily scrum meeting is not used as a problem-solving or issue resolution meeting. Issues that are raised are taken off-line and usually dealt with by the relevant subgroup immediately after the meeting. The daily scrum meeting is not a status update meeting in which a boss is collecting information about who is behind schedule.

You don't update status in the Scrum call, rather you inform the team of the following three things :

• What I did yesterday
• What I will do today
• Any obstruction/problems coming your way.

By focusing on what each person accomplished yesterday and plans to accomplish today, the team gains an excellent understanding of what work has been done and what work remains.

Though I'm not a 100% sure on who heads or leads the scrum call, since both Scrum master and Product Manager are expected to attend and participate. My understanding is the Scrum master heads it (at least in my organization), since he is to act a facilitator for Product owner and teams.

Can scrum master be product owner?

Yes, he can be (though it is not favoured) and in my previous organization I have seen this happen. But there are various down-sides to this.

I think you would be better off reading both the scenarios when the Product owner acts as a Scrum master or vice versa here

Answer 2

These are the common questions asked by an interviewer in qa company.

1. Different types of testing can be done on fist build received in agile development like:

   • Smoke Testing (Where we usually verify the build stability)
   • Unit Testing
   • Regression Testing
   • Adhoc Testing

2. QA team will report the application status to whole Dev team and Scrum master in the scrum call like 'What qa team did yesterday', 'What team will do today' and 'Any roadblocks in the current sprint'. Apart from this, Scrum master and product owner are two different roles so scrum master cannot be a product owner.

3. Web applications are deployed on the server and can be accessed through browsers while desktop applications are platform-dependent and can be deployed on machine. Moreover, separate desktop applications need to be developed for different platforms.