1) Mention the responsibilities of the Test Manager?

Role of QA Manager includes

 Manage project from initiation through closure

 Test planning
 Obtain customer acceptance of the deliverables
 Approve intermediate deliverables and patch releases to the client
 Submit effort inputs for billing
 Issue Management
 Mentoring, coaching and off-shore team management
 Submit reports for weekly status to the test coordinators
 Participating in weekly review meetings
 Publish KPIs for all testing projects on a weekly basis
 Resource mobilization for projects

2) Mention what is your approach if you find that the testers in your
organization are performing a test on the deliverable even after significant
defect have been identified?

As a QA Lead, your approach should be

 Acceptance criteria should be tightened

 Test cases should be re-evaluated
 More test cases should be added if possible, with equivalence class
partition cases and boundary values
 More test cases should be added to check invalid conditions.
 Show Stopper criteria should be modified

3) Mention what Requirement Traceability Matrix is?

Requirement Traceability Matrix is linking of requirement documents to test

cases. It is used for the following reason

 To ensure that all the application requirements are tested in the verification
process
 To check Test Coverage

4) How would you select a Testing tool for your project?

1. Identify features required in an automation tool as per the project needs

2. Evaluate commercial and noncommercial tools that meet the requirements
3. Estimate cost and benefit of the tool. Cost could include licenses and
training.
4. Make the final decision in consultation with team members.

5) What are some key challenges in a Testing Project?

Key challenges of software testing include

 Testing phase us usually under a time constraint

 Understanding the requirements can sometimes be a challenge
 Application should be stable enough to be tested
 Setting priorities for testing
 Lack of skilled testers
 Regression Testing
 Frequent Requirements changing
 Lack of tools, resource, and training

6) What is a Test Plan?

The test plan is a document describing the activities and the testing scope. It is
the basic requirement for testing any software product.

7) What are types of the test plan?

There are three main types of Test Plan

1. Master Test Plan

2. Testing level specific Test Plan
3. Testing type specific test plans

8) What people skills should a Test Manager have?

1. Effective and clear communication

2. Should build good relationship with team members
3. Good listening skills and emotional intelligence
4. Motivate team members
5. Resolve conflicts and ethical issues.

9) What is 'Configuration Management'?

Configuration Management covers the processes used to coordinate, control, and

track test artifacts.
The test artifacts could include automation Code, requirements, documentation,
problems, designs, change requests, designs, etc.

10) What is PDCA model?

The PDCA model stands for

1. Plan: Identify improvements and set targets

2. Do: Implement improvements
3. Check: Check result of improvements
4. Act: Learn from results

It is a Test Process Improvement (TPI) method.

11) What are informal reviews?

An informal review is a way of checking for defects without running code. Informal
reviews are implemented many times during the initial stages of the test life cycle
of the document. Informal reviews are not documented.

12) Mention the types of Risk in a Test Project

The types of Risk in a Test Project can be broadly categorized as

1. Strategy Risk: This includes Budget, Communication and Management

risks
2. Project Definition Risks: This includes Project target, Scope, and
requirements risks.
3. Human Resources Risk: This includes Skill, Team members and
organization risks.
4. Project Schedule Risks.

13) What are the countermeasures that test manager should take against
risks?

Test manager must take following steps to mitigate the risk while developing
product

 Avoidance: Eliminate the risk factor that is involved

 Reduction: Mitigation plan to decrease the impact of risks and to take
corrective measures
 Sharing: Transfer the risk to another resource such as insource or insure
  Accept: Accept the risk and prepare a planned budget for these risks

14) Explain how test manager can estimate the project and what to
estimate?

During Test Estimation, a Test Manager must evaluate four things

1. Cost
2. Resources
3. Human Skills
4. Time

They can estimate the project in following ways

 Work breakdown structure (WBS): Breaking down project into smaller

segments
 Three-point estimation: Three-point estimation is based on statistical
data
 Functional point method: Give weightage to each function and measure
the size

15) What is three-point estimation?

In the three-point estimation, three values are initially produced for every task
based on previous experience. For example, to complete a specific task the
different possibilities are

 Best case estimate: 120 man-hours or 15 days with experienced team

members
 The most likely estimate: 170 hours or 21 days with enough resources
and moderate team members experience
 The worst-case estimate: 200 man-hours or 25 days and with a team that
has lesser work experience

16) Mention some of the best practices for test estimation

Some of the best practices for Test Estimation is

 Add some buffer time: Having a buffer time is always an advantage, it

may help to deal with a delay caused due to unexpected reason like
talented member quits the job suddenly,
 Account resource planning in estimation: Make sure that your
estimation is realistic and considered crucial factors like availability of
human resource.
 Use the past experience reference: Through your past experience try to
avoid all the obstacles or possible hindrance that are most likely to happen
  Stick to your estimation: Estimation is not full proof. It may go wrong
also. In the early phase of the project, you should re-check the test
estimation and if required make modifications as well.

17) What does a good test report include?

A good test report should include

 Project Information
 Test Objective
 Test Summary
 Defect

18) List out some of the software quality assurance best practice?

Some of the best practices for software Quality Assurance includes

 Continuous Improvement
 Documentation
 Tool usage and automation
 Metrics
 Team work and shared responsibility for SQA

19) By what factors you can determine the quality of the test execution?

Two ways can determine the quality of test execution

 Defect rejection ratio: (No. of defects rejected/ total no. of defects raised)
X 100
 Defect leakage ratio: (No. of defect missed/total defects of software) X
100

20) How will you manage Team Conflicts?

With the diversity in backgrounds and working styles of team members, the first
step is to expect and prepare for conflicts during the test project.

The next step is to hold a meeting and appraise team members of the project
status. The Test Manager needs to keep communication open for everyone such
that the team frustrations and anger are vented out. Lastly, ask the team
members to co-operate and stress the importance of their cooperation for the
success of the project.
Page 2 :

STH is back with yet another interview series. This one is for QA/Test lead position. We
are going to cover few most common but important QA test lead/manager interview
questions and answers.
As always, we will follow the pattern of explanation based answers rather than politically
correct ones. Let’s begin.

Typically QA interviewers test all interviewees in 3 major areas:

#1) Core technical knowledge and expertise
#2) Attitude
#3) Communication
Now that we are talking about a QA test lead interview, the process is similar and the
way to assess communication remains the same.

Overall cohesiveness, conviction and clarity are few factors that contribute to effective
communication. When it comes to evaluating the first two areas for a QA test lead, we
can divide the areas where the QA lead interview questions might come from 3
categories:

1) Technical Expertise
2) Team player attitude
3) Management skills
We will take a look at each of these and elaborate further.

Test Lead Interview Question on Technical Expertise:

This can be further divided into process and tools based skills. A few sample questions
that can be asked are:

Q #1. What were your roles and responsibilities and how was your time divided
between tasks in a project?
Normally a test lead works on the project just the way the other team members do. Only
10 %( industry standard, might differ from project to project) of the time is spent on
coordination activities.
You can further break this down into saying:
 50%- Testing activities- depending on the stage the project is in, this might be
tested planning, design or execution
 20%- review
 10%- coordination
 20%- client communication and delivery management
STH’s tip:
Prepare ahead. Have all the numbers figured out ahead of time?
Read also => Test Lead Responsibilities
Q #2. What QA process do you use in your project and why?
When this question is asked to a QA team member, the idea is to assess their familiarity
and comfort in using the process in place. But when this question is coming to the team
lead, this is to understand your expertise is being able to establish the said process.
The best way to go about this is: brainstorm.
A sample answer could be this way: Currently, we follow a mix of both traditional and
Agile projects. The way we go about this is: we handle releases in short sprints but
within the sprints, we would still create a test plan, test scenarios but not test cases and
report the defects as we would in the waterfall model. To track the progress we use a
scrum board and for defects, we use Bugzilla tool. Even though our sprints are short, we
make sure that all reviews, reports and metrics happen on time.
You can add more to this: if it is an onsite-offshore model project, if the dev and QA
sprints are separated and lag behind one another, etc.

See also => QA processes in end to end real projects

Q #3. What do you consider to be your key accomplishments/initiatives?
Everyone wants a successful manager, not just a manager- hence, this question.

Awards, performance ratings and company-wide recognition (pat-on-back, the employee

of the month) etc. are all great. But do not discount the day to day accomplishments:

Maybe you have streamlined the reporting process or simplified a test plan or created a
document that can be used to sanity test a system that is complex very minimum
supervision when used, etc.

Q #4. Have you been involved in test estimation and how do you do it?
Test estimation gives an approximate idea of how much time, effort and resources are
required to test. This will help determine the cost, schedules and feasibility for most
projects. Test leads are approached for test estimation at the beginning of every project.
Therefore, the answer to the question of whether test estimation was part of the job
profile for a QA lead is “Yes”.
The ‘How’ part differs from team to team and lead to lead. If you have used function
points or any other techniques, be sure to mention that.

Also, if you have not used those methods and based the estimation totally on historical
data, intuition and experience- say so and provide a rationale for doing so.

For example: when I have to estimate my projects or CRs, I simply create basic Test
scenarios (high level) ones and get an idea of how many test cases I might be working
with and their complexities. Field or UI level test cases can be run and written at a pace
of about 50-100 per day/per person. Medium complexity test cases (with 10 or more
steps) can be written about 30 per day/per person. High complexity or end to end ones
are at a rate of 8-10 per day/per person. All of this is an approximation and there are
other factors such as contingencies, team’s proficiency, available time, etc. have to be
taken into consideration but this has worked for me in most cases. So, for this question,
this would be my answer.
STH Tips:
 Estimations are approximations and are not accurate always. There will always
be a give and take. But it is always better for a testing project to overestimate
than underestimate.
 It is also a good idea to talk about how you have sought the help of your team
members in coming up with test scenarios and identifying complexities because
this will establish you as a mentor, which every team lead should be.
Read also => How To Be a Good Team Mentor, Coach and a True Team-Defender in
an Agile Testing World? – The Inspiration
Q #5. What tools do you use and why?
QA process tools such as HP ALM (Quality center), bug tracking software, Automation
software are things that you should be proficient along with all your team members.

In addition to that, if you use any management software such as MS Project, Agile
management tools- highlight that experience and talk about how the tool has helped
your day to day tasks.

For example: Talk about how you use JIRA for simple defect and task management in
your QA Project. In addition to that, if you can talk about the JIRA Agile Add-in and how
it has helped with Scrumboard creation, planning your user stories, sprint planning,
working, reporting etc. that would be great.
Q #6. Process familiarity and Mastery – if you process you follow at your workplace is
the waterfall, onsite-offshore, Agile or anything to that effect, expect detailed Q&A about
its implementation, success, metrics, best practices and challenges among other things.
For details check out the below links:
 Onsite offshore software testing
 Agile testing tutorials
Conclusion
There goes the first section. In the next test lead or test manager interview questions
article, we will deal with team player attitude and management related questions.
As a parting note, I would like to bring to your attention that when answering questions in
an interview, do not look at it as an examination. Look at it as a platform to brainstorm
and put forth your point of view and your individual experiences.

About the author: This article is written by STH team member Swati S.
That is a quick wrap up on a question asked in the interview to QA lead or
manager with their answers.
As always, Your experiences, feedback and comments will enrich this article and
provide for a much more rewarding read. We hope to hear from you.
Page 3

1) Customer has reported severe defects in the Daily balance report. The
customer is unhappy that the problem is not fixed even after a week. What action
you as a PM will take to restore the confidence of customer and ensure that this
will not happen in future?
Answer:
Conflict resolution – Get on your customer wavelength. Get the facts and ask questions,
get detail info and take notes listen carefully. Establish and initiate an action
program(admit error if it is there, negotiates satisfactory solution, state the solution and
get an agreement, take action and follow up with a customer).

Finally, establish proper daily problem review process to prevent such problems in
future.

#2) It’s observed that the testers in your organization are performing tests on the
deliverable 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 the test manager and going to update the test
plan with recommendations on when to stop testing. List the
recommendations you are going to make.

Answer:
Following steps need to be taken.

a) Acceptance criteria should tighten

b) Test cases should be re-evaluated (preferably peer review)
c) If possible more test cases should be added. With boundary value and
equivalence class partition cases.
d) More test cases with invalid condition should be added
e) Stop criteria needs to be modified

#3) You are newly appointed as a test lead in an organization which uses manual
testing. Your boss wants you to put forth three testing tools and their features to
create awareness about the testing tools in the top management. Suggest any
three testing tools for your test Environment and why do you suggest them?

Answer:
The third question is very important one. You can write about test Director,
Winrunner/Load runner, McCable or any other coverage tool. Test director is useful to
track defect. WR or LR to do functionality/Load testing, Coverage tool to check the code
coverage thereby helping in White box testing.

#4) You are working on a project, where the requirements change dynamically.
The data in the project comes from various ends (from various Platforms) and are
inter-dependent. You see this as a big risk in the project. How would you plan
accordingly?

Answer:
Give a Plan which takes care of the risk and is identified in the Risk Areas. Say that the
testing scope would concentrate more on Data driven tests etc
Page 4 :

Are you preparing for a test lead interview? It can be very challenging to be successful in an
interview with so many competitions and the level of questions that are asked for the position of a
QA manager or test lead. If you are worried about the type of questions asked, check out this
article to get a good understanding of the test lead interview questions.
As a test lead, you are expected to show good leadership qualities along with proficiency in the
technical areas of work. You are the one who will be responsible for your team’s success in
projects. It requires one to have good test advocacy, resource planning and effective resolution of
problems.
Some of the commonly-asked questions for a QA manager/test lead are:

Q1. What do you expect out of this role?

Ans. This question is asked to measure your compatibility with the role. As you have applied for
the role, you should have a good understanding of the major responsibilities associated with it and
what you expect from it in the future.

Q2. Did you handle a team of test engineers or QA professionals in

your earlier role?
Ans. As you are interviewing for a test lead position it is evident that you have some amount of
experience in handling a team or have similar experiences. You need to give a detail on how you
coordinated with your team members and clients to deliver successful projects.

Q3. What do you think of test leads writing test cases?

Ans. The right answer is to say that you feel that the test lead should be expected to write test
cases like any other member of the team.

Q4. How do you set your team’s objectives?

Ans. If you prefer to set individual objectives for each member of the team, mention that you set it
according to the knowledge and experience levels. This is how we can handle the project more
efficiently as a team.

Q5. How familiar are you with the industry standard testing practices?
Ans. Explain all the proper practices that you follow in your existing organisation and how will you
handle it similarly for the organisation that you are interviewing for.

Check Out Our Software Testing Courses

Q6. What are the ways you ensure that the team members receive
proper training?
Ans. Get feedback from all the team members on their strengths and weaknesses to make a note
of what type of training is necessary for the team. Also, new members who join the team should
be trained on time so as to be inducted as quickly as possible.

Q7. What will be your criteria for hiring team members?

Ans. While hiring a team member, three things should be considered: 1)his technical strength as
per project requirements, 2) his attitude towards the profile he will be hiring for and 3) will he be a
good fit with the rest of the team members?

Q8. Which testing tools are you familiar with?

Ans. As a test lead, you should be familiar with some of the most popular testing tools. You need
to explain how you used and what are its advantages as per the project requirements, cost of using
the tool and ease of use.

Q9. Are you familiar with automation and what do you think of it?
Ans. Automation is becoming an important part of software testing nowadays and you can get
away without having any knowledge of it. You should be well-prepared for this question and make
it a positive answer as automation is going to be the future.

Also Read>> Software Testing Interview Questions & Answers

Q10. Do you know what Requirement Traceability Matrix is? Why is it
used?
Ans. The Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM) is a document that links requirements to test
cases. It is used for the following reasons: 1) to ensure that all the application requirements are
tested in the verification process and 2) to check test coverage.

Q11. What is a Test Plan?

Ans. A Test Plan is a document detailing the objectives, resources, and processes for a specific
test and contains a detailed understanding of the eventual workflow.

Q12. Name the different types of Test Plans?

Ans. There are three types of Test Plans: 1) Master Test Plan, 2) Testing Level Specific Test Plan
and 3) Testing Type Specific Test Plan.

Q13. What are the risks that should be avoided for a testing project?
Ans. One should avoid the following risks during a testing project: 1) human resource risk
(resource crunch), 2) project schedule risk (missed deadlines), 3) strategy risk (exceeding
allocated budgets) and 4) project definition risk.

Also Read>> Top QA Interview Questions and Answers

Q14. What are the good practices that you follow?
Ans. Some of the good practices for a successful project are: proper documentation process, high
standards of reviewing, recognition to outstanding performers, focusing on team building and
making sure there is a continuous scope of learning.
Q15. Have you been involved in test estimation? What are the
techniques that you use?
Ans. If yes, explain how you come with the test estimation scenarios and the techniques that you
follow to improve the processes over time.

Q16. What are your key achievements in your current organisation?

Ans. Have you completed a project well before the deadline or have you managed a difficult project
with great efficiency? Mention all your achievements no matter how insignificant you think it is.

Q17. What is the difference between Agile and Scrum? Which one do
you prefer?
Ans. Scrum is actually a type of Agile framework but does not provide detailed instructions on what
needs to be done; rather most of it is dependent on the team. The Agile methodology that supports
incremental and iterative work cadences which are called Sprints.
If you prefer that there is a leader who maintains the direction by assigning tasks then Agile is
perfect otherwise Scrum provides the advantage of adjusting the project’s direction based on
completed work.

Q18. What is Configuration Management?

Ans. Configuration Management covers the processes used to coordinate, control, and track test
artifacts.

Q19. What are informal reviews? Do you document informal reviews?

Ans. An informal review is a process of checking defects without running the code. No,
documentation is not required for informal reviews.

Q20. What is three-point estimation?

Ans. In three-point estimation, three different values are calculated based on previous experience.
These are: 1) best case estimate, 2) the most likely estimate and 3) the worst-case estimate.
If you want to improve your skills in software testing to be more confident during your interviews,
you can always go for an online course. Naukri Learning offers a variety of professional courses
in software testing such as software testing tools courses, software quality which you can go for.
Page 4:

Would You Survive These

Test Manager Interview
Questions?
By Ulf Eriksson 31st October 2016Testing

 4 Comments


 0

So, you’re a Test Manager – or aspiring to be one. You’re looking for a new
job. You’ve done your homework – you’ve identified a set of really good
prospective employers. You’re excited about the opportunities they offer.
You’re looking forward to taking on a new challenge – be it working for a
different type of organisation, different type of product, change in domain,
technology, methodology.
You probably want a change of scenery. It’s probably a new city. You’re
looking to meet new people, make new friends. The possibilities are endless.
TRY REQTEST FREE - #1 SOFTWARE TESTING TOOL
The role itself is familiar to you. You’ve already put in enough time building
experience and expertise in Testing. You’re going through the motions of
preparing for the interview for that exciting new role of a Test Manager.
Then again, you could be looking to move inte rnally within your company –
in a multinational environment, it is common for people to apply for roles
within the organisation and move to a new, better, or similar role with a
different team – within the same city, to a different city, to a different
country, to a different continent. If your company provides this flexibility,
then good for you.
No matter your circumstances, when you’re preparing for an interview for a
Test Manager role, you want to be as well prepared as is humanly possible.
You surf online forums, brush up on fundamentals, you talk to friends about
the role, about the department, about the company.
Yes – let’s agree that despite your best efforts, things could go wrong
on The day. Your car may breakdown. There may be a delay on the subwa y.
Your clothes may get soiled by a passing car carelessly splashing stagnant
rain water. You may feel unwell. You may clam up in front of the interviewer.
The interviewers may have had a bad day – and (unprofessional though it is)
take it out on you.
Anything could go wrong. Unforeseen circumstances could derail things
completely. Yet, you can’t let what Can be paralyse you. You want to do the
best you can, prepare for all eventualities – and hope that the worst doesn’t
happen.
In the spirit of preparing for the unforeseen, I’ve pulled together some
simple yet (what can be in the moment) challenging Test Manager Interview
questions. Today, we’ll look at these patently challenging Test Manager
interview questions, and how you can tackle them should your interviewers
decide to throw them at you.
This is not an exhaustive list of all the interview questions you can expect to
be asked when interviewing for a Test Manager role. The internet provides
ample resources for the basic questions.
In this blog, we’ll look at some of the trickier ones, and how you can handle
them with aplomb, and come out shining.
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Why are they tricky? Not because they are difficult to answer, but b ecause it
can at times seem like whatever you say doesn’t satisfy the question or
the people that fire the question at you. So, we’ll look at how you can avoid
the uncomfortable silence either side of the table that can sometimes
follow the question, or the response.

If you join our

team/organisation as a Test
Manager, what are the first
three things that you would
do?
This is a trap. Why?
You probably don’t have enough understanding or appreciation of the team
or organisation you’re looking to join, yet. I n which case, you don’t clearly
know what challenges the team are facing currently. So you cannot provide
an informed response that suits the particular situation of the team or
company.
“While They Don’t Really Expect You To Provide World Changing Ideas In Response,
They Are Open To The Possibility.“
So what can you do? Not provide a response? Well, in that case, the
interviewer might question the value you bring to the table. After all, how
can they be sure that you’re the right candidate if you don’t pro vide a
considered response?
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Does ‘between a rock and a hard place’ sound familiar?
This is where conducting prior research on the company or the team can
help – immensely. Invariably, you’re being asked this question because the
interviewers are trying to measure how much effort you have put in to
understand what they do, and how you can help improve things if you join.
While they don’t really expect you to provid e world changing ideas in
response, they are open to the possibility. Some of the best ideas I’ve
picked up are from brilliant candidates that I interviewed for a role in
my team.
So this question isn’t a blank bullet. It’s quite possible for you to create a
great impression with your response, if you’re sufficiently prepared.
Go with a few commonly applicable ideas. Like ‘I’d encourage everyone in my
team to take up Agile Testing certifications’.
Before you answer this question, however – remember: you’re probably
already half way through the interview. This Test Manager interview
question usually surfaces during the second half of an interview.
So you should try and understand as much as you can from the interviewer
about their team, department, organisati on.
In my experience, the best interviewers spend most of the interview silent
– and make the candidates talk. And the best candidates get their
interviewers to talk and divulge more about the job role, team, company. If
you made your interviewers feel comfortable enough to talk about the role,
team, organisation, you may already know some of the challenges they are
facing day-to-day. And you will be able to respond knowledgeably to this
question.
Page 5 :

Job Description:
Test managers are responsible for test procedures. Manufacturers and development
companies need to test their products for quality and safety, and hire test managers to
do the job.
Test managers hire personnel, and acquire equipment and facilities. They develop
testing procedures and policies according to product specifications.
They are needed in almost any industry. The usual testing standards are company
regulations, government regulations, and environmental regulations.
Job Interview Questions and Answers
for QA Test Managers
Question: What do you consider the most important skills for a test manager to
have?
Answer: Your answer may depend on the specific industry and company you work in.
But in general, test managers are expected to be detail-oriented and effective team
leaders. They need to manage testing personnel and be detail-oriented because there is
no room for error in safety and quality testing.
Question: Explain how communication and teamwork fit into your work.
Answer: The manager hires and instructs testing personnel. Moreover, the testing
manager communicates regularly with senior management, company staff, supplier end,
and user end. Cross company employees are instructed on testing plans or testing
results. Results are discussed in order to choose the subsequent production strategy.
Users must be filled in on all these details to establish trust and cooperation. These
exchanges of information can be done in the form of meetings and workshops, initiated
and arranged by the testing manager.
Question: How do you consider/treat any risk involved in your testing procedure
and strategies?
Answer: Any risks (financial, material, or human) are documented with care in special
journals which are then distributed among colleagues, senior management, and clients.
Additional explanations are provided in specially arranged meetings. Any further
consultation is granted, if required by any party involved.
Question: Can you give me examples of a test manager’s responsibilities and
roles?
Answer: You can give one or two concrete examples, like testing warehouse systems
for proper packaging, testing booking and traveling procedures for air supply companies,
or testing engines for emission standards in diesel-powered industries.
Page 6 :

Software Test Estimation Techniques: Step By Step Guide

What is Software Test Estimation?

Test Estimation is a management activity which approximates how long a Task
would take to complete. Estimating effort for the test is one of
the major and important tasks in Test Management.

Why Test Estimation?

Two questions you can expect from your clients when discussing potential test
engagements are

For small projects, these questions are relatively easy to answer. But for the big
project like Testing Guru99 Bank website, you must think hard to answer those
questions.
What to Estimate?

 Resources: Resources are required to carry out any project tasks. They
can be people, equipment, facilities, funding, or anything else capable of
definition required for the completion of a project activity.
 Times : Time is the most valuable resource in a project. Every project has
a deadline to delivery.
 Human Skills : Human skills mean the knowledge and the experience of
the Team members. They affect to your estimation. For example, a team,
whose members have low testing skills, will take more time to finish the
project than the one which has high testing skills.
 Cost: Cost is the project budget. Generally speaking, it means how
much money it takes to finish the project.

How to estimate?
List of Software Test Estimation Techniques

 Work Breakdown Structure

 3-Point Software Testing Estimation Technique
 Wideband Delphi technique
 Function Point/Testing Point Analysis
 Use – Case Point Method
 Percentage distribution
 Ad-hoc method
Following is the 4 Step process to arrive at an estimate

You will learn how to combine these techniques to find the estimate for Guru99
Bank case study.
Step1) Divide the whole project task into subtasks
Task is a piece of work that has been given to someone. To do this, you can use
the Work Breakdown Structure technique.

In this technique, a complex project is divided into modules. The modules are
divided into sub-modules. Each sub-module is further divided into functionality. It
means divide the whole project task into the smallest tasks.

Use the Work Break Down structure to break out the Guru99 Bank project into 5
smaller tasks-
After that, you can break out each task to the subtask. The purpose of this
activity is create task as detailed as possible.

Task Sub task

Analyze software requirement Investigate the soft requirement specs

specification

Interview with the developer & other stakeholders to know more about the
website

Create the Test Specification Design test scenarios

Create test cases

Review and revise test cases

Execute the test cases Build up the test environment

Execute the test cases

Review test execution results

 Create the Defect reports
Report the defects
Report the defects

Step 2) Allocate each task to team member

In this step, each task is assigned to the appropriate member in the project
team. You can assigned task as follows

Task Members

Analyze software requirement All the members

specification

Create the test specification Tester/Test Analyst

Build up the test environment Test Administrator

Execute the test cases Tester, Test Administrator

Report defects Tester

Step 3) Effort Estimation For Tasks

There are 2 techniques which you can apply to estimate the effort for tasks

1. Functional Point Method

2. Three Point Estimation

Method 1) Function Point Method

In this method, the Test Manager estimates Size, Duration, and Cost for the tasks
Step A) Estimate size for the task

In Step 1, you already have broken the whole project task into small task by using
WBS method. Now you estimate the size of those tasks. Let’s practice with a
particular task “Create the test specification”

The size of this task depends on the functional size of the system under test. The
functional size reflects the amount of functionality that is relevant to the user.
The more number of functionality, the more complex system is.

Prior to start actual estimating tasks effort, functional points are divided into three
groups like Complex, Medium Simple as following:
Based on the complex of software functions, the Test Manger has to give
enough weightage to each functional point. For example

Group Weightage

Complex 5

Medium 3

Simple 1

Let’s take a simple example exercise to get clearer:

Take a look the software specification of website Guru99 Bank over here, the
software engineer have already described the software modules in detail, can
you determine the complexity of website’s features by giving the weightage for
each modules?

More complex the function point, more is the effort to test it is. The website is
divided into 12 function points, you can determine the complexity of each
function points as follows-
No. Module Name ApplicableRoles Description Weig

1. Balance Enquiry Manager Customer:A customer can have multiple bank accounts. He 3
Customer can view balance of his accounts only
Manager: A manager can view balance of all the customers
who come under his supervision

2. Fund Transfer Manager Customer:A customer can have transfer funds from his 5
Customer “own” account to any destination account.
Manager: A manager can transfer funds from any source
bank account to destination account

3. Mini Statement Manager A Mini statement will show last 5 transactions of an account 3
Customer Customer:A customer can see mini-statement of only his
“own” accounts
Manager: A manager can see mini-statement of any account

4. Customized Manager A customized statement allows you to filter and display 5

Statement Customer transactions in an account based on date, transaction value
Customer:A customer can see Customized- statement of only
his “own” accounts
Manager: A manager can see Customized -statement of any
account

5. Change Manager Customer:A customer can change password of only his 1

Password Customer account.
Manager: A manager can change password of only his
account. He cannot change passwords of his customers

6. New Customer Manager Manager: A manager can add a new customer. 3

Manager: A manager can edit details like address, email,
telephone of a customer.

7. New Account Manager Currently system provides 2 types of accounts 5

 Saving
 Current
 A customer can have multiple saving accounts (one in his
name, other in a joint name etc).
He can have multiple current accounts for different
companies he owns.
Or he can have a multiple current and saving accounts.
Manager: A manager can add a new account for an existing
customer.

8. Edit Account Manager Manager: A manager can add an edit account details for an 1
existing account

9. Delete Account Manager Manager: A manager can add a delete an account for a 1
customer.

10. Delete Manager A customer can be deleted only if he/she has no active 1
Customer current or saving accounts
Manager: A manager can delete a customer.

11. Deposit Manager Manager: A manager can deposit money into any account. 3
Usually done when cash is deposited at a bank branch.

12. Withdrawal Manager Manager: A manager can withdraw money from any account. 3
Usually done when cash is withdrawn at a bank branch.

STEP B) Estimate duration for the task

After classifying the complexity of the function points, you have to estimate
the duration to test them. Duration means how much time needs to finish the
task.

 Total Effort: The effort to completely test all the functions of the website
 Total Function Points: Total modules of the website
 Estimate defined per Function Points: The average effort to complete
one function points. This value depends on the productivity of the
member who will take in charge this task.
Suppose your project team has estimated defined per Function Points of 5
hours/points. You can estimate the total effort to test all the features of website
Guru99 Bank as follows:

Weightage # of Function Points Total

Complex 5 3 15

Medium 3 5 15

Simple 1 4 4

Function Total Points 34

Estimate define per point 5

Total Estimated Effort (Person Hours) 170

So the total effort to complete the task “Create the test specification” of Guru99
Bank is around 170 man-hours

Once you understand the effort that is required, you can assign resources to
determine how long the task will take (duration), and then you can estimate labor
and non-labor costs.

Above example also shows the importance of the member in your team. If you
have talented and experienced members, you can finish the assigned task in
the small time, and your project will finish at the deadline or sooner.

STEP C) Estimate the cost for the tasks

This step helps you to answer the last question of customer “How much does it
cost?”

Suppose, on average your team salary is $5 per hour. The time required for
“Create Test Specs” task is 170 hours. Accordingly, the cost for the task is
5*170= $850. Now you can calculate budget for other activities in WBS and arrive
at overall budget for the project.
As a project manager, you have to decide how to get the most return for your
company’s investment. The more accurate your estimate of project cost is,
the better able you will be to manage your project’s budget.

METHOD 2) Three Point Estimation

Three-Point estimation is one of the techniques that could be used to estimate a
task. The simplicity of the Three-point estimation makes it a very useful tool for a
Project Manager that who wants to estimate.

In three-point estimation, three values are produced initially for every task based
on prior experience or best-guesses as follows

When estimating a task, the Test Manager needs to provide three values, as
specified above. The three values identified, estimate what happens in
an optimal state, what is the most likely, or what we think it would be the worst
case scenario.

Let’s see how to use the above three values in the following example

For the task “Create the test specification”, can you estimate the test effort?
Remember that you have to cover all the modules of the Guru99 Bank website
as done in Function Point Method
You can estimate as following

 The best case to complete this task is 120 man-hours (around 15 days). In
this case, you have a talented team, they can finish the task in smallest
time.
 The most likely case to complete this task is 170 man-hours (around 21
days). This is a normal case, you have enough resource and ability to
complete the task
 The worst case to complete this task is 200 man-hours (around 25 days).
You need to perform much more work because your team members are
not experienced.

Now, assign the value to each parameter as below

The effort to complete the task can be calculated using double-triangular

distribution formula as follows-

In the above formula, parameter E is known as Weighted Average. It is the

estimation of the task “Create the test specification”.

But your boss may ask you

In the above estimation, you just determine a possible and not a certain value,
we must know about the probability that the estimation is correct. You can use
the other formula:

In above formula, the SD mean Standard Deviation, this value could give you the
information about the probability that the estimation is correct.

Now you can conclude the estimation for the task “Create the test specification”

To complete the task “Create the test specification” of Guru99 Bank website, you
need 166.6 ± 13.33 Man-hour (153.33 to 179.99 man-hour)

Step 4) Validate the estimation

Once you create an aggregate estimate for all the tasks mentioned in the WBS,
you need to forward it to the management board, who
will review and approve it.

The member of management board could comprise of the CEO, Project Manager
& other stakeholders.

The management board will review and discuss your estimation plan with you.
You may explain them your estimation logically and reasonably so that they can
approve your estimation plan.
Test estimation best practices
This topic introduces general tips on how to estimate Testing accuracy.

 Add some buffer time: Many unpredictable things may happen to your
project, such as a talented team member quits his job suddenly, the testing
takes more time than estimated to complete… etc. That why you need
include some buffer in your estimation. Having a buffer in the estimation
enables to cope for any delays that may occur.
 Account Resource planning in estimation: What should you do if some
members in your team take long leaves? It may delay the project.Resource
planning in estimation plays a key role. The availability of resources will
help to make sure that the estimations are realistic. Here you have to
consider the leaves for your team member, generally long leaves.
 Use the past experience as reference: Experiences from past projects
play a vital role while preparing the time estimates. Because some project
may be some similarity, you can reuse the past estimation. For example, if
you use to do a project like testing a website, you can learn from that
experience, try to avoid all the difficulties or issues that were faced in past
projects.
 Stick to your estimation: Estimation is just estimate because it may
go wrong.In early stages of the project, you should frequently re-check
the test estimations and make modification if needed. We should not
extend the estimation after we fix it, unless there are major changes in
requirement, or you have to negotiate with customer about the re-
estimation

Other Techniques
Wideband Delphi Technique, Use – Case Point Method, Percentage distribution,
Ad-hoc method are other estimation techniques

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Video Transcript

 Let's do an exercise -for the Flight Reservation Application prepare a Work

Breakdown Structure of the
 various testing tasks like - Check Login Functionality, Check New Order
Functionality,Check Fax Functionality, and other similar functionality and
Estimate the effort required to test these functionalities
 For example login functionality can be tested in 2 hours. Likewise prepare
a list of all the tasks and corresponding effort. Pause the training tutorial
and complete the exercise. I hope you made an educated guess of the
effort required
  This is Bottom-Up Strategy for Test Estimation. The technique is called
bottom- up since based on the tasks which is at the lowest level of the
work breakdown hierarchy you estimate the duration , dependencies and
resources.
 In bottom-Up strategy , estimates are not taken by a single person but
all stakeholders, individual contributors , experts and experienced staff
members collectively. The idea is to draw on the collaborative wisdom of
the team members to arrive at accurate test estimates
 Now since you have considerable experience on the flight reservation
system. Use this experience to estimate the effort required for
full Functional Testing of the website. - http://newtours.demoaut.com/
 This site's functionally is identical to the Flight Reservation Application ,
just that it is web based. Pause the tutorial and do the exercise now
 I hope based on your experience you made a good estimate on the effort
required to test the website
o This is the Top - Down Approach to estimation which is based on
experience.
o Another technique is to classify project based on their size and
complexity and then seeing how long a project of a particular size
and complexity have taken in past.
o Another approach is determining Average Effort Per Test Case in
past for similar projects and then using estimated test cases of the
current project and arriving at total effort
o More sophisticated estimation models involve complex
mathematical models. In practice , majority of the projects use top-
down approach for estimation.
o Test estimates can be affected by many factors like timing
pressures , people factors , geographic distribution of the test team
and so on

Suppose I give you 2000 test cases and you want to

execute these test cases within two days, and only you can
execute these test cases. How will you do that?

Answer

Follow · 8

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7 Answers

Sumeet Lall, works at Cognizant Technology Solutions

Answered Jan 23, 2017
If i assume your scenario in real time. so keeping it very straight.

You need to execute around 42(2000/48)TCs per Hour.

so that means around 2TCs each minute per person you need to execute. so that you
can take some break as well in between.

Now the questions comes:-

1. how many steps does each TCs r having?

2. What is the complexity level of each TC?
3. is there any dependency of any TC with other TC?
4. Are you going to execute it in any test management tool like HP ALM,JIRA etc or
in excel.
there may be chances that few TCs are part of a big scenario which you already
validated in 1 tc.

so depending on these points we can decide the feasibility.

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Bharath Srinivasa Raghavan, 99tests.com

Answered May 21, 2015

There is this famous saying, I spend 80% of my time planning and rest 20% for execution,
when your planning is so good the time required to execute the plan will be less and can be
done efficiently.

As you have not mentioned if the test cases needs to be executed before moving to
production server or not, this is what comes to my mind now,

- Segregate them as Before going live, after going live. Before going live test cases are those
which is critical and needs to be checked before going live and after going live are those
which are less impact and will not hurt the user if it fails.

- Once this segregated, prioritize the test cases which are marked before going live and
execute it based on priority.

- Segregate the test cases after going live and execute those test cases accordingly.

This would be my approach :)

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Nish D, former Quality Analyst at AT&T at Tech Mahindra (2009-2016)

Answered Jan 23, 2017

First of all, this sounds difficult but not impossible. It all depends how good and
vastly you know the software/application. Depending on that you can prioritise the
test cases. Sort them depending upon the major functions they cover, risk areas
covering test cases and so on.

Combination of Risk based testing and exploratory testing will be suitable to this
kind of situation. But, with the tester who is well versed with application/software
functionalities.
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Abhideep Bhattacharjee, Accounts Manager at Indus Net Technologies

Answered Apr 17, 2015
I would carry the test cases, the system and some amusements to venus. One day in venus is
243 hours long. So 2 days would give me time enough to execute all the test cases, report the
bugs, may be shoot a couple of mails and then go on a very long vacation to some 'Grand
Canyon'