Comprehensive Scenario-Based Interview Questions for QA & Automation (0–10+ Years)

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1. Manual Testing Scenarios

  1. A login page is not accepting valid credentials – how will you test & debug? 
  2. A customer reports an issue not covered in your test cases – what will you do? 
  3. You get incomplete requirements – how will you write test cases?
  4. Production defect is reported but test cases were passed in QA – how do you analyze?
  5. Requirements change in the middle of a sprint – how do you handle? 
  6. Build is deployed late, and testing time is short – what is your strategy?
  7. How do you test a mobile app with offline functionality? 
  8. You need to validate 30+ DB columns across multiple tables – how do you automate? 
  9. A bug is not reproducible on your machine but is on client’s machine – what do you do?
  10. A defect is marked as “Not a Bug” by dev – how do you respond?
  11. How do you decide which test cases to automate vs keep manual? 
  12. How do you handle exploratory testing in a fast-moving release?
  13. How do you perform regression testing when there is no documentation?
  14. How do you test a feature integrated with multiple systems?
  15. How do you prioritize testing when features have varying criticality?

2. Selenium (Web Automation) Scenarios

  1. A test case fails only in Firefox but passes in Chrome – how will you debug? 
  2. You need to run tests on multiple browsers in parallel – how will you set it up? 
  3. How do you handle dynamic elements in Selenium?
  4. A Selenium script fails intermittently (flaky test) – how do you troubleshoot? 
  5. You need to test file upload in Selenium – how do you handle it?
  6. You need to validate PDF file content in Selenium – how do you do that?
  7. A web page takes too long to load – how do you manage synchronization? 
  8. How do you take screenshots on test failure in Selenium?
  9. How do you test a dropdown in Selenium?
  10. You need to execute the same test on two different browsers with different waits – approach? 
  11. How do you handle JavaScript alerts, pop-ups, and modals?
  12. How do you automate testing of AJAX calls in Selenium?
  13. How do you validate CSS and UI styling in Selenium tests?
  14. How do you implement data-driven and keyword-driven frameworks in Selenium?
  15. How do you handle Selenium test execution in CI/CD pipelines?

3. Appium / Mobile Automation Scenarios

  1. How do you test an app when network is switched from 4G → WiFi → Airplane mode?
  2. App crashes only on specific device models – how do you debug?
  3. You need to automate testing of push notifications – how do you handle it?
  4. How do you validate app behavior when user receives a call or SMS?
  5. How do you test mobile app battery usage or performance?
  6. How do you automate a hybrid app (part native, part web)?
  7. How do you handle multiple app installs (different versions) on the same device?
  8. How do you validate app behavior after OS upgrade?
  9. App works fine on Android but fails on iOS – how do you troubleshoot?
  10. How do you automate scrolling in Appium?
  11. How do you automate gestures like swipe, pinch, and drag-drop?
  12. How do you handle mobile device rotation and screen orientation?
  13. How do you validate offline data sync in mobile apps?
  14. How do you perform cross-device testing with Appium?
  15. How do you validate push notification behavior across Android and iOS?

4. API Testing Scenarios

  1. API returns 500 error – how do you debug?
  2. API response time is high – how do you test performance?
  3. API returns extra fields not in requirements – what do you do?
  4. API authentication fails – how do you test and troubleshoot?
  5. How do you validate DB entries after an API call?
  6. API gives different responses in Postman vs. automation script – how do you debug?
  7. How do you handle API schema validation in automation?
  8. API request succeeds, but data is not reflected in DB – what’s your approach?
  9. How do you test API when dependent microservice is down?
  10. You have 100 APIs – how do you decide regression scope?
  11. How do you validate file upload/download APIs?
  12. API works in lower environment but fails in production – what do you check?
  13. How do you handle pagination in API testing?
  14. How do you test idempotency of APIs? 
  15. API is rate-limited (throttling) – how do you test?
  16. How do you validate security tokens, JWT, or OAuth in API testing?
  17. How do you test API versioning and backward compatibility?

5. Database Testing Scenarios

  1. You need to validate 100s of rows across multiple tables – how do you automate?
  2. How do you compare data between two databases?
  3. You need to validate stored procedure output – how will you test?
  4. How do you test triggers in a database?
  5. How do you validate DB constraints (Primary key, Foreign key, Unique)?
  6. Application is slow – how do you find DB-related performance issues?
  7. How do you test database rollback after a failed transaction?
  8. How do you test DB migrations?
  9. How do you validate data integrity after ETL?
  10. How do you connect DB with automation (JDBC in Java / Python DB API)? 
  11. How do you test database indexing and query optimization?
  12. How do you validate ACID properties during transactions?
  13. How do you test data partitioning, sharding, and replication in DB?

6. Web Application Scenarios

  1. How do you test a responsive website across devices?
  2. How do you validate broken links in a web app?
  3. Website is slow in one region but fast in another – what’s your testing approach?
  4. How do you test a site that supports multiple languages (i18n)?
  5. Website crashes when 1000 users log in at once – how do you test?
  6. How do you test session timeout functionality?
  7. How do you test role-based access for users (Admin, Guest, etc.)?
  8. How do you test file upload size restrictions?
  9. How do you test UI elements across browsers?
  10. How do you test cache-related issues in a web app?
  11. How do you test web security vulnerabilities (XSS, CSRF, SQL Injection)?
  12. How do you test browser storage (cookies, local storage, session storage)?
  13. How do you test single-page applications (SPA) with dynamic content?
  14. How do you test content and media loading for high-traffic web pages?

7. Desktop Application Scenarios

  1. How do you test installation/uninstallation of a desktop app?
  2. How do you test application upgrade without losing user data?
  3. How do you test compatibility of desktop apps across OS versions?
  4. How do you validate licensing/activation flows?
  5. How do you test desktop app performance (CPU, memory usage)?
  6. How do you test app behavior after abrupt shutdown/power failure?
  7. How do you validate integration between desktop and external devices (printers, scanners)?
  8. How do you test auto-update functionality in desktop apps?
  9. How do you test security of a desktop application?
  10. How do you test DB connectivity of a desktop app?
  11. How do you test desktop applications with multi-user access scenarios?

8. Domain-Specific / Real-World Scenarios

  1. Write test cases for a triangle problem (scalene, isosceles, equilateral, invalid). 
  2. Write test cases for a music app (play, pause, shuffle, playlist, offline mode). 
  3. Write test cases for Amazon app (search, add to cart, checkout, payment, order history).
  4. You need to test an e-commerce site’s payment gateway – what’s your test approach? 
  5. How do you validate CDR (Call Detail Records) in telecom domain? 
  6. How do you test a mobile app when switching from WiFi → Mobile Data → Airplane mode? 
  7. You need to validate OTP flow across SMS and Email – how do you test?
  8. How do you test a messaging app like WhatsApp (delivery ticks, notifications, media)?
  9. How do you test video streaming apps (buffering, resolution, seek, DRM)?
  10. How do you test a ride-sharing app (location tracking, fare calculation, cancellations)?
  11. How do you test high-volume transaction scenarios in e-commerce or banking apps?
  12. How do you test multi-currency and tax calculation in e-commerce applications?
  13. How do you test telecom prepaid vs postpaid recharge scenarios?
  14. How do you validate data sync between mobile app, web, and backend?
  15. How do you test multi-platform apps (mobile + web + desktop) for consistent functionality?
  16. How do you handle production hotfix testing and validation?
  17. How do you plan test automation coverage for a new feature end-to-end?
  18. How do you integrate test automation with CI/CD pipelines across multiple environments?
  19. How do you monitor flaky test cases and stabilize automation suite?
  20. How do you design QA strategy for a large-scale distributed application with multiple teams?

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