int Q : What if 1 M test cases are given to automate in a day

[ramesh.tahiliani]

Hi,

Recently i had been asked a Question "How Will you approach if 1 million test cases will be given you to automate in a day"

I could only come up with 2 points:
1. trying to find out the test cases with high priority
2. dividing the work among the team members

Could any1 add to this ?

[Ankur]

These questions may be asked to gauge how a candidate behaves under pressure/crunch situation. Before going to start answering such questions, rather start questioning the interviewer himself/herself.

Here is the sample conversation:

You:

1. What type of product is that which requires a 'million' test cases?
   
2. Have you/your team manually tested all these test cases at least once?
   
3. How much time you/your team took to do the testing in pt 2?
   
4. Do all the test cases comes under the heading of "regression testing". I assume the 'million' test cases comprise of white box/black box.
   
5. What is your definition of 'automation'?
   

These are some few questions that come from the top of my head,may be others can add more to it... A sane interviewer should then go on explaining his points...
In case he says

Interviewer:
I don't care, I need an answer.

You:
I need 1 million resources.

Interviewer:
You are joking.

You:
You started it first.

[ramesh.tahiliani]

Hi ankur,

thanks for the sample conversation; I wil also try to kick this conversation if sam question will be asked and will let u know the outcome

[vadivelu]

I go for the batch test and call the functions for the test cases

[basanth27]

Absurd !! The question is about first automating and then executing.

[subodh]

"How Will you approach if 1 million test cases will be given you to automate in a day......."

1) I will look at the test case document first.
2) From the experience, person will be able to get the complexity of the test cases.
3) Say if following is the case , it is simple
Input Expected OutPut/ state
Test case No. Field 1 Field 2 Field 3
1 12 ABC 1
2 14 GHF JHHJH
--- - --- ---- ---------
--- - --- ---- ---------
1 Million ---- --------

Simple parameterization can make it happen. Still i need to find the number of objects involved.
if it is having some good number for which is not possible to do a repository storage then straight away ... it is not possible to automate test cases in one day

If ( no of objects looks fewer and just parameterization and some reusable functions / actions can make it )
{
yes it is possible to automate 1 million test cases in a day with the above test cases format....
( at least looks like i will be able to do it.... :-) )
}
If ( no of objects looks fewer and design does not look simpler )
{
not possible to automate test cases in one day
}

From the experience , having a glance at the doc if test cases looks complex.... one day will be required to understand the test cases itself....
{
this case it is highly impossible to take the automation for atleast week.........
Weeks time will be again dependant on no of resources available.
}

I think question is very vague and only interviwer can explain the expected answer

[phanindranath]

Hi,

I would like to add some more sample questions where we can highlight our approaching skills.
1. How many resources have prepared these 1 M test cases?
2. How much time they took to prepare them?
3. How much time they took to execute them manually?
4. Are all of them are under Regression suite ? (As Ankur had already mentioned)

If the interviewer answers the above questions vaguely and still wants the answer immediately, then ask the below questions
1. I need a complete walk through of these test cases and the application first and then i will decide about the test cases to be automated.

Sometimes few interviewers may even ask us
"why are you asking me all these questions instead of answering my query" ?
Then politely answer him/her that
"you have asked me to give me the approach to automate 1M test cases and i have started my approach" (with a simple smiling face)

Thanks
Phanindra

[subodh]

Hi

I am just curious about following questions ?
How any answers to following questions related to manual approach will help you in deciding approach for automation...

1. How many resources have prepared these 1 M test cases?
2. How much time they took to prepare them?
3. How much time they took to execute them manually?

Lets say my answers to above questions are 50 Resources, it was prepared in phases in 3 yrs ( i dont have exact efforts in Hrs), only 50 % of them have been tested manually however all have been reviewed by Product managers and are ready to automate .......

[phanindranath]

Hi

This is a simple scenario we can understand, how i can divert the questioning scenario from "automating the 1 M test cases in a day" to "how the manual approach helps in deciding the approach for the automation?". :-)

And now considering the answers that you have provided, in general, any simple application does not need so many test cases and no company will spend such a long time just to build the manual test cases unless the application is very complex. Either the application should be very complex and hence needs more test cases. If the application is very complex, then all the manual test cases needs to be executed atleast once. If only 50% of them are executed, and if the remaining test cases (in case fails) then the application cannot be stable enough to go for the automation.

So finally we can provoke the interviewer to say the whether the application is simple or complex.
Ultimately the depends upon the interviewer, but all these queries just highlights the confidence level and the various approaching strategies of us.

Hope this might have given some clarification. :-)

Thanks
Phanindra