JIRA Testing Interview Questions and Answers

1 .

Jira is a software testing tool developed by the Australian software company, Atlassian. Mainly used for bug tracking tool used to track the issues and bugs related to your software and Mobile apps. It is used for bug and issue tracking as well as project management, JIRA has extensive applications in the software field.

The name "Jira" comes from the Japanese word "Gojira", which means Godzilla. Jira is based on Agile methodology.

The Jira family comprises of the 3 products :

Jira Core : This is used for general-purpose task management.

Jira Software : This is used in teams where agile methodologies, such as Scrum and Kanban are needed.

Jira Service Desk : This is used as a support ticketing system.

2 .

Explain Jira workflow.

Jira workflow is a set of activities performed to track and transition of an issue during the lifecycle of an issue where transition represents the link between the two statuses when an issue moves from one status to another status, and status determines the impact of the work on an issue filed by the tester.

The following are the phases that occur in a workflow :

* TODO

* In Progress

* Done

The Jira workflow is known as defect lifecycle or bug lifecycle. The bug lifecycle consists of the following phases:

Open issue : When the issue is created by the tester, then the issue is assigned to the software developer, and they start working on it.

In Progress : This is the phase where the software developers start working on the issue.

Resolved issue : When the issue is resolved by the software developer and waiting for the verification by the software tester. If the verification is successful, then the issue is closed; otherwise, the issue gets reopened.

Reopened issue : If the verification is unsuccessful, then the issue is reopened and assigned to the software developer.

Close issue : If the verification of the fixed bug is successful, then the issue is closed by the tester.

3 .

Enlist the report types generated by JIRA.

There are multiple reports available in JIRA which are used to show the project statistics throughout the project life cycle. There are general reports available for analyzing issues as well as different reports for Scrum projects and Kanban projects.

General reports generated as and when required for analyzing issues includes :

* Average Age Report

* Created vs Resolved issue Report

* Pie Chart Report

* Recently created Issue Report

* Resolution Time Report

* Time Tracking Report

* User Workload Report

* Version Workload Report

* Workload Pie chart Report

Examples of reports generated for Scrum projects are :

* Sprint Report

* Control chart

* Burndown chart

* Cumulative Flow diagram

* Epic Report

* Release Burndown

* Velocity chart

* Version Report

Examples of reports generated for Kanban projects :

* Control chart

* Cumulative Flow diagram.

For generating reports for your project, follow the below steps :

* Navigate to desired project dashboard.

* Click on Reports tab from left-hand side to view different reports.

* Click on Switch report to view the different reports.

4 .

What can be referred to as an issue in Atlassian JIRA?

In JIRA, an issue can be anything like a

* Software bug

* The project task

* A help-desk ticket

* The leave request form

5 .

Why use JIRA software?

The reason behind using JIRA is

* Upfront and fair licensing policy

* Features that is not available elsewhere

* Get the latest update on the progress of projects

* It runs anywhere and recognized with many famous companies

* Easily extensible and customizable

6 .

Define Some Jira Products.

Jira Software : It is used by project managers, program managers, software developers, etc

Jira Service Management : This Jira product is for IT operations managers, DevOps managers, etc

Jira Work Management : It is for non-technical teams including marketing, human resources, etc

Jira Align : It is used at an enterprise level for bulk operations

7 .

What are some of the benefits of using Jira?

The following are some of the benefits of using Jira :

* It is easily customizable and extensible.

* It runs almost anywhere as it is platform-independent. It is recognized by quite a few well-known companies.

* We can get the latest update on the progress of projects via Jira.

* It has an upfront and fair licensing policy.

8 .

What is the use of JIRA dashboard?

It is the first display we notice upon login to the Jira. The dashboard shows tools and applications that help users to track progress of a project. It also includes important information like user’s activity info, issues assigned, etc. Admin can change the view and items displayed on the dashboard.

9 .

What are the agile methodologies supported by Jira?

Jira Software supports the following agile methodologies : Scrum and Kanban.

Scrum : Scrum is an agile methodology in which the development team works in an iterative manner to complete a given project. Every sprint or iteration has some set scope and timeline for the project. For software development projects, Scrum is most suitable.

Kanban : Kanban is an agile methodology that focuses on just-in-time delivery. It accomplishes this by visualizing the workflow and the tasks in progress. Kanban is mostly suitable for operation teams.

10 .

What are the issue types in Scrum project?

In JIRA, an individual unit of work is referred to as issue. The types include :

Story : single feature that needs to be implemented

Epic : a big user story

Bug : problem that needs to be fixed

Task : generic task that is not a bug or story

11 .

What do you mean by Agile board?

The main user interface that an end-user will use on a daily basis for projects is called an agile board. The agile board allows us to visualize the various tasks in a project and also the available steps in the workflow of the project. Along with that, it also gives us an interactive way to transition tasks through the workflow.

There are also additional features that provide a variety of functionalities depending on the type of board we are using. For instance, some boards may allow us to provide visual cues to highlight potential bottlenecks, manage a backlog of features, and a lot more.

12 .

Explain the configuration of project template in Jira.

Project templates allow us to create new projects based on certain predefined settings. This is important so that when the project is created, it will have all the necessary configurations set for us, including the following :

Issue type scheme : An issue type scheme that contains only the relevant issue types for the selected template, such as stories and epics for Scrum.

Workflow : A specially designed workflow that makes it easier to work with the issues on an agile board.

Screens : A set of screens that contain the necessary fields for working with agile, such as epic links to link stories to epics, and sprint for when tasks are added to Scrum sprints.

Agile board : If the template is either Scrum or Kanban, an agile board is dedicated to the new project.

13 .

What are some of the popular add-ons for Jira?

Following are some of the popular add-ons for JIRA :

* Portfolio for JIRA
* JIRA Toolkit Plugin

* JIRA Charting Plugin

* Suites utilities for JIRA

* ScriptRunner for JIRA

* Tempo Timesheets for JIRA
* Atlassian REST API Browser

* JIRA Misc Workflow Extensions
* Zephyr for JIRA – Test Management

14 .

Could you highlight the main features of Jira for managing projects?

Jira offers many useful features for managing a project successfully.

Project Roadmaps : These align every project stakeholder and team member, and they function as a work breakdown structure. If one uses the Jira Software product, they have two options – basic roadmaps and advanced roadmaps. The advanced roadmaps are used for more than one team.

Multiple Reporting Formats : Jira offers several formats for reporting that are automatically available. They are known as Standard Reports. Under them, there are Pie Chart report, Recently Created Issues report, Time Tracking report, etc.

Also, there are Jira Add-ons for Agile project management. These include Scrum board, Kanban board, Control chart, Sprint report, etc.

Time Tracking : For Agile methodology, time tracking is crucial. It is present by default. But one can also integrate more time-tracking add-ons from the Atlassian Marketplace.

15 .

Which are the key concepts that you must know before creating a basic roadmap in Jira?

In Jira projects, there are a few roadmap concepts to consider.

Theme : It is the main goal of the project

Epic : This is the work item that is broken down into several parts. These parts are tasks and are generally known as stories that describe what the end-user wants.

Start and Due Dates : These appear as horizontal bars on the roadmap. Users set dates on every epic.

Filters : Jira has its native filters that allow you to use keywords to find what you are looking for.

Issue Links : These are also known as dependencies. They are mapped and show in which order they should be completed.

Sharing and Exporting : The sharing feature lets you share the roadmap with stakeholders instantly. You can even export the roadmap as an image file.

16 .

If you have used Advanced Roadmaps in Jira, what can you tell about hierarchy levels?

As a default, there are three hierarchy levels in Jira.

Epic Hierarchy : It comprises all the epic issues that arise from the top-most level of priorities. They are categorised into smaller parts.

Story Hierarchy : Story issues are smaller segments of epic issues, and they are placed at this level.

Sub-task Hierarchy : These are tasks that help in finishing a story and they are mapped here.

17 .

Explain the step by step procedure of how an issue is created in JIRA.

Whenever an issue or defect is encountered while testing, it needs to be reported so that the developers can work on it and take the necessary action to fix it.

We will see step by step as how an issue is created in Atlassian JIRA.

1) Log in to your JIRA account by using valid credentials and get directed to the dashboard.

2) Click on ‘Create’ button displayed and you will be navigated to a window for creating an issue.

3) Enter all the necessary details as required to create an issue. The below field example can be understood better by the image below.

* In the Project field, a project for which we are creating an issue is selected. In this example: STH_Learning(STHL) is selected from the dropdown containing all the available projects.

* In the Issue type field, the nature of the issue is selected from the dropdown which contains options like Bug, Task, Improvement, Story, New Feature, etc. In this example, ‘Bug’ is the nature of the issue.

* The Summary field contains the one line title of the issue which imparts the critical information about the issue in a summarized way. The more effective the issue headline, the more you can show the criticality of the issue. Of course, the headline should be easily understood without any chances of misinterpretation. The example I have taken here, however, is not much critical.

* The Reporter is the one who reports the issue. In most of the cases, the name of the Project Manager is selected in this field.

* In Description field, the detailed description of the issue is written. As you can see in the below example screenshot, Steps to reproduce the issue, Actual result, Expected result are included in the description.

* In the Affect Version field, the current build version of the project is selected in which the issue has been encountered.

* Fix version field is basically selected by the concerned developer people, who choose the version as and when their work for the particular issue has been finished and the issue has been fixed.

* Priority field defines which issue should be considered first to be fixed. Tester selects the priority of the issue from the dropdown based on its effect on the application. This example issue is basically of a Medium priority.

* In the Attachment field, any video or screenshot related to the issue is being uploaded.

* In Environment field, operating system and browser details are mentioned on which issue has been encountered.

4) After all the details have been completed, click on the ‘Create’ button displayed on the window to create the new issue.

5) The issue id is generated which can be used in the future as a reference for tracking the progress of the issue.

18 .

Explain the three color indicators and their significance.

For any particular issue in JIRA, 3 colors like Blue, Green, and Orange is used to denote the amount of time spent on any particular issue. This information is displayed under ‘Time Tracking’ section. Each color has its own significance like;

Blue : This color is to denote the ‘Original Estimate’ i.e. the time estimate to be invested in resolving the issue. This field has been labeled as ‘Estimated’.

Orange : This color determines the time left for resolving the issue. This field has been labeled as ‘Remaining’.

Green : This color defines the actual time that has been used or say spent in resolving the issue so far. This field has been labeled as ‘logged’.

Time Tracking

19 .

What is cloning an Issue in JIRA?

Cloning allows the user to create duplicate of original issue, such that multiple team members can work on a single issue. The clone issue can be linked to original issue, and holds information like :

* Project

* Summary

* Issue Links

* Description

* Assignee

* Environment

* Reporter

* Attachments

* Components

* Affects Versions

* Fix For Versions

* Priority

* Issue Type

* Security

20 .

What are not included in cloned issue?

The following are the issues that are cannot be cloned :

* Time tracking

* Issue history

* Comments and

* Links to Confluence pages

21 .

How can you modify bulk issues?

We use the Bulk Change option from Tools menu and can then select all issues on current page for bulk operations.

Details available after bulk operations :

* Workflow transition

* Delete

* Move

* Edit

22 .

What is the use of "Move Issue" wizard in JIRA?

The move issue wizard enables you to specify another project in your JIRA instance. Move wizard permits you to change certain attributes of an issue like

Issue Type : If your issue is a customs issue type and does not occur in your target project, you must choose a new issue type for your issue

Issue Status : If you have assigned your issue as a custom issue status and it does not exist in your project, you must select a new issue status for your issue

Custom Fields : If you have determined required custom fields for your issue, which do not occur in the target project, you must set values for them.

23 .

How is security setting helpful in JIRA?

JIRA’S security setting restricts access to the issue to only those person who is allowed to work on the issue or a member of the chosen security level. The security level of an issue can be set either when the issue is created or when the issue is being edited.

24 .

What is the importance of labeling issue?

Labeling an issue is basically done to categorize an issue within a particular section which in turn can be easily searched with the help of labels.

Label for a particular issue can be initially set at the time of creating the issue, while it can edit also within the issue. Label field is displayed under the ‘Details’ section as shown below in the figure :

Labeling Issue

25 .

How is an issue linked in JIRA?

As the name itself defines, Linking means the association between the two.

In the same way, in JIRA issue is linked with any other issue in cases like :

* Relate to another issue

* Duplicate to another issue

* Block another issue.

For displaying the details of the Linked issues, there are two fields available in JIRA : ‘Linked issues’ and ‘Issues’.

Linked issue section contains the dropdown for the options to be selected as the reason for linking the issue. As per the selected option, the suggestion of the issues to be linked in displayed in ‘Issue’ dropdown.
Linked Issues

Linking of issues can be done either on the same or different JIRA servers.

26 .

Is it possible to get back up your JIRA cloud data?

In JIRA, you can take a backup of your JIRA cloud data using Backup Manager. But only one backup file is stored at a time. The existing backup is overwritten by new ones.

27 .

Explain the Kanban board.

Kanban boards are created for the projects where the team has their prime focus on visualizing the workflow and managing the project’s work in progress.

The most important feature of Kanban board is that it is found in work mode because the projects do not have their work as planned.

Let us see how the Kanban board is created in JIRA step by step.

a) Log In to the JIRA application using valid credentials and get navigated to the dashboard.

b) Click on Project dropdown and select the option ‘Create Project’.

c) Select ‘Kanban Software development’ and click on the Next button.

Kanban

d) Enter all the necessary details and click on the Create button.

e) Kanban board is created as shown in the below example.

Note : I have just taken a basic example of creation

In the case of Kanban, the incoming task is given more priority and hence it is considered as the best methodology for cases like bug fixing and maintenance release.

28 .

What do you mean by Scheduling an issue?

We can schedule the issues due dates which are used to track, review, and inform the team about due dates. Scheduling an issue is the most powerful feature that performs the fixed and relative date searches based on the due dates.

Advanced searches can also be performed by using the Jira Query Language.

You can schedule an issue by using the Date field. It can be done either by creating a new issue or editing an issue.

29 .

What is JQL?

JQL or JIRA Query Language is an advanced and flexible way of searching issues within JIRA. It consists of a field, value, operator, and keyword.

30 .

Can you transition an issue back to its previous status in JIRA workflow?

It is not possible generally, but for emergency purposes, we can hold the “On Hold” feature for transition.

31 .

What is an audit log?

Users can use audit logs to view all details about issues generated, plus changes made to any issue.

32 .

Explain How You Can Disable Mail Notification For Bulk Operations?

To disable mail notification for a particular Bulk Operations, you have to de-select the “Send Notification” checkbox in the bulk operation wizard.

33 .

Explain labelling and linking issues in JIRA

Labelling issue : enables the user to categorize the raised issue as information, which is later assigned to a component. This issue is found using labels.

Linking issue : enables the user to link issue(s) that can be associated on same or multiple JIRA servers.

34 .

What is the role of validators in Jira?

Validators check that any input to the transition by a user is valid before the transition is performed. The role of validators in JIRA is to verify exactly this. The issue will not progress to the destination status of the transition in case a validator fails.

35 .

What is an Event in Jira?

In Jira, an event gives information about the status, the default template and the notification scheme and workflow transition post function associations for the event. Basically, the events are classified into these two categories :

* A System event (Jira defined events)

* Custom event (User-defined events)

36 .

What are some of the configuration fields of an agile board?

The following are some of the configuration fields of an agile board :

Field	Description
Board name	This gives the name of the agile board.
Administrators	Administrators are users who can configure the settings of the agile board. We can add more administrators by either selecting the users directly or by selecting a group.
Saved Filter	This controls which issues will be included on the agile board. If you have created your board using the agile templates, then the filter here is automatically created for you to include all issues in the project. You can select a different filter to use or click on the Edit Filter Query link to change the current filter.
Shares	Access to the filter is controlled by this field. In practice, the filter should be shared with the same users who have access to the board.
Filter Query	The filter query shows us the actual filter query that is used by the Saved Filter.
Ranking	This shows whether the ranking is currently enabled. We should have the ranking enabled in order to rank issues and create sprints.
Projects in board	These are the projects that are a part of the board. These projects are automatically determined on the basis of the Saved Filter that is used by the board.

37 .

How to create a burndown and burn up charts in JIRA?

Burn up chart creation steps :

* Go to the JIRA official web page.

* Now click on the project that you are working on.

* Click on the reports -> appears at the left side

* Now it’s time to select the Burn-up chart option.

Burndown chart creation steps :

* Go to the JIRA official web page.

* Now click on the project that you are working on.

* Click on the reports ->appears on the left side of the panel.

* Now select the burn down from the reports drop-down option.

38 .

What are some ways in which you can customize the agile board?

As the administrator, we can further customize the agile board in the following ways :

Scope of the agile board : This signifies what issues and projects will be added on the agile board.

Permission of the agile board : This entails who will have access to the agile board.

Layout of the agile board : This signifies the agile board's vertical columns and horizontal swimlanes.

Customized filters : These provide additional ways to filter out the content on the agile board.

39 .

After a transition is executed, what types of Post functions are carried out?

After a transition is executed, the following types of Post functions are carried out :

* Create an event in order to trigger email notifications.

* Add a comment to a given issue.

* Update the fields of an issue.

* For an issue, generate the change history

40 .

What does the Jira Schema consist of?

The Jira Schema consists of the following :

Notifications : This indicates what email someone receives when an issue is changed.

Workflows : This indicates which workflow is used for each issue type.

Permissions : This indicates what changes can be made to an issue by someone.

Issue types : This indicates what issue types like Bug, New Feature etc. can be used in a given Jira project.

Screens : This indicates where the fields are displayed in an issue’s screen.

Field configurations : This is used to define which Field Configuration is used for each issue type.

41 .

What is Jira Core?

Jira Core is a workflow management system. This allows us to create unique processes that suit our needs.

Workflows are the root of the system, moving packets of work from one place to another. Jira Core allows us to make our workflow as easy or as complex as we need. It does this by giving us the freedom to concentrate on the work, and not on the process. The only constraints on your workflow are your processes.

42 .

What are the differences between Scrum board and Kanban board?

	Scrum	Kanban
Planning	It has fixed planning. It focussed on planning. It starts with the sprint planning and ends with the sprint review, retrospective. The daily meeting is held so that the team knows the next steps, priorities, and the learnings from the previous steps.	It has no fixed planning, and no daily meetings are conducted. In Kanban, changes can occur at any time, i.e., frequent changes occur.
Timeline	In scrum, we work on the sprint that has the fixed-time duration means that after some fixed-time, we are delivering something to the client.	Kanban does not have the concept of a sprint, so it has no fixed timeline for delivering the product to the client.
Task estimates	During sprint planning, it is decided that how many activities are to be pulled from the product backlog and add in a sprint backlog. For example, if the sprint is for two weeks, then the number of activities are selected in such a way that they can be completed within the sprint, i.e., in two weeks.	It does not estimate the task.
Scrum Master	In scrum methodology, we have one scrum master who handles the team and conducts the meeting on a daily basis.	In Kanban methodology, we do not have any scrum master. It's the responsibility of each individual to deliver a valuable product.
Suitability	This methodology is suitable for large-sized projects as large-sized projects can be divided into multiple sprints.	It is mainly suitable for small-sized projects.
Constant changes	In Scrum, constant changes can be adapted easily in shorter sprints.	If any major change occurs, then Kanban methodology gets failed.
Cost	In Scrum, the task is estimated, i.e., a fixed number of activities are taken in a sprint, so the total cost of the project is minimal.	In Kanban, the task is not estimated, so the total cost of the project is not accurate.
Roles and responsibilities	In Scrum, a specific role is assigned to the team members by the Scrum Master while the product owner tells the objectives of the product on which team members have to work.	No predefined role is assigned to the team members. It's the responsibility of all the team members to work in collaboration to deliver a valuable product.
Measurement of Productivity	The productivity is measured by using cycle time or the time taken to complete the whole project from start to the end.	Productivity is measured by using velocity through sprints.
Release Methodology	Small release after the end of each sprint.	It provides continuous delivery.

43 .

What is an issue collector?

An issue collector allows you to gather the feedback form of any website in the form of Jira issues. It can also collect the issues who do not have a Jira account.

44 .

How you can modify multiple bulk issues?

The events are classified in two a System event (JIRA defined events) and Custom event (User-defined events). An event describes the status, the default template and the notification scheme and workflow transition post function associations for the event.

45 .

What is the difference between Bugzilla and JIRA?

Bugzilla	JIRA
It is an Open Source	It is a commercial tool
Using Bugzilla might be little complicated for few due to grouping users and granting permissions	For some using JIRA would be more convenient than Bugzilla
Bugzilla allows you to show/hide the whole custom field or specific values based on the value of some other field	JIRA enables conditional configuration based only on Type fields and Project.
Bugzilla’s has a powerful advanced search option	JIRA lacks advance-level search options. JIRA has a flexible JQL language (JIRA Query Language). It enables you to build arbitrary boolean expressions.
Unlike JIRA, Bugzilla allows users to select the initial status of a new issue.	Unlike Bugzilla, JIRA enables you to define multiple workflows which are applied based on the issue’s Project and Type.
Bugzilla has only one link type: Blocks/depends and a Bug ID custom field	JIRA has configurable link types with user-defined semantics. JIRA enables to link an issue to any other entity outside JIRA.