Here’s Section 3: Automation Framework & Programming & K8s for the demo interview. This section is designed for ~1 hour with 12 questions (theory + coding + scenario-based). Each question includes detailed sample answers.

✅ Section 3: Automation Framework & Programming & Kubernetes

Topic Goals

• Assess ability to design and maintain automation frameworks.
• Evaluate Python programming and debugging skills.
• Check understanding of CI/CD, container orchestration, and Kubernetes basics.

Q1. What are the key components of a robust automation framework?

Sample Answer:

• Modularity: Reusable components.
• Scalability: Easy to add new tests.
• Maintainability: Clear structure, minimal duplication.
• Reporting: Detailed logs and reports (e.g., Allure).
• CI/CD Integration: Jenkins, GitHub Actions.
• Environment Management: Docker/K8s for consistency.

Q2. Explain the Page Object Model (POM) and its benefits.

Sample Answer:

• POM: Design pattern where UI elements and actions are encapsulated in classes.
• Benefits:
  • Reduces code duplication.
  • Improves maintainability.
  • Easier to update when UI changes.

Q3. How do you handle test data in automation?

Sample Answer:

• Use parameterization (e.g., pytest @pytest.mark.parametrize).
• Store in JSON/YAML/CSV files.
• Use fixtures for setup/teardown.
• For sensitive data: environment variables or secret managers.

Q4. Write a Python function to reverse a string without using built-in reverse functions.

Sample Answer:

def reverse_string(s: str) -> str:
    return s[::-1]

Alternative (loop-based):

def reverse_string(s: str) -> str:
    result = ""
    for char in s:
        result = char + result
    return result

Q5. How do you implement parallel test execution in Python?

Sample Answer:

• Use pytest-xdist:

  pytest -n 4

• Or use multiprocessing module for custom parallelization.

Q6. Explain how you would integrate your automation framework with Jenkins.

Sample Answer:

• Create a Jenkins pipeline with stages:
  • Checkout code
  • Install dependencies
  • Run tests (pytest --junitxml=report.xml)
  • Publish reports
• Use Jenkins plugins: JUnit, Allure.

Q7. What is Kubernetes, and why is it useful for QA automation?

Sample Answer:

• Kubernetes: Container orchestration platform for deploying, scaling, and managing containers.
• Useful for QA:
  • Consistent environments.
  • Scalable test execution.
  • Easy rollback and isolation.

Q8. How do you deploy a test environment on Kubernetes?

Sample Answer:

• Create Deployment YAML for test services.

• Use ConfigMaps and Secrets for configs.

• Expose via Service.

• Example:

  apiVersion: apps/v1
  kind: Deployment
  metadata:
    name: test-runner
  spec:
    replicas: 1
    template:
      spec:
        containers:
        - name: runner
          image: my-test-image

Q9. How do you manage secrets in Kubernetes?

Sample Answer:

• Use Kubernetes Secrets:

  kubectl create secret generic db-secret --from-literal=password=pass123

• Mount as environment variables or volumes.

Q10. Scenario: Your automation tests fail only in CI but pass locally. How do you debug?

Sample Answer:

• Check environment differences (OS, Python version).
• Validate dependencies (pip freeze).
• Check network/firewall issues in CI.
• Use Dockerized test environment for consistency.

Q11. Scenario: You need to run 500 tests in parallel across multiple nodes. How do you design the solution?

Sample Answer:

• Use pytest-xdist with --dist=loadscope.
• Use Kubernetes Jobs for distributed execution.
• Aggregate results in centralized reporting system (e.g., Allure server).

Q12. How do you monitor and debug failing pods in Kubernetes?

Sample Answer:

• kubectl get pods → check status.
• kubectl describe pod <name> → detailed info.
• kubectl logs <pod> → logs.
• Use liveness/readiness probes for health checks.

✅ Time Allocation:

• Framework & CI/CD (Q1–Q3, Q6): ~20 mins
• Coding (Q4–Q5): ~10 mins
• Kubernetes (Q7–Q9): ~15 mins
• Scenarios (Q10–Q12): ~15 mins

👉 Do you want me to move on to Section 4: General / Problem Solving now, or should I add senior-level performance expectations for Section 3 before proceeding?