QA & Testing Knowledge Base

The QA Chronicles

Practical, no-fluff testing guides written from 6+ years in the field — covering Manual Testing, Mobile Testing, Automation, and everything in between.

45 Articles
6+ Years Experience
8 Topic Areas
Manual Testing

Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC)

A complete walkthrough of the 6 STLC phases — from requirement analysis to test closure — with entry and exit criteria for each phase.

11 min read  ·  Apr 2026
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Fundamentals

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Understand SDLC models — Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, and V-Model — and how QA fits into each phase of the development process.

11 min read  ·  Apr 2026
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Manual Testing

Manual Testing Basics

Everything you need to get started with manual testing — types of testing, how to write effective test cases, and when manual beats automation.

12 min read  ·  Apr 2026
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Automation

Automation Testing Introduction

A practical intro to automation testing — popular tools like Selenium and Appium, when to automate, and a sample Python/Appium script.

14 min read  ·  Apr 2026
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Mobile Testing

ADB Shell Commands for Android Testing

A complete reference for ADB Shell commands — device info, network, wireless debugging, logcat, package management, battery, and file operations.

10 min read  ·  Apr 2026
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Manual Testing

Test Design Techniques — EP, BVA, State Transition & Decision Table

Master the four core black-box test design techniques with real-world examples, visual diagrams, and a guide on when to use each one.

8 min read  ·  Apr 2026
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Manual Testing

Types of Software Testing — Complete Guide

Every type of testing explained — functional, non-functional, exploratory, and special types — with examples, tables, and when to apply each.

10 min read  ·  Apr 2026
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Manual Testing

Bug & Defect Life Cycle — Complete Guide

All bug statuses, severity vs priority matrix, defect report format, latent vs masked defects, and the 7 ISTQB testing principles.

7 min read  ·  Apr 2026
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Mobile Testing

Mobile App Testing — Complete Guide

Native, Web & Hybrid apps, Android build types, HVT/DVT/EVT/PVT variant testing, interruption testing, power, memory, and compatibility.

9 min read  ·  Apr 2026
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Mobile Testing

Wi-Fi & Network Testing for Mobile Devices

Good, Local & Bad connection setup, unified error codes (Reasons 1–7), DFS vs Non-DFS channels, and ADB logcat Wi-Fi diagnostics.

8 min read  ·  Apr 2026
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Automation

Selenium WebDriver with Python — Complete Guide

Set up Selenium with Python from scratch — locators, explicit waits, Page Object Model, pytest integration, and CI/CD with GitHub Actions.

16 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

Selenium WebDriver with Java — Complete Guide

Selenium with Java — Maven setup, TestNG, Page Object Model, DataProviders, Selenium Grid 4, and GitHub Actions CI integration.

17 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

Appium Mobile Automation with Python

Appium 2.x with Python — AppiumOptions, Android & iOS testing, W3C gestures, pytest fixtures, and tips for stable mobile automation.

18 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

Appium Mobile Automation with Java

Appium with Java — Maven setup, AndroidDriver, TestNG parallel execution, W3C gestures, Extent Reports, and iOS driver configuration.

17 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

Robot Framework for Mobile Testing

Robot Framework with AppiumLibrary — keyword-driven mobile testing, resource files, variables, pabot parallel execution, and CI integration.

15 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

Appium Setup with Android Studio

Set up Appium with Android Studio — AVD Manager, USB & wireless debugging, Appium Inspector, UIAutomator2, and your first mobile test.

13 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

BrowserStack Cloud Testing — Complete Guide

BrowserStack for cross-platform testing — Automate vs App Automate, parallel testing, GitHub Actions integration, and Python/Java examples.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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API Testing

REST API Testing — A Complete Guide

REST API testing with Python requests and Postman — HTTP methods, status codes, auth testing, response validation, and full pytest automation.

16 min read  ·  May 2026
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Performance

Performance Testing with Apache JMeter

JMeter from scratch — thread groups, HTTP samplers, assertions, CSV data, dashboard reports, CLI execution, and GitHub Actions integration.

15 min read  ·  May 2026
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Performance

Performance Testing with k6

k6 for performance testing — virtual users, stages, thresholds, checks, k6 Cloud, Grafana dashboards, and GitHub Actions CI integration.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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Linux

Linux Commands for QA Engineers

Essential Linux for QA — file ops, grep/awk/sed, process management, network tools, log analysis, shell scripting, and 10 QA one-liners.

15 min read  ·  May 2026
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Networking

Network Testing Tools for QA Engineers

Wireshark, tcpdump, Charles Proxy, curl, and network simulation — with a practical workflow for debugging failing mobile API calls end-to-end.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

Cypress Web Testing — Complete Guide

Cypress from scratch — selectors, assertions, fixtures, network interception, custom commands, and GitHub Actions CI integration.

16 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

Playwright End-to-End Testing — Complete Guide

Playwright for multi-browser testing — auto-wait, role-based locators, Page Object Model, API testing, and GitHub Actions CI integration.

16 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

WebdriverIO — Browser & Mobile Automation

WebdriverIO with Node.js — selectors, Mocha framework, page objects, Chrome DevTools service, Appium integration, and CI setup.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

BDD with Cucumber and Java — Complete Guide

Gherkin feature files, step definitions, JUnit 5 runner, Scenario Outline, hooks, and Allure reporting for behavior-driven test automation.

15 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

BDD with Behave and Python — Complete Guide

Behave for Python BDD — Gherkin feature files, step definitions, environment.py hooks, Selenium integration, and GitHub Actions CI.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

Visual Regression Testing — Applitools & Percy

Screenshot comparison testing with Applitools Eyes and Percy — AI baselines, cross-browser visual testing, and CI pipeline integration.

13 min read  ·  May 2026
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Automation

Cloud Device Testing — AWS Device Farm, Sauce Labs & LambdaTest

Cross-platform cloud testing — real device pools, parallel execution, CI integration, and a head-to-head comparison of the major platforms.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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API Testing

Advanced Postman — Newman, Mock Servers & Monitors

Newman CLI, pre-request token refresh, mock servers, Postman Monitors, Collection Runner data files, and GitHub Actions automation.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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API Testing

GraphQL Testing — A Complete QA Guide

Testing GraphQL queries, mutations, schema validation, error responses, auth, and full pytest automation with the gql Python client.

13 min read  ·  May 2026
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API Testing

Contract Testing with Pact — Consumer-Driven APIs

Consumer-driven contract testing — Pact Broker, provider verification, can-i-deploy gates, and Python/Java examples for microservices.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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Performance

Performance Testing with Gatling

Gatling simulation DSL in Java — scenarios, feeders, load injection profiles, assertions, HTML reports, and GitHub Actions CI integration.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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Performance

Performance Testing with Locust

Python-based load testing with Locust — task weighting, SequentialTaskSet, distributed mode, headless CLI, and GitHub Actions integration.

13 min read  ·  May 2026
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DevOps

Docker for QA Engineers

Containerised test environments — Dockerfile for test runners, docker-compose test stacks, Selenium Grid in Docker, and CI integration.

15 min read  ·  May 2026
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DevOps

CI/CD for QA Engineers — Test Pipelines & Quality Gates

GitHub Actions and Jenkins for test pipelines — quality gates, parallel execution, flaky test handling, and integrating all test types into CI.

16 min read  ·  May 2026
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Security

OWASP Top 10 for QA Engineers

All 10 OWASP vulnerabilities explained for QA — what each means, real-world examples, and concrete test cases for every vulnerability.

15 min read  ·  May 2026
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Security

API Security Testing — Complete QA Guide

OWASP API Top 10, auth bypass, IDOR, injection, rate limiting, OWASP ZAP, and a 20-point security test checklist for every REST API.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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Security

Burp Suite for QA Engineers

Burp Suite Community Edition — proxy setup, HTTP History, Repeater for manual testing, Intruder, passive scanning, and common vulnerability checks.

13 min read  ·  May 2026
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Mobile Testing

iOS Testing with XCUITest — Complete Guide

XCUITest from scratch — Xcode setup, iOS Simulator, UI recording, accessibility locators, system dialogs, real device testing, and CLI execution.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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Fundamentals

Database Testing for QA Engineers

SQL for QA — data validation queries, schema testing, MySQL and PostgreSQL, pytest DB fixtures, and integrating DB checks into automated suites.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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Manual Testing

Exploratory Testing — Session-Based QA Guide

Test charters, SBTM sessions, heuristics (SFDPOT), bug bash facilitation, session notes, and documenting findings without scripted test cases.

13 min read  ·  May 2026
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Fundamentals

Agile & BDD for QA Engineers

Sprint ceremonies, acceptance criteria, definition of done, Three Amigos, shift-left testing, and quality ownership in a Scrum team.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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Fundamentals

Writing a Test Plan & Test Strategy

Test Strategy vs Test Plan — scope, risk analysis, entry/exit criteria, IEEE 829 structure, Agile one-pager format, and test summary report.

13 min read  ·  May 2026
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Fundamentals

Test Management Tools — JIRA, TestRail & Zephyr

JIRA with Zephyr Scale and Xray, TestRail, traceability matrix, test cycles, automated result push via API, and tool comparison for every team size.

14 min read  ·  May 2026
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About the Author

Honnesh Muppala

Senior Automation / Test Engineer with 6+ years across Amazon, Virtusa, and Viasat Europe — testing web, mobile, IoT, and inflight connectivity systems. ISTQB CTFL & Agile Tester certified, CCNA, MSc DevOps (ATU Ireland). At Viasat, I build and execute PAT/CAT test suites on IFC hardware for Boeing and Airbus airline customers. The QA Chronicles is where I document everything I know about testing — written from real experience, for engineers.

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