Testing Tools Questions & Answers

Automated rollback plan
The safest way to manage Lambda deployments is by using versioning and aliases, which allow you to shift traffic gradually and instantly roll back if issues arise.
1. Implement versioning and aliases

• Version your functions: Publish your Lambda function code as a new, immutable version for each deployment.
• Create a production alias: Route your production traffic through an alias (e.g., PROD) that points to a specific function version. All services that invoke the Lambda should use this alias, not the LATEST version.

2. Perform a canary deployment

• Incremental traffic shift: Use AWS CodeDeploy or manually update the alias to shift a small percentage of traffic (e.g., 5%) to the new version.
• Monitor the canary: For a defined period, monitor the performance of the new version under real production load.

3. Define automated rollback triggers
Set up CloudWatch alarms to automatically trigger a rollback if key performance metrics fall below acceptable thresholds.

• Increased error rate: A significant spike in the Errors metric.
• Increased latency: A sustained increase in the Duration metric.
• Increased throttling: Any rise in the Throttles metric.

4. Execute the rollback

• Automatic rollback: If a CloudWatch alarm is triggered, AWS CodeDeploy can automatically shift all traffic back to the previous, stable version.
• Manual rollback: If manual intervention is needed, the alias can be instantly updated to point 100% of traffic to the previous version with a single command or console action.

Multi-tiered communications plan
A communications plan for a performance regression needs to be clear, timely, and tailored to the audience.
Internal communications
This plan focuses on immediate, technical, and coordinated action.

• Immediate notification: Use automated alerts via Slack, email, or PagerDuty to notify the incident response team when a rollback is initiated or a performance degradation is detected.
• Incident team: Define a clear incident response team with roles and responsibilities. This includes a communications lead, technical lead, and support lead.
• Internal status page: Post updates to an internal status page to keep all employees informed without overwhelming the incident team with questions.
• External communications
• This plan focuses on transparently informing customers without causing unnecessary alarm.
• Acknowledge quickly: For regressions impacting customer experience, issue a quick acknowledgment on your website status page and social media channels (e.g., X).
• Provide an impact summary: Describe the user impact clearly. Avoid technical jargon like Lambda cold starts and instead use language like, Some users may be experiencing slower response times.
• Suggest workarounds (if applicable): If a specific feature is broken but a workaround exists, provide it. For example, You can still access this feature by refreshing the page.

To use the perfect tool for mobile testing you should:

• Understand your app and testing goals.
• Select the right tool based on your needs.
• Set up your test environment (test data, devices, framework).
• Create meaningful design cases.
• Automate + integrate with CI/CD.
• Monitor and improve.

Automation testing tools are software applications designed to automate the process of executing test cases, comparing actual results to expected results, and reporting the outcomes.

Test automation tools provide faster, more accurate, and more efficient testing, leading to improved software quality, reduced costs, and quicker time-to-market.

Testing tools are software or hardware designed to evaluate the functionality, performance, security, and quality of a system or application by automating repetitive tasks and helping to detect defects early in the development cycle.

Yes, these elements are part of the OSSTMM (Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual). The OSSTMM includes various phases and components such as:

1. Workflow: This involves a systematic approach to planning and executing security tests.
2. Maintaining Access: Ensuring access controls and authentication mechanisms are properly tested and validated.
3. Network Mapping: Identifying and documenting the network structure and its components.
4. Trust Analysis: Evaluating the trust relationships and dependencies within the network

FTR (Formal Technical review) is a software quality assurance activity that helps the junior QA testers identify errors, rectify them (if possible) and ensure that the software runs smoothly.

The most accurate conclusion one can draw from these results is that no known vulnerabilities were detected by the specific tests that were run. If an application penetration test fails to find any security defects, it does not necessarily mean that the application is completely secure.

A known environment penetration test assesses the security of a system or network where detailed information about the infrastructure, configurations, and assets is readily available to the tester. In this type of test, the tester has prior knowledge of the target environment, mimicking a scenario where an insider or authenticated user attempts to exploit vulnerabilities. This allows for a more focused assessment of specific weaknesses, with the aim of identifying and mitigating potential risks associated with internal threats.

A type of penetration test that would only provide the tester with limited information such as domain names and IP addresses in the scope is known as a 'Black Box' test. In a Black Box test, the tester has no prior knowledge of the system being tested and relies solely on publicly available information to assess its security. This limited information approach mimics the perspective of an external attacker, making it a valuable assessment method for identifying vulnerabilities from an outsider's viewpoint.