Careeroza

TestNG and Framework Design

What is the execution order of TestNG annotations?

@BeforeSuite
  @BeforeTest          (per <test> tag in testng.xml)
    @BeforeClass
      @BeforeMethod
        @Test
      @AfterMethod
    @AfterClass
  @AfterTest
@AfterSuite

@BeforeGroups/@AfterGroups run before the first / after the last test of a group. Tests inside a class run in alphabetical order unless priority or dependsOnMethods is set.

What is the difference between hard assert and soft assert?

A hard assert (Assert.assertEquals) stops the test at the first failure. A soft assert collects failures and reports all of them when you call assertAll().

SoftAssert soft = new SoftAssert();
soft.assertEquals(order.status(), "PLACED", "status");
soft.assertEquals(order.total(), "₹1,499", "total");
soft.assertEquals(order.items(), 1, "items");
soft.assertAll();          // forget this and the test always passes!

Example

when two checks fail

Example output

java.lang.AssertionError: The following asserts failed:
	total expected [₹1,499] but found [₹1,549],
	items expected [1] but found [2]

How do you pass data to tests in TestNG?

@DataProvider(name = "logins")
public Object[][] logins() {
    return new Object[][] {
        {"[email protected]", "Secret@123", true},
        {"[email protected]", "wrong", false},
        {"", "Secret@123", false},
    };
}

@Test(dataProvider = "logins")
public void login(String email, String pwd, boolean shouldPass) { ... }

Other ways: @Parameters from testng.xml (browser, environment), and DataProviders that read Excel (Apache POI), CSV or JSON. @DataProvider(parallel = true) runs rows in parallel.

How do you rerun failed tests in TestNG?

  • IRetryAnalyzer: retry(ITestResult) returns true to rerun; attach with @Test(retryAnalyzer = ...) or to all tests with an IAnnotationTransformer.
  • testng-failed.xml: TestNG writes it to test-output / target/surefire-reports after a run; run it to execute only failed tests.
  • In Cucumber: the rerun: plugin plus a second runner.

Note: Say in the interview that retries are for infrastructure problems and that retried tests are reported and fixed, not hidden.

Walk me through your automation framework.

A good answer follows a fixed order (2 minutes):

  1. Stack: Java 17/21, Selenium 4, TestNG, Maven, Log4j2, Extent/Allure, Git, Jenkins/GitHub Actions.
  2. Design: hybrid framework, Page Object Model with a BasePage holding explicit-wait helpers.
  3. Driver: DriverFactory with ThreadLocal<WebDriver> for parallel runs; local or RemoteWebDriver on Grid from config.
  4. Config and data: properties per environment, DataProviders from Excel, API calls for setup.
  5. Reporting: listeners take screenshots on failure, Extent report mailed after each run.
  6. CI: smoke on every build, regression nightly on Grid, results in Jenkins.