JIRA interview questions for QA

// 14 QUESTIONS · UPDATED MAY 2026

JIRA interview questions for QA engineers covering bug creation and lifecycle, JQL queries, workflow customisation, issue linking, Agile sprint and Kanban boards, and test management integrations with Xray and Zephyr.

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Showing 14 of 14 questions

  1. What is JIRA and how do QA engineers use it day to day?Junior

    JIRA is a project-tracking tool by Atlassian used to create, assign, prioritise, and track issues (bugs, stories, tasks). QA engineers us…

  2. What makes a good bug report in JIRA? Walk through the key fields.Junior

    A good bug report gives a developer everything they need to reproduce the issue without asking follow-up questions: a clear title, reprod…

  3. Describe the typical bug lifecycle / workflow in JIRA from creation to closure.Junior

    A bug moves through: Open → In Progress (developer picks it up) → In Review (PR) → Ready for QA → In Testing → Closed (if fixed) or Reope…

  4. What are the standard JIRA issue types and when does a QA engineer use each?Junior

    Standard types: Epic (large feature), Story (user-facing functionality), Task (non-user-facing work), Bug (defect), Sub-task (breakdown o…

  5. What is the difference between Priority and Severity in JIRA bug reports?Junior

    Severity describes how badly the bug impacts the system (technical impact). Priority describes how urgently it needs to be fixed (busines…

  6. What is JQL and what are the most useful queries for a QA engineer?Junior

    JQL (JIRA Query Language) is a structured query language for filtering issues. It uses field operators and values: project = X AND issuet…

  7. How do you link issues in JIRA, and what link types does QA use most?Junior

    JIRA's Link feature connects related issues with typed relationships. QA most commonly uses 'is caused by' / 'found in', 'duplicates', 'b…

  8. What is the difference between a Sprint (Scrum) board and a Kanban board in JIRA?Junior

    Sprint boards are for time-boxed Scrum sprints — work is planned into a fixed iteration with a defined end date and sprint goal. Kanban b…

  9. How do you use JIRA filters and dashboards to track QA metrics?Mid

    Filters are saved JQL queries. Dashboards compose gadgets (visual widgets) that display filter results — bug counts, burndown charts, spr…

  10. What is the difference between Labels, Components, and Fix Version in JIRA, and how should QA use each?Mid

    Components are structured project areas (Checkout, Auth, API) managed by admins. Labels are free-form tags anyone can add. Fix Version re…

  11. What is a JIRA workflow and how might a QA engineer need to customise it?Mid

    A JIRA workflow defines the statuses an issue can move through and the transitions between them. QA engineers advocate for adding QA-spec…

  12. What is Xray for JIRA and how does it integrate test management into the issue tracker?Mid

    Xray is a test-management plugin for JIRA that adds Test, Test Set, Test Plan, and Test Execution issue types. It links test cases to sto…

  13. What is Zephyr for JIRA, and how does it differ from Xray?Mid

    Zephyr Squad (for JIRA Cloud/Server) adds Test and Test Cycle issue types inside JIRA, similar to Xray. Key differences: Zephyr uses Cycl…

  14. What are JIRA automation rules and how can a QA engineer use them to reduce manual overhead?Mid

    JIRA Automation (formerly Automation for JIRA) lets you create trigger-condition-action rules without code. QA uses them to auto-transiti…

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