15-Day Interview Prep Time-Table (Working Professional Edition)¶
Built for an SDET who's working full-time at Questt. Assumes 2-3 hours on weekdays (early morning or evening) and 5-6 hours on weekends. Total ≈ 50 hours over 15 days. No cramming — spaced repetition + active recall + 4 mock interviews.
The honest priority tiering¶
Not everything in the 15 files deserves equal time. This plan tiers them:
| Tier | What | Why |
|---|---|---|
| T1 — Must master | Files 14 (your projects), 15 (SDET-specific), 11 (model answers), 6 (Playwright) | These are what interviewers actually drill |
| T2 — Strong working knowledge | Files 9 (API/REST), 5 (Selenium), 8 (AI), 7 (VAPT) | Domain expertise — your differentiation |
| T3 — Refresh + recall | Files 2 (CS), 4 (Manual/SDLC), 12 (Programming basics) | Foundational — asked but rarely deep |
| T4 — Selective | Files 1 (DSA — common patterns only), 13 (Deep-dive — your weak spots) | High-value subset, not all of it |
| T5 — Reference | Files 3 (Mock guide), 10 (45 Qs) | Use as lookup, don't sit and read |
The 15-day map at a glance¶
| Day | Focus | Hours | Mock? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Sun) | Kickoff + own projects (file 14) | 6h | — |
| 2 (Mon) | Playwright deep (file 6 + 15 PART 3) | 3h | — |
| 3 (Tue) | API + REST Assured (file 9 + 15 PART 4) | 3h | — |
| 4 (Wed) | Selenium (file 5 + 15 PART 5) | 3h | — |
| 5 (Thu) | Pytest + TestNG (15 PART 1 + 2) | 3h | — |
| 6 (Fri) | Model answers + behavioral (file 11) | 2h | — |
| 7 (Sat) | AI testing (file 8) + Mock #1 | 6h | ✅ Mock #1 |
| 8 (Sun) | Performance + Security + VAPT (file 7) | 5h | — |
| 9 (Mon) | Programming basics (file 12 — refresh) | 3h | — |
| 10 (Tue) | Programming deep-dive — weak spots (file 13) | 3h | — |
| 11 (Wed) | CS fundamentals + Manual/STLC (files 2, 4) | 3h | — |
| 12 (Thu) | DSA patterns — common 20 (file 1 subset) | 3h | — |
| 13 (Fri) | Project pitch rehearsal + 45 Qs scan (file 10) | 2h | ✅ Mock #2 |
| 14 (Sat) | Full mock day + weak spot remediation | 6h | ✅ Mocks #3, #4 |
| 15 (Sun) | Light review + rest + mental prep | 3h | — |
Total: ~51 hours, 4 mocks, 1 rest-light day.
THE DAILY BREAKDOWN¶
Format per day: time blocks → deliverables → end-of-day check. Deliverable = what you should be able to do (not just know) by end of day.
DAY 1 (Sunday) — Own Projects Mastery¶
Goal: Become bulletproof on your own work. This is the most-asked topic in every round.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 – 10:30 | Read | File 14 — chat-eval + FMCG sections (skim if you wrote them) |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Break | |
| 11:00 – 12:30 | Read | File 14 — hoad + Morrie sections |
| 12:30 – 14:00 | Lunch | |
| 14:00 – 15:30 | Read | File 14 — VAPT + B2BProjectTest sections |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Break | |
| 16:00 – 17:30 | Practice | Pick 3 projects. For each, rehearse "Walk me through this" out loud — 3 times. Time yourself: aim for 90 seconds. |
| 17:30 – 18:00 | Active recall | Write down (no peeking) the 6 active evaluators in chat-eval, the OTP flow in Morrie, the ThreadLocal pattern in B2BProjectTest |
Deliverable: You can deliver a 90-second walkthrough of any one of your 6 projects without notes. You can answer "what would you refactor?" for each.
DAY 2 (Monday — workday) — Playwright Deep¶
Goal: Defend Playwright at SDET-2 depth.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 – 7:30 | Morning | File 6 (Playwright Concepts) — read fully |
| 19:00 – 20:00 | Evening | File 15 PART 3 (Playwright fixtures + TS) |
| 20:00 – 20:30 | Practice | Out loud: "Why Playwright over Selenium?" + "Walk me through your Morrie framework." Aim for 90s each. |
| 20:30 – 21:00 | Active recall | Write the auto-wait checklist from memory. Write what pressSequentially does and why you used it. |
Deliverable: You can explain Browser → Context → Page, auto-wait mechanism, fixtures vs beforeEach, storageState pattern. You can defend why you chose pressSequentially in Morrie's globalSetup.
DAY 3 (Tuesday — workday) — API + REST Assured¶
Goal: API testing depth — your strongest area, polish it.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 – 7:30 | Morning | File 9 (API Testing + Rest Assured) — full read |
| 19:00 – 20:30 | Evening | File 15 PART 4 (RA deep dive) + PART 6 (HTTP clients) |
| 20:30 – 21:00 | Practice | Out loud: "How would you test a POST /users API?" (the 7-dimension answer from file 11 Q3). Recite the 12 HTTP status codes with meanings. |
Deliverable: You can structure a 7-dimension API test plan unprompted. You can explain RequestSpec, POJO body, schema validation, filters, why static RestAssured.baseURI is dangerous.
DAY 4 (Wednesday — workday) — Selenium¶
Goal: Selenium depth for Java-stack interviews + your B2BProjectTest defense.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 – 7:30 | Morning | File 5 (Selenium Concepts) — full read |
| 19:00 – 20:30 | Evening | File 15 PART 5 (Selenium patterns — waits, Actions, JS executor, CDP) |
| 20:30 – 21:00 | Practice | Out loud: "How does ThreadLocal driver enable parallel execution?" + "What's a StaleElementReferenceException?" + walk through Smoke_Testng.xml structure |
Deliverable: You can explain three wait types + when to use each, ThreadLocal driver pattern, the 7 most common Selenium exceptions, and CDP basics in Selenium 4.
DAY 5 (Thursday — workday) — Pytest + TestNG¶
Goal: Test-runner depth in both ecosystems.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 – 7:30 | Morning | File 15 PART 1 (Pytest deep dive — fixtures, parametrize, conftest) |
| 19:00 – 20:30 | Evening | File 15 PART 2 (TestNG deep dive — listeners, DataProvider, retry) |
| 20:30 – 21:00 | Practice | Write a yield fixture from memory. Write a TestNG IRetryAnalyzer from memory. |
Deliverable: You can explain pytest fixture scopes + yield pattern + conftest.py propagation. You can explain TestNG annotation order + the Listener pattern + how the Retry listener auto-applies RetryAnalyzer to every @Test.
DAY 6 (Friday — workday) — Model Answers + Behavioral¶
Goal: Rehearse the 15 hardest spoken answers. Friday = lighter day before weekend mocks.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 – 7:30 | Morning | File 11 — re-read your bug story (Q13) + dev conflict story (Q14) + advocate-for-quality (Q12). Personalize them with real Questt details. |
| 20:00 – 21:00 | Evening | Record yourself answering Q1 (Playwright walkthrough), Q5 (test AI chatbot), Q11 (self-healing). Listen back. Note: pace, filler words, clarity. |
Deliverable: You have three STAR stories ready (challenging bug, dev conflict, process improvement) with real Questt numbers + dates. Your "Tell me about yourself" is 60 seconds, smooth.
DAY 7 (Saturday — weekend) — AI Testing + Mock #1¶
Goal: AI testing depth (your 2026 differentiator) + first mock.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 – 11:00 | Read | File 8 (AI / LLM / Agentic Testing) — full read |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Break | |
| 11:30 – 13:00 | Map | Map every concept in file 8 to your chat-eval, FMCG, hoad, evaluate_sql.py. "Where did I use this?" |
| 13:00 – 14:30 | Lunch + rest | |
| 14:30 – 16:00 | Mock #1 | Topics: Playwright walkthrough, API test design, your chat-eval project. 90 min, recorded. |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Debrief | Note what stumbled. List 3 specific gaps. |
| 16:30 – 18:00 | Remediate | Re-read the sections related to your gaps. |
Deliverable: You can answer "How would you test an AI chatbot?" with 6 dimensions (golden dataset, LLM-judge, hallucination, adversarial, multi-turn, ops metrics) and ground each in a real example from chat-eval.
DAY 8 (Sunday — weekend) — Performance + Security + VAPT¶
Goal: Round out the test-types portfolio.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 – 10:30 | Read | File 7 — Performance section (JMeter, metrics, bottlenecks) |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Break | |
| 11:00 – 13:00 | Read | File 7 — Security/VAPT section (OWASP Top 10, attacks, defenses) |
| 13:00 – 14:30 | Lunch | |
| 14:30 – 16:00 | Map to your work | File 14 VAPT section — what you actually did with ZAP, Burp, Nmap, Nikto. Rehearse the IDOR finding story. |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Break | |
| 16:30 – 17:30 | Practice | Out loud: "Why is P95 better than average?" + "Walk me through OWASP Top 10 — pick 3 and how you test them." |
Deliverable: You can explain P50/P95/P99 + why averages mislead. You can walk through 3 OWASP items with real test approach. You can describe authenticated DAST setup in ZAP.
DAY 9 (Monday — workday) — Programming Basics Refresh¶
Goal: Knock the rust off Java/Python/JS basics.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 – 7:30 | Morning | File 12 — scan, focus on Mutable/Immutable, Strings, Collections comparison |
| 19:00 – 20:30 | Evening | File 12 — focus on OOP, Exceptions, Async, null/None/undefined section |
| 20:30 – 21:00 | Practice | Write the OOPS 4 pillars (A PIE) + give 1 example of each. Recite collections equivalence table (ArrayList = list = Array). |
Deliverable: You can hold a 5-min conversation comparing Java vs Python vs JS on any of: data types, OOP, collections, async, exceptions.
DAY 10 (Tuesday — workday) — Deep Dive (Weak Spots Only)¶
Goal: Hit the 4-5 topics from file 13 you're shakiest on. Don't read the whole file — select.
Self-assessment first (10 min): Skim file 13's drill questions at the end. Mark the ones you can't answer confidently. That's your target list.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 – 7:30 | Morning | File 13 — your weakest 2-3 Java topics |
| 19:00 – 20:30 | Evening | File 13 — your weakest 2-3 Python or JS topics |
| 20:30 – 21:00 | Practice | For each weak topic — write the 3-sentence explanation + 5-line code from memory. |
Likely weak spots for you (based on memory): - Java: HashMap internals, Generics type erasure - Python: GIL, Decorators with arguments - JS: Event loop microtask vs macrotask, Prototypes
Deliverable: Your weak-spot list shrinks from ~5 topics to ~1-2. Those 1-2, you accept as gaps and flag honestly if asked.
DAY 11 (Wednesday — workday) — CS Fundamentals + Manual/STLC¶
Goal: Refresh — these are usually warm-up questions, but the wrong answer breaks rapport.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 – 7:30 | Morning | File 2 (CS Fundamentals) — OOPS, OS pages |
| 19:00 – 20:00 | Evening | File 2 — DBMS + SQL queries section |
| 20:00 – 21:00 | Evening | File 4 (Manual Testing + SDLC + STLC) — full skim, focus on Smoke vs Sanity, Severity vs Priority, Agile ceremonies |
Deliverable: You can write the 2nd-highest-salary SQL from memory (DENSE_RANK version). You can do a 60-second Smoke vs Sanity explanation. You can name all 5 Scrum ceremonies + 3 artifacts.
DAY 12 (Thursday — workday) — DSA Common Patterns¶
Goal: Refresh the 20 most-asked patterns. Don't try to cover 56 — you don't have time and SDET interviews rarely go past medium.
Target the 20 patterns most likely asked of SDETs:
- Two Pointers (P1)
- Sliding Window — fixed + variable (P2, P3)
- Prefix Sum (P4)
- Kadane (P5)
- Merge Intervals (P7)
- Two Sum hashmap (P12)
- Subarray Sum = K (P13)
- Longest Consecutive Sequence (P14)
- Fast & Slow Pointer (P16)
- Reverse Linked List (P17)
- Merge Two Sorted Lists (P18)
- Valid Parentheses (P22)
- BFS Level Order (P27)
- Top K Heap (P33)
- Subsets (P37)
- Fibonacci DP (P41)
- Coin Change (P45)
- BFS Graph (P47)
- Number of Islands (P52)
- Binary Search variants (P55, P56)
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 – 7:30 | Morning | Patterns 1-10 (the 10 most common) — read + code one example from memory |
| 19:00 – 20:30 | Evening | Patterns 11-20 — same drill |
| 20:30 – 21:00 | Practice | LeetCode easy/medium on 2 random patterns. Don't perfect — recognize the pattern fast. |
Deliverable: You can recognize the pattern within 30 seconds of reading a problem. You can write the skeleton code for any of the 20 from memory.
DAY 13 (Friday — workday) — Project Pitch + 45-Q Scan + Mock #2¶
Goal: Polish + breadth check.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 – 7:30 | Morning | File 10 (45 Real Interview Questions) — scan, flag any question you can't answer in 60 seconds. List them. |
| 19:00 – 20:00 | Evening | Mock #2 — 60 min, ask a friend (or self-record) to drill you on the flagged questions from morning |
| 20:00 – 21:00 | Debrief | Note gaps. Re-read related sections in the source files. |
Deliverable: Out of 45 questions, you can answer 40+ confidently. The remaining 5 you have a "here's how I'd think about it" frame for.
DAY 14 (Saturday — weekend) — Full Mock Day + Remediation¶
Goal: Two end-to-end mocks back-to-back, with debriefs. This is the most valuable day.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 – 10:30 | Mock #3 | Technical round simulation (Playwright/API/coding). 90 min, with a peer or use Pramp/Interviewing.io. |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Debrief + remediate | What stumbled? Read source sections. |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Practice | Out loud: re-deliver the stumbled answers, smoother |
| 12:30 – 14:00 | Lunch | |
| 14:00 – 15:30 | Mock #4 | Behavioral + project deep dive. 90 min. Have someone drill you on file 14 questions. |
| 15:30 – 16:30 | Debrief | Note final gaps. |
| 16:30 – 18:00 | Remediation | Last-pass on file 11 model answers — make sure each one flows. |
Deliverable: You've done 4 mocks total. You know your top 3 gaps. You've answered the same hard questions multiple times under simulated pressure.
DAY 15 (Sunday) — Light Review + Rest¶
Goal: Don't cram. Stabilize. Mental prep.
| Time | Block | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Skim | File 11 (15 model answers) — read them like a story, not study |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Skim | File 14 — your project section. Refresh memorable lines. |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Practice | "Tell me about yourself" — 5 times out loud, smooth pace |
| 13:00 – 18:00 | Rest | Walk, gym, family, no screens. Sleep early. |
| 19:00 – 19:30 | Final pass | Open the travel PDF. Skim. Close. Done. |
Deliverable: You feel calm, prepared, slept. You don't open a single file the night before the interview.
DAILY ROUTINE (recurring across all 15 days)¶
Morning anchor (10 min before main study)¶
- 2-min stretch / coffee
- Open today's plan + previous day's "gap notes"
- State today's deliverable out loud
- Start the 1st time block
Evening anchor (10 min after main study)¶
- Note: what 1 thing was new today?
- Note: what 1 thing am I still shaky on?
- Bed by 11:00 PM (sleep is recall consolidation)
Active recall protocol (use this for every topic)¶
- Read (20% of time)
- Write from memory (40%) — close the file, write the explanation in your own words
- Speak out loud (40%) — say the answer as if to an interviewer
- Don't skip steps 2-3. Reading alone has near-zero retention after a week.
WEEKEND DEEP-WORK ENVIRONMENT TIPS¶
- Phone in another room during 90-min blocks. Notifications kill flow.
- One topic per block. Switching languages mid-block kills retention.
- 45/15 rhythm for weekend blocks: 45 min focused + 15 min break.
- Walk during breaks — physical movement consolidates memory.
- No Slack/email during prep blocks unless on call.
WEEKDAY WORK-COMPATIBLE TIPS¶
- Morning block (6:30-7:30) — read + active recall. Brain fresh.
- Evening block (19:00-20:30) — practice out loud + drill. Brain tired but speaking forces engagement.
- Lunch microwhich — 15 min scan of file 10 (45 Qs) on your phone. Quick re-exposure.
- Commute — listen to your own recorded answers from previous practice.
MOCK INTERVIEW PLAN (4 mocks total)¶
| Mock | When | Format | Topics | Who to ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Day 7 (Sat) | 90 min, recorded | Playwright + API + chat-eval project | Pramp / Interviewing.io / dev friend |
| #2 | Day 13 (Fri) | 60 min | Whatever you flagged from file 10 scan | Peer SDET |
| #3 | Day 14 (Sat AM) | 90 min | Technical (coding + framework) | Pramp / paid mock service |
| #4 | Day 14 (Sat PM) | 90 min | Behavioral + project deep dive | QA friend or manager-type |
Pre-mock prep (10 min): open file 3 (Mock Interview Guide) — URPO framework refresher. Post-mock (20 min): write 3 stumbled questions + source files to revisit.
WHAT TO TRACK (one-line daily journal)¶
Maintain a prep_journal.md (or just a notes app):
Day 1 (Sun May 31)
- Covered: file 14 — all 6 projects
- Practiced: chat-eval walkthrough x3, B2BProjectTest x2
- Gap: forgot the 60/40 BKG-judge weighting in evaluate_sql
- Tomorrow: Playwright deep, focus on fixtures (often asked)
This 4-line nightly habit: - Reinforces today's recall - Surfaces gaps before they compound - Gives you energy ("I've covered a lot already")
DAILY CHECKLIST TEMPLATE¶
Print this or keep in Notes for daily use:
[ ] Morning block done (1 hour) — topic: _______
[ ] Evening block done (1-2 hours) — topic: _______
[ ] Practiced out loud (≥ 1 answer) — answer: _______
[ ] Active recall (wrote ≥ 1 thing from memory)
[ ] Updated journal (3 lines)
[ ] In bed by 11 PM
IF YOU FALL BEHIND (you will, that's fine)¶
Don't try to make up missed days. Instead: 1. Skip the tier you're weakest at completing (usually T4: deep-dive selective topics) 2. Protect mocks at all costs — they're the highest-value sessions 3. Drop weekday morning blocks before dropping weekend deep work 4. Trim DSA day (Day 12) to top 10 patterns instead of 20 if needed
The ranked must-haves if you only have 7 days left: 1. Day 1 equivalent — Own projects (file 14) 2. Playwright + API (file 6 + 9 + 15 PART 3, 4) 3. Pytest/TestNG (15 PART 1, 2) 4. AI testing (file 8) 5. Behavioral stories (file 11 Q12, 13, 14) 6. One mock 7. Light review + rest
AFTER DAY 15 — SUSTAINING MOMENTUM¶
If you don't land the interview immediately:
Weekly ritual (2-3 hours): - Re-read your prep journal — notice patterns in your gaps - One mock interview per week with peer - Pick one technical topic per week to go deeper (alternate Java / Python / JS) - Stay current on AI testing (one new tool/concept per month — Promptfoo updates, LangSmith features)
Monthly ritual: - Re-deliver "Tell me about yourself" — see if your project narrative needs updating - Add new STAR stories from current work - Update file 14 with any new projects
FINAL WORD¶
This plan is a starting frame, not a contract. Adjust to your actual energy and schedule. A 15-day plan where you finish 80% well is better than a 15-day plan where you exhaust yourself and burn out on Day 10.
The two most important hours of the entire 15 days are: - Day 7's Mock #1 — sets the floor for what you need to improve - Day 14's Mock #4 — proves to yourself you're ready
Everything else is preparation for those two hours.
Good luck — and remember: you have 6 years of real production experience. This plan polishes that experience; it doesn't create it from scratch. You already have what they're looking for.