900+ Associate Consultant Interview Questions and Answers

Calculate the total number of handshakes between 2 cricket teams with 11 players each.

• Use the formula n(n-1)/2 to calculate the number of handshakes for each team.

• Multiply the result by the number of players in the other team.

• Add the two results together to get the total number of handshakes.

Minimum number of attempts to find the lighter ball is ceil(log2(N)) and maximum number of attempts is 3.

• Minimum attempts: ceil(log2(N))

• Maximum attempts: 3

• Condition for maximum attempts: N must be greater than or equal to 9

Assess the situation, try to find the missing data, and if not possible, inform the client and senior management.

• Check if the missing data can be retrieved from any other source or system

• If not, assess the impact of missing data on the project and client's requirements

• If the impact is significant, inform the client and senior management immediately

• If the impact is minimal, complete the project with available data and inform the client about the missing data

• Document the incide...read more

I have experience using JIRA and HP ALM for test management and defect tracking.

• I have used JIRA extensively for managing test cases, test plans, and tracking defects.

• I have also worked with HP ALM for test management and defect tracking.

• Both tools have robust reporting capabilities that allow for easy tracking of project progress and defect resolution.

• In addition, I have experience integrating these tools with other software development tools such as Jenkins and Git for cont...read more

The task is to find the third largest element in an array of distinct integers.

• Read the number of test cases 'T'

• For each test case, read the number of elements 'N' and the array 'ARR'

• Sort the array in descending order

• Return the element at index 2 as the third largest element

Including all header files in Java code may increase space complexity but not affect speed if unused methods are not called.

• Including all header files in Java code may increase the size of the compiled program, but it will not affect the speed of the program if unused methods are not called.

• Unused methods will not be loaded into memory, so they will not affect the program's performance.

• However, including unnecessary header files can make the code harder to read and maintain.

• I...read more

AWS services, S3 storage types, troubleshooting web server, DNS hosting, static hosting, IAM policies, load balancers, NAT gateway

• Used EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, CloudFront, etc.

• S3 storage types: Standard, Infrequent Access, Glacier

• Check server logs, network connectivity, security groups, etc.

• DNS hosting can be achieved using Route 53

• Static hosting is used to host static websites using S3 and CloudFront

• Roles define permissions for AWS resources, service rules define access to spec...read more

The question asks to implement an AVL_TREE from scratch and insert given values into it.

• AVL_TREE is a self-balancing binary search tree

• The height difference between left and right subtrees of all nodes should not be more than one

• Implement the AVL_TREE data structure and insertion algorithm

• Return the root of the AVL_TREE after inserting all the nodes

To manage Tata's businesses, Mistry should conduct a thorough analysis of each business unit's performance and potential, identify areas for improvement, and develop a strategic plan.

• Conduct a SWOT analysis of each business unit

• Identify areas for improvement and develop a strategic plan

• Consider market trends and competition

• Evaluate the financial performance of each business unit

• Assess the potential for growth and expansion

• Consider mergers and acquisitions as a means of enteri...read more

11 players in a cricket team shake hands with each other once. Find the total number of handshakes.

• Each player shakes hands with 10 other players.

• Total number of handshakes = 11C2 = 55

• Formula for nC2 = n*(n-1)/2

Program to remove duplicate elements from String and count their occurrences.

• Create a HashSet to store unique characters from the String.

• Iterate through the String and add each character to the HashSet.

• While adding, check if the character already exists in the HashSet and increment its count.

• Print the count of each character that has duplicates.

• Return the modified String with duplicates removed.

The right key is the switch that is turned on.

• The bulb will only turn on if the switch that controls it is turned on.

• Since you can only enter the room once, you need to determine which switch is turned on without entering the room.

• You can try each switch one by one and observe if the bulb turns on or not.

Jenkins is a popular CI/CD tool with various job types, access control, build triggers, and master-slave architecture.

• Job types: Freestyle project, Pipeline project

• Access control: Role-based Authorization Strategy plugin

• Jenkins is written in Java

• Build triggers: Manual, Scheduled, SCM, Remote Trigger, etc.

• Build failure: Email notification, Console output, Build log

• Master-slave: Distributes workload across multiple nodes for faster builds

Ansible is called agentless because it does not require any agent to be installed on the target host.

• Ansible uses SSH to connect to the target host and execute commands remotely.

• The command to run an ansible-playbook is 'ansible-playbook '.

• Variables in Ansible are used to store values that can be used across multiple tasks and playbooks.

• Roles in Ansible are a way to organize tasks, handlers, and variables into reusable units.

• Ansible maintains inventory data in the inventory f...read more

It is not possible to calculate the number of white cars sold in Mumbai every year without the help of internet.

• Without internet, it is impossible to access the necessary data and statistics.

• The number of white cars sold in Mumbai can vary greatly from year to year.

• Data on car sales is typically collected and analyzed using online platforms and databases.

• Without internet, it is difficult to gather information from car dealerships, manufacturers, and government agencies.

• Estima...read more

Questions related to SAP SD implementation and processes.

• Pricing procedure is determined based on condition technique and can be customized as per business requirements.

• ASAP methodology involves various phases like project preparation, business blueprint, realization, final preparation, and go-live and support.

• GAPS during implementation project can arise due to differences between business requirements and system capabilities.

• Condition technique involves defining access seque...read more

Agile fundamentals are a set of principles and values that prioritize flexibility, collaboration, and continuous improvement in software development. Waterfall model is a traditional linear approach to software development.

• Agile emphasizes iterative development and customer collaboration

• Agile values individuals and interactions over processes and tools

• Agile promotes responding to change over following a plan

• Waterfall model follows a sequential approach to software development...read more

Command for CPU usage in Linux, checking free memory in GB, and creating NFS.

• Command for CPU usage: top or htop

• Checking free memory in GB: free -g

• Creating NFS: install nfs-utils, configure /etc/exports, start nfs-server and nfs-lock services

• Linux used not specified

I have experience in functional, regression, integration, and acceptance testing. On average, I write 20-30 test cases per day.

• Functional testing to ensure the software meets the requirements

• Regression testing to ensure new changes do not break existing functionality

• Integration testing to ensure different components work together

• Acceptance testing to ensure the software meets the user's needs

• On average, I write 20-30 test cases per day

• Examples include testing a new feature on...read more

Toothpaste company facing revenue and margin decline. What to do?

• Conduct market research to identify reasons for decline

• Analyze competitors' strategies and pricing

• Revamp marketing and advertising campaigns

• Introduce new product variants or improve existing ones

• Consider cost-cutting measures to improve margins

• Explore new distribution channels

• Collaborate with dentists or dental clinics for endorsements

• Offer promotions or discounts to attract customers

• Invest in digital marketing ...read more

To prioritize international markets for a leading cement manufacturing firm in India, a plan of action can be formulated based on market research and analysis.

• Conduct market research to identify potential markets based on factors such as demand, competition, and regulatory environment

• Analyze the economic and political stability of each potential market

• Consider the logistics and transportation costs of exporting cement to each market

• Evaluate the cultural and language barriers ...read more

Marker interface is an interface with no methods. It is used to mark a class for special treatment.

• Marker interface is used to provide metadata to the JVM.

• It is used to indicate that a class has some special behavior or characteristics.

• Example: Serializable interface in Java.

• Marker interfaces are used for reflection and serialization.

• They are also used in frameworks like Spring and Hibernate.

• Marker interfaces are also known as tagging interfaces.

• They are used to group classes...read more

A program to capitalize the first letter of each word in a sentence.

• Split the sentence into words

• Loop through each word and capitalize the first letter

• Join the words back into a sentence

Explanation of Dockerfile, Docker Compose, and differences between them and Kubernetes.

• Dockerfile is a script that contains instructions to build a Docker image.

• Fields in Dockerfile include FROM, RUN, COPY, ADD, CMD, and more.

• Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications.

• Docker Compose uses a YAML file to define services, networks, and volumes.

• Kubernetes is a container orchestration platform that automates deployment, scaling, and manag...read more

The client's gear manufacturing business has expanded from 1000 cr to 4000 cr, but profitability has dropped from 10% to 5%. Find out why.

• Possible increase in production costs

• Increased competition leading to lower prices

• Investment in new technology or equipment

• Changes in market demand or consumer preferences

• Inefficient management or operations

• Economic factors such as inflation or recession

ERP is an enterprise resource planning system that integrates business processes and data into a single system.

• ERP helps organizations streamline their operations and improve efficiency

• It provides a centralized database for all business processes

• ERP can automate tasks such as accounting, inventory management, and human resources

• Examples of ERP systems include SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics

The probability that two friends will meet at a bar between midnight and 1 am, given that each arrives randomly and waits 10 minutes for the other person before leaving.

• Assume a continuous uniform distribution for the arrival time of each friend.

• The probability of meeting is the area of overlap between the arrival time distributions.

• Calculate the probability using geometric probability or integration.

• The probability can be calculated as 1 minus the probability of not meeting.

A significant number of IIT K students work in non-core sectors. It may not be a problem for society as they contribute to the economy.

• Around 50% of IIT K graduates work in non-core sectors such as consulting, finance, and IT.

• These sectors contribute significantly to the economy and provide employment opportunities.

• Many students also pursue higher education or entrepreneurship, which can also benefit society.

• It is important to have a diverse range of career paths for engineer...read more

Terraform variables can be of different types. Terraform resource is a declarative representation of infrastructure.

• Terraform variables can be of type string, number, bool, list, map, object, set.

• Terraform resource is a block of code that defines a piece of infrastructure.

• Examples of resources are AWS EC2 instance, Azure Virtual Machine, Google Cloud Storage bucket.

• Yes, I have used Terraform in my project.

Remove strings from an array whose length is less than 3.

• Loop through the array and check the length of each string.

• If the length is less than 3, remove that string from the array.

• Use a for loop or filter method to remove the strings.

• Example: ['cat', 'dog', 'bird', 'elephant'] -> ['cat', 'dog', 'bird', 'elephant']

• Example: ['a', 'to', 'the', 'in'] -> ['the', 'in']

Develop an algorithm to minimize transactions in a group of 5 for an app like Splitwise.

• Create a matrix to represent the debts between individuals

• Find the maximum and minimum debts in the matrix

• Settle the maximum debt by transferring money from the debtor to the creditor

• Repeat the process until all debts are settled or minimized

Lists are used for small collections, linked lists for large or frequently modified collections.

• Use lists for small collections that don't require frequent modifications.

• Use linked lists for large collections or collections that require frequent modifications.

• Linked lists are better for inserting or deleting elements in the middle of the collection.

• Lists are better for accessing elements by index.

• Example: Use a list to store a small list of names, use a linked list to impleme...read more

It is not possible to accurately determine the number of Reynolds pens sold in Gurgaon every year without specific sales data.

• The sales data of Reynolds pens in Gurgaon is not publicly available.

• The number of Reynolds pens sold can vary each year due to factors such as market demand and competition.

• To determine the exact number, one would need access to sales records or conduct a market research study.

• Without specific data, it is only possible to make an estimate or provide a...read more

Fetch data from two tables with a common column without using WHERE keyword.

• Use JOIN keyword to combine the two tables based on the common column.

• Specify the common column in the ON clause of the JOIN statement.

• This will retrieve all the rows where the common column values match in both tables.

Microcontroller is a self-contained system with memory, peripherals and processor, while microprocessor only has a processor.

• Microcontroller has on-chip memory and peripherals, while microprocessor requires external memory and peripherals.

• Microcontroller is used in embedded systems, while microprocessor is used in general-purpose computing.

• Examples of microcontrollers include Arduino, PIC, and AVR, while examples of microprocessors include Intel Pentium, AMD Ryzen, and ARM Co...read more

Firewalls are network security devices that monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic. UTM firewalls provide additional security features such as antivirus, intrusion prevention, and content filtering. Stateless inspection examines each packet individually, while stateful inspection tracks the state of connections between packets.

• Firewalls monitor and control network traffic

• UTM firewalls provide additional security features

• Stateless inspection examines each pa...read more

OSPF traffic manipulation and linking indirectly connected areas to backbone area using LSAs.

• OSPF traffic can be manipulated using various methods such as adjusting the cost metric or using route redistribution.

• To link indirectly connected areas to the backbone area, a virtual link can be created through a transit area.

• OSPF LSAs (Link State Advertisements) are packets that contain information about the network topology and are used by OSPF routers to build a complete map of t...read more

Program to separate even and odd numbers using Java 8.

• Use Java 8 Stream API to filter even and odd numbers

• Create two separate lists for even and odd numbers

• Use lambda expressions to filter the numbers

• Example: List evenNumbers = numbers.stream().filter(n -> n % 2 == 0).collect(Collectors.toList());

• Example: List oddNumbers = numbers.stream().filter(n -> n % 2 != 0).collect(Collectors.toList());

Sensitive information can be removed from serializable interface by implementing custom serialization.

• Create a custom serialization method that excludes sensitive information.

• Use the transient keyword to mark sensitive fields as non-serializable.

• Consider using encryption or hashing to protect sensitive data.

• Test serialization and deserialization to ensure sensitive information is not included.

• Examples: exclude passwords, credit card numbers, and personal identification inform...read more

The best sorting algorithm depends on the specific use case and the characteristics of the data.

• The best sorting algorithm for small arrays is often insertion sort due to its simplicity and efficiency.

• For larger arrays, merge sort or quicksort are commonly used due to their average-case time complexity of O(n log n).

• If the data is nearly sorted, algorithms like bubble sort or insertion sort can perform well.

• If the data contains many duplicate elements, counting sort or radix ...read more

Yes, an array can have elements of different data types.

• An array can have elements of different data types, but it's not recommended.

• It can make the code harder to read and maintain.

• For example, an array can have both strings and numbers: ['apple', 5, 'banana']

I cannot give a star rating without knowing the specific context or criteria being evaluated.

• I would need more information about what is being rated to give an accurate star rating.

• It would be helpful to know the specific criteria or standards being used to evaluate the subject.

• Without context, a star rating would be arbitrary and meaningless.

• For example, if we are discussing a restaurant, I would need to know about the quality of the food, service, atmosphere, etc. before gi...read more

The correct SQL query to select the top 5 numbers from the given data is 'SELECT TOP 5 number FROM table_name ORDER BY number DESC'.

• Use the 'SELECT' statement to specify the columns you want to retrieve.

• Use the 'TOP' keyword followed by the number of rows you want to select.

• Specify the column name in the 'ORDER BY' clause to sort the data in descending order.

Financial modelling is the process of creating a mathematical representation of a financial situation or decision.

• It involves using various financial tools and techniques to analyze and forecast financial performance.

• It helps in making informed decisions about investments, budgeting, and financial planning.

• Examples include creating a cash flow statement, calculating return on investment, and building a financial model for a new business venture.

The estimated number of affordable homes needed in Andhra Pradesh according to the new government project.

• Analyze the current housing situation in Andhra Pradesh

• Consider the population growth rate and demographic trends

• Assess the income levels and affordability of the target population

• Evaluate the government's budget and resources for the project

• Collaborate with local stakeholders and experts for insights and recommendations