Oracle DBA Course contents

DAY 1 – Architecture & Configuration

1-1: Overview of Oracle DBA tasks

• Oracle as a flexible, complex & robust RDBMS
• The evolution of hardware and the relation to Oracle
• Different DBA job roles (VP of DBA, developer DBA, production DBA, database babysitter)
• The changing job role of the Oracle DBA
• Environment management (network, CPU, disk and RAM)
• Instance management (managing SGA regions)
• Oracle table and index management

1-2: Instance Architecture

• Instance vs. database
• Components of an instance
• Creating the OFA file structure ($DBA, bdump, udump, pfile)

1-3: Oracle Instance Internals

• SGA vs. PGA
• Background processes
• Interfaces with server and disk I/O subsystem

1-4: Using SQL*Plus for DBA management

• Connecting and executing SQL
• Using the “as sysdba” syntax
• Overview of SQL*Plus DBA commands (startup, etc.)

1-5: Control file, UNDO and REDO management

• Explaining the use of control files
• Listing the Contents of the control File
• File locations for control Files
• Obtaining Control File Information
• Listing control file contents
• Displaying and Creating Undo segments
• Altering Undo Segments
• Determining the Number and Size of Undo segments
• Understanding flashback technology
• Troubleshooting Undo – snapshot too old
• Redo log concepts for recovery
• Online redo log (log_buffer) online redo logs and archived redo logs
• Oracle ARCH and LGWR background processes
• Redo log dictionary queries
• Redo log switch frequency and performance
• Multiplexing the Online Redo Log Files
• Archiving the Oracle Redo Logs
• Recovery using the redo log files

1-6: User and privilege management

• The three security methods (VPD, Grant security/role-based security, grant execute)
• Creating New Database Users
• Using pre-spawned Oracle connections
• Auditing User activity
• Identifying System and Object Privileges
• Granting and Revoking Privileges
• Creating and Modifying Roles
• Displaying user security Information from the Data Dictionary


DAY 2 –Oracle database management

2-1: Overview of instance management

• Parameter files (init.ora, listener.ora, tnsnames.ora)
• Rules for sizing SGA components
• Automated Oracle memory management (AMM)

2-2: Initialization file management

• Creating the init.ora file
• Using spfile
• Displaying init.ora values with v$parameter

2-3: Oracle*Net configuration

• Creating the listener.ora file
• Creating the tnsnames.ora file


2-4: Data buffer configuration & sizing

• Inside the Oracle data buffers
• Using the KEEP pool
• Monitoring buffer effectiveness
• Using multiple blocksizes (multiple buffer pools)
2-5: Shared pool and PGA configuration & Sizing

• Shared pool concepts and components
• Understanding the library cache
• Relieving shared pool contention
• Overview of PGA for sorting and hash joins
• Using sort_area_size, hash_area_size and pga_aggregate_target
2-6: Troubleshooting network connectivity

• Verifying network connectivity with ping and tnsping
• Testing database links


Day 3 – Oracle object management

3-1: Oracle tables, views and materialized views

• Types of Oracle tables (regular, IOT, sorted hash clusters, nested tables)
• Oracle Views
• Oracle materialized views

3-2: Oracle indexes

• Types of Oracle indexes (b-tree, bitmap, bitmap join index)
• Creating B*-Tree, bitmap and function-based Indexes
• Function-based indexes
• Finding indexing opportunities
• Index maintenance

3-3: Oracle constraints

• Costs & benefits of constraints
• Types of Oracle indexes constraints (check, not null, unique, PK, FK)
• Cascading constraints

3-4: Schema, File & tablespace management

• Describing the relationship between data files, tablespaces and table
• Understanding Oracle segments
• Creating Tablespaces – using the autoextend option
• Changing the Size of Tablespaces – alter database datafile command
• Defining a TEMP tablespace
• Changing the default storage Settings for a tablespace
• Review of the storage parameters in DBA views (ASM, ASSM, pctfree, pctused and freelists).
• Monitoring Chained rows (fetch continued rows)
• Monitoring Insert and Update performance (pctused, APPEND)


3-5: Database Maintenance

• Reason for reorgs – chained rows, imbalanced freelists
• Reorganizing Tables using Export and Import
• Using CTAS to reorganize data
• Index rebuilding
• Backup & Recovery overview (hot & cold Backups, RMAN, block change tracking)


3-6: Oracle DBA Utilities

• Data pump (Imp and exp utilities)
• SQL*Loader
• LogMiner
• Flashback
• DataGuard
• Oracle DBA utilities – Oracle dbms packages (dbms_redefinition)
• Replication (Streams, multimaster, materialized views)



DAY 4 – Monitoring Oracle

This section explores the methods used for monitoring all active components of the Oracle database.

4-1: Dictionary and v$ views

• The dba_, all_ and user_ structures
• Querying the tables, indexes, and segments views
• Querying the AWR (STATSPACK) tables

4-2: Table & index monitoring

• Monitoring table extents and fragmentation
• Using the dba_tables and dba_segments views
• Monitoring table CBO statistics
• Monitoring table extents and fragmentation
• Locating chained rows
• Monitoring table & index growth
• Monitoring index usage
• Monitoring index fragmentation
• Locating un-used indexes
• Identifying IOT candidates
• Reorganizing Indexes with alter index rebuild
• Dropping Indexes
• Getting Index Information from the Data Dictionary

4-3: workload & trend monitoring

• Oracle automated workload tools
• Using v$bh to monitor buffer activity
• Using v$sql and v$sql_plan

4-4: Instance monitoring

• Monitoring with the AWR and STATSPACK
• Creating a time-series performance report
• Using www.statspackanalyzer.com
• Scripts for AWR and STATSPACK
• Plotting performance data (Ion, Excel)
• Finding performance trends and signatures

4-5: Oracle environment monitoring

• Displaying and managing Oracle sessions (v$session, v$process)
• Using AWR to monitor disk, network and CPU consumption
• Monitoring the alert log
• Oracle trace/dump files


4-6: STATSPACK and AWR performance management

• Installing STATSPACK
• Running STATSPACK reports
• Interpreting a STATSPACK report
• Getting time series reports with STATSPACK
• Finding performance signatures with STATSPACK



DAY 5 – Performance Management

This section explores the methods used for performance management in Oracle and shows tips and scripts for monitoring all components of any Oracle database. You will also learn the proper action to take when any area of Oracle becomes a bottleneck.

5-1: Bottleneck performance analysis

• Drill-down into AWR reports
• Top-5 timed events
• External Server Bottlenecks (Network, I/O, RAM, CPU)
• Network troubleshooting

5-2: Instance Tuning

• Changing init.ora optimizer parameters (index_optimizer_cost_adj, optimizer_mode)
• Managing region parameters (shared_pool_size, db_cache_size)
• Understanding instance contention (e.g. Buffer busy waits, library cache contention)


5-3: SQL and CBO behavior

• Introduction to cost-based optimization
• Changing the default optimizer modes
• Optimizer parameters
• Dynamic sampling
• Collecting table and index statistics (dbms_stats)
• Using column histograms and skewonly

5-4: Tracing SQL Execution

• Using EXPLAIN PLAN
• Using “set autotrace”
• Interpreting EXPLAIN PLAN Output
• Using TKPROF / SQL*Trace

5-5: SQL Execution Internals

• Review of Basic joining methods
• Merge join
• Hash Join
• Nested Loop join
• Advanced SQL operators
• Between operator
5-6: SQL Tuning

• Using hints to improve SQL performance
• Using parallel query to improve performance
• SQL reusability within the library cache
• Table high-water mark
• Table striping and table partitions
• Using indexes to improve performance
• Identifying full-table scans
• Re-writing SQL queries
• Tuning sub-queries

6-1: Oracle High Availability tools

• Continuous availability and disaster recovery
• Quantifying the cost of unplanned downtime
• Oracle multi-master replication
• DataGuard
• Oracle Streams
• Real Application Clusters

6-2: Backup & Recovery

• OS-level backups
• Hardware-level backup & recovery
• Block-level change tracking
• Disk mirroring
• Backup & recovery and RAID level
• Oracle-level backups (expdp & RMAN)
• Hot vs. Cold backups

Windows Perfmon: The Top Ten Counters

One of the things I love about Windows is Performance Monitor a/k/a PerfMon. It's an amazing tool that goes far too often unused - and when it does get used, it is often misinterpreted. So today I'm going to take you on the nickel tour through PerfMon, and the ten counters most valuable to determining overall system health and activity.

To open PerfMon, just go to the Start Menu, choose Run and type perfmon.

Bottleneck analysis

The most common use of PerfMon is to answer the burning question: why is my system running slow?

With the five performance counters listed below, you can quickly get an overall impression of how healthy a system is - and where the problems are, if they exist. The idea here is to pick counters that will be at low or zero values when the system is healthy, and at high values when something is overloaded. A 'perfectly healthy' system would show all counters flatlined at zero. (Perfection is unattainable, so you'll probably never see all of these counters flatlined at zero in real life. The CPU will almost always have a few items in queue.)

Processor utilization

System\Processor Queue Length - number of threads queued and waiting for time on the CPU. Divide this by the number of CPUs in the system. If the answer is less than 10, the system is most likely running well.

Memory utilization

Memory\Pages Input/Sec - The best indicator of whether you are memory-bound, this counter shows the rate at which pages are read from disk to resolve hard page faults. In other words, the number of times the system was forced to retreive something from disk that should have been in RAM. Occasional spikes are fine, but this should generally flatline at zero.

Disk Utilization

PhysicalDisk\Current Disk Queue Length\driveletter - this is probably the single most valuable counter to watch. It shows how many read or write requests are waiting to execute to the disk. For single disks, it should idle at 2-3 or lower, with occasional spikes being okay. For RAID arrays, divide by the number of active spindles in the array; again try for 2-3 or lower. Because a shortage of RAM will tend to beat on the disk, look closely at the Memory\Pages Input/Sec counter if disk queue lengths are high.

Network Utilization

Network Interface\Output Queue Length\nic name - is the number of packets in queue waiting to be sent. If there is a sustained average of more than two packets in queue, you should be looking to resolve a network bottleneck.

Network Interface\Packets Received Errors\nic name - packet errors that kept the TCP/IP stack from delivering packets to higher layers. This value should stay low.

To highlight a particular counter's line on the graph, select that counter in the lower pane. Then click the lightbulb icon on the toolbar above the graph. This will make the line for that counter turn thick and white (or black on some systems - I never found out why this changes).

Pay close attention to the scale column! Perfmon attempts to automatically pick a scale that will magnify or reduce the counter enough to produce a meaningful line on the graph ... but it doesn't always get it right. As an example, Perfmon often chooses to multiply Disk Queue Length by 100. So, you might think the disk queue length is sustained at 10 (bad!) when in fact it's really at 1 (good). If you're not sure, highlight the counter in the lower pane, and watch the Last and Average values just below the graph. In the screenshot below, I modified all of the counters to a scale value of 1.0, then changed the graph's vertical axis to go from 0-10.

To change graph properties (like scale and vertical axis as discussed above), rightclick the graph and choose Properties. There are a number of things to customize here ... fiddle with it until you have a graph that looks good to you.

To get a more detailed explanation of any counter, rightclick anywhere in the perfmon graph and choose Add Counters. Select the counter and object that you are curious about, and click the Explain button.

This screenshot shows a very lightly-loaded XP system, with the Memory\Pages Input/Sec counter highlighted:

All we see here is the Proccessor Queue Length hovering between 1 and 4, and two short spikes of Pages Input/Sec. All other counters are flatlined at zero, which is easy to check by highlighting each of them and watching the values bar underneath the graph. This is a happy system - no problems here!

But if we saw any of the above counters averaging more than 2-4 for long periods of time (except Processor Queue Length: don't worry unless it's above 10 for long lengths of time), we'd be able to conclude that there was a problem with that subsystem. We could then drill down using more detailed counters to see exactly what was causing that subsystem to be overloaded. More detailed analysis is beyond the scope of this article, but if there's enough interest I could do a second article on that. Leave a comment if you're interested!

General activity counters

Well, the system is healthy - and that's good ... but how hard is it working? Is the processor workin' hard, or hardly workin'? How much RAM is in use, how many bytes are being written to or read from the disk or network? The following counters are a good overview of general activity of the system.

Processor utilization

Processor\% Processor Time\_Total - just a handy idea of how 'loaded' the CPU is at any given time. Don't confuse 100% processor utilization with a slow system though - processor queue length, mentioned above, is much better at determining this.

Memory utilization

Process\Working Set\_Total (or per specific process) - this basically shows how much memory is in the working set, or currently allocated RAM.

Memory\Available MBytes - amount of free RAM available to be used by new processes.

Disk Utilization

PhysicalDisk\Bytes/sec\_Total (or per process) - shows the number of bytes per second being written to or read from the disk.

Network Utilization

Network Interface\Bytes Total/Sec\nic name - Measures the number of bytes sent or received.

In the graph below, I added these five counters to my existing 'bottlenecks' graph, and changed the vertical axis to go from 0-100. I highlighted the Working Set\_Total counter, which is currently at about 123 megabytes for the system. Notice how it shows a thick line at the top of the graph - you could assume that it was pegged at 100, if you didn't read the values bar (123,052,03 divided by a million is approximately 123 megabytes).

And ... that's all for now. Hopefully this quick show-and-tell has given you enough information to use PerfMon more usefully in

Parameter Tampering

Parameter Tampering

Parameter tampering is a simple attack targeting the application business logic. This attack takes advantage of the fact that many programmers rely on hidden or fixed fields (such as a hidden tag in a form or a parameter in a URL) as the only security measure for certain operations. Attackers can easily modify these parameters to bypass the security mechanisms that rely on them.

Detailed Description

The basic role of Web servers is to serve files. During a Web session, parameters are exchanged between the Web browser and the Web application in order to maintain information about the client's session, eliminating the need to maintain a complex database on the server side. Parameters are passed through the use of URL query strings, form fields and cookies.

A classic example of parameter tampering is changing parameters in form fields. When a user makes selections on an HTML page, they are usually stored as form field values and sent to the Web application as an HTTP request. These values can be pre-selected (combo box, check box, radio button, etc.), free text or hidden. All of these values can be manipulated by an attacker. In most cases this is as simple as saving the page, editing the HTML and reloading the page in the Web browser.

Hidden fields are parameters invisible to the end user, normally used to provide status information to the Web application. For example, consider a products order form that includes the following hidden field:

Modifying this hidden field value will cause the Web application to charge according to the new amount.

Combo boxes, check boxes and radio buttons are examples of pre-selected parameters used to transfer information between different pages, while allowing the user to select one of several predefined values. In a parameter tampering attack, an attacker may manipulate these values. For example, consider a form that includes the following combo box:


Source Account:
******789
******868

Amount:

Destination Account:




An attacker may bypass the need to choose between only two accounts by adding another account into the HTML page source code. The new combo box is displayed in the Web browser and the attacker can choose the new account.

HTML forms submit their results using one of two methods: GET or POST. If the method is GET, all form parameters and their values will appear in the query string of the next URL the user sees. An attacker may tamper with this query string. For example, consider a Web page that allows an authenticated user to select one of his/her accounts from a combo box and debit the account with a fixed unit amount. When the submit button is pressed in the Web browser, the following URL is requested:

http://www.mydomain.com/example.asp?accountnumber=12345&debitamount=1

An attacker may change the URL parameters (accountnumber and debitamount) in order to debit another account:

http://www.mydomain.com/example.asp?accountnumber=67891&creditamount=9999

There are other URL parameters that an attacker can modify, including attribute parameters and internal modules. Attribute parameters are unique parameters that characterize the behavior of the uploading page. For example, consider a content-sharing Web application that enables the content creator to modify content, while other users can only view content. The Web server checks whether the user that is accessing an entry is the author or not (usually by cookie). An ordinary user will request the following link:

http://www.mydomain.com/getpage.asp?id=77492&mode=readonly

An attacker can modify the mode parameter to readwrite in order to gain authoring permissions for the content.

SQL Injection

SQL injection is a technique used to take advantage of non-validated input vulnerabilities to pass SQL commands through a Web application for execution by a backend database. Attackers take advantage of the fact that programmers often chain together SQL commands with user-provided parameters, and can therefore embed SQL commands inside these parameters. The result is that the attacker can execute arbitrary SQL queries and/or commands on the backend database server through the Web application.

Details

Databases are fundamental components of Web applications. Databases enable Web applications to store data, preferences and content elements. Using SQL, Web applications interact with databases to dynamically build customized data views for each user. A common example is a Web application that manages products. In one of the Web application's dynamic pages (such as ASP), users are able to enter a product identifier and view the product name and description. The request sent to the database to retrieve the product's name and description is implemented by the following SQL statement.

SELECT ProductName, ProductDescription  FROM Products  WHERE ProductNumber = ProductNumber 

Typically, Web applications use string queries, where the string contains both the query itself and its parameters. The string is built using server-side script languages such as ASP, JSP and CGI, and is then sent to the database server as a single SQL statement. The following example demonstrates an ASP code that generates a SQL query.

sql_query= " SELECT ProductName, ProductDescription  FROM Products  WHERE ProductNumber = " & Request.QueryString("ProductID") 

The call Request.QueryString("ProductID") extracts the value of the Web form variable ProductID so that it can be appended as the SELECT condition.

When a user enters the following URL:

http://www.mydomain.com/products/products.asp?productid=123 

The corresponding SQL query is executed:

SELECT ProductName, ProductDescription  FROM Products  WHERE ProductNumber = 123 

An attacker may abuse the fact that the ProductID parameter is passed to the database without sufficient validation. The attacker can manipulate the parameter's value to build malicious SQL statements. For example, setting the value "123 OR 1=1" to the ProductID variable results in the following URL:

http://www.mydomain.com/products/products.asp?productid=123 or 1=1 

The corresponding SQL Statement is:

SELECT ProductName, Product Description FROM Products WHERE ProductNumber = 123 OR 1=1 

This condition would always be true and all ProductName and ProductDescription pairs are returned. The attacker can manipulate the application even further by inserting malicious commands. For example, an attacker can request the following URL:

http://www.mydomain.com/products/products.asp?productid=123; DROP  TABLE Products 

In this example the semicolon is used to pass the database server multiple statements in a single execution. The second statement is "DROP TABLE Products" which causes SQL Server to delete the entire Products table.

An attacker may use SQL injection to retrieve data from other tables as well. This can be done using the SQL UNION SELECT statement. The UNION SELECT statement allows the chaining of two separate SQL SELECT queries that have nothing in common. For example, consider the following SQL query:

SELECT ProductName, ProductDescription  FROM Products  WHERE ProductID = '123' UNION SELECT Username, Password FROM Users; 

The result of this query is a table with two columns, containing the results of the first and second queries, respectively. An attacker may use this type of SQL injection by requesting the following URL:

http://www.mydomain.com/products/products.asp?productid=123 UNION  SELECT user-name, password FROM USERS 

The security model used by many Web applications assumes that an SQL query is a trusted command. This enables attackers to exploit SQL queries to circumvent access controls, authentication and authorization checks. In some instances, SQL queries may allow access to host operating system level commands. This can be done using stored procedures. Stored procedures are SQL procedures usually bundled with the database server. For example, the extended stored procedure xp_cmdshell executes operating system commands in the context of a Microsoft SQL Server. Using the same example, the attacker can set the value of ProductID to be "123;EXEC master..xp_cmdshell dir--", which returns the list of files in the current directory of the SQL Server process.

Prevention

The most common way of detecting SQL injection attacks is by looking for SQL signatures in the incoming HTTP stream. For example, looking for SQL commands such as UNION, SELECT or xp_. The problem with this approach is the very high rate of false positives. Most SQL commands are legitimate words that could normally appear in the incoming HTTP stream. This will eventually case the user to either disable or ignore any SQL alert reported. In order to overcome this problem to some extent, the product must learn where it should and shouldn't expect SQL signatures to appear. The ability to discern parameter values from the entire HTTP request and the ability to handle various encoding scenarios are a must in this case.

Imperva SecureSphere does much more than that. It observes the SQL communication and builds a profile consisting of all allowed SQL queries. Whenever an SQL injection attack occurs, SecureSphere can detect the unauthorized query sent to the database. SecureSphere can also correlate anomalies on the SQL stream with anomalies on the HTTP stream to accurately detect SQL injection attacks.

Another important capability that SecureSphere introduces is the ability to monitor a user's activity over time and to correlate various anomalies generated by the same user. For example, the occurrence of a certain SQL signature in a parameter value might not be enough to alert for SQL injection attack but the same signature in correlation with error responses or abnormal parameter size of even other signatures may indicate that this is an attempt at SQL injection attack.

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS or CSS)

Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-site scripting ('XSS' or 'CSS') is an attack that takes advantage of a Web site vulnerability in which the site displays content that includes un-sanitized user-provided data. For example, an attacker might place a hyperlink with an embedded malicious script into an online discussion forum. That purpose of the malicious script is to attack other forum users who happen to select the hyperlink. For example it could copy user cookies and then send those cookies to the attacker.

Details

Web sites today are more complex than ever and often contain dynamic content to enhance the user experience. Dynamic content is achieved through the use of Web applications that can deliver content to a user according to their settings and needs.

While performing different user customizations and tasks, many sites take input parameters from a user and display them back to the user, usually as a response to the same page request. Examples of such behavior include the following.

• Search engines which present the search term in the title ("Search Results for: search_term")
• Error messages which contain the erroneous parameter
• Personalized responses ("Hello, username")

Cross-site scripting attacks occur when an attacker takes advantage of such applications and creates a request with malicious data (such as a script) that is later presented to the user requesting it. The malicious content is usually embedded into a hyperlink, positioned so that the user will come across it in a web site, a Web message board, an email, or an instant message. If the user then follows the link, the malicious data is sent to the Web application, which in turn creates an output page for the user, containing the malicious content. The user, however, is normally unaware of the attack, and assumes the data originates from the Web server itself, leading the user to believe this is valid content from the Web site.

For example, consider a Web application that requires users to log in to visit an authorized area. When users wish to view the authorized area, they provide their username and password, which is then checked against a user database table. Now, assume that this login system contains two pages: Login.asp, which created a form for the users to enter their username and password; and the page CheckCredentials.asp, which checks if the supplied username/password are valid. If the username/password are invalid, CheckCredentials.asp uses (for example), a Response.Redirect to send the user back to Login.asp, including an error message string in the query string . The Response.Redirect call will be something like the following.

Response.Redirect("Login.asp?ErrorMessage=Invalid+username+or+password") 

Then, in Login.asp, the error message query string value would be displayed as follows:

Using this technique, when users attempt to login with an invalid username or password, they are returned to Login.asp and a short message is displayed indicating that their username/password were invalid. By changing the ErrorMessage value, an attacker can embed malicious JavaScript code into the generated page, causing execution of the script on the computer of the user viewing the site. For example, assume that Login.asp is being called using the following URL.

http://www.somesite.com/Login.asp?ErrorMessage=

As in the code for Login.asp, the ErrorMessage query string value will be emitted, producing the following HTML page:

The attacker embedded HTML code into this page in such a way that when users browse this page, their supplied username and password are submitted to the following page.

http://www.hax0r.com/stealPassword.asp 

An attacker can send a link to the contrived page via an email message or a link from some message board site, hoping that a user will click on the link and attempt to login. Of course, by attempting to login, the user will be submitting his username and password to the attacker's site.

Prevention

Cross-site scripting is one of the easiest attacks to detect, yet many Intrusion Prevention Systems fail to do so. The reason why cross-site scripting can be easily detected is that unlike most application level attacks, cross-site scripting can be detected using a signature. The simple text pattern

To accurately detect cross-site scripting attacks the product must know where and when to look for that signature. Most cross-site scripting attacks occur either with error pages or with parameter values. Therefore the product needs to look for cross-site scripting signatures either within parameter values or within requests that return error messages. To look for signatures in parameters values the product must parse the URL correctly and retrieve the value part and then search for the signature on the value while overcoming encoding issues. To look for signatures in pages that return error messages the product needs to know that the specific URL returned an error code. Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems which are not Web application oriented simply do not implement these very advanced capabilities.

The Test Lead is inexperienced, is 'stealing' your work and is taking away all the credit. What is the best way to avoid frustration and deal with?

Source : Linkedin Discussion from the group : Software Testing & Quality Assurance

Bhava Sikandar • You have few options
1. Escalate this or bring awareness to your senior management.
2. If you do not have access to senior management, the other option is to ensure you use the right tool i mean good defect tracking tool can help you to report all your defects finding in the product testing, i dont think lead can change the "Found by" in the defect tracking tool. Write a good test cases which can find the defects at the early stage.
3. If he is just showing up the metrics and getting the credit ensure you automate his job so that management can think of his job as redundant..

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CurtisUnfollow

Curtis Stuehrenberg • Ethically this is an interesting question and one I've had to frequently face myself. I don't think there is a standard answer applicable to all situations, unfortunately. The only thing you cannot do is change their behavior for them.

Since you cannot change their behavior, let me ask you a quick question. Why do you care? You know you are doing the work. You know you are building out your skills and experience. Even if your lead is taking credit for your work, so what? Eventually he or she will say something ridiculous or commit to something impossible and they will be found out. Until then all you can do is perform with dignity and professionalism. If you do so no matter what happens you can feel morally, ethically, and professionally justified. Even if this lead decides to blame everything on you and you are fired (worst case scenario), you can walk into the interview for a new job with the confidence and assurance that comes from correct and moral actions. Your lead, on the other hand, will have to explain why their own work has suddenly stopped.

However if you feel enough frustration and indignation at your lead where you feel like you cannot conduct yourself as a professional ... then quit. Find a position with a lead and a management team more in alignment with your justifiably high commitment to personal accountability and honesty. It is infinitely easier to simply find a new job than navigating the mine field of office politics and official action on your part would immediately trigger. People who do this sort of thing and become leads or managers are ALWAYS consummate office politicians. The fact they cannot do the work and yet are expected to be a lead for others should tell you they are either very good at lying and confusing upper management with their webs or they are somehow connected to a high-ranking person in an inappropriate manner. Neither of these possibilities grant you much chance or winning in the battle soon to follow if you take official action and complain up the company ladder.

So my advice is to find a new job and then quit. If you do not want to quit, then approach your lead and tell them directly you do not appreciate what they are doing and find it ethically reprehensible. Then quietly sit still while they continue to steal your work.

8 hours ago• Like

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Earl Willis • That's cold Bhava! Automating his job? I find being in a technical leadership position, your best bet and best approach is to have actual STRONG technical knowledge that puts you in a position to lead from the front and not from behind.

It seems the Test Lead is leading from behind w/out actual knowledge. Due to this person's lack of knowledge they are probably fearful of taking risks, overly concerned with their reputations, making tough decisions, etc., the list goes on. This will eventually set the tone for the group. Upper management will eventually find out as this tone usually invariably filters it's way through the entire team making effective action impossible.

I'd say stick to your guns, keep producing Quality work, don't sacrifice your integrity, and document tasks that you have been doing successfully. When the above-mentioned happens, you will have a stronger case with senior management. You may also have the support of your other team members, as they are probably going through the same.

On the other hand, from what Curtis said, this may be a losing battle if they are well-trained in 'confusing upper management with their webs' or connected to a high-ranking person. In that case, I'd try to find another job.

8 hours ago• Like

CurtisUnfollow

Curtis Stuehrenberg • It's also possible they don't know they're doing something wrong and might need to be told their actions are not welcomed. If the lead is very inexperienced they might think what they're doing is standard or at least not that big of a deal. If you don't tell them, they won't know and be able to correct it.

8 hours ago• Like

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Freddy Vega • @Diva, please do not quit your job! :)

Someone on this thread said "The fact they cannot do the work and yet are expected to be a lead for others should tell you they are either very good at lying and confusing upper management with their webs or they are somehow connected to a high-ranking person in an inappropriate manner."

Those are not the ONLY two things this lead can be. It can also mean that he is required to present the work that others perform (this is a normal process in any lead's job). It can also mean that, while he does not have experience in test, he may be a company or industry veteran that truly understands the business and was placed in the position, with trusted QA folks below him, to run a tight ship.

The best way to deal with this situation IMO, is communication, communication, communication. Be it via suggesting new processes, tools, etc or talking, emailing the lead directly. Just do not quit your job and do not automate his job!!! :)

If you can't beat them, join them. Become his ally and watch yourself rise to the top! ;)

7 hours ago• Like

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Curtis Stuehrenberg • @Freddy - So you think that if she finds the situation completely unbearable and cannot conduct herself as a professional then she should just suck it up and keep working, perhaps even align herself with this person in order to further her own career? I ask because that's the situation I outlined when I suggested quitting as an extreme reaction.

If Diva truly finds the situation too horrible to bear, then she should find a new job a quit. If however she is simply looking to vent a little pressure, she has other options. You should NEVER approach some one with an accusation like this without full realization of where it might lead. If her lead is a reasonable person and truly does not know his or her behavior is professionally unethical, then communication is truly the most beneficial option. However if her lead is fully aware of the situation and either does not care or sees no other option for personal advancement, then confronting him or her about it will only cause problems. The truth of the situation probably lies somewhere in between these two extremes but it does not remove them completely. You should never gamble with money you cannot afford to lose. You should also never stand up for principles you are not willing to sacrifice other things to maintain.

7 hours ago• Like

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Freddy Vega • @Curtis, NO, I do not think she should "suck it up and keep working"

I am suggesting that she should "align herself" with this Lead. Once they are both going in the same direction; sparks will fly!

You do this, with COMMUNICATION! and that, Curtis, is what I am suggesting.

7 hours ago• Like

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Freddy Vega • And yes, once they (Diva and Lead) are aligned, they will both be at the relative* top (from a work/career perspective).

*relative: meaning from the current situation (i.e. bad, stealing work, etc).

7 hours ago• Like

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William "Bill" Malik, CISA • The risk with aligning your career with a fraud is that when they go down, you will too. Why take that risk? If I see my boss stealing anything from anyone, I'll report it to the appropriate leader. If the organization's culture is to accept the malfeasance, then best to get out of there. Do you want to have Enron on your resume?

The point is that eventually bad behavior comes to light. Maybe not soon enough, maybe not fully enough, but it will. In the meantime, as Kurt Vonnegut said, "Your are who you pretend to be, so be careful about who you pretend to be." If you choose to stand with a known crook, then the premise that you don't like crooked behavior is rendered meaningless. Actions > words, and words > ideas.

7 hours ago• Like

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Freddy Vega • @William, that is assuming the work is being "stolen". This is all a perception thing. We cannot assume the worst without more information first. This is why COMMUNICATION is the right answer.

7 hours ago• Like

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Freddy Vega • Oh and William... I concur... "Actions speak louder than words" ;)

7 hours ago• Like

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Diva Samanta • Hmm.... it is interesting to read so many different views on the subject.

Let me give you all some specifics:

1. The first thing this person did is become best frineds with the QA manager.... getting into the personal life, calling, chatting.... in one word 'buttering' is an everyday thing.
2. The communication skill is world famous, I mean, office famous.... horrible English and sentence construction.... hard to figure out the meanings of the emails sent.
3. This person would ask the testers to create documents or pull excel reports from Quality Center for the Sign Offs or other related documents he/she is supposed to create. If these documents are sent to him/her and the manager is copied in the email, this person will call the tester and RAISE HELL.
4. Since the communication skill is not good enough, this person would forward the same email to the manager that the tester had sent, changing the name at the bottom of the email. The way we discovered this is via Live Meeting when his/her desktop was shared by many.

These are just a few examples....

BTW, I like the quitting option.... does any of you have a position open for me ? ;)

6 hours ago• Like

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Freddy Vega • Well, all I can say is that there are two sides to every coin ;)

Diva, I'm not saying that you are wrong. I'm just saying that all of the issues you raise can be fixed with COMMUNICATION.

6 hours ago• Like

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Curtis Stuehrenberg • @Diva - It sounds like you have a good sense of humor about this, so I would just let it go. You and the rest of the team should conduct yourselves as professionals and let this person slowly dig their own grave. Personal relationships are great and can help you advance your career in ways you'd never quite suspect, but they do not pay bills. At the end of the day it is the person who can do the work that will be in high demand, not the person with whom it is fun to hang around.

If your management team is not aware they are simply signing their names to documents and communications produced by several people, then your upper management are fools. However I suspect they know and simply don't care ... so long as the work is being done. Sooner rather than later this person will run into a problem they cannot steal or flatter their way out of. Their inexperience, lack of communication, and tendency to take credit for other people's ideas and work will then NOT be ignored.

6 hours ago• Like

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Earl Willis • @Diva,
Changing names raises a red flag in my book. Sounds to me like this person knows exactly what they are doing. The more I read of your circumstances, the more I have to agree with Curtis's first comment when he says 'It is infinitely easier to simply find a new job than navigating the mine field of office politics and official action on your part would immediately trigger'. Especially one in which the team you are going to shares the same beliefs about integrity as you.

Of course, this is easier said than done but you are in a better position as you can look for another opportunity while you have a job which allows you to feel everything out before making a commitment just for the sake of leaving your current situation.

The more you explore alternative opportunities the more empowerment you will feel over your situation, and this will also give you an idea of what you will lose if you leave, and what you can lose if you don't leave.

6 hours ago• Like

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William "Bill" Malik, CISA • @Freddy

The only reason I said that something was stolen was that Diva said something was being stolen. It would be great to see an example of the specific communication - what would be said, and to whom, that would resolve all of these issues.

Here are a couple of parameters: 1) Let's assume that D has a professional reputation and a level of personal integrity that she does not want to sacrifice. 2) Let's assume that D doesn't want to be bullied at work. 3) Let's assume that L is devious.

So D goes to L and asks for something to change, and L responds by making life more difficult for D.

Or, D goes to QA Mgr to report L's behavior. QA Mgr and L make life more difficult for D.

Or, D goes to VP/CIO to report L and QA Mgr's harassment. VP investigates and makes life more difficult for D.

So, what's your plan?

6 hours ago• Like

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Freddy Vega • @Diva, note that a lot of folks are encouraging you to quit your job rather than face the issues, communicate, and come out the other end, in the least, a bigger person.

Working through problems is any engineers dream! Work through IT! Communicate! Take action, all positive and constructive. Even if it means looking at yourself critically. :)

6 hours ago• Like

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Freddy Vega • But @William,

My plan is not to assume or guess. Its just to communicate and take appropriate action as the "unknown" becomes "known".

6 hours ago• Like

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Diva Samanta • @ Curtis, @ Earl, @ William.... I agree with you ....

I have decided to give it my best shot and see how far I can go with my skills and how far this person can go with deceit. There is a saying "Winners never quit. Quitters never win". I have faith in my capabilities. At the end of the day, I am not the one who asks for help to get things done. For the time being, I am just being a silent observer and a team player.

@ Freddy, how do you communicate with a fraud?

5 hours ago• Like

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Freddy Vega • @Diva, I realize what I am telling you may not be what you want to hear (like Curtis, Earl, William, etc). I also realize that the advice I am giving you is much harder to execute (easier said than done, right?) but you said it yourself "Winners never quit. Quitters never win".

So if you follow that quote it is saying exactly what I am recommending you do ;)

How do you communicate with a Fraud? The same way you communicate with anybody.
However, the first thing I would do is get the word "fraud" or "steal" or anything that sounds negative or destructive out of my vocabulary when I either reference or talk to this individual. I know, I know, easier said than done. But IT CAN be done...

5 hours ago• Like

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Jan De Wael • @Diva, as listed above, you have multiple options. Key is that YOU stay in control of YOUR life. Your lead may steal credits from your work, but should not touch your self-respect.

From the options I read you may:
- quit the team, why should you spent energy for that boss?
- focus on your own objective, rather than looking from fair treatment from your lead, you may find rewards from the job you do, the things you learn, the rewards from peers...
- change the relationship with your lead (you may change your way in communication with your lead and change the way you think about him/her (e.g. where is she/he good in, what do I appreciate from her/him)? As long as you see only negative attitudes, it will be difficult to communicate openly
- go for the power battle, as a direct confrontation or after looking for support by senior management.
- maybe more options...

All options have there advantages and disadvantages, may cost you more energy or look easy. It's finally your game. Good luck.

5 hours ago• Like

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Earl Willis • @Diva,
The things is, your skill might just take you to another position where you will have a lead with more integrity or even be inline to be a lead yourself and have that opportunity for advancement. The way it sounds, due to the lack of technical knowledge, this resource does not sound like they are willing to let this fact be known on a wide-scale level. At the same time, there is a risk that this is all known, and no one will take action because the work keeps getting done. Nobody will try to fix what is broken if projects are still getting completed. It's only broken on your end. With that said, deceit can go very far and that is something to take into consideration in figuring out next steps, instead of letting the chips fall where they may.

As Jan said, YOU stay in control of YOUR life, and YOUR career.

Contrary to what Freddie is saying, and I respect his opinion, but I don't think we're telling what you want to hear. I think we're telling you what you don't want to hear. Staying on the job is the easy option as that is your current comfort zone. Exploring the unknown is much more challenging and daunting.

Isn't it crazy to think that you are trying to work out a situation that only isn't working out for you. We're not saying leave or quit, we're just saying explore your options while morale is still somewhat high and you are feeling confident about your testing abilities, while trying to work out your current situation. Being proactive never hurt anyone.

When the dust clears you will have a few options in your hand, instead of one.

4 hours ago• Like

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Nasera H. • Dear you told me so late about this .... :-)
So here are my points, if you think them “useful” use it...! lol
* Now I can’t suggest this as I am so late here... LOL --- Before posting this topic, check whether he /she is here on LinkedIn or not...

* Don’t get even more DISTURBED OR CONFUSED by the arguments going on here .... hahahaha

* I agree with Freddy, you SHOULD NOT quit the job... why should you? Why not that person?

* I know it is very frustrating and it is difficult to handle too, but dear, you are strong enough to handle such people. Almost everybody faces this type of problem at least once in life or even more times.... so nothing new about this.... So whatever you will do or create any document, do keep others in CC or BCC.... Make it a habit, so they will be aware about this fact that you are the original creator of it.... :-)

* Whenever you will do any good work, go and tell your friends and seniors immediately... either by phone, IM or personally.

* Never disclose your ideas and suggestions in front of that person who is going to take benefit of that and put it as if it is his or her idea.... Disclose your ideas and points in front of others and directly in front of your seniors in the meetings... So nobody will get any chance to copy it... or take credit for it...!

* See even though he or she is pleasing your boss by chatting and calling etc... EVERY BOSS IS SMART ENOUGH to identify the REAL talent and even though boss is not admitting it openly, due to that person’s favour, he/she knows very well about the capabilities of all the employees so don’t bother about it...

* Just IGNORE this cheater.... because like you even others are also aware about his or her habits... So even if you are feeling that only you know that he or she is taking undue credit, it is NOT true, others from your office are also AWARE about his/her such shallow activities... LOL

* Now if that person is available on LinkedIn then OMG..... (SORRY FOR BEING UNPROFESSIONAL HERE and writing in this manner : p lol) you have already made him or her realize that whatever he or she is doing is NOT GOOD...!!! But hey now my points are NOT the secrets anymore to make his or her plan fail....hahahaha

10) By the way, I am declaring here that I am NOT your LEAD and seriously I don’t know your LEAD.... ahahahaha.... I hope now you will NOT QUIT your job at all and hey contact me privately I do have more secrets to tell you how to deal with it .... ;) But NEVER FORGET TO SMILE.... We will sort it out this yaar, don’t worry at all...!!! Cheers.... ;-)

4 hours ago• Like

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Nasera H. • Yup.... again an ESSAY, as you had said, you like it...! ;)

4 hours ago• Like

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Curtis Stuehrenberg • @Diva - I think you are taking a path of correct actions both ethically and professionally. It is difficult to imagine a situation where some one is removing a document author entry and substituting their own name without being very aware they are plagiarizing some one else's work. Confronting them about doing this sort of thing will not open their eyes to a sudden realization it is wrong to take credit for some one else's ideas and work.

The best course is to stay where you are and simply do your work. Gain actual knowledge and experience you can use no matter where you end up. If this person wants to advance through personal relationships coupled with theft, then let them. They may be found out at some point, and they may end up CEO of a large corporation. It really doesn't matter. What matters is how you feel about your work and how you've conducted yourself.

3 hours ago• Like

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Diane Miller • Frankly guys, I've seen a lot of unqualified people get promoted and rewarded for bad behavior in life (if you haven't noted it in your career, just look at the celebrities of reality tv)

@Diva, I don't know the environment you are in, but I understand and have been in quite a few 'good old boy' environments over the past 14 years. I've been told by a past manager that once a tester, always a tester and that as a female I'd never move beyond a tester. I don't have a solution, just words of advice. Hang in there, the lead will either get found out for their incompetence or move on to another job or area. Continue to do your job and build your skills, look at training, certifications, etc. if necessary.

And things will turn around. If they don't you will have the experience and skillset to go elsewhere, where you will be appreciated more.