Essentially, a test management solution is meant to solve typical challenges faced by QA managers, project managers and testers in the software testing process or lifecycle.
A test management solution helps standardize procedures implemented by QA teams when using a variety of techniques to manage their tests, promote project reusability, improve test case visibility, evaluate progress and productivity during software testing.
A test management platform also helps to exchange information throughout the project and provides real-time measurements of the quality of the testing system. It also acts as a central repository of testing and test results, manual and automated, from all sources.
What are the main advantages from using a test management tool?
Some of the main advantages are:
• Close control over software test documentation, an improved communication between team members, and a better synchronization during various STLC (Software Time Life Cycle) phases.
• Visibility of test plans, test strategy and test cases at the heart of the cloud or the server.
• Reduction of duplicated efforts due to the use of a centralized test case repository.
• Standardization of testing procedures and taxonomy for teams and projects, thanks to a single test case management application.
• Real-time insights and improved access to information for all key stakeholders.
• Ability to execute test cases manually as well as automatically.
• Integration with tools for task management, such as GitHub, JIRA, other automated frameworks and CI/CD systems, such as Jenkins or Bamboo.
• Quality analysis and metrics, reporting and dashboards that provides insight into the coverage, progression, productivity, dead cases, duplication, reusability, traceability, and so on.
The issue most companies do not have to address is how to choose the best and most effective test management tool? Nowadays, with the growth of tools and additional functionalities and features, it is no longer a difficult choice as you have many tailored options, but it is a vital component in the entire software development and quality of your testing strategy.
The 8 best Test Management Practices and Recommendations
Testers may go above and beyond in terms of software quality thanks to a test management system and having best practices for Test Management involve maintaining your test efforts well-organized with specified processes and systems. Such procedures are often easier to estimate and plan, helping to manage and monitor a project in general.
In order to overcome the obstacles of a good test management environment, companies may attempt to apply the following well-known test management techniques:
Recycle and reuse test cases to save time
It is possible to reuse or recycle test cases, which will help save time that would otherwise be spent creating identical test cases from start. If test cases are reused, this will help save time. There is a possibility that certain aspects of testing may stay the same from one product to the next. Therefore, if a team creates reusable QA materials, it will minimize the amount of time needed for testing as well as the amount of time needed for preparation. There are several points in the testing lifecycle when reusable assets may be brought into play..
Start the test operations in the SDLC sooner
Finding a bug towards the end of the process usually means extra work is needed to solve it. Finding and fixing a defect early on may save money in the long run. Although this is an unspoken norm, there are few organizations that follow it.
This ends in the identification of problems at a later stage - which increases costs. The test process must therefore start as soon as any test cases are developed, or if it can be obtained from the initial software requirements.
Find out what requirements are still missing.
The process begins with the gathering of requirements, and as the project progresses through the SDLC, further efforts are devoted to the creation or modification of the solution, more people are involved, and the cost of the project rises.
Many times, the designers of the project have an unclear understanding of the modules, and they make assumptions about particular needs. The requirements have to account for every facet of the system and shouldn't make any assumptions. Also, consider following a test methodology based on requirements which does not only contribute to validating the system/application, but also helps to calculate the required test efforts.
Instant feedback through repetitive testing
Testing at all stages of the software development life cycle is an absolute need when it comes to developing software. Before a software product is made available to customers, quality assurance experts put in a lot of effort to identify and eliminate any defects or problems they discover. When tests are performed repeatedly, developers get testing findings sooner, which enables them to respond rapidly to any possible faults in the system.
The unfortunate truth is, however, that even with the use of Test Management you are not going to be able to catch every bug, they are going to help you to become more effective in testing. Retesting or doing a variety of various kinds of regression testing is essential to maintaining product stability, despite the fact that it takes a lot of work. Consequently, after your production, you release a short fix, and then, using a solution for test management, you carry out a series of tests in a repeated fashion. Although the majority of the test management tools are in-house installed, others, such as Micro Focus ALM/Quality Center, TestQuality, JIRA or Azure Dev Ops can be accessed as Software as a Service (SaaS).
Select the right Test Management Tool
Test management solutions are designed to manage and monitor the testing process, beginning with the development and organization of test cases and continuing through the execution of tests and the examination of test results and trends. A reliable test management solution will provide members of the team with assistance in the following areas: creating and organizing test cases; managing testing requirements; scheduling tests; informing testers what to test next; efficiently carrying out tests; and tracking and monitoring testing results, progress, and trends. An efficient test case management software solution, such as TestQuality, is ultimately beneficial to a business since it supports in the production and delivery of goods that are of a high quality and free of defects.
Establish a workflow of testing
Because the development process is becoming more complicated all the time, the number of opportunities to find bugs, errors, and other kinds of defects is also growing with each passing day. It is very important for software testers to implement a workflow of testing requirements during the early stages of the software testing process. Test Management will help them to deal with specific issues and follow the right testing scenarios.
Follow DevOps Testing principles
When traditional software development frameworks are applied for application testing, this process often takes place in the latter stages of the software development life cycle. Apps are sent back to their developers if there is a problem with their ability to meet quality standards, successfully function, or otherwise fulfill criteria.
DevOps mainly follow "the shift-left approach" to the creation of software,where teams place their primary focus on discovering and fixing problems in the code before such problems can be classified as defects. The DevOps practice of shifting to the left is predicated on an approach to continuous testing that is carried out throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
Communication in Test Management is Key
Miscommunication is a prevalent factor that contributes to test results that may have been avoided. If you are a tester who puts a significant amount of effort into your work but is unable to communicate your findings in a way that is clear and exact, you may find that you are unsuccessful in your job. Communication is essential in Test Management if the team is to achieve successful delivery of software since it demands all members to work in alignment and share the same goals as well as testing objectives. There are many initiatives that are unsuccessful even before they can reach the target audience, and it is much more disheartening when the failure might have been avoided totally.
In summary
It is possible for organizations to maintain their testing efforts by putting in place procedures and systems with the assistance of the best practices for test management. Because every project is different and has its own particular set of testing needs, every test management methodology is also distinct.
At TestQuality.com, our Powerful yet Easy Test Management platform will help you to easily create, manage, and assign test plans, milestones, test cases, and testing cycles, but also build your test cases and store and organize in your global test repository - with preconditions, steps, attachments, and much more such as: Test execution, Track Results, Team Collaboration and always seamlessly integrated testing for your DevOps Workflow that ensure quality product delivery to help speed up time-to-market, reduce test efforts and cost.
Get your Test Management questions solved by gettting in touch with us and talk to our experts how we can Test manage and optimize your life-cycle testing software.
