Test management tools for Jira enable the quality assurance teams to manage their testing process seamlessly and without any glitches in an agile environment. Even though Jira is not specifically designed to cater to the test management solutions and requirements of the business it can still be configured and customized in different ways to suit the needs of the project. One of the main ways to convert Jira into an effective test management solution is to change the native components of the software, like the workflow or the issue types. Additionally, Jira also has enough flexibility and agility that it can be integrated smoothly with a third party tool for lightweight test case and issue management.
Using Jira to Triage Test Cases
Test cases and issues are a critical part of the quality assurance and software development process. They are one of the most valuable artifacts for the organization especially in terms of testing efforts, as they determine what needs to be tested, and what procedures and measures are going to be followed to carry out the tests. After the test cases have been written and designed, they have to be stored in the central repository which can be accessed by all relevant team members. Moreover, it is important that the test cases in the system are organized and triaged well so that the project managers have better visibility and traceability. Test cases also require continuous and timely updates for reusability and relevance as well. Therefore, project managers configure and use Jira to effectively manage test cases and handle their results as well. With advanced search and filter options in this software, it enables the project teams to view the test cases and test runs in any way or form that they want.
When it comes to the management of software development projects, Test management tools for Jira particularly come in handy as they allow the teams to not only track issues and test cases, but also generate new feature requests and tasks. From handling high volume backlogs efficiently to creating a platform for all teams to come together and work towards a common goal, Jira is the ideal option for project teams working in agile organizations. Considering that the fundamental purpose of Jira is to pave the way for efficient project and issue management instead of test management, therefore, time and resource intensive configurations are required to make it operable. Owing to this and the highly customizable nature of Jira, many companies across the board are now choosing to integrate this software with normal test management solutions which are purpose-built and reliable. The merging of these two tools with separate domains gives the project teams access to twin resources, which in turn enables them to enhance their testing process and deliver much faster than before.
Best Practices for Effective Test Case Management in Jira
Organizing the workflow of the project and the tasks in a successive manner in Jira is vital for defining a proper structure. Most people in organizations are visualizers and things are automatically easier to understand and distinctly clear if they are well-illustrated. Hence, giving a structure to all testing objects like test cases in Jira would declutter them and create better understanding of what needs to be done. This software also has the option to group test cases and view them through any category or listing entailing, feature, assignee, date, environment, or any other parameter which is relevant for the team. Through this, every stage of the process becomes clear to all the team members, visibility is improved for project managers, and resource allocation for the test cases and issues becomes automatically easier.
Traceability is also a crucial aspect of the whole testing process. Testing cannot be conducted in a vacuum, there are certain pre-conditions, prerequisites, and issues which have to be associated with the testing procedure to make it relevant. This becomes infinitely more difficult if the project requirements are added in word documents, the test cases are updated in excel sheets, while the issues are tracked and managed in Jira. It is of utmost importance for the project managers to integrate and merge all aspects like issue tracking, management of test cases and its results, and project requirements into one tool. Through this, the testing managers would be able to link test cases with environment and prevailing issues so their origin can be tracked and the managers are aware of all the facts pertaining to them.
