Test management tools are used to store information on how testing is to be done, plan testing activities and report the status of quality assurance activities. The tools have different approaches to testing and thus have different sets of features. Generally they are used to maintain and plan manual testing, run or gather execution data from automated tests, manage multiple environments and to enter information about found defects. Test management tools offer the prospect of streamlining the testing process and allow quick access to data analysis, collaborative tools and easy communication across multiple project teams. Many test management tools incorporate requirements management capabilities to streamline test case design from the requirements. Tracking of defects and project tasks are done within one application to further simplify the testing.
Once a project has kicked off, a test management tool tracks bug status, defects and projects tasks, and allows for collaboration across the team. When administering test cases, users can access a variety of dashboards to gain access to data instantly, making the test process efficient and accurate. The type of dashboard used is determined by the scope of the project and the information and data that needs to be extracted during the testing process. Data can be shared and accessed across multiple project teams, allowing for effective communication and collaboration throughout the testing process.
Features of a test management tool
- Support for multiple methods – There is a quick evolution of the software development methods. The project managers are now more prone to work with Agile and DevOps approaches owing to their immediate benefits. A test management tool should be compatible with traditional as well as the latest Agile & DevOps development approaches.
- Ease of installation & use – Working on tight schedules, you would not want to waste time on installing and using a tool that takes up your testing time. A web-based test management tool saves you from the hassles of installation. Another critical factor before zeroing on a tool is that it should require minimal training. The learning curve of the tool should be as low as possible and it should provide good help documentation.
- Cloud advantage – The cloud-based tool gives you the advantage of using shared resources which gives you a cost benefit. It is easier and much cheaper to scale on a cloud-based tool. There is low or virtually no cost involved when it comes to maintenance and up gradation.
- Ease of collaboration – With the increasing adoption of agile approaches, there is a need for greater collaboration among developers, BAs, product owners and testing team. A good test management tool will allow the different stakeholders in a project to coordinate and communicate with ease.
- Defect management – For comprehensive test management, a tool must have defect management capabilities. The testers should be able to directly report bugs to the development team. They should be able to view the status of the bugs fixed.
Checklist
Here is a quick checklist of the questions you should ask before selecting a test management tool.
- Do I have clarity on all my project requirements?
- Whether I should go for a single powerful tool or multiple tools for comprehensive test management?
- Which tool will be well suited for my requirements and budget?
- Whether I should buy the tool or lease it?
- Shall I lease a service or self-host the tool?
- Do I require an API or an open design?
- Is there any support for other tools and how the integrations will be done?
- Do I require a tool for mobile platforms?
- Will I get granular level test information from my tool?
- Is it possible to organize the test cases in hierarchies?
- How will test runs be monitored?
- Does my tool have a powerful reporting function for analysis and reports?
- Does my tool support exploratory testing?
- Will my tool provide a common platform for requirement management, test management, project management and defect management?
Popular Tools
- PractiTest – PractiTest is a well-known test management tool. It is popular for an end to end tests management. It provides complete visibility into the testing process and conveys a broader understanding of testing results into test reports. It has the following elegant features
- TestRail – TestRail tool can be easily integrated with Gemini which is a ticket management tool. It is one of the well-known test cases management tools. It offers an external link for the test case creation and execution. It is delivered with an HTTP based API (Application program Interface) in order to integrate it with the automated test results. It helps us to manage our exploratory tests, functional tests, and automated tests with ease. It has a powerful User Interface (UI) scripts which could help us to customize various aspects of the application as well as UI. It has the following key features.
- Test Link – Test Link is an open source test management tool which is web-based. The tool includes reporting, planning, test specification, and requirement tracking. With this tool, we can easily track the progress of the project, reports, and charts which are available while additional features include specifying requirements, assigning keywords, and events log. It has the following key features.
- qTest – The qTest test Management tools is one of the best and widely used test management tool which is often recommended for use by Agile testers. It is a simple tool which is very easy to use and learn. It offers a very accessible test management solution which helps the testers for centralization, organization and speeding up of test management. It aims at making the QA process very simple than other test management tools. The tool is known to have around 12,000 users, and 500 customers across 25+ countries.
- Zephyr – Zephyr is one of the bestselling test cases management tools that provide an end-to-end solution for agile teams of different sizes. It offers great visibility, flexibility, and insights for the software that you need to test.
- Test Collab – Test Collab is one of the most trusted test management tools by many enterprises.
- HP-ALM-Quality Center – HP Quality Center test case management tool is a popular test cases management software and it is widely used as it has all the required features. It provides robust defect tracking and reporting. It can easily connect to ALM with an e-mail system in order to send e-mail for any changes to chosen team members.
- XQual – This test management tool is built in order to mitigate the common errors which are faced during the day to day software testing such as defects, slippage and regression tests due to inadequacies in managing the tests. It extends support for integrated management with data stored in the database (i.e. MySQL), and it permits scheduling as well as the execution of complete automation or manual test operations. It also offers integration support for various continuous integration platforms such as JIRA,
- TestLodge – Test lodge is a test management tool that provides basic four aspects of testing. These four aspects are Requirements, Test Plans, Test Suites & Cases, and Test Runs. It can efficiently manage test cases and test plans can be generated very quickly. TestLodge tool can be integrated easily with existing issue tracking tools and allows to ticket and defect reports creation very easily at the time of test case failure.
- Gemini – Gemini as a test management tool allows testers to relate their day to day testing work with the development team and associate them with customer incidents. It can help the testing team to break down complex problems into a number of manageable items in order to understand the problem in the better way. It enables us to assign testing items to the multiple team members and can generate the test result reports to any users or groups spontaneously. It has a mechanism to allow the notification subscription to anyone in the team. It has the following elegant features.
- IBM Rational Quality Manager – IBM Rational Quality Manager is a test management tool which can do automation in order to accelerate project schedules and report on metrics for informed project release decisions. The tool is used for maintaining a simple online library, tracking online test management, customer releases, tracking engineering releases, etc. The tool is platform independent and manages QA project very effectively.