Azure DevOps is to manage your project’s test management cycle (Azure DevOps Test Management). It is a notable way to build test plans for a given project known as Azure DevOps Test Plans. Bringing your testing team on this platform for centralized and effective testing. Those who focus on the quality of software systems will appreciate using browser-based solutions for better manual testing capabilities.
What are Azure DEVOPS Test Plans?
Azure DevOps Test Plans include creating test plans, test cases, run manual tests, and explanatory tests for every person involved in the software development process.
Azure DevOps Test Plan is also known as Team Foundation Server (TFS). In DevOps Test Plans for Azure, you develop and use the test plans for automated and manual testing. Include the development, quality assurance, and business analysis team to attach test cases. You can run tests on all the requirements created by each team. Different teams and their views contribute to the testing workflow, adding to the capability of testers.
Once a test plan is ready, a collection of test cases is created. To make the test plans work create a test plan container to group the test suites. You can create multiple tests in an operation or add existing test cases to a test suite.
For manual testing the deployment is easy and there is direct interaction with the test cases built within the Azure DevOps project. Considering the benefits of test plans by different teams will be of tremendous help to the testers. Purposeful testing with a specific input for an expected outcome improves manual testing. The stepwise approach and interactive space on the Azure DevOps platform are beyond the clearing of tests.
Recording the tests, their results, and observations for each test case is possible. You can review the tests to identify the issues faced by testers or check for the process gaps. You can promptly create the UAT plans that ensure value in the software product developed. Simply add or remove testers for User acceptance testing.
Test plans help to create task lists, check bug lists, and edit the steps during the testing phase. Specify the requirements for testing and verify them before you run all the tests. Team working in-house or remotely can get access to the user stories, backlog items, and reports. Anytime access with no geographical constraints teamed up with various testing apps or browser-based extensions prevents time wastage.
Lightweight charts on the dashboard enable tracking the tests. Check the project-wise or user-wise outcomes of tests from charts. Find which module has maximum defects or failed tests. Azure DevOps Test Plans provide deeper insights to interpret the test results.
Azure DevOps Test Management
Organizing test suites for Azure DEVOPS Test Plans:
Requirement-based: A requirements-based test suite is created for a work item that has defined acceptance criteria. Its use is simplified by a selection of requirements instead of test cases. Test suites will pull the test cases created for that requirement. It displays test cases built earlier and connected to that requirement. You can run all test runs from the list and cross-check whether the conditions have been met or needs rework.
Test cases created by developers and business analysts save the time for QA team. Interdependent teams benefit from access to the work done on this single-source model. Any test case created by the test lead gets automatically linked to the requirement. It’s like a central repository of test cases created by all.
Requirement-based Test Suites increase the traceability and consequence score of the test run for any requirement.
Query-based: You have to create a work item query for selecting the test cases. You can customize your query, along with the default values of work type and category, e.g., you can add priority with a set value of 2 and click on run query. The query will display all the test cases that have priority 2. You can select all or any number of test cases to create a suite. It works on the criteria available and allows you to construct a query for a purpose.
Here conditions are added through a query hence they are not attached to a requirement. The best part of this feature is you can include any test case from your project.
Static based: It is created just by entering a name and is used as a container for other test suites or a place to create ad-hoc test cases. You can manually add test cases to this folder and even create a structure of static suites. Static suites are useful to group the test suites. An Azure DevOps Test Plan can contain nested test suites.
Test cases under Azure DevOps Test Plans can be copied from the grid, sent via e-mail, export excel file, or even print as a report.
Tricks for Azure DEVOPS Test Plans:
Bulk import-export of test cases via CSV file: Go to the test plan in the test suites select a module and use the up arrow to import and down arrow to export the test cases. Files show all the data relating to the test case i.e., autogenerated ID, tile of the test case, test steps, priority, expected results, assigned to, and path. The exported file can be edited for changes in steps or add new test cases and reload it for use. Filter the test cases on priority or any custom value. While uploading it checks the required columns if the data is missing the error in detail is visible for rectification.
Configurations: Set multiple configurations such as different browsers e.g., Google Chrome and existing Windows config. It can be assigned to a test plan, individual test suite, or even test cases. First, add configurations then add test suites. The test cases uploaded will be repeated automatically for each configuration.
Shared Steps: The repetitive steps that are part of multiple test cases can be generated and shared. This allows you to use the shared steps in any test case of Azure Devops Test plans. It has all the set of actions to be taken for a particular step e.g., Login. A test case can have shared steps and other action items too. Shared steps will also be visible in the list of work items by the name you created them e.g., Login Shared.
Parameters: Sharedparameters are created to attach specific values or conditions to a field such as a password. A test case created from this window will by default include the parameter values. In a test case, you can call parameters by prefixing ‘@’ to the field i.e., @columnname like @validpassword. Shared parameters can be tested via requirement-based, query-based and static tests. The parameterization feature is for the situation where some tests have to be run for different data sets.
Grid View: At a high level, the test cases have two views i.e., list view and grid view. From each suite, you can open a grid view that displays all test cases and their steps. Now copy the new test cases that you have in the excel sheet and paste into the grid. The columns should be the same. Azure DevOps eases adding of multiple test cases via grid view.
Best Practices for Azure DEVOPS Test Plans:
- Project level Test Suites: Parent test plan navigation allows you to access all test plans in a project by clicking on the arrow near the project name. You can create test plans for a particular release of a project and the area path. For test plan created at project level, Azure auto creates a test suite with same name. Within this test suite create static, query based and requirement-based test cases.
- Requirement-based Test Suite: It pulls the test cases into the test plan that were attached to the stories.
- Add Tags to columns: From list view add tags to columns to the test case section. It allows to enter any text as value in the tag. Add numerous tags through grid view by entering multiple values separated by comma. These tags are available for filters.
Conclusion
Azure DevOps Test Management Tool that organizations trust is Azure Test Plans. Whether waterfall or agile Azure DevOps as a collection of multiple tools and integrates other management tools. It enables continuous integration and continuous deployment. Now easily manage Azure Test Plans as an organization in DevOps for each project. Transparency in sharing the status of development lifecycle builds strong image of organization.