Introducing BesTest: A new Requirement & Test Management app for Jira

[Balázs Szakál]

If you manage software testing on Jira Cloud, you have probably felt the friction. Jira is outstanding at tracking work, but it was never designed to manage test cases, trace
requirements, or run test executions. You end up with spreadsheets, bolted-on tools, or Jira issues masquerading as test cases - cluttering your backlog and confusing your
workflows.

We built BesTest to fix this. It is a native Jira Cloud app, built on Atlassian Forge, that gives your team dedicated test management and requirements traceability without leaving Jira - and without the complexity or cost of enterprise tools.

This post walks through what BesTest does, why we built it the way we did, and what makes it different from other options in the Marketplace.

Why Another Test Management App?

Over the years I found myself having so many unique ideas, decided to not beg for features, but show them to the world.

Most test management tools for Jira fall into one of two camps. Either they are heavyweight enterprise platforms with steep learning curves and pricing to match, or they shoehorn test cases into Jira's issue model - polluting your backlog with hundreds of "Test Case" issue types and making sprint planning a mess.

BesTest takes a different path. It has its own purpose-built data model for test cases, test cycles, campaigns, requirements, and executions. Your Jira backlog stays clean. Your
test data is structured the way testers actually think about testing.

And because BesTest is built on Atlassian Forge, it is secure by design.

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The Core: Test Case Management

Every test case in BesTest starts in Draft status and goes through a structured lifecycle. When creating a test case, you define:

• Name, description, objective, and preconditions - the fundamentals
• Format: Traditional step-by-step or BDD/Gherkin - your choice per test case
• Type classification: Functional, UI, API, Performance, or Integration
• Priority: Low, Medium, High, or Critical
• Planned execution time for estimation and tracking
• Automation status: Manual, To Be Automated, In Progress, or Automated (with an automation key field for CI/CD integration)
• Folder organization for keeping large test suites manageable
• Owner assignment using Jira user picker

For traditional test cases, steps support drag-and-drop reordering, cloning, and inline editing of action, expected result, and test data. For BDD, you get a dedicated Gherkin
editor with syntax highlighting.

Peer Review Workflow

One of the things we are proudest of: BesTest has a built-in test case review workflow. New test cases start as Draft, and you can submit them for peer review by assigning a
reviewer directly from the Jira user picker.

The lifecycle flows: Draft -> In Review -> Active (or Change Needed if the reviewer requests revisions). For straightforward cases, there is a "Quick Approval" bypass option
that sets the test case directly to Active.

Reviewers receive notifications, can add review notes, and approve or request changes. This is not something you typically get without a separate review tool or manual process.

Requirements Management with Coverage Tracking

This is where BesTest goes further than most competitors. Requirements are first-class entities - not an afterthought bolted onto test cases.

Each requirement has:

• Status lifecycle: Draft -> Ready -> Covered -> Archived
• Type classification (e.g., Functional, Non-Functional)
• Complexity (Low, Medium, High) and Impact (Low, Medium, High)
• Calculated Significance level derived automatically from a complexity-impact matrix (Low, Medium, High, Critical)
• Bi-directional linking to test cases, test cycles, other requirements, and Jira issues
• Links tab showing all linked test cases, cycles, requirements, and work items in one place

The significance calculation is not just a label - it feeds into coverage analysis, helping you prioritize testing effort based on the actual risk profile of each requirement.

Test Execution with the Interactive Test Player

When it is time to execute, BesTest provides a dedicated Test Player - an interactive, full-screen execution interface.

The Test Player gives you:

• A virtualized test case list (handles large cycles smoothly) with the current execution highlighted
• Step-by-step execution: walk through each test step, record actual results, and set status per step (Passed, Failed, Blocked, Skipped)
• Execution-level status: set the overall outcome for each test case execution
• Inline defect creation: open Jira's native Create Issue modal directly from a failed step or execution, pre-filled with context (test case name, step details, expected vs
  actual results). The created issue is automatically linked back to the execution
• Link existing Jira issues to executions or individual steps
• Execution timer tracking actual time spent
• Sort and group the test case list by status, assignee, folder, or source
• Compact mode for focused execution on smaller screens

Test cycles follow their own lifecycle: Draft -> Active (Ready to Execute) -> In Progress (auto-transitions when the first execution begins) -> Done.

Test Cycles and Campaigns

Test Cycles are the place of execution. When creating a cycle, you plan which test cases to include - either by adding them individually or by pulling them in from Collections (more on that below). You can assign individual test cases to specific team members (testers).

The Execution Dashboard within each cycle shows real-time progress with charts: status distribution pie chart, execution trend line, defects found, and per-assignee breakdowns.

Test Campaigns sit above cycles, grouping multiple test cycles together. The campaign overview aggregates execution stats across all its cycles, giving you a single view of a
broader testing effort (e.g., a release candidate validation that spans functional, performance, and integration cycles).

Smart Collections: Rule-Based Test Sets - coming soon!

Smart Collections will let you define dynamic groups of test cases using rules rather than manual selection. You build filter conditions using a visual rule builder with fields like:

• Status (Active, Draft, In Review)
• Folder (with subfolder inclusion)
• Name (contains, starts with, etc.)

Rules will support logical grouping (AND/OR), and you can test them in real-time to see which test cases match before saving. When you add a Smart Collection to a test cycle, it
automatically pulls in all matching test cases.

This is particularly useful for regression suites that should always include "all active test cases in the Login folder" or "all critical test cases created after a specific
date."

Collections already out, with a manual selection functionality, dynamic rules will arrive very soon!

Reports

BesTest ships with 5 report types across five categories:

Execution

• Test Execution Results - breakdown by cycles or campaigns with date filtering and latest-execution-only mode
• Test Execution Result List - detailed per-test-case execution history with rerun tracking
• Actual vs. Planned Estimation - burndown/burnup charts comparing planned time against actual execution time, with projected completion

Defects

• Defect Analysis - cumulative defects found vs. resolved, bug lifecycle analysis, and bug density per test case
• Requirements Traceability Matrix - end-to-end traceability from requirements through test cases, executions, and linked work items, with risk analysis (High/Medium/Low) per requirement

Reports are parameterized - you configure source type, date ranges, granularity, and scope before generating. Saved report templates let you re-run the same configuration
without reconfiguring each time.

Jira Integration: Issue Panel and Defect Linking

BesTest shows up directly on your Jira issues through a dedicated Issue Panel. When you view any Jira issue, the panel displays all BesTest entities linked to it - test cases, requirements, test cycles, and executions. You can link existing entities or create new ones right from the issue.

Defect linking works both ways: create Jira bugs from failed test executions (with pre-filled context), or link existing Jira issues to test entities. This is the traceability loop - from requirement to test case to execution to defect and back.

Notifications

BesTest has a built-in notification system covering the events that matter to testers:

• Review requested / Review completed
• Test cycle assigned / Execution assigned / Execution completed
• Test case status changed
• Mentions in comments
• System notifications

Notifications are grouped by entity and marked read individually or in bulk. Preferences are configurable per notification type.

The "For You" Dashboard

Beyond the project overview dashboard (which shows KPIs, active cycles, and execution stats), BesTest includes a personalized "For You" tab. It surfaces your pending reviews,
assigned executions, and recent activity - so you know exactly where to pick up when you open the app.

What is on the Roadmap

We are a small team, and we build based on what users actually ask for. If you have a specific need, reach out - it genuinely influences what we build next.

Next few features in the making:

• Dashboard Gadgets
• Collection Rules
• Import / Export testing assets
• API for automation

Try It

BesTest is available on the Atlassian Marketplace with a free trial.

Also check our website for more content, comparison vs existing tools, and more!

If you have questions, feedback, or want to see a specific feature, drop a comment below or reach out through our support channel. We read every message.

BesTest - Tailored Software, Tested Excellence.