How to plan and execute regression tests with QAlity Plus?

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Regression testing is an important part of assuring software quality. It helps us to confirm that changes or new features haven’t had a negative impact on the existing software capabilities. Regression tests usually consist of a selected pool of test cases that have been identified as crucial for software to serve its intended purpose. 

In terms of QAlity Plus usage, regression is simply just a group of Test Cases which will be performed prior to release. It isn’t different from the regular Test Cycles. Once you are sure of test scripts content, this guide will show you how to navigate QAlity Plus for the regression planning. We can break down this process to the following steps:

Step 1 – Prepare your Test Cases

Our first step will be to write a Test Case. It’s a scenario which shows step by step what has to be done and checked by the tester.

There are several ways on how you can create a Test Case. 

 First one, you can create it from scratch using QAlity Plus. Simply open the Jira issue and add a new Test Case. Fill in your Test Step, Test Data, Results and add necessary attachments. If most of your Test Steps are repeatable, you can also choose to clone and adjust them, in order to speed up the process.

Similarly, you might already have another Test Case which fits your needs almost perfectly, but you don’t want to edit it. In such cases QAlity Plus allows you to clone your entire QAlity Test issue alongside with the content of the Test Steps and Test Data. 

What if you are transitioning from another tool? It's simple, just export your Test Cases, prepare a CSV file according to our template, and click to import. 

See a migration guide in our documentation.

 Step 2 – Group your Tests

The most convenient way to plan your regression is to organize test cases in folders and subfolders. It allows you to to create a hierarchical structure, grouping related test cases together to improve the ease of navigation. 

Folders enable a more focused approach to regression testing - by organizing tests into folders, it's easier to select and run targeted regression tests for specific areas of the application that have changed, rather than running the entire test suite.

To create a folder, go to Repository -> Test Cases -> Create Folder.

 

You will be asked to name the new folder and choose the project on which you want the folder permissions to be based.

The new folder will appear on the list of folders in the panel on the left. Once you enter the folder, you can create new Test Cases, find and add existing ones, or create subfolders. It is possible to add Test Cases from multiple different projects to one folder.

To easily and effectively plan regression tests, create a folder named Regression and add Test Cases you want to include in it. If you need a more compartmentalized regression plan (e.g. test different parts of application separately), you can create subfolders within your main folder. 

There is no limit to the number of subfolders, and they can be nested inside the main folder or inside other subfolders.

Once you have your regression organized in folders, you can bulk add Test Cases to Test Cycles to have them prepared for execution. 

To do that, enter your Regression folder or its specific part, and select Test Cases that you want to add to a Test Cycle. Choose an existing Test Cycle or create a new one. 

Same as with the test folders, you can add Test Cases from multiple projects to a single Test Cycle.

Your Test Cases are now added to a Test Cycle, ready for execution.



Step 3 – Execute

Once you have your Test Cycle ready, it’s time to execute it! Go to your Test Cycle Overview and view all of the Test Cases. Here, you can easily assign who is responsible for which Test Execution, and later on monitor the whole Test Cycle progress, including the statuses of linked bugs.

Click Open execution to progress to the Test Execution page, where you can comment on the performed Test Steps and report encountered bugs.

To make things go smoother, QAlity Plus displays Past Executions History, which has all of the crucial information about previously failed Test Executions. At a glance the tester can check the history of failed steps, its comments, and statuses of the bugs associated with the Test Case.

Should any new bugs arise, the Tester can report it right from the same page. The Bug description will be auto-filled with links to the related Test Case and Test Execution, making it easier for the product owner and developers to learn about the circumstances in which the bug occurred.

At this point you might be wondering: What happens when I need to Retest my Test Execution?

Each Test Case added to the Test Cycle represents its Execution. So, go ahead and add the Test Case as many times as you need to re-execute it.

Step 4 – Rearrange for the next release

Of course, regression is a reappearing task, but it doesn’t mean that you will have to repeat the same preparation process over and over again. A few clicks will do!

The fastest way to prepare for another regression testing, is to just go back to your Regression folder, select Test Cases again, and add them to a new Test Cycle, with new name, description and other details.

You can also prepare for repeated regression by cloning your previous Test Cycle, and changing its details.

Lastly, you can choose to select your Test Cycles as open or closed to help you keep track of the current status.

That’s all! Now, you can create your own regression using QAlity Plus - Test Management for Jira. Start your free trial of QAlity Plus here or check out the costless version with fewer features here.