How to Manage UAT, Defects, and Reporting in Jira Without a Plugin: A Step-by-Step Guide

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User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is a critical phase in software development where the final product is verified against the customer’s requirements. Alongside UAT, managing defects effectively and having clear, insightful reporting is essential for a smooth development lifecycle.

While there are several test management plugins available for Jira that streamline these processes, not every team or project may require the additional complexity or cost. In this comprehensive article, we’ll explore how to manage UAT, defects, and reporting in Jira without using a plugin, leveraging Jira’s built-in features such as custom issue types, workflows, filters, and dashboards.

Managing UAT in Jira Without a Plugin

UAT is often performed at the end of the development cycle to ensure that the product meets business requirements. It involves creating, assigning, and executing test cases, as well as tracking their status. Jira, with its customisable workflows and issue types, can handle UAT testing efficiently.

Step 1 → Create a Custom Issue Type for Test Cases

The first step is to create a dedicated issue type for Test Cases. This helps distinguish between regular development tasks and testing-specific tasks, ensuring better organisation. Go to Jira Settings > Issues > Issue Types. Click on Add Issue Type and name it “Test Case”. Define it as a Standard Issue (not a sub-task). Add a description field for detailed test steps, expected results, and any relevant information.

Step 2 → Customise the Workflow for Test Cases

Next, set up a workflow that fits the UAT process. You can define statuses such as To Do, In Progress, and Completed. If needed, add custom statuses such as Blocked or Failed. For example, your workflow might look like this: To Do: The test case is yet to be executed. In Progress: The test case is being executed by the tester. Completed: The test case has been executed and passed. By tracking these statuses, you can monitor the progress of test case execution and manage any blockers.

Step 3 → Assign Test Cases to Testers

Once a test case is created, assign it to a Tester. You can do this by selecting the Assignee field when creating or editing the issue. Testers will then execute the test case, updating the status and adding comments to indicate whether the test passed or failed. You can create custom fields or use the Description section to provide more granular details about test steps and outcomes.

Managing Defects in Jira Without a Plugin

During UAT, testers may encounter defects that need to be tracked and fixed. While Jira doesn’t provide specialised defect management functionality out of the box, you can set up a defect management process using Issue Types, Workflows, and Issue Linking.

Step 1 → Create a Custom Issue Type for Defects

To track defects efficiently, create a custom issue type called Defect. This makes it easier to distinguish between test cases and defects and helps in organising them. Go to Jira Settings > Issues > Issue Types. Add an issue type called Defect. This defect issue type will allow you to log bugs, errors, or issues encountered during testing.

Step 2 → Defects to Test Cases

Whenever a defect is identified during test execution, create a new defect issue and link it to the relevant test case using Jira’s Issue Links feature. To create an issue link, open the test case issue and click on the More button (three dots) and select Link. Use the Relates to or Blocks/Is Blocked by link type to associate the defect with the test case. This creates a clear relationship between the test case and the defect, helping teams track which test cases are blocked by defects.

Step 3 → Define a Workflow for Defects

To manage defect resolution, customise a workflow for defects with statuses such as To Do, In Progress, Resolved, and Closed. To Do: The defect has been reported but not yet addressed. In Progress: A developer is currently working on the defect. Resolved: The defect has been fixed and is ready for re-testing. Closed: The defect is considered resolved and no further action is needed. Assign defects to the Consultant or developer responsible for fixing them and ensure that they transition the defect to the appropriate status.

Reporting on Test Cases and Defects in Jira Without a Plugin

While Jira’s built-in reporting capabilities are somewhat limited for test management, you can create detailed reports by utilising Filters, JQL (Jira Query Language), Labels, Components, and Dashboards.

Step 1 → Test Case Progress

To track the progress of your test cases, create Jira filters based on specific criteria like test case status, assignee, or labels. For example: Filter for completed test cases: issuetype = "Test Case" AND status = "Completed" Filter for in-progress test cases: issuetype = "Test Case" AND status = "In Progress" You can also add custom fields to represent planned completion dates and track actual completion dates manually.

Step 2 → Track Defect Progress

To monitor defect resolution, create a filter to see the number of defects that are In Progress or Resolved. This helps track how many defects are still outstanding and the progress towards resolution. For example: Filter for unresolved defects: issuetype = "Defect" AND status != "Closed"

Step 3 → Use Labels and Components to Organise Test Cases and Defects

You can use Labels or Components to categorise test cases by different teams or features. This makes it easy to filter and report on testing progress for each team or module. For example: Test cases for Team A: issuetype = "Test Case" AND labels = "TeamA"

Step 4 → Create Custom Dashboards

Dashboards in Jira provide a real-time visual representation of your project’s progress. You can create a custom dashboard for UAT testing and defect tracking that includes:  Filter Results Gadget: Display test cases and defects based on their status or category. Pie Chart Gadget: Show a breakdown of test cases by status (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Completed). Two-Dimensional Filter Statistics Gadget: Track the progress of test cases and defects by team or version. This allows you to have a clear overview of testing and defect management and ensures that teams can monitor progress against the plan.

Conclusion

Managing UAT, defects, and reporting in Jira without a plugin is entirely feasible, although it requires more manual configuration. By creating custom issue types, workflows, and utilising Jira’s built-in features like filters, dashboards, and issue linking, you can effectively manage the UAT process, track defects, and generate reports.

However, if your testing needs grow more complex or if you need advanced features such as detailed test case execution tracking or automated test integration, using a test management plugin like Xray or Zephyr may be a more efficient solution. These plugins provide specialised tools that integrate seamlessly with Jira and help streamline the testing and defect management processes.

For teams looking to manage UAT and defects without incurring the additional cost of plugins, Jira’s native features offer a solid foundation, though they may require more manual effort for comprehensive reporting and management.

[Tomislav Tobijas _Koios_]

Wish this was posted 2 months ago when we were designing how to track UAT test cases for one server-to-cloud migration 👀 We started with test cases as sub-tasks but then, due to some limitations, switched to a standard issue type.

Anyway, this is a great example of how you can configure the system. Thanks for sharing!

[Jonathan Santos]

Thank you for sharing this information.