Testomat.io changes this equation. This artificial intelligence driven test management system turns Jira into a full testing command center rather than a decent project tracker. Instead of forcing your agile team to adapt to rigid workflows, it adapts to how modern software development actually works.

The Hidden Cost of Fragmented Test Management

Before diving into solutions, let’s acknowledge the real problem. Your current testing process is likely to resemble the following: the test cases are stored in spreadsheets, the actual testing is done in a different tool, test results are hand copied into Jira issues, and the test progress is unknown until something fails.

This fragmentation costs more than efficiency. It costs quality. When testing activities exist in isolation from your core development workflow, critical information gets lost. Developers can’t see which tests cover their code changes.

Product managers can’t track test coverage against user stories. QA teams waste time on manual reporting instead of actual testing. The best test management tools solve this by becoming invisible, they enhance your existing workflow without disrupting it.

Installing Testomat.io Jira Plugin

Most Jira test management plugins require complex configuration. Testomat.io takes a different approach as the right tool for modern QA teams.

This comprehensive test management solution transforms your Jira instance into a powerful test management tool.

1. Navigate to the Atlassian Marketplace
2. Generate Jira token on Atlassian Platform
3. Go to Testomatio’s settings dashboard from the TMS side to authorize the connection to enable native Jira integration, using this token and your Jira project URL Jira
4. Click “Save” and wait for confirmation
5. Verify bi-directional sync between test cases and Jira issues
6. Confirm Jira triggers are active
7. Test real-time test results display within your Jira user interface

What Teams Miss: Advanced Configuration

The plugin activation is just the beginning of our journey toward integrated test management in Jira. The power comes from how you configure the connection between your Jira project and Testomat.io workspace.

This Jira software testing tool offers different ways to enhance your testing process, making it a good test management tool for small agile teams and enterprise organizations alike.

Connecting Projects: The Admin Rights Reality

Here’s where many test management for Jira implementations fail. The person configuring Jira integration must have admin rights, not just for initial setup, but for the ongoing two-way sync that makes this test management for Jira valuable.

Required Prerequisites:

• Admin rights in your Jira instance
• Access to Testomat.io project settings
• Proper authentication credentials
• Understanding of your Jira project structure

API Token/Password Configuration:

• Follow Atlassian’s official token generation process
• Never skip this step or use workarounds
• Proper authentication prevents 90% of integration issues
• This enables test automation and test execution features

Integration Benefits Unlocked

A successful connection enables:

• Test case management in Jira with full traceability
• Automated test execution triggered by Jira issues status changes
• Real-time test results and execution status reporting
• Enhanced test coverage visibility across test suites
• Streamlined testing activities for continuous integration
• Custom fields integration for better testing data management

This Jira qa management approach transforms how agile software development teams handle software testing, providing an intuitive user interface that scales with your number of users and test sets.

Multi-Project Management: Scaling Beyond Single Teams

The small, agile teams may have a single Jira project, but larger organizations require flexibility. Testomat.io can support a number of Jira projects in relation to a single testing workspace – a feature which differentiates between serious test management tools and mere plug-in.

Repeat the connection procedure with every Jira project in order to tie up other projects. The most important perspective: you can group test cases by project, by feature or by test type and stay connected to several development streams.

This is especially effective in organizations where the Jira projects related to various products, environments or teams are isolated. Your test repository remains centralized and execution/reporting occurs within the context of particular Jira issues.

Direct Test Execution: Eliminating Context Switching

The real breakthrough happens when you can execute tests without leaving Jira. The traditional test management involves frequent swapping of tools, requirements can be checked in Jira and back to Jira to report. Such a context switching destroys productivity and brings up errors.
Testomat.io integrates the execution of your tests within your Jira interface.

It is a brilliant integration in the persistent integration processes. As the developers change code in specific Jira issues, it is possible to set the system so that it automatically initiates appropriate test sets. Does not need manual coordination.

Test Case Linking: Creating Traceability That Actually Works

Most test case management systems claim traceability, but few deliver it in ways that help real development work. Testomat.io creates direct links between test cases and Jira issues, not just for reporting, but for operational decision-making.

Link individual test cases to user stories, bug reports, or epic-level requirements. When requirements change, you immediately see affected test coverage. When tests fail, you can trace back to the specific features at risk.

The two-way integration means changes flow in both directions. Update a test case in Testomat.io, and linked Jira issues reflect the change. Modify requirements in Jira, and the system flags affected test cases for review.

This creates what mature qa teams need: living documentation that stays current with actual development work.

BDD Scenarios and Living Documentation

BDD scenarios are most effective when they remain aligned to real needs. Testomat.io aligns the scenarios in BDD with Jira user stories, the relationship between acceptance criteria and executable tests is preserved.

Write scenarios in natural language within Gherkin. They are converted into executable test cases, test data proposed automatically based on the context of stories and the situations are connected to the test automation frameworks by the system.

When business stakeholders update acceptance criteria, test cases update automatically. When test execution reveals gaps in scenarios, the system flags the parent user stories for review.

Advanced Automation: Beyond Simple Test Execution

This is where the AI possibilities of Testomat.io stand out against the conventional Jira test management software. The system learns the patterns on which you test and proposes optimizations.

As a developer transfers a story to Ready to be Tested, any pertinent testing automation structures are activated automatically. Regression test suites are run in response to a bug being marked “Fixed,” and against a component of the bug.

The AI monitors your testing history in order to determine indicators of gaps in your test coverage, propose test case priorities, and anticipate potential quality problems based on code change conditions and past test outcomes.

Criteria of test execution in Jira are custom fields. Testomat.io can utilize this information to pre-set test environment and execution parameters, in case your team monitors browser compatibility requirements, environment specifications or user persona details in Jira custom fields.

Integration with Confluence

Teams using Confluence for documentation can embed live test information directly in their pages. Use Testomat.io macros to display test suites, test case details, or execution results within Confluence documentation.

This integration serves different stakeholders differently. Product managers see test coverage against feature requirements. Developers see which tests validate their code changes. Support teams see test results for reported issues.

The documentation updates automatically as tests change, eliminating the manual maintenance that kills most documentation efforts.

Reporting and Analytics: Data That Drives Decisions

Standard test management reporting focuses on execution status and pass/fail rates. The AI of Testomat.io further allows you to understand which test cases are the most valuable to maintain, if test coverage is missing, and what correlation exists between the speed of testing and the quality of release.

Create bespoke reports in Jira, which aggregate testing data and project measures. Monitor test execution in relation to your sprints, test execution trends across the various environments and see the bottlenecks in your test process with Jira Statistic Widget.

The system identifies the patterns of your team testing to recommend improvements. Perhaps there are types of tests that will always show problems late in sprints. Perhaps certain test automation systems offer a superior ROI compared with others. These insights are exposed automatically by the AI.

Troubleshooting: Solving Common Integration Issues

Most integration problems stem from permissions or configuration errors. In case the test execution is not activated by Jira, make sure that the service account is correctly authorized in both systems. When test results do not show up in issues in Jira, ensure that the project connections are using the right project keys.

The problem with the API token can tend to depict an indication of expired credentials or inadequate permissions. Create tokens using the official Atlassian process instead of workarounds.

Testomat.io support team offers tailored integration plans by our experts, professional recommendations regarding setup, such as proxy and firewall setup.

Best Practices: Lessons from Successful Implementations

Teams that get maximum value from Jira test management follow several patterns.

• They start with clear test case organization using consistent naming conventions and meaningful tags.
• They establish automated triggers for common workflows rather than relying on manual test execution.
• They use custom fields strategically to capture context that improves test execution and reporting.

Above all, they do not consider test management as an independent practice. Requirements change together with test cases. Execution of test occurs within feature development. The results of tests make decisions on immediate development.

Choosing the Right Tool for Your Team

The market offers many Jira test management plugins: Zephyr Squad, Xray Test Management, QMetry Test Management, and others.

Testomat.io stands out with the power of AI-based optimization and genuine bi-direction integrations. Whereas other tools demand teams to adjust to their workflows, Testomat.io follows the way contemporary agile software development really operates.

The intuitive user interface will be quickly valuable to small agile teams, and native Jira integration is not so overwhelming. At the enterprise level, the multi-project management and the advanced analytics grow to the level of larger organizations.

The free trial provides full access to test management features, allowing teams to evaluate fit before committing. Most teams see value within the first week of use.

Making the Investment Decision

Implementing advanced test management in Jira requires investment in tool licensing, team training, and workflow optimization. Quantity of your existing adhesive method: time lost handing over the tools, developer time lost to unclear test feedback, costs caused by quality problems that seep to production. These hidden costs make investment in integrated test management worthwhile in a matter of months as it is applicable to most teams.

The trick is to select the option that will improve your current process but not to change it. Your team already knows Jira. The correct integration of the test management makes them more efficient without having to learn totally different systems.

Testomat.io develops Jira into a quality management system. Your testing activities become visible, trackable and optimized. Your group wastes less time testing and less time managing tools.

That’s the difference between adequate test management and advanced techniques that actually improve software quality.

The post Test Management in Jira: Advanced Techniques with Testomat.io appeared first on testomat.io.

In the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), manual testing plays a critical role in validating business logic, design flow, usability, and performance before the product reaches users. While automation testing has become increasingly popular, manual testing remains essential in areas where human intuition, flexibility, and context are required.

Why Manual Testing Still Matters

Despite the rise of test automation and the fact that manual testing is the most time-consuming activity within a testing cycle according to recent software testing statistics, 35% of companies identify it as their most resource-intensive testing activity. Manual testing is still very much relevant since this investment of time and human resources pays dividends in software quality and user satisfaction.

1⃣ Human Intuition VS Automation

Automated tools follow predefined scripts, unless they use AI. They can not anticipate unexpected user behavior or detect subtle design flaws. Human testers can apply empathy, common sense, and critical thinking, all key to evaluating user expectations and user satisfaction.

2⃣ Usability & Exploratory Testing

During exploratory testing, testers navigate the software freely without predefined scripts. This helps uncover hidden bugs and usability issues that structured testing might miss. It’s especially useful in early development stages when documentation is limited or evolving.

Exploratory testing, a key type of testing performed manually, allows testers to investigate software applications without predefined test scripts. This testing approach encourages testers to use their creativity and domain expertise to discover edge cases and unexpected behaviors that scripted tests might overlook.

3⃣ Edge Cases That Automation May Miss

Many edge cases, like odd screen resolutions, specific input combinations, or unusual user flows, are too complex or infrequent to automate. Manual testing ensures comprehensive coverage of these irregular scenarios.

4⃣ Early-Stage Product Testing

When a product is still in the concept or prototype phase, test cases evolve rapidly. Manual testing is more adaptable in such fluid environments compared to rigid automation scripts.

5⃣ Compliance, Accessibility, and Visual Validation

Testing for accessibility standards, compliance with legal requirements, and visual/UI validation often requires a human touch. Screen readers, color contrast, font legibility, and user interface alignment can’t be reliably assessed by machines alone.

Key Components of Manual Testing

Test Plan

A test plan is a high-level document that outlines the testing approach, scope, resources, timeline, and deliverables. It is a roadmap that guides testers and aligns them with the broader goals of the development team.

The test plan coordinates testing activities across the development team and provides stakeholders with visibility into testing efforts. It typically includes risk assessment, resource allocation, and contingency plans for various scenarios that might arise during test execution.

Test Case

A test case is a set of actions, inputs, and expected results designed to validate a specific function. A well-written test case includes:

• Test ID
• Title/Objective
• Steps to reproduce
• Expected results
• Actual results
• Pass/Fail status

Effective test cases are clear, concise, and reusable across different testing cycles. They should be designed to verify specific functionality while being maintainable as the software evolves through the development process.

Test Scenario vs. Test Case

While often confused, test scenarios and test cases serve different purposes in the testing process.

• Test Scenario: A high-level description of a feature or functionality to be tested.
• Test Case: A detailed checklist of steps to validate the scenario.

Scenarios help testers understand what to test; cases define how to test it.

Manual Test Execution

Manual test execution is the phase where testers manually run each test case step-by-step without using automation tools. It involves simulating real user actions, like clicking buttons, entering data, or navigating pages to verify that the software behaves as expected.

Bug Report

A clear bug report should contain:

• Summary
• Steps to reproduce
• Expected vs. actual result
• Screenshots or videos
• Severity and priority
• Environment details

Good reporting accelerates bug resolution and fosters collaboration across teams.

Test Closure

A test environment replicates the production environment where the software will run. It includes:

• Operating systems
• Browsers/devices
• Databases
• Network conditions

Testing on real devices in a well-configured environment ensures reliability.

Step-by-Step: Manual Testing Process

Manual testing follows a structured yet flexible flow.

1⃣ Requirement Analysis

The manual testing process begins with thorough requirement analysis, where testers review functional specifications, user stories, and acceptance criteria to understand what needs to be tested. This phase involves identifying testable requirements, clarifying ambiguities with stakeholders, and understanding the expected behavior of the software application.

During requirement analysis, testers also identify potential risks, dependencies, and constraints that might impact the testing approach. This analysis forms the foundation for all subsequent testing activities and helps ensure that testing efforts align with business objectives.

2⃣ Test Planning

Test planning involves creating a comprehensive strategy for the testing effort, including defining the testing scope, approach, resources, and timeline. This phase results in a detailed test plan that guides the entire testing process and ensures that all stakeholders understand their roles and responsibilities.

Effective test planning considers various factors such as project constraints, available resources, risk levels, and quality objectives. The plan should be detailed enough to provide clear guidance while remaining flexible enough to adapt to changing requirements.

3⃣ Test Case Design

Test case design transforms requirements and test scenarios into executable test procedures. This phase involves creating detailed test cases that cover both positive and negative scenarios, edge cases, and boundary conditions. Test case design requires careful consideration of test data requirements, expected results, and traceability to requirements.

Well-designed test cases should provide comprehensive coverage while remaining maintainable and efficient to execute. The design process often involves peer reviews to ensure quality and completeness of the test cases.

4⃣ Test Environment Setup

Setting up the test environment involves configuring all necessary infrastructure, installing required software, preparing test data, and ensuring that the environment closely resembles the production setting. This phase is critical for obtaining reliable and meaningful test results.

Environment setup also includes establishing processes for environment maintenance, data refresh, and configuration management. Proper environment management helps prevent testing delays and ensures consistent test execution.

5⃣ Test Execution

Test execution is where testers actually run the test cases, compare actual results with expected outcomes, and document any deviations or defects. This phase requires careful attention to detail and systematic documentation of all testing activities.

During test execution, testers may also perform ad-hoc testing and exploratory testing to investigate areas not covered by formal test cases. This combination of structured and unstructured testing helps maximize defect detection.

6⃣ Defect Reporting and Tracking

When defects are discovered during test execution, they must be documented, classified, and tracked through to resolution. This phase involves creating detailed bug reports, working with developers to clarify issues, and verifying fixes when they become available.

Effective defect management includes categorizing bugs by severity and priority, tracking resolution progress, and maintaining metrics on defect trends and resolution times.

7⃣ Test Closure Activities

Test closure involves completing final documentation, analyzing testing metrics, conducting lessons learned sessions, and archiving test artifacts. This phase ensures that testing knowledge is preserved and that insights from the current project can inform future testing efforts.

Test closure activities also include final reporting to stakeholders, confirming that exit criteria have been met, and transitioning any ongoing maintenance activities to appropriate teams.

What are The Main Manual Testing Types?

Manual testing covers various types of testing, including:

• Smoke Testing: Quick checks to ensure basic functionality.
• Sanity Testing: Verifying new functionality or bug fixes.
• Regression Testing: Ensuring code changes haven’t broken existing features.
• Exploratory Testing: Tester-driven, creative exploration.
• Ad-hoc Testing: Informal testing without documentation.
• Usability Testing: Assessing user experience and user interactions.
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Final checks by actual end users.

These types are essential for verifying software applications from multiple angles.

Manual vs Automated Testing: When to Use Each

The choice between manual and automated testing depends on various factors including project timeline, budget, application stability, and testing objectives. The adoption of test automation is accelerating, with 26% of teams replacing up to 50% of their manual testing efforts and 20% replacing 75% or more.

Criteria	Manual Testing	Automated Testing
Best For	UI, exploratory, short-term	Repetitive, regression, load, performance
Speed	Slower	Faster
Human Insight	Yes	Limited
Cost	Lower up front	High setup, low long-term cost
Tools	Basic (Google Docs, Jira)	Advanced (Selenium, Cypress)
Scalability	Limited	High
Reusability	Low	High

What are The Manual Testing Tools That You Should Know?

Even manual testers rely on tools to streamline the process:

• Test Case Management: Testomat.io, TestRail, TestLink
• Bug Tracking: Jira, Bugzilla
• Documentation: Confluence, Google Docs
• Screen Capture/Recording: Loom, Lightshot
• Spreadsheets & Checklists: Excel, Notion

These tools enhance collaboration, track progress, and improve test management.

Manual & Automation Test Synchronization

Modern QA practices combine both methods. For example:

• Start with manual testing in early phases
• Automate repetitive testing tasks later (like regression testing)
• Sync manual and automated test scripts in one platform (e.g., Testomat.io)
• Use manual results to refine automated test cases

This hybrid model ensures flexibility, scalability, and comprehensive coverage across all aspects of testing.

Challenges in Manual Testing

Manual testing isn’t without its pain points.

That’s why many organizations transition to a blended approach over time.

Best Practices for Manual Testers

If you’re just starting or looking to improve your testing approach, you can use these strategies. After all, a good manual tester is curious, methodical, and collaborative.

Keep Test Cases Clear and Reusable

Clarity beats cleverness. Well-written test cases should be easy to follow, even for someone new to the project. Reusability reduces maintenance and makes each testing cycle more efficient.

Tip: Use plain language, avoid jargon, and focus on user behavior. Think like an end user.

Use Checklists for Repetitive Tasks

For things like test environment setup or basic UI validation, checklists reduce mental load and human error. They’re your safety net — and they evolve as your app does.

Tip: Maintain checklists for app testing, integration testing, and performance testing workflows.

Collaborate With Developers and Designers

The closer QA is to the development team, the faster bugs are fixed — and the fewer misunderstandings happen. Collaboration leads to better alignment on user experience, design intent, and edge cases.

Tip: Attend sprint planning and design reviews to catch issues early and align on testing expectations.

Log Bugs Clearly With Repro Steps

A bug report should speak for itself. Vague or incomplete reports only delay fixes. Include reproduction steps, browser/device info, and screenshots or screen recordings when possible.

Tip: Use structured bug templates and emphasize test environment details and internal structure concerns (e.g., API responses or backend logs).

Learn Basic Automation for Hybrid Roles

Even if you’re focused on manual QA, learning the basics of test automation makes you more flexible and future-ready. It also helps you write better test cases that support both manual and automated testing pipelines.

Tip: Start with tool like Cypress, and learn how automation tools complement manual techniques.

Conclusion

Manual testing is far from obsolete. It remains a cornerstone of software quality assurance, especially when human judgment, context, and creativity are needed. It allows teams to evaluate user experience, uncover subtle bugs, and validate features in real-world scenarios. As products evolve, combining manual and automation testing provides the best of both worlds.

Fortunately, now there is Testomat.io, which can help you manage automated and manual testing in one AI-powered workspace, connecting BA, Dev, QA, and every non-tech stakeholder into a single loop to boost quality and faster delivery speed with AI agents. Contact our team now to learn more about Testomat.io.

The post What is Manual Testing? appeared first on testomat.io.

Let’s consider how we can maximize the most out of this approach,

The integration of a unified approach to BDD, the Test Management System, and Jira — three pillars establishing a clear structure for the testing process, that, in turn, facilitates communication among all project participants.

This suite of tools offers numerous benefits at its core:

→ First, it improves reporting visibility, which minimizes the risk of errors and ensures the delivery of high-quality software.
→ Second, by reducing testing time, it basically is the team’s efficiency; this set of tools leads to accelerating product development.

Further, we delve into detail on how they combine and work

Jira Role in BDD Implementation

Jira is a widely used project management tool for working with requirements and tracking defects. It plays a crucial role in our BDD-oriented approach by serving as a central hub for managing requirements, and it is a well-known tool for team participants that does not require additional training.

Before you pull a user story from Jira backlog into development, it is essential to have a conversation to clarify and confirm the acceptance criteria that your requirements should meet. Some teams do this during Scrum sprint planning, poker sessions, discovery workshops or backlog refinement meetings. Other teams have a specific Three Amigos Meeting. Whatever you call this conversation, its goal looks like an Example Mapping.

The conversation involves the following main iterative stages:

1. The team selects a small upcoming system update from the Jira backlog.
2. They discuss specific examples of new functionality.
3. These examples are pre-documented in a Given-When-Then form, a consistent basis for automated verification.

The result is clarification that serves as a common reference point for the team, enhancing understanding and ensuring alignment on feature requirements. Ensure fast iterations and the ability to make changes as needed, teams can return to earlier stages whenever additional information is needed.

Whereas Jira out-of-the-box does not support documenting user stories in a structured Gherkin syntax, we need to use extra Jira plugins like Xray, Zephyr, or Testomat.io to expand Jira’s capabilities of what we explore further below.

Test Management System and Its Role in BDD Process

Thus, thanks to the integration of Jira and Test Management Plugins, the team implements the pre-described behavior to Given-When-Then user stories. However, the right chosen test management tool can provide much more.

The Test Management System (TMS) is an important tool for organizing and optimizing the software testing process. It allows for:

• convenient planning
• executing and tracking test cases
• analyzing testing results

The test management system fosters more effective interaction among all participants in the process:

• developers (Devs)
• testers (QAs)
• Business stakeholders
• Product Owner
  …. e.g.

In the context of Behavior-Driven Development, a test management system simplifies the verification of BDD scenarios. At the same time, it ensures:

• clear and convenient test representation, Given-When-Then feature file
• ensuring seamless transparency and traceability between features and defects
• real-time documenting and updating with Living Documentation
• control over all verification stages
• streamlining BDD workflow
• maintaining BDD test scenarios

Moreover, Jira BDD and Test Management combination enables faster identification of errors during the requirements formulation stage, when fixing them is least costly — thus ensuring high product quality.

BDD Test Automation Frameworks

Automation scenarios using the Gherkin format help add value to your automation and respond quickly to feedback. Once user stories are described in Gherkin language, they are subject to verification by test automation frameworks. The Given-When-Then statements should be valid during checks with code-based statements defined in the automation framework.

Among the popular Automation frameworks which involve BDD tools and Jira in testing workflow are:

• Cucumber – usually executes test scripts written in JavaScript, TypeScript, Java or Ruby.
• Behave – helps automate BDD Python tests.
• JBehave – a Java-based BDD framework that supports automating of Java step definitions.
• Serenity – extends the capabilities of tools like Cucumber and JBehave. It is Java-based test automation frameworks, also Kotlin and Groovy.

Integration automation with BDD framework into your test workflow provides incredible efficiency for the test process. Namely, this allows:

Make testing not so consuming for repetitive tasks
Reduce overtime risks spent on testing in product releases
Ensure a transparent development process for the whole team
Improve overall software quality.

Integrating BDD, Test Management, and Jira

Now it is time to look at how the combination of BDD, test management tools, and Jira work together and how their connections promote collaboration, transparency, and automation at all stages of the development and testing.

Shortly:

Tests written with BDD are typically formulated in natural language, making them accessible to all participants in the development process.
BDD reduces the distance between development and testing, ensuring requirement compliance.
How Jira ensures that the requirements always align with the tests, quick bug fixes.
TMS allows for better control over the entire development process and timely delivery of a high-quality product.

Understanding of Jira Plugins

Many QA teams integrate Jira into their workflow through third-party services. Jira plugin – ensures integration of BDD tests with tasks in Jira, improving collaboration between testers, developers, and business analysts.

There are approaches to integration testing in Jira:

• Direct connection through Jira plugins, numerous of which you can find on the Jira Marketplace.
• Use of test management systems that support integration with automation tools.

The most common solutions are TestRail, Testomat.io, XRay, Zephyr, and qTest.

Testomatio for Jira

Advanced Jira Plugin is designed to meet one of the key needs of modern development: ensuring collaboration between technical and non-technical specialists in a project. Its advantage is that it is not limited by Jira functionality like many competing solutions. Its Jira integration is bidirectional. Any changes made in the Jira project, including changes to test plans, are immediately reflected in testomat.io, and vice versa – you can work with tests directly in the bug tracking system. Thanks to this, developers and other business stakeholders can fully participate in testing while working in a familiar tool.

The use of solutions like testomat.io test management plugin allows for combining manual and automated testing, including BDD within a single environment, providing convenient test management directly in Jira.

BDD tests can be added to the test management system in 4⃣ ways:

• Creation manual BDD tests – in the Gherkin editor, this is appropriate when the test scenario contains new steps. Intellegent autoformatting and autofilling are provided.
• AI BDD scenario generation – AI analyses your BDD project, existing BDD step, its requirements (Jira tickets) and suggests new ones based on them. If they’re okay, need to approve them.
• Migration and automatic conversion tests to BDD – you can import manual test cases from other TMS, XLSX, or CSV files from other test management systems and automatically convert test cases into BDD scenarios. The system automatically recognizes steps and adds steps in Gherkin syntax to the database for future use. It’s convenient for teams that previously worked without BDD.
• Import automated BDD tests from source code – after creating a new project, you can use the Import Project from Source Code feature, selecting the appropriate parameters (framework, project language, OS). All test scenarios from BDD frameworks will be automatically transferred to the TMS. Testomat.io easily integrates with the popular BDD framework Cucumber. You can import ready-made test scripts from this environment, edit them in TMS, run them, and track test results through detailed reports.

To optimize the process of creating and managing BDD tests, testomat.io offers a range of useful features:

• Reusing steps with the Step Database feature allows you to store all imported or manually created steps, helping save time when creating test cases and keep your project more unified.
• Automatic step updates during synchronization – the step database is updated every time new scenarios are added. If this does not happen automatically, the “Update Steps” function can be used.
• Functional file editing mode – allows you to modify Gherkin scripts: format them, add new or existing steps, and quickly find and replace words in all test steps.
• Tags – is an effective mechanism for managing test sets, allowing them to be grouped by various criteria, including test type or operating system.
• Search and filtering of tests – the ability to find necessary test cases by tags, test status (manual/automated, disabled, etc.), responsible specialist, or other parameters.
• Labels and custom fields – a tool for adapting the TMS to a specific project. It allows assigning labels to test cases, test sets, test plans, etc.
• Conversion of manual tests to automated – after creating manual BDD tests, they can be automatically converted to an automated format. Just write the code and import it into the system.
• Living docs – BDD test scenarios automatically become the technical documentation of the project, available to all participants and updated in real time.
• Advanced analytics – allows analyzing testing metrics such as unstable tests, slow tests, automation coverage, tag statistics, etc.

Create Jira tasks from TMS and track test results and defect fixes without the need to switch between tools.

Integration with Jira allows for executing test cases without technical skills. The bidirectional interaction between TMS and the project management system ensures automatic reflection of test results in Jira and quick creation of defect reports. Look at the picture below, what kinds of test execution you can choose on Jira Plugin Dashboard:

Benefits Automating BDD Testing with Test Management Systems & Jira

Automating BDD testing using test management systems (TMS) and integration with Jira significantly improves software testing efficiency. It ensures continuous testing, reduces testing time, and minimizes errors related to human factors, which is a key element in modern software development processes and allows teams to focus on improving product quality.

Integrating BDD scenarios with Jira allows each scenario to be automatically linked to the corresponding task or user story in the project management system. This helps clearly track which requirements are being tested and which testing stages have been completed.

When integrating BDD tools, such as Cucumber with Jira, testing can be automatically triggered with each change in Jira tasks. For example, when a developer finishes a task or creates a new branch in the repository, the corresponding BDD test scenarios are automatically executed, providing quick feedback and identifying potential defects early in the development process.

One of the main advantages of integrating BDD with TMS and Jira is the automatic generation of test result reports. After executing automated tests, all results can be viewed directly in Jira or in the TMS, enabling teams to quickly identify issues, defects, or deviations from expected outcomes. This reduces the time spent analyzing test results and speeds up decision-making.

Detailed reports help in the faster detection and correction of errors.

Thanks to the integration of BDD with continuous integration and delivery (CI\CD) systems, test automation becomes part of the daily workflows. Every change in code can automatically trigger tests, ensuring continuous testing and minimizing the risks of defects during development. Jira can display the status of tests and allow for real-time tracking of any errors.

Integrating automated tests with Jira keeps test status information up-to-date for all project participants, including developers, testers, and managers. This improves communication and fosters closer collaboration between teams. Everyone can easily review the current state of testing, enabling quick issue identification and process adjustments.

Finally, automating testing with BDD, TMS, and Jira not only accelerates testing but also provides greater reliability and accuracy of results

Xray

Xray test management in Jira – manages all tests as standard Jira tasks, allowing you to customize screens, workflows, and add custom fields for test scenarios.

Xray allows you to plan, write, and execute tests, as well as create detailed test reports. This system uses Jira issues to process tests that change at each stage of testing.

Xray organises tests, allowing you to manage the entire execution process. This ensures tracking of coverage, error detection, and basic release management. Detailed tracking reports allow you to identify which test failed and at which stage the issue occurred. This helps understand what needs to be fixed and efficiently collaborate with developers to resolve the issues. Implemented integration with frameworks like Cucumber and JUnit, so you can coordinate automation testing for your codebase.

What do you get with Xray?

• BDD support – work with behavior-driven testing without any limitations.
• Jira experience – testing is fully integrated into the familiar environment.
• Bug detection – check web, mobile, and desktop applications with new effective methods directly from your desktop, using seamless integration with Xray and Jira.

Xray is one of the oldest test management tools on the market, and some customers admit that its UI and core are somewhat obsolete. The tool works very slowly when dealing with large projects. The downside is that the implementation of large-scale and complex test projects is difficult without failures. It creates test cases with every team-run execution. Additionally, Xray’s advanced functionality is only available in the premium version.

Zephyr

Zephyr can be part of a BDD pipeline, but it doesn’t provide first-class BDD support natively, like before we talked about Xray or Testomat.io

1. Manually written BDD scenarios in Zephyr are not well-optimized for structured Gherkin input or Living Documentation.
2. Automated test cases written in Gherkin can be maintained in version control (e.g., Git), executed with automation tools, and the results pushed back to Zephyr via APIs only.

Zephyr offers users a choice of three options based on team size

• Zephyr Squad is a tool for running manual and automated tests in Jira, the most popular test management Jira test management solution.
• Zephyr Scale is a platform for growing teams working on multiple projects simultaneously, offering features for test result analysis, test run planning, and integration with BDD and CI tools.
• Zephyr Enterprise is an enterprise-level solution that allows testing across the entire organization, integrating the work of multiple teams in a single project, regardless of the development methodology used.

Overall, Zephyr for JIRA is known for its ease of use. However, the downside is that it works slowly and requires payment for each user. As a result, it becomes significantly more expensive than Testomat.io. Moreover, compared to it, Zephyr offers more limited functionality.

Benefits BDD, Test Management & Jira Integration

The integration of BDD with a test management system and Jira significantly improves the testing efficiency. Now let’s briefly recap the main points we have talked about above much

With a unified BDD, Test Management, and Jira integration, you can:

• Extend Jira capabilities, which works only with requirements.
• Formulate user stories and scenarios to define the acceptance criteria for specific software features.
• Create a common language (team communication) for developers and stakeholders (business analysts) to discuss user needs and software solutions.
• Ensure clear and structured test scenarios using natural language (Gherkin).
• Perform traceability of requirements. Link BDD tests with requirements and track progress as test coverage of the project progresses.

Conclusion

The integration of a unified BDD approach, testing systems, and Jira enables efficient tracking of tests and requirements, enhances collaboration between technical and non-technical project participants, and allows for quick response to changes and error correction during SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle). This combination ensures optimization of reporting, reduction of product time to market, and improvement of software quality.

The advantage of TMS is that it is a centralized system that can provide more, in addition to working with requirements, testomat.io also includes importing automated tests and its synchronisation with manual tests. In other words, the Testomat.io Jira plugin brings new capabilities to Jira that it could not offer on its own.

If you have any questions about implementing Jira BDD best practices together with our test management solution, drop us a line without hesitation!

The post Integration between BDD in Jira and Test Management System appeared first on testomat.io.

— Why is this approach to development so in demand among various teams?
— What makes it unique?

Let’s break it down further

What is Application Lifecycle Management?

ALM is an approach to the development process that covers all its stages, from initial planning to the final deployment of the application. However, saying that ALM is simply an approach to application development is not enough. It is a whole philosophy embedded in Agile methodologies, which allows teams to create high-quality digital solutions.

It’s common to equate ALM with software development. Yet this simple approach is too limiting; ALM is much more than this. In fact, an application’s lifecycle includes the entire time during which an organization is spending money on this asset, from the initial idea to the end of the application’s life

David Chappell,
the Principal of Chappell & Associates

Note. ALM should not be equated with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). What is the difference? The former focuses solely on the lifecycle of an application, while PLM is a more comprehensive concept that covers not only software development but also other aspects of the product lifecycle, such as hardware, manufacturing, product marketing, etc.

Watch the expert’s video to learn more: What is Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)?

Difference Between ALM VS SDLC

Another common misconception is the software development lifecycle (SDLC). Let’s explore why:

What conclusion can be drawn from this? SDLC is a narrower concept that pertains exclusively to the creation of a digital solution. It can be considered a part of ALM.

Phases of Application Lifecycle Management

— What do you think the entire lifecycle of the application begins with?
— Right, With the idea
— So, Why not create something that helps achieve a specific goal? The phased work on creating a digital solution starts from its inception.

As seen in the table above, in most cases, ALM includes five phases. Let’s talk about them in more detail…

#1: Requirements Specification

At the first stage, it is necessary to economically justify the idea. That is, to answer the question: what do we want to achieve from this application? All stakeholders should participate in the discussion. Their expectations form the basis for the future product requirements.

Next, it is important to clearly formulate these requirements.

Often, the requirements specification has a hierarchical tree structure. That is, each requirement has its own sub-requirements.

However, teams that have implemented application life cycle management tend to prefer another approach. For example, it may be more convenient to:

• categorize the requirements (by specific functionality, module, etc.);
• structure them by priority (what should be implemented first, what can be done later).

This approach is more in line with Agile methodologies.

#2: Development Phase

Once the requirements are gathered, development of the software application can begin. At this stage, a distinctive feature of ALM will be total collaboration – different teams participate in the application development.

For example, ALM Processes participant’s responsibilities:

→ Project Manager handles financial matters, estimating the duration and cost of the project.
→ Development team members formulate key tasks for design and coding.
→ Testing team determines the scope of work for quality verification, preparing test cases.
→ Marketers and Customer Representatives ensure that the product meets the target audience’s requirements.

Also, before development begins, planning for the sequence of releasing new features is carried out.

#3: ALM testing

Testing and development of the software product go hand in hand in ALM. Testers check the quality of the solution after the release of each new feature or update. Any detected errors are immediately sent to the development team for resolution, after which the QA specialist runs the tests again.

To speed up and increase the accuracy of this process, it is advisable to use ALM testing software.

#4: Deployment

This stage involves releasing the digital solution to end users. How this will be implemented depends on the type of software product.

For instance, it could be a SaaS solution. It needs to be deployed on internal servers. Local applications require deployment, installation, and configuration on the client’s server. Mobile and hybrid products are distributed through app stores. There are other deployment methods as well, but we will not go into detail about them in this material.

#5: Maintenance of the Software Product

At this stage, the team faces one main task — ensure that the application meets user expectations after release! This involves performing the following actions:

• Timely detection of errors and their quick resolution.
• Planning future updates to improve the digital solution.
• Implementing new functionality based on user feedback.
• Discontinuing the use of the product (or its current version) and releasing another application/version using new relevant technologies.

The last activity is called the Retirement of the Product. It is a vital part of ALM.

Benefits of ALM

Thus, why implement ALM if you can continue working according to the familiar SDLC? If you’ve had this question, let us quickly present the key benefits of application lifecycle management.

Improved Communication on the Project

Mismatch between the final product and business requirements, missed deadlines, low team morale, etc. Admit it, you’ve probably faced these issues on projects at least once in your life. One of the reasons for each of them could be poor communication within the team and beyond.

Well, ALM helps prevent such difficulties and their consequences. Each application lifecycle management tool serves as a single platform for collaboration between developers, quality assurance engineers, project managers, and relevant stakeholders. Anyone involved with the product can participate in its creation: track progress, monitor project status, make suggestions, and more.

This helps prevent misunderstandings and contributes to achieving project goals.

Effective Project Planning

Proper planning of the software product’s work is the key to successful development. Clear project plans allow:

• proper prioritization
• accurate project time estimates
• effective resource allocation
• avoiding cost overruns
• tracking progress
• timely identification of issues
• promptly addressing emerging problems.

In other words, ALM allows teams to create a clear project roadmap, which they will then follow to maintain the correct development course.

Reliable ALM Software Testing

As you remember, quality assurance is an integral part of application lifecycle management. Moreover, QA processes in this approach are characterized by clarity and structure. This is facilitated by the use of ALM testing tools. These platforms allow test case creation, have features for managing test data and support test automation.

Risk Minimization

Is the development of the application associated with risks? The answer is clear. Yes. These risks can be caused by technical debt, poor requirements gathering, changes in business priorities, and more. All these risks can be effectively managed using an application lifecycle management tool. Typically, such platforms have enough functionality to identify, assess, and mitigate risks.

Continuous Process Improvement

Specialized tools allow the collection and analysis of many metrics. For example, users have access to project documentation, detailed test reports, and development time data. By tracking various indicators, team members can promptly identify issues with source code and other bottlenecks in the project. What’s the result? Increased team efficiency and improved the quality of the final product.

ALM in Software Testing

The role of ALM in testing is hard to overestimate. This approach ensures smooth integration of QA efforts into the broader lifecycle of an application. In other words, it guarantees that tests will be executed at each development stage.

The following components of ALM for testing are highlighted:

• Requirements Management. Application Life Management helps clearly define requirements and ensure their precise alignment with test plans. Common practice is linking requirements in Jira with the ALM test management tool to track their traceability.
• Test Planning. This activity involves developing a clear testing strategy and its objectives. The teams will need to determine which types of testing to use and create test plans. These plans are easy to document and track in an ALM tool for testing.
• Test Design. It’s time to write test cases and test scripts. Ready? Now you can check whether the application works properly.

• Test Execution. Managing test runs, monitoring their execution, and analyzing results — all of this is available in the ALM test management tool.

• Defect Management. Did you find a defect during testing? ALM implies documenting it, determining its priority, and providing recommendations for resolution.

• Test Automation. ALM supports the use of automated testing tools. This speeds up the process and improves the accuracy of quality assurance results.

• Continuous Testing. ALM perfectly aligns with Agile development principles. This approach fosters continuous testing throughout the development process.

• Reporting and Metrics. Detailed reports help teams identify areas for improvement by studying various metrics. These include test coverage, test execution status, defect trends, and more.

• Release Management. ALM QA testing ensures that all tests (including acceptance tests) have been conducted and that the digital product is ready for market release. Post-release testing is also possible. This allows tracking potential issues.

What is ALM Testing Tool?

An ALM testing tool is a platform that allows optimizing QA processes on a project. These tools help plan, track, and execute tests, as well as provide advanced test Reports and Analytics

In other words, it is a unified platform that combines all the functions necessary for testing teams: requirements management, test case creation, defect tracking, and reporting.

The Role of ALM Test Management Tool in Development

The tools used in application lifecycle management offer users comprehensive functionality. They help optimize all activities on the project.

Key aspects of development in which ALM platforms are indispensable:

• Requirements management. As you can see, this process is important not only for creating relevant test cases. It is crucial for the entire development process.

• Planning and scheduling. Detailed project planning is half the success. ALM tools allow you to create project plans, develop a schedule for implementing tasks, and allocate resources effectively.

• Version control. These tools easily integrate with version control systems. This is very convenient because you can revert to the desired version of the source code at any development stage.

• Test management. We’ve already discussed the role of ALM in testing. So, we will just remind you — the AML test management tool helps optimize test planning and execution. This guarantees high-quality final products.

• CI\CD practices. Tools allow you to automate the process of building, testing, and deploying code. This leads to faster development, early detection of defects, and reduced risk of errors during software delivery to end-users.

What else to expect from ALM tools? They help manage the release of digital products, ensure regulatory compliance, and are used for monitoring after deployment.

ALM Tools: What to Consider When Choosing?

If you need to choose an AML test management tool, ask yourself the following questions

• What is the size of my team? Larger or remote teams may require tools focused on collaboration, detailed reporting, and good scalability.

• What kind of project are we working on? Choose a tool based on your development methodology. For Scrum or Kanban workflows, you will need a more flexible platform. For a waterfall project, traditional planning and reporting will be more suitable.

• What infrastructure does the ALM tool need to integrate with? Assess whether the tool can be integrated with the CI\CD pipeline, version tracking system, and other services already used in the project.

• How much time will training and adaptation take? An AML test management tool with a steep learning curve is not the best choice, as it may slow down development.

• What features does the tool offer? Remember that ALM is a comprehensive approach covering all aspects of the application life cycle. Make sure the tool has sufficient capabilities, especially in areas such as test automation.

• Does the tool provide built-in reporting and analytics? Detailed test reports and data analytics are essential for informed decision-making. If they are not available, you may have to rely on third-party services, which is inconvenient.

• What if problems arise? Prioritize tools with a well-developed community and comprehensive documentation.

Next, we present a list of the best ALM tools that best meet the criteria mentioned above.

Top 5 ALM Testing Tools

We have selected five tools whose capabilities allow teams to effectively implement application lifecycle management in their projects.

Testomatio

The testomat.io test management system helps teams optimize their testing efforts throughout the entire lifecycle of an application. The platform bridges the gap between manual and automated testing, allowing users to run various types of tests in one place. It offers the following key features:

 Testomatio ALM test management tool key features:

• Test Case Management. The tool supports both manual and automated test cases, enabling users to create, organize, and manage them efficiently.

• Test Automation Integration. With just one click, manual tests can be converted into automated ones. Additionally, the TMS allows importing test cases from other testing tools.

• Defect Management. The system enables defect tracking from detection to resolution. Users can filter, cluster, and monitor defect severity for individual test runs or the entire project.

• Reporting and Analytics. Need to track testing progress? Use real time reports. Looking for insights after test execution? Comprehensive reporting is available. Users can also leverage live documentation and an analytics dashboard to monitor key metrics.

• CI\CD Support. Testomat.io seamlessly integrates with popular CI\CD tools like GitLab or GitHub, CircleCI, Jenkins and AzureDevOps enabling continuous test execution, real-time monitoring, and defect notifications.

• Collaboration. Human-readable reports, BDD support, data visualization, and integrations with tools like Slack enhance team collaboration on projects.

Jira

Jira is a highly demanded project management and bug tracking system among IT teams. It is most commonly used by development teams for working with requirements, defect management, and task execution control. And although the system does not offer a test automation function, this issue can be easily resolved by integrating it with a test management tool — for example, with Testomat.io.

Jira key features, as alm tool in testing:

• Test Case Management. Thanks to seamless integration with Testomat.io, users can easily manage test cases using a familiar tool. All they need to do is link them to user stories and Jira issues.

• Test Execution. Jira supports the management and tracking of manual tests. Automation is only available through third-party integrations.

  And many ALM test management tool providers give this opportunity.

• Defect Tracking. The platform allows users to track defects and integrate them with test cases. This enables control over the development process throughout the application life cycle.

• Agile Integration. As one of the most popular project management tools, Jira supports Agile development methodologies (Scrum, Kanban). Teams can link testing with sprints or user stories.

• Reporting and Traceability. The tool provides users with built-in reports that help track test coverage, test execution, and defect status.

Microsoft Azure DevOps

Microsoft Azure DevOps, formerly known as Visual Studio Team Services, is a set of tools for development teams that have implemented DevOps practices in their project. It allows managing source code, supports continuous integration, QA, and is used for release management.

Azure DevOps key features:

• Agile Project Management. Supports Scrum and Kanban for planning and tracking workflows.

• Test Management. The platform holds a top position as an ALM test management tool within the QA community worldwide. It allows managing manual tests, with the possibility of integration with testing tools for test automation.

• CI\CD Support. Automates pipelines for building, testing, and releasing software.

• Version Control. Enables code repository management through integration with version control systems.

• Defect Tracking and Reporting. The tool provides users with access to monitoring dashboards. With their help, you can track key project metrics and identify defects.

IBM Rational Team Concert

IBM Rational Team Concert (RTC) is a solution for collaborative management of an application’s lifecycle. The functionality of the tool meets the needs of teams at all stages, from planning to post-release support.

Key features RTC AML testing software:

• Collaboration. The platform offers users discussion boards and team rooms for collaboration. Notifications about changes or new comments also play an important role.

• Version Control. You can use the built-in version control system or integrate with an external service.

• Source Code Management. Users have access to the Code Reviews feature and integration with other IBM tools for source code analysis.

• Quality Management. Interested in comprehensive test management? Consider RTC as a tool for your project. However, it goes beyond a traditional namely ALM test management tool. With it, you can plan and execute tests, as well as track the progress and results of testing.

Tricentis

The Tricentis platform is a comprehensive solution for continuous automated testing. It is often used by teams due to its versatility. Here, different types of tests can be run, test cases can be managed, and results can be analyzed.

• Continuous Testing. The tool supports agile methodologies and DevOps. What does this mean in the context of QA? You can test individual functions or the entire application throughout the entire development cycle.

• Test Automation. To accelerate QA, you can automate your tests with Tricentis. Importantly, these can be any type of tests, such as functional, regression, and performance testing.

• Test Management. With the right AML test management tool, you will have complete control over QA processes. What can not say about Qtest from Tricentis. Plan and executing tests, identifying defects, tracking compliance with requirements, and generating detailed reports are quite curly with the Tricentis testing tools, admit their customers.

• Collaboration. Tricentis easily integrates with third-party services (such as Jira or Jenkins). As a result, testers gain access to real-time analytics, dashboards, and other collaborative features.

• Risk-based Testing. This approach to testing is fully justified. It allows you to prioritize test cases and focus on the most critical areas of the application.

You’ll find this valuable:

Comprehensive comparison of Qtest & Testomat.io test management system

Conclusion

ALM is an approach to creating digital products that covers far more aspects than the classic SDLC. Use it for clear planning, automation, and tracking of the entire lifecycle of an application, including testing.

Investing in a more advanced ALM test management tool is sensible if the company is on the way to a large-scale enterprise project and plans its long-term development with ALM as a single source of truth for the entire team, following the best practices of Quality Assurance.

The post What is ALM Test Management Tool, its Benefits | Top 5 of the Best appeared first on testomat.io.

Today, we will focus on the Jira test automation workflow, its setup, and effective maintenance. Let’s take a closer look at how it works.

Understanding Test Automation in Jira

— Why do teams choose to integrate with Jira?

1. Jira remains a stable market leader with no signs of losing its dominance.
2. Atlassian has built a fairly good reputation over the years
3. Many professionals are already familiar with its functionality

These eliminate the need for additional training, saving companies both time and money. As a result, Jira Atlassian & Confluence are often the preferred choices, which make cross-collaboration much easier within a software development team.

Similarly, choosing appropriate solutions for automated testing processes allows the testing of complex software faster and in more detail through iterations.

The process of Jira Test Automation involves the creation, editing, and detailing of user stories and linking them with tests. Moreover, sometimes it contains such important things as parts of test strategy, execution cycles, and integrates a powerful set of testing features into any project in Jira.

This gives testers more capabilities thanks to better tool integration, expanded visibility, and greater test coverage, which allows meeting the scale and complexity of the project.

Test Automation Integration with Jira

As we mentioned on top, Jira is used for project management, particularly for working with requirements and defect management. However, Jira does not have a built-in mechanism for automated tests. Therefore, managing them requires using additional plugins or integration with third-party solutions. XRay, Zephyr and TestRail — popular players on the market.

There are two approaches among Jira tools:

→ integration directly with automation plugins
→ using test management systems that enable interaction with automation tools

Thanks to tools that support integration, the powerful functionality of Jira can be effectively used for deep testing. Test management system testomat.io is a tool that brings together technical and non-technical specialists to collaborate on a single platform. It allows for effective management of both automated and manual testing, significantly increasing test automation coverage and contributing to the release of high-quality products. It creates an ideal workflow, with Jira even by running automated tests from Jira.

Top Benefits of Jira Automation Workflow for team of Testers

• verifying requirement traceability in real-time mode
• testing multiple stages of product development
• accelerating release schedules
• effectively managing regressions
• progressively tracking progress

Jira test automation plugin

Integration with Testomat Advanced Jira Plugin allows automated testing teams to combine enterprise management-level testing, quality analytics, and monitoring with the Jira ecosystem to:

• Create test tasks.
• Link test cases with Jira tasks.
• Retrieve test requirements from Jira.
• Form, execute, and manage test cycles and sets, including on CI\CD.
• Manage defects and create reports about them.
• Track traceability.
• Use test metrics to analyze test results.
• Analyze Jira reports.

Even if you are not logged into TCMS testomat.io or its Jira Plugin, you can view tests and sets linked to a specific user story.

You also have the option to view the test coverage dashboard.

The QA manager can grant users different rights, such as Read-only users. Analytics, Reports and many other sensitive kinds of data are available to them, but they can not change any project data. In comparison, with competitive Jira-based TCMS — Testomat.io Read-only Users are free, so in total, the price is cheaper than buying seats for all team members. For instance, it is the well-known XRay or Zephyr Jira-based test management tool. 

Of course, if extra features of the Jira test automation plugin become available, you need to Login into your account.

To know how the connection of your test project with Jira might be done follow our official Documentation. Also, it is described more in the first article from the following list:

Also read to this subject:

• How to scale your testing: Jira Test Management Tutorial
• Detailed Guide on Creating Jira Reports for Your Team
• The Ultimate Guide to (RTM) Requirements Traceability Matrix

The Testomatio Jira plugin is designed for seamless integration with your projects. Thus, for it to function correctly, appropriate permissions are required. If you connect your project with a Jira project, it has read access to all tasks, so tests that can be attached to any Jira task will be displayed. Additionally, the plugin can record properties to store test data in the Jira repository associated with a specific task. Our test management solution helps you synchronize your manual and automated tests under one roof, including the Jira tool.

The biggest impact that’s been very gratifying is the change in the perception of the tools…Even the people that I couldn’t convince before…they use it now and won’t give it up!

Mike Rathwell of Modus Create,

Roblox’s Solution Partner

Discover more unique capabilities you can get

It is a bidirectional tool, allowing you to perform the same actions as from the CLI side with your automation tests, as well as from the test management system and Jira side. So, the capabilities are:

• Non-techies can run automated tests on CI\CD using a familiar tool if necessary without the assistance of Automation test engineers, only with a few clicks. They can Schedule Run on non-work time.
• Mixed Run allows unity auto and manual tests and executes them in one Run.

It is a unique feature. Select specific automated tests based on the Test Plan you determined in the previous step and execute them quickly as a checklist in the Manual Run directly in Jira.

After test execution, whether performed in TCMS or Jira, the test results link is always in Jira, by following it you can see a detailed and visually colourful Report.

You can set up your project to automatically link failed tests to existing Jira issues or create new ones after finishing test execution. Create Jira Ticket manually you can also on a fly with TCMS UI.

Also, our team developed a powerful Jira Statistics Widget on the Analytics Dashboard to provide a central control so you can evaluate real-time insights on your test automation results. This widget helps QA teams, developers, and project managers track the requirement coverage, test status, defect status, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions about product readiness on the market.

Pay attention with the help of tags, labels, filters, and advanced TQL filtering, you can highlight the project parts of the project that require your focused attention.

It is important to note that Testomatio Jira Plugin does not perform any operations to update or delete Jira tasks, ensuring the integrity of your project data is preserved. For its operation, the plugin uses access to several Jira API endpoints, strictly limited to those necessary for its functionality, while adhering to high security and data protection standards.

For some your project from Jira side, you might need the next settings:

How to Test Jira Automation Rules?

During the automation rule setup, you can test it in advance before running it on real data.

Although Atlassian Cloud automation lacks a “test mode” feature, rules can be manually checked using the Manual from issue trigger. This allows you to run the rule manually through the issue detail view.

How to check automation rules

• Creating a rule. During setup, select the Manual trigger. If needed, you can configure access to restrict who can view and manually run this rule. If the option Ask for input when running the rule is selected, you can create a form that must be filled out before running the rule. Save the selected settings.
• Test automation tool testing in Jira. In Jira, open the required task and go to the Actions dropdown menu. Select the desired rule from the list – it will run automatically. In Confluence, go to the page (note that manual rules are not available for blogs) and click Automation or use the appropriate keyboard shortcut. Select the rule from the list – after that, it will start executing.

In this way, you will be able to reliably set up and use automation rules in Jira.

Future Trends in Jira Test Automation

One of the main areas of development in the future is the application of artificial intelligence. Here’s how you can successfully integrate AI/ML into your workflows:

• Choose the right tools. For example, with features such as test automation, predictive analytics, and real-time reporting.
• Train team members. Invest in acquiring technical and strategic knowledge for effective work with integrated technologies.
• Evaluate integration. Analyze effectiveness, gather feedback, and identify areas for improvement. Given the rapid development of AI testing tools, many shortcomings will be addressed in the near future.

Companies that are open to change and willing to invest resources in modern tools, processes, and talent development will have excellent prospects for creating high-quality software in a highly competitive environment.

Summary

Integrating automated testing with Jira changes the game for companies aiming to ensure high software quality in a competitive and dynamic environment. Thanks to the automated Testomatio Jira workflow, testers can effectively manage the design, planning, development, monitoring, and revision testing of projects directly on the Jira platform. Using an iterative approach, the testing tool matches each tested module with the corresponding task. This allows for a step-by-step assessment of the task’s progress and its readiness for release.

In total, by eliminating the barrier between testing and project management, the entire team gains improved control, a deeper understanding of processes, and the necessary flexibility to achieve project goals. As software complexity grows, implementing such integration solutions ensures the prioritization of quality, which contributes to user satisfaction and business success.

The post Test Automation with Jira – Your Ideal Workflow appeared first on testomat.io.

Only a properly tested software solution ensures security, high performance, and scalability contributing to time savings, cost-effectiveness, and customer satisfaction. Having that in mind, opting for test management tools is the only way to keep pace with high-quality development and verify software products for all possible bugs.

What is Jira and why using it as a testing tool is a good choice?

At its most basic, Jira acts as a project management tool. It’s a system of tracking and managing tasks, projects and teams as well. Essentially, it’s an organized tool for supporting any type of project by incorporating a great number of features and integrations.

Source
According to the 15th State of Agile Report, Jira is known as the most highly recommended tool in the agile-driven world. Here are some important reasons companies select it:

• Jira provides visibility over ongoing projects and helps track all activities, including team members assigned, team comments, issues, etc.
• Jira offers excellent integration capabilities – Confluence, Bamboo, FishEye, Stash, etc. can be integrated with Jira with ease as well as other external systems and applications.
• Jira highlights important milestones and generates reports on almost any aspect of the development process.
• Jira allows teams to get more out of their business processes by customizing the system to meet their unique business needs and requirements.
• Jira guarantees compatibility with iOS/Android mobile devices – this means getting everyone on the same page and staying connected on the go.
• Jira powers your business with effective team workflows that increases productivity and transparency.

Jira’s test management workflows

Being a fully customizable tool, Jira opens up ample opportunities for teams in an agile-driven environment. Let’s take a closer look at the test management workflows it provides for users:

1. Customization. Teams can perform manual testing inside and handle automated testing with the help of a CI server.
2. Integration. When integrating a test management tool, teams can speed up the testing process and realize its full potential with an external software solution.

Both these approaches provide real-time integration and connect sprints, epics, user stories, new features, tasks, etc. to the test cases, test case assignments, and execution.

How to choose a Test Management Solution that works with Jira

When looking for a test management solution, the choice can quickly become complicated. To help you choose a test management solution that works with Jira more efficiently, we have come up with key considerations you should look into below:

Agile-driven workflow. A test management tool should simplify the testing process and enable team members to manage the whole test lifecycle more effectively and get a clear picture of the complexity of the test cases.

• Great customization. A test management solution you look for needs to be greatly customizable and aligned with your unique business processes. This helps you create a more seamless workflow for test execution, test design, or test planning and offer configurable gadgets to track the progress of your project in a granular manner.
• Test automation. A built-in automation feature is essential when it comes to looking for a test management tool. This helps your teams make the testing process automated and deliver the software products of the highest quality.
• Speed and simplicity. When looking for a test management system, you need to take into account easy test import, creation and execution. In addition to that, the high performance the tool offers is an important option to increase team productivity.
• Powerful reporting. A test management solution should provide reporting and analytics options so that the teams can stay up-to-date with the progress. Moreover, using actionable information creates visibility and helps teams evaluate the performance of the testing process as a whole.
• Collaboration. A test management solution should be intuitive and easy to use with all features properly showcased. This helps the team take advantage of all the different components of the tool and keep everyone moving forward in the same direction.
• Price and vendor support. When shopping for a test management system, it’s critical to find a balance between cost and features. In addition to that, you need to ensure it offers maintenance and customer support when you need it.

Top Test Management Tools for Jira in 2025

With so many test management systems on the market to choose from, it can be challenging to find the right one. Here are some tools to consider that represent a wide range of features and prices.

• Zephyr Scale: this tool provides test management activities including test planning, specification, execution, tracking and reporting right inside Jira, helping teams coordinate changes successfully.
• Xray: this tool delivers customizable screens and seamless workflow as well as allows team members to manage manual and automated tests as Jira issues in a transparency-based way.
• TestRail: integrated with Jira, this tool helps teams manage test cases, plans, and execution more efficiently. This boosts testing processes and brings to life high-quality software solutions.
• Zephyr Squad: this tool allows teams to plan and execute test cases and utilize BDD scenarios. This optimizes the speed and quality of software testing.
• Kualitee: if integrated with Jira, this tool enables teams to execute test cycles and log defects. It also provides a customizable dashboard and reports to keep track of issues in one single location.
• Testomatio: this tool allows technical and non-tech specialists to collaborate in one single place and manage automation testing along with manual testing. This levels up test automation coverage and helps to deliver high-quality products.

Advantages and disadvantages of making Jira your testing tool
Undoubtedly, Jira is a powerful testing tool in the toolbox of any software development company. Though there are both Jira’s advantages and disadvantages. Let’s find out them below:

Jira test management limitations vs full-featured test management app

Unfortunately, Jira provides the most basic functionality for QA teams and doesn’t allocate the testing process as it should. Taking into account Jira test management limitations, opting for a full-featured test management system is an attractive option. When there is a clear workflow, and clear features to perform work, your teams can take advantage of a full-featured test management system much more effectively. Here are some benefits they can derive:

• It offers test planning and reporting for teams working across multiple projects in one place.
• It facilitates the testing process by allowing team members to easily design and execute test cases in real-time.
• It helps to manage all types of tests and keeps teams in sync on product quality.
• It provides automation and integration with BDD and CI.
• It helps to keep track of changes by displaying a complete history of all activities.

Bottom Line: Ready to streamline your testing process?

Choosing the right test management solution entails a careful and time-consuming process. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and each test tool caters to specific business needs.

Moreover, not all test management systems provide you with all the functionality. That’s why it’s crucial to engage your team and identify critical features that set you up for success in the testing process. Nothing boosts the testing process and improves productivity like opting for the right test management system that leads your team triumphantly toward business success.

The post Complete guide to JIRA <br> Test Management tools in 2025 appeared first on testomat.io.

What is a Software Defect?

In software testing, a defect is defined as a mismatch between the business requirements of the application and the actual outcomes produced by the development. To put it differently, when a digital solution does not operate as intended, it is deemed a defect.

ISTQB defines this term as:

A flaw in a component or system that can cause the component or system to fail to perform its required function, e.g., an incorrect statement or data definition.

Other terms for this concept include issues, bugs, or incidents. Although there are certain distinctions between them, they are commonly used interchangeably to describe issues in the functioning of a software application.

There are several causes of incidents, including errors in coding, incorrect application logic, improper implementation of required functionality, and faulty interactions between multiple components of the app.

It is important that regardless of the cause, every bug must be identified and addressed in a timely manner.

The Essence of the DMP

On the top, we said already, the Defect Management Process (DMP) is an important part of software development that involves identifying and fixing errors in the operation of a digital product. DMP assists QA and development teams in maintaining software quality and meeting business objectives.

It is crucial to emphasize that the Defect Management Process – is an iterative process, requiring careful attention at every phase of the software development life cycle. This ensures the creation of a digital product will align with the expectations of the target audience.

Defect Management Lifecycle

The defect management process in software testing involves several stages, collectively known as – theDefect Management Life Cycle. Further in the text, you can see how work on handling errors is usually carried out in a project:

• The testing team detects a bug and assigns it the status New (1; 2)
• The stakeholders lead staff involved in quality assurance conducts an in-depth analysis of a defect in a digital solution. This can be done in several stages (3; 4; 5; 6; 7):

→ First, the QA lead checks how accurately the bug has been identified.
→ If the legitimacy cannot be confirmed, the defect will be rejected and will not be passed on to the developers for work.
→ The team lead determines whether the bug is within scope if it has occurred before, and whether it is considered valid.

• If the above conditions are met, the issue is passed to the development team for resolution. Once the changes are made to the code, the bug is assigned the status Fixed and is handed over to the tester for verification (8; 9).
• If the test is successful, the incident is moved to the Closed status (10).
• If the testing fails, the issue is reopened and sent back to the developers for correction (11).

How is Error Managed in Real Conditions?

Real Application Example: Suppose you are working on quality assurance for a digital solution for food delivery. During testing of the product addition feature to the cart, you notice that it is not working. What happens next?

• You log the issue and assign it the status New.
• After analysis, the QA lead changes its status to Assigned and sends it to the developers for correction.
• The development team makes the necessary changes to the code base, updates the defect status to Fixed, and returns it to you.
• You retest the feature. The test results show that items can now be added to the cart, but their prices are not displayed.
• After giving the ticket the status Re-open, you reopen it and forward it to the developers along with the pertinent remarks.
• Once the functionality added to the product functions as intended, the bug will be deemed Closed.

Phases of Defect Management

We described how to deal with defects once identified in the section before this one. It is important to stress, nevertheless, that preventing an issue is significantly more successful than fixing it after the fact.

Phases of the defect management process include bug prevention measures, bug detection and resolution, and other tasks covered later. Let’s deep in:

Defect Prevention

The goal of this proactive stage of the SDLC process is to reduce errors. It involves identifying the root causes of defects and putting plans and methods in place to prevent them from happening.

The following tasks could be included in the DMP’s initial phase:

• Examining past defects’ data to determine the underlying causes. This aids in identifying the phases of the SDLC — such as requirements gathering, design, development, and others — that frequently experience problems.
• Improving development practices. Once the causes are identified, project teams should take steps to eliminate them. For example, they may impact on implementation of coding standards or clarify requirements.
• Conducting early testing. Teams should focus on QA processes during the early stages of the development process. For example, you can practice test-driven development (TDD) or behavior-driven development (BDD).

Deliverable Baseline

The characteristics of the specific version of the product or its particular feature should be defined by requirements as a reference point for testing or the software development process. Thus a set of requirements and specifications serve as the official starting point for identifying bugs. All improvements must be compared against our deliverable baseline.

This phase of the DMP involves the following activities:

• Defining clear product requirements. This ensures that the product meets the expectations of stakeholders.
• Version control. It is essential to track each version of our product to ensure that the approved versions of the software are used.
• Defining the scope of work before testing begins. The team must clearly understand which tasks need to be completed before the start of the QA process. This will help avoid unnecessary changes during testing.

Defect Discovery

The defect discovery stage involves identifying bugs during the testing process of the digital product. Once the QA lead verifies the veracity of the bug, it is deemed detected.

Note: Early detection and resolution of errors are the most cost-effective. According to up-to-date analytical data, fixing a bug during the design phase can be up to 30 times cheaper than resolving it after release.

Necessary bug defects discovery activities:

• Conducting testing. Depending on the goals and types of testing, the team may choose manual or automated test cases. It is important to control the quality of test execution.
• Registration of identified issues. To encourage collaboration on the project, it is advisable to use a bug tracking system (e.g., Jira). When reporting the discovered bug, its severity, reproduction steps, and the environment in which it was found should be specified.
• Categorizing bugs. This activity involves classifying errors by type and severity to determine the priority for resolution.

Defect Resolution

If the incident is confirmed to be valid, developers start working on it, with the goal of fixing it as quickly as possible. This phase will be successful if there is close cooperation between QA and dev teams.

Proposed activities during the defect resolution process:

• Identifying the root cause. It’s crucial for developers to comprehend the root cause of the issue. This will help resolve it quickly and prevent recurrence.
• Fixing the bug. The development team makes necessary changes to the code or configuration to fix the bug.
• Re-testing process. Testers check whether the bug has been fixed. It is also important to assess whether the changes have affected other system components.

Process Improvement

This is a continuous phase aimed at improving the entire defect management process in software testing and preventing similar errors in the future.

The process improvement phase may include:

• Review process. Teams can analyze the risk of defects when using different coding methods or track modules where errors frequently occur.
• Evaluation of the software tools used on the project. It is important to determine how well the platform meets the project’s needs and, if necessary, consider the possibility of using other tools.
• Collecting feedback. Ongoing feedback from testers, developers, and other stakeholders is essential. This allows the optimization of workflows by implementing new practices and adjustments.

Management Reporting

This phase involves collecting and summarizing valuable defect metrics to provide detailed reports to stakeholders. It ensures visibility into product quality, the effectiveness of the defect management process in software testing, and potential risks.

This part of the defect management involves the following activities:

• Collecting defect metrics. This can include the total number of defects, defect leakage ratio, defect rejection ratio, time to fix issues, and more.
• Creating reports. It is advisable to focus on data visualization. For instance, dashboards offer a clear view of the results.
• Risk management. It is important to identify critical risk bugs that may negatively impact user experience and lead to loss of revenue.

A serious approach to each of these phases will ensure effective defect management and optimize this crucial aspect of software development.

Targets of Defect Management Process in Software Testing

The defect management process in software testing is critical for ensuring the quality, stability, and reliability of digital solutions. It has the following goals:

→ Ensuring Premium Software Quality. By identifying and fixing bugs early in the development process, teams can prevent critical defects from making it to the production environment.

→ Early Detection and Prevention of Issues. A well-organized DMP enables the detection of errors during the development phase, and ideally, during the software design phase. This reduces the cost of fixing them and helps meet project deadlines.

→ Minimizing Risks. The defect management process in software testing allows identifying critical issues that may cause major system failures and, in the end, adversely affect user experience and company revenue.

→ Improving Collaboration on the Project. DMP contributes to improving communication between developers, testers, and the project management team. This ensures that all stakeholders are informed about the status, resolution, and risk of defects.

→ Timely Error Resolution. The described process ensures the timely resolution of errors. This allows the software product to be released on schedule without unnecessary delays.

By accomplishing all of the aforementioned objectives, DMP assists teams in being more productive and reaching the intended results.

Benefits of the Defect Management Process for the Team

Teams should think about including DMP into their projects because it offers a number of benefits:

• Automation of bug detection and resolution. There is a wide range of automation tools available for defect tracking, such as Jira, Trello, Asana, and others. These tools optimize team workflows across all stages of the defect lifecycle.
• Cost Savings. As mentioned earlier, early detection and resolution of incidents reduce costs. After all, it is much cheaper than fixing them at later stages of development or after the release.
• Improving customer satisfaction. The culture of continuous improvement fostered by DMP contributes to a smoother and more comfortable user experience. This is possible because fewer errors reach the end user.
• Improving team productivity. An effective DMP reduces the amount of required rework. Additionally, thanks to an organized system, teams spend less time identifying, tracking, and resolving issues, which boosts the overall productivity of specialists.
• Ensuring Process Transparency. Quality reporting is an integral part of the defect management process in software testing. Various documents, including defect reports and reports of resolution, help all stakeholders stay informed about the development progress and objectively assess existing risks.

To take full advantage of DMP, make sure the process is properly organized!

Disadvantages in the Defect Management Process

Although DMP has obvious benefits, this process is not without its limitations. Yes, teams may encounter the following issues:

• Increased overhead and resource intensity. Defect management requires dedicated resources for tracking and identifying problems. This can overload teams and increase project costs.
• Complexity of workflows. If too much attention is given to incidents, teams may feel burnout and resist the implementation of DMP. Additionally, difficulties may arise from learning new tools.
• Risk of misunderstanding. Lack of proper documentation can lead to misinterpretation of the nature and severity of an issue. This can cause communication breakdowns both within the team and across departments.
• Excessive focus on tracking bugs. By focusing too much on DMP, teams may overlook other important tasks in the development process. This can also lead to delays in new releases.
• Dependence on automation tools. The effectiveness of DMP largely depends on the right defect tracking tool and the skill level of specialists.

It is impossible to produce software of superior quality without DMP. However, poor implementation can cause certain problems, including increased overhead costs, missed deadlines, and low team morale.

Effective Defect Management: Tips & Tricks

Below are some tips for effectively organizing the defect management process in software testing:

• Standardize procedures, establish roles, and distribute responsibilities.
• Use automation tools that meet the needs of your project.
• Ensure clear and detailed documentation.
• Categorize errors by severity and impact to properly prioritize their resolution.
• Ensure effective communication within the team and beyond.
• Monitor issue resolution times to ensure project deadlines are met.
• Continuously review and improve processes.

By applying these best practices, companies will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of DMP. In turn, this will contribute to the delivery of high-quality digital solutions and increased user satisfaction.

The post Defect Management Process in Software Testing appeared first on testomat.io.

Jira reporting provides diverse information that allows users to analyze data about project issues, team productivity, project progress, and other critical aspects. Users have access to built-in Jira reports, third-party tools for report generation, and customizable report dashboards. This flexibility meets the needs of any team, regardless of its goals or project scale.

Also check out related topics:

• The Ultimate Jira Bug Tracking Tool Tutorial
• 10 Best Jira Alternatives for Test Management
• What are Three amigos in Agile?

How to Create Jira Reports?

Jira reports are available to Jira Data Center, Jira Server, and Jira Cloud users for managing their projects. Such diversity is beneficial for teams. Do you agree? Moreover, generating built-in Jira reports is easy.

Jira: create custom reports in three steps

To generate built-in Jira reports, follow these steps:

1. Select the project you’re interested in.
2. Click the Reports button.
3. Navigate to the specific report and start working.

See more about Jira integration with testomat.io test management in this video: Jira integration tutorial

Now, let’s dive deeper into the wide range of reports offered by this popular project management system.

Jira Reports Tutorial: Types of Built-In Jira Agile Reports

Jira software offers different types of built-in reports that allow you to generate reports without additional configurations or installations. As you can see, these reports can be grouped into the next main categories:

• Agile reports. Here the Cumulative Flow Diagram & Control Chart reports belong.
• DevOps. It provides insights into the performance of software delivery pipelines, tracking metrics that reflect the effectiveness of DevOps processes.
• Issue Analysis Reports. These reports help project teams manage project issues effectively.
• Forecast and Management Reports. These simplify workflow management by allowing you to monitor workload, team progress, etc.

A variety of Jira reports on my project look like:

Below, we list the standard Jira reports and explain how to generate them, helping you understand how they can assist in your specific needs.

Average Age Report

Average Age Report is one of the Jira Custom Reports that your team definitely need. This report tracks how long open issues remain unresolved in a project. It helps the team ensure the backlog is up to date. Additionally, this report can be used to predict the resolution time of specific issues, identify bottlenecks in product development, and determine team members with lower productivity.

Custom Jira Reports | Created VS Resolved Issues Report

This report compares the number of created and resolved issues over a specified period. It helps monitor the size of the product backlog. The report is presented as a chart, with red indicating periods where the number of created issues exceeds the resolved ones. If resolved issues dominate, the area is shaded green.

Pie Chart Report

Pie Chart Report – One of the Brightest Jira Reports Examples. This report is a pie chart displaying all project issues grouped by a specific parameter. For example, you can view the status of tasks being worked on by a specific assignee. The visualization provides an overview of the project’s progress from a single view without the need to analyze large amounts of historical data.

Recently Created Issues Report

Recently Created Issues Report – One of the Jira Bug Reports. By generating this report, you can track the number of recently created issues and the number of resolved issues for the same given time period. This information helps determine whether the team is managing existing tasks or if workload management optimization is needed.

Resolution Time Report

Resolution Time Report is an example of Custom Reports in Jira, too. These reports reflect how much time is required to resolve a specific set of issues. You can view the results for the entire project or filter by issue type and focus on selected Jira data. This helps accurately predict project timelines and adhere to projected release dates.

Single Level Group By Report

Single Level Group By Report is one more example of a useful Jira Software Report. This report allows you to group all project issues by a specific parameter and view the results for each group. For example, you can create reports based on issues assigned to a particular assignee or those in a specific status.

Time Since Issues Report

This report allows tracking the time spent on resolving an issue within a particular project version.

The report visualizes time tracking results using a bar chart. One bar – the progress bar – shows the ratio of resolved to unresolved issues. The other – the accuracy bar – displays how closely the original estimate matches the current result.

For effective time tracking, this representative of reports in Jira includes four custom fields:

For effective time tracking, the Time Since Issue Report includes four fields:

→ Original Estimate – the time planned to complete the issue.
→ Estimated Remaining Time – the estimated period the team expects to complete the assigned tasks.
→ Time Spent – the time the team has already spent on resolving the issue.
→ Accuracy – the difference between the planned completion time and the actual result.

These were reports for issue analysis, now let’s move on to management reports that help organize work on a project.

Users Workload Report

To see the workload assigned to a specific user, you need to generate the users’ workload report. It also shows how many unresolved issues remain with this employee and how much time they need to complete them.

Jira Reports Examples: Version Time Tracking Report

This version report shows the progress of work needed to complete a given version. Work logs and time estimates are used for report generation.

Version Workload Report

This report provides information on the workload needed to complete the version. All tasks can be grouped by a specific issue or user, displaying each employee’s workload and the total number of unresolved issues for the given version.

Workload Pie Chart Report

Workload Pie Chart Report is one of the Jira Service Management Reports. This report displays the workload of all users within a specific project. Filters can also be applied to view only the data you are interested in.

Time Tracking Report

This report is highly flexible – users can customize time tracking parameters as needed. It displays original and current time estimates and helps plan the project’s work efficiently. For the team’s convenience, all data is presented in a chart showing planned, remaining, and spent time.

Note: To access this report, make sure the administrator has enabled time tracking.

Optimizing Development with Agile Reports (Jira)

A separate category of Jira reports is specifically designed for teams practicing Agile methodologies. Let’s take a closer look at them.

These reports help Agile teams answer key questions on their path to achieving goals:

• How much work is being completed per sprint?
• How efficient is our workflow planning?
• Are we getting closer to achieving the sprint goal?
• Are enough issues being processed in each sprint?
• How long does it take my team to deliver value?
• Is our project management effective?
• What are our potential bottlenecks?
• etc.

Agile Jira Reports and Dashboards Include Jira Sprint Reports and Others:

• Scrum Board. This tool offers reports for Scrum teams. Developers working in iterations (sprints) can easily create and view reporting, with the ability to track one or multiple Jira projects.
• Kanban Board. This tool is for Kanban teams focused on workflow transparency and evenly distributing workloads among team members. It also allows you to monitor multiple software projects and manage reports effortlessly.
• Control Chart. Displays two key metrics. Cycle time – the total time spent on an issue, including time to complete and any rework after reopening the issue. Lead time – the time from issue creation to its completion. The report can be generated for the entire project, a specific version, or sprint.
• Cumulative Flow Diagrams. These diagrams visually show unresolved issues for a project, version, or sprint.
• Burndown Chart. Compares the planned amount of work to the actual resolved issues during the current sprint.
• Sprint Report. This report contains a list of Jira issues for a specific sprint. It’s helpful to generate this report before a retrospective for in-depth analysis of results. It also helps track project progress when the sprint is still ongoing.
• Velocity Chart. This chart displays the team’s velocity, or in other words, the team’s productivity during a sprint – the value they can deliver in one iteration. By calculating velocity over time, you can predict future performance and determine how much work is realistic for your team.

In addition to standard reports, Jira offers other features that simplify data analysis on a project.

Jira Gadgets Available to Users Out of the Box

Jira provides dashboards where various gadgets can be placed to help monitor key project metrics. These gadgets allow you to visualize progress, results, and easily search and evaluate Jira issues.

Here’s a list of the most helpful and frequently used pre-installed gadgets:

• Activity Stream Gadget. Displays details of your recent activity.
• Assigned to Me. A gadget that gives access to all issues and projects assigned to a specific user.
• Calendar. Shows all versions and Jira issues in a calendar format.
• Heat Map. Displays the relative importance of issues retrieved from a relevant project or based on a specified filter.
• Road Map. Aggregates information about all planned versions and the progress of tasks needed to complete them.
• Time Since Chart. A bar chart that visualizes information about all issues that have been recently updated, such as changes in status to Created, Resolved, Updated, etc.
• Sprint Burndown Gadget. A convenient line chart that shows project progress – the amount of work completed during a specific sprint.
• Average Age Chart. Like the corresponding report, this gadget displays the period issues remain unresolved. Data is shown in a histogram format.
• Average Time in Status. Unlike the previous one, this gadget allows you to track the time issues spend in any status.
• Issues in Progress. Gathers information about all issues that a specific user is working on during a given period.

Since all of the above Jira gadgets are pre-installed, no additional configuration is required for their use. All you need to do is follow three simple steps:

1. Select the desired Jira dashboard and click the “Edit” menu.
2. Click the “Add Gadget” link.
3. Find the gadgets you want to add to your Jira dashboards.

If your gadget search doesn’t yield the desired results, you can create custom gadgets that fully meet your team’s reporting needs.

Third-Party Tools for Extending Jira Functionality

In addition to developing custom gadgets, you also have another option to extend Jira’s reporting capabilities by installing third-party external reporting tools created by external developers.

Here’s a list of the most popular tools used by Agile teams:

Arsenale Dataplane Jira Dashboard Reports

This intuitive and powerful plugin allows corporate teams to generate comprehensive reports. It offers customizable reporting, data visualization with charts, adding reports to dashboards as gadgets, and more. You can easily share reports with colleagues via Confluence or export results to PDF, XLS, and CSV files.

eazyBI Reports and Charts for Jira

One of the most popular third-party reporting apps for Jira, it allows teams to visualize data through heat maps, graphs, tables, charts, and trendlines. With eazyBI, you can integrate data from Jira and other apps used in the project and accumulate them on interactive dashboards. The tool also enables data analysis through filters, exploring details, and highlighting the necessary areas.

Timesheets by Tempo – Jira Time Tracking

This AI-based time tracking app automates tasks, reducing time consumption and simplifying workload management. Timesheet report allows monitoring time and expenses by project, client, or team member. The app provides real-time insights, making resource planning and expense control easier.

Time Tracking And Billing Reporting

Another tool that simplifies time tracking on a project. It helps you track your working hours and those of your team members. The plugin also allows you to monitor and plan expenses. Use ready-made templates, view charts, filter data by various parameters, and add gadgets to dashboards. These features significantly streamline the workflow.

Report Builder by Actonic Products GmbH

This plugin enables the creation of custom reports that cover all the key aspects of project work. It allows you to track project progress, time spent, and team productivity. You can also use templates for Jira issue analysis reports to create reports tailored to your project’s needs. With its visualization capabilities and intuitive interface, the tool is helpful for business process management.

All the above-mentioned reports easily integrate with Jira’s issue-tracking system, greatly expanding its capabilities. They allow you to customize your reports, automate project management, and share results with your team and stakeholders.

The Value of Jira Cloud Reports
How to Create Reports in Jira and Benefit From It?

Jira stores vast amounts of data across various projects. The ability to properly analyze and manage this data enables teams to achieve impressive results. This is made possible through Jira reports, which offer several benefits:

• Objective Project Evaluation. With Jira reporting, you can evaluate different aspects of project work. These include the quality of issue resolution, team productivity, sprint details, project progress, and more. The wide range of available data allows you to identify meaningful trends and patterns, using them to improve project management in the future.
• Making Effective Data-Driven Decisions. Thanks to extensive data and deep analytics capabilities, you can make well-informed decisions based on historical data. Jira reports provide a reliable foundation for forecasting future sprints, including estimating the necessary period of time, projected expenses, and user workload. Access to large datasets also helps you pinpoint bottlenecks and work on resolving them.
• Better Team Collaboration. Jira reports have a clear format and offer visualization options. This makes it possible for all team members, including non-technical specialists, to fully participate in the development process. Close collaboration allows for more effective problem-solving, the implementation of innovative solutions, and faster releases of high-quality software products.
• Transparency in Work Processes. With Jira reports, all users can track their workload and monitor assigned tasks. By reviewing reports, everyone clearly understands their roles and responsibilities and is aware of both personal and team deadlines.
• Improved Efficiency. Among other things, Jira reporting helps identify the areas of a project that consume the most time. Determine the causes of delays and work on consistently improving your productivity. Over time, this will positively impact the overall efficiency of the entire team.

Jira reporting for test management

Jira is already widely used for project management and issue tracking. QA teams are looking for Jira plugins for test management, to link requirements with their tests with them. It provides a holistic view of the development of the project and makes it easier to track its progress.

Popular Jira test management plugins include Xray, Zephyr, TestRail TestFLO etc. Each offers specific features to enhance testing workflows. The testomat.io Jira Plugin is a modern alternaative.

Testomatio test management Jira Plugin benefits

• Customizable Workflows. Our test management plugins allow the creation of customized workflows for test management, enabling teams to tailor the process according to their specific needs.
• Automation Support. Integration with popular test automation frameworks, enabling automated test execution results to be logged and tracked in Jira, streamlining continuous integration and DevOps processes.
• Real-time Collaboration. Updates on test statuses, bug reporting, and test execution are being reflected instantly within the Jira bidirectional integration. Plugin supports BDD as well.
• Real-time Test Reporting. Jira plugin offers powerful reporting capabilities, allowing users to generate reports on test execution, defects, coverage, and more. This helps in tracking quality metrics efficiently.

It is best for teams using both automated and manual testing, including DevOps or CI\CD setups. Advanced reporting and integration with numerous other tools make it ideal for complex test environments. There are no depends on the size of your team, the complexity of your testing requirements, and whether you prioritize manual testing or a mix of manual and automated testing.

Let’s have a look now in more detail:

Advanced Analytics Dashboard with a wide set of metrics is crucial for a test management system because it provides Real-time visibility test progress and quality, helping teams make informed decisions about release readiness while optimizing the testing process. Among the testomat.io widgets key is the Jira Statistic Report. It showcases statistics of tests linked to requirements.

You can easily track how each requirement is linked to tests, including which tests are planned, executed, their frequency, and status results. A filter with advanced settings helps you quickly find specific tests or requirements. The Jira Plugin is bidirectional, allowing you to click on a requirement and be directed to Jira, similarly, user stories added in Jira automatically appear in the test management system.

You can track a full list of tests linked to one user story and check its status accordingly. Jira Plugin allows sync automated tests as well. So, the role of TCMS is one source of truth for manual, automated testing and requirements. Building one complicated report is easy.
Status of particular test Run of specific requirement card on the test management system.

List User Stories in the Jira Plugin. Advanced filters with TQL are available as well to find needed requirements quickly.

The highlight is that you can execute tests directly with Jira, without switching to the test management system, even on CI\CD pipelines. This feature makes it easy to engage non-technical team members like Project Managers (PM) and Business Analysts (BA) in the testing process, streamlining collaboration across the Agile team.

As you can see, the testomat.io Jira Plugin is a robust Jira Test Reporting tool designed for QA engineers. It ensures quick data processing compared with competitors. Test execution status notifications are mainly automated, making testing more efficient. Especially, it likes test automation engineers.

Bottom Line

Reports in Jira are an essential feature of the project management system. They allow teams to create custom reports at individual, team, project, and multi-project levels. With their help, you can gather data on various aspects of the development process, from issue analysis to expense management.

The versatility of Jira reporting is key to solving emerging problems and better forecasting future activities.

The post Detailed Guide on Creating Jira Reports for Your Team appeared first on testomat.io.

Without a good tracking platform for bugs in place, they find it difficult to track the progress of their projects, identify and fix bugs quickly, and provide a quality product to their customers or clients.

Only by investing in robust systems for tracking bugs can software engineering teams provide fully-featured agile software products for users and achieve higher levels of success.

What exactly is a Bug Tracking Tool?

A bug tracking system is a software product that provides software engineers and QAs with the ability to keep track of all the anomalies related to a particular project, as well as their status and resolution. It can help not only identify and resolve anomalies quickly and efficiently but also improve the quality of their apps or websites and meet end-users needs.

• Make a Quality Bug Report: Step-By-Step Guide, Best Practices and Templates
• The Ultimate Jira Bug Tracking Tool Tutorial

There are different types of error tracking systems in the market you can choose from – Jira, Trello, Zendesk, Redmine, Linear, etc. Here we are going to overview Linear app and help you grasp the core features, benefits and other capabilities.

What exactly is Linear?

Relatively new in the market, Linear is known as an issue-tracking app with a sleek and minimalist user interface. It is quite simple to use and doesn’t require a lot of configuration and setup. Available on MacOS, Web, and Mobile, this tool speeds up coordination, communication and collaboration among the development and QA workforce and helps them focus on project development. In addition to that, Linear offers great customization capabilities and can be fully integrated with Github, Gitlab, Figma, Sentry, and Slack.

What are the key features of Linear app?

Each app provides a bundle of features and capabilities to meet different needs. Linear app brings a lot of opportunities to your IT workforce. Let’s take a closer look at them to discover how your software engineers, QAs, designers and all parties involved can profit from using this system when they encounter defects on the project.

• Linear issues. Acting as the core building blocks of the application, new linear issues enable you to initiate new tasks, define various attributes, establish anomalies, note and link them. Furthermore, they help software engineers and QAs manage dozens of work items, including tasks, anomalies, or any other elements that require attention.
• Real-time Sync. With this feature, every member of the IT workforce can access the most up-to-date information about dozens of defects, bugs, and tasks in real time as well as update any bug record. This allows teams to be on the same page, boost collaboration, reduce errors and duplication, and improve overall efficiency in tracking anomalies.
• Cycles. Similar to sprints, this feature allows software engineers and QAs to plan and measure iterative development cycles in one click.
• Projects. This feature allows software engineers and QAs to plan, track, and ship larger pieces of work from start to finish. They can not only define more significant features for future apps or websites but also share important info across multiple teams.
• Roadmap. Having a well-defined big picture allows software engineers and QAs to understand the product’s vision and keep them working toward the same goals. They can not only prioritize tasks, features, and improvements aligned with the product vision but also avoid getting lost in the details.
• Backlog. With this feature, software engineers and QAs can identify and prioritize a list of tasks, link issues, or work items for future development or implementation. In addition to that, they can manage dependencies between backlog items and ensure that all mistakes are automatically closed with no activity after a set time.
• Offline mode. Software engineers and QAs can work in offline mode in any web browser without an internet connection to access and/or make any changes to the app as well as collect feedback.

How to Integrate Linear into Your Testing Workspace

Integrating a tracking tool for anomalies is essential to efficiently manage and track defects throughout software development to meet clients’ requirements. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you:

#1: Assess Integration Options and Start the Linear Integrations

Our test management tool offers integrations with various project management and tracking tools, including the Linear integration. Details of issue integrations in Docs. Once you have defined your needs and selected Linear as an error-tracking tool, make sure that you can integrate it into your test management system.

When integrating, you should log in to your Linear account by providing authentication credentials and permissions. The personal Access Token you can find on the Linear Menu → My Account → Create API. Once configured, you can perform automated testing or go to manual test execution.

After selecting the execution type, you can create an issue. If the “Create issue” button is clicked, you can start to create a and title it. The title should be clear, understandable and related to the project.

When you fill the details, you can find metadata about this error, including

• test description
• test attachment
• test failures

What’s more, you can view the issue’s attachments and start the resolution process.

#2: Define Labels

If you have different test flows and want to audit outdated test cases, update some test cases, or clean up repositories, it is mandatory to mark them. That’s where the labels feature will be helpful for you.

When created, you should define the scope where the label can be applied:

• All
• Tests
• Suits
• Runs
• Plans
• Steps

In addition to that, you need to define how it will be presented – in a list or in a filter.

You can also apply labels to multiple test cases. You can do this by going to the multiselection mode and making appropriate changes. You can add descriptions to your test cases that are synchronized with the test management system. If you edit the description, it will be labeled as “Out of Sync” in the test case management system only. It means that you see the exact differences between the versions and should check them. If they are correct, you can mark this test case as “Synchronized”. Otherwise, you need to implement appropriate changes and synchronize them with the test case management system.

#3: Create Custom Labels

You can also use custom labels for the mistakes in your project. Simply open an issue and edit its label with the following options:

• Enable Severity
• Enable Type
• Enable Automatable

Within the custom field settings, you can tick “Enable Severity”, for example. The severity levels are used to categorize thousands of mistakes in your project. Common severity levels might include “Blocker,” “Critical,” “Major,” “Normal,” “Minor,” and “Trivial.” You can select test cases and set the level of severity you need:

By leveraging the custom severity option, you can filter and report anomalies based on their severity. This helps software engineers and QAs in prioritizing and addressing critical mistakes first.

#4: Train Your Workforce

When implementing Linear into your development flow, make sure that your IT workforce are familiar with the workspace for tracking anomalies and its core features. You should not only incorporate training on how to create bug reports and use labels and assign issues but also establish communication to keep your workforce informed about issue updates and changes. What’s more, it is crucial to track progress, reassign tasks if necessary, and ensure anomalies are moving through the resolution process as smoothly as possible.

#5: Monitor and Measure

If implemented properly, you should monitor the effectiveness of your bug identification process and measure its progress. In addition to that, you should receive feedback from developers and QAs and keep a tight feedback loop with stakeholders on the bug identification and tracking process. This will help you identify areas for improvement, refine your processes and make them easy, seamless and smooth.

By following these steps, you can integrate Linear workspace aligned with your project’s requirements to improve collaboration and streamline the process of identifying, reporting, and resolving issues. This will lead to higher software quality and a more structured development workflow.

What are the benefits of Linear app?

The use of Linear tool for tracking bug has become a cornerstone of successful software project management. With a multitude of benefits, you can increase the efficiency, quality, and overall success of software solutions. Here are some benefits the software engineers and QAs can reap from:

• Software engineers and QAs can identify and document defects, and record anomalies in the product being developed at an early stage. They can address them and improve the overall quality and reliability of the product reducing the operational costs and effort needed to resolve these mistakes at a later point.
• With a bug proactively identified on time, software engineers and QAs can reproduce the problem consistently and faster resolve it. This prevents products from crashing and delivers a smooth and more satisfying experience to users.
• With a well-defined process for identifying and resolving anomalies, teams can manage and monitor their statuses in a structured way to ensure consistency, reduce confusion, and not miss deadlines.
• Cross-functional teams, such as developers, QAs, BAs, designers, and product managers can better communicate and collaborate as well as resolve anomalies at an early point.
• Software engineers and QAs can analyze bug-tracking data and identify trends and areas of improvement. With this data-driven approach, teams make more informed decisions and reduce the overall complexity of bug resolution.
• Software developers and QAs can overview the reported mistakes and changes made as well as keep on track progress to ensure traceability and accountability in the workflow. Moreover, they can maintain a tight feedback loop when fixing anomalies or resolving technical customer problems.

Best Practices for efficient Linear integrations

In order to have seamless Linear integrations, here are some of the best practices that you can adopt and succeed. Let’s take a closer look below:

• Define objectives and choose the right tool. The first thing the company should consider before implementing any integration is to define the specific goals you want to achieve on the project. What’s more, you should be in the know about the data and processes flowing between the tools and why. Based on this data, select the tool that offers robust integration capabilities and aligns with your team’s needs.
• Have a solid plan for Linear integrations. When it comes to implementing Linear with the test case management system, you should map out the flow to understand how data will flow between these tools. In addition to that, you should make sure that data fields in one tool are correctly mapped to corresponding fields in the other. This helps teams eliminate data discrepancies and ensure the data is always consistent.
• Monitor performance. If implemented, you should continuously monitor the performance of the Linear integrations. In addition to that, you should send alerts to notify your team of any Linear defects or slowdowns in the data flow.
• Educate your IT workforce. Before incorporating Linear integrations, make sure that your team members understand the significance of error-tracking tools and how they fit into their workflows. They should not only learn how to seamlessly move data between tools but also avoid manual workarounds. This results in streamlined and efficient workflows and a more productive environment that eliminates thousands of spreadsheets.
• Focus on outcomes. When integrating error tracking with test management tool, you might focus on tracking and monitoring outcomes rather than a certain task. That’s why the goal is not merely to identify mistakes and assign them but to see to their resolution. All your efforts in tracking mistakes should be directed towards achieving this goal.

Along with the listed best practices for Linear integration, there are certainly more options and methods you should follow to make the process more effective and hassle-free.

Bottom Line: Fostering an Error Tracking Culture with Linear Integration

Effective tracking of anomalies in the software is crucial for any software development project. It is no secret that mistakes have a profound impact on the quality and performance of future apps or websites. They can contribute to security vulnerabilities if not resolved. That’s why it is mandatory to identify anomalies and mistakes at an early point, track them carefully, and ensure that they are resolved in an efficient manner.

What’s more, you should create an error-tracking culture rather than implementing a process. It’s about fostering an environment that values issue resolution, decision-making, constant improvement and happy customers and end-users. Feel free to contact us via email if you have any questions about Linear integrations or just check it out in action.

The post Efficient Bug Tracking<br> With Linear Integration appeared first on testomat.io.

However, it is complicated for teams to keep track of all activities when testing projects of different sizes. Thanks to the requirements traceability matrix, it comes in handy for them to monitor and validate each requirement with ease. BTW in our test management system this feature is implemented successfully.

Organizations can not only increase results in better quality of software products and reduce development time but also make business requirements completely traceable across the entire software development. This will give them a competitive advantage, strengthen their reputation, and build trust with clients in the long run.

Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM): What exactly is it?

If your software product looks good on sketch, it is possible that its features may not work in reality. That’s where a requirements traceability matrix (RTM) will be useful in project management as well as in the actual testing process. Displaying sets of requirements mapped onto the test cases or test scripts, the traceability matrix document ensures the team runs the right tests that verify the project functionality and features work as correctly as expected.

In addition to that, RTM keeps track of correlation between test cases/test scenarios and ensures the team validates each business requirement and catches vital connections, predicting possible error scenarios and catching issues beforehand.

What are the 3 types of requirements traceability matrix (RTM)?

It’s vital to be in the know about the different types of traceability available today. Project managers and testing teams use the following types of traceability in matrices:

#1: Forward traceability

When using this model, teams define the requirements to convert them into test cases. Once clear links connect initial requirements and test cases are established, teams can track the design and implementation of projects. The forward traceability matrix helps ensure that the development process aligns with the specified business requirements and achieves the goals. Moreover, if any requirement lacks a corresponding test case, they can detect a gap in testing coverage that needs to be addressed.

#2: Backward traceability

This model establishes clear links between test cases and the specific requirements to be validated. Backward traceability matrix helps teams ensure that all test cases are based on identified requirements and check that each test case/scenario addresses each project requirement. Generally, this traceability model assures that the testing process aligns with the project’s objectives and allows for a reduction in the use of resources.

#3: Bi-directional traceability

In this model, test cases and requirements are linked in both forward and backward directions in order to check that the tests correlate to requirements, and vice versa. This means the matrix delivers two-way traceability in requirements and test cases, test scenarios and test scripts connected through unique IDs assigned to each requirement and test case/scenario. This helps teams monitor changes on the project and validate them, easily measure the coverage of requirements and make sure the requirements and test cases are in line.

In fact, the traceability matrices intend to present the linkage between project artifacts (such as documents, templates, specs, and outputs) and the set of requirements noted down in the technical requirement document and keep them regularly updated in the requirement traceability matrix throughout the development process. This simplifies traceability and makes sure that the testing team is not missing any critical points of the project where business requirements are validated.

Features of requirements traceability matrix (RTM)

Requirement traceability matrix includes some characteristics that make it an effective tool utilized in project management as well as during the actual testing process.

Their description are the following:

• Transparency-based approach. By mapping and linking requirements and artifacts of the project, it drives transparency and ensures traceability during the development process.
• Auditing options. Acting as a documented record showing how the requirements and other project elements are related, requirement traceability matrix reduces the risk of missed business needs and provides a high level of transparency in terms of adherence to the project goals.
• Full completeness and coverage. It means that each requirement is clearly defined and there are no missing links between the set of requirements listed and appropriate elements in the project documentation, including business requirement document and technical requirement document.
• Visibility and reporting: With requirement traceability matrix, the testing team and stakeholders involved can discover shareable formats of the document to gain enhanced visibility by monitoring the coverage of test cases and test runs in each corresponding requirement.
• End-to-end traceability process. It enables simple navigation and understanding of the relations between various project components, including a diverse set of requirements to make sure they fulfill compliance regulations.
  Continuous improvement. With a requirement traceability matrix in place, teams can identify areas of improvement, refine processes, and optimize the project’s development and testing efforts.
• Boosted team collaboration and performance. Team members, such as business analysts, developers, testers, project managers, and others are in the know about the dependencies between requirements set. Taking that into account, teams are able to take more informed decisions when modifications are required.

Why do QAs and PMs teams need RTM for their projects?

With RTM in place, testing and project management teams can determine what requirements set have been tested efficiently and what requirements still need to be tested.

In addition to that, they can use information from RTM to track and trace the progress of requirement coverage in the development lifecycle. If test coverage is weak, they can create and add appropriate test cases to validate each requirement better and ensure the software product meets the expected objectives.

That’s why if you need to enhance transparency and reduce risks in software testing processes, creating an RTM is a way out for building software products of better quality.

How does the requirements traceability matrix work?

A traceability matrix document visualizes how various project artifacts, such as requirements, test cases, user stories, bugs, etc. are connected. Using a matrix format, you can find out traceability links aligned between a set of requirements and test cases. What’s more, RTM’s format allows team members engaged in the process to track, trace, and manage the progress of the developing software products, as well as confirm that sets of requirements have been adequately changed, tested, and/or implemented. However, there is no fixed algorithm for how the requirements traceability matrix works. Generally, it follows a systematic approach to ensure that all project requirements and test cases are interconnected.

We hope the common steps presented below may help you create and use a requirements traceability matrix in the development and testing process.

How to create a requirements traceability matrix?

5 Steps for a Successful and Effective Requirements Traceability Matrix

A requirements traceability matrix is useful for mitigating risks in the testing phase. When improving collaboration among the teams, it can help you considerably boost productivity and efficiency. This will lead to high test coverage results and enable you to stay ahead of your competitors. There are many reasons you should utilize RTM, but how can you make sure that you have done it with flying colors?

Let’s consider in details the key steps that you need to take for a successful creation:

#1: Identify Reqs

At this step, you should elicit all the project requirements from various sources, including stakeholders, project specs, and artifacts. Don’t forget that your requirements should be clear, specific, and well-defined in order to ensure alignment and minimize misunderstandings among all stakeholders, and boost the validation of each requirement.

#2: Assign Unique IDs

At this step, you should assign unique identifiers to each requirement. Having unique identifiers makes it easier for the teams to keep the evolving or changing requirements on track and handle them. Moreover, applying these identifiers linked to other project artifacts provides precise traceability throughout the project lifespan.

#3: Define Test Cases and Assign Test Case IDs

Once requirements have been identified and outlined, you should define test cases to validate each requirement. Each test case should be designed to cover a specific requirement. Additionally, it is imperative to assign unique IDs to each test case. These identifiers will show links for test cases and their corresponding requirements in the traceability test matrix.

#4: Create the traceability matrix Template and Establish Traceability Links

At this step, you need to set up a table or spreadsheet to create the requirements traceability matrix (RTM). Without a pre-defined template, you need to design the requirement traceability matrix (RTM) structure from scratch. You should decide on the columns you want to include in your RTM to capture the unique identifiers of requirements, their descriptions, and the appropriate test case identifiers. You can also customize the RTM columns based on your project’s specific needs. Once done, you can create links between the requirements and the corresponding project artifacts with unique identifiers. Here we have shown a basic traceability test matrix example:

By linking requirements and their relevant test cases noted down in an RTM spreadsheet, QA teams can monitor and track the status and outcomes of each requirement during testing and development.

In practice, however, they can customize RTM with additional information and use additional columns to meet the project’s specific needs if required.

#5: Validate and maintain the RTM document

At this step, it is crucial to ensure that all test cases are mapped back to requirements and vice versa to confirm traceability both in terms of link correctness and completeness. In addition to that, you should keep the matrix updated – if any changes in requirements or new tests have been made. This helps prevent inconsistencies between requirements and test cases throughout the project lifecycle.

Benefits of using a requirements traceability matrix (RTM)

Requirements are a bridge between your business and your customer expectations. In fact, the majority of organizations that consider adopting an RTM document in project management, first and foremost, are looking for a way to improve the quality and traceability of the requirements in the testing phase. This means that they want to make sure each requirement in the documents is validated and tested. When describing the benefits of an RTM, we tend to focus on how the system can help you.

Here we are going to review the potential benefits of the requirements traceability matrix for your project:

• RTM provides a clear overview of how the project adheres to requirements and ensures that each of them is verified thoroughly.
• RTM allows the development staff to better handle modifications to existing requirements and other project artifacts, such as design documents, user stories, test scenarios, etc.
• RTM delivers a comprehensive record and displays requirements validation through the project’s lifecycle.
• RTM helps testers in prioritizing their efforts based on critically important requirements and reducing the risk of failures.
• RTM allows PMs, BAs, QAs, and stakeholders evaluate the state of requirement validation and make data-driven decisions.
• RTM eliminates gaps in test coverage and ensures that all specified functionalities are thoroughly tested.

What are the best practices for requirements traceability matrix (RTM)?

When it comes to creating a requirement traceability matrix, various challenges and limitations may hinder its effectiveness. That’s why having best practices for requirement traceability matrix implementation will help you maximize the benefits of RTM and integrate it seamlessly. Keep on reading to learn more details!

• Write clear requirements in a structured format. When creating an RTM, it is crucial to make sure that all project requirements are well-written and organized in a clear and structured format. This helps teams better understand whether requirements, test scenarios, and other artifacts are in line to eliminate traceability gaps in the testing process.
• Apply unique identifiers. Each requirement in the traceability matrix should have a distinct code to simplify the process of establishing links between requirements and test scenarios. What’s more, these links enable teams to trace and validate the relation between different components with ease, better manage changes, and improve the error detection process. When planning to integrate traceability matrix and test management tools, creating unique identifiers is vital to get different systems in sync.
• Prioritize. When giving priority to requirements, having a focus on high-priority requirements first allows teams to allocate resources effectively for testing and implementing the most vital features. If a list of high-priority requirements has been addressed early in the process of development, this helps teams mitigate project risks, detect potential issues, and deliver software products of high quality.
• Keep RTM up-to-date. It’s crucial to update the RTM regularly in order to monitor project progress and handle changes. This helps mitigate the risk and prevents data discrepancies between the documented requirements and actual implementation in advance.
• Promote workforce collaboration. With the RTM document, business analysts, developers, testers, business analysts, and other developers are on the same page about requirements visibility. This encourages effective communication and collaboration among them and helps in making data-driven decisions to drive great results.

Bottom line: Ready to drive better results by embracing RTM?

With an RTM document at hand, teams can significantly elevate the quality of software products. Requirements traceability matrix (RTM) drives a deeper understanding of the project’s scope, improves collaboration among stakeholders and teams, and optimizes testing efforts through comprehensive mapping of requirements, test cases, and issues.

In addition to that, it provides clear visibility into the entire testing activities and helps software development and project management teams catch potential inconsistencies in the project requirements. They can not only make deliberate decisions to ensure that all aspects of the software are tested thoroughly but also reduce the possibility of critical issues and errors.

Drop us a line if you want to get a consultation on how to uncover the key benefits of the traceability matrices and perform testing activities more effectively.

The post The Ultimate Guide to (RTM) Requirements Traceability Matrix appeared first on testomat.io.