May 21, 2020

13 Benefits of a Test Management Tool You Can’t Ignore

The rapid innovation going on in the world today is spurring processes and making things done more quickly and efficiently. What used to consume days or months to accomplish can now be done in a much shorter period, thanks to technological advancement and automation.

Among the things which rode this wave of innovation is the test management tool industry, which has nailed its place as critical to many digital businesses. For what took testing teams weeks or even months to complete, with the aid of such tools, they can now execute within a shorter period. With a test case management software such as Practitest, they can do tests, identify a bug, and run cases efficiently.

In this article, we’ll show you why you should take advantage of the power of test management tools to boost your business.

Improve the Quality of a Software

To provide software that would ultimately satisfy the needs and preferences of a customer, software development companies create offers based on the latest trend and innovations. Test management tools are paramount to this for multiple reasons.

First, they help testing teams assess where a bug is. They also determine where precisely the added amount of finesse has to be placed. Lastly, they project how certain the features’ functions are. In relation, it is imperative to assess software via a test management tool to know the quality and accuracy of the product.

Organize via Dashboard

Every proponent of a company dabbling on the tool manages their information and gear these towards a primary cause. Thankfully, test management tools have an engaging dashboard where you can incorporate all critical information in one setting. At the same time, you can easily access such information without hassles.

The dashboard also lets the testing team see the specific tasks and responsibilities being undertaken within a particular period and which projects are working in progress. Likewise, it gives real-time insights on the team’s performance and provides an overview of how each department is improving.

Scalable Environment

Given the need for agility in an ever-growing competitive field, software development should also scale and innovate to align with the market trends. To make that happen in the hindsight, backend elements should also be enhanced to provide a quality experience for the user.

Test management tools offer expanding options such as unlimited project inclusion, unlimited test cases, and unlimited test runs. It can also accommodate more than 50 users in a single process. That makes it possible to scale the environment whenever the situation demands.

Manage Users and Access Permissions

As mentioned previously, software development is composed of people from different divisions. There are coders, testers, designers, programmers, and many others. For security and privacy, there are certain elements in the development process that should not be seen by some people.

That is where you should apply a test management tool. Practitest, for example, allows the testing team leader to identify who can access a particular element depending on the given role of the person.

Secure Testing Data

With the use of the right test management tool, you are ensured that the data being processed or generated is in secure hands. Some tools comply with strict security and privacy regulations to ensure your data is safe and secure.

Based on user level and permission, only those who need can view the data which is protected on a cloud. With all the scams and other fraudulent online activities going on these days, test management tools safeguard data.

Reduces Repetitive Work

The repetition of tasks can be very time-consuming. That happens more likely when a testing team member doesn’t know that another member is handling the same issue. Fortunately, test management tools can help you with that with ease and efficiency.

When a bug is detected, for example, it gets automatically redirected to the personnel assigned to keep the process updated until the issue is resolved. In that case, duplication of work is avoided, helping save significant time and effort for both the company and its employees.

A test management tool also lessens the duplication of relevant data, which generally comes as a result of tests or defects being managed simultaneously. The tool provides every person involved with a bird’s eye view of the advancements being made. That applies even to QA managers, developers, and testers.

Further, the tool updates the testing proponents on the defects, requirements, and tests to ensure detailed coverage. When the team continues to add automated tests along with manual tests, ensuring traceability among the issues arising and the requirements become more difficult.

Boosts Team Productivity

Productivity not only helps boost the testing team’s morale but also contributes to output growth and increased sales. But that can only happen if the entire team is on the sync of creating things instead of just reacting to issues and tasks.

Real change happens in that scenario. That gives more time for the company to focus on empowering the members and boosting their productivity.

Integration with Testing Platforms

Most test management tools can quickly adapt and integrate with different other platforms to yield more quality results. That also helps deliver better issue trackers, identify bugs more swiftly, and run quality test cases.

The good thing is, you don’t have to feel anxious about where to find the perfect fit for your testing system. Among the popular options in the industry are JIRA, Pivotal Tracker, Rally, and many more. The good news here? Most of these work well with test management tools.

Identify Bugs

In the testing process, bugs are a significant impediment. Even if the team spends so much time and effort on testing and developing, the presence of bugs can unexpectedly interrupt the process of software building. Thankfully, a test management tool makes it simple to identify bugs, therefore, allowing the team to address it within a shorter duration.

Audits and the Blame Game

Although it does make sense that testing seems infallible these days given the offshoot of different test management tools, it cannot be denied that there are still lapses. That is because the software we use is oftentimes complicated, making it impossible to audit every interaction in the system. That is why it’s imperative for the testing team to review and assess the test coverage on every stage continually.

Don’t worry, though. Test management tools, albeit not perfect, make all that easier for you. There may still be gaps, but these tools significantly reduce the time and effort spent.

Real-Time Test Reports

Contrary to a common misconception, developing entails multiple tests and assessments, followed-up with immediate and sustained up-gradation if an error pops up. It’s not a one-time task, and the process can require a series of fails before finally hitting the jackpot. In this case, real-time test reports play an essential role in understanding and assessing the present workflow. That identifies the part where interventions must be put in place.

Improve the Coverage of Manual Tests

To run a manual test across various data sets can be a demanding work as it entails manually assessing various sets of data for particular test steps. A test management tool can help you conduct the process of iterating an existing manual test across different data sets in an easier fashion. That leads to more coverage of existing manual tests.

Let’s make that cleared with the following example:

Here, we have a manual test that tests the login functionality following three stages. The first stage consists of inputting LMoth@Kilth.com as a username while the second and third steps consist of encoding “UPSlock999” as a password and click the submit button, respectively. With a test management tool such as Practitest, you can significantly boost the coverage of manual tests since we can now run password and login fields across various data sets with a single click.

Prove that You Tested

These days, Continuous Integration is rapidly gaining traction in the testing field, and more businesses are releasing new builds monthly. More often than not, this compels companies to rush the testing process to leverage on the coming release. Unfortunately, this leads to duplication of existing data results.

That likewise lends to the importance of a test management tool. Such a tool provides real-time reports on when a part of the system was tested. That significantly helps in boosting the efficiency of releases. Again, this is helpful, especially when you are working on a broad and comprehensive regression suite.

Concluding Points

From providing team members insights about the progress of a test to formulating test execution reports and test cases, a test management tool is of paramount importance during the whole testing process. Providing your team with this tool can significantly ensure an efficient testing process before hitting the market.

About the author 

Imran Uddin


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