Role of Test Management System in Software Testing

Test management is the process through which all test cases are managed. Different tools are used in this process to manage manual as well as automated tests to perform the testing. With the usage of test management tools, one can generate a requirement test matrix (RTM) which indicates functional coverage of the system under test. Test management systems are multifunctional tools that are not limited to the management of tests. One can use this tool for software management, management of results, test scheduling, and test reporting. 

Test Management Responsibilities

• Defines clear roles and responsibilities which ultimately improve the quality of the product.
• Help with the development as well as maintenance of the product metrics during the project’s course.
• Enable developers to make fewer mistakes or to come up with a faultless system. 

What is test management software and how it works?

Test management is one of the important parts regarding the software development lifecycle but due importance is never given to the tool to carry out the duties. By using intelligent test management systems, the testing process becomes efficient and manageable. Most businesses lookout for integrated test management systems so they do not have to buy a separate tool for every task. 

Traditionally, software testing companies used to go through various ad-hoc methodologies to carry out the testing practices rather than incorporating tools to perform the job. Previously, requirements were stored on excel sheets whereas test scripts were written on Ms-Word. Most of these tasks were carried out with the help of excel and word which had its own set of limitations. To overcome all these challenges, test management systems are designed as it effortlessly bridges the gap between defects, test cases, and requirements. 

While choosing the test management tool for your company or project, one needs to ensure that it provides maximum functionalities and is flexible enough to be used as per your requirements. It makes it easy for the team to detect bugs from the application promptly. You do not have to go through the entire code line by line in a manual way and maintain excel sheets to update the developers. It also helps to avoid unnecessary work as it supports bug identification, documentation, and error traceability.

A quality tool with extended functionalities may also identify bugs and provide teams with extended reports and metrics. These reports help you to understand the testing progress and how much work needs to be done. It eases the tracking procedure and the team can use entire data via a dashboard through which they can view the progress and the requirements which are not compatible with the system. 

How rights are managed in such tools?

All big-size companies opt for an enterprise package of these tools as it provides a level of rights to all users due to which security of the system remains intact. Users who belong to specific levels have a certain set of rights and permissions and not everyone from the team can access sensitive data. In this way, an uninterrupted testing cycle is created where each user can perform his tasks without any sort of interruption. Below mentioned are the levels of permissions in most of the management tools:

Guest: Users with guest rights can only access and view project metrics and test cases.

Test Designer: Test designers have the permissions of modifications, they can design as well as update requirement specifications.

Tester: As per their tolerance, testers can update the test cases assigned to them. Whereas a senior tester may have access to all work and can update them anytime. 

Admin: Admin has all sorts of rights which can be extended to creating users, managing permission levels, and modification of the project. 

Conclusion

Complex testing practices can be simplified with the test management systems as most of these can be seamlessly integrated with your tools stack which will ultimately increase the productivity of the work. Now testers highly rely on such tools as most of the testing practices are moving towards automation so these tools make work more manageable. So instead of looking for a separate tool for every task. Look out for a test management system that provides a complete solution in one package. Paid tools usually provide complete technical support where you can put up all sorts of inquiries in case of some issue.