Azure Test Plans: A Comprehensive Guide

Azure Test Plans is a service within Azure DevOps that provides a comprehensive suite of tools for manual and exploratory testing. It empowers teams to plan, execute, and track their testing efforts throughout the software development lifecycle, ensuring higher quality releases.

Visualizing test progress and coverage in Azure Test Plans.

Key Features and Benefits

• Test Case Management: Organize tests into suites, create detailed test steps, and link them to requirements or user stories.
• Manual Testing: Execute test cases with rich client support, including in-browser execution and detailed outcome recording.
• Exploratory Testing: Discover issues organically with tools designed for unscripted testing, capturing session data like screenshots and annotations.
• Test Execution Planning: Schedule and assign test runs, manage test configurations, and track progress efficiently.
• Defect Tracking: Seamlessly create bugs directly from test results, pre-populated with relevant information for quick triage.
• Reporting and Analytics: Gain insights into test coverage, execution status, and defect trends with customizable dashboards and reports.
• Integration: Deeply integrated with other Azure DevOps services like Azure Boards for work item traceability and Azure Pipelines for CI/CD integration.

Getting Started with Azure Test Plans

To begin using Azure Test Plans, ensure your Azure DevOps project has the appropriate access levels. You can then navigate to the 'Test Plans' hub within your project.

1. Creating a Test Plan

A Test Plan acts as a container for your testing activities. You can create new test plans to cover specific sprints, features, or releases.

1. Navigate to Test Plans in your Azure DevOps project.
2. Click on + New Test Plan.
3. Provide a name for your test plan and select a Requirement To Test (e.g., a User Story or Feature).
4. Choose the Build to Test if you have automated builds set up.

2. Organizing Test Cases

Test cases are the individual steps and expected outcomes for a particular test scenario. You can organize them into Test Suites.

• Static Test Suites: Manually organized collections of test cases.
• Requirement Based Suites: Automatically populated with test cases linked to specific requirements.
• Feature Based Suites: Group tests by features.

3. Executing Tests

Azure Test Plans supports both manual and automated test execution. For manual testing, you'll use the 'Test Runner'.

1. Open a Test Plan and select the Test Suite you want to execute.
2. Click on the Run button for a specific test case.
3. The Test Runner will open, guiding you through the steps.
4. Record the outcome for each step (Passed, Failed, Blocked, Skipped).
5. If a step fails, you can click the + Bug button to create a new bug, which will automatically include test context like screenshots and the point of failure.

# Example command for running tests with Azure Pipelines (simplified)
az pipelines test run \
  --run-name "Sprint 5 Manual Tests" \
  --plan-id "your-test-plan-id" \
  --suite-id "your-test-suite-id"
            

4. Exploratory Testing Sessions

Exploratory testing allows testers to explore the application freely while capturing their findings.

• Click on the Explore button within a test plan.
• The 'Web-based explorer' or 'Client-based explorer' will launch.
• Use the built-in tools to record your session, take screenshots, and add annotations.
• Upon completing your session, you can create bugs or tasks based on your findings.

Advanced Features and Best Practices

• Test Configurations: Define different environments (e.g., browsers, operating systems) to execute tests against.
• Stakeholder Feedback: Involve stakeholders in the testing process by sharing test results and gathering feedback.
• Cross-browser Testing: Integrate with services like Azure Test Plans or third-party tools to perform tests across multiple browsers.
• Automation Integration: While primarily a manual testing tool, Azure Test Plans can display results from automated tests run via Azure Pipelines.
• Metrics and Dashboards: Customize dashboards to visualize key testing metrics like pass/fail rates, defect density, and test coverage.

Azure Test Plans is a powerful tool for teams committed to delivering high-quality software. By leveraging its features effectively, you can streamline your testing process, improve defect detection, and ultimately build more reliable applications.