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What is Test Case Management? A Complete Guide

Written by Katalon Team | Mar 14, 2024 10:10:00 AM

Test case are the building blocks of any testing project. However, without proper Test Case Management processes in place, these test cases end up not getting organized, tracked, and optimized.

 

Test case management is the backbone of testing. In this article, we'll show you how to do good Test Case Management with best practices to follow and pitfalls to avoid.

What is Test Case Management?

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Test case management is the systematic process of creating, organizing, executing, documenting, and monitoring test cases in a project.
 

Put more simply, test case management is all of the activities you do to keep track of your test cases’ status.

 

At the very moment a test case is created, it is categorized into definitive groups along with a unique Test Case ID. That is exactly where TCM begins. From that point onwards, testers have to continuously update the status of that test case.
 

These are the questions that TCM provides answers to:

  • Which test suite/test collection should that test case belong to?
  • Should it be chosen for execution in the next run, and if so, on which environment?
  • Should that test case be updated to reflect the latest code change?
  • After execution, what is the result?
  • In the bigger picture, what can we infer about the overall system quality based on the test results?

Who Needs Test Case Management?

Test case management is essential for QA teams of all sizes, even for solo developers who want to ensure their code's quality.

  • For small projects, a simple spreadsheet can work well. It can list test cases, steps, and results in one place. However, as projects grow and testing becomes more complex, spreadsheets become inefficient. Manually updating them is time-consuming and prone to errors.
  • For large projects, teams often switch to dedicated TCM tools to streamline test tracking and updates. These tools help manage the administrative side of testing
  • Both manual and automated testing teams need TCM. Automated teams can go a step further by building systems that update test results in real-time, leveraging their technical skills for even greater efficiency.

Understanding Test Cases

A test case is a detailed procedure or set of steps to be followed to verify if a particular feature of the system behaves as expected.
 

But what is a test case, really?

 

We can think of test cases as a description of what testers are supposed to do for that specific test. For example, here is a sample test case for the Login page:
 

Valid username and password combination successfully logs the user in.
 

That is a well-written test case. A tester looking at that test case would immediately know that they should execute it in the following steps:

  1. Go to the Login page
  2. Type in a valid Username
  3. Type in a valid Password
  4. Click the Login button
  5. Observe the response

Components of a Test Case

The test above is only a simple one. You totally have the choice to go granular and include even more information in the test case, providing additional context such as:
 

  1. Test Case ID
  2. Detailed Test Steps (if the test is complex or step-sensitive)
  3. Required data (include attachments if necessary)
  4. Pre-conditions (any requirements that must be met before execution)
  5. Post-condition (expected system condition after the test)
  6. Expected result (the outcome once all steps have been successfully executed)
     

Here is the test case above, but written in more detail:
 

Test Case ID: TC-001
 

Test Case Description: Verify the login functionality with valid credentials.
 

Test Steps:

  1. Navigate to the login page of the web application.
  2. Enter a valid username in the username field.
  3. Enter a valid password in the password field.
  4. Click on the "Login" button.
  5. Wait for the system to process the login request.
     

Preconditions:

  1. The web application is accessible.
  2. A valid user account with the specified username and password exists.
     

Postconditions:

  1. The user is redirected to the home page after successful login.
  2. The user's session is established, and they have access to authorized resources.
  3. User information, such as name and profile picture, is displayed on the home page.
     

Expected Result:

  1. The login process should be successful without any errors.
  2. The home page should be displayed with the correct user information.
  3. The user should have access to the features and resources allowed for their role.
  4. The system should generate a session token for the user.

 

Test Case Management Process

There are 4 stages in the test case management process, aligning with the stages of the standard software testing life cycle:

  1. Test Planning
  2. Test Case Organization
  3. Test Execution
  4. Test Case Maintenance

How To Do Test Case Management?

1. Test Planning

TCM starts right from test planning, where QA teams analyze test requirements and outline the key action items in the test plan document. At this stage, testers think about what area they want to focus on, and what test cases are needed for those areas
 

Read More: 100+ Test Cases For Login Page (With Template)
 

Some important questions to ask yourself when crafting the test plan:

  1. What is the goal of this testing project? Is it to check the functionality, performance, usability, or security?
  2. What approach will be used? Is it Waterfall or Agile?
  3. What is the scope? What features in particular will be targeted?
  4. What is the method used to test the items as defined in the test scope?
  5. What are the dependencies? 
  6. What test environments are used?
  7. What are the key milestones and due dates?
  8. Who is responsible for specific types of tests? Who will be in charge of the manual testing? Who will be in charge of automation testing?

Answering these questions helps shape your test project and build detailed test cases. Make sure to include essential components we mentioned above (test case IDs, steps, descriptions, etc.) to track your progress. This is especially useful for manual testing.

Once your test cases are ready, organize them into folders and update results as you go. Tools like Google Sheets, Notion, or Jira can help you manage tasks. For more advanced features, use dedicated test management tools like TestRail, Zephyr, or qTest.

For example, in Jira, a "Log Out" test case can be tracked with a custom status field like "Unexecuted," which updates after the test is completed.

However, manually updating test results can quickly become inefficient as your workload grows.

Specialized TCM tools solve this with a centralized test repository, allowing you to organize test cases in structured folders for a clearer overview. These tools often include custom fields like dropdown menus or text boxes to capture specific details, such as notes from exploratory testing.

Investing time in the planning phase will save you effort in later stages.

2. Test Case Organization

You can roughly classify test cases with 7 key approaches:

  1. Severity (High - Medium - Low impact to system performance/security)
  2. Priority (High - Medium - Low urgency)
  3. Reproducibility (Reproducible, Intermittent, Non-Reproducible, or Cannot Reproduce)
  4. Root Cause (Coding Error, Design Flaw, Configuration Issue, or User Error, etc.)
  5. Test Type (Functional Bugs, Performance Issues, Usability Problems, Security Vulnerabilities, Compatibility Errors, etc.)
  6. Areas of Impact
  7. Frequency of Occurrence

Many test case management tools have Custom Field features to help you create unique tags that suit your specific needs. For example, in Katalon TestOps you can navigate to Configurations > Custom Fields and create a new field with unique key and values. You can then assign new test cases with these tags during test creation in Katalon Studio.

3. Test Execution

During and after test execution, the role of TCM is to keep track of the test status, as this is when a lot of updating is needed.

A test case typically goes through the following statuses during execution:

  • Untested: The test has not been executed yet.
  • Blocked/On Hold: The test case can't be run due to dependencies, such as unresolved bugs, missing test data, system downtime, or incomplete components.
  • Failed: The actual result differs from the expected outcome, meaning the test conditions weren’t met. This prompts further investigation to find the root cause.
  • Passed: The test case is executed successfully, and the actual result matches the expected outcome — a clear sign of software quality.
  • Skipped: A test case may be skipped if it’s not relevant to the current test scenario. The reason for skipping is typically recorded.
  • Deprecated: A test case becomes invalid due to changes in the application. It can either be archived or removed entirely.

As you can see here, Katalon TestOps automatically updates the test results upon successful execution, then generates detailed reports with rich analytics about your test runs, taking historical data into account.


 

4. Test Maintenance

Test maintenance is usually the most feared part of test automation management.

 

With manual testing, each time you perform a test is a new one. That means you can dynamically adapt your test steps in accordance with any code changes. However, you don't get that luxury with automation testing. A test script remains the same; it must be updated if the code changes.

If not handled well, the cost of test maintenance can snowball, derailing both budgets and timelines. A recent Gartner report mentions that 16% of the respondents feel high maintenance costs is one of the significant challenges to automated software testing.

Here are some strategies for you to better maintain your tests:

  • Plan for maintenance early – Include test maintenance from the start to avoid costly rework.
  • Modularize test cases – Break tests into reusable modules and remove redundant ones regularly.
  • Choose the right tools – Use tools that fit your tech stack and scale with your project needs.
  • Enforce coding standards – Apply consistent coding practices to improve collaboration and quality.
  • Prioritize knowledge sharing – Document processes and ensure structured handovers to avoid knowledge gaps.
  • Conduct regular audits – Review test cases to keep the suite lean, relevant, and efficient.
  • Invest in training – Encourage testers to think like users and foster cross-team collaboration.

Best Practices For Effective Test Case Management

  1. Have a good naming convention for your test case. This can be seen as the first step to good test case management.
  2. Organize your test cases based on specific logic, such as Priority, Testing Types, or Modules.
  3. Apply version control system to track test cases changes.
  4. Automate your test case management to streamline the entire process

Katalon For Test Case Management

 

Katalon is an all-in-one automation testing solution for any AUTs: web, desktop, mobile, or API, with test case management best practices built into all of its features. In other words, you get an automation testing tool for all AUTs with a test case management tool, a reporting tool, and a cross-browser execution tool in one single platform.

 

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