Best test management tools: the idea implementation starts with a clear planning of the whole process. Product owner or Project manager has to select the best team, grant the responsibilities and assign tasks, and choose test management tools to be used for the entire software development life cycle.



Software Testing Life Cycle

Best test management tools selection criteria

A tool selection begins with comparing functionality characteristics, prices and feedback on products. In our article we will take a closer look at the 10 most popular testing and developing services taking into consideration the following main criteria:

test management system – Create and manage projects, members.

– Create and manage projects, members. test planning opportunity – creating test plans, test cases, test scenarios or user stories.

– creating test plans, test cases, test scenarios or user stories. test run availability – creating test runs, managing members of the testing process, usability and efficiency.

– creating test runs, managing members of the testing process, usability and efficiency. making test reports on work quality and quantity.

on work quality and quantity. task management tool – the bug tracker availability and its speed.

– the bug tracker availability and its speed. using additional features – import/export, integration with other systems, crash analytics etc.

We have conducted our own research about modern test management tools, not without using Google and few other tools 🙂 . As a result, we have come up with the following list:



The comparative table of best test management tools

USEFUL LINK: EasyQA YouTube channel

1. TestRail

TestRail, made by Gurock Software GmbH Company, was the first tool our team used for planning and testing. The company founded in 2004 has created a range of test tools but the most successful product is TestRail.



get from TestRail website

The system is not the best in every our criterion for best test management tools, but every above-mentioned functionality is more or less available in the service. Our team focused its attention on creating test cases when worked with TestRail.

The tool has a user-friendly interface, intuitively comprehensible buttons’ arrangement, and carefully thought the system of switching between contiguous features.

Besides creating test cases, you are able to:

execute testing based on created test scenarios

based on created test scenarios create a bug and

and upload it to integrated bug trackers such as JIRA, GitHub, YouTrack and others

such as and others create projects

make comprehensible and informative reports

customize the system to your needs using the open TestRail API



get from TestRail website

You can try TestRail for free just following the official website it for free via this link.

2. TestLink

It is one Open Source project in the list of known test management tools and that’s why it takes the second place on our list. It has a simple interface and “technical” design with no frills.

In spite of some difficulties with installing, it is used by many Development Teams and QA Engineers. Testing Life Cycle begins with creating a project, adding members and assign them roles. It is quite the same as in other development tools.



get from linux.softpedia.com

Several more features:

create and describe the requirements of your product

of your product create test cases on the basis of these requirements

on the basis of these requirements group your test cases in a test plan

cover the client’s requirements (or your own 🙂 ) with test cases

the client’s requirements (or your own 🙂 ) with test cases select a person for testing

receive the report once the test run is over



get from wiki.jenkins-ci.org

TestLink does not have its own bug tracker but it successfully integrates with other similar systems for issues tracking.

Here you may download the tool with the installations and settings manual provided.

3. JIRA + Zephyr

These two tools could be analyzed separately. JIRA has a few choices for test cases writing services, however, it is the best and perfectly integrated bug tracker for Zephyr.

Many IT developers know that JIRA is mainly a bug tracker aiming to control development process with tasks, bugs and other types of agile cards. Zephyr is one of the many JIRA’s plugins extending JIRA’s capacities.



get from marketplace.atlassian.com

If you use a combination of those two, you will get a full service according to the functionality of test management tools mentioned in the beginning of the article:

you are able to create a test plan

describe test cases

execute testing

testing generate reports

if a test product behaves wrong, you can immediately create a bug

get from www.oshyn.com

JIRA+Zephyr‘s advantage is a low basic price and the range of different price tiers. You can find Zephyr in JIRA’s search system for plugins or by clicking on the link.

4. PractiTest

PractiTest is the next on our list of 10 best test management tools. It is a cloud based service. The user is able to:

create projects

create a test library

describe different types of test cases

write test scenarios

support user stories with this service

with this service describe and upload the requirements for the product being developed

for the product being developed create a test set , assign it to a tester and appoint exact dates of testing

, assign it to a tester and appoint of testing use merits of the API

report a defect, an enhancement or a task



get from www.getapp.com

PractiTest integrates with some of the same systems such as JIRA, Pivotal tracker, Redmine and other. If you have some atomized tests working with Selenium or Jenkins, this test management tool is able to work with them too by using API.



get from www.getapp.com

You can try this system for free.

5. qTest

Another tool we have tried is qTest by QASymphony Company. The project has been being developed since 2012 and aims at helping not only the testers but the entire team during the development. Many qTest users consider its interface to be simple, and user-friendly.



get from www.softwaretestinghelp.com

There are the following functions among the main ones:

test plan creating – when, how, what scenarios, and who will test the functionality

– when, how, what scenarios, and who will test the functionality describing, importing, and exporting requirements

different variants of reports for these requirements

for these requirements test design – describing main test cases

– describing main test cases grouping and filtering them by varied parameters

test execution and reporting – you can test and report results

and – you can test and report results qTest has its own bug tracker



get from www.qasymphony.com

As other systems, this product integrates with similar services and you may use a trial.

6. TestCollab

The next product in our test management tools list is TestCollab. It is the service that assists all the team to develop qualitative products effectively. As in previous systems, you can execute the following actions:

create test cases

group them in milestones

execute testing based on written test cases

based on written test cases make reports

view info about the number of created and passed test cases

review info about added bugs



get from testcollab.com

Here you can get information on quality in the form of Success Rate depicting how good your product is. Furthermore, there is Spent Time functionality which helps rating how much efforts each team member has contributed.



get from testcollab.com

You can try TestCollab by the link.

7. TestLodge

If you are looking for unusual solutions and design in our list of test management tools, you should try TestLodge. The standard set of functionality by default combines with nonstandard button arrangement and a varied spectrum of customization functions. As in other systems, you have an opportunity to:

create a test plan

describe the product requirements

group test cases into test suites

into conduct testing with test run



get from blog.testlodge.com

This service allows customizing not only the standard fields concerning test cases and test runs, it gives an opportunity to create roles, categories, priorities, choose necessary parameters to be depicted in the graphics, export settings. In addition, you will always be in the loop on the Project overview & activity page.



get from blog.testlodge.com

You have to pay the fee not for the number of members but for the number of test cases written and passed.

Try out TestLodge.

8. QACoverage

Let’s take a look at QACoverage. It’s a Test Management Platform to manage and control Software Test Life Cycles. The service contains the standard set of functions:

describing of product requirements

writing test cases

grouping and setting them

and setting them testing execution

reporting module



get from alternativeto.net

Except for above-mentioned features, QACoverage has a few more. It has its own bug tracker Defect Module. Using the service, there is no need to integrate with other systems to create issues.

In addition, the developers have paid a great attention on customizing of all forms and parameters, making an entire menu tab called Form Builder. If you don’t use certain fields for creating a test case or a defect, the admin can make separate forms for each project.



get from alternativeto.net

All users can try QA Coverage for free of charge for 3 months.

9. TestCaseLab

The next on our list is TestCaseLab, the quality assurance service for creating test plans, describing test cases and test executing. These are main features of the product:

you should start with creating a project

you can invite members

appoint them on either of two roles Project Admin or Project Member

Project Admin or Project Member create test cases with different types

with different types group them into test plans

execute testing using test runs



get from www.softwaretestinghelp.com

A great attention is paid on test cases export from .csv files. TestCaseLab offers its own format of such a file for import which is a nice test case example for beginners. The service integrates with the following bug trackers: Redmine, JIRA and Pivotal.



get from testcaselab.com

TestCaseLab provides 30 days of free trial.

10. EasyQA

Taking into consideration that the most of systems have a more narrow functionality, our search has stopped. We need a system “all in one” not to waste time on looking for plugins or studying API to customize other services.

EasyQA contains the essential for Development Team and QA Engineers functionality, such as:

create and manage projects despite the product platform

and despite the product platform invite members and assign them common roles

and assign them common roles create test plans

write test cases – you can structure them with a few useful parameters.

– you can structure them with a few useful parameters. execute testing – an extremely flexible test run process with an opportunity to immediately create issues.

– an extremely flexible test run process with an opportunity to immediately create issues. reporting results

results a customized bug tracker – a simple agile board containing a few columns, statuses and parameters.



get from app.geteasyqa.com

Furthermore, EasyQA has a great advantage – EasyQA SDK. If your test product is a mobile app for Android or iOS, it proves useful. Our library is able to catch and send crashes to dashboard.

It allows taking screenshots, recording video, making bugs and sending all of this to our bug tracker from the phone. EasyQA SDK makes for our product several additional “+” in our comparative table of known test management tools.



get from app.geteasyqa.com

One more EasyQA advantage is Test Object Sharing – now you can share the link to your test object from our service, no need to use other services or plugins.

EasyQA now has a beta-version and it is free of charge. Register and try EasyQA product.

Summary

Summing our research up about modern test management tools, we should mention that all of the systems are worth your attention and are widely used for quality improvement of the product under development.

The market offers many other systems each of which has its own view on development and testing process. Choose the one you like the most and make your interesting and well-worked ideas come true.