Testing with no test management tool? How is it possible? Can we actually store executions, provide metrics, control our project without a tool? This is probably a question that many people, mostly test managers, ask themselves.
The answer is not simple, we cannot say “yes, of course!” or “no, not at all!”. In reality, it depends on the project structure and needs.
When is the test management tool really helping?
- When you have a lot of manual tests:
- the tool provides a nice interface for the test excution, that allows you to easily store results and logs
- When you have a small size project and you need to start fast:
- the tool is usually quicker to configure and many just provide some lite template ready to be used. Moreover, if you have just few users, the operating costs are not so high (servers, licenses, etc.)
- When you want to have an application lifecycle management tool (ALM) that stores tests as well:
- that way you can manage everything in one tool (bug handling, requirements, test runs, support for automation, test reporting, etc.)
When can I avoid having a test management tool?
- When your tests are mainly automated
- When your test case specifications are versioned in text form:
- for example, stored on Git in some text format
- When you don’t want to deal with all the risks and tasks of having an extra tool:
- technical issues, evaluation of new tools in the future, maintenance, extra costs, etc.
How can I create metrics without a test management tool?
For example, by using a business intelligence tool, like Power BI. Your will collect the test results created by the automation and create any kind of metric needed, to control and plan your project.
If you have also manual tests, you can manually store your results somewhere (even an Excel, versioned to ensure consistency, would do the job).
Power BI can merge the result of the Excel with the ones of the automation, allowing the user to create wonderful reports.
Let’s wrap it up
At the end of the day, there is no answer. Testing with no test management tool is possible, can be beneficial and cheaper, but it is not applicable to all projects.
The test manager should evaluate what is the best for the project, finding a solution that will fit all the teams to reach the final goal: ensure the software release has the highest quality possible.
Stay tuned, because in one of the next post I will go more into detail on how to test without the test management tool.
