If you’re in charge of quality assurance for a software development project, you might be wondering why you need a software test tool. After all, can’t you just track progress in Excel, and use a bug tracker for defect logging and tracking?
Yes, you can. However, in the world of software product development, testing takes center stage.
You can’t ship a product without testing it rigorously. Failure to do so can lead to errors that can result in significant financial loss. According to a 2020 report, poor software cost the US economy $2.08 trillion in 2020.
This is why verifying test coverage, execution, and outcomes is critical in any software development project. This is where test management tools come in.
A test management tool is a software application that helps you to plan, organize, and track your software assessment efforts. It is a central repository for all testing-related information, including test cases, requirements, and defects. They also help to optimize the assessment process and improve the quality of the software.
This article contains a list of some of the top test management tool benefits so that you understand why investing in the right solution can help your project.
For improved consistency
Improved consistency is one of the most important reasons why you need test management software. If you’re manually managing your tests, it’s all too easy for things to slip through the cracks. Maybe you forget to update a test case after a software change, or you run an assessment but don’t properly document the results.
If the QA and testing processes are not consistent, it can result in a wide variety of issues, including data loss, incorrect results, and even security breaches.
The right tool can help you stay on top of things, ensuring that your assessments are always up-to-date, that the QA and testing processes are consistent, and that you have a complete record of what was done and what the results were, all in a centralized location.
For regulatory compliance
Software test management tools can help you to meet regulatory compliance requirements, especially if your business or product is regulated by the government or health regulators like the FDA.
A good tool can help you keep track of all the relevant information related to your assessment processes, including the names of all individuals who have taken part in them, their qualifications and certificates, and reports generated during the assessment.
This tool makes it easy to access the relevant information when you want to check whether your software product meets the approved guidelines and specifications.
It also makes it easy to submit your reports to regulators as per their requirements without any hassles or delays.
To reduce duplication of data
If you manage your testing manually, you’re probably doing so in Excel, Google Sheets, or another spreadsheet application.
Without a suitable tool, your quality goes down and the process may become flawed. But that’s not all. It can also lead to a lot of duplicate data — for example, you might have the same test case in multiple places, or you might have to manually copy and paste data from one place to another.
With so many different aspects of the software development process, it can be easy for information to get lost in the shuffle when you operate this way. A good tool can help you avoid this duplication by storing all your data in one place.
When you have a central place to track all of the information, it is much easier to keep track of everything that is going on so that there is no duplication or overlap between them which can lead to errors in reporting.
For upgrade coverage of manual tests
Manual testing is always going to be a necessary part of the SDLC. However, it can be time-consuming as it involves manually trying different sets of data for specific steps. Plus, it often doesn’t cover all of the necessary bases.
A big advantage of using a tool is that it can help you cover a lot more ground when doing your checks. This approach makes it extremely easy to replicate an existing manual process over a range of data sets, boosting the coverage of the manual tests.
For example, let’s say you’re checking out a new feature in your software. If you’re doing it manually, you might only be able to run it through a few data sets one after the other. But with the proper usage of testing tool, you can create and save tests that can be run through different data sets at the click of a button.
This upgrade in coverage can save a lot of time and ensure that all of the necessary checks are being carried out.
To measure quality and track progress
Another benefit of using a software test management tool is that it can help to measure quality and track progress. This is important information for any software development project.
By having a clear picture of the quality of the software and the progress that has been made, it is much easier to make decisions about the next steps that need to be taken. This information can also be very helpful in terms of deciding when to ship the product.
To boost collaboration
If you are a business owner, you know how important it is to ensure that your team is on the same page. A test management tool can be used for creating a platform where all team members can contribute, access, and review information.
All stakeholders involved in the project such as developers and QA engineers can provide feedback on the project status without having to email each other constantly or call each other on the phone all day long!
Final thoughts
As you can see, there are a lot of reasons why you might need a test management tool. A reliable tool can help you centralize your development and QA, track progress in real-time, and get insights into your evaluation processes.
If you are looking for such a tool, you are on the right page. aqua test management solution will help you to centralise your development & QA, track progress in real time, and create industry-leading custom reports. . With aqua, you can be confident that you’re delivering the best possible product.
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