Navigating a Cycle

The Cycle details view is a very comprehensive view. This article describes all the information that can be viewed as well as all the actions that can be taken.

Clicking on the cycle key link takes you to the Cycle Details → Executions tab which shows the list of Cases added to the Cycle and their execution status (via the top bar).

Open

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Cycle Actions

There are icons on the Cycle Details view that let users view information as well as a few actions as described below

• Copy Cycle link: lets users share the direct link to the cycle with other users

• “i” Icon: Clicking on it lets user view Cycle details from any tab within the cycle

• Reports: Users can generate reports specific to the cycle from here (Execution Summary, Details, History and Burndown)

• More Action Ellipsis: Users can copy a cycle, delete a cycle, execute a cycle offline and import their automation results

Details, Cases & Execution Tabs

Cycle Details tab has the basic information related to the cycle. The Cases tab is where users can view information for Cases added to the cycle and in Execution tab, cases added to the cycle can be executed (status, defects, etc.).

Details

This tab houses all the basic information about the cycle. If users wish to view or update the information, they can come to the Details tab. Edit button will allow users to update the information. A Save button will be visible post that to confirm the changes.

Cases

This tab shows the cases (and related information) that have been added to the Cycle already. Users can do single case assignments, search for a case in the cycle or apply filters to review the cases. The column selector helps in adding relevant information to the grid from an execution perspective. The Manage Cases options are discussed in Edit Cycle → Cases tab.

Execution Tab

This tab is where all the execution related information is visible as well as the ability to execute cases and record results. Let’s look at each of the functionality in here.

Status Bar

The Status bar gives a quick view into what is happening in the cycle. Below you can see that so far 9hr and 6mins actual effort has been logged. There are 4 testers assigned. Execution statuses on the right show how many cases are in which status.

• Hovering over actual effort, will show comparison with estimated effort

• Clicking assignees avatar will show cases assigned to that user (unclicking will show the whole list again)

• Clicking status name will show cases in that status letting users review particular status cases (unclicking will show the whole list again)

Search, Filters, Refresh and Sort

The standard operations available on all our grids are also available here. Sorting is by default on key. The other options are shown in the second screenshot.

Column selector

The column selector allows users to hide the fields (Expected Result, Data, Actual Result) if they don’t use it. Click on Apply to confirm changes. The result will be visible once the cases are opened for execution.

Grouping

The grouping icon allows users to see the cases list grouped by Sets & Folders. Only those sets and folders are shown whose cases belong to the cycle.

If cases belong to multiple projects, folders are shown under each project name. But since a case can belong to multiple sets, the sets grouping only lists the Set names along with Set Key. Users can stay in the folder they are in, by collapsing the grouping using the double arrow key.

Cases Grid

Information/Right Panel

Single click on any row in the Cases grid will open a panel on the right showing the details of the case. The user has the option to view steps and open the case in a separate window.

If the case was updated after it was added to the cycle, a message appears on the panel informing users about the availability of a newer version. A version is created when title, steps, estimated effort, preconditions or description of the case are updated. To see the updated changes in cycle, user will need to ‘Add Run’ (discussed in detail here). If the latest version is not in the cycle, an icon also appears to the left of the case key in the grid.

Manage Cases

“Manage Cases” ellipsis gives users the options to create a new case, add existing cases to the cycle being viewed, lock cycle scope (no more addition/removal of cases), reorder cases to maintain an execution order, change status of multiple cases, assign multiple cases to a user for execution, add runs to multiple cases together, update the custom fields of latest runs (if any) along with Actual Effort and Execution Mode and remove cases from the cycle.

1. Create new case - User can create a new case and add it to the Cycle from the Cases tab itself in the Cycle details view. The user doesn’t need to go to Cases tab to do it. A case created from within a Cycle can only be in Published status. For details regarding how to create a case, please see Creating Test Cases

2. Add existing Cases - User can add more cases to the Cycle by clicking on ‘Manage Cases’ ellipsis and selecting “Add existing cases”. In the next screen users can add cases by searching, using title or key, or using filters. Users can click ‘Show previously added cases’ to see which cases have already been added to the cycle. Once done, users need to click Save to confirm the additions.
   
   

3. Lock Cycle Scope - Users can lock the scope of a cycle i.e. users can restrict the addition/removal of cases from a cycle using this option. Once locked, users who do not have the permission to unlock, will not be able to add or remove cases from a cycle. Permissions can be set as explained here. Note, users can still execute cases in a cycle; just the addition and removal of cases is restricted. A lock is shown on the cycle as highlighted below. In Cycles grid, a filter “Locked” is added to check which cycles are locked.
   
   

4. Reorder cases - Users have the option to specify a order in which the cases should be shown/executed in the cycle. On clicking ‘Reorder cases’, users can drag and drop the cases in the desired order. Clicking ‘Done’ button will save the specified order.
   
   

    

5. Bulk Status Change- This is a bulk operation which can assign status to Case(s) from the status drop down, all at once. The status shown by default is the status of the first case selected for bulk operation. Along with status, Actual Effort and Execution Mode can also be updated for all selected cases together. If custom fields have been defined for Runs then they will also appear here for updating. If certain fields have been marked mandatory for the selected status, user will be prompted to enter those as well.
   
   

    

    

6. Bulk Assign User- A single user can be assigned for execution to multiple cases using this option
   
   

    

7. Bulk Add Runs- Users can add new runs to multiple cases at the same time using this option. The functionality stays the same as adding a run to a single case. Users get the option to fetch the latest version of the cases as well as to copy the results from the previous run to the run being created
   
   

    

8. Bulk Remove Cases- You can remove multiple Cases from the cycle at the same time using this option
   
   

    

9. Bulk Edit Latest Runs- Users can edit Actual Effort, Execution Mode and any custom fields defined at the run-level for a project using this option. If no custom fields are defined, only actual effort and execution mode will be displayed
   
   

After selecting any operation from 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9, users can select the cases from the list. Instead of Manage Cases ellipsis, users will see a drop-down with the number of selected cases. Clicking on it will give the option to take the specified action or cancel it.

Execution of a Case

Users can execute a case from the Cases grid, assign users, mark execution status, enter run-level custom field data, record actual effort, actual result, add defects, comments and attachments. All these are discussed in detail in the “Executing a Case”.