Reuse Process steps/Interface library in different Test cases

[Kentarius]

Solution Manager Focused Build - Solution Documentation - Process step/Interface library – Test cases

• My goal is to maintain the re-occurring test steps in the "Process Step Library" and reuse them in many different testcases within the “Business Process” hierarchy.

Within the Solution Documentation / „Libraries“ / Process Step Library

 I created „Process Step  <Orig.>“ and created „Test Steps <Orig.>“ to describe the test steps 1, 2 3…

Within the Solution Documentation / „Business Processes“

   I created Processes and assigned/referenced the „Process Steps“ from the library.

When I now create a Testcase („Test steps <Orig.>) on process level I choose to „Use Solution Documentation to prepare Steps”.

“Only” the process steps NAMES are automatically copied into the new testcase but the detailed TEST STEPS („Test Steps <Orig.>“ ) from the library are missing.

   How can I pull the test steps which I maintained in the library (Step 1, 2, 3) into the Test case?

Happy for any support!

[christinapickhardt · Accepted solution]

Hello,

the functionality "Use Solution Documentation to prepare Steps” will always only take over the underlying process / process steps names to create a basic framework for a new test case. It will never take over the content from underlying test cases, because this gets complicated in many manners.

• what if there is more than one test case assigned to a process step?
• on which level the steps from the underlying process / process step should be used in the new test steps test case?
• why shoud we copy existing information at all and thus make it more difficult to maintain?

If you want to reuse test cases from library, assign them (if there are generally valid) to the process step in the library. They will be inherited automatically to the position, where you assign the process step. From this, the test cases can also be used in test plans without copying information. Having smaller test cases makes life easier for testers and also for them, who has to create and maintain the test cases. You can bundle them later in a test package for a coherent execution.

Hope it helps.

Kind regards,
Christina

[Kentarius · Accepted solution]

Hi Christina,

thanks for answering my questions. I am happy you thought into my problem and good to know I am not overlooking something.

It seems I was misinterpreting that "process step library” is a testcase library with building blocks. 

My thought is that in Solution Documentation underlying testcases from lower levels should be passed on to higher levels, e.g. as sub-steps. Yes this would bring also unnecessary building blocks into the testcase. But when creating testcases it is easier to delete steps then adding the repetitive same steps again and again into many different testcases. When these repetitive steps are changing or get better described nobody finds all the testcases where they need to be updated.

Building the testplan on process step level (with associated test cases) and building “test scenarios” as Test packages is an option. Would work only with using sequences which I normally try to avoid as it makes the testers unflexible to execute testcase2 in case there is a minor defect in testcase1. But I will give it a thought.

Thanks again and best regards

Benjamin