Smart Collections

Smart Collections automate one of the most time-consuming parts of testing in Jira: building test cycles. Instead of picking test cases and assigning testers for every regression run or sprint cycle, you define a collection once and add it to as many cycles as you need.

A collection draws test cases from three sources. Test cases you add by hand are a fixed set. Rules match test cases dynamically: a folder rule (optionally with all its sub-folders), field conditions such as Priority = High or Type = Regression, and groups that combine conditions with AND/OR. You can build rules in the Visual editor, with basic filters, or as a BQL query - BesTest's JQL-like language - and rules work on custom fields too. The Requirements tab is the third source: add the requirements a release is about, and every test case linked to them comes along.

The payoff comes when the collection is added to a cycle. Rules and requirements are evaluated right then, against the current library: new test cases that match are included automatically, and ones that no longer match drop out. Your regression suite maintains itself - nobody has to remember to update the list as the catalog evolves.

Default assignees take this further. On the collection's Planning tab you set an assignee for each hand-picked test case and one default for everything the rules match. When the collection lands in a cycle, BesTest fills in those testers for you; it is only a default, so you can still change any assignment in the cycle.

Typical collections include a "Quick Smoke" suite (critical-priority test cases in the core folders) for hotfix verification, a "Full Regression" collection for major releases, a release collection built from that release's requirements, and module-specific collections for focused runs after one area of the product changes. A step-by-step walkthrough of building your first collection is linked in the resources below.