How to Use Smart Collections to Automate Test Cycles

A Smart Collection (a Collection in BesTest) is a reusable set of test cases for building test cycles. It can combine three sources:

• •
  Rules - a filter on test cases (folder, priority, type, status, custom fields...). New test cases that match are picked up automatically.
• •
  Requirements - pick requirements, and their linked test cases come along.
• •
  Test Cases - a hand-picked, fixed set.

Rules and requirements are resolved every time you add the collection to a cycle, so the collection stays current without maintenance. You need BesTest enabled on your Space and a few test cases (see the getting started guide).

Let's build a regression suite.

1. 1
   Open BesTest in your Space and go to Collections
2. 2
   Click "New Collection" and name it "Regression Suite"
3. 3
   Open the Rules tab and add a Folder Rule: pick your "Regression" folder (tick Include subfolders)
4. 4
   Add a Field Condition: Priority is High or Critical
5. 5
   Check Matching Test Cases under the rule - that is what the collection will add today
6. 6
   Click "Save Test Collection"

Conditions can be grouped with AND / OR. The same rule can be written in the Visual, Basic or BQL editor - switch to BQL when you want full control.

BQL uses camelCase field names and double quotes. A few rules that work as they are:

Custom fields work too: type the field's key and pick the value from the suggestions. For folders, use the Folder Rule in the Visual editor - BQL stores the folder by its ID. ORDER BY at the end sets the order of the matching test cases (custom fields included). More examples: Filters.

Requirements instead of rules

On the Requirements tab, select requirements (for example everything in your "Billing" folder) and click "Add Selected". When the collection is used, the test cases currently linked to those requirements are added - so the suite grows as the team links new tests.

1. 1
   Go to Test Cycles and click "New Test Cycle"
2. 2
   Fill in the General tab
3. 3
   On the Collections tab, select one or more collections and add them
4. 4
   Check the Planning tab: test cases are grouped by source, and testers can be assigned (a collection's default assignee from its own Planning tab is filled in)
5. 5
   Click "Save Test Cycle"

The cycle takes a snapshot when it is created: test cases that match the collection later appear in the next cycle, not this one. A test case that comes from more than one source is added only once (directly added first, then via requirements, then via collections).

• •
  Empty collection? Look at Matching Test Cases while editing the rule, and remove conditions one by one until results appear. In BQL, check the values against a test case (for example "HIGH", not "High").
• •
  Too large? Add a narrowing condition (priority, type) or split it by folder into several collections and run them in rotation.
• •
  One-off cycle? Skip the collection and add test cases directly in the cycle. If you will need the same kind of selection next sprint, make it a collection.
• •
  Group with fields, not names. Rules work best on folders, priority, type and your own custom fields (for example a Component select field).

Next step: create a cycle from your new collection with the test cycle tutorial.