Getting Started with Zephyr for JIRA

Introduction:

Zephyr for JIRA is an add-on application, which provides high sophisticated test management capabilities inside your JIRA. Together, Zephyr for JIRA enable developers, testers and the entire project team to be better prepared at every stage of the software life cycle to plan, build, test and launch great project.

Features of Zephyr for JIRA:

• Create, organize and track tests
• Write test for JIRA projects, re-use written tests, group by version, components and labels
• Link to Requirements
• Plan, Execute and file bugs, plan test execution cycles, set up list of test per each release
• Real time view with progress bar during execution cycle
• Record results during test execution
• Track Quality Metrics
• Create and reuse Manual Test cases
• Plan and Execute Test Cycles

What is a Test?

Test case is a detailed step-by-step description of what should be done to test something. This can also be a high level description, with links to requirements, lots of properties, execution history. Test is a standard issue type in JIRA.

What is a Test Summary?

This is a high level summary and counts of all the tests that have been created in a particular project, grouped in various ways. This is accessible via navigation tab on the left in JIRA.

What is a Test Cycle?

Test cycle is a group of executed and unexecuted tests. In a version, there can be more than one test cycle.

What is Ad hoc cycle?

This is a default cycle. If no test cycles have been set up for a version, then any test which gets executed is reported against an "ad hoc" cycle. 

Unscheduled Version: If no versions are set up in JIRA, then a test will belong to an "unscheduled" version by default.

Execution statues: The default statues are Work in Progress, Pass, Fail, Blocked. Custom statues can be added.

Types of Test Process:

1. Simple Test Process: This is the simplest way of using the application and no prior planning is needed. This allows you to create or clone an existing test, execute it, file a bug and check out the metrics gadget to keep track of testing. 
   
                                                            
   
   
2. Test Process with Basic Execution planning: This allows you to group the test executions into Test cycles, keep track of what has been tested, status of the test. This is a very basic planning of setting up the test cycles and then making sure that every test execution is recorded against those test cycles.
                                                          
   
   
3. Test process with Structured Execution Planning: This involves in setting up test cycles and also getting into a process of creating/ modifying large number of tests, adding them to the appropriate test cycles for future execution and then executing them during the dedicated execution stages of the project.
                                                            
   
   
4. Structured Test Process: This is allowed for distinct phases of organization, planning, execution and tracking of all your testing efforts.