TestcaseManagementIdeas

Introduction

• A web-based tool to manage testcases for mozilla.org.
• Keep track of the tests we have, when they are run, and their status on various platforms.

Some (very rough) mockups

• Home
• Query
• Product page
• testcase - UNFINISHED

What is being tracked

• Testcases. Three main types-
  • Fully manual testcases (BFTs, smoketests, etc...)
    • These consist of a series of steps to perform and a description of the intended behavior of the test.
  • Semi-automated testcases
    • These consist of some content that must be displayed, along with steps for a user to follow to determine if the test has passed or failed.
  • Fully automated testcases
    • Test consist of content that determines if the test has passed or failed and gives an appropriate (js) result.
• Testcases have state. All states are set on a per-platform and per-branch basis. States are:
  • Pass
  • Fail
• Associated with a particular product are platforms and branches. A test therefore has multiple states, such that a test which is broken on the mac trunk is not assumed to be broken on the windows branch.
• Testcases can also have flags associated with them. We would want to be able to add/remove flags on the fly, but initially flags would include such bits as:
  • unconfirmed - a user-submitted test that must be confirmed before it should get widespread use
  • broken - the test does not work (e.g. it is hard to understand or not applicable)
• Organization of testcases --
  • Products
  • Groups -- each product consists of one or more test groups
    • For instance, the Firefox product might have a menubar group, a toolbar group, etc... See Bob's document on test organization.
  • Subgroups -- smaller divisions such as bookmarks, etc...
  • In addition, any number of tests can be put together to make a test suite.
    • Suites can be defined via a query (e.g. a set of all Firefox UI tests related to bookmarks => the Firefox BFT bookmarks suite)
    • Or suites can be defined by arbitrary test numbers (e.g. test numbers 64, 98, and 101 => the Firefox Browser smoketests)
    • Suites can also consist of other suites (e.g. all the Firefox smoketest suites => the Firefox smoketests).
    • At any point, tests can be reordered within a suite, probably by using some kind of fancy dhtml UI.

Formats

• Testcases can have a format associated with them. For example, a standard BFT or smoketest might have a manual steps format, consisting of a series of actions to perform and a description of expected results. Other tests may have formats more suited to automation, such as a xul test format consisting of a chunk of XUL and a snippit of javascript.
• New formats can be created as testing evolves.
• Not everything has to fit into a "do these steps, look for this result" model.

Unanswered questions

• Where do testcases live? In the system or in a directory structure that the system points to?
• The "format" for testcases, particularly automated testcases. What form should tests be in so they can be managed by the system?
• Editing testcases in ways other than html forms.