Anti-Pattern

This anti-pattern is about creating/having manual, script-based test Test cases, without test steps Test Steps.

Manual tests Tests should have clearly defined stepsSteps. If a user is not creating stepsSteps, it may indicate that they are using the wrong test Test type and will lead to other testers misinterpretation of what needs to be done. Allowing this anti-pattern to spread will lead to significant issues such as:

• Inconsistent Test Executions;.
• Difficulty in reproducing Defects, and ultimately;Reduced , reduced Test Coverage, since critical actions might have been missed or executed incorrectly. 

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Solution

The solution for this anti-pattern goes with internal coaching, clearly defined parameters & and standards for test Test case documentation, recurrent audit, and also automating repetitive tasks where detailed steps Steps are critical. Manual, script/structured test Test cases , should have a number of steps Steps that explain the intent and the expected goals; we should also avoid adding too much detail into it, as it creates unnecessary bureaucracy and makes our test est specification more dependent on the implementation and thus more fragile.

However it may also be the case we are using a wrong Test type, in that case we suggest revisiting the following articles for Generic/Unstructured Test Type.

• Generic/Unstructured Tests in Xray DC
• Generic/Unstructured Tests in Xray Cloud

Audit and Review

We suggest a recurrent audit; you can define its cadence, especially in team meetings or dailies to assist and provide feedback on the spot.

Should you be using Xray Data Center, feel free to use the below JQL as a Saved filter with a Filter Result kind of gadget in a dashboard:

issue in manualTestsWithoutSteps()

or

issue in manualTestsWithoutSteps("saved_filter")

Should It should look like this:

Filter Results Gadget (Figure 1)using the following Saved Filter: "issue in manualTestsWithoutSteps() AND Project = "Your Project Name""

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Should you use Xray Cloud, it is on the verge of receiving a sort of insights tool which will give you notice of this anti-pattern and others in a Xray page.

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Figure 1 - Filter

Xray Cloud users can currently obtain information about this anti-patternusing the Xray Document Generator.Nonetheless, for the moment, it is possible to get this information using Document Generator. 

Snippet code:

&{for issues} 
#{if (%{'${IssueTypeName}'.equals('Test')})} 
#{if (%{'${TestStepsCount}'.equals('0')})} 
${Key} - ${Summary}
#{end}
#{end}
&{end}