- April 23, 2025
Software test management is essential for improving software quality and ensuring the successful development of software products. In software development, test management is a structured process of planning, monitoring, and executing software testing activities to ensure functionality and performance. A key component of this process is the TestWheel platform, which represents the continuous cycle of testing activities and serves as a test management tool from requirement analysis to execution and ongoing refinement. Software test management involves defining software requirements, designing test cases, organizing test plans, analyzing results, and managing issues, all within a framework that promotes iterative improvements.
Table of Contents
What is Test Management
Test management involves planning, monitoring, and tracking of all testing activities, documentation, and key aspects related to the testing of software applications. It answers critical questions such as who is testing?, what is being tested?, to what extent is it being tested?, how many tests have been executed?, and how many bugs have been found? These insights are made accessible through TestWheel’s dashboards and reports, providing clear visibility into the testing process. Test management ensures that software applications meet high-quality standards through thorough, well-documented testing. It also helps with traceability, offering a detailed record of test cases, results, and defects for full accountability.
The goal of test management is to prioritize critical tasks, manage resources efficiently, and anticipate potential testing challenges. By offering transparency and comprehensive metrics, it builds confidence in the testing process and ensures the release process is robust. As an integral part of the software development lifecycle, test management contributes to the overall reliability and success of the application.
Requirements for Software Test Management
As software projects become more complex, it is mandatory to combine the inputs of different stakeholders and integrate them with other systems to conduct robust software testing. The need for test management becomes even greater as customers expect dynamic features, smooth user interfaces, and compatibility across a set of operating systems and platforms.
Test management tools are designed to streamline the software testing process, making it more efficient and manageable. Test automation tools aim to reduce costs by automating manual tests and saving time. No-code platforms like TestWheel simplify test case creation by using plain English, enabling test managers to build teams of low-code users with minimal training. This approach can cut project timelines by an estimated 60% compared to manual testing. These tools also help alleviate the administrative burden on testers and managers, ensuring consistency across tests. This is particularly important as managers prepare for changing economic conditions and seek to streamline processes and teams. As a result, organizations can confidently ensure their software meets quality, functionality, performance, and schedule requirements.
As per the recent research, the unified test management software Market, valued at USD 2.19 billion in 2024, is forecasted to grow consistently, reaching USD 2.40 billion in 2025 and ultimately achieving USD 4.94 billion by 2033, at a steady CAGR of 9.7%.
Components of Test Management
Software test management comprises of four major components. They are as follows.
Test Documentation
This comprises of all the important documents that are required to outline the techniques, metrics, developments, and results that are achieved by the testing team. Users can consolidate all the available data to track the project requirements in the future, manage test coverage, and measure the testing efforts of the team.
Test Metrics
Test metrics will measure the progress, productivity, quality, and health of the software testing process. By assuring reliable data regarding the testing process, software testing metrics are intended to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the software testing process.
Measurement of Progress
This component will measure the total number of defects found in the software application and the effort required to fix them. It also aims to measure the number of undetected defects and the number of unexecuted test cases.
Process of Software Test Management
Test management can significantly enhance the software development and delivery process, especially in organizations with an immature SDLC. To tap into the true potential of test management, it is required to manage the software testing process in an organized and systematic manner. Test management allows testers to manage their testing activities from beginning to end and facilitates planning, controlling, tracking, and monitoring testing efforts throughout their lifecycles. Let us discuss the planning and execution of test management in detail here.
1. Test Management Planning
The test manager would first outline the plan for the software testing life cycle in iterative sprints.The planning stage comprises three important components.
Anslysis of Risk
Risk analysis is an important step in testing the software. Even before the project begins, the test manager would start analyzing its risk factors. In risk analysis, they would first identify and analyze the potential risks that might negatively affect the business initiatives. Early analysis of risks could save the costs of the project and help in avoiding potential losses.
Organization of Test
After the test planning stage, it’s essential to assemble an efficient software testing team. Skilled testers are critical to successfully executing the testing process from start to finish.
Estimation of Time and Effort
The test manager then evaluates the amount of time and effort required to complete a task. He gathers the required tools, budget, human expertise, and resources to complete the test management. He also evaluates the budget and the cost of test completion. Estimating the time appropriately helps him plan, execute, and monitor the tasks to yield accurate results.
2. Execution of Test Management
This is the most important part of test management. It carries out important functions such as test monitoring and control, issue management, reporting, etc.
Test Monitoring and Control
As the test plan is executed, ongoing monitoring is essential to track progress and provide timely feedback. This feedback allows test managers to identify and address gaps, guiding their teams to improve performance and outcomes. Effective test monitoring is especially critical for complex projects, offering greater visibility into test results and helping to ensure higher quality software testing.
Issue Management
Alongside test monitoring, the test manager plays a key role in identifying and resolving issues during the testing process. This includes prioritizing issues, reporting them accurately, and assigning tasks to team members to ensure timely resolution.
Test Reporting
The test report provides insights into test coverage, product quality, and areas for improvement. It also helps assess the extent of testing still required. Once the product has been thoroughly tested, the test manager generates a detailed report analyzing the testing process and the software’s readiness before it proceeds to final development.
An Effective Test Management Solution Tailored for SMEs
As teams advance through the software development process, they must navigate complex steps. Even minor oversights in testing can result in delays to the release schedule. However, test management tools, such as automated testing platforms like TestWheel, are invaluable in overcoming these challenges. The primary advantage of our test management tool is that they help in.
- Detecting bugs easily
- Develop test reports along with traceability metrics
- Allows easy integration with test automation platforms
- Manages users with access to test reports.
Test management plays a crucial role in delivering high-quality software while meeting tight customer deadlines. As software complexity increases, so do the test cases, making effective test management more challenging. This requires thorough testing to replicate real-world conditions accurately. TestWheel, a cross-browser testing platform, simplifies the process by enabling both manual and automated testing for API, mobile and web applications. Additionally, the platform can run native mobile testing in supported environments. By leveraging TestWheel’s comprehensive test management tools , organizations can streamline testing, accelerate developer feedback, and bring software to market faster, resulting in better products and greater customer satisfaction.
