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Manage tests inline

Azure DevOps Services | Azure DevOps Server | Azure DevOps Server 2022 | Azure DevOps Server 2020

This article describes how to quickly create, run, update, and track tests inline from work items on your boards in Azure Boards. Tests you create from work items on your board are automatically linked to the work items.

Managing inline tests in board work items is similar to managing inline task checklists. For more information about inline tasks, see Tutorial: Add tasks or child items as checklist items.

Prerequisites

Category Requirements
Project access Project member.
Access levels To add work items, view or run tests, and use all boards features, at least Basic access. Users with Stakeholder access can't view or run tests.
Permissions To view or modify work items, View work items in this node and Edit work items in this node permissions set to Allow. By default, the Contributors group has these permissions. For more information, see Set permissions and access for work tracking.

Open boards in Azure Boards

  1. To view your team's board, open your Azure DevOps project and select Boards > Boards from the left navigation menu.

    Screenshot showing opening your board.

  2. To view a different board, select the arrow next to the title on your board page and select the other board or View boards directory from the dropdown list. You can also select a board under All team boards on the Boards directory page.

    Screenshot showing selecting another team's board.

Tip

Select the star icon next to a board name to favorite the board. Favorited boards appear at the top of the board selector list.

Expand and view inline tests

When you first open a board, the task and test checklists in work items are collapsed.

Screenshot showing inline tests collapsed.

  1. Hover over an inline test icon to show a test summary.

    Screenshot showing test summary upon hover.

  2. Select the test icon to expand the list of tests and other controls. To collapse the list and controls, select the icon again.

  3. In the expanded panel, select a test from the list to open and edit its test case page.

    Screenshot showing a test case page.

  4. In the expanded panel, select the Work item actions icon next to a test to show context menu options.

    Screenshot showing test case context menu options.

  5. Select the Open test suite icon to open the test suite for the work item in a new browser page.

    Screenshot showing inline tests expanded.

    The following example shows test suite 285 created for bug 38, with three inline test cases added to the suite.

    Screenshot showing inline test cases get added to test suites and test plans.

Add tests inline

When you add test cases to a board work item inline, a default test plan and test suite are automatically created for the work item with the test cases grouped under them.

  1. To add tests to a work item on your board, open the Work item actions menu for the work item and select Add test from the context menu. You can also select an existing inline test icon in a work item, and then select Add test in the expanded test panel.

    Screenshot showing Add test in the context menu of a backlog item.

  2. In the expanded panel, enter the new test title and press Enter. You can add multiple tests by pressing Enter after adding each test.

    Screenshot showing work item with several test cases added.

For more information, see Plan your tests and Create manual tests.

Run an inline test

Before running a new test, you must add details. To add details to a test case, open it by selecting it in the inline test case list, or by selecting Open in its context menu.

Run the test by selecting Run test from the context menu for the test.

Screenshot showing running a test.

Microsoft Test Runner starts in a new browser instance. For more information, see Run manual tests.

Update test status

To track test status, you can update the status of an inline test from its context menu.

Screenshot showing completed tasks.

Reparent or copy a test

To reparent a test, drag and drop the test to a different work item. This action automatically changes the linked relationship of the test and points to the new work item.

The following example shows the TEST: Cancel order form test being moved from the Cancel order form item to the Customer account history item.

Screenshot showing dragging a test to reassign it to a different work item.

To copy a test to a different work item, hold down the Ctrl key while you drag and drop the test to the other work item.

Note

When you link a test case to a work item by using the Tested By link type, the board reflects the test status of the linked test case. However, if a requirement-based suite has multiple configurations, the board only shows the test outcome for the default configuration. To ensure that test cases appear properly on the board, it's better to use Add test on the work item or create a requirement-based test suite from the Test Plans hub.

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