Key Terminologies

In this section, we'll be providing detailed descriptions of each module within the SimplifyQA, highlighting their functions and how they interconnect to support your workflow.

What is Admin?

An admin, short for administrator, is a super user with extensive authority. Admins can create projects, manage users, configure roles and privileges, set up teams, customize layouts and fields, manage clients, view and alter sessions, change password policies, and adjust integration settings, among other tasks.

What is Non-Admin/User?

A non-admin/user is any person's account created by an admin with privileges set by the admin. Non-admin users play a crucial role in the tool, interacting with various modules such as Planning, Requirement Management, Test Management and Execution, and Defect Management. These users can be anyone involved in software development and management, including developers, testers, project managers, and other stakeholders in the process.

What is a Team?

Teams are cross-functional groups of individuals who work together collaboratively to deliver incremental and iterative improvements to a product or project. Agile teams are designed to be self-organising and empowered to make decisions, with a focus on delivering value to customers through continuous delivery of high-quality software.

What is Password Policy?

A password policy is a set of rules defined by an admin that users must adhere to when setting or updating their passwords.

What is a Project?

In SimplifyQA, all modules of the tool are organised around a project. Each module, including suites, user stories, test cases, functions, objects, parameters, defects, and tasks, is mapped under a project.

What is Session?

Sessions refer to the interval that users have been logged in to SimplifyQA. Admins also have the option to force logout any user during from session module.

What is force logout?

An action available for admins to terminate a user’s session in the tool.

What is a Wizard (formerly known as Agent)?

Wizard is a software package which needs to be installed in the machine to create and execute automation tests.

What is an Epic?

An Epic is a substantial body of work that can be broken down into smaller tasks or stories. It represents a significant piece of functionality or a major feature within a software project. EPICs provide a high-level overview of what needs to be achieved and help in organizing and prioritizing the development process. They are often used in agile project management to encapsulate larger goals that will be accomplished through multiple iterations or sprints.

What is a Feature?

A feature is a specific piece of functionality or capability within a software application that provides value to the user. Features are smaller and more focused than EPICs and are often components or aspects of larger goals. They represent distinct aspects of the system that users can interact with or experience, such as a search function, a reporting tool, or a user authentication system. Features are typically defined and developed to enhance the usability, performance, and overall value of the software.

What is a User Story?

A user story is a short, simple description of a software feature or functionality from the perspective of the end user or customer. It captures what the user wants to achieve and why, providing a clear and concise requirement that helps guide development. User stories are a key element of agile methodologies, focusing on delivering small, incremental improvements that add value to the user.

What is a Release Plan?

A release plan is a detailed roadmap that outlines the schedule, scope, and timeline for delivering a set of features or functionalities in a software project. It helps coordinate and communicate the planned releases to all stakeholders, ensuring that everyone is aligned with the project's goals and timelines.

What is Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM)?

A Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM) is a document that maps and traces user requirements with test cases. It ensures that all requirements defined for a system are tested in the test protocols. The main purpose of RTM is to ensure that all requirements are covered by test cases, and it provides a means to track the status of project requirements and test coverage.

What is Module and Sub-module?

A module is a higher-level grouping of related artefacts that together form a significant part of the software's functionality.

A sub-module is a lower-level grouping within a module, which further organises artefacts into more specific categories or functionalities.

What is a Task?

A task is a specific piece of work or activity that needs to be completed within a project. It is a basic unit of work, often detailed enough to be assigned to an individual or a team and tracked through to completion. Tasks are used to break down larger work items, such as user stories, features, or projects, into manageable parts. They help in planning, tracking progress, and ensuring that work is carried out efficiently and effectively.

What is a Defect?

A defect in the context of software development is an issue, flaw, or imperfection in a software product that causes it to produce incorrect or unexpected results, or to behave in unintended ways. Defects can arise from errors in requirements, design, coding, or testing and need to be identified, tracked, and resolved to ensure the software functions correctly and meets user expectations.

What is a Manual Testcase?

A manual testcase is a set of documented instructions that describe the steps to be performed manually to verify whether a particular feature or functionality of a software application is working as intended. Manual test cases are used by testers to ensure that the software meets the specified requirements and to identify any defects or issues.

What is an automation Testcase?

An automation testcase is a predefined script or set of instructions that are executed by an automated testing tool to verify the functionality, performance, and other aspects of a software application. Automation test cases are designed to be run without human intervention, allowing for efficient, repeatable, and consistent testing.

What is an Object?

An object refers to any element within the user interface (UI) of the application under test that can be interacted with during the execution of automated test scripts. These objects are typically controls or components such as buttons, text fields, drop downs, checkboxes, links, and other elements that users interact with on a web page or application interface.

What is an Object Inspector?

An object inspector is a tool used in automation testing to identify and capture the properties and attributes of UI elements (objects) within an application. These tools help testers and developers to understand the structure of the application's UI and to create reliable and maintainable automated test scripts by accurately identifying the elements to interact with.

What is an Action?

An action refers to any operation or command that is performed on a UI element (object) within the application under test by the automated test script. Actions simulate user interactions with the application to verify its behaviour and functionality. These actions are essential for creating meaningful and effective automated test cases.

What is a Function?

A function in automation testing is a reusable block of script that performs a specific task or set of tasks, such as interacting with a UI element, verifying conditions, or performing calculations, and can be called upon multiple times within different test cases to enhance modularity and reduce redundancy.

What is Record & Playback?

Record & playback is a feature in automation testing tools that allows testers to capture their interactions with an application and automatically generate test scripts based on those interactions. These scripts can then be played back to reproduce the actions, helping to automate the testing process without manually writing code.

What is Data Environment?

A data environment refers to a controlled setup that contains the necessary data and configurations to effectively test an application. This environment mimics the data conditions that the application will encounter in production or any other environment, allowing testers to validate functionality, performance, and other aspects under realistic scenarios.

What is Continue on Failure?

Continue on Failure is a setting or feature in automated testing that allows the test execution to proceed even if a particular test step or case fails. This approach ensures that the remaining test steps or cases are executed, providing a comprehensive assessment of the software's overall functionality and identifying all potential issues in a single test run.

What is Code Editor?

A code editor is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that allows users to create custom actions aimed at achieving specific goals. These custom actions, once created in the code editor, can be used within the actions of a test case.

What is Data Generation?

Data generation is the process of creating artificial data that mimics real-world data sets. This data is generated algorithmically adhering to standards such as Boundary value analysis and equivalence class partitioning and is used for testing, and validating software applications. Synthetic data is particularly useful when real data is scarce, expensive, or sensitive due to privacy concerns.

What does Obsolete Test Case mean?

Obsoleting a testcase refers to the process of marking a test case as no longer relevant or valid for the current testing needs. This can happen for various reasons, such as changes in the application's functionality, updates in requirements, or the introduction of new features that render the test case outdated. Once a test case is obsoleted, it is typically archived or removed from the active test suite to ensure that the testing efforts remain focused on current and relevant scenarios.

What are Parameters?

Parameters are variables that are used to pass different values to test scripts, allowing the same test case to be executed with multiple sets of data. This helps in creating data-driven tests where the test logic remains the same but the input data changes. Parameters enhance the flexibility, reusability, and coverage of automated tests by enabling testers to run a wide range of scenarios without duplicating the test code.

What is Test Data?

Test data refers to the information and input values used in testing software applications. It is essential for validating the functionality, performance, and reliability of the software. Test data can include a wide range of data types, such as numbers, text, dates, and more, and it is used to simulate real-world scenarios during testing.

What are Runtime Parameters?

A runtime parameter is a variable that is passed to a test script or program during its execution, rather than being hard-coded or predefined. These parameters allow the test or program to be more flexible and adaptable by enabling it to accept dynamic values or configurations at runtime.

What is a Test Step?

A test step is a specific action or instruction within a test case that a tester or an automated script performs to verify a particular aspect of the software application's functionality. Each test step includes details on what needs to be done, how it should be done, and what the expected outcome should be. Test steps are the building blocks of a test case, and they guide the tester through a sequence of actions to validate the behavior of the application.

What is a Screenshot?

A screenshot in an automation testcase is an image capture of the application's user interface at a specific point during the test execution. Screenshots are used to visually document the state of the application at various stages of the test, helping to verify that the application is displaying the correct information and behaving as expected.

What does 'Skip' in automation test case mean?

Skip refers to the practice of deliberately not executing a particular test or test step. Skipping a test can be done for various reasons and is usually indicated in the test results, often marked as "skipped" or "not executed."

What are object properties?

Object properties in an automation testcase refer to the specific attributes or characteristics of a user interface (UI) element that are used to uniquely identify and interact with that element during the execution of automated tests. These properties enable the automation tool to locate the elements within the application's UI and perform the necessary actions, such as clicking a button, entering text, or verifying the element's presence and attributes.

What is Self-Healing?

Self-healing in the context of automation testing refers to the capability of automated test scripts to automatically detect and adapt to changes in the application under test without human intervention. This feature helps maintain the robustness and reliability of test scripts, especially in environments where the application is frequently updated or changed.

What is parameterisation of objects?

Parameterisation of objects in automation testing involves using parameters in the object to dynamically define the properties of the objects. This technique allows test scripts to be more flexible and reusable by enabling the same script to interact with different UI elements based on the parameters provided.

What is Intelli-Sense?

Intelli-Sense in SimplifyQA is a powerful feature that enables users to seamlessly convert manual test cases to automated test scripts and vice versa without writing any code. This script less conversion allows users to maintain both versions within a single test case, providing flexibility and enhancing the efficiency of the testing process. With Intelli-Sense, testers can effortlessly switch between manual and automated testing, ensuring comprehensive coverage and adaptability to various testing scenarios.

What is a Suite?

A suite to a collection of test cases grouped together for execution. Test suites are used to organise tests in a way that makes them easier to manage, execute, and analyse. They can be organised based on functionality, features, test types, or any other logical grouping that makes sense for the project.

What is Execution Plan?

An execution plan in testing is a structured schedule that outlines how and when test cases will be executed to ensure comprehensive test coverage and timely completion. In SimplifyQA, an execution plan allows tests to be assigned to specific testers, ensuring that all necessary tests are executed efficiently and thoroughly.

What is Workflow Builder?

A workflow builder in software testing is a tool or feature that allows users to create, visualise, and manage the sequence of testing activities and processes. It helps in defining and organising the flow of tests and related tasks to ensure a structured and efficient testing process.

In SimplifyQA, the workflow builder enables users to create workflows like flow charts using tests across projects. This visual representation helps in understanding and managing the testing process more effectively.

What is Scheduler?

A scheduler is a feature that automates the execution of test cases at specified times or intervals. It allows testers to define when and how often tests should run, enabling continuous testing and integration practices.

What is Pipeline?

Pipelines are essentially a groups of test cases or suites configured to automatically run whenever there is a build trigger on a specified branch or a job in the CI/CD tool. By automating these steps, pipelines help teams reduce errors, improve efficiency, and accelerate the software development process.