Why full traceability of testing objects is so important and how to achieve it

As far as software testing is concerned, traceability is one of the key elements for it to be successful. Full traceability makes it a lot easier for the development team to synchronize and align their work, which results in speeding up the whole process and lowering the overall number of bugs. But how does full traceability actually work, and what is the best way of achieving it? You will learn that from this article – read on!

What is test traceability in software development?

But first, let’s make sure we are all on the same page. Simply put, traceability is the ability to… trace something. In software development, it is – as a technical explanation goes – ‘the ability to describe and follow the life of a requirement in both forward and backward direction (i.e. from its origins, through its development and specification, to its subsequent deployment and use, and through periods of ongoing refinement and iteration in any of these phases)’.

Translating it to a less technical language: it is the ability to trace and link requirements (a customer need, a user story…) to a specific test case or group of test cases and other objects – and the other way round. Traceability makes it possible to see what is going on in the software development life-cycle. It tells us which test case verifies which piece of application functionality, and proves that it does what it is supposed to do – or that, sadly, it does not.

Keeping good track of the work progress on a specific piece of software is what makes test traceability so commonly used by IT teams. This is also why testing traceability is widely considered a key to quality software development.

Types of test traceability in software development

There are two types of traceability: forward traceability and backward traceability:

Forward traceability

As you already know, test cases are traced forward to test runs, and these are traced forward to defects. So, whenever a test case passes, it means that a feature works as expected; similarly, when it fails, it means that the feature needs to be fixed. This simple ability to go from a requirement to a particular test case and its result is called forward traceability.

Backward traceability

Whenever a test case passes or fails, it points to a specific area of the software that works or does not work. Test cases and test runs can be traced back to specific requirements. This simple ability to go from a test case, a test run, and its result back to application functionality is called backward traceability.

Why is test traceability in software development important?

The purpose of test traceability is to verify that all requirements are met and the final product works as expected. And since it shows ‘the life of a requirement in both a forward and backward direction’, test traceability allows for a clear overview of all requirements, test cases, tasks, and so on in one place.

Forward traceability is particularly important for product owners as they plan new features and products. From a business perspective, it is crucial to align evolving market and customers’ needs with the software you develop. If a requirement changes, traceability can be used to determine the impact of that change on related issues and tests. It ensures that you are creating the right product, instead of just creating the product right, and it helps you make sure that your product is compliant with industry and/or regulatory standards.

Backward traceability on the other hand is particularly important for developers and quality assurance teams. Once your piece of software becomes more complex, it gets more difficult to identify areas of the source code that need to be fixed. The code becomes longer, there are more people involved in writing it, so staying on top of it becomes challenging. Test traceability allows you to verify with 100% certainty that any software fixes or new features added to the software are working as they are supposed to. And if a problem arises, backward traceability will allow you to create a descriptive bug report and get a specific context for it.

Testing traceability also allows to prevent loss of information on the history of a given software project – in case of staff rotation, future developers will be able to quickly understand the product life by referring to testing documentation created by previous team members. Testing traceability also facilitates process improvement, because once you understand how your team develops a piece of software, you will be able to identify where they are strong and where they are not.

All of the above greatly accelerates the software development process – and lowers the overall time and money spent on the project.

Problems with ensuring full test traceability

So, if testing traceability is such a great thing, software development teams must love doing it, right? Well, not necessarily. One of the biggest challenges of testing traceability is… the traceability itself. Software development teams commonly use a traceability matrix in the form of a spreadsheet. It presents Requirements, User Stories, and Epics versus Test Cases for those elements. A traceability matrix also lists Test Runs and their results, as well as Issues or Defects – and whether they have been resolved or not. But as application complexity increases and its multiple versions are being developed in parallel, things get complicated. Keeping track of it all using a simple spreadsheet makes test tracing a nightmare. The sheer volume of objects makes it impossible to see the bigger picture of the project and the connection between particular objects gets severed.

So, is there a more efficient way to achieve complete traceability?

Traceability of testing objects made easy

Here is the good news: yes, there is. The first thing you need to do is bringing your test management into Jira. This should not be difficult as your company probably already manages software development inside the Atlassian suite. And to easily link requirements to any other types of information (Documents, Features, Defects, Code revisions, Test Cases, Test Plans, Test Executions, Jobs, Discussions, etc.) in Jira, you need an additional tool such as Requirements & Test Management for Jira (RTM). On top of all the linking, its reporting module will allow you to clearly see the relations between different objects and how they overlap, thus giving you a clear picture of the situation within your software project.

RTM will also let you make sure that all Test Cases are included in Test Plans and Test Executions, it will help you find Defects resulting from particular Test Cases and Test Executions, and verify Test Executions linked to Test Plans. It will also allow you to see at a glance which Test Cases cover which Requirements, if Test Plans are complete and well-executed, and finally, if there are any Defects – and from which requirements or tests they come from. Simply put: when used right, the RTM tool will be the GPS for your entire software testing journey.

Try it out today!

Sounds amazing? Well, it IS amazing! And do not just take our word for it – at present, there are already over 1,200 active instances of the Requirements and Test Management for Jira app on five continents.

You can try it out for free for 30 days! To start your free no-obligation trial, go to the Atlassian Marketplace right away and select your hosting type. And to see our app in action, book a free live demo via Calendly – we will be more than happy to show you all the magic this app of ours is capable of ????