Test management in Excel is hell

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It is time to wake up! Using Excel to coordinate and report on testing activities can be very annoying, inefficient, time-consuming and sometimes frustrating. It often happens that you lose the overview, so that you no longer know where you are in the testing process. How can I ensure that I do get an overview? How can I link actions to multiple users involved in the test cycle? And how can I work even more efficiently by not constantly reinventing the wheel and reusing test cases?

Research on test maturity

Testersuite conducted research on the test maturity of companies using SAP during the last VNSG conference. Over 100 visitors completed a questionnaire. The survey results provide an interesting picture of how testing looks for SAP users in practice. In this blog, we reflect on the complexity of using Excel for test management.

Does this sound familiar?

• You have too many folders and documents managed in spreadsheets;
• It takes a lot of time to update all the spreadsheets, so a lot of effort for testing is lost;
• Test cases and defects get lost because there are too many e-mails with attachments and spreadsheets going back and forth. As a result, the overview is lost;
• You are constantly working in multiple documents and adapting information, because the information is not stored centrally. This is time-consuming and inefficient.

Lack of overview due to test management in Excel!

The most striking result of the survey, however, is the use of testing tools. For example, half of those surveyed indicated that they record defects in Excel rather than a user-friendly, centrally available solution. A good example of a user-friendly, free cloud solution for recording and handling test findings is Testersuite FREE.

A package such as SAP is so complex and extensive that the number of Excel (and/or Word) test scripts quickly adds up to hundreds of individual files. These files are then stored on a network drive. Although 57% of the interviewees indicated that they reuse the scripts, the people involved undoubtedly have a hard time with this. The loose files are distributed by e-mail, the completed test scripts are returned.

A major disadvantage here is the lack of overview, which means that insight into the progress and test coverage takes a long time.

Any defects are collected via e-mail or entered directly into a joint Excel list by the testers. Moreover, the executed test scripts also need to be saved, for example for IT audits. This cumbersome way of working explains why 66% indicate that they spend too much time on test execution.

Try free Testersuite now !

The success of Testersuite is largely due to the ease with which it guides the user through the various testing phases. Want to get started with a user-friendly test management tool that puts structured and pragmatic testing at your fingertips? Then start immediately with Testersuite FREE or PRO.

Using powerful modules, the entire testing process is supported. Testersuite supports managing products and requirements, designing and executing tests, and registering and managing test findings. Testersuite makes testing easy! Implementation is also fast; within one day a Testersuite environment is fully set up and the organization knows how to work with it. Want to know how Testersuite works first before you start with FREE or PRO? Request an online demo.

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