What is Test Reporting? Everything You Need To Know

Software testing is important to be performed to ensure that the developed software application is of high quality. To meet the quality standard of the software application, effective test reporting and analysis are key. When you approach test reporting with care and timeliness, the feedback and insights you get can really boost your development process.

In this article, we will discuss test reporting in detail and address its underlying challenges, its components and others. This will help you understand how to make the most of your test reporting efforts and enhance your development lifecycle.

What is Test Reporting? 

Test reporting is an important part of software testing. It’s all about collecting, analyzing, and presenting key test results and statistics of software testing activities to keep everyone informed. You can understand that a test report is a detailed document that summarizes everything: the tests conducted, the methods used, and the final results. Effective test reporting helps stakeholders understand the quality of the software. It also reports the identified issues that allow us to make informed decisions.

Why is Test Reporting Important?

The goal of test reports is to help you analyze software quality and provide valuable insights for quick decision-making. These reports offer you a clear view of the testing project from the tester’s perspective and keep developers informed about the current status and potential risks.

When it comes to test reporting, you will get important information about the testing process, including any gaps and challenges.

A test summary report provides a very important overview of the testing process. Here’s what it helps developers to understand:

• The objectives of the testing

• A detailed summary of the testing project, such as:

  • Total number of test cases executed

  • Number of test cases passed, failed, or blocked

• The quality of the software under test

• The status of software testing activities

• The progress of the software release process

• Insight into defects, including:

  • Number

  • Density

  • Status

  • Severity

  • Priority

• An evaluation of the overall testing results

This way you can make informed decisions and keep your project on track.

Now you have understood how important test reporting is in software testing, let us discuss in more detail about test reporting. 

Key Component of Test Reporting

Here are the key components of the test report that you should include while preparing it: 

✅Introduction

Purpose: Clearly state why you’re creating this test report.

Scope: Define what was tested and the types of testing performed.

Software Information: Provide details about the software tested, including its version.

✅Test Environment

Hardware: List the hardware you used, like servers and devices.

Software: Mention the software components involved, such as operating systems.

Configurations: Detail the configurations you used in testing.

Software Versions: Note the versions of the software being tested.

✅Test Execution Summary

Total Test Cases: How many test cases were planned.

Executed Test Cases: How many test cases were actually run.

Passed Test Cases: Number of test cases that passed.

Failed Test Cases: Number of test cases that failed and explanations for these failures.

✅Detailed Test Results

Test Case ID and Description: Include each test case's ID and a brief description.

Test Case Status: Status of each test case. For example, status could be passed or failed).

Defects: Details about any defects you found.

Test Data and Attachments: Include specific data and relevant screenshots or attachments.

✅Defect Summary

Total Defects: Count of defects found.

Defect Categories: Classification of defects by severity and priority.

Defect Status: Current status of each defect.

Defect Resolution: Information on how defects are being resolved.

✅Test Coverage

Functional Areas Tested: Areas or modules you tested.

Code Coverage Percentage: How much of the code was tested.

Test Types: Types of testing you performed.

Uncovered Areas: Aspects of the software that weren’t tested and why.

✅Conclusion and Recommendations

Testing Outcomes Summary: Recap the main results.

Testing Objectives Met: Evaluate whether your testing objectives were achieved.

Improvement Areas: Highlight areas for improvement based on your findings.

Recommendations: Provide actionable suggestions to enhance software quality.

This is an example of a test report generated by HyperTest, not only covering the core functions, but also reports about the coverage on integration/data layers:

This structure will help you create a comprehensive and useful test report that supports effective decision-making. However, based on different requirements and test process, different types of test reports are prepared. Let us learn about those in below section.  

Types of Test Reports

Here are the main test reports you will use in software testing.

Summary Report: It gives an outline of the testing process, covering the objectives, approaches, and final outcomes.

Defect Report: This mainly focuses on identifying defects, including their level of seriousness, consequences, and present condition.

Report on Test Execution: This report shows the outcomes of test cases, indicating the number of passed, failed, or skipped cases.

Report on Test Coverage: It indicates the level of thoroughness in testing software and identifies any potentially overlooked areas.

Report on Compliance Testing: This confirms that the software meets regulatory standards and documents adherence to relevant guidelines.

Report on Regression Testing: This mainly summarizes the impact of changes on current functionality and documents any regressions.

Performance Test Report: This report provides information on how your software functions in various scenarios, such as response time and scalability metrics.

How to Create Effective Test Reports?

Creating test reports that really work for you involves a few essential steps:

Define the purpose: Before you move into writing test reports, it is important that you clarify its main purpose and reader. Based on that you should create the test reports. 

Gather Data: Collect all relevant info from your testing—test results, defects, and environment details. You have to make sure this data is accurate and complete.

Choose the Right Metrics: Pick metrics that match your report’s purpose. Useful ones include test pass rates, defect density, and coverage.

Use Clear Language: Write using simple, easy-to-understand terms. You should avoid technical jargon so everyone can grasp your findings.

Visualize Data: Make your data accessible with charts and graphs. Visual aids like pie charts and bar graphs can help you present information clearly.

Add Context: Here, you have to explain the data you present. Try to give brief insights into critical defects to help your readers understand their significance.

Proofread: Review your report for any errors or inconsistencies. A polished report will boost clarity and professionalism.

Automate Reporting: Consider using tools to automate your reports. This is because automation can save you time and reduce errors, keeping your reports consistent. 

Now you have understood about the steps following, you can create test reports. However, in this process, you must know about the features of good test reports so that you can evaluate it as a checklist upon doing test reporting. Read the below section to know about it. 

What Makes a Good Test Report? 

A solid test report should:

• Clearly State Its Purpose: Make sure you capture why the report exists and what it aims to achieve.

• Provide an Overview: Give a high-level summary of the product’s functionality being tested.

• Define the Test Scope: Include details on:

  • What was tested

  • What wasn’t tested

  • Any modules that couldn’t be tested due to constraints

• Include Key Metrics: Show essential numbers like:

  • Planned vs. executed test cases

  • Passed vs. failed test cases

• Detail the Types of Testing: Mention the tests performed, such as Unit, Smoke, Sanity, Regression, and Performance Testing.

• Specify the Test Environment: List the tools and frameworks used.

• Define Exit Criteria: Clearly state the conditions that need to be met for the application to go live.

Best Practices for Test Reporting 

Here are some tips to help you streamline your test reporting, create effective reports, and facilitate quicker product releases:

• Integrate Test Reporting: You have to make test reporting a key part of your continuous testing process.

• Provide Details: You need to check that your test report includes a thorough description of the testing process. 

• Be Clear and Concise: Your report should be easy to understand. You have to aim for clarity so all developers can understand the key points quickly.

• Use a Standard Template: Remember to maintain consistency across different projects by using a standard test reporting template.

• Highlight Red Flags: Clearly point out any critical defects or issues during test reporting.

• Explain Failures: You should list the reasons behind any failed tests. This gives your team valuable insights into what went wrong and how to fix it.

Conclusion

In this article, we have thoroughly discussed test reporting. Here are the key takeaways.

Further, it provides the transparency needed to manage and develop complex software effectively.