Test Cycles

Learn how to create test cycles, add test cases, and manage your test execution workflow in TestKase.

Overview

A test cycle (sometimes called a test run) is a structured collection of test cases assembled for a specific round of testing. Test cycles are the primary mechanism for planning, executing, and tracking testing activities in TestKase. Every time your team needs to verify a build, validate a release candidate, or run a regression suite, you create a test cycle.

Unlike a test case repository (which is your permanent library of tests), a test cycle represents a single execution instance. Each cycle maintains its own independent set of execution statuses, tester assignments, comments, and defect links. This means the same test case can appear in dozens of cycles, each with its own execution history, without any interference.

Test cycles answer the fundamental question: "For this particular build or milestone, what did we test, what passed, what failed, and what is still pending?" They provide the traceability and auditability that QA teams, release managers, and compliance officers rely on.

Structured test planning

Group test cases by sprint, release, feature, or any milestone that fits your workflow

Tester assignment

Assign individual test cases to specific team members and track who executed what

Execution tracking

Five execution statuses — Pass, Fail, Blocked, Not Executed, and Skipped — with full audit trail

Real-time progress

Visual progress bar and completion percentage update instantly as testers execute

Clone and repeat

Clone any cycle to reuse the same test case selection for the next build or sprint

Environment tagging

Tag cycles with target environments to track results across staging, production, and more

CSV export

Download execution results as a CSV file for offline analysis, stakeholder reports, or archival

Full audit history

Every status change, assignment, and metadata update is recorded with timestamps and user info

Test cycles work hand-in-hand with Test Cases and Reports. Build your test case library first, then create cycles to execute against specific builds. Use Reports to analyze trends across multiple cycles.

Create a Test Cycle

Creating a test cycle is the first step in any test execution workflow. A cycle defines the scope, timeline, and context for a round of testing. Follow these steps to create a new cycle from scratch:

Navigate to the Test Cycles tab in your project using the left sidebar. This opens the cycle listing view showing all existing cycles for the project.
Click the Create Cycle button in the top-right corner. A creation dialog will appear with all the available fields.
Enter a Cycle Name (required). Choose a descriptive name that clearly communicates the purpose and context of the cycle. Good naming conventions include the release version, sprint number, or test type. For example: "v2.4.0 Release Regression", "Sprint 18 Smoke Tests", or "Payment Module - UAT Round 2".
Optionally enter a Description to provide additional context about the cycle. Use this field to document the build number being tested, the scope of testing, any known issues to watch for, or links to related tickets. This information helps testers understand the testing context before they start executing.
Set the Start Date to indicate when testing is expected to begin. This is an informational field that helps with planning and reporting. The date appears in the cycle listing and can be used to sort and filter cycles.
Set the End Date to indicate the target completion date for the cycle. Together with the start date, this creates a testing window that helps your team track whether testing is on schedule. If testing extends beyond the end date, the cycle remains open and functional.
Select an Environment to indicate where the tests will be executed. Common values include "Staging", "QA", "Production", "UAT", or device-specific environments like "iOS 17 - iPhone 15". See the Environments section for more details on how to leverage this field effectively.
Review all the fields and click Create to save the cycle. The cycle is created immediately and you are taken to the cycle detail view, which will initially be empty.
After creation, proceed to add test cases to populate the cycle with the tests you want to execute.
Optionally, assign testers to distribute the workload across your team before execution begins.

Field	Required	Description
Name	Yes	A unique, descriptive name for the cycle. Maximum 255 characters.
Description	No	Additional context about the testing scope, build info, or instructions for testers.
Start Date	No	The planned start date for test execution. Used for planning and reporting.
End Date	No	The target completion date. Does not prevent execution after this date.
Environment	No	The target environment for this round of testing (e.g., Staging, Production).

Establish a consistent naming convention across your team. A pattern like [Version] [Test Type] - [Environment] (e.g., "v3.1.0 Regression - Staging") makes it easy to find and compare cycles in the listing view. Include the sprint or release number so cycles are naturally sortable.

The cycle name should be unique within the project to avoid confusion. While TestKase does not enforce uniqueness, having multiple cycles with identical names makes it difficult to distinguish them in reports and the cycle listing.

Add Test Cases

After creating a cycle, you need to populate it with the test cases you want to execute. TestKase provides a powerful test case picker that lets you browse your entire test case library, search for specific tests, and add them individually or in bulk.

Step-by-Step: Adding Test Cases

Open the test cycle you want to populate by clicking on it in the cycle listing view.
Click the Add Test Cases button in the cycle toolbar. This opens a modal dialog showing your project's complete test case folder tree on the left and the test case list on the right.
Browse the folder tree to navigate to the folder containing the test cases you want to add. Click on a folder to expand it and see its subfolders. Selecting a folder displays all test cases within that folder (and its subfolders) in the right panel.
Use the search bar at the top of the dialog to filter test cases by title. This is especially useful in large projects with hundreds or thousands of test cases.
Select individual test cases by clicking the checkbox next to each one. You can select as many test cases as needed across different folders.
To add all test cases from an entire folder at once, select the folder-level checkbox. This will include every test case in that folder and all its subfolders.
Review your selection. The dialog shows a count of how many test cases you have selected.
Click Add to include the selected test cases in the cycle. They will appear in the cycle with a default status of Not Executed.

What Happens When Test Cases Are Added

When you add test cases to a cycle, TestKase creates an independent execution record for each test case. This means:

Each test case gets its own execution status (defaulting to Not Executed), assignee slot, comment thread, and defect links within this cycle.
The test case's definition (title, steps, expected results, priority) is referenced from the test case library. If the underlying test case is updated, those changes are reflected in the cycle view.
Execution data (status, comments, defects) is scoped to this cycle only. Executing a test case in one cycle has no effect on the same test case in other cycles.
Test cases that have already been added to the cycle will be indicated so you do not accidentally add duplicates. If you attempt to add a duplicate, TestKase skips it and notifies you.

For regression cycles, consider organizing your test cases into dedicated folders (e.g., "Regression Suite", "Smoke Tests", "Critical Path") in your test case library. This makes it fast to select an entire folder when creating a new cycle, rather than picking test cases one by one.

You can add more test cases to a cycle at any time, even after execution has started. This is useful when new test scenarios are identified during a testing round. Newly added test cases will start with a "Not Executed" status and will be factored into the cycle's progress calculation.

Next Steps

Now that you have created a test cycle and added test cases, continue with these guides:

Test Execution -- Learn how to execute tests, use execution statuses, perform bulk updates, and track progress with real-time metrics.
Assignment & Environments -- Assign testers to test cases and configure environments for your test cycles.
Cycle Management -- Clone cycles, export results to CSV, and review the complete audit trail of cycle changes.
Best Practices & FAQ -- Guidelines for effective test cycle management and answers to common questions.