Run manual tests with Microsoft Test Manager

 

Microsoft Test Runner sits at the side of the screen while you test your application. It displays the steps you planned and the results you expected, and you check them off as you work. It can record your actions along with comments, screenshots, and other data, so that if you find a bug, it’s easy to reproduce.

Note

The web portal or Microsoft Test Runner? There are two ways of running manual tests in Visual Studio. You’ll probably find it more convenient to run tests with the web portal, unless you want these additional features of Microsoft Test Runner:

  • If you create a bug, the bug description automatically includes:

    1. Screenshots taken as you work.
2.  A record of the actual actions you performed – not just the test steps that you checked off.   3.  System information such as the operating system version and machine id.  

Running test cases with Microsoft Test Runner

  1. Get ready to test. Here are a few things you might need to do before running your tests:

    1. Install the latest version of your app.

    2. Create some test cases. Typically you create them at the start of a sprint, and aim to have them all pass by the end of the sprint. You can create them either with the web portal or Microsoft Test Manager.

    3. Install Microsoft Test Manager (MTM) on the machine where you want to run your tests. To get MTM, install Visual Studio Test Professional or Visual Studio Enterprise.

    4. Connect MTM to your test plan

  2. Run a test case.

    Run a test case

    Tip

    If you are already looking at a test case in the web portal, you can start Test Runner directly from there by choosing Run in Client.

    Test Runner appears at the side of the screen. It will stay there while you work with your application.

  3. Create an action recording so that you can quickly repeat the test later.

    Start your application, then the test run

  4. Follow the steps in the test. Mark each step as either Passed or Failed. When a step fails, add a comment to describe what was wrong. You can attach screenshots, too.

    Add comments and snapshots to the test run log

    If you have to attend to something else, Pause iconPause the test. You don’t want your emails or password included in the recording.

  5. Create a bug if you find a problem.

    Report a bug from the test run

  6. Name the bug and describe the failure.

    Give the bug a title

    You can assign the bug if you know who'll fix it.

  7. End the test and save the results.

    Complete the test run

    Now the results are stored in TFS.

Replay previous tests

If you ran a test before, you can repeat it quickly by replaying the same actions.

(This works with most applications, though not all.)

  1. Start the test. Don’t overwrite the recording.

    Uncheck Overwrite recording. Click Start.

  2. Play your recorded actions. You have to verify the results of each step.

    Click Play

Track the progress of your tests

Monitor the progress of your project by seeing how many tests have passed.

Tests begin in the Active state, meaning that they are ready to run. When a bug has been fixed, you can set the state of a failed test back to Active.

View test results and reset a test ready to re-run

See Also

Repeat a test with different data
Test configurations: specifying test platforms
Test on a lab environment
Record and play back manual tests
Collect more diagnostic data
Testing Windows Store apps