About this Course

This three-day course is designed for testers who need to gain a solid practical knowledge of testing applications using Microsoft Visual Studio 2015. The course focuses primarily on the use of Microsoft Test Professional 2015, which is both a standalone product and part of the Visual Studio 2015 Enterprise edition. The course teaches you how to design test plans that include test cases, test suites, and test configurations. Best practices are also discussed, including how you can make your tests as resilient as possible.

Attendees will learn how testers and developers can work more closely together to reduce the time it takes to find and fix software defects. Through the efficient use of new data collectors, developers should be able to pinpoint issues quicker than ever before.

Testers will also learn how to manage their test plans over multiple iterations and releases of a product, including how to deal with different code branches within the same team project. This course includes hands-on labs to reinforce practical skills and ensure you’re ready to use the tools upon your return to your workplace.

Product and Version Compatibility

• Team Foundation Server or Visual Studio Online - This course is equally applicable for teams using either Visual Studio Online or on-premises Team Foundation Server.
• Previous versions of Microsoft Test Manager or Team Foundation Server - This course is suitable for attendees currently using Microsoft Test Manager 2013 or TFS 2013. Much of the course content will be directly applicable to these previous versions, especially later updates such as updates 3, 4, or 5.

Audience Profile

This course is designed for team members who perform the role of Tester within their team in either a full-time or part-time capacity. The course would also be beneficial for developers looking to increase their knowledge of testing.

At Course Completion

At the completion of this course, attendees will be able to:

• Explain the testing capabilities of the Visual Studio ALM product suite
• Create and manage test plans and test suites
• Manage test configurations and assign non-default configurations to test cases
• Create high quality, maintainable test cases
• Execute tests using the Microsoft Test Runner
• Use Test Case Fast Forward to help speed up the testing process
• Create actionable, high quality bug reports
• Verify resolved bugs and manage the bug lifecycle
• Conduct exploratory testing using Microsoft Test Manager
• Use the web-based Test Case Management interface to create and execute tests
• Manage test plans over multiple iterations and releases
• Report on test results and testing progress
• Understand the benefit of Lab Management and how it helps testers
• Gain an overview of how to create automated coded UI tests

Prerequisites

Attendees should be familiar with testing theory and practices.

Course Outline

Module 1 - A Lap Around the Testing Tools in Visual Studio 2015

• A look at the Visual Studio product family
• Introducing Microsoft Test Manager 2015
• The role of Team Foundation Server 2015 or Visual Studio Online

Module 2 - Planning Our Testing Effort

• Reviewing requirements on the backlog
• Defining our test plan strategy

Module 3 - Creating Our First Test Plan

• Creating a new test plan
• Organizing test using test suites
• Mapping requirements to tests
• Configuring test settings, including data collectors
• Balancing storage considerations

Module 4 - Authoring a Manual Test Case

• Creating a new manual test case
• Using grid view to author and edit test cases
• Appropriate use of Expected Results
• Tagging test cases for better organization

Module 5 - Data Binding Test Cases

• Adding parameters to our test steps
• Using shared parameters across multiple test cases
• Maintaining shared parameters

Module 6 - Executing Test Cases

• Defining which tests to include in a test run
• Assigning a test case to run tests
• Executing tests using the web-based Test Runner
• Executing tests using the Microsoft Test Runner
• Recording reliable action recordings
• Test Case Fast Forward

Module 7 - Raising and Verifying Bugs

• Raising a bug from the Microsoft Test Runner
• The bug lifecycle
• View bug states
• Verifying a bug fix

Module 8 - Understanding and Analyzing Test Results

• Viewing results for test runs
• Categorizing results

Module 9 - The Role of Builds in Testing

• Assigning a new build to our test plan
• Determining what’s changing between builds
• Examining impacted tests

Module 10 - Refactoring Test Cases

• Creating Shared Steps
• Reusing Shared Steps
• Shared Steps in the Test Runner
• Best Practices for Shared Steps

Module 11 - Exploratory Testing with MTM

• What is exploratory testing?
• Exploratory testing in Microsoft Test Manager
• Creating bugs and test cases from exploratory tests

Module 12 - Web-Based Test Management

• A lap around browser-based test management and execution
• Creating test plans using a browser
• Switching to MTM from the web client
• Configuring views
• Using the web-based Test Runner
• Bulk editing in the grid view

Module 13 - Test Release Management

• The need for a test release management plan
• Moving from iteration to iteration
• Cloning test plans
• Copying test cases to the next iteration
• Dealing with multiple branches

Module 14 - Reporting Test Progress and the Status of Tests

• A lap around the out-of-the-box reports
• Producing test progress reports
• Using Test Scribe to produce test plan documents
• Creating ad hoc reports using Excel

Module 15 - An Overview of Lab Management

• What is lab management?
• Using the Lab Center in MTM
• Creating and managing lab environments
• Installing and configuring test agents
• Configuring tests to run in a lab environment

Module 16 - An Overview of Coded UI Testing

• Creating coded UI tests from action recording
• Using the Coded UI Test Builder