What is Testlink and How it works? An Overview and Its Use Cases

History & Origin of Testlink

TestLink was created by Chad Rosen, a software developer for Good Technology in the early 2000s. Rosen came up with the idea of creating a test tracking tool after the development team he worked on had difficulties manually tracking QA test results and which test cases were and were not completed. Desiring a more efficient system of test tracking and a better way for developers to see what the QA team was doing, Rosen and his manager Mike Belshe programmed TestLink. Afterward, Good Technology gave permission to release the TestLink software as open-source, with a SourceForge project released on May 17, 2004 — which was the final version Rosen worked on before leaving the open-source project. Despite Rosen’s departure, steady work continued on the project, with Francisco Mancardi eventually taking the lead of the development team.

What is Testlink?

Test-link is the most widely used web-based open-source test management tool. It synchronizes both requirements specification and test specification together. Users can create test projects and document test cases using this tool. With Test-Link you can create an account for multiple users and assign different user roles. Admin users can manage test cases assignment tasks.

It supports both automated and manual execution of Test cases. The testers can generate a Test Plan and Test Report in a fraction of the time with this tool. It supports test reports in various formats like Excel, MS Word, and HTML formats. Apart from these, it also supports integration with many popular Defect tracking systems like JIRA, MANTIS, BUGZILLA, TRAC, etc. Since it is a web-based tool, multiple users can access its functionality at the same time with their credentials and assigned roles.

Features of Testlink are:

  • Web-based (Mozilla, Firefox, IE compatible)
  • Each product is tested in Test Plans according to natural testing procedures
  • Users have defined roles (e.g. leader, tester, etc.)
  • Test cases are organized in a hierarchal structure (tree menu)
  • Keywords are supported to bring more depth to testing the organization
  • Testing could be prioritized, assigned to testers, defined as milestones
  • Amount of Reports and Metrics are available
  • Export of documentation to HTML, MS Word, and MS Excel is supported
  • Reports could be mailed directly from the tool

Why use Testlink?

TestLink is a web-based test management system that facilitates software quality assurance. It is developed and maintained by a Team test. The platform offers support for test cases, test suites, test plans, test projects, and user management, as well as various reports and statistics.

Advantages of TestLink

  • Open source Test Management Tool.
  • Good user management and permission control.
  • Importing Test Results from CSV/excel is possible which saves a lot of time in result logging
  • Export of Test Cases is possible in Word format
  • Test Execution Summary in the Dashboard
  • Project-wise Test Cycle wise Test Case Execution Tracking
  • Tabular result display for multiple test cycles
  • Test Result Report generation

Disadvantages of Testlink

  • Unrealistic expectations from the tool
  • TestLink does not allow the provision to test mobile applications.
  • With the advancement of web technologies and increased complexities, sometimes the tester finds it difficult to use this tool for test management.

Best Testlink Alternative

  • TestRail.
  • PractiTest.
  • Micro Focus ALM Quality Center.
  • Zephyr E.
  • Tricentis qTest.
  • CucumberStudio.
  • QMetry Test Management.
  • Postman.

Free Video Tutorials Testlink

Testlink Interview Questions and Answers

1) What Is A Bug?
A computer bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working correctly or produces an incorrect result.

2) What Is A Test Case?
A test case is a set of input values, execution preconditions, expected results, and execution Postconditions, developed for a particular objective or test conditions, such as to exercise a particular program path or to verify compliance with a specific requirement.

3) What Is The Purpose Of the Test Plan In Your Project?
A test plan document is prepared by the test lead, it contains the contents like introduction, objectives, test strategy, scope, test items, program modules user procedures, features to be tested features, not to tested approach, pass or fail criteria, testing process, test deliverables, testing, tasks, responsibilities, resources, schedule, environmental requirements, risks & contingencies, change management procedures, plan approvals, etc all these things help a test manager understand the testing he should do & what he should follow for testing that particular project.

4) When do The Relationships Occur Between Tester And the Developer?
The developer is the one who sends the application to the tester by doing all the necessary code in the application and sends the marshal id to the tester. The tester is the one who gives all the input/output and checks whether he is getting the required output or not. A developer is the one who works on inside interfacing whereas the tester is the one who works on outside interfacing.

5) When Testing Will Starts In A Project?
The testing is not getting started after the coding. After releasing the build the testers perform the smoke test. A smoke test is the first test that is done by the testing team. This is according to the testing team. But, before the release of a build, the developers will perform the unit testing.

6) If A Bug Has High Severity Then Usually That Is Treated Like a High Priority, Then Why Do Priority Given By Test Engineers/project Managers And Severity Given By Testers?
High severity bugs affect the end-users .testers test an application from the users’ point of view, hence it is given as high severity. High priority is given to the bugs which affect production. Project managers assign a high priority based on the production point of view.

7) What Is The Difference Between Functional Testing And Regression Testing?
Functional testing is a testing process where we test the functionality/behavior of each functional component of the application. i.e. minimize button, transfer button, links, etc. i.e we check what is each component doing in that application.

Regression testing is the testing of the behavior of the application of the unchanged areas when there is a change in the build. i.e we check whether the changed requirement has altered the behavior of the unchanged areas. The impacted area maybe the whole of the application or Some part of the application.

8) Do U Know About Integration Testing, How Do U Integrate Different Modules?
Integration testing means testing an application to verify the data flows between the modules. For example, when you are testing a bank application, in the account balance it shows the 100$as the available balance. but in the database, it shows 120$. The main thing is “integration done by the developers and integration testing done by the testers.”

9) How do You Test Database And Explain The Procedure?
Database Testing is purely done based on the requirements. You may generalize a few features but they won’t be complete. In general, we look at:

Data Correctness (Defaults).
Data Storage/Retrieval.
Database Connectivity (across multiple platforms).
Database Indexing.
Data Integrity.
Data Security.


10) What Are The Contents Of Frs?
F-Function Behaviours.
R-Requirements (Outputs) of the System that is defined.
S-Specification (How, What, When, Where, and Way its behavior).
FRS: Function Requirement Specification.
This is a document that contains the Functional behavior of the system or a feature. This document is also known as EBS External Behaviour Specification – Document. Or EFS External Function Specification.

11) What Is Meant By Priority And Severity?
Priority means “Importance of the defect w.r.t customer requirement.”
Severity means “Seriousness of the defect w.r.t functionality.”

12) Differentiate Between Qa And Qc?
QA:
It is process-oriented.
It evolves in the entire process of software development.
Preventing oriented.

QC:
It is product-oriented.
Work to examine the quality of the product.
Deduction oriented.

13) Explain V-model For Testing?
Typical “V” shows Development Phases on the Left-hand side and Testing Phases on the Right-hand side.

SRS/BRS User Acceptance.
Analysis/Design System Testing.
HLD Integration Testing.
LLD Unit Testing.
Coding.


14) Define Priority& Severity?
Severity: It is the impact of the bug on the application. The severity level should be set by the tester. The Severity levels are Low, Medium, high, very high, and Urgent. It is set by the tester and it can not be changed.

The bug causes a system crash or data loss.
The bug causes major functionality or other severe problems; product crashes in obscure cases.
The bug causes minor functionality problems, and may affect “fit and finish”.
The bug contains types, unclear wording, or error messages in low visibility fields.
Priority: How important is it to fix the bug is a priority. Priority levels are set by the team lead or test manager and they can be changed as required.

Must fix as soon as possible. The bug is blocking further progress in this area.
Should fix soon, before product release.
Fix if time; somewhat trivial. May be postponed.


15) What’s The Value Of Doing Regression Testing?
Regression testing is initiated after a programmer has attempted to fix a recognized problem or has added source code to a program that may have inadvertently introduced errors. It is a quality control measure to ensure that the newly modified code still complies with its specified requirements and that the unmodified code has not been affected by the maintenance activity.

16) Why do you want to pursue your career in the field of software testing?
Based on my research, it is compulsory for any product to be of good quality to sustain in a market. To gain satisfaction and confidence in the quality of services or products, from the end-user, we must verify that the product behaves as expected and outperforms the desired quality standards. To gain excellence and value for money spent, we should offer the best quality products and services to our clients. I strongly believe that software testing decides the measure of product quality and performance.

As I always look for quality rather than features rich products, that do not perform as expected. that is the main reason why I decided to pursue the software testing domain.

17) Please explain your nature, habits, or likes that you think you are the right candidate for the testing?
From my childhood, I was curious about how things work, I used to ask many questions to my parents about why, how, and what about things. During my school and college days, I was debating on many topics, read books, and searched libraries and the internet to understand and find out reasons and answers to many of my questions. I used to visit my mentors often to know and discuss my queries. Based on my knowledge-seeking nature and desire for perfection, I think I am the right candidate for software testing

18) Why should we test?
It is essential to test to verify that

the product or software built behaves as expected by the customer, and meets or exceeds the expectations.
personal information shared by the end-user is secured while using the product, application, or services.
The features provided in the application perform as per expectations and requirements.
The product has no serious anomalies.
By testing an application, any deviation from expected behavior can be identified and reported to the stakeholders.

19) What do you mean by testing?
Testing is the process of running an application

To identify any defects that break the functionality,
Features provided in software offer results as expected,
The system securely displays the output as quickly as possible.
Software features should display the same output and behave as expected every repeated instance of running it.
The software can be tested manually by testers or can run automatically using a script and follow steps that the tester executes to test the application.

20) What are the features you check before you purchase the mobile?
Priority will be the price of a mobile, but various features to check before we make our choice for our dream mobile will be

Display – Screen size, resolution, browser support, movable keypad, reliable network connectivity.

Storage – capacity to store large files, images, documents, downloaded programs

Battery – long-lasting and quick charging batteries that should be easily available on the market.

Processing power – for remote work situations should be able to process designing graphical images, presentation, comfortable keypad, and file sharing options.

Ease of use – for elderly or novice, helpful settings, and configuration.

Camera– with high-quality picture, zoom effects, large pixel resolution.

Accessories should include the charger, battery, handsfree, and screen guard

The warranty should include any online help in case of difficulty to use mobile, repair of mobile due to hardware fault or replacement of mobile set.

Rajesh Kumar
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