XRay test reopens issues

[Bartłomiej Seweryn]

Hi there.

In our company we have written tests in a way, that one test can cover many issues f.e.

• Exploratory tests for generating reports
• E2E test for creating new contract process.

The problem is, that those tests cover many tasks and stories and when a test execution happens, and a defect is found, all of the tested issues are reopened despite being closed many months ago. Is there a way to make test executions or sub-test executions not to reopen already closed tasks?

Example how it works now:

1. Task A is present in actual sprint
2. Task A has E2E test X connected to it
3. E2E test X is set as a test to Tasks A (actual sprint), B(old sprint), C(older sprint)
4. During sub-test execution runned from the Task A XRay plugin a defect is found, so tester adds a sub-defect to the Task A
5. Tasks B and C are automatically reopened despite a defect was added as sub-issue of Task A

Is there a way to make defects found by sub-test executions only open the parent issue? I know we could clone Test X and add it separately to every task/story, but if something will change in a test case we would need to edit A LOT of same test cases.

I have minimal experience with Jira and even less experience with test management at all, so any tips would be appreciated 

[Manuel]

When you mention "Tasks B and C are automatically reopened despite a defect was added as sub-issue of Task A"... a small clarification:

Xray doesn't reopen the items covered by the tests, unless someone has implemented some automation/customization to make that.

You should check with your Jira admin do find exactly how that process is currently implemented, as that is not a default behavior of Xray or of Jira.

In general, it's a good idea for a test to validate or verify 1 given requirement, so you can clearly identify what is being tested and understand the meaning when the test fails. I would highly recommend following a process that ensures that; that would implicitly address your current challenge as a bonus.

Note: usually tests (Test issues in Xray) cover user stories or epics, and not tasks.