Where do I enter test instructions?

[Jamie Ide]

I'm confused about how to use Bonfire. What I want to do is create a test session, add instructions for testing, and assign it to a tester.

If I create a session and enter an assignee, I can add instructions to Additional Information. Once the session is created, I can edit it to revise the additional info but I cannot add notes to it because it's not assigned to me.

If I create the session without assigning it then I can add instructions to additional info or add a note.

Neither option feels right. Specifying the testing instructions seems like such an integral part of creating a test session that there should be a section for it. It's also important that users other than the assignee should be able to add notes.

[aprentice · Accepted solution]

People use sessions in a variety of ways, often requiring different types of supporting information. Catering for this variety requires a generic field, hence the single Additional Information field. This field accepts wiki markup so you can add your own headers for whatever sections you need in it. The documentation for this notation is here: https://jira.atlassian.com/secure/WikiRendererHelpAction.jspa?section=all

Session activity is reserved for the person performing the testing, which is why only the assignee can create notes. The next release of Bonfire supports multiple assignees per session, so you will be able to join a session assigned to another person to add notes very soon.

[aprentice]

Thanks James, I understand now. The good news is in Bonfire 2.0, released last week, the additional information field can be edited inline - no more modal window.

[aprentice]

Hi James, I'm sorry I don't quite follow. Take a look at this screendshot:

• In this session, you can see that headings have been added in the additional information field. You can do the same for "test instructions" using the information in my earlier link. Does that solve your problem?
• All of the additional information is displayed in the extension, so I'm not sure how you'd like this made bigger. I'd appreciate it if you could clarify.

[Jamie Ide]

My comment was in regards to the textbox where additional information is entered. In my browser this textbox is only editable in a modal window, is fairly small, and is only vertically expandable. Like I said, we can work with this as-is with no problems.

[aprentice]

Thanks James, I understand now. The good news is in Bonfire 2.0, released last week, the additional information field can be edited inline - no more modal window.

[Jamie Ide]

I understand but I don't feel that this solution caters to the most common usage where a session is created, assigned and instructions provided. Part of my objection is just labeling -- Additional Information feels like the wrong field for necessarry information -- and part is that the field is a small (but vertically expandable in FF) textbox. But we can work with it.