Core Concepts

Understanding ConductorQA’s core concepts will help you make the most of the platform. This guide explains the fundamental building blocks and how they work together.

The ConductorQA Hierarchy

ConductorQA organizes your testing efforts in a logical hierarchy:

Organization
└── Projects
    └── Test Suites
        └── Test Cases
            └── Executions
                └── Test Results

Organization

Your Organization is your team’s workspace in ConductorQA. It contains all your projects, users, and settings. Each organization has:

Team members and permissions
Billing and subscription settings
API keys and integrations
Custom fields and configurations

Projects

Projects represent distinct applications, features, or testing initiatives. Examples:

“E-commerce Website”
“Mobile App v2.0”
“Payment Service API”
“User Authentication System”

Projects help you:

Organize testing by application or feature
Set different permissions per project
Generate project-specific reports
Manage environments and configurations

Test Suites

Test Suites group related test cases together. Common patterns:

By Feature: “User Registration”, “Shopping Cart”, “Payment Processing”
By Type: “Smoke Tests”, “Regression Tests”, “API Tests”
By Priority: “Critical Path”, “High Priority”, “Nice to Have”

Test suites enable you to:

Execute related tests together
Track suite-level metrics
Organize tests logically
Schedule automated runs

Test Cases

Test Cases define individual tests with:

Title: Clear, descriptive name
Description: Detailed test steps or scenario
Expected Result: What should happen when the test passes
Priority: Critical, High, Medium, or Low
Tags: Custom labels for filtering and organization
Custom Fields: Additional metadata specific to your needs

Executions

Executions represent a test run - when you actually run your test cases. Each execution includes:

Environment: Where tests are running (staging, production, etc.)
Assignee: Who is responsible for the execution
Status: Planned, In Progress, Completed, or Aborted
Configuration: Browser, device, or other runtime settings

Test Results

Test Results capture the outcome of individual test cases within an execution:

Status: Pass, Fail, Skip, or Blocked
Duration: How long the test took
Notes: Comments, observations, or failure details
Attachments: Screenshots, logs, or other evidence
History: Previous results for trend analysis

Key Features Explained

Real-Time Tracking

ConductorQA provides live updates during test execution:

Progress Indicators: See completion percentage in real-time
Status Changes: Instant updates when tests pass or fail
Team Notifications: Alert team members of critical failures
Dashboard Updates: Live refresh of metrics and charts

Environments

Environments represent different deployment targets:

Development: Local or dev server testing
Staging: Pre-production validation
Production: Live system monitoring
Custom: Any environment you define

Benefits of environment tracking:

Compare test results across environments
Identify environment-specific issues
Track deployment quality
Monitor production health

Tags and Filtering

Tags provide flexible organization beyond the hierarchy:

Feature Tags: login, payment, search
Type Tags: smoke, regression, integration
Priority Tags: critical, p1, p2
Custom Tags: Any labels that help your workflow

Use tags to:

Filter test cases and results
Create custom reports
Schedule specific test subsets
Track cross-cutting concerns

Custom Fields

Extend ConductorQA with Custom Fields to capture:

Bug References: Link to Jira, GitHub, etc.
Requirements: Traceability to user stories
Test Data: Specific data sets or configurations
Automation IDs: Test identifiers from automation frameworks

Data Flow and Relationships

Test Case to Execution Flow

Create test cases in test suites
Plan executions for specific environments
Execute test cases and record results
Analyze results and generate reports
Iterate based on findings and feedback

API Integration Points

ConductorQA’s API enables integration at every level:

Projects: Create and manage via API
Test Suites: Import from external tools
Test Cases: Sync with test automation frameworks
Executions: Trigger from CI/CD pipelines
Results: Push automated test results

Reporting and Analytics

ConductorQA aggregates data across all levels:

Test Case Analytics: Pass rates, failure trends, duration
Suite Performance: Coverage, reliability, efficiency
Project Health: Overall quality metrics, team productivity
Organization Insights: Cross-project trends, resource utilization

Best Practices

Organizing Your Tests

Keep suites focused: Group related test cases together
Use clear naming: Make test intent obvious from the title
Maintain hierarchies: Don’t create too many nested levels
Tag strategically: Use consistent tagging conventions

Execution Strategy

Environment consistency: Use the same environments across projects
Clear assignments: Always assign executions to specific team members
Regular cadence: Establish consistent execution schedules
Result timeliness: Record results promptly while context is fresh

Team Collaboration

Shared conventions: Establish team standards for naming and tagging
Clear responsibilities: Define who owns which test suites
Regular reviews: Schedule periodic test suite maintenance
Knowledge sharing: Document test context and rationale

Advanced Concepts

Test Dependencies

Some test cases depend on others:

Prerequisites: Tests that must pass first
Data Dependencies: Tests requiring specific setup
Sequence Dependencies: Tests that must run in order

Parallel Execution

ConductorQA supports parallel test execution:

Suite-Level Parallelism: Run multiple suites simultaneously
Case-Level Parallelism: Execute independent test cases in parallel
Environment Isolation: Parallel runs across different environments

Historical Analysis

Leverage historical data for insights:

Trend Analysis: Identify patterns over time
Flaky Test Detection: Find unreliable test cases
Performance Monitoring: Track execution duration trends
Quality Metrics: Measure testing effectiveness

Next Steps

Now that you understand ConductorQA’s core concepts:

Create your first test suite - Apply these concepts hands-on
Explore the API - Learn programmatic integration
Set up automation - Connect your test frameworks
Configure teams - Invite team members and set permissions

Understanding these concepts will help you design an effective testing strategy that scales with your team and provides actionable insights into your application quality.