Skip to main content

Test Suites

Test suites are logical groupings of related test cases. They help you organize your test library so you can find, maintain, and execute tests efficiently. Think of suites as folders that give structure to your testing efforts.

Why Use Test Suites?​

Without suites, a project with hundreds or thousands of test cases quickly becomes hard to navigate. Suites let you:

  • Group by feature -- "User Authentication", "Shopping Cart", "Payment Processing".
  • Group by test type -- "Smoke Tests", "Regression Tests", "API Tests".
  • Group by priority -- "Critical Path Tests", "Edge Case Tests".
  • Combine approaches -- Create a hierarchy that uses multiple grouping strategies.

Create a Test Suite​

  1. Open your project.
  2. Click Test Suites in the project navigation.
  3. Click + New Test Suite.
  4. Fill in the details:
    • Name -- A descriptive name that tells your team what this suite covers (e.g., "User Authentication - Positive Scenarios").
    • Description -- A brief explanation of the suite's scope and purpose.
    • Priority -- The overall priority level for the suite (Critical, High, Medium, or Low).
  5. Click Create Suite.
tip

Use a naming convention that makes suites easy to scan in a list. For example: "Module Name - Test Type" ("Checkout - Smoke Tests") or "Feature - Scenario Type" ("Login - Negative Cases").

Add Test Cases to a Suite​

There are three ways to add test cases to a suite:

Method 1: During Test Case Creation​

When creating a new test case, you can select the target suite from the Suite dropdown in the form. The test case is added to the suite automatically when you save.

Method 2: From the Suite View​

  1. Open the test suite.
  2. Click Add Test Cases.
  3. Search or browse for the test cases you want to add.
  4. Select them using the checkboxes.
  5. Click Add Selected.

Method 3: Drag and Drop​

  1. Open the Test Cases list view.
  2. Drag a test case from the list onto a suite in the sidebar or suite panel.
  3. The test case is added to the suite.
info

A test case can belong to multiple suites. For example, a login test might be in both the "Authentication" suite and the "Smoke Tests" suite. The test case itself is not duplicated -- it is simply referenced from both places.

Organize a Suite Hierarchy​

You can create sub-suites to build a multi-level hierarchy:

  1. Open an existing suite (this will be the parent).
  2. Click + New Sub-Suite (or create a new suite and select the parent suite).
  3. Name the sub-suite and save.

Example hierarchy:

User Authentication
  |-- Positive Scenarios
  |     |-- Email Login
  |     |-- OAuth Login (Google)
  |     |-- OAuth Login (GitHub)
  |-- Negative Scenarios
  |     |-- Invalid Password
  |     |-- Locked Account
  |     |-- Expired Session
  |-- Security Tests
        |-- Brute Force Protection
        |-- Session Management
tip

Keep your hierarchy to 2-3 levels deep. Too many levels make navigation cumbersome. If you need more depth, consider using tags or modules instead.

Manage Test Cases Within a Suite​

Reorder Test Cases​

You can control the order test cases appear within a suite:

  1. Open the suite.
  2. Drag test cases up or down to reorder them.
  3. The new order is saved automatically.

The order you set here is the order test cases will appear when you create a test run from this suite.

Remove a Test Case from a Suite​

  1. Open the suite.
  2. Find the test case you want to remove.
  3. Click the remove icon (or right-click and select Remove from Suite).
  4. Confirm the removal.
info

Removing a test case from a suite does not delete the test case itself. It only removes the association. The test case still exists in your project and can be found in the main test cases list.

Common Suite Organization Strategies​

Here are patterns that work well for different team sizes and project types:

By Feature / Module​

Best for product teams with distinct feature areas.

Authentication
Checkout Flow
User Profile
Admin Dashboard
Notifications

By Test Type​

Best for teams that run different types of test cycles.

Smoke Tests (quick verification of core flows)
Regression Tests (comprehensive coverage)
Integration Tests (cross-system scenarios)
API Tests (backend endpoint testing)
UI Tests (visual and interaction testing)

By Sprint / Release​

Best for agile teams that test in sprint increments.

Sprint 15 - New Features
Sprint 15 - Bug Fixes
Release 3.2 - Full Regression

Hybrid Approach​

Combine strategies with a hierarchy:

Authentication
  |-- Smoke Tests
  |-- Regression Tests
Checkout
  |-- Smoke Tests
  |-- Regression Tests

Suite Metrics​

When you open a suite, ProvaLab.io shows key metrics:

  • Total test cases in the suite.
  • Status breakdown -- How many are Draft, Approved, Deprecated.
  • Last executed -- When the suite was last included in a test run.
  • Pass rate -- The most recent pass rate from runs that included this suite.

These metrics help you quickly assess the health and coverage of each area.