Panel Filter Result – flexible presentation of data

Organizations are surrounded by data today and being able to monitor information effectively has never been so crucial for survival on the market.

The same applies to test processes in which we track the test coverage, the progress of their execution, the results, errors and many other metrics. Without tools that offer insights into the most critical data, we’re simply unable to plan, control and – above all – improve our test process.

TestFLO is a tool characterized by high configurability and flexibility, allowing testers to customize the presentation of data with the help of various mechanisms. One of them is Panel Filter Result (PFR) panels that display the results of a JQL query on the issue type defined by the administrator. This functionality seems simple, but it’s essential – it allows creating your own advanced reporting structures with the help of different relations.

Read on to see some interesting examples of using such panels to facilitate the monitoring of tasks both in testing and other processes that are key to every organization.

The object that aggregates test plans sometimes called the master test plan is an interesting example of using the PFR panel for tracking the progress of test execution better. It’s based on a relation built through a dedicated Enhanced Issues Picker (just like in the case of requirements) or Fix Version/s fields to display the test plan data in one issue. This new type of issue gives us a quick insight into the tests performed in a given cycle, version, or another context. In combination with other mechanisms provided by TestFLO, this new type of issue can be beneficial in monitoring the testing process.

In TestFLO, there are no objects that serve as containers collecting tests that could come in handy in test categorization, for example. However, if that type of functionality could be useful in our project, we can create a new kind of issue type and use the PFR panel to show Test Case Templates that have a common feature, eg. Component/s field. We can also use such a container for presenting test executions, thanks to which we will be able to monitor tests – for instance, in the context of a given module or another criterion we choose.

The PFR panel can be used not only for test management but also other areas your teams realize in Jira. An interesting application of this functionality is the use of a dedicated panel for presenting the content of a given version based on the Fix Version/s field. Of course, Jira already has a mechanism designed for this purpose, but version processing by the Release Hub is quite limited. If we use a new type of issue and PFR panel for this purpose, we will be able to process the version through workflow and view the issues connected to it in the panel.

Another area where PFR panels bring teams benefits is CRM. If we decide to follow our customer relationships in Jira and use issues to identify individual customers, we can use these panels to present the links of other objects to a given client. We can create separate panels for quotes, orders, contacts or other activities that we want to monitor in a single place. Of course, we can’t build a robust CRM system in Jira using this solution as the foundation, but it can serve a valuable addition that allows tracking the history of customer relationships efficiently.

Key Takeaway

One of the main features of TestFLO is its flexibility that allows customizing the tool to match your own test process. All of this is possible thanks to the reusable elements we used to build the tool. These elements – usually used to perform tests – can bring teams benefits in areas that are entirely unrelated to this field.

Panel Filter Result panels are one of the many functionalities allowing better adjustment of TestFLO to the individual needs of the organization. Visualization of JQL queries results in the form of a panel offers plenty of opportunities for monitoring issues and tracking links between them. Moreover, by configuring displayed columns, you can present only the data that is important.

Finally, this element can be used to support other Jira processes, not just test management. 

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