Test Case vs. Test Run

Test Runs can be thought of as instances of a Test Case. For example, when you have a small web site in which the basic identifying information about what is to be tested will never change (such as the number of pages, their names and URLs), you only need one Test Case. Even when the content will be dynamic, for each release cycle, a new Test Run can be created from that Test Case to test those changes for accessibility. That same Test Case could have multiple Test Runs for each environment, and even different Test Runs for each platform the software will run on. Another way to think of it is that the Test Case represents the setup and scope portion of performing an assessment, while the Test Run represents the act of actually performing the assessment.

Important differences include:

• A Test Case can have multiple Test Runs associated with it, whereas a Test Run can only be associated with a single Test Case.
• A Test Case can exist by itself without an associated Test Run, but a Test Run is always associated with a Test Case.
• A Test Case is an informational record, and has no workflow or status associated with it, whereas a Test Run is assigned to a user to take action (running tests, adding issues & flags, assigning results, and exporting issues) and is subject to different levels of completion.
• A Test Case can be copied and re-used, but a Test Run cannot.
• Both Test Cases and Test Runs can be archived.
• Both require only two fields of information to be established. A Test Case requires 'Test case name', and 'Pages' (pages to be tested also require specification of both the name and URL for each), and a Test Run requires 'Checkpoint tests' (via selection of either All or Critical/Serious impact only), and 'Assign testing to' (user selection). Additionally, each has multiple optional fields of information.

For more information about each, see Test Cases, and Test Runs, respectively.