The challenges faced by QA teams can lead to delays and missed issues in software development. But AI-powered test management tools provide a way of improving efficiency, visibility, and overall software quality.
Author: Andrian Budantsov, Hypersequent, qasphere.com
Quality Assurance is a safety net for software companies. But it’s more than just a goalkeeper; QA teams have an important role to play at each step of the software development cycle, covering every iteration, update and release.
However, many QA teams still struggle with inefficient processes, miscommunication with development and management teams, and tools that aren’t fit for purpose. But this doesn’t have to be the case, as QA test management solutions designed for teams who care about reliability, speed, and usability are available.
Let’s break down some of the key challenges faced by QA teams – and how the right tools can solve them.
Tedious test case creation
Writing test cases manually from scratch is laborious, requiring a great deal of time and effort. As well as being slow, errors can be introduced in the writing process and during maintenance of test case libraries. There’s also a risk of duplication, missed edge cases, and inconsistencies between tests.
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AI-based suggestions can significantly reduce the manual workload. Next-generation test case management platforms like QA Sphere assist teams by suggesting test cases based on requirements or specifications, helping to accelerate the drafting process. In addition, these AI tools can handle direct input – updating steps, rewriting test cases, or making specific edits on request – further streamlining test case creation and maintenance. With less manual labour required, teams can move faster, with more time to spot gaps, edge cases, and inconsistencies.
Organisation of test libraries
As software applications grow, so do the number of test cases. Without a strong organisational structure, it’s hard for QA testers to find what they need, to see which tests are current and which are out of date, or to re-use test cases from other similar projects.
That’s because test cases are often spread across multiple spreadsheets, or stored ad-hoc in disparate locations. And if test cases are only written once and rarely reviewed, they become a legacy burden, so keeping tests up to date should be part of the regular workflow.
Rather than wasting time and duplicating effort, an organised, scalable test management tool with a centralised test case repository like QA Sphere will help QA teams overcome the challenges of sorting, organisation, tagging, and prioritising tests across projects.
Test planning and execution
Planning effective testing programs requires QA teams to be flexible – they need to work out which tests to run, when to run them, in which environments, and what they expect the outputs to be. It’s important that they can track who did what, log results, and highlight which elements failed and which passed. And they need to do this all quickly.
Test case management solutions like QA Sphere allow teams to plan and execute tests at speed, and issue real-time reports that can be integrated into existing tools.
Fragmented toolkits
Development and QA teams use a variety of tools such as bug trackers like Jira or GitHub; collaboration tools like Slack; and spreadsheets. Without good integrations, test results, bug reports, and issue status reports end up in separate silos. Critical fixes may be delayed or even missed altogether.
QA Sphere integrates with common tools such as Jira, GitHub Issues, Linear, Asana, Trello, Azure DevOps. This means bug reports can be fed back to the right people at the right time, and won’t be missed.
Migration burdens
Many teams use legacy systems, with test cases spread across Excel, Google Sheets, or older test management tools. But the process of moving to a modern system can be painful, requiring teams to import data, map old test cases, reformulate test structures, and weed out obsolete or redundant tests. All of this costs time, and introduces the risk of data loss or misinterpretation.
Test case management tools like QA Sphere let teams quickly import via CSV, making it easy to migrate existing test cases from spreadsheets. For more complex migrations, customer support teams are often available to assist and ensure a smooth transition.
Comprehensive testing versus fast testing
Software companies are under pressure to issue releases quickly. However, the consequences of issuing faulty applications are severe, so QA teams face a tough choice: run fewer tests for faster feedback, or run more for better coverage?
Tools like QA Sphere help teams plan and execute efficient test runs, prioritise the right tests, and quickly find existing test cases so they can be re-used. This enables speed and simplicity while preserving precision.
Lack of visibility
Stakeholders throughout the business such as product managers and engineering leads need to understand what the testing status is, so they can make assessments on risk and readiness for release.
With real-time dashboards and traceable workflows with role-based access control, stakeholders have live oversight, giving QA teams and management a complete view of what’s been happening and when.
What to look for in QA test management tools
When choosing a QA test management tool, usability and efficiency should come first. If the platform feels clunky or has an outdated interface, teams end up spending more time fighting the tool than actually testing. QA Sphere’s clean, minimalistic, and functional UI keeps testers focused on quality, not navigation.
QA Sphere also offers AI-assisted test case generation, saving teams time, and suggesting test ideas that might otherwise be missed. There are organised test case libraries with tagging, filtering, search, and prioritisation options. These features make it easier to reuse existing assets, maintain consistency, and avoid duplication. It also ensures data preservation with daily backups, encryption, and audit logging.
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A flexible test run builder is another key feature of QA Sphere, allowing teams to select relevant subsets, align with fixed schedules, and set test parameters for different environments and scenarios. Alongside that, real-time reporting, dashboards, and traceability provide a clear view of progress. Stakeholders stay informed, quicker decisions can be made, and potential issues are caught early.
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Strong integrations with issue trackers, pull requests, and other development workflow tools help reduce friction between QA and engineering, ensuring fast feedback loops and seamless collaboration. There are also some practical considerations like easy migration or import from legacy systems that make onboarding smoother, while scalability and bulk operations are crucial for handling large, complex test suites efficiently.
Conclusion
QA teams face significant challenges: slow manual processes, disorganised test libraries, poor traceability, and misaligned tools. These aren’t minor issues, but systemic problems.
To achieve consistent quality instead of constant firefighting, QA teams need to invest in tools, workflows, and practices that improve visibility, meaning they can operate at speed while always maintaining quality. Next-generation QA test management tools like QA Sphere not only organise tests but also accelerate teams, ensure alignment, and drive continuous improvement.
About the Author: Andrian Budantsov is the CEO of Hypersequent, the company behind QA Sphere. With over 18 years of experience building mission-critical software, he focuses on making modern test management fast, reliable, and user-friendly. Before Hypersequent, he co-founded Readdle and helped build products used by millions.