Tracking and Reporting Flaky Tests with TestRail

If you’ve ever dealt with flaky tests, you know how frustrating they can be. These tests seem to fail for no reason—one moment, they’re working perfectly, and the next, they’re not.

Flaky tests can undermine your team’s confidence in your test suite and slow everything down, especially when you’re trying to move fast in a CI/CD environment.

So, how do you deal with these troublemakers? A test management platform like TestRail can help by organizing your tests and tracking their performance over time. By using features like test results history, custom fields, and TestRail’s CLI integration, you can identify patterns, flag flaky tests, and even prevent them from slipping through the cracks. Let’s explore how these tools work together to tackle flaky tests head-on.

Leverage test results history to spot flaky tests

A great place to start is by diving into your test results history. TestRail keeps a detailed record of all your test cases and their execution history, making it much easier to identify patterns and inconsistencies. This centralized structure means you can quickly zero in on tests that seem to fail without any rhyme or reason.

Example:

Picture this: you have a test that checks whether users can log in successfully. Over several runs, the test alternates between passing and failing, even though the code and environment haven’t changed. This kind of situation is common in test automation suites, where issues like inaccessible pages, server downtime, or slow API responses can cause unexpected failures.

With TestRail, you can pull up that test’s history, see when the failures happened, and cross-reference them with other factors like build changes or system updates. This kind of visibility is a game-changer when it comes to spotting flaky tests.

Pro tip:

Encourage your team to document what they find in the comments section of a test or attach relevant logs directly in TestRail. This makes it easier to piece together the puzzle and get everyone on the same page.

Image: Record all changes to test cases and historical results for every test so that you can see who executed the test, which test plans and runs the test was included in, and associated comments.

Highlight flaky tests with custom fields

Another way TestRail can help is through custom fields. Adding a “Flaky Test” checkbox or a field to track suspected causes can make a big difference. It’s a simple yet effective way to flag tests that need extra attention and keep them from being overlooked.

How it works:

1. Create a custom field: Set up a checkbox labeled “Flaky Test” or a dropdown to note suspected causes (e.g., “external server issue” or “timing problem”).
2. Flag tests: Testers can mark tests that behave unpredictably so the team knows to monitor them closely.
3. Track and analyze: With these fields in place, filtering for flaky tests and prioritizing them during planning sessions is easy.

Image: You can use custom fields to customize TestRail and adjust it to your needs. This is especially useful if you need to record and manage information that TestRail has no built-in fields for. 

Example:

Imagine a test that consistently fails when trying to connect to an external server. By marking it with a “Flaky Test” field, the team can immediately see the issue and work to resolve it without wasting time figuring out why the failure occurred.

Automate test results logging with TRCLI integration

Managing flaky tests at scale can feel overwhelming when you’re working with automated tests. That’s where TestRail’s command-line interface (CLI) comes in. It lets you integrate your automated test results directly into TestRail, so you don’t have to log everything manually. This automation saves time and ensures that flaky test behavior is captured accurately.

Benefits:

• Automatically log results from your CI pipeline into TestRail, reducing the risk of missing key failure patterns.
• Use TestRail’s reports to analyze flaky behavior over multiple test cycles and pinpoint the underlying issues.

Getting started with TRCLI:

1. Set up TRCLI in your environment and link it to your automation framework.
2. Adjust your scripts to automatically send results to TestRail after each run.
3. Use TestRail’s reporting tools to review these results and look for patterns of flakiness.

Example:

Say your team uses Selenium for automation. With TRCLI, you can push results from your Selenium tests into TestRail after every run. Over time, you’ll see patterns—maybe a specific test fails only when run on a certain browser or in a particular environment. This insight can guide you toward a fix.

Bringing it all together

When it comes to managing flaky tests, TestRail offers various solutions to help you stay on top of the problem:

• Test results history gives you a clear view of execution patterns and helps you spot inconsistencies.
• Custom fields let you flag and track flaky tests so they don’t fall through the cracks.
• TRCLI integration automates the process of logging and analyzing test results, saving time and boosting accuracy.

By combining these features, you can turn flaky tests from a major headache into a manageable challenge. To maximize your efforts, consider implementing a structured workflow for flaky test analysis as part of your internal Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC). For example:

1. Identify flaky tests: Use TestRail’s tools to monitor test results history and flag potential flaky tests with custom fields.
2. Prioritize analysis: Based on severity and frequency, determine which flaky tests require immediate attention.
3. Collaborate and document: Encourage testers to document observations, attach logs, and share insights using TestRail’s collaboration features.
4. Investigate root causes: Analyze flagged tests for patterns such as environment issues, timing problems, or dependency failures.
5. Implement fixes: Adjust your test suite or environment to resolve the identified issues.
6. Review and iterate: Continuously monitor resolved tests to ensure their stability over time.

This systematic approach not only addresses flaky tests effectively but also embeds a best practice into your QA process, fostering long-term reliability and efficiency.

Image: Whether you are using popular tools such as Selenium, unit testing frameworks, or continuous integration (CI) systems like Jenkins—TestRail can be integrated with almost any tool.

How TestRail can help you manage flaky tests

Flaky tests don’t have to be an ongoing frustration. With TestRail, you can:

• Catch patterns early: Dive into your test results history to spot trouble before it slows you down.
• Stay organized: Use custom fields to flag flaky tests and keep track of problem areas.
• Simplify your workflow: Automate test result logging with TRCLI, so nothing falls through the cracks.

If you’re ready to take control of flaky tests, why not give TestRail a try? Explore these features with a free 30-day trial  or check out our TestRail CLI guide for tips on getting started.