1.5Test Case Maintenance

Writing test cases is half the job. Maintaining them is the other half.

Signs Your Test Cases Need Updating

• The feature was redesigned but tests still reference the old UI
• Steps reference environments or URLs that no longer exist
• Test data (user accounts, product IDs) has been cleaned up
• New edge cases were discovered in production but never added

Maintenance Practices

1. Review during sprint refinement — if a story modifies an existing feature, flag related test cases
2. Tag by feature area — makes it easy to find all tests related to "checkout" or "user management"
3. Archive, don't delete — removed features may return; archived tests save rework
4. Version control — keep test cases in Git or use your tool's versioning feature

Pro Tip: Set a calendar reminder to audit test cases quarterly. Dead test cases erode team confidence in the entire suite.