1.2The Seven Essential Fields

Every test case, regardless of your tooling (TestRail, Zephyr, Google Sheets, or plain Markdown), should include these fields:

Field	Purpose	Example
ID	Unique reference for traceability	TC-LOGIN-004
Title	One-line summary of what is being verified	Verify login fails with expired password
Preconditions	State the system must be in before starting	User account exists with password expired 1 day ago
Steps	Numbered, atomic actions	1. Navigate to /login 2. Enter email 3. Enter expired password 4. Click Submit
Expected Result	Observable, measurable outcome	Error message "Your password has expired" is displayed; user is not redirected to dashboard
Actual Result	Filled during execution	(blank until run)
Test Data	Specific values needed	Email: expired@test.com, Password: OldPass123!

The ID Convention

Use a consistent naming pattern. Common formats:

• TC-MODULE-NNN — e.g., TC-LOGIN-004, TC-CART-012
• FEATURE.SCENARIO.NNN — e.g., AUTH.EXPIRED_PW.001
• Auto-incrementing from your test management tool

The format matters less than consistency. Pick one and enforce it across the team.

Title Best Practices

Start with a verb. Answer "what is being verified?" in one line:

• Good: "Verify login fails with expired password"
• Good: "Confirm cart total updates after removing an item"
• Bad: "Login test" (too vague — which aspect of login?)
• Bad: "Test that when a user who has an expired password tries to log in the system shows an error" (too long — this is a description, not a title)

Steps: The Atomic Rule

Each step should describe exactly one user action. If a step contains "and," it should probably be two steps.

BAD:
1. Navigate to the login page, enter credentials, and click Submit

GOOD:
1. Navigate to https://staging.example.com/login
2. Enter email: test@example.com
3. Enter password: Test123!
4. Click the "Sign In" button

Expected Results: Observable and Measurable

The expected result must be something you can see, read, measure, or verify in the UI, database, API response, or logs. Avoid subjective language.

BAD:  "The page should look correct"
GOOD: "The dashboard displays 'Welcome, John' in the header and shows 3 notification badges"

BAD:  "Login works"
GOOD: "User is redirected to /dashboard. The URL changes to /dashboard. The user's avatar appears in the top-right corner."