In the left part of the figure the components particularly often used in major projects for test management are shown. Initially all requirements wich are to be tested are captured and assigned to a test plan. A test plan contains all test cases which are needed to test a requirement. Test cases are then executed by calling a test script. Results from the test case execution (passed or failed) are reported back to the test plan.

In case of a deviation between calculated and expected results an entry is created in the defect manager containing details allowing business analysts and developers to determine the root cause of the failure and to fix it.

The right part of the figure shows the most important and simultaneously most difficult part of the test cycle, the actual test execution. This answers the question whether calculated results are consistent with expected results or not.

Test management and test implementation perform different tasks. The two market leaders for the components of the left side are ClearQuest Testmanager of IBM and Mercury Quality Center (formerly Mercury TestDirector) of HP. Both offer only basic support for test execution.

RapidRep sets standards in test execution and can be seamlessly integrated into the entire testing process.