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Why you need an real test management system?

Excel spreadsheets were the cornerstone in the early days of proper software QA. Companies used them to create test cases, store them, and even painstakingly fill out test reports. Most modern businesses have moved on to dedicated test management systems by now. If you are still using Excel, take 5 minutes to learn why itā€™s worth upgrading.

Key differences between aqua and Excel

aqua offers free AI-enhanced testing

aqua is a QA-tailored solution

aqua saves 20+ hrs/week per tester

How we compare

Key differences between aqua and Excel

AI

AI is a rapidly developing tech, so we will look at cutting-edge tech rather than the baseline. Hereā€™s what you should expect from an AI-powered test management solution:

  • Analyse your workspace to get QA context
  • Create test cases, defects, and even requirements from a plain text description
  • Complete test case drafts
  • Prioritise tests
  • Remove duplicate tests and defects

Artificial intelligence has actually become intelligent, and QA vendors are starting to catch up. aqua, however, is not behind: the AI Copilot has been leveraging GPT even before ChatGPT made it mainstream. aqua reads your test suite, understands the context behind it, and utilises it so you can create entire test cases from scratch, update requirement coverage, and prioritise tests.

Auto-train AI Copilot with your tests
No AI Capabilities
Generate entire tests with AI
No AI Capabilities
Complete test drafts
No AI Capabilities
Update tests for a changed requirement
No AI Capabilities
Prioritise tests
No AI Capabilities
Remove duplicates
No AI Capabilities
Auto-train AI Copilot with your tests
Generate entire tests with AI
Complete test drafts
Update tests for a changed requirement
Prioritise tests
Remove duplicates
No AI Capabilities
No AI Capabilities
No AI Capabilities
No AI Capabilities
No AI Capabilities
No AI Capabilities

Verdict: aqua wins (Excel has no AI-powered testing)

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Test management

Test management is the main reason we are looking at these two tools. You should consider various aspects of handling test cases as well as traceability-minded features. These include:

  • Create, execute, share, and manage test cases in the workspace
  • Group tests into test scenarios, segment them into folders, assign labels
  • Quickly navigate the test suite, apply filters, use individual and shared views
  • See the entire execution history for a test case
  • Store a full log of changes for compliance
  • Visualise requirements coverage and dependencies between requirements, test cases, and defects

If you expand the industry standards block above this paragraph, you will find a hefty list of test management features. With how mature the market has been, you expect to find a lot of these features in something as basic as a Free Forever plan of a very small-scale tool. Excel, on the other hand, provides you nothing from this list. You can write tests and even put down test results, but thatā€™s hardly different from using a stack of papers and a pen. Excel has no native QA features, and there are no third-party plugins to remedy that.

  • Filters
  • Views
Test cases
Not available
Test scenarios
Not available
Bulk test edits
Not available
Execution history
Not available
Nested test cases
Not available
Release planning
Not available
Workflows
Not available
Proper real-time QA collaboration
Collaborative spreadsheet editing
Tampering-proof project logging
Not available
Timestamped item history for compliance
Spreadsheet change history
Item change reversal
Spreadsheet change reversal
  • Filters
  • Views
Test cases
Test scenarios
Bulk test edits
Execution history
Nested test cases
Release planning
Workflows
Proper real-time QA collaboration
Tampering-proof project logging
Timestamped item history for compliance
Item change reversal
Not available
Not available
Not available
Not available
Not available
Not available
Not available
Collaborative spreadsheet editing
Not available
Spreadsheet change history
Spreadsheet change reversal
Verdict: aqua wins by providing native test management functionality

Integrations

Most tools rely on automation via common third-party tools that QA specialists have been using for over a decade. The experience is much better when your test management solution has native integrations for industry-leading tools. REST API support is a must if you do not want to be at the vendorā€™s mercy for integrations.

  • First-party framework automation or third-party integrations with test automation tools
  • Native third-party integrations: Selenium, Jenkins, JMeter, SoapUI, Ranorex
  • Jira integration and/or Jira plugin
  • REST API support for integrating any tool

aqua preaches the third-party approach to automation, providing native integrations with industry-leading tools. You can also exchange data with your Jira workspace or complete synchronise Jira and aqua projects. The only QA integration for Excel that you will see will come from the vendor of a test management solution so you can import existing test data from spreadsheets.

  • REST API
Jira integration
Not available
Jira real-time project sync
Not available
Selenium, Jenkins, UFT, JMeter, SoapUI, Ranorex, Database MSSQL, Database Oracle for test automation
Not available
Bug reporting tool Capture
Not available
Not available
Microsoft Office integrations
  • REST API
Jira integration
Jira real-time project sync
Selenium, Jenkins, UFT, JMeter, SoapUI, Ranorex, Database MSSQL, Database Oracle for test automation
Bug reporting tool Capture
Not available
Not available
Not available
Not available
Not available
Microsoft Office integrations
Verdict: aqua wins by native QA integrations

Pricing flexibility

Pricing can vary a lot; you will find small differences that make no sense but also high fees that are completely justified. Here are some factors to consider:

  • Extra functionality beyond test management
  • Transparent pricing without locking essential features behind the most expensive plans
  • Custom enterprise plan
  • Price-to-volume scaling that suits your team size
  • No exorbitant setup and/or maintenance fee
  • Free licences for guests / non-tech specialists / manual testers

Pricing is hard to compare, since Excel is not bound to criteria that vendors of test management systems use. Moreover, Excel is sold as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription. It may cost less than aqua, but some aqua licences will come free and working with an actual QA tool saves thousands of dollars.

  • Free setup
Free licences for manual testers
Full-price licences only
  • Free setup
Free licences for manual testers
Full-price licences only
Verdict: Tie

Deployment Models

On-Premise deployment is a must in many industries, yet vendors wonā€™t explicitly say if they donā€™t offer it. Depending on your security policies and scale, deploying in a non-vendor Cloud is a beneficial option too.

  • Vendor Cloud
  • External Cloud: AWS, Azure, etc.
  • On-Premise

Despite not being a multi-trillion dollar operation, aqua matches all deployment modes that you can get from Microsoft. You can use aquaā€™s secure cloud in Germany, pick any other Cloud provider that you like, or deploy on-premise.

  • On-Premise
GDPR-compliant aqua-hosted German Cloud
Excel-hosted Cloud
Isolated Enterprise Custom Cloud (Any Azure data centre)
Custom Cloud
  • On-Premise
GDPR-compliant aqua-hosted German Cloud
Isolated Enterprise Custom Cloud (Any Azure data centre)
Excel-hosted Cloud
Custom Cloud
Verdict: Tie

Dashboards

QA dashboards serve two vital purposes. They help the QA team track their progress, but they also make other teams aware of potential bottlenecks. At a minimum, you should be able to include any data and share dashboards with the team.

  • Use all data of the workspace
  • Create private and shared dashboards
  • Choose between various types of graphs
  • Set up KPI/values alerts that arrive as email/app notifications

Excel is the tool to beat when it comes to data visualisation and manipulation. That, however, does not help much when you need to aggregate data across a lot of spreadsheets. There will be lots of redundant manual effort, inevitable errors, and unnecessary friction. You are not getting KPI alerts that notify you when something is going wrong either.

  • All data including custom fields
  • External dashboard sharing
  • Pie, bar, stacked bar, table charts
Native QA metrics
Not available
Real-time data update
Manual updates or delayed consolidation
KPI alerts
Not available
  • All data including custom fields
  • External dashboard sharing
  • Pie, bar, stacked bar, table charts
Native QA metrics
Real-time data update
KPI alerts
Not available
Manual updates or delayed consolidation
Not available
Verdict: aqua wins by QA-specific dashboards

Reporting

Reporting is important for both internal and external stakeholders. The goal here is to get what you need with as little or as much effort as possible. When a tool offers both a template library and rich customisation, that is a good start.

  • Access vendor-provided template library
  • Create custom layouts and save them
  • Use and transform any data
  • Apply text & image formatting
  • Add external data and imagery
  • Employ scripts and parametrisation to auto-update reports

Reporting is similar to dashboards. You are getting the same visualisation and data organisation techniques, but aqua is tailored to handling QA data better.

  • Template library
  • Custom reports
  • Any data
  • External data & imagery
  • Text & image formatting
  • Custom layout
  • Diagrams
  • Drag-and-drop
  • Pivot tables
  • Scripts
  • Parametrisation
Native QA metrics
Not available
Real-time data update
Manual updates or delayed consolidation
  • Template library
  • Custom reports
  • Any data
  • External data & imagery
  • Text & image formatting
  • Custom layout
  • Diagrams
  • Drag-and-drop
  • Pivot tables
  • Scripts
  • Parametrisation
Native QA metrics
Real-time data update
Not available
Manual updates or delayed consolidation
Verdict: aqua wins by real-time updates and QA context

User management

Precise user management is essential when working on multiple projects and/or working with external specialists. It will also save you a lot of pain from running crowd testing in the same test management solution.

  • Set default roles
  • Create custom roles
  • Apply per-user permissions
  • Authenticate users via SSO

aqua and Excel are a close match when it comes to user management. Microsoft 365 supports restrictions on editing and accessing Excel files. You canā€™t, however, create a custom set of permissions for that. Granting and removing per-user permissions is not supported either.

  • SSO
  • Default user roles
Individual permissions
Role permissions only
Custom roles
Default roles only
  • SSO
  • Default user roles
Individual permissions
Custom roles
Role permissions only
Default roles only
Verdict: aqua wins by individual permissions and custom roles

ALM

This is not a hard requirement, but you may be interested in a test management solution that also handles the entire product lifecycle. This is a great money saver as you need licences from fewer vendors, and the synergy should save you some hours as well.

  • Test case management
  • Requirements management
  • Defect management
  • Project management

aqua is a genuine test management system, but it is more than that. You can use it to handle the entire development process, from coming up with requirements to managing timelines and fixing defects. Itā€™s effectively a 4-in-1 solution, while Excel is a clear loser even in a comparison of aqua and Excel for testing.

Test case management
Not available
Requirements management
Not available
Defect management
Not available
Project management
Not available
Test case management
Requirements management
Defect management
Project management
Not available
Not available
Not available
Not available
Verdict: aqua wins via ALM features and savings

What people say

Here are a few things people like and dislike about both tools.

star star star star star

ā€œI was surprised to find such a comprehensive and mature tool for test management in the German market without having taken it seriously beforehand.ā€

Jƶrg GroƟmann

Head of Development at Bank 11

star star star

ā€œWhy on Earth wouldn't you want to use a tool that's been developed specifically with managing issues in mind rather than one that you'll have to bend and shape to track data when it's really for tracking numbers?ā€

John Eckersley

Senior Product Manager at Payroll

star star star star star

ā€œThe reporting is meaningful and provides a good basis for decisions. After the employees have used aqua, they recognize the added value very quickly.ā€

Thomas Haeske

Head of Organisation/IT at Berlin Hyp

star star star

ā€œI don't like to use Excel for test cases because it grows into a pain to manage after the first 50 or so. Especially so if there are multiple people working on the same file. No easy way to link defects, no easy way for screenshots, etc. After working with an over complicated Excel project with 700+ test cases, I've seen the horror...ā€

Reikhard

QA community contributor

star star star star star

ā€œManual test cases are easily automated with aqua. Seamless integration with test automation tools helps here.ā€

Jƶrn-Hendrick Sƶrensen

Test Manager at KBA

star star star

ā€œThere is zero reason anyone should be using Excel because there's "no database." Anyone with an ounce of technical capability can install a free database. This is certainly much more effective than passing XLSX files around and getting constantly out of date, out of sync, and overwritten.ā€

Keith Tyler

software tester

star star star star star

ā€œI was surprised to find such a comprehensive and mature tool for test management in the German market without having taken it seriously beforehand.ā€

Jƶrg GroƟmann

Head of Development at Bank 11

star star star star star

ā€œThe reporting is meaningful and provides a good basis for decisions. After the employees have used aqua, they recognize the added value very quickly.ā€

Thomas Haeske

Head of Organisation/IT at Berlin Hyp

star star star star star

ā€œManual test cases are easily automated with aqua. Seamless integration with test automation tools helps here.ā€

Jƶrn-Hendrick Sƶrensen

Test Manager at KBA

star star star

ā€œWhy on Earth wouldn't you want to use a tool that's been developed specifically with managing issues in mind rather than one that you'll have to bend and shape to track data when it's really for tracking numbers?ā€

John Eckersley

Senior Product Manager at Payroll

star star star

ā€œI don't like to use Excel for test cases because it grows into a pain to manage after the first 50 or so. Especially so if there are multiple people working on the same file. No easy way to link defects, no easy way for screenshots, etc. After working with an over complicated Excel project with 700+ test cases, I've seen the horror...ā€

Reikhard

QA community contributor

star star star

ā€œThere is zero reason anyone should be using Excel because there's "no database." Anyone with an ounce of technical capability can install a free database. This is certainly much more effective than passing XLSX files around and getting constantly out of date, out of sync, and overwritten.ā€

Keith Tyler

software tester

Final verdict

aqua is a bleeding-edge test management system with both innovative functionality and polished QA fundamentals. It offers a complete QA experience, extra ALM functionality, and double-digit efficiency gains for tech specialists. Excel was never designed to be a QA tool, and it canā€™t keep up with the complexity of modern software development.

10 years in the QA & software development market, weekly feature updates
38 years without QA-specific functionality
Bleeding-edge AI testing functionality
Traditional QA only
10+ testing integrations & REST API
No native testing integrations
A local or Cloud QA hub
An assortment of spreadsheets
Individual permissions
Role permissions only
Full QA & dev compliance
Microsoft 365 logging
10 years in the QA & software development market, weekly feature updates
Bleeding-edge AI testing functionality
10+ testing integrations & REST API
A local or Cloud QA hub
Individual permissions
Full QA & dev compliance
38 years without QA-specific functionality
Traditional QA only
No native testing integrations
An assortment of spreadsheets
Role permissions only
Microsoft 365 logging

Winner

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