[Feature]: Option To Rerun Final Failed Test Cases Only After Retries

Apr 29, 2025 by ADMIN 70 views

**Feature Request: Rerun Final Failed Test Cases Only After Retries**

Introduction

In the realm of software testing, flaky test failures can be a significant challenge. While retries have been a valuable option for handling these failures, there are scenarios where a few tests still fail even after all retry attempts. In such cases, rerunning the entire test suite or using retries again can be time-consuming and inefficient. This article proposes an enhancement to the existing retry feature, allowing users to rerun only the final failed test cases after retries.

Use Case: Rerunning Specific Test Cases

Let's consider a scenario where a test suite consists of 100 test cases, and after retries, 25-30 test cases still fail. In this situation, rerunning the entire suite or using retries again would be unnecessary and time-consuming. Instead, it would be more efficient to rerun only those specific test cases that failed after retries. This would help in:

Reducing test execution time: By rerunning only the failed test cases, the overall test execution time can be significantly reduced.
Improving debugging efficiency: Focusing on the specific test cases that failed after retries would enable developers to identify and fix the issues more efficiently.
Enhancing test suite reliability: By rerunning only the failed test cases, the test suite can be made more reliable, and the chances of false negatives can be minimized.

Request: Enhancement to Rerun Final Failed Test Cases

The proposed enhancement would involve the following features:

Automatically collect final failed test cases: After retries, the system would automatically collect the test cases that failed.
Rerun specific test cases: The user would have the option to rerun the collected test cases manually or through a flag.

Example: Current Workflow

Currently, when a test suite fails after retries, the user is left with two options:

Rerun the entire test suite: This would involve rerunning all the test cases, which can be time-consuming and inefficient.
Use retries again: This would involve retrying the failed test cases again, which may not be necessary if the test cases have already failed after retries.

Motivation: Benefits of the Proposed Enhancement

The proposed enhancement would bring several benefits, including:

Improved test execution efficiency: By rerunning only the failed test cases, the overall test execution time can be significantly reduced.
Enhanced debugging efficiency: Focusing on the specific test cases that failed after retries would enable developers to identify and fix the issues more efficiently.
Increased test suite reliability: By rerunning only the failed test cases, the test suite can be made more reliable, and the chances of false negatives can be minimized.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the proposed enhancement to rerun final failed test cases only after retries would bring significant benefits to the testing process. By automatically collecting the final failed test cases and providing an option to rerun specific test cases, the overall test execution time can be reduced, and debugging efficiency can be improved. We hope that this enhancement will be considered and implemented to make the testing process more efficient and reliable.

Future Directions

In the future, we can explore additional features to enhance the testing process, such as:

Intelligent retry mechanisms: Developing intelligent retry mechanisms that can adapt to different test scenarios and reduce the number of retries required.
Test case prioritization: Implementing test case prioritization to focus on the most critical test cases and reduce the overall test execution time.
Automated test case selection: Developing automated test case selection mechanisms that can select the most relevant test cases to rerun based on the test results.

Frequently Asked Questions

In this article, we will address some of the frequently asked questions related to the proposed enhancement to rerun final failed test cases only after retries.

Q: What is the current process for handling flaky test failures?

A: Currently, when a test suite fails after retries, the user is left with two options: rerun the entire test suite or use retries again. However, this can be time-consuming and inefficient, especially when a few test cases still fail after all retry attempts.

Q: How does the proposed enhancement work?

A: The proposed enhancement involves automatically collecting the final failed test cases after retries and providing an option to rerun specific test cases manually or through a flag. This would enable users to focus on the test cases that failed after retries and reduce the overall test execution time.

Q: What are the benefits of the proposed enhancement?

A: The proposed enhancement would bring several benefits, including:

Improved test execution efficiency: By rerunning only the failed test cases, the overall test execution time can be significantly reduced.
Enhanced debugging efficiency: Focusing on the specific test cases that failed after retries would enable developers to identify and fix the issues more efficiently.
Increased test suite reliability: By rerunning only the failed test cases, the test suite can be made more reliable, and the chances of false negatives can be minimized.

Q: How would the proposed enhancement be implemented?

A: The proposed enhancement would involve modifying the existing retry feature to automatically collect the final failed test cases after retries and providing an option to rerun specific test cases manually or through a flag. This would require changes to the test framework and the user interface.

Q: What are the potential challenges in implementing the proposed enhancement?

A: Some potential challenges in implementing the proposed enhancement include:

Integration with existing test frameworks: The proposed enhancement would require integration with existing test frameworks, which can be complex and time-consuming.
User interface modifications: The user interface would need to be modified to provide an option to rerun specific test cases manually or through a flag.
Testing and validation: The proposed enhancement would need to be thoroughly tested and validated to ensure that it works as expected.

Q: How would the proposed enhancement be tested and validated?

A: The proposed enhancement would be tested and validated through a combination of automated testing and manual testing. This would involve:

Automated testing: Automated tests would be written to verify that the proposed enhancement works as expected.
Manual testing: Manual tests would be performed to validate that the proposed enhancement works as expected in different scenarios.

Q: What are the next steps in implementing the proposed enhancement?

A: The next steps in implementing the proposed enhancement would involve:

Gathering requirements: Gathering requirements from stakeholders and users to ensure that the proposed enhancement meets their needs.
Designing the implementation: Designing the implementation of the proposed enhancement, including the changes the test framework and the user interface.
Implementing the enhancement: Implementing the proposed enhancement and testing it thoroughly.