Access to add test cases to test plans

Ask an Azure DevOps administrator to assign Basic + Test Plans access and allow Edit work items in this node plus Manage test suites for the test plan’s area path.

1. Check the access level

In Azure DevOps Services, an organization administrator should:

1. Open Organization settings → Users.
2. Locate your account.
3. Change Access level to Basic + Test Plans.
   • An eligible Visual Studio Enterprise, Visual Studio Test Professional, or MSDN Platforms subscription can provide equivalent access.
4. Save the change and reopen Test Plans.

Basic access permits test execution and reporting, but authoring test cases and assigning them to suites requires Basic + Test Plans. Stakeholder users cannot access the Test Plans portal at all.^1^

If the Define tab is missing while Execute and Chart are available, that specifically indicates the account does not have Basic + Test Plans or equivalent access.^2^

2. Grant the area-path permissions

A Project Administrator should:

1. Open the affected project.
2. Go to Project settings → Project configuration → Areas.
3. Find the area path used by the test cases.
4. Select its … menu, then Security.
5. Select your account or an Azure DevOps group containing your account.
6. Set these permissions to Allow:
   • View work items in this node
   • Edit work items in this node
   • Manage test suites
7. Set Manage test plans to Allow as well if you must modify the plan’s properties.

These permissions control different operations:

• Edit work items in this node — creates or edits test cases and other test work items.
• Manage test suites — adds/removes test cases, creates/deletes suites, moves suites, and changes suite configurations.
• Manage test plans — changes plan properties such as build and test settings.^3^

The documented area-security path and configuration procedure are available for Azure DevOps Services and Azure DevOps Server.^4^

3. Check for an explicit Deny

If the permissions already show Allow, the administrator should inspect every group containing your account for the same area path. An applicable Deny can prevent access despite another group granting Allow.

Also verify the permissions on the test case’s actual Area Path, not merely the project’s root area. Permissions may differ between the root and child area paths.

After the change, reopen Test Plans, select the plan and suite, and verify that New Test Case and the option to add existing test cases are enabled.

References

1. Manual test access and permissions
2. Test Plans FAQs
3. Manual test access and permissions
4. Set permissions and access for testing