Xcode Workflows

When to use this reference

Use this file when debugging failures quickly in Xcode, configuring focused test plans, and extracting insights from large test reports.

Test Navigator usage

• Run tests at function, suite, tag, and argument level.
• In parameterized tests, rerun only failing arguments for fast iteration.
• Use "Group by Tag" to inspect cross-suite behavior quickly.

Example flow

1. Run suite.
2. Open failing parameterized argument.
3. Rerun only that argument to iterate quickly.

Filtering and grouping

• Use tag filters in navigator for focused development loops.
• Keep tag naming stable so teams can reuse filters and plans.
• Prefer tag-based include/exclude over fragile test-name patterns.

Suggested tag conventions

• core - always-on fast checks
• integration - external dependency coverage
• regression - bug-fix lock-in tests
• flaky - temporary quarantine while fixing

Test plans

• Configure include/exclude tags per target in test plans.
• Use "any tags" vs "all tags" intentionally when combining filters.
• Maintain separate plans for:
  • fast core checks
  • integration checks
  • slower/optional scenarios

Example plan strategy

• Core plan: include core, exclude integration.
• Integration plan: include integration, exclude flaky.
• ReleaseGate plan: include core and regression.

Report triage

• Review distribution insights for failure clustering by tags/bugs/destinations.
• Investigate grouped failures first (often indicates systemic regressions).
• Ensure disabled/known-issue reasons are visible and actionable in reports.

Triage sequence

1. Check if failures cluster by a shared tag.
2. Open one representative failure.
3. Confirm whether root cause is common (dependency/outage/config) or test-local.
4. Fix root cause, then remove temporary known-issue annotations.

Diagnostic quality

• Keep expectations expressive and narrow.
• Improve argument/type descriptions for faster root-cause identification.
• Ensure bug traits link to trackable issues.

Checklist

• Tag naming is consistent across suites.
• Test plans reflect team workflow (local dev, CI, release).
• Parameterized failures are rerun at argument-level before broad reruns.