--- title: Test Planning FAQ description: FAQs about managing Phases, Features, and AI-Powered Planning --- [Skip to content](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#main-content) [![New\_Centercode\_Logo.png\]](https://help.centercode.com/hs-fs/hubfs/New_Centercode_Logo.png?height=35&name=New_Centercode_Logo.png)](https://centercode.com/) - [Help Center Home](https://help.centercode.com/) - [Starter & Delta Edition Help](https://learn.centercode.com/) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Help Center Home](https://help.centercode.com/) - [Starter & Delta Edition Help](https://learn.centercode.com/) - [Report an Issue](https://centercode.com/issue) [Report an Issue](https://centercode.com/issue) How can we help? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Help Center](https://help.centercode.com/en?hsLang=en) 2. [Features & Test Planning](https://help.centercode.com/en/features-test-planning?hsLang=en) 3. [FAQs](https://help.centercode.com/en/features-test-planning?hsLang=en#faqs) # Test Planning FAQ ## FAQs about managing Phases, Features, and AI-Powered Planning ### Table of Contents - [What are the different phase types in a test plan?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#different-phases) - [How do I extend a phase? Can I extend a phase that has already ended?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#extend-phase) - [Can two phases run at the same time?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#two-phases) - [What happens if a phase expires before I finish gathering feedback?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#phase-expires) - [Can I end the current phase early and start the next phase the same day?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#can-i-end) - [How do I reactivate an expired phase or keep testing its features?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#how-do-i-reactivate) - [How does Ted assist testers during each phase?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#ted-during-onboarding) - [What are Phaseless features and when should I use them?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#what-are-phaseless-features) - [Can I reset a user's completed activity?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#reset-completed-activity) - [What is the Regression feature and when should I enable it?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#what-is-a-regression-feature) - [What timezone does the phase schedule follow?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#phase-timezone) - [What are the feature value multipliers and how do they work?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#feature-value-multipliers) - [How many features should I include per phase?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#how-many-feautures-per-phase) - [What is the AI test plan and how does it help me?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#AI-test-plan) - [Can I export my test plan?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#export-test-plan) - [Can I reset New User features for users to take them again?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#new-user-reset) - [Does a regression feature's survey collect a new response in each phase?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#regression-survey) - [Can I create a phase that started in the past?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#start-in-past) - [How do I create an activity?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#how-do-i-create) - [What is the difference between an activity and a survey?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#what-is-the-difference)   ### What Are the Different Phase Types in a Test Plan? Test plans include three main phase types. **Onboarding** prepares participants by introducing them to the project and platform. **Engagement** collects feedback and insights through structured activities. **Closure** wraps up testing, finalizes feedback, and manages incentives or test unit returns.   ### How Do I Extend a Phase? Can I Extend a Phase That Has Already Ended? Passed phases offer a "Reopen" button allowing you to pick a new end date for your phase. [Check out our detailed guide](https://help.centercode.com/en/guide-to-reopening-editing-past-phases?hsLang=en) for more information. 1\. From within the project, click **Management \> Test plan**. 2\. Hover over the phase you want to adjust. 3\. Click the Reopen button and set a new end date. ### Can two Phases run at the same time? No. Phases within a Test Plan run in sequence, and the platform rejects a Phase whose dates overlap an existing one. If you try it, you will see a validation message telling you the selected dates overlap with an existing Phase. If you want two Teams testing during the same calendar window, use a single Phase and give both Teams access to it. Separate their work inside that Phase with their own Features and Activities, which is where per Team scoping actually belongs. ##### **Setting this up** 1. Create or keep one Phase covering the full testing window. 2. In that Phase, assign access to both Teams. 3. Create the Features and Activities each Team needs, and set access on each so every Team sees only its own work. If the two Teams genuinely need independent schedules, with their own start and end dates, they need separate Projects rather than separate Phases in one Test Plan.   ### What Happens If a Phase Expires Before I Finish Gathering Feedback on a specific Feature? For whole phases, [you can simply reopen them](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#extend-phase). But if you want to extend testing on a single feature, you can move it from one phase to another using the **Move** option in Test Planning. Two options are available. **Continue testing** moves the feature to the new phase with all previously collected data intact. Users who already completed the feature won't be asked to do it again. Use this when you want more data on a feature that didn't get enough participation. **Retest** moves the feature and resets it for users. ![Screenshot showing the Continue testing and Retest options when moving a feature](https://t.gyazo.com/teams/centercode/24cc7cadbb317221f4c642f2b1ca340d.png)   ### Can I end the current phase early and start the next phase the same day? Not on the same day. Once a day has started in a phase, you can't end that phase early and start a different phase that same day. Phases can't overlap, and the current phase's end date can't be set in the past. For more on overlaps, see [Can two phases run at the same time?](https://help.centercode.com/en/test-plan-faq#two-phases) If the next phase has to start today, archiving the current phase frees up its dates. Before you do, move any features that should keep collecting feedback forward to the next phase. Features in an archived phase aren't available in any feature list, including the feature field on feedback forms. ### How do I reactivate an expired phase or keep testing its features? You have two options, depending on whether you need the whole phase back or only some of its features. - **Reopen the phase.** From **Management** \> **Test plan**, use **Reopen** on the ended phase and pick a new end date. If that date runs into later phases, Centercode lists the affected phases and shifts their dates to make room. See [Guide to Reopening or Editing Past Phases](https://help.centercode.com/en/guide-to-reopening-editing-past-phases?hsLang=en). - **Move individual features.** Use **Move** on a feature and choose *Continue testing* to keep its existing data, or *Retest* to reset it for users. Features move forward only. You can move a feature into a later phase, but not back into an earlier one. An archived phase is different from one that has expired, isn't published yet, or is scheduled for the future. An archived phase can't be reactivated with dates in the past. To make its features available again, reactivate it with dates that fall after your current phase.   ### How Does Ted Assist Testers During Each Phase? During **Onboarding**, Ted sends automated emails to help participants get acquainted with the project and complete required setup steps. During **Engagement**, Ted sends reminders about incomplete activities, provides progress updates, and encourages participants to focus on areas needing more feedback. During **Closure**, Ted sends a final summary email detailing each participant's completed activities and thanking them for their participation.   ### Can I reset a user's completed activity? No. There is no supported way to reset or clear an individual completed activity once a tester has marked it as finished. However, see the next question below:   ### What Is the Regression Feature and When Should I Enable It? The Regression feature lets participants re-test specific features across multiple phases to verify that previously reported issues have been resolved. Enable it when you expect ongoing improvements that require validation across phases.   ### What Are Phaseless Features and When Should I Use Them? Phaseless features let participants submit feedback on areas not tied to a specific testing phase. Phaseless features are undirected, users will never see any activity text or be presented with them directly. Phaseless features will simply be made available as an option to select in the Feature dropdown when creating feedback tickets. Use them for collecting general product feedback or testing broad aspects of the product throughout the project lifecycle.   ### What's the difference between a phaseless feature and a feature in an engagement phase? The difference is whether the platform actively asks testers to engage with the feature. - **A feature in an engagement phase** is targeted for testing. The platform requests that testers engage with the activity associated with that feature, and the feature appears in their activity flow as work to complete. This holds for every engagement phase type, including Regression and New User phases: if the feature sits in one of them, testers are instructed to complete it. - **A phaseless feature** is available as a selectable part of the product, but it isn't targeted by engagement activities. Testers can still choose it when submitting feedback, and it still appears in the feedback dropdown. Nobody is prompted to go test it. So if you want to stop actively testing a feature while keeping it available for testers to report against, make it phaseless. That's the supported way to retire a feature from active testing without removing it from the product's feedback options.   ### What Timezone Does the Phase Schedule Follow? The phase schedule follows the timezone set on the project's *Project settings* page.   ### What Are the Feature Value Multipliers and How Do They Work? Feature value multipliers control how feedback on a given feature is weighted in reporting. The available values are: None (0), Very Low (0.5), Low (0.75), Neutral (1), High (1.5), and Very High (2). 💡 **Ted Tip:** Start all features at **Neutral**, then adjust based on each feature's relative importance to your test.   ### How Many Features Should I Include Per Phase? Aim for roughly 2 to 3 hours of focused testing per week. This gives participants enough to engage with meaningfully without becoming overwhelmed.   ### What Is the AI Test Plan and How Does It Help Me? The AI test plan uses your existing product documents, project details, and custom instructions to generate a structured, balanced test plan automatically. It creates a set of features and phases tailored to your testing needs, helping you get set up quickly with comprehensive coverage of key product areas. [Read more about AI test plan generation.](https://help.centercode.com/en/creating-a-test-plan-using-ai?hsLang=en)   ### Can I Export My Test Plan? No. Centercode doesn't currently support exporting test plans.   ### Can I Reset New User Features for Users to Take Them Again? No. Once a user completes all available New User features, they're permanently marked as having completed them in that project and won't see them again. Adding new New User features after a user has been marked as complete won't prompt them to take the new additions.   ### Does a regression feature's survey collect a new response in each phase? Not by default. A regression feature links testers back to the survey they already completed. When the feature comes up again in a later phase, the tester sees their previous response and is asked to update it, rather than filling out a blank copy. That works well when you want a single evolving answer per tester. It's the wrong fit when you want to compare responses between versions, because each update overwrites the picture you had before. If you want a separate capture for each round of re-testing, create a new copy of the survey and point the feature at it, at the beginning of each new phase: 1. Clone the existing survey. 2. Open the regression feature's settings. 3. Update the feature to use the new copy of the survey. Each phase then collects its own independent set of responses, which you can compare across iterations the same way you compare satisfaction scores between phases. ### Can I create a phase that started in the past? Yes. When you schedule a phase you can select a custom start date, and that date can sit in the past. This is the normal approach when you move a project that is already underway into Centercode and you want the timeline to reflect what actually happened rather than the day you finished configuring it. From within your project: 1. Click the *Management* menu and select *Test plan*. 2. Create the phase, or click an existing phase name to open its details. 3. In *Schedule this phase*, set the *Start Date* to the real start date and the *End Date* to when the phase should close. 4. Save the phase. The same date controls are available on pending, active, and deactivated phases, so correcting a date later does not require rebuilding the phase. ### How do I create an activity? Activities are created as part of a Feature. There is no separate create-an-activity option, because an activity is the work a Feature asks your testers to do. If you want testers to try something and report back on it, you are creating a Feature. From your project: 1. Click **Management** \> **Test plan**. 2. Click **Create a feature**. 3. Enter the feature's name, description, and objectives. 4. Under *Activity options*, choose the activity intent. This tells the system what kind of activity you expect participants to complete. 5. Under *How would you like testers to report on this activity?*, choose the Centercode FSAT, one of your custom Surveys, or none. 6. Click **Submit**. For the full set of options on the creation form, see the [**Features Overview**](https://help.centercode.com/en/features-overview?hsLang=en). ### What is the difference between an activity and a survey? A Survey is a standalone resource. You build it under **Management** \> **Surveys**, and it can stand on its own as something you ask participants to complete. An activity is part of a Feature in your test plan. It describes something you want participants to do with the product, and it can use a Survey as the way they report back on it. When you attach a custom Survey to a feature activity, that Survey becomes the activity's reporting step. The Activities menu your participants see is a container rather than a resource type. It gathers your project's Surveys and feature activities into one place, so an item appearing there does not tell you which of the two it is. ##### **Notes** - Phases cannot overlap. If you are back-dating a phase into a window another phase already occupies, see *Can two Phases run at the same time?* in this FAQ. - Correcting dates on a phase that has already ended? 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