Question about Planned Azure Test Plans license remediation

Jeff Checkner 0 Reputation points

I have been assigning Basic+Testplans for all my folks using Testplans to create and execute tests - do I need to do anything else?

I see some people that access Test plans as a viewer have "Accessing Azure Test Plans without a license."

In your chart it doesn't list viewing test suite status. For example, my Change Manager received that message in the log, but he reviews test suites for completeness. Based on my understanding he will not need a license. Is that right?

Also, the Development leader also received that message, and he just reviews test cases.

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  1. Pravallika KV 17,025 Reputation points • Microsoft External Staff • Moderator

    @Jeff Checkner , following up to see if you had a chance to check above response and if it was helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions.

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2 answers

  1. Pravallika KV 17,025 Reputation points • Microsoft External Staff • Moderator

    Hi @Jeff Checkner ,

    The “Accessing Azure Test Plans without a license” message is tied to whether the user has the correct access level for the Test Plans feature they’re using, not just whether they can read something.

    • What your Change Manager / Development leader can do without a license

    Per Manual test access and permissions in Azure Test Plans:

    • Chart test status, view reports → requires Basic
    • Create and manage test plans and test suites → requires Basic + Test Plans
    • Execute tests, mark test outcomes → requires Basic
    • Author test cases / assign & manage test cases / configurations → requires Basic + Test Plans

    So, if your Change Manager is only reviewing test suites for completeness (i.e., viewing/status/reporting) and is licensed for Basic access (or has a subscription that includes Basic features), they should not need Basic + Test Plans for that viewing/reporting scenario.

    Similarly, if the Development leader is only reviewing test cases (read-only / viewing), they’d generally only need the access level that covers viewing/reporting not the full Basic + Test Plans authoring/manage capabilities.

    • Why they might still see the “without a license” message

    That notification is consistent with the broader planned license remediation effort: Microsoft is enforcing compliance, so users don’t retain “advanced access” without the matching paid licenses by Oct 1, 2026.

    So, if those users have an access level that implies Test Plans advanced capabilities (or are trying to access functionality beyond what their access level allows), they can get reminders/notifications even if the activity looks like “viewing” in practice.

    The key rule of thumb

    • If they can view reports/status: Basic is sufficient.
    • If they need to create/manage plans/suites, author/edit test cases, or prepare execution (assign configs/testers, etc.): they need Basic + Test Plans.

    Hope this helps!

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  2. AI answer

    Users who only view test plans, test suites, and test results don’t need Basic + Test Plans. Viewing falls under the “Chart test status, view reports” and “Analyze and review tests” capabilities, which require only the Basic access level.

    From the documented matrix:

    • Executing tests and marking outcomes: Basic
    • Charting test status and viewing reports: Basic
    • Creating/managing test plans, suites, configurations, parameters, and preparing execution/UAT: Basic + Test Plans

    Therefore:

    • Change Manager who only reviews test suites for completeness (no authoring, no configuration, no execution) can remain on Basic.
    • Development leader who only reviews test cases (no creation/editing, no execution) can also remain on Basic.

    The “Accessing Azure Test Plans without a license” log entry indicates they are using Test Plans features that are covered by their current access level (Basic) but don’t have the extra Test Case Management capabilities that come with Basic + Test Plans. No additional license changes are required as long as they stay in a read-only/review role.

    References:

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