What’s New?

Following are some of the highlights of this release. More information is available on the beta site.

• TestTrack now includes support for calculated fields, allowing custom fields to automatically calculate their values based on values in other fields. If you use our native backend database rather than an RDBMS, the format has been changed to SQLite, with a variety of performance enhancements. And, to improve the ability to create test cases, we’ve added QA Wizard Pro enhancements that allow you to automatically record and create your test steps.
• For Surround SCM, we’ve improved our support for offline changes with an enhanced working directory differences dialog and a new sync repository command. Mainline branches can also now have separate configurations from your overall server settings, giving  teams more flexibility. We’ve also added a number of new third-party integrations.
• In QA Wizard Pro, we’ve added support for the Google Chrome browser. A whole new set of testing is also now possible with our new stress testing support, allowing you to test applications in stressed conditions that are difficult to create, such as low disk space and memory, network communication problems, and read-only disk errors.

Register for the Seapine ALM 2012 Betas

I decided to create another version of the sample project that only uses TestTrack Pro features. If you only have a TestTrack Pro license, download the TestTrack Pro Scrum Sample Project instead.

The approach to this project is basically the same. The Folders window is still where you manage your backlog and sprints.

TestTrack Folders Window

The Defect object has been re-purposed to manage user stories, epics, and tasks. Most of the fields and tabs have been hidden to provide a simple interface.

Item Window

The workflow, along with automation rules, is used to route items to different branches in the workflow based on the type of the item. This allows each item to have a different workflow.

The download includes a user guide to help you explore the sample project.

Q&A

How does unshelving files work? Can you check in directly from a shelf?

No, you first unshelve files to the working directory then check them in. The “Three Practical Ways to Use Shelving in Surround SCM” blog post provides a more thorough walk-through of the functionality.

Can you attach files to tickets when you shelve a file? Or can you only attach when the check in is actually completed?

You can only attach when you check in, but you could include a ttstudio hyperlink in the shelf description.

I noticed that Surround SCM now integrates with Adobe CS5. Do you need to reinstall the client to install the Adobe plug-in?

Surround SCM 2011.1 offers two different integrations. During the client install, you can choose to integrate with Dreamweaver CS5. During the server installation, you can choose to install the CMIS server, which would allow you to ingrate with the entire Adobe CS5 suite.

Do you have an example of using Surround SCM as a CMIS server for SharePoint 2010?

Not at this time.

If a shelf is shared, can users who have access add files, unshelve files, etc? (Is it ‘full access’?) Also, can you control what level of access a user has to a shelf?

Users have ‘read-only’ access to the shared shelf, which means they can only download the files to their local directory. The owner of the shelf is the only one with full control of the shelf.

Even if we don’t normally use automatic log out, could we use it to force log outs for infrequent workflow changes needing a locked project?

No, because it’s based on inactivity. You can only log out users who are inactive for the defined time period.

In TestTrack TCM, if you find several issues can you now generate multiple defects (e.g., one per finding), or will it still create one defect regardless of the number of findings?

This functionality has not changed in that regard. While you could click on the “Create Defect” button multiple times and create multiple defects, it is still up to you to ‘clean up’ data so each defect has different data. You cannot generate defects at the step level.

When the new products are released, will there be a list of new permissions, fields, etc., that have been added so we can add those settings to our existing projects?

The product release notes are the best place to find out about new permissions and settings. The release notes are installed with the products. They are also linked to from the What’s New page on our web site.

When you create a defect from a test run that has attachments in a problem statement, are those attachments included in the defect?

Yes.

Is there a default TestTrack report for defects that have failed multiple times?

No, because there are different ways to indicate that a defect has failed.

Can the steps in shared tests be automatically expanded in test runs?

They are automatically expanded in the test runs.

Will there ever be support to run automated scripts from tools, such as Selenium, through TestTrack?

TestTrack includes a script agent that can be used to run automated scripts called the script agent. The “Analyzing the Script Agent” blog post includes more information about using the script agent

Which of the new TestTrack features will be available in the web interface?

The workflow diagram and security settings that were shown are available in the web client. The test step attachments and detailed views for test runs are available in the TestTrack TCM Test Runner web application.

Is it possible to enter additional information about tests, like how long a test step took?

Using the new enhanced grid mode, you can enter the actual results of a step. Here you could include the time it took to complete a step. You could also use step notes to record this information.

Is it possible to see the images linked to tests steps in a separate window of the test case (i.e., without blocking the steps)?

Yes. You can view attachments in their own window.

If you also use TestTrack, you can use your Gmail hosting service to send TestTrack notifications via email or even import emails if you use the TestTrack email tracking feature.

The following  screenshot shows you how to configure the TestTrack email settings. Simply replace the username with your email address. Note that the protocol you should use it STARTTLS 1.0  and the port number should be 587.

If you are also using the TestTrack email tracking feature then the following configuration will be needed to retrieve email from your Gmail account. Note that the protocol used is SSL 3.0 and port 995 must be used.

To set folder icons, log in to TestTrack and select Tools > Administration > Folder Types. You can add a new folder type or edit an existing folder type. (If you edit an existing folder type the options dialog will look like similar to the following screenshot.) You can now choose the open and closed icons to use for the folder. If you want to use a custom icon, just make it’s in BMP, GIF, or PNG format. The banner color can also be set for each type of folder.

Our development or QA teams typically enter a Comment workflow event to add feedback to defects instead of adding comments to the defect description field. This makes it much easier to follow the discussion thread because inline comments can get buried if a description is long.

The amount of text displayed from the defect description on the Overview tab may be limited based on the project options. If a description includes a lot text and inline comments, it is possible that not all comments are visible and critical information may be overlooked.

The following example shows a defect description with several inline comments, which are stamped with user initials and dates. These comments are not displayed on the Overview tab because the number of characters in the description exceeds the number of maximum characters allowed. A user looking at the Overview tab to understand the state of this defect would not immediately know that comments exist on the defect.

Defect description with inline comments

Because the defect in this example has multiple reported by records, inline comments become even more difficult to find. Users have to look at each reported by record to see the comments.

The following example shows the Overview tab for the same defect. Notice that Comment events are used instead of inline comments. The same information is provided as the inline comments in the previous example, but each Comment event is displayed separately. This helps users immediately see each comment, the date it was added, and the person who added it. The flow of feedback is easy to view and understand.

Defect Overview tab with Comment events

The method your team uses to comment on defects depends on your process, but I find that using Comment events makes it easier to understand the information that was added to a defect over time.

This video shows you how to create a basic filter and covers the fields required during the creation of a filter. Filters complement other areas in TestTrack because one filter can be used in different places by different users. Filters can also restrict TestTrack security groups so users only see what you want them to see.

Using TestTrack, developers and testers are no longer separated but use a single system that makes sharing information about bug discovered during testing quick and easy while ensuring that development receives the right amount of information needed to fix the bug.

This video shows how TestTrack makes sharing information between testing and development teams easy and effective.

Download video in mp4 format