1.  Tabs

Tabs are something I use every time I log into TestTrack, specifically for Issues. I am often in a situation where I have to keep track of multiple development efforts at the same time. While filters help with allowing me to look at a subset of Issues on which I need to focus, being able to switch quickly between tabs where my different lists are displayed is an incredible time saver.

I configure my first tab to show all the Issues currently assigned to me. I have other tabs to display Issues I have created and Issues I have addressed. I also configure other tabs to display Issues involved with current tasks that I’m currently working on. Finally, I have a tab that will show me only Issues created within the last couple of days, so that I can see if there are any new Issues that I might need to address.

2.  Workbook

The Workbook list is a feature that is often overlooked. Its primary use is to store Task records, which can be used to record things that need to be done that are not related to an Issue, Test Run, or a Requirement.

However, another feature of the Workbook list is that it will show all items that are assigned to you, regardless of their type. If you are working on several different things at once, including Issues, Test Runs, Requirements, and Requirement Documents, you can view all your current assignments in this list. This is incredibly useful for me to see what items need my immediate attention.

3.  Links

Linking items is a terrific way of relating items that have some relationship that you want to document.

I often see where different users find multiple Issues that on the surface seem unrelated, but after examination they are found to originate from the same original problem. In these situations I prefer not to merge all of these Issues, but instead create links between the Issues. I usually link Issues as related items. However if I find that one particular Issue is the primary problem, I can set it up as as the Parent in the relationship, and the other Issue as children. This helps establish the relationship between the Issue.

4.  Screen Capture

This feature may be one of my favorite recent additions to TestTrack. Screen capture allows you to take a snapshot of your current monitor display and save it as a file attachment or an inline image in a text field. It also provides some basic image editing tools to mark up the image.

I find this very useful when developing or testing an application. I can immediately move to TestTrack when I want to create an Issue, write up the description, then capture the screen shot within the client. I also like to use the editing tools to mark up the image to point to the problem I am trying to describe.

5.  Insert Stamp

This is a smaller but still useful feature depending on how you implement TestTrack.  In our TestTrack projects, it is common for people to edit descriptions and events to add additional details or notes.

Insert Stamp offers a quick way to enter a quick indication of who and when an additional bit of information is added. This feature has the nice benefit of giving the user a quick way of adding the date or your name to a comment you added. In addition, if all the users of a project use the feature consistently, it creates a standard way to annotate text in your project. And it can be configured to meet your project needs.

Those are my top 5 TestTrack features. If you’re not using them currently, take a few minutes to check them out. What are you favorite features?

For example, I use a folder to group fixed issues that affect documentation. When a developer fixes an issue, they can select an ‘Affects Documentation’ check box in the Fix dialog box. Previously, I received an email when a fixed issue was marked as affecting documentation. I manually moved these issues to a folder so I could review them later and decide if a documentation change was required. Occasionally, I review fixed issues to see if any that were not marked actually did affect documentation. Now, TestTrack can automatically add these issues to a folder for me, which eliminates more work for me. Plus, I still have the flexibility to manually add issues I want to investigate further to the same folder.

To move items to folders, add the new ‘Add to folder’ action to a new or existing trigger or escalation rule. Click the Actions tab when you are adding or editing a trigger or escalation rule and then click Add. The Add Rule Action dialog box opens.

Select ‘Add to folder’ as the Action and then select the folders you want to add items to. Keep in mind that you can only move items to public folders and not private folders. You can select multiple folders or just one. Click the arrows to expand the folder hierarchy. When you are finished, click OK to save the rule action and then click OK again to save the trigger or escalation rule.

You follow the same basic steps to remove items from folders automatically. Select the ‘Remove to folder’ action when adding or editing a trigger or escalation rule. Select the folders to remove items from and save the changes.

It’s easy to replace the stripped digits using the Format statement, which takes a format string and an array of values as its arguments. Arrays, variables that contain a series of values, are declared explicitly here for use in the Format statement. Assuming that the script is associated with a datasheet in the Data Source drop-down menu, the contents of the “SSN” column cell are assigned to the first element in the array. The entire array is then specified as an argument in the Format statement.

Dim A(1)
A(1)= Cell(“SSN”)
SSN = Format(“{0:000000000}”, A)

The above steps will assign the correct value to the SSN variable, whether the datasheet contains “123456789” or “001221234”. There is no need to worry about losing any trailing zeros because they are significant digits and will not be stripped.

If the SSN variable itself needs to be in the familiar dashed notation, the Format statement can be modified to comply:

Dim A(1)
A(1)= Cell(“SSN”)
SSN = Format(“{0:000-00-0000}”, A)

The Format statement can also be used to round numbers. For example, to round numbers in a datasheet from eight decimal places to two decimal places:

Dim A(1)
A(1)= 002342.93889982
VALUE = Format(“{0:00.00}”, A)

The number assigned to the VALUE variable will be 2342.94.

This sample script on the Seapine Labs web site has more examples of the Format statement.

Companies involved in the development and production of medical devices must maintain compliance with FDA regulations—particularly 21 CFR Part 11, which governs electronic records, and CFR 820 for good quality processes. Due to the company’s desire to register its software application as a medical device, the development team was starting to feel the pinch from the disparate software tools they were using. They also needed to get greater visibility into their product development lifecycle.

Download the customer story to learn how VirtualScopics delivers product improvements faster with TestTrack.

New Default toolbar

QA Wizard Pro 2012.1 also includes a new Browser Toolbar that makes it easy to switch between the different browsers available for playback and record with a single click. To enable this toolbar, select Browser from the View > Toolbars menu.

Browser toolbar

Another feature that will help you save times and reduce clicks is in-place renaming in the Workspace and Applications Repository panes. You can now rename an item by selecting it, right-clicking, and choosing Rename. You can also press F2 when the item is selected.

Script renaming

The last of the new UI tweaks is my personal favorite. Tabs in the script editor have two additional context menu items: “Close All” and “Close Other Tabs”. This brings a familiar convenience from tabbed web browsers to QA Wizard Pro.

Close tabs

Remember, all Seapine product documentation is available on our web site and is installed with the application. You can search the PDFs or help to find the new information. If you have documentation suggestions, please let us know.

QA Wizard Pro

Changes to the QA Wizard Pro User Guide:

• The new Call Stack pane, which displays the history of function calls made during playback, is described in the ‘Call Stack pane’ topic.
• The ‘File statements’ topic describes the new statements added to return file information and perform actions on files, such as copying files and comparing file contents.
• Newly supported HTML 5 controls are listed in the ‘Supported Technologies and Controls’ topic.

Surround SCM

Changes to the Surround SCM User Guide:

• The ‘Adding date restrictions’ and ‘Adding action restrictions based on user and date’ topics include updates for creating restrictions based on the number of hours before or after file actions are performed.
• The ‘Customizing toolbars’ section describes Surround SCM’s new default toolbar and provides information about adding buttons, removing buttons, and making other changes to toolbars.

TestTrack

The new TestTrack RM Reviewer User Guide explains how to use the new web-based TestTrack RM Reviewer application for reviewing and commenting on requirements and requirement documents.

In the TestTrack User Guide and TestTrack Pro Web User Guide, the new ‘Add to folder action’ and ‘Remove from folder action’ topics describe how to configure triggers and escalation rules to automatically move items in and out of folders.

• TestTrack RM Reviewer and new license options in TestTrack
• New license options and trigger and filter enhancements in Surround SCM
• HTML5 support and new file handling options in QA Wizard Pro

In addition, a new licensing option can help you save money. If you use both TestTrack and Surround SCM, check out the new Seapine PDS suite license.

Seapine customers with current maintenance subscriptions can upgrade free of charge. Here are the upgrade links:

• TestTrack
• Surround SCM
• QA Wizard Pro

In addition to being sponsors and exhibiting at the conference, Peter Varhol will be delivering a keynote talk on 17 May titled “Agile Testing in a Regulated Environment.” Peter will explain how Agile testing techniques can be adapted to not only assess quality and guide it to the required levels, but also verify that the application meets regulatory requirements. It looks at the relationship between Agile methodologies and testing, and illustrates a testing practice that supports Agile development for both functional testing and verification/regulatory testing. If you have been reluctant to introduce Agile testing practices into your development process, this talk is a great introduction to doing so effectively.

More information: Testing and Finance 2012.

HTML5 email input type, as rendered by Chrome

Progress and meter elements are two other newly-recognized HTML5 elements. Although progress bar controls are already supported in QA Wizard Pro, this is the first time we’ve supported capturing those types of elements in a web application. In addition to all of the regular HTML element properties, progress and meter controls have Maximum Value, Minimum Value, and Value properties that can be retrieved from the control or verified in a checkpoint. Currently, Chrome supports both of these elements while Firefox only supports the progress control.

Add Statement for ProgressBar controls

There are a variety of controls that are already supported in QA Wizard Pro, and are now defined as standards in HTML5. For example, the datalist tag used for adding autocomplete popups on input elements is a new standard in HTML5 that has been supported in QA Wizard Pro for a while.