Tool Mentor: Monitoring the Test Effort using IBM Rational Quality Manager |
This tool mentor describes how to employ the RQM's reporting capabilities during the test monitoring related activities.
Tool: IBM Rational Quality Manager
Relationships
Related Elements | Monitor Test Effort
Main Description
### Overview IBM Rational Quality Manager comes with complete reporting capabilities that can be used to track test assets or monitor the status of a project in different ways. In addition to the available out-of-the-box reports, you can also create or customize your own reports. ### Tool Steps #### 1. Capture Work Status To monitor the test effort effectively, you must capture the work status through a number of reports provided in RQM. #### 2. Gather Test Effort Productivity and Effectiveness Metrics An important aspect of a testing project is to gather test effort productivity and effectiveness Metrics. Among all the reports available in RQM, the Execution trend and Execution and Defects by Owner reports are good reports to start with. In order to calculate the productivity and effectiveness velocity, compare the Execution Trend and/or the Execution and Defects by Owner with the previously saved reports. #### 3. Gather Change Request Distribution, Trend and Aging Metrics Another important aspect in monitoring test effort is to gather change request distribution, trend and aging metrics. The different defects reports available in RQM will provide you the required information. #### 4. Gather Traceability, Coverage and Dependency Metrics The traceability between the different assets (test cases, requirement, change requests, and so on) is the key factor in the test effort monitoring. In RQM, there are multiple reports that will help you gather traceability, coverage and dependency metrics. The different requirements reports available in RQM will provide you relevant information on those metrics. #### 5. Evaluate Metrics and Formulate Initial Assessment Based on the previously found metrics, an evaluation should be done in order to create an initial assessment document. This assessment document should be attached to the monitored test plan. In order to do that, you must create a new section in that test plan for Test Findings/Results/Summary. Then attach the external assessment document to that section. To create a new section in a test plan, please refer to the following RQM online topic: Testing > Planning the test effort > Creating test plans. To attach an external document to a test plan, please refer to the following RQM online topic: Testing > Planning test effort > Attaching documents. #### 6. Record Findings For the record findings, an external document containing the findings information should also be attached to a test plan or a section of a test plan. Please refer to the instructions above (Evaluate Metrics and Formulate Initial Assessment). #### 7. Plan and Implement Improvement Initiatives All improvement initiatives implementation and planning should be updated and maintained in the RQM test plan. This can be translated in removing/adding Test Cases, Environments, Team, and so on. To add Test Cases, please refer to the following RQM online topic: Testing > Developing test cases, test suites, and test execution records > Creating new test cases. To remove/add environments, please refer to the following RQM online topic: Testing > Planning the test effort > Planning test environments > Planning your platform coverage. #### 8. Monitor and Support Improvement Initiatives To monitor and support those improvement initiatives, all the changes should be maintained in the RQM tool, capturing most of the information in the Test Plan. Based on the up-to-date test plan, use the provided reports to monitor your improvements initiatives.
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