Rational Quality Manager 4.0.4 New & Noteworthy

Rational Quality Manager is an integral part of the Rational solution for Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM). For new and noteworthy information about other parts of the Rational solution for CLM, see these pages:

• Jazz Foundation (Jazz Team Server) 4.0.4
• Change and Configuration Management 4.0.4
• Requirements Management 4.0.4

New in Rational Quality Manager 4.0.4

• Increased team productivity and agility
  • Manual script editor improvements
  • Improved support for project settings in exported process templates
  • Filtering information in the Copy Root and Copied From columns
  • Duplicating test execution records from a test plan
  • Table view enhancements
  • Support to generate test scripts from test cases in a test plan
  • Archive enhancements
  • Test suite execution record enhancements
  • Performance improvements
• Improved support of regulatory environments
  • Displaying the workflow states for artifacts in execution results
  • Configuring e-signatures to comply with CFR Title 21
  • Capturing tester information for each step during manual test execution
• Security enhancements

Increased team productivity and agility

Manual script editor improvements

The manual script editor was improved based on user feedback, and the new editor is now enabled and fully-functional by default. A few of the significant changes are as follows:

• Configurable layouts
  
  You can configure the step editor area by stacking the step content from left to right (the traditional layout), or from top to bottom. You can also maximize the step editing area to make better use of the space in the editor. While you write the description of a step, you can hide contents to maximize the editing area.
  
  
• Multiple step selection
  
  You can complete actions on multiple steps at the same time by selecting a range of steps. For example, you might select multiple steps at the same time to copy and paste them. To select a range of steps, click the left side of a step, press Shift, and then click another step. All of the steps between the two selected steps will be selected. To add another step to the selection, press Ctrl and click the step. To remove a step from the selection, press Ctrl and click the step. You can also drag a step to quickly rearrange its position.
  
  
• On-demand display of information
  
  Attachments, comments, requirement links, and assisted data entry and verification are now consolidated on one panel that you can hide when you are not working with those contents. In addition, external elements, such as keywords, test data columns, and execution variables, are available from pop-up panels only when they are needed.
  
  
• Keyword improvements
  • You can insert keywords into a script by dragging one or more keywords from the keyword panel.
  • Keyword steps are now initially collapsed to show only the name of the keyword. You can expand the keyword to show the actual steps that are defined in the keyword.
  • You can create a keyword from a selection of steps in a script.
  • While you are writing test scripts, you can resize the Add Keyword window. For more details, see Enhancement 88941.
• Support to copy steps from read-only manual scripts
  
  You can copy steps from a read-only manual script editor and paste them into another script.

Improved support for project settings in exported process templates

The exported process template now includes additional settings, which are restored when you create projects by using the exported process template. The process template now includes these settings:

• Project-level columns for table views
• Related links
• Shared resource locations

Filtering information in the Copy Root and Copied From columns

You can filter the contents of a test artifact list view by selecting artifacts in the Copy Root and Copied From columns.

This feature is included in all of the test artifact list views that support copy links: test case, test suite, test script, and test plan.

Duplicating test execution records from a test plan

In the Test Case Execution Records and Test Suite Execution Records sections of a test plan, the action menu includes two new options for duplicating a test execution record:

• To copy of one or more test execution records to the current test plan, select Duplicate Execution Record to this test plan. You can choose a test case and an iteration for the duplicates.
• To copy one or more test execution records to a test plan other than the current test plan, select Duplicate Execution Records to another test plan. You can also choose a test case and an iteration for the duplicates. If a copy of the current test plan exists, it is used as the default test plan target for the test execution record duplicates.

Table view enhancements

• Displaying short names of links instead of numbers in table views
  
  In table views, instead of displaying numbers for multiple linked items, such as requirements or work items linked to QM test assets, the short name of the linked item is displayed, if space allows. This enhancement makes it easier to view critical information about linked data from table views. For more details, see Enhancement 71187.
  
  
• Filtering based on review status in table views
  
  In all table views that support test artifacts with linked approvals or reviews, you can filter on artifacts that you have pending reviews for. For more details, see Enhancement 79713.
  
  
• Sorting by test artifact creator in tables
  
  Test artifact tables can now include the Created By column. In that column, you can sort by test artifacts that specific users created. For more details, see Enhancement 81530.

Support to generate test scripts from test cases in a test plan

When you are viewing test cases in a test plan, you can now generate test scripts from the Test Case Design section of one or more test cases. For more details, see Enhancement 81786.

Archive enhancements

When you try to archive a formal review or approval, you are prompted to confirm before you can continue. The confirmation prompt is intended to keep you from making mistakes, such as archiving the wrong information. For more details, see Enhancement 81846.

Test suite execution record enhancements

If you run large test suites multiple times, performance might be slow when you open a test suite execution record. To improve performance, data is now paged in a way that is similar to the paging in test artifact table views. For more details, see Enhancement 89450.

Performance improvements

To improve performance in databases that use query caching, fewer database queries are now used. In a performance test of the database, testers measured a 20% improvement in throughput.

In several use cases, the number of service calls between the browser and the server has been reduced. As a result, server processing has less overhead, and less network bandwidth is required. In addition, there is noticeable improvement on systems where latency exists between the browser and the server. The use cases in which service calls have been reduced are manual script execution and the editing of test plans, test cases, test scripts, test suites, test case execution records, test suite execution records, and test sequences.

For more information, see these Jazz.net plan items: Consolidate services using CompositeRestWebService to simply code path and improve performance and Optimize RQM queries to support parameter binding and dynamic selection of 'in' and 'inlargelist' with RQM queries.

Improved support for regulatory environments

Displaying the workflow states for artifacts in execution results

Test case results and test suite results now display the workflow states of the referenced test case, test script, and where applicable, test plan and test suite that were present at the start of the test execution. You might use this information during an audit of test results.

You can access the information about the states of referenced artifacts in the artifact table views. You can run queries on this information and export it to CSV or PDF format.

For more information, see this Jazz.net story: 87698: As a user, while viewing the Execution result, I should be able to see the State of the Test Case/Plan/Script at the time of Execution.

Configuring e-signatures to comply with CFR Title 21

You can configure a reason code for each e-signature and select from that predefined list. These configuration abilities are in the Lock/Unlock and Formal Review sections of a test plan, test case, test script, test suite, test case result, and test suite result.

You can view the associated e-signatures in the test artifacts in an optional Associated E-signatures section. The new Associated E-signatures section is included when you export test artifacts to PDF format.

For more information, see this Jazz.net story: 87656: As a Test Lead in a regulated environment, I need a configurable E-Signature feature to conform to CFR Title 21, so I can be in compliance.

Capturing tester information for each step during manual test execution

You can now track the last tester who ran a step in a manual test and the time at which the step was run. The originator of the test result is also shown in the test case and test suite test results.

The list of all of the testers involved in running a test is also displayed in table views. You can query this information and export it to CSV and PDF formats.

For more information, see this Jazz.net story: 87909: As a User in a regulated environment, I need to be able to show all who were involved in executing a test in order to meet compliance regulations.

Security enhancements

The products for the Rational solution for Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) now provide support for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard SP 800-131A. This standard strengthens security by defining the cryptographic algorithms and minimum key strengths that can be used. Jazz Team Server and its clients can be configured to run in either transition or strict mode. This security enhancement also includes limited support for enabling the TLS 1.2 protocol. For more information, see Enabling compliance with SP 800-131A and Support for National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-131.