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
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Main Description

Overview

The 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 of the out-of-the-box available reports, you can also create or customize your own reports.

Tool Steps

1. Capture Work Status

To monitor effectively the test effort, you must capture the work status through a number of reports provided in RQM. For more information on how to run these reports,  please refer to the following RQM online topic: Testing > Evaluating Test Results.

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. For the steps involved in running one of those two reports or for more information on them,  please refer to the following RQM online topic: Testing > Evaluating test results > Reports reference > Execution status reports.

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.

For the steps involved in running the different available defect reports or for more information on those reports,  please refer to the following RQM online topic: Testing > Evaluating test results > Reports reference > Defects reports.

4. Gather Traceability, Coverage and Dependency Metrics

The traceability between the different assets (test cases, requirement, change requests, and so on) is key 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.

For the steps involved in running the different available requirements reports or for more information on those reports,  please refer to the following RQM online topic: Testing > Evaluating test results > Reports reference > Requirements reports.

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.

  1. To remove/add Test Cases,  please refer to the following RQM online topic: Testing > Planning the test effort > Working with test cases.
  2. To remove/add environments,  please refer to the following RQM online topic: Testing > Planning the test effort > Preparing for test execution > Listing the environments to be tested.

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.