Tool Mentor: Using a Test Planning Hierarchy with CQTM
This tool mentor describes how to plan your tests using a test planning hierarchy with IBM-Rational CQTM.
Tool: IBM Rational ClearQuest Test Management
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Main Description

Using the test planning hierarchy

Each asset registry record in an IBM® Rational® ClearQuest® database comprises a test planning hierarchy.

The test planning hierarchy consists of test plans, test cases, and configured test cases. This structure enables you to represent the relationships of test plans, test cases, and configured test cases. The configured test cases represent all configurations to be tested.

You can use any Rational ClearQuest client to create the test plan, test case, and configured test case records in the test planning hierarchy. However, a graphical display of the test planning hierarchy is available only from the Rational ClearQuest Client or Rational ClearQuest Client for Eclipse.

About a test planning hierarchy

Within the scope of an association to a specific asset registry record, Rational ClearQuest Test Manager supports a hierarchical model of test plan, test case, configured test case records.

A test plan record can be a parent or child of other test plan records. Any test plan record can have associations to child test case records. A test case record can have associations to child configured test case records.

  • Use the Test Plans/Test Cases page of a test plan record to display a test plan's relationships with other parent or child test plan records or child test case records.
  • Use the Execution page of a test case record to display the child configured test case records.
  • Use the Main page of a configured test case record to display the parent test case record.

Associating a child to parent in a test planning hierarchy

You can associate these records in a test planning hierarchy:
  • A child test plan record with a parent test plan record
  • A child test case record with a parent test plan record
  • A child configured test case record with a parent test case record
The general rule for associating children to parents is that the association must be upward in the hierarchy. That is, a child record can associate with a parent record, but a parent record cannot create an association to a child record.
  1. To create a child-to-parent association:
    1. For a test plan record, click the Test Plans/Test Cases page and click Select to add a reference to the parent test plan record.
    2. For a test case record, click the Main page and click Select to add a reference to the parent test plan record. Click the Execution page to display child configured test case records. Note, to associate a configured test case record with a parent test case record, you must make the association from the configured test case record.
    3. For a configured test case record, click the Main page and click Select to add a reference to a parent test case record.
  2. For the record in which you have created the parent or child association, save the record to the Rational ClearQuest database.
After creating parent-to-child associations, you can use Rational ClearQuest queries to identify the relationships when evaluating test coverage.