Introduction to HP ALM(Quality Center) Quality Center was initially a test management tool developed by Mercury interactive. It is now developed by HP asApplicationLife CycleManagement Tool (or) ALM that supports various phases of the software development life cycle. ALM is a web based tool that helps organizations to manage the application lifecycle right from project planning, requirements gathering, until testing & deployment,which otherwise is a time consuming task ALM also provides integration to all other HP products such as UFT and Load Runner. Why use HP ALM?The various stakeholders involved in a typical project are Developer Tester Business Analysts Project Managers Product OwnersThese stakeholders perform diverse set of activities that need to be communicated to all concerned team members. If we do not maintain centralized repository to record, maintain and track all the artifacts related to the product, the project will unquestionably FAIL. We also need a mechanism to document and collaborate on all testing and development activities.

Enter HP ALM! It enables all the stakeholders tointeract and coordinate,to achieve the project goals. It provides robusttracking & reportingand seamless integration of various project related tasks. It enables detailedproject analysis and effective management. ALM can connect to our email systems and send emails about any changes(like Requirement change, Defect raising etc..) to all desired team members.Evolution of ALMIt is important to understand the history of ALM. Quality Center was earlier known as Test Director which was developed by Mercury Interactive. In 2008, Version 8 was released and the product was renamed as Quality Center. Later, HP acquired Mercury Interactive and rebranded all mercury products as HP. So Mercury Quality Center became HP Quality Center In 2011, Version 11 was released and Quality center was rechristened as HP ALM.

Architecture of QCNow let us understand the technology part of HP-ALM. ALM is an enterprise application developed using Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) that can have MS SQL Server or Oracle as its back end. ALM has 3 components Client, Application Server and Database Server. 1. HP ALM client:when an end user/tester accesses the URL of ALM, the client components are downloaded on the client's system. ALM client components help the user to interact with the server using .NET and COM technologies over a secured connection (HTTPS).2. ALM server/Application server:Application server usually runs on a Windows or Linux platform which caters to the client requests. App server makes use of the Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) driver to communicate between the application server and database servers.3. Database servers: The Database layer stores three schemas. Site Administration schema:It Stores information related to the domains, users, and site parameters. Lab Project:This schema stores lab information related to functional and performance testing on remote hosts, Performance Center server data. Project schema:Stores project information, such as work item/data created by user under the project area. Each project has its own schema and they are are created on the same database server as the Site Administration schema.

HP ALM Editions:HP ALM is a commercial licensed tool and HP distributes ALM in 4 different flavors

ALM Edition Feature ComparisonEach one of the license allows users to access certain ALM functionalities. Following Table lists the features that a particular license give you =

Lets study why would you purchase a particular version and whom is it suited for HP ALM Essentials This is for corporates that need just the basic features for supporting their entire software life cycle. It has access to requirements management, test management and defect management. HP QC Enterprise Edition This license holds good for corporates who would like to use ALM exclusively for testing purposes. It also provides integration with Unified Functional Tester (UFT). HP ALM Performance Center Edition This license best suits for organizations who would like to use HP ALM to drive HP-Load runner scripts. It helps the users to maintain, manage, schedule, execute and monitor performance tests.ALM WorkflowTo learn the ALM workflow, Let's first study a typical test process-

We being with planning and drafting, Release details. Determine no of Cycles in each release & Scope of each release For a given Release and Cycle we draft the Requirements Specifications. Base on the requirements, Test plans and test cases are created. Next stage is executing the created tests plan Next stage in this test processes is tracking and fixing the defects detected in the execution stage During all stages, analysis is done, and reports and graphs are generated for test metric generation.HP ALM provides a module catering to each stage of the Testing Process. We will study them in detail in later tutorials. How to install HP ALM Before Installing ALM 12.0, one has to understand the system requirements. We will go through how to perform a standalone installation on a Windows Environment. Users should meet all the below prerequisites for installing ALM Successfully.Operating SystemsDatabasesBrowsersMSOffice

Users should be installing ALM on one of the following Windows Server edition Operating Systems. Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise SP1 64 BitMicrosoft Windows Server 2012 Standard 64 Bit.One of the following Databases should have been installed before proceeding to installing ALM. Oracle 10.2.0.5 Oracle 11.2.0.3 Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP1User should use one of the following browsers to access ALM, after installation. Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 32 Bit Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 32 Bit Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 32 BitTo allow importing data from Excel/Word to ALM, users should have preinstalled one of the following MS Office Suites. Microsoft Office 2010 SP2 32 BitMicrosoft Office 2013 32 Bit

Here is workflow of the installation process

Part A: DownloadingStep 1: GotoHP ALM site Select "Try Now" Tab Click "download HP ALM Now" button.

Step 2: The download wizard appears Enter all the required details Click 'NEXT'.

Step 3: Accept the license terms and click 'I Agree'.

Step 4: Select the installer for Windows ,shown below:

Tip: Its recommended you use HP Download Manager or some other software as the installation file is big and prone to fail due to network issuesPart B) InstallationStep 1: Unzip the installer. You will see the folder structure as below Right click the setup.exe and 'Run as Administrator'.

Step 2: Select ALM Platform Installation for Windows environment. The extraction process will continue.

Step 3: The Welcome page of the installation opens. Click 'NEXT' to Continue.

Step 4: Upon clicking 'Next' from welcome page, the license agreement dialog opens. Upon accepting the license agreement, user will be able to proceed with the installation.

Step 5: After accepting the license agreement, folder selection dialog opens. The HP ALM will be installed in the selected location.

Step 6: An Installation summary would be shown to the user before commencing the installation process. Review the summary and click installStep 7: Upon clicking the 'Install' button in Installation summary dialog, the installation process kicks off.Step 8: Upon completing the installation, the status is displayed to the usInstallation complete!Part C) ConfigurationSo far, we have just installed/copied across the necessary installation files for ALM. Upon successful installation, the installer will continue with server configuration wizardStep 1:. Use 'Evaluation Key' and select 'Application Lifecycle Management' and click 'NEXT'.

Step 2: Enter the Server Details. You should have preinstalled oracle/MS SQL Server. Select the appropriate database credentials and click 'Next'.

Tip: Use MS-SQL(SQL Auth) because, ALM easily get installed with this option while MS - SQL(Win Auth) is more error prone due to OS registries and UAC settingsTroubleShootingIf you get Error "failed to validate database parameters" inspite of entering Valid Database parameters, then do following1. In command prompt check Port 1433 is listening. Use command netstat -an2. In SQL Server Configuration Manager > SQL Server Network Configuration > Protocols for MSSQLSERVER > Enable TCP/IP Protocol. Restart the SQLServer.3. Double click TCP/IP in the "Protocols for "Your Instance"" and go to IP addresses tab. Find IPAll drop down and set the port to 1433. Click Apply, than ok and restart the server, this should also be able to resolve this issue.Step 3: Enter the Site Admin Database Schema Name and password. After entering the details, Click 'Next'.

Step 4: The Security page in the server configuration wizard opens. You can check 'Use Default Value' and click 'Next'.

Step 5: Enter 'Site Administrator' User ID and Password.DONOT forget these credentials as these details would be required to login to ALM successfully.

Step 6: Select the File Repository Path where all the ALM Data would be stored.

Step 7: User can also select the Port that they would like to install. In this case it is 8181(default is 8080 which you can override) and click 'NEXT'.Note: The Default Port 8080 might be used by other applications, hence it is better to choose other port numbers.

Step 8: Leave the HP ALM Service as empty as your Windows login credentials would be used by default. Click 'Next' to continue.

Step 10: Enter the server details to setup mail server for HP ALM. This is used to send emails using ALM. If you do not want to specify, click none and move ahead

Step 11) A configuration summary is shown before proceeding. Click NextStep 12) Configuration proceeds

Step 13: Upon applying the configuration if successful, status message would be shown appropriately. Click 'Finish' and ALM service will be started if 'Start ALM Server' has been checked.

Step 14: Now we can launch Quality Center by using the URL :http://localhost:8181/qcbin/. The ALM 12.0 would be launched as shown below.Create a Domain, Project, User in HP ALMIn order to work with ALM, you need to Create Domain Create Project Create UsersIn practice, these would be created by ALM Site Administrator as an end user WILL NOT have access to Site Admin page. How to Create a DomainStep 1) Launch ALM and click 'Site administration' from the home page. User will be popped up to enter the credentials. Enter the Credentials that we have created during Installation.

Step 2) The Admin Dashboard is shown. Click on Create Domain

Step 3) In the pop-up Enter Domain Name (in our case "Banking") and Click OK

Step 4) The domain would be created as shown below.

How to Create a ProjectStep 1) Select the Domain under which projects are to be created. In this case it is 'Banking' Domain, and click 'Create Project' as shown below

Step 2) The 'Create Project' wizard opens. Select 'Create and Empty Project' from the list and click 'Next' button.

Step 3) Enter the Name of the Project and click 'Next' as shown below.

Step 4) Select the appropriate Database type and enter the following. In this case, we have selected 'MS-SQL' as we had installed Hp-ALM with MS-SQL as backend. If you had installed ALM with Oracle as your database server, please select 'oracle'. (1) Database server name (2) Database Admin User Name (3) Database Admin Password and click 'Next'.

Step 5) Select 'Admin' user and click 'Next'. No other users are displayed as we haven't created any users in ALM.

Step 6) The summary dialog is displayed and Click on 'create' button. You will also notice that there are two check boxes in this window. 1. Activate Project If unchecked, project would still be created but users will not be able to access this project area.2. Enable Versioning This will enable version controlling feature which restricts the users from editing the same work item (requirements, tests) at the same time to avoid overwriting the changes made by one user over other.

Step 7) The project creation status would be displayed as shown below.

Step 8) The project 'GURU99_BANK' has been created successfully under 'BANKING' domain as shown below.

How to Create a UserStep 1) In order access HP ALM , a user profile needs to be created. In order to create users, site admin has to click on 'Site users' Tab.

Step 2) Click 'Add user' icon from 'Site users' tab as shown below.

Step 3) The 'Add user' dialog box opens. Enter all the necessary details and click 'OK'.

Step 3) The Added user will be displayed in 'user list' as highlighted below along with the other existing users.

Step 4) Now we will need to map the user to the project areas as the newly created user WILL NOT have access to any of the projects. It is enough to create a user only once to have access to multiple project areas. In this case we have added the user 'Guru99' to 'GURU99_BANK' Project area which is under 'BANKING' domain.

Release Specifications: Understanding the Management Tab in HP ALM Management Tab helps users to organize and track releases and cycles. A release has a definite start date and end date that corresponds to a group of changes that will be deployed to the end users in that time interval A cycle which falls within a release has a set of development and testing efforts in order to achieve a common goal. ALM users can track the progress of the project in real time by analyzing the releases tree to ensure if it matches the release goals. It also enables users to get a quick snapshot of the quality of that release which displays the outstanding defect and defect opening rate.

Why do we need Management of Release and Cycles in ALM?In reality, when a product development happens, there are various release for a particular product Each release is broken down into a number of cycles. Let's say we have got 2 releases with each having 2 cycles of development and testing for Guru99 banking application. Each Release has also a predefined scope and milestone associated with it. For each cycle there is a specific number of requirements. Each requirement has a number of test cases associated with it. Upon executing tests, the defects are logged and mapped to the corresponding tests after which we can trace requirements and defects.

The Management TabThis module helps us to create and manage releases and cycles which is the first step before proceeding to create any work item such as requirements/tests/defects. It also helps us work with project planning and tracking. Following functionalities are vital in this tab. Creating Releases Creating Cycles Creating Release Scope Create MilestoneNote: before starting with exercise, refer this interactive tutorial to learn how to login in ALM

How to Create a ReleaseCreating releases is the first step in ALM and all other work item such as requirements, test cases and defects are traced based on the releases/cycles.As explained in workflow, we will have two releases this year for Guru99 banking application with the following timelines.Release Name Start Date End Date

2017 R101/01/201721/06/2017

2017 R201/07/201731/12/2017

Step 1) First step is to navigate to Management tab and click on "Releases" Tab. The landing page would appear as shown below:

Step 2) Before creating a release, we can create a container/folder by clicking on a "New Folder" icon in releases module as shown below. Give the folder name 2017

Step 3) Next step is to create new releases. To create a new release, click "new release"button and the New Release dialog opens. Enter the following mandatory details1. Release Name2. Start Date of the Release3. End Date of the Release4. Brief Description about the release (Optional)

Step 4) After Entering the above details click "OK". The Release will be created as shown below.

Likewise you can create other Release R2Step 5) Upon Selecting a particular Release, one can see the tabs that are relevant to the Releases.

Step 6) Now let us understand the important tabs available under "Releases" Module. Select Details Tab to retrieve the information about the details of the release that was provided during the creation of the Release.

Step 7) SelectRelease ScopeTab that provides the details about the scope of that release. We haven't created scope for this release; hence the scope list is empty. Creation of milestones and scope will be dealt in detail in a separate module.

Step 8) Master Plan provides the pictorial representation of the timeline. If cycles are created, the master plan would include cycle timelines for that release as well.

Step 9) Status Tab shows details about the release regarding the overall progress of that release. When the release is created afresh without any work item such as requirements/tests/defects added to it, the status would be displayed as shown below.

The status would be displayed as shown below when user maps the work items such as requirements/tests/defects against the release.

How to create CycleIn reality, each one of the releases is further broken down into cycles and let us understand how to create cycles in ALM. Let us say in our case there are two cycles in a release.Release Cycle Name Cycle Start Date Cycle End Date

Release R1Cycle 101/01/201731/03/2017

Cycle 201/04/201730/06/2017

Release R2Cycle 101/07/201730/09/2017

Cycle 201/10/201731/12/2017

Step 1)Select the Release under which you would like to create cycles and click on "New Cycles" button and the new cycles dialog box opens where the release timelines are prepopulated as this cycle is created under the selected release. User has to enter the following mandatory details in 'New Cycles' Window: Name of the Cycle Start Date of the Cycle End Date of the Cycle. Description (Optional)

Step 2)Once all the cycle is created, user can access the same under created Release as shown below.

Step 3) Select a particular cycle to access details of that cycle.

Step 4) Now let us understand all the other important tabs present under "Cycles". User can attach any attachment under 'attachments' Tab. 'TheProgress tab'gives the status of that cycle under the selected Release. The Progress will be displayed as shown below when user created the cycle without any workitems(requirements/tests/defects) mapped against it.

The Progress will be displayed as shown below after user has mapped workitems(requirements/tests/defects) to the cycle.

Step 5 ) The Quality Tab provides the information such as defect opening rate and number of outstanding defects which is the preliminary information about the quality of the current cycle. When the user has created the Cycle the 'Quality' Tab will be displayed as shown below as there are no workitems are mapped against it.

The 'Quality' Tab will be displayed as shown below once the user has mapped work items against that release.

How to Create Release ScopeEach Release has a scope and milestone associated with it that can be added under "Release Scope" Tab under Releases.Step 1)Upon clicking on "+" icon in releases scope tab of releases module,New Scopedialog opens.

Enter the following details.1. The name of the scope which is the only mandatory field2. Priority of the Scope Item3. Owner of the Scope.4. Description about the Scope.

Step 2) Upon clicking on"OK"button, all the added scope is shown in the "Release Scope" tab as shown below.

How to Create MileStoneStep 1) New Milestone can be created only under a release using a "New Milestone" Icon as shown below.

Step 2) While creating a milestone following fields are mandatory.1. Name of the Milestone2. Start Tracking Date3. End Tracking Date.4. Description

Step 3) The created Milestone is shown as below.

Step 4) Now user can map a milestone scope against the created project scope. To perform the same, select the milestone and navigate to Milestone Scope and select the corresponding scope and map it.

All About Requirements Specifications module in HP ALM Defining the Requirements is one of the preliminary phases for software development lifecycle. Defining Requirements refers to what has to be delivered to the clients at the end of that specific release. Establishing requirements with brevity and clarity upfront would result in minimal rework after development is completed. This module in ALM enables users to define, manage and track requirements.We will make use of the sample application (GURU99 Banking) to understand it better. In this tutorial we will learn How to Create Requirement How to Upload Requirement using Microsoft Excel How to perform Coverage Analysis (Requirement Traceability)

How to create RequirementsStep 1)Click on 'Requirements' in 'Requirements' module.

Step 2)Let us maintain all the requirements for this release(2017 R1) in a specific folder so that it would be easy for us to access. In addition to that we would like to show the distinction between 'Functional' and 'Non Functional' requirements by placing them in different folders. 1. Click 'New Folder' Icon under Requirements Module2. Enter the Name of the Folder as "2017 R1" to easily identify the requirements for this release.

Step 3)The created folder would be shown as displayed below.

Step 4)Now let us create a folder for 'Functional'Requirements where are all the Functional requirements documents/work items are maintained.

Step 5)The Created Folder will be displayed in 'Requirements'module as shown below.

Step 6)Similarly create 'Non Functional' Folder. Upon creating both Functional and Non Functional folder, we will have the folder structure as shown below.

Step 7)Click 'New Requirements' icon in the requirements page as shown below.

The 'New Requirements' dialog opens up and user has to enter the following mandatory fields. 1. Enter the Name of the Requirement2. Select the Requirement Type

Step 8)User can also enter the following Non-Mandatory fields. 1. Author2. Priority3. Reviewed4. Target Release5. Target Cycle6. Description and Comments.Step 9)Requirements also allows users to enter the requirements in 'Rich Text' format directly as shown below.

Step 10)Usually, requirements are captured in a word document. They be uploaded under attachments tab as shown below. ALM also support all other file types like .xls, .jpg etc. After uploading click Submit button.

Step 11)The requirement would be displayed to the user as shown below:

How to Upload Requirements using Microsoft ExcelSometimes, user won't be creating requirements manually. It is easy to upload all requirements in bulk rather than creating each one by one, which is a time consuming process. In order to facilitate uploading into ALM, HP has come up with an Addin with which the user can upload from MS excel/MS Word directly. Let us understand the step by step procedure to upload requirements into QC from Excel. For uploading Requirements, we need to understand the workflow:

Part A - Downloading:Step 1) Navigate to ALM home pagehttp://localhost:8181/qcbinand click on "Tools" from the list of links.

Step 2: Click on "More HP ALM Add-ins" Link from the add-ins page as shown below.

Step 3) Select 'Add-ins for Microsoft Applications' and select 'Microsoft Excel' from the link as we would be using MS Excel add-in to upload the Data into HP-ALM.

Step 3) Select HP-ALM Microsoft Excel Add-in for ALM 12.00 link.

Step 4) Select HP-ALM Microsoft Excel Add-in for ALM 12.00 link. Users can also refer to the 'Read-me' Guide and 'Add-in' Guide. Upon clicking on the link, the add-in set up file will be downloaded to default location/user selected location.

Part B Installation:Step 1) Select the downloaded add-in and perform a right click on the downloaded file. Select 'Run as Administrator'.

Step 2) Select the downloaded add-in and perform a right click on the downloaded file. Select 'Run as Administrator' so that we can install the add-in.

Step 3) Select the installation type. Here we have selected 'For All Users' which was the default setting. If you wish to install only for the current user please select 'For Current User Only' and click 'Next'.

Step 4) Upon completion of the installation, user would get the status message. Click 'Finish' Button.

Step 5) To verify if the add-in got successfully installed, open Excel and navigate to 'Add-ins' Tab. You will find an option 'Export to HP ALM' which means the 'add-in' got installed successfully.

Part C Uploading Requirements into ALM :Step 1) Before uploading the requirements from excel, we need to prepare the excel such that it can be uploaded. 1. Select the Fields that you wish to upload into ALM and create a header in Excel for those fields.2. Enter a valid data in each one of those fields as shown below.

Step 2) After selecting the data to upload, click 'Export to HP ALM' from 'Add-Ins' .

Step 3) The ALM Export Wizard opens. Enter the HP ALM Server URL and Click 'Next'.

Enter the user name and password for authentication and Click 'Next'.

Step 3) Select the Domain, Project Name into which we would like to upload the requirements and Click 'Next'.

Step 4) Select the type of data that we would like to upload. In this case, it is requirements. We can also upload Tests/Defects which we will deal with it later.

Step 5) Enter the New Map name. The first option, 'Select a map' is disabled because we haven't created a map so far. Hence we should create new map name and click 'Next'. We haven't selected 'Create a Temporary map' as we would like to reuse every time for uploading 'Requirements'.

Step 5b) In this dialog, user has to choose the requirement type behavior. If we are uploading only one type of requirement, then we should select 'Single Requirement Type'. We are uploading different requirement types. Hence we have to map against the corresponding column in excel. As per our template, Column 'E' carries the requirement type.

Step 6) Upon Clicking 'Next', the mapping dialog opens as shown below. 1. The left pane grid items that are listed correspond to the fields that are available for upload in HP ALM.Please note that the fields marked in 'RED' should be mapped as they are mandatory fields.2. The right pane grid items refer to the fields that are mapped so that values in Excel will flow into those corresponding fields of ALM.

Now let us understand how to map the fields in Excel against the fields in ALM. Select the Field that user would like to map and click on the arrow button as shown below.

Enter the column name in Excel that corresponds to the appropriate column name in HP ALM.

Map all the required columns in excel against the appropriate fields in HP ALM. After mapping all the required fields, click 'Export'.

Step 8) Upon successful upload, ALM displays the message as shown below. If errors appear please fix the issue and try re-uploading the same.

Step 11) Now let us verify the same under 'Requirements' Tab. All the requirement details including attachments are uploaded as shown below.

How to do Coverage Analysis (Requirement Traceability)Once the user has mapped all the requirements, tests and defects as discussed in each one of those chapters, we will be able to generate coverage analysis and traceability Matrix. Coverage Analysis helps us to understand the test coverage against a specific requirement and details about number of tests passed/failed/not executed. Step 1)Navigate to requirements module and Click on 'View' Menu and select 'Coverage Analysis'.

Step 2)The coverage Analysis will be generated against each one of the requirements placed under 'Requirement Tab' with consolidated status on a folder level.

Step 3)Upon expanding the folder, the coverage analysis will be displayed as shown below.

Step 4)Click on each one of those coverage analysis status to get a drill down report. 1. Click on the Status of a specific Requirement. The coverage Analysis will be displayed with the number of failures.2. Click 'Show Test Coverage' which will show the detailed test status attached to the selected requirement.

Step 5)Uponclicking 'Show Test Coverage', the test execution status against the selected requirement will be displayed.

Traceability Matrix : The traceability matrix enables the users to determine the extent of relationships between requirements and other requirements (or) between requirements and tests. The traceability matrix lists source requirements and their associated requirements and tests. The Matrix displays the total number of relationships for each source requirement.Step 1)First Step is to navigate to 'View' Menu and select 'Traceability Matrix'.

Step 2)The Traceability Matrix page opens as shown below. Click 'Configure Traceability Matrix' The 'Configure Traceability Matrix' Dialog Opens.

Step 3)The criteria for generating the traceability Matrix is shown below. Click 'Filter' under 'Define Source Requirements' The 'Filter Requirements' Dialog opens. Click the filter criteria button. Select Filter Criteria Dialog Opens. Select 'Functional' from the list Click 'OK'.

Step 4)The Filter requirement dialog displays the filter criteria as selected by the user. Click 'OK'.

Step 5)The Configure Traceability Dialog is displayed 1. With the selected 'Requirement Type'2. Click on 'Filter by linked Tests' link.

Step 6)Let us generate the traceability matrix between requirements and tests. Hence upon clicking on 'Filter by linked tests', the following dialog is displayed to the user. 1. Enable 'Filter by linked tests'.2. Select 'Linked to' the following tests.3. Let us generate the traceability matrix for those requirements that has got more than 5 tests. Hence select the Filter criteria as 'more than'4. Enter a value. In this case it is '5'5. Click 'Ok'

Step 7)Following screen is displayed to the user with all the requirements and its corresponding tests if the specified traceability matrix criteria is met.

Step 8)User can also click on 'Generate Traceability matrix' that can be exported to excel. 1. Select the details for which the traceability matrix has to be generated.2. Click 'Generate Traceability Matrix'.

Step 9)The File save dialog is displayed to the user. 1. Choose the location where the traceability matrix need to be saved.2. Enter the File Name3. Click 'Save'.

Step 10)Upon clicking 'Save' Button, the traceability matrix is generated to the user.

All About Test Plan Module in HP ALM (Quality Center) After defining requirements, development team kick starts their design and development process while testing team start designing tests that can be executed once the build is deployed. Success of any product depends on the testing processes and the quality of testing that is being carried out. A Good test plan results in a bug free product. ALM supports maintenance and execution of manual, automation and performance tests as ALM is seamlessly integrated with all HP products such as HP UFT and HP Load Runner.

In this tutorial you will learn How to Create Test Plan How to Upload Tests using Microsoft Excel How to create Test ResourcesHow to Create Test PlanStep 1 )Similar to requirements, let us create a placeholder/folder for each one of the test types such as Functional and Non Functional. 1. Click on Test Plan link from the ALM Home page2. Click 'New Folder' Icon3. Enter the Folder Name as 'Functional' and click 'OK'

Step 2)The created folder would be displayed as shown below.

Step 3)Similarly let us creates subfolders for 'Manual' and 'Automated' Tests under 'Functional' Folder. Hence the Final Folder Structure will be as shown below: Note:We will NOT be able to create automated test scripts/Performance test scripts from ALM; instead it has to be created from respective HP tools such as UFT for functional and Load runner for performance. It is then saved into ALM so that they can be scheduled, executed, monitored and reported.

Step 4)It would be better to create a New folder for each one of the modules of the application so that we don't dump all manual tests in one folder. For Complex applications there would be thousands of tests which would be difficult to handle if they are not aligned properly.

Step 5)Now Let us create a Manual Test for the 'Login' Module by clicking on the 'New Test' Icon in 'Test Plan' Tab.

Step 6)Enter the following details for creating the new test successfully. 1. Enter the New test Name2. Enter the Type of the Test. In this case it is 'Manual' Test.3. User can also enter other non-mandatory fields such as date, Description as shown below.4. Click 'Submit' once all the details are entered.

Step 7) Once the test is created, the created test will appear under the 'Manual' tests folder with other tabs generated as shown below. Let us discuss each one of these tabs in details in upcoming steps.

Step 8)Click'Design Steps'tab and click on 'New Step' icon as shown below. The Design step details dialog box opens 1. Enter the Step Name2. Enter the Step Description3. Enter the Expected Result4. Click 'OK'

Step 9)Repeat the Step#6 and enter all the relevant steps to test the functionality. After creating all the required steps, 'Design Steps' tab displays all the created steps as shown below.

Step 10)Parameters, helps the user to assign a value to a variable that allows the user to execute the same test with different sets of data. In this case, the user name and password can be two parameters which would be assigned with a value. We will understand the importance of having parameters while test execution which will be dealt in Test Lab module. Now, Let us see how to create parameters. 1. Select the test step against which we would like to add the parameter.2. The 'Parameter' Icon will be enabled. Click on the same as shown below.

Step 11)The Parameter dialog will open as shown below. Click on 'New Parameter' button.

Step 12)The test parameter details dialog opens. 1. Enter the parameter name2. Assign a Value to the Parameter3. Click 'OK'.

Step 13) The 'parameters' dialog is displayed back to the user 1. With the created variable2. The value3. Click 'OK'.

Step 14)Now we can notice that the parameter is added in the 'Test Step' itself as shown below. Repeat the same for password field as well.

Similarly, create parameter for Password Filed

Step 15)The created parameters can be viewed/edited in the parameters tab. This dialog also helps us to create, delete the parameters associated with the tests.

Step 16)The attachment tab allows the user to upload any type of file such as 'xls', 'jpg' etc.

Step 17)The test configuration helps us to reuse the test for different use case scenarios. Let us understand how to work with test configurations with an example. By default there is a test configuration that is specified as that of test name. Note: We CANNOT delete the default test configuration but we can edit the same.

Step 18)Let us say the login functionality can be performed by three types of business users such as 'helpdesk', 'manager' and 'cluster head'. Let us rename the default test configuration to 'helpdesk' by editing the name field of the 'Test Configuration'.

Step 19)Now let us add the other two more test configurations viz manager and cluster head. Click '+' icon under test configurations.

Step 20)The'New test Configuration' dialog opens up. 1. Enter the Test configuration name2. Enter other non-mandatory parameters such as 'created by' , 'creation date', 'description'3. Click 'OK'.

Step 21)Repeat the same step as above to create one more test configuration for 'cluster head' and the entire test configuration will be displayed to the user as shown below. This will allow the testers to execute the same test individually against all the created configurations during test execution which will result in no rewriting of tests. Test Configuration should NOT be confused with test parameters. Hence we should understand the difference between parameter and test configurations. The Parameters are used to create variable and assign values for a specific step (parameterizing the test) while test configuration is applicable for all the steps and generally used to test different business use cases/Workflow. During Execution users can change values of the created parameters while a test case is executed for the selected configuration. For Example, An online bill payment Application, user can select the payment mode. In case of 'Credit Card' Payments, user can either select master card, visa or American express. Each one of those having its own customer reward points. In order to test it, we can design a test such that each one of them are added into test configurations to verify the reward points.

Step 22)The 'Req Coverage' Tab helps the testers to map the test against a particular requirement(s) which helps users to generate coverage and traceability. 1. Click on 'Req Coverage' Tab.2. Select the 'Requirement' which should be mapped against this particular test case3. Click ''.

Step 3)The "Select Entity Type" Dialog is displayed to the user.1. Select the entity for which the Graph has to be displayed2. Select the Graph type.3. Click 'Next'.

Step 4)The Wizard also allows you to choose projects. The user has capabilities to add the same graph configuration across projects.

Step 5)The Wizard also allows you to enter a filter criterion. If there is NO Filter applied, the graph is generated by considering all the data available in Defects module.Note: Filter can be applied against a specific release/cycle. If NO Filter is set, the graph wizard picks up all the defects that are posted till date into consideration.

Step 6)The Wizard allows user to choose X-Axis and Group by a certain field and click 'Finish'.

Step 7)The graph is generated as per the criteria set by the user in Graph wizard. We can 'Add it to the Analysis Tree' so that we can just refresh the chart to get the current status.

Step 8)Upon clicking on 'Add to Analysis Tree' the save dialog opens up.1. Enter the Name of the Graph2. Select the folder where user would like to save the Graph1. Private The Graph is saved against the current user profile. Others won't have access to the same2. Public The generated Graph would be visible to ALL the project users.3. Click 'Save'.

Step 9)The graph would be added to the Analysis tree as shown below.

Business View GraphA business view graph involves only those project entity fields that represent information which is useful from a business perspective.Business views can either be based on single entities such as Requirement or Defects, or it can be based on more complex relationships between entities such as Defects with Linked Requirements/defects with linked tests.Though on a high level, both business view graph and entity graph look at the same, at this juncture let us understand basic different between entity graph and business view graph.Entity GraphBusiness View Graph

This graph is strictly associated with only one type of entity (defect or Requirement or Test) in ALMThis Graph is either based on single entity or based on relationship between defect and Requirement or defect and tests

The fields involved are those that are contained within that specific entity.The fields involved are those that represent useful information from a business perspective.

Step 1)Click '+' and Select 'Graph Wizard'.

Step 2)Select Business View Graph and click 'Next>'

Step 3)Select Defects from the Filter criteria and click 'Next>'.

Step 4)Use the current project data to generate the graph and click 'Next>' to continue.

Step 5)Let us filter based on Severity and click 'Next>'

Step 6)Enter the criteria for 'X-Axis' and Grouped By fields and Click 'Finish'

Step 7)The Graph is Generated based on the Criteria selected. Click on 'Add to Analysis Tree'.

Step 8)The save dialog appears for users to save the generated graph.1. Enter the Name of the Graph2. Select 'Private' or 'Public'3. Click 'Save'.

Step 9)The created graph is saved in Analysis Tree as shown below.

Quick Entity Graphs GenerationStep 1)The Entity Graph can also be generated without going through the Graph Wizard. A Quick Graph can be generated by clicking on 'New Graph' by clicking on '+' icon.

Step 2)The New Graph dialog is displayed. Select the Entity Graph Type Graph Name Click 'OK'.

Step 3)The Created Graph enables users to make changes to the Configuration based on their requirements. We have selected Defect Count on Y Axis and Grouped based on 'Status'.

Step 4)Click 'View' Tab to generate the Graph for the specified criteria.

Generating Excel Report Testers can also generate excel reports based on business views which reflect only those project entity fields that is useful from a business perspective. The reports are created and configured with in Microsoft Excel and then uploaded to the Analysis View module.Step 1)Click 'Add New' Button and select 'New Business View Excel Report'.

Step 2)Enter the report name and click 'OK'.

Step 3)Click 'Install Addin'.

Step 4)The Installation Status is displayed to the user as shown below.

Step 5)OpenMS Excel and one would find a new Tab by name 'HP ALM'. Select 'HP-ALM' and click 'Login'

Step 6)ALM Login Dialog opens up.1. Enter Login Name.2. Enter Password.3. Click 'Authenticate'.4. Select the Domain.5. Select the Project.6. Click 'Login'.

Step 7)Now,1. Click 'Add' Button.2. Add Worksheet Dialog Opens up. Select 'Defects' as we want to generate 'High' / 'Very High' and 'Critical' defects report.3. Click 'OK'

Step 7)The excel report is generated with all the defects list and user can configure the same.1. Click 'Filter' Tab from Worksheet configuration.2. Click 'Severity' Field.

Step 8)The 'Select Filter Condition' dialog opens up.1. Select the Filter condition2. Click 'OK'

Step 8)Now we need to save the same against the excel report that we have created.Click 'HP ALM' tab and click 'Save to ALM'.

Step 9)The 'Save Business View Excel Report' Dialog Opens up.1. Enter the Report Name2. Select the same report that we created in Step 2.3. Click 'Save'.

Step 10)Confirm Save Dialog box opens up. Click 'Yes' to Continue. This dialog pops up as user is trying to overwrite with the one that is already created.Note: The ALM asks for overwriting the existing excel report as we have selected the same report name that we have created in Step 2. In Step 2 the report was NOT configured and loaded but it was just a placeholder for the report. Only after performing this step the excel report is available for the user to generate and save in excel format.

Step 11)Now user can generate the report from ALM. Click 'Generate'.

Step 11)Now report displays based on the criteria set by the user.Note: User can get the updated report by regenerating the excel report, if there is an addition or deletion of defects or if there is a change in the severity of the defect.

Generating Project Report Project reports enable users to design and generate detailed reports containing information for a specific project. Users can also define sections and sub-sections each listing records of a specified ALM entity. Users can customize the layout and the template format for each section. The Project report can be generated as HTML, Microsoft Word, or PDF formats.Step 1)To Create a new project report, click '+' icon from Analysis Module and select 'New Project Report'.

Step 2)The new project Report Dialog box opens. Enter the Name of the Project and Click 'OK'.

Step 3)The changes are reflected in the screen as shown below1. The Project Report is created.2. Click 'Add Report Section Button.

Step 4)The add report section dialog is displayed.1. User has to enter the type of section that they would like to include2. Enter the name of the Section3. Click 'OK'.

Step 5)The Requirement section is now added to the report.

Step 6)Now we will add test report section.1. Click 'Add Report Section'.2. Select 'Type of Report' to be inserted from 'Add Report Section' dialog3. Enter the name of the report section.4. Click 'OK'.

Step 7)The report section with the name 'Tests' would be added as shown below.

Step 8)Similarly create a section for defects and the final report layout will be as shown below. Once added click 'Generate' button.

Step 9)The report would be generated by connecting to server.

Step 10)The project report would be generated as specified by the user. User can save the project report from the generated window. If the generated format is a doc or docx, it can be saved from MS word. If the selected file format is HTML, save it from the appropriate browser. If the generated report is in PDF format, save it from PDF reader.

All About Dashboard This module helps users to design a dashboard page by selecting and arranging graphs on the page based on their requirements. This module is very helpful for stakeholders/project managers to get a quick snapshot about the project status.Step 1)To Create a Dashboard page,1. Click Dashboard View2. Click 'New Dashboard Page' icon3. New Dashboard Page dialog opens. Enter Name of the Dashboard Page.4. Click 'OK'.

Step 2)Thecreated dashboard is displayed as shown below.1. The created Dashboard page2. Click 'Configuration'.3. Graph Tree is displayed from where user can select all the graphs4. Add it to the dashboard page by clicking on "