Level: Introductory Michael Kelly (Mike@MichaelDKelly.com), Consultant, www.MichaelDKelly.com
26 Dec 2006 IBM® Rational® Manual Tester is a manual test authoring and execution tool for testers and business analysts who want to improve the speed, breadth, and reliability of their manual testing efforts. It is integrated with IBM® Rational® ClearQuest®, and offers features such as script publishing to HTML, an Authoring Editor, a Test Log viewer, and the Rational Process Advisor toolset.
Introduction
IBM® Rational® Manual Tester is designed to promote test step reuse and reduce the impact of software change on manual test maintenance activities. It also supplies a rich text editor that supports image and file attachments to improve test readability. Finally, it assists with data entry and verification during test execution to reduce human error.
This article looks at some of the features in IBM Rational Manual Tester V7.0. Some of these features use examples created from testing Google Earth.
Download a trial version of Rational Manual Tester so you can try out the features I discuss in this article.
Editor’s Note
This article was written using IBM Rational Manual Tester V7.0.0, IBM Rational ClearQuest V7.0.0, Google Earth V4.0.2416 (beta), Microsoft Office Excel 2003 SP2, Mozilla Firefox 2.0, and Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2.
What’s new
IBM Rational Manual Tester Version 7.0 is full of new features designed to make it easier to use. From integration with IBM® Rational® ClearQuest® to the integration of guidance on the IBM® Rational Unified Process® (RUP®), Rational Manual Tester is focused on more efficient and effective usability. The following are key features included in Rational Manual Tester V7.0:
- Integration with ClearQuest
- Script publishing to HTML
- New Authoring Editor feature
- New Test Log viewer
- Integrated process guidance
In addition to these new features, there are other usability enhancements, including better support for drag-and-drop within the editor, the Reuse view, the Outline view, a New Properties view, and new icons.
Integration with ClearQuest
Rational Manual Tester is fully integrated with ClearQuest. If you have ClearQuest installed, you can submit, track, and resolve defects. You can also create defect reports, all from within Rational Manual Tester.
The ClearQuest mode (shown in Figure 1) includes the ClearQuest Query Results view, the ClearQuest Record Details view, and the ClearQuest Navigator. When you switch to the ClearQuest mode, you can see ClearQuest defect details and run ClearQuest queries. You can also perform connection and administration tasks in the ClearQuest mode.
When authoring or running a test, you can submit a defect to ClearQuest by clicking a toolbar button, or use the Defects tab in the Properties view to associate defects with a test script during authoring or execution. In addition, as shown in the Test Log viewer section following, you can use the Test Log viewer to associate defects with a test log using the record number. You use the ClearQuest Field Mappings page of the Preferences dialog box to map manual testing data to fields in ClearQuest. Data is copied automatically when you create a defect record from within the manual testing application.
Figure 1. Illustration of ClearQuest integration in Rational Manual Tester
Script publishing to HTML
With Rational Manual Tester V7, you can publish manual test scripts to HTML files for easy viewing by others. This has a couple of advantages. First, anyone on the team can view the test script in a Web browser without the need for any special software (also very nice for remote viewing). In addition, since the published script is HTML, you can now parse your test scripts using a scripting language (this is not really an option with the traditional .rmt files). This allows you to harvest data and information from your manual test scripts programmatically, as well as use your manual test scripts in some forms of automation.
To publish manual test scripts in HTML format, follow these steps.
- Navigate to the Recent Files view.
- Select the files that you want to publish.
- Right-click them, and then click Publish Test Script.
- On the other hand, if you want to publish the script that you currently have open in the Authoring Editor, click File > Publish Test Script on the main menu.
You can publish in two output types: Editable (appropriate for editing in any editor) or Interactive (appropriate for viewing in a Web browser). If you select Editable, you can include properties and attachments in the output by selecting With Properties and Attachments.
Figure 2 shows an example script for Google Earth that has been published.
Figure 2. Sample published script displayed in Mozilla Firefox
New Authoring Editor
The Authoring Editor (the main screen for creating and updating scripts) supports using undo and redo, dragging items to and from scripts, and pasting tables into your scripts.
When you cut or copy all or part of a statement, the Authoring Editor acts as most text editors do:
- To cut and paste a statement, select the text, press Ctrl+X, move the insertion point to the correct location, and then press Ctrl+V (or you can drag the selected text to a new location with your mouse).
- To copy and paste a statement, select the text, press Ctrl+C, move the insertion point to the correct location, and then press Ctrl+V (or you can press and hold the Ctrl key and drag the selected text to a new location with the mouse).
- You can undo a change by pressing Ctrl+Z. Multiple levels of undo are supported.
- You can redo the most recent undo operation by pressing Ctrl+Y.
To include a table, copy data in a table format that you have developed in an editor (such as Microsoft® Word or Microsoft® Excel), and paste it into a statement in the Authoring Editor. You can edit the contents of the table and format the text in each cell. When you run a script with tables, the table cells are displayed in plain text.
For example, copy the table shown in Figure 3 from Microsoft Excel.
Figure 3. Search items and top results in Google Earth for Chicago IL
Next, paste it in the Authoring Editor, and you get the following (Figure 4):
Figure 4. Search items table displayed in Rational Manual Tester
You can edit the contents of the table and format the text in each cell. When you run a script with tables, the table cells are displayed in plain text.
New Test Log viewer
The Test Log viewer has been updated, with features including defect-tracking system integration and the ability to attach external files, such as data or screen shots.
Attachments
Attachments are added while running a test, and are carried forward into the test log. When you open the test log in the Test Log viewer, the attachment is a property of the test statement that was selected when you added the attachment. To see the attachment, click the Events tab and select the statement. The attachment is shown under Advanced Properties, and you can open or save it from there.
ClearQuest records
You can use the Test Log viewer (Figure 5) to associate defects with a test log using the record number. Associated defects are conveniently displayed in the test log, and are directly linked to ClearQuest. You can also submit a ClearQuest defect while you are in the Test Log viewer. The defect record numbers are then displayed in the test log.
Figure 5. Test Log viewer showing ClearQuest integration and attachments under Extended Properties
Integrated process guidance
With Rational Manual Tester V7, you can obtain process guidance with a set of integrated features and content known as Rational Process Advisor (basically the RUP methodology). Rational Process Advisor captures many of the common practices in modern software development, and presents them in a form suitable for a wide range of projects and organizations. The two easiest ways to access this information are the Process Advisor view and the Process Browser window.
The Process Advisor view
To launch the Process Advisor view for the first time, select Help > Process Advisor. You should see the view (Figure 6) appear at the bottom of your workspace (it may take some time to load the first time).
Figure 6. The Process Advisor view
The Process Advisor view provides contextual process guidance based on the task at hand. Clicking a link opens the topic content in the Process Browser window. I’ve found the Search feature to be quite powerful as well.
The Process Browser window
To launch the Process Browser window shown in Figure 7, select Help > Process Browser (or you can select a topic in the Process Advisor view).
Figure 7. The Process Browser window
The Process Browser window displays the full set of process content from the installed process configuration, and provides navigation to topics with the use of three tabs: Process Views, Search Results, and Index. If you are familiar with the Rational Unified Process Website that used to ship with IBM Rational products, the Process Browser should be familiar to you.
A process view is the hierarchical set of process elements represented in and displayed by the process content tree in the view pane, and associated with a particular role or major category.
Next steps
IBM Rational Manual Tester is a fairly easy tool to jump into and start working with, but don't let that fool you into thinking there’s not a lot of value in taking the time to learn more. There are some features and integration points lurking around in there that are good to know about. Once you've used the tool for a bit, be sure you take the time to learn some of the finer points. Be sure to read "Hello World, Part 8: Rational Manual Tester" which is one of the tutorials in the Hello World series, which provides high-level overviews of IBM software products. The tutorial focuses on Manual Tester V7 and includes practical exercises that show you how to create robust and modular manual tests, save time with automated data entry, and reduce manual test errors with automated data comparison. Additional articles that can be found in the Resources section. Lastly, take the time to participate in the Manual Testing forum on developerWorks.
Resources Learn
Get products and technologies
Discuss
About the author  | | | Michael Kelly is currently an independent consultant and provides custom training in the IBM Rational testing tools. He consults, writes, and speaks on topics in software testing. He is currently serving as the Program Director for the Indianapolis Quality Assurance Association and is a Director at Large for the Association for Software Testing. He can be reached by email at Mike@MichaelDKelly.com.
|
Rate this page
| 
