Objectives

The new learning objectives of this exercise are to create a repository connection to a TestRail repository on the Syndeia Web Dashboard (SWD), view the repository including properties, relations and search, and create a reference connection.

Preparation

This exercise assumes the student has

·         Syndeia Cloud 3.4 installed with a valid user account,

·         A valid user account to a TestRail repository, and

·         A valid user account to at least one other online repository, e.g. JIRA.

The user can use any TestRail repository they have available.  Because the content of your TestRail repository will be different, the specific examples in the following exercise instructions are only a guide and example for your actions. It is generally advisable to carry out these exercises in a non-production repository, a “sandbox”, set up for training and practice purposes.

See Video 1.9 for an introduction to the Syndeia Web Dashboard.

Background – TestRail

As envisioned by Intercax, the Digital Thread is composed of inter-model connections between models in different repositories, which Syndeia creates and manages, and intra-model connections between elements in the same repository, which the individual tool creates and manages. As of Syndeia release 3.4, the Syndeia Web Dashboard can extract and display some model information from the TestRail repository. Figure 1 shows a tree view of this information, with labels identifying the TestRail element types. The label color coding indicates how the TestRail element type is mapped to the Syndeia Cloud element types: Repository (green), Container (red), and Artifact (blue).

In the case of the Syndeia TestRail integration, the Relations table (Step 7) and the Digital Thread Explorer (Step 9 onwards) can display some intra-model connection types between Artifacts, listed in Table 1, as well as inter-model connections. The intra-model connections are not permanently part of the Syndeia Cloud graph; they are extracted and displayed as needed.

This information is important in formulating and interpreting Syndeia graph queries. A more complete diagram of the TestRail data model as it is understood by Syndeia is available through the web dashboard help menu on the left.

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Figure 1 Tree view of TestRail repository

Exercise

1. Log on to the Syndeia Cloud Web Dashboard (see Video 1.9) and click on the Repositories icon on the left border (Figure 2).
   
   

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   Figure 2 SWD Repositories page (initial) – Repositories icon outlined in red
   
   

2. If no repository connection to TestRail is available, select TestRail in the left column, then click the + icon at the top of the column. Complete the form and click Create (Figure 3).
   
   

   Figure 3 Adding a TestRail repository connection
   
   

3. If a TestRail repository connection already appears under TestRail, but you need to add your own access credential, select the TestRail repository and click the Gear icon at the top of the column. Complete username and password and click Update (Figure 4).
   
   

   Figure 4 Updating TestRail repository info
   
   

4. Your repository should load. Expand it to show some of the TestRail artifacts, as in Figure 5. See Background section for discussion of TestRail artifact types.
   
   

   Figure 5 Viewing TestRail repository contents on Repositories page
   
   

5. On the right border, there are three icons, labeled Details, Relations and Search. Select a TestRail element in the Tree View column (test run MLF FS 01 in our example) and click on the Details icon. A Detail list appears to the right as in Figure 6. Scroll down and review the attributes of the TestRail element that are available to Syndeia 3.4, including name, url and externalKey, which is the unique identifier in the TestRail repository. Click the Details icon again to close the list.
   
   

   Figure 6  SWD Repositories page, Details list (Details icon highlighted in red)
   
   

6. Click the Search icon on the right.
   
   

   1. In the Search window, select Container Search or Artifact Search from the Select type pull down menu. If Container Search (TestRail projects) is selected, fill in the Query field with a text string from the Project name and click Search.
      
      

   2. If Artifact Search is selected, select the TestRail Project to be searched from the Container pull-down menu, select the artifact type to be searched from the Select artifact type pull-down menu, enter a text string in the Query field and click Search. In our example, we entered Autonomous Vehicle for Container, CASE for artifact type, and Sensor for Query. The result(s) of the search are shown on the right, as in Figure 7.
      
      

   3. Click the Search icon again to close the Search window.
      
      

      Figure 7  SWD Repositories page, Search feature (Search icon and search result highlighted in red)
      
      

7. Select a TestRail element in the Tree View column (MLF VO 01 test run in our example) and click on the Relations icon on the right.
   
   

   1. In the Relations window (Figure 8), you will see a list of Inter-model relations, from the selected TestRail item to other non-TestRail models, and a list of Intra-model relations, from the selected TestRail element to other TestRail elements in the same TestRail repository. In this example, there is one Inter-model relation, to a GitHub branch, and multiple TestRail elements, including milestones, tests and test suites.
      
      

      Figure 8  SWD Repositories page, Relations lists (Relations and Add icons highlighted in red)
      
      

8. To create a reference connection between the selected TestRail item and an element in another repository, click on the + (Add) icon highlighted in Figure 8. A Create Reference Relationships window will appear as in Figure 9.
   
   

   1. At the top, either select an existing Syndeia project to save the connection within (DZSB13 in our example) or create a new project. See Video 1.5 on creating Syndeia projects for further discussion.
      
      

   2. Under Select target artifact, choose the other repository to which the new connection will be made. In our example this is Jama @ Intercax.
      
      

   3. If you have valid access to this repository, its contents will appear at the bottom of the window. Scroll down to the element that will be the target of the new connection and click the checkbox beside it. This is Jama part 677-HiResMap Requirements in our example.
      
      

   4. Each Syndeia connection has a directionality. The Select direction pull down menu higher up in the window allows the directionality to be set as desired before the connection is made.
      
      

   5. Click on the Create Reference Connection button at the bottom. The new connection should appear in the Inter-model list after the Reload icon is clicked.
      
      

   6. Click the Relations icon again to close the Relations window.
      
      Note: In Syndeia release 3.4, it is not possible to create Model Transform inter-model connections or intra-model connections through the SWD. Some of those use cases will be added in future releases.
      
      

      Figure 9  SWD Create Reference Relationship window
      
      

9. The Digital Thread Explorer or DTE (Figure 10 - Figure 12) provides interactive visualization of inter-model and intra-model connections in a graph format. To launch DTE, right-click an item in the Tree View and choose Graph View. In our example, this is a TestRail Test Run, MLF VO 01. Initially, it appears as a single node in the Graph View, as in Figure 10.
   
   

   Figure 10  DTE, stage 1
   
   

10. Click on the node (it will show a black border when selected), right-click on it and choose Expand. If this element has any connections, they should appear as in Figure 11. In our example, the initial element had five intra-model connections to other TestRail elements (green circles) and two inter-model connections, to a Jama requirement (orange) and a GitHub branch (dark blue).
    
    

    Figure 11  DTE, stage 1
    
    

11. TestRail elements in either the Graph View or the Tree View offer direct access to that element in the TestRail repository. If I right-click on MLF VO 01 in the diagram in Figure 12 and choose More Details, my browser will open to the same element in TestRail as in Figure 13 (I may be required to log-in to TestRail first).
    
    

    Figure 13  TestRail browser interface launched from Syndeia Web Dashboard