Improving Software Quality with Microsoft Test Manager, Test Professional, Visual Studio and TFS

TFS Admin Reports delivered to your inbox daily

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 05:37:00 +0000

I came across a TFS cube error while troubleshooting another issue that was reported to me. Now if every TFS Admin had the TFS Admin Reports emailed to them daily, then they would have seen the cube status error and responded accordingly.

It's really easy to setup Reporting Services to automatically email you the TFS Admin reports so that you are proactively managing the TFS server.

Navigate to Microsoft SQL Server > Configuration Tools > Reporting Services Configuration Manager
Fill out the Sender Address and SMTP Server
Go to the each one of the TFS Admin Reports and select Subscribe
Enter your email address and time of day you would like to have your report emailed.
The TFS Admin Reports will be emailed to you (now if you set up an Outlook rule and ignore these emails, it kinda defeats the purpose of proactively managing the TFS server, just saying)

BTW, this also works for any of your other TFS SSRS reports that you would like automatically emailed out .

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet

Web Test Management & Runner coming to a browser near you

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 07:24:00 +0000

The most exciting part of the ALM Summit was when Brian Harry announced that they were releasing Web Test Management and Runner. It was a great moment when the audience clapped for joy!!

This is currently in CTP(Consumer Test Preview) for TFS 2012, but here's the sneak peak. Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the genius simplicity to connect to a web based app and get some serious work done.

The Test Plan and Test Run menus are co-located - this is what super tester's need to be efficient!

Double-click to edit the Test Case work item or right mouse click to Open Test Case.

The Test Runner displays all actions/expected results so that you can execute and Pass/Fail test steps.

I love that the Test Runner automatically uses my test steps to create the bug and also indicates the failure point in red (for those developers who don't read thru the entire bug - you know who you are). Just enter a Title, Assign it to a developer to fix it, select Severity and Save.

Take a look at all the testing that has been completed and give yourself a pat on the back!

Stay tuned more to come!

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet

NEW TFS Tester Power Tool - Auto Create Test Cases from PBI Acceptance Criteria

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 04:34:00 +0000

Happy New Year everyone! I really can't think of better way to ring in the new year than with another tool to help MTM testers Auto Create Test Cases from PBI Acceptance Criteria(ok maybe there are some other ways, but another year passes and it's still so hard not to think like a geek).

TFS users put a lot of great information in the Acceptance Criteria field of the Product Backlog Item to ensure that the PBI meets a certain level of quality. Usually tester's then create test cases manually(boo!) so that they can report on the testing of that PBI. Well that's all until today, because now there is a tool that auto creates test cases efficiently so that you can spend more time on the most valuable activity - TESTING!

I am releasing this as a Beta here TFS Tester Power Tool - Auto Create Test Cases from Acceptance Criteria, because I would like to hear what you think and any improvements that could be made drop me a line in the comments.

Here's how it works:

Click on Connect to TFS Team Project
Select Project Collection and Team Project
Find Query (e.g. "PBI Sprint 1")
Double-click to Run Query
The Query Results of PBI's will be displayed on the right
Enter Delimiter (e.g. "-"). The delimiter is used to separate the acceptance criteria and create multiple test cases.
Click on Create Test Cases and wait for the AnnaBots, I mean tool to do all the hard work for you.
Viola test cases were automatically created and linked to the PBI!
The resulting test case looks like this with the Acceptance Criteria in the Title and Expected Result field and the PBI in the Action.
The resulting PBI has the 2 test cases automatically linked.

Enjoy!

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet

Hello TFS Taskboad on the Microsoft Surface - Goodbye Post-It Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 03:10:00 +0000

With the Microsoft Surface out I decided to give the drag and drop features of the TFS 2012 taskboard a whirl. What's great about this is that you can use the Surface for your stand-up meetings and connect it to a projector via VGA or HDMI(sold seperately). Now that's what I call a high tech stand-up meeting!

Connected to TFS

Dragging my tasks from New to Active on the TFS taskboard

So awesome that I can update my work item status with the swipe of a finger

It's neat that TFS has such a portable rich client and the data stored in a database where you can collaboratively work together.

Try to do that with your post-it notes :)

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet

Exploratory Testing - What's new for Microsoft Test Manager 2012 RTM Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 06:00:00 +0000

So the third part of this series of What's New in MTM 2012 is Exploratory Testing.

Now you are probably thinking automate writing my test cases, I wish. Seriously this is one of the best features introduced in MTM 2012.

Now let's get your MTM robot to work writing your test cases by capturing your steps while you are testing. In case your wondering I call my robots "Annabots".

Add a Requirement to your Test Plan
Once your Requirement is in your Test Plan, right mouse click and select Explore requirement

Start your testing
After seeing the commercials on TV, I was testing the Bing search engine to see if I could find my blog.
Then click on Create test case

Test case automagically created
My Annabots hard at work automatically captured my steps while I was testing and inserted them into a test case work item - so awesome! All I had to do was add a title and Save.

Click on Change steps

By default only the last 10 actions display. You can click on Change steps button to display and select/unselect the additional steps you would like to see in your test case.

To change the default number of actions captured
Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 11.0\Common7\IDE\mtm.exe.config
Look for the following line <add key="DefaultNumberOfActions" value="20"/>

Talk about efficient, I think I need an Annabot clone army :)

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet

Planning Tests - What's new for Microsoft Test Manager 2012 RTM Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 05:55:00 +0000

So the second part in this series of What's New in MTM 2012 is Test Planning improvements.

Add test plan
There is a new dialog that allows you to enter in the test Plan name, Area path and Iteration.

Test Plan Results
This is a great new feature that displays Test Plan results at the speed of light - ok maybe it's more like real time.

Filter the Test Plan Results by Test Suites.

This is a good way to see how your End-to-end tests are going or other test suites.

Filter the Test Plan Results by Test Configurations.

This is a good way to see how what test results are like for a particular browser and OS.

Filter the Test Result Details by Tester

This is a good way to see what an individual tester's detailed test results are like.

Filter the Test Result Details by Test Suite

This is a good way to see the detailed results of individual test suites.

Whew that was a lot of work, I'm all filtered out.

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet

UI/Navigation - What's new for Microsoft Test Manager 2012 RTM Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 04:44:00 +0000

There are so many changes that have been introduced with Microsoft Test Manager 2012, I have decided to do a series of blog posts to go over the details.

So the first part in this series of What's New in MTM 2012 is UI/Navigation improvements.

Icons
If you can't tell which icon is for Microsoft Test Manager 2012, don't worry neither can I especially with my horrible old lady vision. All joking aside though I put the Microsoft Test Manager icons next to the appropriate version of Visual Studio to distinguish the difference(aren't I clever).

Microsoft Test Manager 2010 next to Visual Studio 2010

Microsoft Test Manager 2012 next to Visual Studio 2012

Modern UI Splash Screen
Modern UI = lack of color in this case. Doesn't it make everything feel shiny, new and welcoming.

Test Plan dialog navigation shortcuts
If you have accumulated a long list of test plans, you can use type ahead. If you press 'Enter' on the selected plan it even opens the plan up for you.

Team Project Hyperlink
Shortcut that allows you to switch to another TFS team project quickly.

Test Plan Hyperlink
Shortcut that allows you to switch to another Test Plan quickly.

Close icons on all MTM screens and dialogs
Hooray for an easy way to close things!

Test Case Work Item WPF screen meets Modern UI
Ever wondered what a WPF and Modern UI child would look like - well here you go. I asked how much it would cost to have a colored version and well the product team just laughed. :(

Test Case Work Item Modern UI screen
Multi-line steps(Alt+Enter), Rich text formatting, and a re-sizable splitter. Now like me you can have the last laugh by adding rich text color to this Modern UI.

Build reports and changesets are easily accessible hyperlinks from the Assign Build tab
Now that's the beauty of an integrated system like TFS. In a click you'll know all the details about the build and changeset(developer checked-in files).

Build reports and changesets are easily accessible hyperlinks from the Recommended Tests tab
Now that's the beauty of an integrated system like TFS. In a click you'll know all the details about the build and changeset(developer checked-in files)

Assign Testers copy functionality
The assign tester's dropdown now allows you to copy and paste the value into another dropdown. Watchout super copying wiz on the way.

Configurations dropdown
Wondering where the columns of configurations disappeared to. Configurations are now simply located in a multi-select dropdown.

Consistent context switching between Plan menu & Test menu
If you select a test suite in the Plan menu, then switch to the Test menu - the same item is selected. It's almost as if the tool could read my mind.

Copy Link
This creates a pasteable(is that even a word?) special MTM link that looks like this.
mtm://vsalm:8080/tfs/tailspintoyscollection/p:Tailspin%20Toys/testing/workitem/open?id=40

You can share this link and then paste it in Windows Explorer, it will open up that item automagically.

Test menu has moved tabs and added new ones
The Verify Bugs tab moved and Exploratory tabs were added.

Build info moved to the right
It used to be right above the test suites panel.

View dropdowns
A dropdown is much nicer way to display these options.

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet

TFS 2012 Tester Power Tools available

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:18:00 +0000

Click here to download the latest version TFS 2012 Tester Power Tool

12.0 Updates

Added Copy Shared Steps option
Re-designed UI with Telerik controls and Metro theme - Thanks Telerik!
Any errors you may experience with the tool will generate an email to me

Instructions

Click on Connect to TFS Team Project
Select Project Collection and Team Project
Find Query (e.g. "Test Cases Iteration 1")
Double-click to Run Query
The Query Results will display on the right
Select Options - Copy Options are now a simple toggle on(Aqua color) and toggle off(White color). By default all the options are turned on.
- Copy Links - When the option is checked the tool will copy links. When the option is unchecked the tool will not copy links.
- Copy Attachments - When the option is checked the tool will copy attachments. When the option is unchecked the tool will not copy attachments.
- Copy Shared Steps - When the option is checked the tool will copy shared steps work item and update any copied test cases referencing the newly created shared steps work item. When the option is unchecked the tool will keep the reference to the original shared step.
Select Target Iteration for the release you would like to copy the test cases to (e.g. "Iteration 2)
Click Copy Test Cases
You will then receive a confirmation "Copied 2 Test Cases Successfully"
Now I have copied all the Test Cases I need for Iteration 2
When you create a query for Test Cases Iteration 2 you will see
- A newly generated Work Item ID
- The Iteration Path has been updated to Target Iteration

2012 How to Install Microsoft Visual Studio Test Professional 2012 aka Microsoft Test Manager 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:53:00 +0000

If you are interested in how to install Microsoft Test Manager 2012, I have created a list of tools and instructions to get you up and running. In 2012, the product test team has made great improvements in this area by including the Expression Encoder, Feature Pack 2, Team Explorer in the Test Professional install. This makes it easier than ever to install which is a win for everyone. Maybe one day Test Scribe will be included in the product install - a girl can dream :)

As a good tester, I have also included steps on how to verify the installation of all these tools. Enjoy!

Virtual Clone Drive

Download Virtual Clone Drive(freeware) http://www.slysoft.com/en/download.html
This will allow you to right mouse click on any ISO to mount it to a virtual drive letter for installation

Microsoft Visual Studio Test Professional installs Microsoft Test Manager & Visual Studio Team Explorer

Login into MSDN
Download Visual Studio Test Professional ISO from MSDN https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/subscriptions/securedownloads/#FileId=50088
OR Download Test Professional trial ISO from here(Expand Test Professional and select Download Now next to the CD icon) http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/eng#downloads+d-test-professional
Right mouse click on ISO and Mount ISO to drive letter
Go to mounted drive letter and run VS_TestProfessional.exe
You will be prompted to restart
Verify Installation:

Go to Start menu > All Programs > Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 > Microsoft Test Manager 2010
Go to Start menu > All Programs > Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 > Visual Studio 2012 (this is actually Team Explorer if you are just installing Test Professional)

Test Scribe allows you to print Microsoft Test Manager Test Plans and Test Runs

Download Test Scribe http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/9975b601-beca-4553-b4cc-f6d34ab6394e
Run TestScribe_x86.msi
Verify Installation:

Go to Start menu > All Programs > Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 > Microsoft Test Manager 2012
Click on the Testing Center dropdown
Select Tools from the dropdown
You will see Test Plan Summary and Test Run Summary available

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet

Updated TFS 2010 Tester Power Tool to copy shared steps!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 00:21:00 +0000

I have made some exciting new changes to the TFS 2010 Tester Power Tool with the help of my awesome colleague Colin Dembovsky. Click here to download the latest version TFS 2010 Tester Power Tool

10.6 Updates

Added Copy Shared Steps option
Re-designed UI with Telerik controls and Metro theme - Thanks Telerik!
Any errors you may experience with the tool will generate an email to me

In the example below I am copying my Test Cases from Iteration 1 to Iteration 2.

Click on Connect to TFS Team Project
Select Project Collection and Team Project
Find Query (e.g. "Test Cases Iteration 1")
Double-click to Run Query
The Query Results will display on the right
Select Options - Copy Options are now a simple toggle on(Aqua color) and toggle off(White color). By default all the options are turned on.
- Copy Links - When the option is checked the tool will copy links. When the option is unchecked the tool will not copy links.
- Copy Attachments - When the option is checked the tool will copy attachments. When the option is unchecked the tool will not copy attachments.
- Copy Shared Steps - When the option is checked the tool will copy shared steps work item and update any copied test cases referencing the newly created shared steps work item. When the option is unchecked the tool will keep the reference to the original shared step.
Select Target Iteration for the release you would like to copy the test cases to (e.g. "Iteration 2)
Click Copy Test Cases
You will then receive a confirmation "Copied 2 Test Cases Successfully"
Now I have copied all the Test Cases I need for Iteration 2
When you create a query for Test Cases Iteration 2 you will see
- A newly generated Work Item ID
- The Iteration Path has been updated to Target Iteration

Anna Russo
Application Lifecycle Management Consultant
Imaginet | Email

Community TFS Reports - Test Plan Status Report for Microsoft Test Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:53:00 +0000

My colleague Steve St. Jean has done a great job with a newly released Test Plan Status report available on codeplex http://communitytfsreports.codeplex.com

"The Test Plan Status is a report that extends the functionality found in the Test tab of Microsoft Test Manager. While Test Manager can show you the completion status of the selected Test Suite, it does not show roll-up information when you have a hierarchy of suites. This report is intended to fill that gap."

How to Install Report http://communitytfsreports.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=Report%20Installation&referringTitle=Documentation

Test Plan Status Report http://communitytfsreports.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=Test%20Plan%20Status%20Report&referringTitle=Documentation

I have also submitted a report request for a Test Case Risk Report http://communitytfsreports.codeplex.com/workitem/32986 The most common problem I see today in QA is that when development teams go over schedule, regression testing time is shortened to whatever time is left in order to "stay on schedule". What that says to me is that time is valued over quality. Although it is not an ideal scenario, it is very realistic and the risk should be mitigated with a plan. Testers need valuable information of test risk so that important decisions can be made to address the constraint of time.

The Test Case Risk Report would:
• Identify the riskiest test cases according to high test failure and highest bug severity
• Identify the total execution time needed for regression testing of riskiest test cases
• Identify test cases that can be removed from test plans because they bring less value of cost than maintainence

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet

Microsoft Visual Studio ALM MVP 2012 Award

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:50:00 +0000

I was honored with an exciting email that I received Microsoft's Visual Studio ALM MVP Award!!

Dear Anna Russo,

Congratulations! We are pleased to present you with the 2012 Microsoft® MVP Award! This award is given to exceptional technical community leaders who actively share their high quality, real world expertise with others. We appreciate your outstanding contributions in Visual Studio ALM technical communities during the past year.
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Anna.Russo

I want to thank the people at Microsoft that nominated me and for those who have supported me along the way.

When I first saw TFS 2005, I was very passionate and could clearly see the potential that the tool could provide to software development organizations. At the time I was an Automation Technical Lead and a lot of people could not understand my interest in such a tool. It's pretty simple, TFS fulfills an organizational goal that I was trying to achieve with automation which is improving software quality.

It is amazing to me that I get to work on a product that I love and the extraordinary ALM MVP community that I am part of. We are all so passionate and on a geek mission to serve our community.

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet | Email

SQE STAREAST 2012 - Microsoft Test Manager Training in Orlando, FL

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:54:00 +0000

Next week I will be at one of the largest testing conferences in Orlando, FL Software Quality Engineering - StarEast. http://www.sqe.com/StarEast/Training/Default.aspx?training=VTS

I am very passionate about testing so this is one my favorite events of the year where I meet a lot of amazing testers to geek out with : )

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet | Email

How to report a Microsoft Test Manager bug

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:10:00 +0000

While evaluating the Beta version of MTM 11 I came across a bug. I will walk you through the steps of how I reported this bug to Microsoft.

Navigate to https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/CreateFeedbackForm.aspx?FeedbackFormConfigurationID=4861&FeedbackType=1
Sign in with your Windows Live ID
Enter the Title with the (product name version - problem) "Microsoft Test Manager Beta 11 - Unable to start the application due to the following error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object"
Below is a screenshot of the error I received
Select Public
If it is a Blocking Issue select the checkbox
Enter a detailed description
Select Visual Studio/Silverlight/Tooling Version. I am selecting Visual Studio 11 Beta. (FYI Microsoft Test Manager is part of the Visual Studio family)
Select a category if is applicable
Enter Steps to reproduce
Select Product Language
Select Operating System
Enter Actual Results
Enter Expected Results
Click on Submit
You will receive the following screen confirming your bug has been filed. A couple things to note:

You can vote on bugs filed by others as important(on the left by clicking on the up arrow)
You can search for your bug by ID
You can state that you can reproduce this bug as well(on the right where it states "I can too")

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet | Email

Hotfix for Expected Results not displaying in Microsoft Test Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 04:35:00 +0000

I'm happy to announce that Microsoft has publicly released a hotfix for the expected results not displaying in Microsoft Test Manager. I previously blogged about Workaround for Problem with Visual Studio 2010 SP1 TFS Compatibility GDR for Microsoft Test Manager, but a fix is much better.

Prerequisite #1 is "Visual Studio 2010 SP1" version KB983509 which can be downloaded/installed from here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=75568aa6-8107-475d-948a-ef22627e57a5
Prerequisite #2 is "Visual Studio 2010 SP1 TFS Compatibility GDR" version KB2581206 which can be downloaded/installed from here http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=212065&clcid=0x409
Go to http://support.microsoft.com/hotfix/KBHotfix.aspx?kbnum=2656136&kbln=en-us for this hotfix version KB2656136
Click on "Show hotfixes for all platforms and languages" and the hotfix checkbox will appear
Select the hotfix checkbox as shown below
Fill out the information to Request hotfix by email
Click on Request hotfix button
You will receive an email. Scroll down all the way to the bottom and you will see the download link for the hotfix.
There is a zipped file "443183_intl_i386_zip.exe" which will extract the executable
Run the "VS10SP1-KB2656136-x86.exe" and follow the instructions on the installer
You will be asked to restart your computer in order for the installation to be complete

Hope that helps,

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet | Email

New version of TFS Tester Power Tool - Bulk Copy Test Cases is now available!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:09:00 +0000

Happy New Year everyone! I can't think of better way to ring in the new year than with a new version of the Bulk Copy Test Cases Tool(ok maybe there are some other ways, but it's so hard not to think like a geek).

When you copy work items in TFS the default behavior is that it does not copy attachments, however, if you have attachments as part of your test case it makes sense to want that info copied over. So I have added a Copy Attachments option to the tool.

Another default behavior of copying work items in TFS is to Copy Links, which is most cases is helpful to retain the traceability to the original test case. There are scenarios where tester's are copying the test cases a lot and the links start to get out of hand. To solve this particular problem you can uncheck the Copy Links option.

Click here to download the new version Bulk Copy Test Cases Tool

Select Options

Copy Links - When the option is checked the tool will copy links. When the option is unchecked the tool will not copy links.
Copy Attachments - When the option is checked the tool will copy attachments. When the option is unchecked the tool will not copy attachments.

Enjoy!

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet | Email

Workaround for Problem with Visual Studio 2010 SP1 TFS Compatibility GDR for Microsoft Test Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:40:00 +0000

Although there are great enhancements included in Visual Studio 2010 SP1 TFS Compatibility GDR for Microsoft Test Manager, there has been a problem discovered with the expected results not displaying in the Test Runner as displayed below. This root cause of this problem is from copying and pasting the expected result into the test steps.

If you experience this problem, for now this is the workaround to fix this. I will update this blog when Microsoft releases a fix for this issue.

Open your test case

Edit the expected results test step by adding a space
Save the test case.

You will then see the expected results displayed in the Test Runner.

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet | Email

Happy Holidays Everyone!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:33:00 +0000

Wishing everyone the most wonderful holidays! In California, Santa can be found surfing at the beach during the day : )

Bulk Copy Test Cases Tool for Microsoft Test Manager & TFS

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 03:01:00 +0000

A while ago I had written a blog post Microsoft Test Manager Test Case Versioning on how to manage Test Cases over multiple releases which required you to manually copy test cases individually.

Now there is a tool to help with the bulk copying of Test Cases and updates the Iteration field at the same time. In the example below I am copying my Test Cases from Iteration 1 to Iteration 2.

Click here to download the tool Bulk Copy Test Cases Tool

Click on Connect to TFS Team Project
Select Project Collection and Team Project
Find Query (e.g. "Test Cases Iteration 1")
Double-click to Run Query
The Query Results will display on the right
Select Options

Copy Links - When the option is checked the tool will copy links. When the option is unchecked the tool will not copy links.
Copy Attachments - When the option is checked the tool will copy attachments. When the option is unchecked the tool will not copy attachments.

Select Target Iteration for the release you would like to copy the test cases to (e.g. "Iteration 2)
Click Copy Test Cases
You will then receive a confirmation "Completed Copying Test Cases"
Now I have copied all the Test Cases I need for Iteration 2
When you create a query for Test Cases Iteration 2 you will see

A newly generated Work Item ID
The Iteration Path has been updated to Target Iteration

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet | Email

QTP TFS Generic Test Integration

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:22:00 +0000

In Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 there is a Generic Test type that allows you to integrate with automation tools like QTP. I have created a pretty simple solution that allows you to use your existing QTP automation scripts within the Microsoft Visual Studio testing framework and here's a sample below. The key part of this solution is transforming HP's QTP format to Microsoft’s Generic Test format so that you can publish the results to TFS. The added benefit of this integration is that you can also use TFS for bug tracking and more.

Download/Unzip QTP_TFSGenericTest folder to the C drive
The contents of the C:\QTP_TFSGenericTest folder look like below

QTPResults folder - This will store the QTP result files
QTPTFSGenericSolution folder - This is the VS Solution with the Generic Test
TFSGenericTestResults folder - This will store the transformed TFS Generic Test results file
QTP.vbs - This is the main script that will execute QTP and transform the results file.

Right-mouse click on the QTP.vbs file > select Edit

Replace the highlighted value below with the path of your QTP test
Save the QTP.vbs

Navigate to C:\QTP_TFSGenericTest\QTPTFSGenericSolution

Open the QTPTFSGenericSolution.sln(You will need Visual Studio 2010 to open this file)

Double-click the QTPTFS.GenericTest

The Generic Test will open and you will see the following below

Navigate to the Test menu > Windows > Test View

Click on the Run button as highlighted below

You will then see the results of your Generic Test running a QTP script, in my case it Passed!

You can download the solution here QTP_TFSGenericTest.zip

Each version of QTP will require a different transform file so if you would like more info, contact me directly.

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet | Email

Visual Studio 2010 SP1 TFS Compatibility GDR for Microsoft Test Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:29:00 +0000

Visual Studio 2010 SP1 TFS Compatibility GDR for Microsoft Test Manager improvements:

Most testers have been accustomed to having multi-line support in Excel for managing their test cases. So it's exciting that now Microsoft Test Manager supports multi-line test steps with ALT+ENTER(just like in Excel!).
If you are in Microsoft Test Manager and have found that the Test Steps view is limiting, that has now changed. Once you have Visual Studio 2010 SP1 and the GDR installed you will see that the number of Test Steps that you view at once has increased!

Visual Studio 2010 SP1 TFS Compatibility GDR for Microsoft Test Manager installation:

The prerequisite is Visual Studio 2010 SP1 which can be downloaded/installed from here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=75568aa6-8107-475d-948a-ef22627e57a5
You will need to download/install "Visual Studio 2010 SP1 TFS Compatibility GDR" from here http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=212065&clcid=0x409

You can have multiple lines for Actions or Expected Results in your Test Steps and it will look like below.

In the Test Runner the multiple lines will look like this below

Before the GDR, note that I can only view 13 steps

After the GDR, now I can view 23 steps by using the scroll bar!

Anna Russo

Application Lifecycle Management Consultant

Imaginet | Email

Application Quality with Visual Studio 2010 at the SCQAA-SF

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:18:00 +0000

I was invited to co-present a session “Application Quality with Visual Studio 2010” with William Salazar at the SCQAA-SF "SCQAA San Fernando Valley enables members to share quality practices, principles, concepts, ideas, and methods through meetings, seminars, workshops and networking events. All IT professionals will enjoy this group and earn PMI PDUs and QAI recertification credit. Join us and help lead the way to better quality software."

Date: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 6-8 PM

Place: Bank of America 29851 Agoura Road Agoura Hills, CA 91302

Session Abstract: Test Manager is a new member of the Visual Studio family explicitly designed for the testing community. It optimizes management of test plans, test suites and test cases. It enables manual test execution of test cases while providing the option to optimize the functional testing process with automation. It is designed to eliminate the silos between developers and testers. Learn how Test Manager can integrate the efforts of the testing and development teams.

Application Quality with Visual Studio 2010

View more presentations from Anna Russo

Anna Russo, William Salazar, Kidra Shadroo, Sujit Ghosh

A very warm welcome from the SCQAA group

SCQAA was a great group of testers to speak with!

Upcoming Visual Studio 2010 ALM Tools Live Roadshow Double Feature!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:37:00 +0000

If you are interested in Microsoft's Testing Tools, then please register below for our Live Event. I am presenting in-person the Full Testing Experience at Microsoft's Irvine office on November 3, 2011 1-4:30pm CT.

If you can't make this event, then check to see if there is one near you presented by my co-workers David McKinstry and Ed Blankenship.

Hope to see you and your colleagues there!

Visual Studio 2010 ALM Tools Live Roadshow Double Feature!

Come join Microsoft and ALM Partner of the year Imaginet as we present the Visual Studio 2010 Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) tools and how they can be used in a variety of real-world scenarios. These events cover two different topic areas – stay for both to maximize your learning!

Morning Event: ALM for Agile Development - Dave McKinstry

· Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Managing Your Software Lifecycle 9:00-9:45am

· Scrum and Agile Management using Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 10:00-11:00am

· Agile Development using Visual Studio’s ALM tools 11:15-12:15pm

· Summary and Q&A 12:15-12:30pm

Afternoon Event: Full Testing Experience - Anna Russo

· Test Planning and Traceability with Microsoft Test Manager 1:00-1:45pm

· Automating User Interface and Load Testing with Visual Studio 2:00-3:00pm

· Automating Build, Deploy and Test in a virtual Test Lab 3:15-4:15pm

· Summary and Q&A 4:15-4:30pm

Join us for either of these great events, presented by real-world ALM specialists. Or better yet, join us for both sessions and we’ll provide lunch.

DATES & LOCATIONS:

October 27, 2011

Dave McKinstry

Microsoft Corporation

St. Louis, MO

To register, click here!

October 28, 2011

Dave McKinstry

Microsoft Corporation

Columbus, OH

To register, click here!

November 2, 2011

Dave McKinstry

Microsoft Corporation

Salt Lake City/Lehi, UT

To register, click here!

November 3, 2011

Dave McKinstry

Anna Russo

Microsoft Corporation

Irvine, CA

To register, click here!

November 8, 2011

Ed Blankenship

Microsoft Corporation

Waltham, MA

To register, click here!

November 9, 2011

Ed Blankenship

Microsoft Corporation

Alpharetta, GA

To register, click here!

November 30, 2011

David McKinstry

Microsoft Corporation

Denver, CO

To register, click here!

December 1, 2011

Ed Blankenship

Microsoft Corporation

Houston, TX

To register, click here!

Upcoming FREE Web Workshops - Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 ALM tools

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:20:00 +0000

If you are interested in Agile Testing with Microsoft's Testing Tools, then please register below for our Free Web Workshops. I am presenting online the Testing in an Agile Team on November 1, 2011 1-2:30pm CT. Hope to see you and your colleagues there!

FREE Web Workshops

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 ALM tools

We would like to invite you to attend any of our upcoming FREE web workshops in October, November, and December! These web events will provide you with in-depth exposure into the different Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 ALM Tools.

October Workshops

November Workshops

Testing in an Agile Team - Anna Russo

December Workshops

Yes Microsoft has Testing Tools!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Russo) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 03:48:00 +0000

If only I got paid for every time I was asked last week at a tester's conference, Microsoft has testing tools? The answer is Yes!

Microsoft Visual Studio Test Professional offers manually testing tools with Microsoft Test Manager 2010. Visual Studio 2010 Premium/Ultimate offers automated testing tools. In the picture below I have outlined the features that can be found in Microsoft Test Manager vs Visual Studio. Hope this helps!

Also if you want to install Microsoft Visual Studio Test Professional, you can reference my install instructions here http://improvingsoftwarequality.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-install-microsoft-test-manager.html