Spotlight on Spira 6.7 - Enhanced Source Code Management | Inflectra

Spotlight on Spira 6.7 - Enhanced Source Code Management

November 3rd, 2020 by inflectra

We are excited about the next release of Spira 6.7 that is due to be released in early December. This new version has lots of general enhancements, bug fixes, and improvements to baselining. However, a key feature of this new version is a completely revamped Source Code Management module. Our company's mission is to enable Harmony between developers, testers, and managers, and this new release is focused heavily on the needs of Developers.

Source Code Management

In Spira v6.7, we have separated out the source code management screens from the main Tracking menu. Previously all of the source code functionality was buried under the single Source Code menu entry, when in fact, Spira offers several different key views. In line with how the Testing menu gives single-click access to the test cases, test sets, test runs, automation, and test configurations, the new Developing menu gives developers single-click access to the Source Code Files and Source Code Commits:

We also plan to add additional features related to development here in future releases, such as code reviews and Git pull/merge requests.

Source Code File Viewing

The source code folder and file viewing page have been given a facelift, with the ability to see folders inline in the main grid, faster searching and sorting, better tooltips, and other productivity-enhancing features.

To simplify the user experiences and remove redundant information, the widget that used to display the list of recent revisions (under the folders) has been relocated to the Source Code Commits widget on the Development product dashboard:

One other small but useful feature is that the branch selection menu now understands the naming convention used in Git branches, where slashes separate the parts of the branch hierarchy so that Spira displays the branch menu in a true hierarchical fashion:

When you click on a file in the source code grid, the source code file details page has also been given a makeover. The page is simplified to display the key information (code, commits, associations) more cleanly without unnecessary clutter. You can also quickly navigate between folders and files with the new sidebar navigation. This navigation brings the source code module in line with the rest of Spira, with fast loading of data and easy single-click navigation.

In addition, the code syntax highlighting system has been updated to use more modern styling and fully supports Spira dark and light modes. We have also added highlighting support for the following languages and filetypes:

  • TypeScript
  • Markdown
  • BDD / Gherkin Feature Files
  • Windows Batch Files
  • YAML
  • SVG
  • JSON

The Commits tab has been improved to allow you more easily filter by name, date, summary message, action, and author. We have added new icons to quickly show the type of file action, and the artifact tokens in the commit messages are clickable, giving one-click access from the grid to the relevant requirement, task, incident, or other associated artifact.

Finally, the Associations tab has been refactored to use the new standard Associations grid and selectors used elsewhere in Spira:

This lets you filter and sort the associations' list as well as add, modify, and remove the associations between source code files and Spira artifacts (such as risks, requirements, tasks, etc.). Previously it was not possible to sort or filter the grid, and modifying an existing association was not possible.

Source Code Commit Viewing

The refreshed Source Code Commits page is now a top-level page in Spira, accessible by one click from the main navigation. It has better sorting and filtering than our previous version, and the commit summary messages are now dynamically parsed, with all Spira artifact tokens displayed as hyperlinks so that you can navigate quickly and easily to the relevant artifact. For example, if a developer fixed a bug or completed a feature, that information is now just one click away.

 

When you click on the commit, the commit details page has been updated to use the new navigation and fast data loading that is used elsewhere in Spira. The page has been reorganized to reduce clutter and make the most information one click away.

Finally, the Associations tab has been refactored to use the new standard Associations grid and selectors used elsewhere in Spira:

This lets you filter and sort the associations' list as well as add, modify, and remove the associations between source code commits and Spira artifacts (such as risks, requirements, tasks, etc.). Previously it was not possible to sort or filter the grid, and modifying an existing association was not possible. This option is useful when you have commits that were not originally linked to a Spira artifact when they were created (using the special tokens), and you want to maintain traceability after the fact.

spotlight roadmap devops source code continuous integration commits spira