Inflectra News Feed: ProductNews

Roadmap for Inflectra.ai in Spira in 2026

2026-04-07T21:41:21-04:00

Summary of Proposed Roadmap

For the upcoming releases, the plan is to focus on the following key areas:

Requirements Coverage Analysis
In-App Help Chatbot
Conversational Agent
Custom Report Writing Assistant
Intelligent Document Processing

We shall describe each of these in turn...

Requirements Coverage Analysis

Inflectra.ai’s Requirements Coverage Analysis helps teams quickly understand whether their requirements are fully supported by the work happening across the lifecycle. Instead of manually reviewing traceability matrices, linked artifacts, and testing progress, users can use AI to identify gaps, weak spots, and areas of risk. The feature analyzes requirements in context and highlights where coverage may be incomplete, where requirements may lack associated test cases, and where certain areas appear under-validated relative to their importance or complexity. It can also recommend next steps, such as creating additional test cases, refining requirements, or reviewing related artifacts for completeness.

Who Will Use It

This capability is especially valuable for QA managers, test leads, product owners, business analysts, and compliance-focused teams. Anyone responsible for making sure requirements are properly understood, implemented, and verified will benefit from a faster and more intelligent way to evaluate coverage.

Why It Matters

Requirements coverage is one of the foundations of quality, but it is often difficult and time-consuming to assess in a dynamic project. This feature reduces the manual effort involved in traceability analysis while helping teams catch hidden gaps before they become release risks. The result is stronger validation, better audit readiness, and more confidence that the final product reflects what was actually requested.

In-App Help Chatbot

The In-App Help Chatbot gives users immediate, contextual assistance directly inside the application. Rather than leaving their workflow to search documentation or browse knowledge base articles, users can ask questions in natural language and receive answers drawn from trusted sources such as SpiraDocs and Inflectra support knowledge bases. This makes it easier to understand how features work, resolve common issues, and learn best practices without disrupting momentum. Over time, it can become a more intuitive front door to the Inflectra knowledge ecosystem, helping users get value from the platform faster.

Who Will Use It

This feature is useful for both new and experienced users across the organization, including testers, administrators, project managers, and business stakeholders. It is particularly valuable for teams onboarding to Spira or for users who only interact with certain features occasionally and need fast guidance in the moment.

Why It Matters

Traditional help systems require users to know what to search for and where to look. An in-app chatbot makes support more accessible, more conversational, and more efficient. It reduces friction, shortens the learning curve, and helps users resolve questions without opening tickets or interrupting colleagues. That means faster adoption, lower support burden, and a smoother user experience overall.

Conversational Agent

The Conversational Agent extends Inflectra.ai beyond one-time prompts and into a more interactive, iterative way of working. Instead of treating AI-generated output as a fixed result, users can engage in a back-and-forth conversation to refine it, redirect it, and request additional actions. For example, if a user generates test cases from a requirement, they can then ask for more test cases in a specific area, request a rewrite with emphasis on security or edge cases, or ask follow-up questions based on the results. The same conversational model can also be used to retrieve information from project data, request updates or actions, and continue working across multiple turns without starting over.

Who Will Use It

This feature is ideal for testers, QA engineers, product managers, project managers, and power users who want more control over how AI supports their work. It will also appeal to teams that want a more natural way to interact with their data and workflows without navigating multiple menus or repeating manual steps.

Why It Matters

Most AI tools are helpful for generating an initial output, but real work often requires iteration. The Conversational Agent brings a more flexible and human-centered interaction model to Spira, allowing users to guide the AI toward exactly what they need. This improves productivity, reduces repetitive effort, and makes AI assistance feel like an active collaborator rather than a static feature. It also opens the door to more intelligent product interaction, where users can ask questions, request actions, and refine results in one continuous experience.

Custom Report Writing Assistant

The Custom Report Writing Assistant allows users to create tailored reports, charts, and visualizations simply by describing what they want in natural language. Instead of requiring users to manually build queries or understand reporting syntax in detail, Inflectra.ai can translate business questions into custom graphs and ESQL-based queries. In its initial phase, this will focus on helping users produce custom queries and data visualizations more quickly. In a later phase, the capability will expand further to support more advanced report authoring by generating XSLT for document layout and formatting, enabling richer and more sophisticated outputs.

Who Will Use It

This feature will be especially useful for project managers, QA leaders, executives, PMO teams, and administrators who need tailored visibility into project and quality data. It is also highly valuable for users who know what insight they want but do not have the technical expertise or time to build custom reports from scratch.

Why It Matters

Reporting is one of the most important parts of project governance, but custom reporting often creates a bottleneck. By allowing users to describe reports in plain language, this feature makes advanced reporting more accessible across the organization. It reduces reliance on specialists, speeds up access to insights, and helps teams make faster, more informed decisions. Over time, it also expands the practical power of Spira by making complex data presentation much easier to achieve.

Intelligent Document Processing

Intelligent Document Processing allows users to upload PDFs and other documents into Spira and then use Inflectra.ai to interpret and act on that content. Rather than treating documents as static attachments, the platform can analyze them and present useful options such as summarizing the content, extracting requirements and other artifacts, or using the material to help populate a more complete product structure. This turns documents into actionable project inputs and helps bridge the gap between raw source material and structured execution inside Spira.

Who Will Use It

This feature is especially valuable for business analysts, product owners, QA teams, implementation teams, and organizations that work with large volumes of external documentation. It is particularly useful in regulated industries, client-driven projects, and enterprise environments where important information often arrives in formal documents before it becomes system data.

Why It Matters

Many teams still begin with specifications, statements of work, design documents, regulatory guidance, or customer-provided PDFs that must be translated into actionable artifacts by hand. Intelligent Document Processing speeds up that transition dramatically. It reduces manual data entry, helps teams start from a stronger foundation, and lowers the risk of missing important information buried in lengthy documents. The result is a faster path from documentation to execution, with better consistency and less administrative overhead.

Conclusion

Inflectra.ai’s next wave of capabilities is designed to make AI more practical, more embedded, and more actionable across the entire software delivery lifecycle. From analyzing requirements coverage and answering user questions, to refining AI-generated work, building custom reports, and transforming uploaded documents into structured project assets, these features are focused on one core goal: helping teams move faster while improving quality, visibility, and control.

Rapise 9.0 Reduces Test Maintenance with AI-Powered Self-Healing

2026-03-23T14:44:08-04:00

Why this matters for test teams

Traditional web UI automation often breaks for reasons that have little to do with real product defects. A developer changes a CSS class, a control is restyled, or a page layout is adjusted, and suddenly a test that was previously stable can no longer find the target object. The result is wasted time investigating false alarms and updating repositories instead of validating the application. Rapise 9.0 is aimed directly at that maintenance burden by helping tests understand not just where an object was, but what the test was trying to do.

That shift is important because the intent behind an action is often more stable than the underlying locator. If a test step is meant to click the “Submit Order” button, enter text into the username field, or open a specific menu option, those meanings remain understandable even when the technical implementation changes. In Rapise 9.0, SmartActions uses that context to make recovery decisions when the original lookup fails.

How self-healing works in Rapise 9.0

At a practical level, the new functionality works by associating natural language descriptions with individual test actions. Those descriptions help Rapise interpret what each step is supposed to accomplish.

During execution, Rapise still starts with the standard lookup against the existing object repository. If the object is found normally, the test proceeds as expected with no extra recovery required. When the normal lookup fails, Rapise moves into its AI-assisted recovery flow. In this flow, the SmartActions uses AI-based visual and contextual analysis to identify the most likely replacement for the missing object. In other words, it does not simply retry the same selector over and over. It uses the saved intent and the visible interface context to determine what element now corresponds to the original step. It also has a saved copy of the original image as well as the intent description:

The recovery process is multi-level:

First, Rapise attempts standard repository-based lookup.
Next, it applies AI-based recovery using visual recognition and contextual clues.
Finally, it performs deeper inspection and determines the most appropriate resolution, such as proceeding, waiting, skipping, or failing based on what it finds.

This layered approach is useful because it allows Rapise to preserve normal deterministic automation behavior where possible, while only invoking AI-driven healing when needed.

What happens after Rapise finds the new object

One of the most important parts of this new feature is that healing is not just temporary. When SmartActions successfully recovers an object, Rapise can generate patch files to update the object repository. That means the system is not merely rescuing a single test run; it is also helping the test suite learn from the UI change so future runs can benefit from the updated mapping without requiring repeated AI intervention.

For end users, this is where the maintenance savings become tangible. Instead of manually chasing every UI change across dozens or hundreds of automated steps, teams can review and apply repository updates generated from successful healing. The net effect is less time spent repairing scripts and more time spent evaluating actual application quality.

More than locator healing

Rapise 9.0 also extends Inflectra.ai into playback through the new AiTester global object. During test execution, automation engineers can send text-based and image-augmented queries to Inflectra.ai for more advanced validation scenarios. This can be used for visual validation tasks such as detecting layout shifts, missing elements, and design inconsistencies, as well as for real-time AI-assisted decisions inside automated test flows. It can also be useful for redacting information and preventing leakage of sensitive data during testing.

That matters because some UI issues are not simple pass/fail locator problems. A page may technically load and expose every control, while still being visually broken in a way that conventional automation would miss. By pairing SmartActions with AI-assisted visual analysis, Rapise 9.0 moves closer to how human testers actually evaluate the interface: not only by checking whether an element exists, but by assessing whether it appears correctly and makes sense in context.

What users should expect

For teams already using Rapise for web automation, the new self-healing capability will be a huge productivity boost for applications that change frequently, especially those with evolving layouts, dynamic front-end frameworks, or ongoing UI modernization efforts. In those environments, test failures often come from interface drift rather than real regressions. SmartActions is designed to reduce that friction by making tests more adaptable without removing user control over repository updates and test behavior.

Rapise 9.0 also includes broader platform updates such as newer Selenium, Appium, and Node.js support, along with other execution and reporting enhancements, but the headline improvement for most automation teams will be this new combination of natural language action intent, AI Vision-style recovery, and repository updating. Together, those capabilities provide a completely new test automation model: one where tests are not just recorded against a moment in the UI, but can continue to function as the application evolves.

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What's Next?

Rapise 9.0 is a huge step forward for teams that are tired of spending more time maintaining UI tests than benefiting from them. By storing descriptive intent with each action and using AI-powered visual recovery when the UI changes, Rapise helps bridge the gap between rigid automation and the messy reality of modern web applications. For end users, the promise is simple: fewer broken tests from superficial UI changes, faster updates to object repositories, and more time focused on catching defects that actually matter.

However this is just the beginning of the story. We will be using this new integration of AI into the execution flow to provide additional features in version 9.1 and beyond. Features planned include the ability to take manual tests written in natural language and fully automate them without needing any preexisting objects. This is basically taking the new self-healing functionality and using it for the case where there is nothing yet to heal, all we have is the intent and business context.

Inflectra Releases New Enhancements for SpiraTest Integration with Atlassian Jira Cloud

2026-03-07T12:50:43-05:00

As organizations continue to rely on connected toolchains to bridge testing, requirements management, and issue tracking, integration stability and speed have never been more important. This latest release strengthens the SpiraTest - Jira Cloud integration with targeted fixes and enhancements that address real-world synchronization challenges, particularly in complex or highly controlled Jira environments.

What’s New in This Release

This update includes a range of bug fixes and enhancements that improve both the technical operation of the integration and the overall administrator experience:

Added a new option to skip rich text warnings in descriptions and support for a new custom property to indicate sync direction (isOlder)
Fixed a bug when syncing hierarchy in more restricted Jira environments
Significantly increased performance when using the createReleasesOnly mode
Fixed a problem related to syncing unmapped Requirement types in projects where Requirement types were customized
Fixed a bug related to Sync Mode parameters
Fixed a bug related to deleted release synchronization
Improved Event Log messages related to product misconfigurations in Jira
Improved the description of the Auto-Mapping feature in documentation

Why These Enhancements Matter

The latest improvements focus on the areas that matter most for enterprise teams: accuracy, performance, resilience, and ease of administration.

For teams operating in tightly governed Jira Cloud environments, improved hierarchy synchronization helps ensure that integrations remain reliable even when permissions and configurations are more restrictive. This is especially valuable for larger organizations that need integrations to function consistently across controlled project setups without creating administrative overhead.

The performance gains for createReleasesOnly mode are another major benefit. Faster synchronization means teams can move release information between systems more efficiently, reducing delays and making it easier to keep planning and execution aligned. For organizations managing large programs or frequent release cycles, this translates directly into more responsive workflows and less time spent waiting on connector operations.

This release also addresses several edge cases that can disrupt synchronization quality, including issues with customized Requirement types, deleted releases, and Sync Mode parameters. By resolving these problems, Inflectra is helping customers maintain cleaner data flows between SpiraTest and Jira Cloud, even in projects with non-standard configurations.

Beyond the technical fixes, the update also improves the day-to-day usability of the integration. More informative Event Log messages make it easier to identify and resolve product misconfigurations in Jira, helping administrators troubleshoot faster and reduce time to resolution. The documentation updates around Auto-Mapping further simplify setup and configuration, making it easier for teams to take advantage of the integration with greater confidence.

Supporting Connected Quality at Scale

At Inflectra, we understand that integrations are not just a convenience - they are a critical part of modern software delivery. Teams depend on seamless connections between test management and issue tracking systems to maintain traceability, improve collaboration, and ensure that work moves efficiently across development and QA.

These latest enhancements to the SpiraTest integration with Atlassian Jira Cloud reflect Inflectra’s continued investment in helping customers build robust, scalable, and enterprise-ready delivery environments. By improving synchronization behavior, boosting performance, and reducing common sources of friction, this release helps teams work smarter and maintain better alignment across their software lifecycle.

How Do I Upgrade?

Customers using the SpiraTest - Jira Cloud integration are encouraged to upgrade to take advantage of these latest improvements. Inflectra Cloud customers are already upgraded automatically, and those with self-hosted Spira installations can download the latest version of the plugin from our website.

Introducing SureWire™: The Boundary Between Experimental Agentic AI and Enterprise-Grade Reliability

2026-03-06T14:39:30-05:00

How SureWire™ Works

SureWire acts like an experienced test manager on your team, designing and implementing dynamic tests using collections of bespoke testing agents. The process is streamlined into three clear steps:

Describe: You describe your AI agent (via web, MCP, API, or CI/CD) and your specific concerns.
Assess: SureWire dynamically assesses and tests your AI agent.
Improve: You receive a clear, actionable report highlighting strengths, weaknesses, risks, and quality concerns, along with specific ways to improve.

Powered by AWS

Built to scale and integrate, SureWire™ is powered by AWS. While our initial release is available on the web, later releases will integrate directly with your AWS account via MCP and CI/CD.

Secure Your Early Access

Don't leave your AI quality to chance. It’s time to move toward a future where your AI workflows are validated by the most advanced QA tools available.

Join the Waitlist to use SureWire™ Beta on the web and be the first to know about our upcoming integrations.

Stay in the Know

If you have any questions about how SureWire can help you go from not worrying about your AI agents to knowing they are safe, reliable, and effective, do not hesitate to reach out to our team. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to stay on top of the latest SureWire updates.

Enhanced PyTest Integration: More Flexible, More Secure, More Powerful

2026-02-08T09:42:12-05:00

Enhanced PyTest Integration: More Flexible, More Secure, More Powerful

We're excited to announce major improvements to our PyTest integration plugin for Spira. This update brings enhanced security, flexible test mapping options, and significant performance improvements for teams running large test suites. The latest version is 2.1.0.

What's New

Secure Credential Management with Environment Variables

The plugin now supports .env.spira files for credential management, allowing you to keep sensitive authentication details out of version control. Simply create a .env.spira file with your Spira credentials and add it to .gitignore. Your test mappings can remain in the shareable spira.cfg file, giving you the best of both worlds: security and team collaboration.

Six Ways to Map Tests

We've expanded test mapping options to fit your workflow:

@pytest.mark.spira_id() - Explicit markers for precise control
Pytest markers - Leverage your existing @pytest.mark.smoke or @pytest.mark.regression markers
Function-level mapping - Map individual test functions
Class-level mapping - Map entire test classes with one configuration line
Module-level mapping - Map whole test modules (files) to allow for even more high level reporting
Default mapping - Automatic fallback for unmapped tests (and this is now optional so you can only report exactly the tests you need back to Spira)

This flexibility means less configuration overhead and more intuitive test organization.

Batch Mode for Large Test Suites

Running hundreds of tests? Batch mode posts all results in a single API call, delivering significantly faster execution for large test suites. Perfect for CI/CD pipelines where every second counts.

Dry Run Mode

Preview what would be posted to Spira without actually posting. Ideal for validating configurations, debugging mappings, or testing new setups safely.

Enhanced Logging and Troubleshooting

Verbose mode now provides detailed insights into test case mappings, API calls, and configuration resolution. Error messages are clearer and more actionable, helping you identify and fix issues quickly.

Configuration Control

A new [settings] section is available in the spira.cfg file to help set default configurations for enabling the plugin, or always using verbose mode.

Command-Line Control

New CLI flags give you runtime control over the integration:

--spira-disabled / --spira-enabled - Toggle integration on/off
--spira-batch / --spira-no-batch - Control batch mode
--spira-dry-run - Preview without posting

Backward Compatible

Existing configurations continue to work without changes. The old MyClass.myFunction mapping format is fully supported, so you can upgrade immediately and adopt new features at your own pace.

Get Started

Update your plugin with pip install --upgrade pytest-spiratest and explore the new capabilities. Visit our documentation for detailed examples and configuration guides.

These improvements make PyTest integration more powerful and easier to use, whether you're running a handful of tests or managing enterprise-scale test automation.

Inflectra.ai Latest Update - AI Product Creation Wizard

2026-01-04T11:19:53-05:00

Creating a New Product using Inflectra.ai

The typical use case is that you're working on a specific program in SpiraPlan and as part of the overall program management and program planning, you want to plan out what the scope and effort would be to launch a new product that aligns with that program. Using Inflectra.ai, you simply launch the Create new product wizard directly from the My Page:

You simply need to provide a short name and descriptive summary for the new product idea:

Once that's done, you click Enter on the keyboard to launch the product creation process:

Initially the wizard will create the new product, with 3-5 top-level requirements (often called Epics in agile methodologies) that outline the key features and needs.

If this is just a high-level concept, we'd recommend stopping at this point and simply creating the tasks/test cases and risks. That way you'll get a small product with the key information needed to assess the viability of the new idea.

If this going to be something that you want to get a detailed estimate for, then we recommend using the Generate child requirements option instead, to build out a richer product backlog:

One the backlog is completed to your satisfaction, you can then use the other options to create the test cases, tasks and risks as needed.

In our example, we first create the test cases (and steps) necessary to validate the new banking functionality:

Since this is a development project not an IV&V or standalone testing project, it makes sense to also populate the tasks associated with the requirements to help us estimate the total work needed to create the product. These tasks can of course be synchronized with other tools such as Jira, Asana, Monday.com, or Clickup.

Finally, one of the key benefits of using Inflectra.ai is that it can also help you brainstorm potential risks associated with the new proposed product. So, we recommend that you use the Identify risks feature to ensure you understand the benefits and risks of proceeding with the new initiative:

Once that is completed, you are ready to start viewing the new product and making changes as necessary.

Browsing the Created Product

Simply click on the product ID link in the Inflectra.ai sidebar, and you will be taken to the new product's homepage. You will see that the product name and description is populated from our original prompt:

When we click on the requirements link in the product navigation menu, we'll see that Inflectra.ai has created a two-level product backlog, containing Epics and User stories:

If we click on any of the user stories, we will see that it has created multiple test cases to verify each requirement:

Furthermore, when we click on each test case, we can see that it has populated test steps with appropriate sample data:

Since we had also chosen to create tasks, you will see that appropriate development and project management tasks have been associated with each of the items in the backlog:

Each of the tasks includes a name and detailed description of the task. Using Inflectra.ai, we can even generate sample application and unit test code if desired.

Finally, if we look at the Associations section of each requirement, we will see that appropriate risks have been identified:

Each of the risks will include a detailed assessment of the cause and outcome of the risk. Inflectra.ai can be used if necessary to generate mitigations.

Now that we have viewed the populated product, we can assign some or all of the requirements to a specific release, and then use the release analysis features of Inflectra.ai to get an initial assessment of this new product before we start work:

Summary

As we have seen, this new functionality lets product owners and program managers quickly and easily model new product initiatives in SpiraPlan using the power of Inflectra.ai. This lets teams quickly ideate on new ideas without the manual effort to scope and estimate the work.

Updated Synchronization for Jira Cloud and Server/DataCenter Now Released

2025-12-14T10:53:52-05:00

Enhancements to the Jira Cloud Plugin

[IN:11813] Release field Version# is preserved when edited in Spira
[IN:11887] Plugin now handles the Jira API Rate Limits more gracefully

Enhancements to the Jira Server / DataCenter Plugin

[IN:11903] Creator fields are now synced for RQ, TK, IN artifacts on updates from Jira to Spira

How Do I Get Access to the New Version?

If you are an Inflectra cloud customer using our cloud-based data synchronization, then you already have the latest versions. They were deployed this weekend (December 13th, 2025) automatically.
If you are an Inflectra on-premise customer, please download the latest versions of the plugins from our website.

Tired of Atlassian's Policy Changes?

If you are dissatisfied with the recent changes from Atlassian:

Depreciating first Jira Server and then Jira Data Center, making customers migrate multiple times
Forcing customers to use their Cloud service with no other choice
Migrating functionality and service levels to a new more expensive premium tier
Implementing arbitrary rate limiting
Breaking API endpoints constantly

If like many of our customers you are tired of the constant price changes and service changes, you are welcome to switch to the Inflectra platform today and have customer delight in every interfaction. With our Spira platform you have unlimited named users, projects, API calls, storage, support tickets, plugins, test management, reporting, analytics and many other things that you have pay separately for with Atlassian.

XXXspiraplantrialXXX

Spira 8.15 Released: REST OpenAPI (Swagger) Documentation Available

2025-11-11T05:58:31-05:00

What is OpenAPI?

The OpenAPI Specification (OAS) is a language-agnostic standard for describing HTTP APIs. It defines exactly how your API works—its endpoints, methods, parameters, request/response bodies, authentication, and error codes—in a machine-readable JSON or YAML file. (It used to be called Swagger; Swagger is now the name of a popular toolset that uses OpenAPI.)

OpenAPI makes APIs easier to consume because it turns a service’s behavior into a precise, machine-readable contract. Instead of guessing how endpoints behave from ad-hoc docs or trial and error, developers get a single source of truth describing URLs, methods, parameters, request/response bodies, authentication, and error formats—usually in a concise YAML or JSON file. That consistency removes ambiguity, speeds up onboarding, and reduces integration bugs. It also improves discoverability: consumers can see the full surface area of an API at a glance, including examples, constraints (like required fields or enums), and standard error responses.

Because the spec is machine-readable, an entire tooling ecosystem springs to life for consumers. You can auto-generate interactive documentation (try-it consoles), client SDKs in multiple languages, mocks and stubs for testing, and even contract tests that validate payloads against schemas. Linting and governance tools catch breaking changes early, while versioning in the spec helps consumers plan upgrades. In short, OpenAPI lowers the cognitive load of learning an API, automates the boilerplate of calling it, and builds trust by making behavior predictable and testable.

These are just some of the reasons why we decided to add OpenAPI support to Spira. We are excited to see the new integration opportunities that customers and partners will take advantage of. Also since the REST API is one of the foundational building blocks, it will make it easier for customers and partners to create new SpiraApps.

Accessing the new Spira API Documentation

When you browse the Inflectra API documentation server, you will see the different API versions supported by Spira, with the option to display the original documentation (now called "Standard Documentation") and the new link to display the OpenAPI format documentation:

When you click on the OpenAPI Documentation link, you will see the OpenAPI specification for the v7.0 Spira REST API:

The great thing with OpenAPI is that as well as displaying all of the available resources, endpoints and sample payloads, you try invoking the method directly from the documentation page.

If you want to try out invoking any of the endpoints, you cannot do that using our public documentation server, as you won't have the necessary authentication.

Instead, browse the web services on your own instance of Spira. and the documentation link on that instance will allow you to try out using the various methods:

In your own instance you can use the Authorize section to specify the necessary authentication information to access your Spira instance:

If you have any questions about using our REST API, please check out our general developer documentation, and feel free to log a ticket with our support team.

Spira 8.15 Released: Ability to Define Default Dashboards for My Page, Products and Reports

2025-11-10T05:28:20-05:00

Why Is This Functionality Needed?

When we demonstrate the various Spira dashboards to customers, they love the flexibility and configurability, with the ability to create custom graphs and widgets, customize the settings and layout. However often managers want to be able to define a set of default views for their users, ensuring that they see critical pieces of information every day. Conversely busy executives want to be able to quickly log in and see the key metrics and KPIs suggested by their teams without needing to spend time configuring their dashboards. For this reason, we have updated and enhanced the dashboards to allow administrators to define default views for their users.

Product Admins Can Define Default Product Dashboards

When you connect to a Spira product that you have administration permissions for, you will see a new toggle icon in the top right. By default, the product home and reports dashboards will be in the mode that lets you customize the widgets and display just for your current user.

When you hover over the icons, you will see the different customization scopes:

If you click on the icon with 'multiple people' displayed, the dashboard will change to the 'shared scope' mode. This means that any customizations you make to the dashboard widgets will affect the default view for all users of the product.

You can switch between the two modes at any time, allowing you to customize certain things just for you, and other things for your entire team.

System Admins Can Define Default My Page

Similarly, for the My Page dashboard, system administrators can modify the default view for all users of the system. This can be useful for displaying certain widgets at the top of the page, enabling one of the SpiraApp widgets as a default item, or removing items that are not wanted (e.g. the news widget in air-gapped environments that have no Internet access).

To modify the default My Page for all users, simply choose the option to switch to "shared scope":

Then any changes you make will take effect for all users of the system as the default.

How Do I Override The Default View?

If you are an end-user, you can still make changes to any of the dashboards. The default views configured by administrators are simply the defaults, meaning that any changes made by users individually will always take precedence. This gives organizations the best balance between standardization for all users, and flexibility and customizability for individual users.

To learn more about this feature, please take a look at the information in SpiraDocs:

KronoDesk 5.0 Now Released - Service Desk SLA Tracking & Other Enhancements

2025-11-02T11:59:30-05:00

Group Views

The new version of KronoDesk introduces additional display options that allow you to view just the open or closed tickets associated with a specific customer support group:

You are able to click on the Group Open Tickets or Group Closed Tickets options on the main navigation menu and then select the name of the support group from the dropdown list. The system will then display the list of tickets assigned to members of that support group only. You can then sort/filter the list using the standard functionality available on other screens.

Customer SLA Tracking

One of the most frequent requests for KronoDesk has been the need to support tracking the reaction and resolution times against customer-defined SLAs. This new version of KronoDesk allows you to specify a maximum permitted reaction time and resolution time for each combination of ticket type and priority:

The reaction time is the time it takes from a customer initially logging a ticket to the support agent being assigned to work on it. The resolution time is the time it takes from the customer initially logging a ticket to receive a satisfactory solution to their problem (and thereby closing the ticket). The latter will exclude any time when the ticket is assigned to the customer and waiting for a response.

To make this SLA tracking meaningful, the new version of KronoDesk also introduces the concept of working hours per day so that time outside of those hours is excluded from the SLA calculations:

The working hours per day allows you to specify the standard working hours per day of the week and add special non-working days such as public holidays.

Viewing the Ticket SLA Compliance

When you display the list of tickets, you can choose to show the special ticket SLA columns:

The following columns are available:

Reaction Time: This is the amount of working time spent so far on the specific ticket prior to it being assigned or reacted to. If the time spent has exceed the SLA, the time will shown with a red background.

Reaction Time Remaining: This is the amount of time remaining on this ticket before the reaction time SLA is breached. If breached, the time will become negative and the background will be shaded red.

Resolution Time: This is the amount of working time spent so far on the specific ticket prior to it being resolved. If the time spent has exceed the SLA, the time will shown with a red background.

Resolution Time Remaining: This is the amount of time remaining on this ticket before the resolution time SLA is breached. If breached, the time will become negative and the background will be shaded red.

Enhanced Color Coding

In addition to the new views and SLA tracking, the latest version also allows you to specify color coding for ticket types and statuses:

We already had color coding for tickets, which denotes the ticket's priority. The status/type color coding is typically used only for a small number of ticket types and statuses where you want to highlight exception cases. For example, in the screenshot above, we are highlighting tickets that are of type "support" and those that are "waiting on development."

How Do I Get The New Version?

We have already updated all new KronoDesk cloud trials to version 5.0, and the download installer for v5.0 is already published in our secure customer portal for trial and production users alike. For existing cloud customers, we shall be updating your instance automatically on the December 13th maintenance window. If you'd like to be upgraded earlier, please contact our support team to get it scheduled.

Inflectra.ai Latest Update - Release Analysis Tools

2025-10-21T08:21:07-04:00

Analyzing the Release's Requirements

The initial version of the functionality will look at the requirements attached to a release - including such attributes as their priority, progress and status - and use that to compile a summary of the release. We plan on extending it in the next versions to also consider other artifacts such as incidents, test cases and potentially risks.

To see it in action, consider the following sample release of a new product version:

There are a bunch of requirements associated with the release, some completed, others in progress.

Using the new Inflectra.ai sidebar for the Release details page, you will see the following operations available:

Clicking the Analyze this release's requirements will display the following executive summary of the release:

The analysis gives a high-level overview of the state of the release, including what works has been done, what is left to do, and a recommendation on how the remaining work should be prioritized.

It provides two options for capturing the analysis:

Create an attachment
Add a comment

Creating an Attachment of the Analysis

This option is best when you simply want to document the analysis and keep it as record for audit purposes. Clicking the Create attachment option will generate a new document, attached to the release:

You can see this attachment, by clicking on the Attachment tab and clicking to view the details:

It contains the formatted analysis in a simple to view and download format. Note that the generated attachment/document will be tagged with ai-generated.

Creating an Comment Containing the Analysis

This option is best when you plan on taking action right away.

Choosing Add comment will populate a new comment associated with the Release or Sprint:

Note that we tag the comment with ai-generated to ensure users know it was created by Inflectra.ai, and not a human.

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Rapise 8.6 is Here: Generative AI, Securely Embedded with Inflectra.ai

2025-10-14T11:56:39-04:00

The Power of Embedded AI: Inflectra.ai

The most transformative feature in Rapise 8.6 is the support for Inflectra.ai: The Embedded Generative AI Engine for Scalable, Secure Software Delivery. This integration fundamentally changes how testers interact with their automation framework:

Secure and Simple: Inflectra.ai is now available as a native Generative AI provider in Rapise. For users with Spira and Inflectra.ai enabled, this means no more managing separate accounts or juggling keys from external AI providers. The entire AI workflow is secure and managed within the Inflectra ecosystem.
Context-Aware Generation: Inflectra.ai is not a generic chatbot. It is context-aware, meaning it understands Rapise's APIs, the testing framework, and your specific object repositories. This allows it to generate exceptionally precise and specialized data, test scenarios, and code directly within Rapise.
Generate Code Anywhere: Testers can now use the AI to generate code while editing JavaScript (.js) files and leverage an improved AI Command in RVL (Rapise Visual Language) with a new option to toggle multiline mode.

This streamlined, secure, and context-aware integration of AI accelerates the entire test creation process, allowing teams to deliver higher quality software faster than ever before, powered by AWS Bedrock and Nova.

Key Enhancements for Streamlined Automation

Beyond the groundbreaking AI integration, Rapise 8.6 delivers several highly requested features and improvements focused on enhancing the tester's day-to-day workflow:

RVL and Code Organization

Global Definitions: Added support for a common RVL preamble to define global maps, variables, and repositories, making it easier to manage shared assets across your tests.
Modules and Pages Organization: Enabled the use of folders/namespaces for Modules/Pages, allowing for a clearer, more organized structure in large-scale test repositories.
RVL Control: Users now have greater control by being able to include or exclude page objects directly within an RVL sheet.

Efficiency and Workflow

Repeat Execution: A major time-saver for iterative debugging, Shift + Play now instantly re-runs the previously executed RVL selection.
Improved Dialogs: Experience a more modern and user-friendly interface with an improved folder picker dialog and a Choose Test Case dialog that now remembers your last selection and includes a root node for Select All functionality.

Infrastructure and Extensibility

MCP Server Functionality: Rapise can now function as an MCP server (preview), allowing MCP agents to connect directly, opening the door for new distributed testing architectures.
JUnit XML: Added a command-line switch to RapiseLauncherJS to generate test results in the standard JUnit XML format, enhancing compatibility with modern CI/CD pipelines.

Rapise 8.6 represents our commitment to providing world-class, secure, and cutting-edge test automation tools. The embedded power of Inflectra.ai, combined with key productivity enhancements, positions our users to take on the challenges of modern software delivery with confidence.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by downloading the installer from your Inflectra customer portal
Read the detailed release notes on the RapiseDocs website

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

Versioning SpiraApp Now Available for Requirements and Test Cases

2025-09-11T11:42:07-04:00

Configuring the Versioning Functionality

To use the new Versioning application, simply activate it at the system and product levels, then go to the SpiraApp settings:

You will need to create a custom property for both requirements and test cases of type Text (plain). You can then choose these custom properties in the two dropdown lists:

You should then enter in the text template that you want to be displayed in this custom property. The special token {version} will be replaced by the numeric version number.

There are also two other settings that will affect both requirements and test cases:

Whether or not to append the version number to the artifact name (off by default)
Whether or not to restrict creating new versions by workflow (off by default). When on you can only create a new version when the current workflow allows the Name field to be edited. In other words, when this setting is checked you can not create a new Version if the Name field is disabled.

Once you have completed the setup, you can now use the versioning SpiraApp...

Using the Versioning SpiraApp

Once the app is installed and configured, you will see a new toolbar menu entry that shows the option to Create new version:

When you choose this option, it will update the custom property to show the current version number:

In this example, we have created a Version 1, used Inflectra.ai to rewrite the requirement and then created a new version (Version 2). By clicking on the History tab you can see the change history, including the version number change and also the content changes that belong to the new version:

To learn more about using the new Versioning SpiraApp, please refer to the online documentation.

To download the SpiraApp, please go to the SpiraApp marketplace.

Rapise 8.5 Released - Cross-Platform Test Execution, Containerization, Large Framework Support and More

2025-09-02T17:23:36-04:00

Cross-Platform Test Execution

Rapise 8.5 takes a major step forward in cross-platform test execution. You can now run Web and API tests in any environment that supports Node.js. This version introduces the new Node.js-based RapiseLauncher, which performs test execution on Linux, macOS, and Docker, and reports the results directly to Spira. These enhancements lead to more cost-effective testing and provide greater flexibility for CI/CD integration with platforms like:

AWS CodeBuild
Azure DevOps Pipelines
GitHub Actions
GitLab Pipelines
Jenkins

You can download the new cross-platform NodeJS execution agent directly from the Inflectra Customer Area:

For details on executing the tests using one of these platforms, please refer to the online documentation. It includes sample YAML files for the various DevOps platforms mentioned.

Rapise 8.5 introduces this new NPM package that contains both the Rapise execution engine and RapiseLauncher. The package is distributed as a .tgz file that can be installed from a URL or a local file. Future releases of Rapise will include new versions of both the core Windows Rapise IDE and this new NPM package for playback.

Parallel Test Execution using Spira

Rapise 8.5 introduces a powerful way to run your automated tests faster than ever - agent pools. If you manage multiple test sets and execution hosts, you can now group your hosts into a dynamic pool to run tests in parallel, significantly reducing the total execution time.

How It Works

Instead of assigning each test set to a specific machine, you can now create a host pool. Simply configure multiple execution hosts (with RapiseLauncher installed) to share the same Automation Host Token.

When you schedule your tests, you assign them all to this single, shared Host Token. Rapise then treats the entire pool as one powerful, logical host.

For example, let's say you have 12 test sets and 3 hosts in a pool. When the tests are scheduled to run, the system automatically distributes the work. The 3 hosts will immediately begin executing the first 3 test sets in parallel. As soon as a host finishes its test, it instantly picks up the next available one from the queue.

The Benefits

Maximum Speed: This dynamic distribution ensures your hosts are never idle, completing your entire test suite in a fraction of the time.
Ultimate Simplicity: You no longer need to manually balance the workload by assigning specific tests to specific machines. Just point all your tests to the host pool and let Rapise handle the rest.

This feature is perfect for teams looking to optimize their CI/CD pipelines and get test results faster.

Load Balancing Mode

For advanced users only

While agent pools are great for running many separate test sets, what if your challenge is a single, massive test set with hundreds of test cases? Rapise 8.5 also introduces Load Balancing Mode to solve this exact problem.

This powerful feature allows a pool of execution hosts to work together to complete a single test set much faster. Instead of one machine working through every test case sequentially, the load is distributed across the entire pool.

Support For Large Frameworks (30k Test Cases)

To better support large testing frameworks, we have optimized Rapise to ensure a smooth user experience. These performance enhancements are designed for enterprise level testing frameworks that have grown significantly, providing reliable operation for projects containing up to 30,000 test cases.

Other Improvements and Bug Fixes

In addition to these marquee features, this new version has many other customer-driven improvements, enhancements and bug fixes:

Improvements

Custom icon for Page Object JS file [IN:8096]
Optimize Add All Files [IN:9320]
Show XPath should work for objects from external .js files [IN:10335]
Enable Cancel functionality in the File Modified prompt [IN:10874]
Optimize Stop Debugging speed if the Report folder contains >1k report files [IN:10885]
Add node_modules to the Git Sync ignore list [IN:10888]
Optimize Save Test As for 10k+ test case frameworks [IN:10901]
Import Page Object should show some progress [IN:10902]
Spira Dashboard should be disabled when importing or cloning test cases using a script [IN:10903]
Add Reveal in Explorer context menu for folders in the Test Files Tree [IN:10922]
Do not put the output log into the RunnerMessage field of a Test Run; create an attachment instead [IN:10933]
AiRobot: Enable upscaling of smaller apps [IN:10936]
Add ResetCookies method for REST and SOAP clients [IN:10972]
Optimize Chrome for Testing download to reduce memory usage [IN:11066]
Add the path of a spawned (chrome|edge|gecko)driver.exe process to the log file [IN:11096]
Show JS call stack for failed JS assertions [IN:11097]
When creating a Floating License Session, append the username to the IP address [IN:11196]
In the Spira Dashboard, add tooltips for multiline report items [IN:11229]
Allow removing test cases when the Included filter is used on the Framework tab in the Spira Dashboard [IN:11242]
Allow excluding test cases when Included filter is selected on the Framework tab [IN:11243]
If RapiseLauncher fails to clone a Git repository or clean a folder, this information should appear in the first Blocked test case run [IN:11245]
In the Spira Dashboard, enable editing mode for a property even if the user clicks on a property name [IN:11247]
When cloning an object, change its name along with its ID [IN:11302]
Flash in mobile should display a dialog confirming an element was found successfully [IN:11314]
In the RapiseLauncher title, display Machine ID and Automation Host ID [IN:11325]
Allow fine-tuning of Auto-Wait logic [IN:11338]

Bug Fixes

The Report tab jumps to the beginning when selected [IN:10875]
Out-of-memory error when switching to a project with 20+ open documents [IN:10876]
In the code editor, tooltips for const variables are not working [IN:10911]
Main and User toolbar buttons prioritize the selected tree TC over the currently open document [IN:10921]
Close icon missing for matching test cases [IN:10925]
\\ Gets replaced with \ in the profile arguments editor [IN:10928]
When loading a Test Set in the Choose Test Case dialog, preserve Test Case order [IN:10953]
Dynamic test set filters are not saved if a framework is unlinked and moved to another project [IN:11004]
RVL Editor: Switching back and forth between RVL tabs removes the selection [IN:11024]
Add a 1-second sleep to Spira.RunTestSet to avoid swaps [IN:11027]
RapiseLauncher fails on a Test Set that contains automated test cases, but is marked as Manual [IN:11152]
Navigator.GetTabTitleAt and similar methods may connect to incorrect tabs [IN:11156]
Grid in Salesforce has changed, cannot click on a button in a cell [IN:11182]
Incorrect ordering of nested folders in Spira Dashboard [IN:11202]
Clicking on an error link in the report scrolls RVL to the beginning [IN:11203]
chromedriver.exe locks a folder in Rapise\Temp, and the next execution of a test set fails to clean its folder [IN:11244]
DoSetText in LibSelenium may fail to enter text [IN:11291]
Add protection from orphaned test cases in Spira.json [IN:11294]
Navigator.DoDomFindBy... goes into an infinite loop when searching for all elements on a page with 3-level nested frames [IN:11342]

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by downloading the installer from your Inflectra customer portal
Read the detailed release notes on the RapiseDocs website.
Join our technical webinar to explore advanced usage patterns

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

Jira Test Management Marketplace Add-On for Spira Just Got an Upgrade

2025-08-24T09:09:55-04:00

Using SpiraTest with Jira for Test Management

When you use our integrations with Jira, the synchronization service will automatically import all user stories, features and epics from Jira into a structured requirements backlog in Spira. You can then use the test management features of Spira to create and/or associate test cases with this requirement:

If you are using our Inflectra.ai service, you can also use the AI functionality to generate test cases for you.

Once you have created and executed the test cases, the overall test coverage status and list of test cases (with their individual statuses) is displayed in Spira.

Now, using this new enhanced Jira Marketplace add-on, you can see not only the summary test coverage status in Jira:

With the new functionality, you can now click on the test coverage graph inside Jira and see the list of test cases with their most recent execution status, directly inside Jira:

If you click on any of the hyperlinks, they will open the matching test case directly inside Spira.

What Versions of Jira and Spira Does it Work With?

The core data synchronization functionality works with both Jira Cloud and Jira Server/DataCenter, and both Spira Cloud and Spira On-Premise.
This Atlassian Marketplace add-on will only work with the Cloud versions of both products. So if you are using Spira on-premise and would like to use this new functionality, please contact us to schedule a Spira cloud migration, it's free and easy.
The functionality works with all versions of Spira, including: SpiraTest, SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan.

Improve Your Requirements Against the Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax (EARS) Using Inflectra.ai

2025-08-18T11:11:34-04:00

What is Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax?

The Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax (EARS) is a mechanism to gently constrain textual requirements. The EARS patterns provide structured guidance that enable authors to write high quality textual requirements. There is a set syntax (structure), with an underlying ruleset. A small number of keywords are used to denote the different clauses of an EARS requirement. The clauses are always in the same order, following temporal logic. The syntax and the keywords closely match common usage of English and are therefore intuitive.

Unstructured natural language (NL) remains the most common format for writing system requirements. However, this approach often leads to ambiguity and misinterpretation—especially when requirements authors lack formal training in best practices. As systems evolve, these unclear requirements cascade through development layers, increasing volatility, introducing risk, and driving up both timelines and costs.

The Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax (EARS) addresses these challenges by offering a streamlined, effective framework for writing precise, consistent requirements. EARS is particularly beneficial for global teams, including those for whom English is not a first language. Widely adopted by practitioners across industries, EARS stands out for its simplicity: it requires minimal training, no specialized tooling, and produces clear, readable requirements that reduce rework and accelerate delivery.

How Do I Improve Requirements using Inflectra.ai?

In our last product update, we released the ability to Analyze Requirements against the EARS standard. For example, if we consider the following requirement:

The Inflectra.ai Analysis functionality will provide the following recommendations to improve the requirement:

In this new update we have now added an Improve Description option below the recommendation. If you choose this option, Inflectra.ai will display the following message:

You can now review the updated requirement description on the main page itself:

At this point you can either accept the changes and click Save or reject the changes and click Refresh to reload the original version.

Assuming that you accept the proposed changes, you can see the difference between the two versions in the History tab:

If you want to revert the changes, simply click on Admin View and then revert the change back. The history tab gives you a full audit log of the changes the AI made. Note that we tag the requirement with ai-augmented to denote that it was improved by AI.

Analyze Your Requirements Against the Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax (EARS) Using Inflectra.ai

2025-08-18T11:11:11-04:00

What is Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax?

How Do I Analyze Requirements using Inflectra.ai?

From the requirement details page you can analyze the requirement to see how well it is written and organized, based off specific frameworks. This provides valuable insights into the quality of the text and how effectively it may communicate its meaning to others. Currently we only support EARS, but we plan on supporting additional frameworks as well as "plain English"

The analysis includes a score from 1 to 5. A score of 5 means the requirement is very well written and does not need to be improved, while a score of 1 means lots of work is needed. Along with a score, detailed notes and guidance are provided about how to improve the requirement and why, as well as what is in good shape already. The EARS framework typically recommends you follow the "When [optional trigger], while [optional pre-conditions], the [system name] shall [system response]" pattern. Its value lies in reducing ambiguity and errors in requirements specifications, leading to more efficient development and testing, and ultimately, higher quality systems, because its precise structure forces clarity and helps prevent misinterpretations.

For example, lets start with the following requirement:

We can now use the Inflectra.ai sidebar to analyze this requirement:

When we choose this option, we will see the following displayed:

You can see in this case, we have a well written requirement that meets the best practices of EARS. This is not surprising as we took the example from this great guide to EARS.

If we now try another example:

When we choose the option to Analyze the requirement, this time we receive the following feedback:

You can see that we received a partial score (3/5) and comments on what we did well and what we did badly.

As a final example:

I have written this next example in a standard user story format. Although user stories are a very common way to write requirements in an agile project, they don't really provide the level of precision that EARS is expecting. Unsurprisingly we get a very low score (1):

So in this case, we could either completely rewrite the user story to follow the EARS syntax, or more simply add a more detailed EARS formatted description and keep the name the same. This is possible because the Inflectra.ai analysis feature evaluates both the name and description of the requirement. In these examples we only had a name, but you could combine the two:

With this change we now get a much higher score (4/5):

What's Planned Next for This Feature?

We hope you are excited about this new Inflectra. ai feature as we are. The obvious question is, how can I use AI to help me improve the requirement based on the suggestions? Well don't worry, the next planned update to Inflectra.ai will be add a new AgenticAI feature that takes the recommendations from the current functionality and actually rewrites the requirement for you.

For those who want more control over the requirements change process, we will also be adding these additional productivity enhancements:

The ability to take the recommendations and turn that into a formal recommendation document, stored in the Spira document management system, and linked to this requirement.
The option to take the recommendations and create discrete project management tasks to review and implement.

Create Requirements and Other Artifacts Using GenAI with the Inflectra.ai July Update

2025-07-11T13:18:26-04:00

Generating Artifacts from the Requirements List Page

The first major update is the ability to perform the existing Inflectra.ai requirements actions directly from the main list page. This lets you generate test cases, tasks, BDD scenarios and risks for multiple requirements at the same time, without having to click on each one individually to use the AI actions sidebar:

This is a great time saver as it lets you take an existing set of requirements (for example the backlog for an upcoming release) and quickly create the downstream artifacts for the entire release at the same time.

Generating User Stories and Features from Epics

If you looked closely at the image above you would have noticed that we've also added a new option - "Generate child requirements" that was not in the original release of Inflectra.ai. This new feature lets you take an existing high-level requirement, and use Inflectra.ai to automatically generate multiple child requirements based on the name and description of the requirement.

In the Scaled Agile methodology, you often have an Epic > Feature > User Story hierarchy as illustrated below:

With this new functionality we can take a single Epic and generate multiple Features for the Epic. We can then take the generated Features and then generate additional User Stories.

Lets see this in action. If we have a new requirement called "Reporting Functionality" that has a detailed description as shown below:

Then we can use the new Inflectra.ai feature to automatically generate a set of detailed features that describe the main reporting features we're looking to add:

In this example, it generated four different child requirements:

Creating the reporting dashboard itself
Allowing the user to view the different types of graph/chart
Allowing the user to perform ad-hoc queries
Allowing the user to create reports in various formats

The updated Inflectra.ai provides feedback to the user on the created requirements:

Now, two of the requirements are still quite high-level. For example, it would be better to have the functionality available in the graphs/charts described explicitly, and similarly it would be good to know what formats of report are we building and testing against. Well, we can simply use the same AI action again, but this time selectively on just two of the requirements:

As you can see, it has now taken the two Features and generated more detailed user stories under them, so that each report format is now listed separately. For the graphs/charts, it has described the different features that could be supported. Of course a human will need to review and determine if they are all actually needed (for example, maybe we don't need zoom and hover functionality).

Finally, to round out this example, we would use the Create Tasks and Test Cases to finish off our Agile planning work:

Now we have acceptance tests and Scrum tasks ready for development.

We have seen the new functionality in action for an agile project, but what about Compliance requirements and standards, can it also help there? The answer is Yes!

Generating Compliance Requirements from Industry Standards

Lets try writing an industry-standard requirement for a sample medical device. For example we need to make sure that this new device complies with the standards defined by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These standards are often called 21 CFR Part 11, named after the section of the US Federal Government Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) that defines how medical devices should be regulated.

With that in mind we have written the following compliance requirement in Spira:

Once that has been created we use Inflectra.ai to generate the first level of compliance requirements:

That is very helpful, but again, some of them are a bit high-level. For example, it would be good to get more detail on the audit trails, electronic signatures and the electronic record management aspects.

No problem we just use Inflectra.ai again to add more detail to three of the four requirements:

As we saw before, we can now use the existing downstream artifact functionality to uncover the risks associated with one of these generated requirements:

If you would like to learn more about the latest updates to Inflectra.ai, please check out the documentation online as well as the product roadmap.

Auto-Generate Agile Sprints At Lightning Speed with Our New SpiraApp

2025-07-11T10:52:51-04:00

🚀 Why this SpiraApp Is a Total Agile Win

1. Instant Sprint Planning

“No more copying and pasting user stories into Sprints one-by-one!” With this app, as soon as you define a Release, the SpiraApp automatically scaffolds out Sprints full of backlog items—dividing work evenly, assigning durations, and giving teams a ready-to-go plan. It’s like having an Agile coach in your pocket.

2. Laser-Focused Releases

Agile is all about delivering working increments continuously. This feature connects Releases directly to Sprints, ensuring what you commit to comes through in your timeline. No more forgetting critical stories or rolling scope over sprint-to-sprint.

3. Consistency & Governance

Imagine rolling out this across dozens of Scrum teams—every team’s sprints are generated with the same cadence, the same priorities, and the same structure. That’s consistency baked in. And if your Release lasts six weeks? Boom—six weekly Sprints are created automatically. It’s governance without the overhead.

4. Time Saved = Focus Gained

Do the math—manually setting up 5–10 sprints per Release across teams? That’s wasted hours. Now reclaim that: let teams spend their time refining stories, delivering features, removing blockers, not clicking through setup screens.

5. Built for Scale

For any organization running multiple concurrent Releases—feature releases, service packs, maintenance cycles—the manual sprint setup becomes a nightmare. With this app, scale becomes a breeze. One click, infinite possibilities.

🧩 Why it works so well with Inflectra’s Spira ecosystem

Our vision with Spira has always been about end-to-end traceability and process efficiency. Past SpiraApps, like the Confluence integration or automated test generation powered by AI, all focused on reducing friction. This Sprint-generation app is the logical next step—sliding seamlessly into the Release → Sprint → Task → Test-case flow.

You can learn more about how it works in the online documentation.

👋 Final thoughts from Adam Sandman’s, our CEO

“As product folks ourselves, we get that the real work in Agile happens after the Sprint exists. It’s the refinement, the standups, the testing, the real collaboration. Why have teams sweat the scaffolding? That’s why we built this SpiraApp—to let you skip straight to the good stuff. Get your Sprints spun up automatically, keep your Releases on track, and give your teams the gift of time. Agile you can feel. Effort you won’t.”

If your organization embraces structured, agile delivery—especially at scale—this Automatic Sprint Generator isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a productivity multiplier.

Ready for your next Release? Because your Sprints already are.

Updated Synchronization for Jira Cloud Now Released

2025-06-22T09:28:06-04:00

New Features:

As described in this earlier article, the new functionality includes:

New Sync Mode "Complete"

In this version, we’ve introduced a brand-new synchronization mode called "Complete." As the name states, this is the most complete sync mode available, meaning you can sync Tasks, Requirements, and Incidents bidirectionally between Jira and Spira, ensuring the data flow between the two platforms.

Option to Sync Epic/Story Hierarchy

You now have the option to synchronize the Epic/Story hierarchy into Spira Requirements, and vice versa.

This provides a clearer and more structured view of your project hierarchies across both Jira and Spira.

Automatic Mapping

When enabled, the Jira dataSync plugin will automatically map standard and custom properties, based on name matching, for all the non-mapped property values.

Support for Syncing Custom Fields Release Type

Version 8.0 now supports syncing custom fields of type "Release", allowing for more flexible data synchronization.

Mapping Multiple Jira Statuses to One Spira Status

For both Tasks and Requirements, you can now map multiple Jira statuses to a single Spira status, simplifying your workflow management.

Option to Not Sync Comments

Gain greater control over your data transfer with the new option to selectively exclude comments from the synchronization process.

Option to Not Sync some Jira Types

You can now choose to exclude specific Jira Types from synchronization, allowing for a more tailored data exchange.

Support for Attachment Sync on Updates

Attachments are now also synchronized during updates, ensuring all relevant files are consistently available in both Jira and Spira.

Bidirectional sync of Releases

Releases (versions in Jira) are now bi-directionally synced, even if they are not associated with any artifact or work item.

Rich Text Enhancements

We’ve made improvements to the rich text formatting of description fields for smoother and more accurate data transfer. Besides formatting improvements, you can now see embedded images syncing between the two systems, as well as references to embedded videos and files. A warning message is added when it’s not possible to sync a field bidirectionally.

Users can also use plain text bi-directional synching (if they prefer) using the new option ‘Use Plain Text’:

Support for Time Tracking fields

When enabled, the time logged against Requirements, Incidents, and Tasks will sync between the two systems

How Do I Get The New Version?

Depending on how you host your instance of Spira, you may have to download new plugins, or it may already be in place today:

For Spira SaaS/cloud customers using the cloud sync: nothing needs to be done on your end, it is already live and in production.
For customers using the desktop data sync, you will need to download:
- the latest desktop data sync
- the latest Jira Cloud plugin.
For customers using the standalone data sync, you will need to download:
- the latest standalone data sync
- the latest Jira Cloud plugin.
For on-premise customers:
- you will need a recent version of Spira (v8.10 or later) and
- you will need to download the latest Jira Cloud plugin from our website

For more information, please refer to the Jira Cloud integration guide in SpiraDocs.

Spira v8.11 Released: Timesheet Remaining Effort & Bug Fixes

2025-06-17T12:48:28-04:00

Timesheet Remaining Effort

Based on feedback from our customers that were used to the "old timecard" system that we had before v8.7, we have added back the ability to record artifact remaining effort. If enabled at the system level, users can modify the remaining effort of the artifacts on their timesheet. This allows users to adjust the effort estimates from a single view, rather than needing to navigate to each artifact to update the remaining efforts. Values in the remaining effort column do not contribute to the "Total" column values.

You can use the left arrow key to go further to the left to add additional digits to the hours remaining, as remaining effort does not have the same 24 hour constraint as the completed effort reporting cells.

Other Enhancements and Bug Fixes

Create custom report views that provide information about teams and team project users [IN:10729]
Create a new API endpoint to retrieve dataSync system extended custom properties [IN:10659]
Fix not being able to clone a product or update the data sync mappings if two external keys are the same for 2 different fields [IN:11099]
Inflectra.ai enhancements
- Add a function to the SpiraAppsManager to check whether the user is in dark or light mode [IN:9763]
- Add a function to the SpiraAppsManager to provide the current page the user is on [IN:9900]
- Allow SpiraApps to listen to Status field changes with registerEvent_dropdownChanged [IN:10723]
- Allow system-level SpiraApps to run code and display menu buttons on their product settings pages even if they are disabled for that product [IN:10762]
- Fix only one SpiraApp's CSS being loaded when you have multiple SpiraApps active on the same page [IN:11028]
SpiraApps
- Fix getLiveFormFieldValue not getting the text value of Custom List fields on first page load [IN:10725]
- Fix multi-select dropdowns not firing the event related to registerEvent_dropdownChanged when a user changes the selected values using checkboxes [IN:10687]
- Fix executeApiAsync function causing the "Loading..." message to appear forever [IN:10579]

Where Can I Learn More?

For more details on all of the new features, enhancements and bug-fixes in Spira v8.11, please refer to the release notes.
For comprehensive documentation on the new Timesheet functionality, please refer to the Timesheet section of SpiraDocs.

New: Confluence SpiraApp — Requirements and Documentation, Finally Connected

2025-05-23T10:37:25-04:00

What Users Get: Practical Value, Delivered Instantly

Photo: Create in Confluence inside your requirements view

Work Smarter, Not Harder

With a single click, users can open an existing Confluence page tied to a requirement, or generate a new one — complete with pre-filled metadata and traceable links. This eliminates manual copy-paste routines, reduces human error, and dramatically speeds up documentation cycles.

Always Stay in Sync

Because each Confluence page is linked directly from the requirement via a dedicated custom field, users never lose track of where supporting documentation lives. Whether you’re refining scope, writing user stories, or auditing work, everything is seamlessly connected.

Security and Governance Built In

The SpiraApp uses secure API connections and supports SHA512 hashing, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and compliance for regulated teams.

Behind the Simplicity: Smart, Flexible Configuration

Though effortless for end users, the Confluence SpiraApp is highly configurable for administrators:

Set up at both system-wide and product-specific levels
Customize Confluence spaces, parent pages, and field mappings

Securely authenticate with an API token and granular permissions

Setup is designed to be quick, repeatable, and low-maintenance — making it ideal for growing organizations or teams working across multiple product portfolios.

Full setup instructions: SpiraApp for Confluence Configuration Guide

Why This Integration Matters

Modern Agile teams rely on Confluence for collaboration and on SpiraPlan for structured requirements. Until now, these tools lived in silos — leading to fragmented documentation, duplicated effort, and traceability gaps.

The Confluence SpiraApp bridges that gap:

Reduces admin overhead by eliminating manual linking
Enhances cross-team collaboration with real-time document access
Strengthens compliance by linking planning and documentation artifacts

As part of the expanding SpiraApps ecosystem, this app makes your requirements actionable, auditable, and accessible — all in one place.

Get Started Today

Already using SpiraPlan and Confluence? You're just a few steps away from a more unified workflow.

Admins: Set up your integration using the SpiraApp Setup Guide
Teams: Start using the new “Create in Confluence” button inside your requirements view
Need help? Contact Inflectra Support

Coming Soon: Major Enhancements to the Spira Integration with Jira Cloud

2025-05-15T07:53:00-04:00

What’s New in the Jira Cloud Integration

We’ve re-engineered our Jira Cloud sync engine to simplify configuration, improve data fidelity, and support deeper collaboration across your teams.

Automated Implicit Data Mapping: One of the most important tasks when using the data synchronization is to map the fields and field values between Jira and Spira to ensure smooth synchronization of data. This can be time consuming, so to massively speed things up, if the values of the field are the same in Jira and Spira, mapping will no longer be needed. Instead you'll only need to map values when they are different between the two systems!!
Complete Sync Mode: System administrators will be able to configure the Jira dataSync plugin to use a new Complete sync mode, so all the supported artifact types can sync bidirectionally between Jira and Spira:
- Requirements
- Incidents
- Tasks
- Releases
Requirements Hierarchy: There will be an option to synchronize the Requirements hierarchy between Jira and Spira. This means that the Epic > Feature > Story hierarchy in Jira will be reflected in Spira as a hierarchy of requirements (and vice-versa).
Attachments Synchronization: Previously the integration would copy across the attachments when a requirement, task or incident was first created, but not synchronize any additional attachments after that. This meant that the attachments list would become stale. There is now the option to enable full synchronization of attachments whenever the associated artifact is updated in either system.
Enhanced Rich Text Handling: We have improved the handling of rich text handling between the two systems so that you can still enjoy the benefits of bidirectional synchronization while keeping your original text formatting.
Releases Sync: Previously the integration would create new Releases in either system but would not sync them after the initial creation. Now the sync will update the following fields:
- Name
- Description
- Start Date
- End Date
- Released flag
- Archived flag
Releases Custom Field: Now custom fields on requirements, tasks and incidents of type Release will be synchronized.
Status Multiple-Value Sync: For those artifacts where the the statuses are not customizable, allow the sync of multiple Jira statuses to one Spira status (as well as the reverse which was already possible).
More Control Over What Syncs:
- You can configure the integration to not sync any comments
- You can configure the integration to ignore certain Jira issue types.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Will this new synchronization be available for all editions of Spira?
Yes, this functionality will be available for SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, and SpiraPlan. However some aspects will not be applicable to SpiraTest since it doesn't have support for Tasks.
Will this new synchronization be available for both the Cloud and On-Premise versions of Spira?
Yes, this functionality will be available for all Spira customers, regardless of whether they are self-hosted or hosted by Inflectra SaaS.
Will this new synchronization be available for both the Cloud and On-Premise versions of Jira?
No, this functionality is only for the Atlassian Cloud (SaaS) version of Jira. We are not extending these enhancements to our Jira Server / DataCenter integration. This is because Atlassian has been prioritizing its Cloud platform and therefore it didn't make sense to update the Server / DataCenter plugin. That being said, we still provide and support the plugin for Jira DataCenter and Jira Server.

New Confluence Integration

In addition to these enhancements to our Jira synchronization we will be releasing an official SpiraApp for connecting Spira to Atlassian Confluence. This new plugin will be based on the great community plugin created by our very own Dermot Canniffe.

This SpiraApp enhances Spira Requirements by adding a dedicated "Confluence" button to the Requirement details page toolbar. This button provides a streamlined workflow for linking Spira Requirements to Confluence pages:

Open Existing Link: If a Confluence page URL is already present in a pre-configured custom field on the Requirement, clicking the button will open this URL directly in a new browser tab.
Create New Page & Link: If the configured custom field is empty or does not contain a valid URL:
- A new page will be created in a designated Confluence space via the Confluence API.
- This new Confluence page will automatically include a link back to the originating Spira Requirement (showing its name and ID).
- The URL of this newly created Confluence page will be populated into the configured custom field on the Spira Requirement form.
- The newly created Confluence page will then open in a new browser tab for immediate viewing or editing.
- Crucial User Action: After the link is populated into the Spira form, the user must manually click Spira's main "Save" button on the Requirement details page to persist this new Confluence link.

What’s Next?

This is more than a product update—we are reimagining how Spira connects your tools, teams, and workflows.

If you're ready to streamline traceability, eliminate data silos, and supercharge collaboration across Jira and Confluence…

Join our early access program today and be the first to test these new features before the public release! Contact us today!

Inflectra.ai - Integrated GenAI Assistant for Spira Now Available

2025-05-06T09:37:07-04:00

What is Inflectra.ai?

Our new Inflectra.ai capability is a cloud native feature that will be directly embedded inside Spira (and eventually Rapise) and makes GenAI features easy to use and seamless, with a single click setup to activate within your instance of Spira. Available for both trial and production accounts, Inflectra.ai lets us take on the hassle of managing the LLM and avoids the need to configure external models or AI providers. Instead, Inflectra will be hosting a variety of different LLMs inside its Amazon accounts (one per region to ensure we comply with data residency requirements) and tailoring the LLM being used to the specific use case.

This means that regardless of your hosting provider (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.) you can use Inflectra.ai to turbocharge the productivity of your team. It also allows you to have a fixed standard cost for the GenAI functionality, bundled into your existing Spira subscription. This takes away any usage pricing uncertainty or anxiety. So, how it works in practice...

How to Activate Inflectra.ai in SpiraPlan

Once you have added the Inflectra.ai service to your subscription, you will need to go to the General Settings section of the System Administration:

You can then set the Inflectra AI toggle to be Yes. This now enables Inflectra.ai system-wide, for any product that also chooses to enable the AI functionality. This is effectively a double opt-in, and is part of our Responsible AI policy.

Once that is done, you can now go to the product administration for the Spira product that you want to enable AI for:

Click on the View Details button to edit the settings of the product:

On the product settings page, set the Inflectra AI toggle to Yes and click Save. You have now enabled Inflectra.ai for your product and can now begin using it.

Using Inflectra.ai: AI That Understands Context

Once activated for a specific product, you can access Inflectra.ai by means of a new dedicated icon in the navigation bar at the top of the screen (next to the user profile avatar):

When you click on this icon, it activates the new Inflectra.ai sidebar that will be displayed on the right-hand side of the screen. This sidebar is context-specific and will show you all the AI tasks that are available on the current screen. For example, we are on a Requirements Detail page, so it gives us the options to create test cases, identify tasks, generate BDD scenarios, and deduce risks.

When it completes the requested activity, it will generate the appropriate artifacts and then add commentary in the sidebar, with links to each of the generated items. In this example, it has created 4 test cases from the current requirement.

In this example, we can see how the AI has identified 2 risks associated with the current requirement.

There is a transcript of the current AI session in the sidebar, so you can keep track of what has been generated.

Currently, the AI will generate the items as a standard action, but we plan on allowing you to give feedback to the AI to regenerate the artifacts or adjust the items. For example, you will be able to ask it to generate test cases that are similar to the ones created, but use a different format, or you could ask it to identify additional risks that are in a different category. One of the benefits of the new Inflectra.ai platform is that it is fully cloud-native and can be updated at a faster velocity than the core Spira application. This will let our product teams innovate faster.

Inflectra.ai Pricing: Start for Just $1/User/Month

For a limited 60-day launch window, you can get Inflectra.ai for just $1 per user/month. Even better — lock in this rate for the remainder of your current subscription by purchasing now.

Here’s a snapshot of our special launch pricing. After the first 60 days, the standard pricing for Inflectra.ai will be as follows:

Product	Edition	Standard Price/Month	Discounted Price/Month	Product Code
Inflectra.ai	3 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$19.99~~	$3.00	INF-AI-SUB-000003
Inflectra.ai	5 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$49.99~~	$5.00	INF-AI-SUB-000005
Inflectra.ai	10 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$99.99~~	$10.00	INF-AI-SUB-000010
Inflectra.ai	20 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$199.99~~	$20.00	INF-AI-SUB-000020
Inflectra.ai	30 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$299.99~~	$30.00	INF-AI-SUB-000030
Inflectra.ai	50 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$399.99~~	$50.00	INF-AI-SUB-000050
Inflectra.ai	100 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$599.99~~	$100.00	INF-AI-SUB-000100
Inflectra.ai	150 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$799.99~~	$150.00	INF-AI-SUB-000150
Inflectra.ai	200 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$999.99~~	$200.00	INF-AI-SUB-000200
Inflectra.ai	250 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$1,199.99~~	$250.00	INF-AI-SUB-000250
Inflectra.ai	300 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$1,399.99~~	$300.00	INF-AI-SUB-000300
Inflectra.ai	500 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$1,699.99~~	$500.00	INF-AI-SUB-000500
Inflectra.ai	750 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$2,599.99~~	$750.00	INF-AI-SUB-000750
Inflectra.ai	1000 concurrent users, unlimited usage	~~$3,399.98~~	$1,000.00	INF-AI-SUB-001000

Pro Tip: Renew your Spira subscription early to lock in discounted pricing even longer.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which Spira versions support Inflectra.ai?
The Inflectra.ai functionality is available for all Spira editions: SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, and SpiraPlan. However you need to be running at least v8.9 of Spira.
Do I need to be a cloud customer?
Yes, this functionality is only available for cloud customers. So if you are an on-premise customer, this might be a good time to migrate!
What is the pricing model?
As mentioned above, the pricing is based on the number of concurrent users, the same as Spira itself.
How do I try it out to see how it works?
The easiest thing is to sign up for a trial of SpiraPlan and simply make sure to add Inflectra.ai to the list of services:
Is there a way to add a free trial of Inflectra.ai to my production cloud account?
No, I'm afraid not, you have access to the discounted pricing for your production cloud account, but for a free trial, you will need to sign up for a fresh trial account as shown above.
Can I renew my Spira subscription early to get the discounted Inflectra.ai for longer?
Yes, if you extend the term of Spira, you will get the discounted Inflectra.ai for as long as your Spira subscription is. So for those who can plan ahead, this is a great way to guarantee the lowest price.

How Do I Get Started?

Simply Sign Up for a Trial of SpiraPlan and add on the Inflectra.ai service. It's as easy as that!

Rapise 8.4 Released: Scalable Test Orchestration, Dynamic Test Sets & Enhanced UX

2025-04-15T04:45:34-04:00

Scalable Test Orchestration with TestRunner

In complex environments where teams are executing hundreds or thousands of tests across multiple products, Test Set Orchestration is a game-changer.

Rapise 8.4 introduces the TestRunner module, a lightweight, scriptable orchestration engine built to:

Execute multiple test sets across miltiple environments
Automatically rerun failed test sets, minimizing regression cycles
Perform AI-powered root cause analysis on test case failures
Aggregate test execution data for longitudinal reporting
Generate PDF test reports via API for audit and compliance needs

TestRunner is designed to integrate seamlessly into custom test frameworks and CI workflows, providing granular control over test execution logic.

Precision-Driven Testing with Dynamic Test Sets

Rapise 8.4 enables dynamic test set creation, allowing teams to define executable test groups using metadata instead of manually selected case lists.

Supported filters include:

name or fullyQualifiedName
tag (test metadata)
parameter (input configurations)

This mirrors the expression-based filtering model in VSTest and aligns with data-driven test methodologies common in enterprise automation stacks.

Use cases include:

Running smoke tests by tag (e.g. tag=smoke)
Selecting test cases from a specific folder
Executing tests with given parameters (e.g. author=robin)

📘 Full guide on dynamic test sets

"For teams working in modular architectures, this allows for automated, context-aware test suite creation—critical for scaling with confidence."

UI Enhancements for Higher Velocity

The Rapise 8.4 release delivers key UX updates that reduce friction for test authors and framework maintainers:

🔎 Quick Filtering in Large Projects

The Quick Filter functionality dramatically improves navigation across large test repositories. Use string-based filtering in:

Object Tree: instantly locate UI elements and page objects
Test Files View: isolate scripts, libraries, and RVL sheets by keyword

📄 RVL Editor Productivity

Rapise Visual Language (RVL) users benefit from:

Tab reordering via drag-and-drop – organize test logic more efficiently
Dropdown selectors for File.Read and File.Write – reduce syntax errors and streamline file access

These improvements help reduce cognitive overhead, especially in data-driven or keyword-driven test models where RVL is heavily used.

"If you're authoring in RVL or navigating large UI object maps, these updates help you move faster with fewer errors."

Technical Summary

Feature	Description	URLs
TestRunner	Run, re-run, and analyze test sets programmatically	Test Set Orchestration [IN:10931]
AI Root Cause Analysis	Detect patterns in failed tests using historical data	AI-powered execution history and report analysis [IN:10863]
Dynamic Test Sets	Create test sets using tags, parameters, or regex	Dynamic Test Sets [IN:8175]
PDF Reporting	Export execution history and analysis via code	Ability to convert report to PDF via code [IN:4673]
RVL Drag & Drop	Organize scripts and page objects visually
Quick Filter	Live-search in Object Tree and Files View	Quick filtering in Files view [IN:10713]

Summary

Rapise 8.4 is a focused, developer-driven release that enables:

Efficient, scriptable orchestration of test sets
Precision execution through dynamic test filtering
Improved daily workflow for UI-based and coded automation

Whether you’re embedding test logic into CI pipelines or maintaining a framework that spans web, desktop, and mobile—this release helps you scale intelligently.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by downloading the installer from your Inflectra customer portal
Integrate TestRunner into your custom test framework using documentation
Join our technical webinar to explore advanced usage patterns

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

Coming Soon: Inflectra.ai - The New Integrated GenAI Assistant for Spira

2025-04-09T15:47:14-04:00

Background of the AI Capabilities In Spira

In what now seems like an eternity in the timeframes of AI, we released back in October 2023, our initial Generative AI capability for Spira. Using our SpiraApps plugin extensibility framework, the new plugin let you connect Spira to an OpenAI account and execute key activities within Spira using the productivity benefits of AI. For example, it let you create simple test cases and tasks, as well as identify potential risks. Using the (at the time) groundbreaking GPT 3-5mini LLM, this plugin became one of the most downloaded products on the Inflectra SpiraApp marketplace.

During the next 18 months, we released a series of enhanced versions of this plugin, as well as offering support for additional LLMs such as Anthropic Claude, Meta Llama and Amazon Nova, using the Amazon Bedrock platform to host them.

Now we are ready to take the next major step forward in the Inflectra AI roadmap, with the upcoming launch of Inflectra.ai.

What is Inflectra.ai?

Unlike our existing SpiraApps plugins, the new Inflectra.ai capability is a native feature that will be directly embedded inside Spira (and eventually inside Rapise as well) and makes GenAI features easy to use and seamless, with a single click setup to activate within your instance of Spira. Available for both trial and production accounts, Inflectra.ai lets us take on the hassle of managing the LLM and avoids the need to configure Amazon Bedrock or Azure OpenAI and connect to Spira. Instead, Inflectra will be hosting a variety of different LLMs inside its Amazon accounts (one per region to ensure we comply with data residency requirements) and tailoring the LLM being used to the specific use case.

This means that regardless of your hosting provider (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.) you will be able to use Inflectra.ai to turbocharge the productivity of your team. It also allows you to have a fixed standard cost for the GenAI functionality, bundled into your existing Spira subscription. This takes away any usage pricing uncertainty or anxiety. So, how will it work in practice...

Using Inflectra.ai

The initial release of Inflectra.ai will provide similar functionality to our existing GenAI SpiraApps with the addition of auto-tagging of all AI generated artifacts as either AI Generated or AI Augmented. This will allow you to clearly distinguish which artifacts in Spira are synthetic and will need human review.

You will access Inflectra.ai by means of a new dedicated icon in the navigation bar at the top of the screen (next to the user profile avatar):

In this example, we can see how the AI has identified 2 risks associated with the current requirement.

Unlike the current SpiraApps, there is a transcript of the current AI session in the sidebar, so you can keep track of what has been generated.

How We Built Inflectra.ai

Leveraging the existing Amazon Bedrock SpiraApp functionality, we have migrated the features (as well as additional ones such as the auto-tagging of synthetic artifacts) to our Inflectra SaaS platform:

However, to build this feature, we were able to leverage the help of our AWS partner team to create this revolutionary new feature that will dramatically increase productivity while at the same time having safety guardrails in place that allows us to ensure that this new Inflectra.ai feature complies with our Responsible AI Principles. We will be using the Amazon Nova LLMs as the primary model for Inflectra.ai, as they offer a great combination of high performance and low cost. If we find use cases that it does not handle well, we can dynamically use other Amazon Bedrock models such as Anthropic Claude or Llama.

We are also using some other key AWS AI services such as Amazon Bedrock Prompt Management and Bedrock Guardrails to help us create the best prompts to handle these defined use cases. This aligns with our vision of how Spira can use AI to solve real business use cases rather than simply implementing a trivial chatbot. By doing this, we avoid the need for the users to understand AI prompts, and Guardrails allows us to ensure no undesirable content gets generated (such as hate speech or biased results).

In addition, we are delivering the Inflectra.ai functionality to our users using the native capabilities of the AWS cloud platform, leveraging API Gateway, Lambda Serverless functions and the AWS CDK and CDK Pipelines to deploy the prompts into our production AWS accounts. By decoupling the delivery of the AI functionality from our core Spira application, it will let us innovate and release updates faster.

What About the Existing SpiraApps?

The existing set of AI SpiraApps will continue to be available for our customers, so they can connect them to their own LLM instances hosted in OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock, or Azure Open AI. However we will be focusing all Inflectra development resources towards improving and enhancing the native Inflectra.ai functionality, so over time we anticipate customers will switch to Inflectra.ai unless they have specific IT security requirements that necessitate using their own LLM. In addition, Inflectra.ai is only available for Inflectra cloud customers, so on-premise customers can continue to use the existing SpiraApps.

Future Plans

This initial release of Inflectra.ai largely delivers feature parity with our existing AI SpiraApps, but that is just the beginning. We anticipate adding additional use cases to streamline common tasks in Spira, including creating requirements from project meta-data and context, refining existing artifacts as well as creating new ones, improving the ease of custom reporting, and performing basic application-wide assistance. However as the following diagram illustrates, we're planning on adding, additional major new AI capabilities in our product roadmap for Spira:

The exact scope and sequence are being developed, but we anticipate using additional GenAI methods such as Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and Agentic AI workflows using the native features available in Amazon Bedrock, including Bedrock Knowledge Base and Bedrock Agents. These advanced capabilities will leverage the rich datasets and traceability information resident inside Spira to product insights and predictive analytics unavailable in any other platform. In addition, a medium-quick win will be to potentially integrate the Amazon Q Index API to better connect other enterprise IT data sources such as Salesforce, Jira, Azure, etc. into Spira allowing product owners and CIOs to have access to information currently stored in different silos.

What About Rapise?

Although this initial release of Inflectra.ai is focused on the AI capabilities available in Spira, we are continuing to innovate with GenAI inside Rapise as well. Our next version of Rapise (8.4) will build upon the existing multiple AI use cases supported in Rapise (converting manual tests to codeless automation, generating synthetic test data, and autonomous testing using UITester and UIRobot) to include AI analysis tools for observing large data sets of automated test runs and generating testing summaries and other QA insights. These features currently will use the same "BYOL" model that the SpiraApps pioneered, but later this year we expect to enable Inflectra.ai to be available for Rapise customers as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will Inflectra.ai be available?
The exact date is still being confirmed, but we anticipate the release to be around the end of April 2025
What versions of Spira will it support?
The Inflectra.ai functionality will be available for all Spira editions: SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, and SpiraPlan. However you will need to be running at least v8.9 of Spira.
Do I need to be a cloud customer?
Yes, this functionality is only available for cloud customers. So if you are an on-premise customer, this might be a good time to migrate!
What is the pricing model?
We have not yet finalized the exact prices, but the pricing will be based on the number of Spira concurrent users you have. It will not be usage-based.

Stay tuned for more exciting information about inflectra.ai!

Conditional Lists SpiraApp Released: Let's You Handle Dependent Dropdown Lists

2025-03-19T13:47:33-04:00

Background

Customers have asked us in the past for ways to control the values that are in the various dropdown lists inside Spira. Often known as "dependent dropdowns" or "connected lists" this functionality lets you tailor the data fields in Spira to better meet a specific process. We will discuss some example use cases shortly, but in general the functionality helps streamline the user experience and guide users as to which data elements are allows based on other items they have selected.

Sample Use Cases

Lets consider two common use cases:

1. Platforms and Browsers

When a user is logging an incident or recording a test run, you often will want to ask them which Operating System (OS) and web browser they were using. It's common to use Spira custom properties for this purpose:

When a user logs a new incident they have two independent dropdowns that display a list of all platforms and web browsers:

However this has the problem that a user may accidentally choose an invalid combination (e.g. Safari and Windows or Edge and iOS).

Using this SpiraApp, we can limit which web browsers are displayed, based on the chosen OS:

With these rules now in place, when a user chooses different OS platforms, the list of web browsers will be customized. For example, if you choose Mac as the OS:

Whereas if you had instead chosen Windows, you would see:

This greatly improves the user experience as well as reducing incorrect data entry and preventing ambiguous test results.

1. User Assignments

Consider the case where you want to ensure that different types of backlog item are assigned to different users. For example, we want different types of requirements to only be assigned to certain members of the project team. To achieve this we can use the SpiraApp to setup rules that link the possible artifact owners to the type of requirement:

This means that when you create a new requirement, if you choose the type 'Feature', you will see the following users listed:

Conversely when you change the type to 'Epic', you will see the following users instead:

If you choose a different type that is not covered by any of the rules, the full project list is displayed:

This functionality works the same way for other artifact types such as incident, task, and risk, so you can use it for any of the artifact workflows to limit the owner based on a specific field value. You can similarly limit the values in a user custom field for other types of artifact review. This makes setting up a multi-step approval workflow easier and more controllable.

How Do I Get Started?

Download the App:
- Visit the Conditional Lists SpiraApp in the SpiraApps download center
Install on Spira:
- Once you have downloaded the SpiraApp, you can upload it into your instance of Spira (cloud and on-premise are both fully supported).
Activate and Configure:
- Follow the setup instructions to enable advanced data field management.

Spira v8.8 Released: Custom Graphs Available on Dashboards, Cross-Product Incident Associations

2025-03-07T10:44:12-05:00

Key Features

Users can now add any custom graph to any of their product home pages, to further personalize and improve this dashboard view.
Building on our cross-product testing features, testers can now link a test run to an incident in an associated product during or after execution, to more easily track and record testing bugs across products.

Upcoming Features

Jira Cloud Data Synchronization: a key reason 8.8 is on the smaller side, is because we are also working on major improvements to the Jira Cloud data synchronization functionality. This will take, in total a couple of months, adding key features like bidirectional syncing of requirements and tasks, deeper customizations for what syncs how, and important enhancements and bug fixes
Spira 8.9: its exclusive focus will be on native Generative AI in Spira, aiming for release early in Q2. This will initially deliver largely the same features as our AWS Bedrock SpiraApp, but in a completely native user experience within Spira. This release will also create the building blocks for more rapid AI innovation in upcoming releases.
Conditional Lists SpiraApp: This SpiraApp helps admins create dynamic and powerful customizations for end users when they work with artifacts on details pages. It lets you conditionally control what values are available in one list dropdown, based on the selected values of other list fields. In other words, changing one list dynamically updates the options in other lists.

Other Enhancements and Bug Fixes

This new release includes the following other enhancements and bug fixes:

Add a flat requirement count API endpoint to help users count only requirements that specifically match the passed in filter, and that excludes any parents of those matches [IN:10363]
Add a new function to the SpiraAppManager called getLiveFormFieldValue that retrieves the current form data for a specific field, to provide SpiraApps with greater functionality [IN:10566]
Allow data syncs to potentially use more than the existing system level 5 custom setting fields, by adding 20 more [IN:10619]
Correct the explanatory text on the template custom list page to not reference "products" - but instead the template [IN:7555]
Fix reports sometimes failing to generate by ensuring that any incompatible characters (such as those considered out of range) are stripped out [IN:10358]
Fix tags dropdowns not being a valid recipient of SpiraAppManager.registerEvent_dropdownChanged to enhance SpiraApp capabilities [IN:10675]
Fix the incident list page tools buttons to "Export to Excel/Word/Acrobat" not correctly generating the requested report (introduced in 8.7.0.0) [IN:10671]
Fix the My Page so that when widgets in the "Top" or "Bottom" sections can be more easily closed or configured in dark mode, by making the editing buttons visible [IN:6979]
Fix the possibility of getting an error on the Planning Board if the release selected in the release dropdown has been deleted [IN:10192]
Fix the Product Test Summary widget on the program home page so that it does not show inactive products or any information about them [IN:10508]
Fix the REST API for creating a timesheet entry closing the connection instead of throwing an error if the entry object has errors (such as missing fields or the time is over 23:59 hours) [IN:10607]
Fix user and hierarchy dropdowns not being a valid recipient for SpiraApps when calling the spiraAppManager.registerEvent_dropdownChanged function [IN:10573]
Improve the incident association panel(s) when adding an incident, to only allow users to see incidents to add if the user has view incident permissions in the selected product [IN:10630]
Remove "SpiraApp" from the list of available artifacts on the product admin Product Associations page, to avoid confusion [IN:9654]
Upgrade databases to record product history change areas in a more robust and future proof way [IN:9314]
When using the timesheet overview grid on My Timesheet, make sure the highlight row always reflect the live timesheet, even when switching timesheets is canceled [IN:10600]
AWS Bedrock SpiraApp
- Add support for the Amazon Nova models (micro, lite, and pro) [IN:10697]
- Fix test steps sometimes being added in the incorrect order when creating Test Cases from a Requirement [IN:10663]
- Fix test steps and other artifacts sometimes failing to generate [IN:10668]
- When creating test cases, tasks, or risks from a requirement, include any scenarios if the description is being included [IN:10635]

Where Can I Learn More?

For more details on all of the new features, enhancements and bug-fixes in Spira v8.8, please refer to the release notes.
Information on the new Conditional Lists SpiraApp, please review SpiraDocs.

Updated AWS Bedrock SpiraApp Released to Enhance AI Software Delivery, Support Added for Nova LLMs

2025-02-26T21:18:16-05:00

What Does the AWS Bedrock SpiraApp Do?

This SpiraApp lets you generate downstream artifacts from Spira requirements, test cases and risks using a variety of LLM models hosted in AWS Bedrock. The current functionality uses the power of generative AI to suggest probable test cases with steps from requirements, generate the likely development tasks for the requirement, generate the BDD scenarios for the requirement, and identify common business and technical risks. It also will let you generate the test steps for an existing test case, and suggest mitigations for an existing risk.

It can provide an easy and effective way for users to create a foundational set of items that they can refine and tailor easily and effectively.

What Are The Changes in the Latest Version?

The latest version includes fixes for some issues found in the initial version, including more reliable output generation, support for using the requirement scenario steps as prompt input, and support for additional AWS Bedrock model families, including the new Nova models:

Amazon Nova is a new generation of state-of-the-art foundation models that deliver frontier intelligence and industry leading price-performance, available exclusively on Amazon Bedrock. Our SpiraApp can use a variety of Nova models, including Nova Micro, Nova Lite, and Nova Pro. The different models offer different performance to price ratios, making our Generative AI capability accessible to customers of all budgets.

How Do I Get the Updated Version?

The latest version of our AWS Bedrock app can be downloaded from the Inflectra SpiraApp Marketplace.

What Does Inflectra Have Planned Next?

As part of our commitment to innovation and delighting our customers, we are working on bringing the power of Generative AI to our Spira and Rapise platforms using AWS Bedrock as a native feature.... more information coming soon.

Spira v8.7 Released: Timesheet Approvals & History Difference Viewing

2025-01-31T11:31:46-05:00

Timesheet Approvals

SpiraPlan includes a powerful time tracking system that lets users submit their time spent against assigned tasks and incidents. The latest version adds the functionality that allows timesheet managers to be able to review and approve timesheets as needed.

To use this new feature, you will need to first enable timesheet approval management (which is disabled by default):

Once that is enabled, SpiraPlan provides a new Enterprise-level screen for timesheet managers to view the submitted timesheets from members of the organization:

The timesheet managers can easily click on any of the rows in the grid, which will then display the details of the timesheet for them to review. From here they can either Approve or Reject the timesheet based on what the user submitted.

For example, the submitter may have accidentally submitted more hours per day than is allowed by company policies, or submitted time against a non-working day. The timesheet manager can reject the timesheet with a comment to explain it has been rejected:

Once the timesheet has been corrected, the end user can resubmit the timesheet for approval, and the timesheet manager can mark it as approved.

Once approved, the timesheet can no longer be edited and is now part of the audit trail of the system for a time management and billing standpoint.

History Difference Viewing

The new version of Spira introduces a new artifact history difference highlighting capability that makes it easy to see what words were changed in a text field between two versions of a requirement, test case, risk or other product artifact:

Previously, Spira would only have shown the old and new text values as simple text with no way to easily see what had changed at a glance.

Other Enhancements and Bug Fixes

This new release includes the following other enhancements and bug fixes:

Allow users to view history detail records that happened prior to an artifact being deleted [IN:10215]
Convert adding an artifact to the timesheet from a 2 step process to a 1 step process, by immediately creating the row when it is selected from the dropdown [IN:10317]
Fix system admins, who are not also timesheet managers, from being able to update other users' timesheets via the API [IN:10545]
Fix the API to retrieve an individual timesheet throwing an error when requesting a timesheet that does not exist [IN:10507]
Fix the label under the My Timesheet grid to always show and to be called "Last Update" [IN:10572]
Fix the my timesheet grid to properly updated the disabled state of timesheet rows, after you switch timesheets using the calendar control [IN:10436]
Fix timesheets not being fully editable or able to be deleted when timesheet approvals are disabled, regardless of the timesheet's status [IN:10410]
Improve performance when refreshing the test case parameters hierarchy (by an estimated 45%) [IN:10306]
Improve the performance of inserting a new requirement [IN:7974]
Improve the SpiraApp reloadGrid function to allow it to refresh the full artifact list grid [IN:10565]
Log the initial database version in the installer's log file when performing any upgrade task [IN:10387]
Prevent drag and drop mouse operations on time inputs on my timesheet, to ensure times are always correctly recorded [IN:10424]
Return the user's MFA status in v7 API calls that return user information, to provide this useful extra information to API end users [IN:10396]

Where Can I Learn More?

For more details on all of the new features, enhancements and bug-fixes in Spira v8.7, please refer to the release notes.
For comprehensive documentation on the new Timesheet functionality, please refer to the Timesheet section of SpiraDocs.

Rapise v8.3 Mega Release - AI Autonomous Testing, AWS Bedrock, OCR Support

2025-01-15T10:17:48-05:00

AI Assistant With AWS Bedrock Support

In the previous version of Rapise we introduced the groundbreaking AI Assistant that helps you create automated tests from manual test scenarios, generate data lists and data tables, and provide an interactive assistant to help you with everyday questions about test automation. The previous version was limited to using the OpenAI GPT4o LLM either from Microsoft Azure or OpenAI. In the latest update to Rapise, this same functionality can now be used with AWS Bedrock, utilizing the Anthropic Claude family of LLMs:

This integration with AWS Bedrock lets you connect Rapise to your AWS Bedrock account and ensures that all of your confidential data lives within your own AWS account, making use of key AWS AI safety features such as Guardrails.

Autonomous Exploratory Testing with AI Robot

The new AiRobot feature uses the Anthropic Claude 3.5 Sonnet V2 Computer Use feature to enable automated exploratory testing. This also allows execution of some manual tests directly with minimal or no conversion from a manual test case.

The AiRobot makes interactions with an application completely automatic. It understands the screen contents, moves the mouse and presses the keyboard keys, just like a human tester. In addition, the AiRobot may interact with the Web Browser, with a window or with the Desktop. It can also handle hard-to-automate environments like Citrix, Remote Desktop, and SAP.

To see the new functionality in action, please watch this introductory video.

Note that Rapise already has an AI Assistant command in RVL which look very similar to the new AiRobot functionality. The key difference here is runtime token usage. While the AI Assistant generates a code once and then uses it for all test executions without accessing the AI and spending any tokens, the AiRobot is interactive - it is spending tokens during the execution, all the time.

Advanced Visual Testing Capabilities with AI Tester

AiTester enhances the testing process by introducing advanced visual testing capabilities, simulating the keen observational skills of a manual tester. This feature enables automated detection of visual discrepancies, such as layout shifts, missing elements, or subtle changes in design, that traditional functional tests might overlook.

With AiTester, you can send text and image-augmented queries to AI models hosted by OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, and Amazon Bedrock. Example applications include generating data, performing image-based verifications (e.g., detecting discrepancies or counting visual elements), and more.

By incorporating AI-powered analysis, AiTester ensures a more thorough review of the user interface, identifying issues with the precision and adaptability of human judgment, all while maintaining the speed and consistency of automated execution.

For more details on using AiTester in your environment, and examples of the different use cases, please review KB883 - AiTester Public Module, but here are some of the most common uses:

Comparing Images

This functionality will automatically analyze the image from the original test recording with that at playback and describe any differences found. In the example below, you can see that the testing engine has found the various differences between the two pictures (number in the clouds, sun vs. butterfly in the sky, color of the umbrella, etc.)

Assess the State of an Application

The general image query lets you ask open-ended questions about the image in question. In this example, we are asking the engine if the tester has already logged in or not (spoiler alert, the answer is No):

Comparing Screenshots

The same image comparison feature we illustrated above can also be used with the specific task of comparing screenshots. In this case we are able to get discrete, concrete differences between the two screenshots. They are in fact two versions of the same application, one written in React, the other in Angular.

Perform AI-based Assertions

Finally, you can use the AI Tester to ask opinionated questions such as whether a page looks "OK" and have the AI give its reasoning as to why (or why not!). In this example, all of the UI elements are clearly visible and district from each other.

Whereas by comparison, the following screen has at least one overlapping element:

Other Enhancements

In addition to these three major new features, we have implemented the following other enhancements:

Add OCR global object [IN:8095]
Implement auto-wait for Web actions (mouse move, click, set text, etc.) [IN:9867]
Implement Appium Windows Driver support [IN:9747]
Add support for Selenium 4 Relative Locators [IN:10018]
Import manual test cases directly from Spira [IN:10116]
Add ability to run Playwright code on a connected browser instance [IN:10367]

This new version also includes other new features, improvements, bug fixes, and new Global objects. For more details, please check out the Rapise 8.3 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

New Requirements Management Migration Tool for Jama Connect

2025-01-06T10:54:01-05:00

How Does It Work?

The migration wizard simply needs you to enter in the URL, login and password for your Jama instance (either cloud or on-premise is supported). You should also indicate which types of artifact you want to migrate from Jama into Spira:

Once that is done, you then specify the URL to the Spira instance you will be migrating the data info (again, both cloud and on-premise is supported):

Once that is done, you then review the mapping between the Jama item types and the relevant Spira core artifact:

Detailed information on how this mapping works id described in the online documentation.

Once you click Start Import, the migration wizard will start moving the data over:

Once the wizard is completed, the project will now be available in Spira.

What is Migrated?

The migration tool will import the following Jama items:

Product Definition together with item priorities, types and statuses
Custom Properties and Custom Lists
Users (but not their roles and permissions)
Releases
Requirements
Risks
Defects
Any attachments, comments, or tags associated with the items
Test case folders
Test steps
Test plans
Test runs

Requirements

Any of the Jama item types that are mapped to requirements in Spira:

Will be imported into Spira as types of requirement:

Risks

Any of the Jama item types that are mapped to risks in Spira will be imported into Spira as types of risk.

Incidents

Any of the Jama item types that are mapped to incidents in Spira:

Will be imported into Spira as types of incident:

Test Cases and Test Steps

The test case folders, hierarchy and names are imported together with the test cases:

This is how they will look inside Spira:

The migration tool will migrate Jama test cases that contain test steps:

This is how they will look inside Spira:

Test Plans and Test Runs

The migration tool will migrate the Jama test plans into Spira as test sets:

The test sets will be imported into a flat list in Spira (that you can organize by folder, post-migration), together with the mapping to the various test cases included in the Jama test plan:

The Jama test runs will be imported into Spira together as Spira test runs.

How Do I Download the Migration Tool?

The new Jama Connection migration tool can be found on the SpiraTeam downloads site:

If you have any questions on using the tool, as always, please contact Inflectra customer support.

New Test Management Migration Tools for XRAY Cloud and QAComplete

2025-01-05T18:31:35-05:00

Didn't You Already Have an XRAY Migration Tool?

Yes, in May 2024, we announced the release of our new Jira + XRAY migration tool that helped on-premise customers of Jira migrate their Jira and XRAY data from Server / DataCenter installations to Spira. However this migration tool was not able to migrate XRAY Cloud installations to SpiraTest as XRAY Cloud has a completely different GraphQL API to the REST API found in XRAY Server.

With many customers running into the limitations and performance issues associated with XRAY Cloud, they asked us to add support for migrating XRAY Cloud products to Spira as well. With this latest update, we can now migrate Jira Cloud & Server as well as XRAY Cloud & Server.

What Does the XRAY Migration Tool Import?

The XRAY (and Jira) migration tool will migrate over entire projects:

The XRAY Cloud part of the Jira migration tool specifically migrates the following:

Test Case Folders
- Name
- Description
Test Cases
- Standard Fields
- Custom Fields
- Attachments
- Associations to Requirements
Test Steps
- Step Description
- Expected Result
- Sample Data
- Attachments
Test Sets (Test Sets + Test Plans)
- Name
- Description
- List of Mapped Test Cases
Test Runs (Test Executions, Sub Test Executions)
- Name
- Description
- Execution Status
- Attachments
- Fix Version / Release
- Custom Properties
Test Run Steps
- Step Description
- Expected Result
- Actual Result
- Sample Data
- Attachments
- Association to Defects/Bugs

What Does the QAComplete Migration Tool Import?

The SmartBear QAComplete migration tool currently handles primarily the test cases (and related artifacts) only:

The migration tool will import the following artifacts from QAComplete:

The project name and description
Test folders
Test cases with their steps (if defined)
Comments
Attachments

How Do I Download the Migration Tools?

Both migration tools can be found on the SpiraTest downloads site:

If you have any questions on using the tools, as always, please contact Inflectra customer support.

Quick Tasks SpiraApp Released to Streamline Task Management

2025-01-05T16:29:50-05:00

How Do I Enable Quick Tasks in Spira?

Once you have uploaded the SpiraApp into your instance of SpiraTeam or SpiraPlan (this app does not work with SpiraTest) as described the section below, you need to go to the Administration > SpiraApps page to activate the SpiraApp:

You will also need to enable it for each product that you want it to be available for. Once that's done, click on the Product Settings to tell the app which task type you want to use for your simple task checklists:

While you can use an existing task type and its workflow for this SpiraApp, you may prefer to have a dedicated workflow and task type. This optional step will mean that any tasks created from the Quick Task widget are classified and managed differently from normal tasks. This is useful when you have a highly customized Workflow in your template that you want to enforce in general, but not for your Quick Tasks.

To create a dedicated Task Type, go to Administration > Tasks > Type and add a new Type (e.g."Quick Task").
To create a dedicated Task Workflow, go to Administration > Tasks > Workflow and add a new Workflow (e.g. "Quick Task Workflow").

Next, each user that wants to use the Quick Tasks app can simply go to their Product Homepage dashboard and choose the option to Add/Remove Items. The Quick Tasks SpiraApp can be selected and added to the desired section of the dashboard.

Once that is done, the SpiraApp will appear in the product dashboard along with all other widgets. Any tasks of the chosen type that already exist will be displayed in the list:

You can now use the Quick Tasks app to create, manage, and organize checklists.

How Do I Use Quick Tasks?

The SpiraApp's product home page widget serves as a group to-do list for all users who can create Tasks in the product. The widget displays, for each of the most recent relevant tasks:

Name
End Date
Owner
Release (if the Task has one)

Select the option "Show only my Tasks?" to limit the list to tasks you own.

You can use the top row of the table to create a new Quick Task. This is automatically assigned to you, given the "In Progress" Status, and given the Type chosen in the product setting.

There is a handy calendar control to make the date selection easier.

If a release is selected using the Product Home Page release drop-down list, only Quick Tasks for that release will be shown. Any newly created Quick Tasks will be added to that release and the task end date will match the end date of the release and cannot be changed from the widget.

Below the New Task row, the widget displays up to fifty incomplete Quick Tasks, the most recently created at the top. The widget considers any Quick Tasks with a Status of "Not Started", "In Progress", "Blocked", or "Under Review" as incomplete, and includes only those tasks in this section. You can click the empty checkbox to the left of an incomplete Quick Task to mark it as Completed.

Below the incomplete Quick Tasks, the widget also shows up to five Completed Quick Tasks, sorted by last updated. You can click the filled checkbox to the left of a completed Quick Task to move it back to not done (this marks the tasks as In Progress and moves it back to the upper section).

How Do I Get the New SpiraApp?

You can download the Quick Tasks SpiraApp from the Spira download center:

Once you have downloaded the SpiraApp, you can upload it into your instance of Spira (cloud and on-premise are both fully supported).

Spira v8.6 Released: Timesheet Enhancements & Bug Fixes

2025-01-05T16:41:47-05:00

Timesheet Enhancements

This new version adds the ability to create a timesheet in the past, export a timesheet to a CSV, delete timesheet rows as well as delete entire timesheets. It also adds the foundations for timesheet approvals so customers can get ready for the next v8.7 release in early February which will complete the main timesheet features. In this release admins can turn on approvals, set users as timesheet managers, and then users can submit their timesheets (managers can't see or approve them yet - that will be part of v8.7).

My Timesheet Functionality
- As a developer, I can download the data in a timesheet to a CSV file, to help me track and analyze my time [RQ:4942]
- As a developer, I can create a timesheet for any past date range, so I can record my historical work correctly [RQ:4944]
- As a developer, I can easily delete an artifact row from a timesheet, so I can easily correct data entered by mistake [RQ:4947]
- As a developer, I can delete a whole timesheet, so I can easily correct data entered by mistake [RQ:4948]
Timesheet Submission
- As a developer with timesheet approvals enabled, I can see the status of any timesheet, to help me manage my timesheets [RQ:4963]
- As a developer with timesheet approvals enabled, I can submit any draft timesheet for approval, to get my timesheet reviewed by a manager [RQ:4969]
- As a developer with timesheet approvals enabled, I cannot edit a timesheet that has been submitted for approval, to ensure the manager works from the correct data [RQ:4972]
- As a developer with timesheet approvals enabled, I cannot delete a timesheet that has been submitted, to ensure the integrity of data a manager has reviewed [RQ:4973]
Timesheet Administration
- As a system admin of SpiraPlan, I can enable timesheet approvals, so people can make use of that feature or not [RQ:4961]
- As a system admin of SpiraPlan, I can make people timesheet managers, so that they can approve timesheets as needed [RQ:4962]
Timesheet API functions
- As an API user, I can create timesheets using the Spira APIs, to help me automate timesheet work [RQ:5029]
- As an API user, I can retrieve a single timesheet using the Spira APIs, to help me automate timesheet work [RQ:5035]
- As an API user, I can retrieve a filtered list of paginated timesheets using the Spira APIs, to help me automate timesheet work [RQ:5037]
- As an API user, I can retrieve all timesheet entries by timesheet using the Spira APIs, to help me automate timesheet work [RQ:5039]

Other Enhancements and Bug Fixes

This new release includes the following other enhancements and bug fixes:

Limit the My Page assigned artifact widgets to only show artifacts from products a user is a member of [RQ:5043]
Add "N/A" status to test set, test set folder, and test case folder progress bar tooltips, to keep the execution status tooltip count consistent with the count displayed next to the artifact / folder name [IN:9984]
Add an API call to retrieve the total number of commits in a specific source code branch [IN:10269]
Add database support for SpiraApps saving storage key value pairs for fast retrieval and provider rich integration options for developers (developer side features coming in early 2025) [IN:9895]
Add the ability for SpiraApps to hide and show items from dropdown lists programmatically [IN:9575]
Fix certain keyboard operations not operating correctly when navigating elements, due to a bug in how the user dropdown menu handled keyboard events [IN:9943]
Fix filtering test runs by custom property column from the test run tab on the test set details page not working [IN:10178]
Fix potential errors when cloning a product caused by test step parameter names not being correctly checked for uniqueness [IN:7825]
Fix the automated section on the test run details page saving incorrectly when other parts of test runs are modified [IN:8003]
Fix the custom dashboard types for SpiraApps potentially causing a database violation error for some users [IN:10163]
Improve the usability of the product membership admin grid on smaller screens so it does not obscure other content [IN:9760]
Make the dropdown options wider on the My Timesheet "Choose an artifact" selector [IN:10315]

Where Can I Learn More?

For more details on all of the new features, enhancements and bug-fixes in Spira v8.6, please refer to the release notes.
For comprehensive documentation on the new Timesheet functionality, please refer to the Timesheet section of SpiraDocs.

Test Configurations+ SpiraApp Launched to Enhance Data-Driven Testing

2025-01-07T09:43:09-05:00

Background: Existing Test Configuration Functionality

We released the test configurations functionality in SpiraTest back in v5.3 in July 2017. which allowed customers to create pairwise datasets and associate them with test sets. This lets customers create a data-set of possible testing configurations and run their test sets through all the different combinations with ease.

For example:

Scenarios: Testing combinations of 5 browsers, 4 operating systems, and 10 user logins (200 total configurations).
Capabilities: Test sets could execute all combinations automatically, streamlining manual and automated testing workflows.

However, the current functionality has some limitations, which we have just addressed with our new TestConfigurations+ SpiraApp add-on.

Overview of the Current Functionality

The data-driven testing functionality built in to Spira lets you create independent lists of values as custom lists. For example, you can have a list of web browsers and operating systems as custom lists:

(and similarly for web browsers)

Then you can create a test configuration set that maps these values to test case parameters ${browserName} and ${operatingSystem} that accept the different values in each test execution.

For manual tests, these parameters are displayed in lieu of static text allowing you to dynamically change the sample data that the tester sees. For automated tests these parameter values are passed directly to the automated testing tool as input test data.

Normally, you will associate this set of test data with a test set that contains the list of test cases to be executed:

However, there are some limitations in the current functionality:

When you execute the test set, it will execute each test case in turn (e.g., TC4, TC6, TC12, TC13 in turn) for a single test configuration (e.g., Windows 11 + Edge). Some customers would prefer the grouping to work the opposite way, where for a given test case (e.g., TC4), you execute it sequentially with all possible data combinations before moving on to the next test case in the set.
There is no way to change the ordering of test cases per data combination, i.e. it will execute them in the same order (TC4, TC6, TC12, TC13) for each browser/platform, whereas you might want to change the order for certain combinations.
Since all test runs are ultimately executions of the same test cases, the default test set reports and dashboard widgets will only show the results of the most recent data combination, not the complete set of all possible combinations. This can give misleading results when you want to make sure that a test set has passed for all possible combinations.

What the New SpiraApp Provides

To address these limitations and provide more flexibility, the new SpiraApp lets you generate a new static test set from an existing test set linked to a test configuration. This means you can easily reorder, edit, or remove test cases from the new test set to fine-tune your testing while maintaining the rich and dynamic parameters provided by test configurations. It takes a Test Set that is linked to a Test Configuration Set and will generate a new test set that contains all of the permutations converted into discrete test set test cases with individual parameters set. In addition, SpiraApp lets you choose whether to group by test case or test configuration, solving the grouping issue as well.

Once you have installed and activated the TestConfigurations+ SpiraApp, go to the SpiraApp product settings:

By default the population of test cases in the generated test set will be grouped by test case then by test data configuration. By checking this box you will switch the grouping to be by test data configuration then test case. We will show you how it looks in either direction.

When you click on an existing test set that is mapped to a test configuration set, you will see the new option to Populate Test Cases:

When you click this button, the SpiraApp will generate a new test set that is a clone of this one that contains all of the test cases expanded out by each unique parameter data combination:

Note how each test case is listed six times, once for each test configuration combination. The parameter values are now visible in the parameters column per test case.

If we changed the grouping setting to Group by Configuration = Yes, we would have seen the following instead:

In this case, you can now see the same four test cases repeated for each test configuration.

In either case, you can now fine-tune the test set to remove any invalid cases and/or adjust the execution order. You can also override the parameter values for specific combinations if necessary, giving the test manager maximum flexibility.

Key Benefits

Improved Flexibility: Tailor test sets to match your exact needs.
Better Organization: Group and reorder test cases based on specific testing scenarios.
Accurate Reporting: Ensure all combinations are accounted for in dashboards and reports.

How to Get Started?

Download the App:
- Visit the TestConfigurations+ SpiraApp in the Spira download center
Install on Spira:
- Once you have downloaded the SpiraApp, you can upload it into your instance of Spira (cloud and on-premise are both fully supported).
Activate and Configure:
- Follow the setup instructions to enable advanced test configuration management.

Supercharge Your Testing Today!

Unlock flexibility, precision, and complete test coverage with TestConfigurations+ SpiraApp. Download Now!

New Email Integration Available for Spira & KronoDesk that Supports IMAP & OAuth

2026-01-14T07:57:58-05:00

What is New in the Latest Version

The latest version of the plugin expands the range of emails servers supported from simply POP3 to the following list:

POP3
IMAP
GMail (Google Workspace)
Exchange Web Services (Office 365)

Using the New Email Integration

This integration service is designed to read inbound emails to a set of dedicated mailboxes and then create/update incidents in Spira and help desk tickets in KronoDesk. This migration service is NOT needed to simply send outbound emails from either Spira or KronoDesk. That is already handled by the applications natively.

Connecting to Spira

Before connecting to any email server, you will need to use the first tab to specify the Spira instances that the email integration service will connect to.

The integration service can connect to both cloud and on-premise versions of Spira.

Connecting to KronoDesk

Before connecting to any email server, you will need to use the first tab to specify the KronoDesk instances that the email integration service will connect to.

The integration service can connect to both cloud and on-premise versions of Spira.

Configuring the Email

For both Spira and KronoDesk, you can then enter the different email servers that you will want to connect to:

The new version of the plugin supports any of the following:

POP3
IMAP
GMail (Google Workspace)
Exchange Web Services (Office 365)

Using the Service with Spira

Once you have the email integration enabled and running, any users that email in a support ticket to one of the "watched" email addresses will experience the following process:

The user emails incident.logger@mycompany.com with an incident to create.
The contents (including attachments) of the email will be parsed by the email integration service.
- The application will look for tokens to decide if it should be inserted in the default project or added as a comment to an existing artifact.
- The sender's email address will be queried to make sure that the user has access to create incident in the selected project. (If not, the system will then check the user's permissions for the default project.)
- If the user has permission, the new incident is created.
The user will receive an automated email from the system letting them know that the incident was created
The user will not be subscribed to the incident unless the user falls under normal Workflow Notification or Event Notification settings
Any time the user gets a notification email from the server, they can reply to the email -- leaving the token in the subject line unaltered -- and their reply will be put into the ticket as a new comment. It's important that -- if enabled in the SpiraTeam application -- the separator line is not altered, and the reply is kept above the line. Any text under that line will not be inclued in the new comment. (If the separator line is altered, or the option is disabled in the SpiraTeam administration, then the entire email including quotes and reply text will be inserted into the comment.)

Using the Service with KronoDesk

Once you have the email integration enabled and running, any users that email in a support ticket to one of the "watched" email addresses will experience the following process:

The customer emails support@mycompany.com with a help desk request.
The contents (including attachments) of the email will be parsed by the email integration service and a new help desk ticket will be created in KronoDesk.
The customer will receive an automated email from the system letting them know that the ticket was received
If this is the first time the user has ever submitted a help desk ticket, the system will also create a new unverified user account in KronoDesk on behalf of this user.
- The user will receive a separate email with information about their new account. It will provide a hyperlink that allows them to "verify" this new user account so that they can view/modify their help desk tickets through the website.
- If the user clicks on this verify link, they will be taken to KronoDesk, where they will have the option of providing a password and other security information that will allow them to access the support system through the website. If they don't verify the account, they can still respond to the ticket through email.
The customer service manager(s) will assign the ticket to the appropriate customer service agent and the assigned agent will add information to the ticket either providing a possible solution to the enquiry or requesting additional information. In either case, the customer will receive an email containing the note(s) from the customer service agent.
The customer can either verify their account and reply to the agent through the KronoDesk web interface, or they can simply reply to the email notifications, making sure that their comments are above the special line marked "please reply above this line". Any text that is entered above this line will be added to the help desk ticket as a new note. Any attachments will be added to the existing attachments linked to the ticket
This process continues until the customer's enquiry is resolved.

Where Can I get the New Version?

You can download the latest version the Downloads section of our website. The direct link to the email integration is here: Email Integration Service.

Where Can I Learn More?

The full documentation for the updated email importer can be found here:

Preview of New AI-Powered Requirements Analysis Add-On for Spira

2024-11-25T11:10:37-05:00

Why Do Software Projects Fail? Understanding the Root Causes

Software projects often fail due to a combination of challenges inherent in the development process. Complex project scopes, poor communication across large teams, and insufficient requirements gathering are all common pitfalls that can derail even the most ambitious initiatives.

How Often Do Software Projects Fail?

The failure rate of software projects is alarmingly high. Research from Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey highlights that an estimated 70% of digital transformation projects fail. But why?

A study by Info-Tech Research Group reveals that 70% of these failures stem from issues with requirements gathering. Combining these findings suggests that approximately 49% of digital transformation projects fail due to poor requirements management. That’s nearly half of all projects—a striking insight into the critical importance of clearly defining and managing project requirements.

To mitigate these risks, organizations must foster clear communication, detailed planning, and rigorous requirements analysis.

Beta Program Opportunity

We are actively seeking participants for our beta testing program. If you are an existing QVscribe and Inflectra customer, this is your chance to:

Gain early access to the SpiraApp before its official release in Q1 2025
Help shape the future of AI-driven requirements analysis by sharing your feedback.

Improving the Requirements Analysis Using AI

To improve the analysis of requirements and, therefore, improve the quality of software from the outset, Inflectra has partnered with QRA Corp, the creator of the QVscribe requirements analysis tool, to develop a new SpiraApp that will allow you to perform automated analysis of your requirements natively inside your requirements management tool for the first time.

We plan to release this new functionality in Q1 2025, both as a free SpiraApp for existing QVscribe customers (with a Bring Your Own License option) and a paid add-on for Spira customers who are not already QVscribe customers. In this article, we will outline some of the new functionality you can expect to see in the final release. If you are already a joint QVscribe and Inflectra customer, please contact us to join our beta program.

Analyzing a Single Requirement

Using the new menu entry added to the requirements detail page, you can choose the option to analyze the current requirement. For this to be available, the requirement needs to be in an editable status:

Once you have chosen the option to analyze the requirement, SpiraApp will contact the analysis service, send the requirement name (and optional description) to be evaluated, and, once the analysis is complete, update the requirement with a graphical score from 1 to 5.

Analyzing Multiple Requirements

In addition to analyzing a single requirement, you can also use a similar new menu entry on the requirements list page to analyze multiple requirements at the same time. You simply select the checkboxes for the requirements to be analyzed and then click the Analyze Requirement menu entry:

Once the analysis is complete, a special Score custom property will be populated with the analysis Score (1-5). You can sort/filter this column and view the score graphically.

Viewing the Analysis Score and Identified Nouns

Now, let's take a deeper look at what the results of the analysis look like. Firstly, regardless of whether you analyzed a single requirement or multiple, the system will update the Score value, provide detailed recommendations as to what needs to be changed, and finally displayed a marked-up version of the requirement so that you can see the recommendations in context:

The requirements analysis Score is a measure of the quality of the requirement. It can have the following values:

Score 1 (Very High Risk): The requirement lacks an imperative, contains multiple imperatives, and/or contains excessive vague terms. It could also contain multiple instances of low-risk errors, such as excessive continuances, vague phases, etc., which have a cumulative effect on the score. Consider rewriting the requirements or separating them into multiple concise requirements.
Score 2 (High Risk): Includes multiple instances of vague, subjective, or weak terms, and/or negative imperatives. Replace negative or ambiguous terms with clear and concise terms.
Score 3 (Medium Risk): Includes a single instance of a vague, subjective, or weak term, and/or a single negative imperative. Replace the negative or ambiguous term with a clear and concise term.
Score 4 (Low Risk): May include excessive use of continuances, and/or No directives. Check the flow and clarity of the requirement.
Score 5 (Very Low Risk): Includes clear and unambiguous terminology to express the requirement.

In addition to the Score, the analysis service will return a list of key Nouns that it has identified in the requirement. The plugin has an optional setting that tells SpiraApp to update the requirement tags with the list of nouns. This lets you more easily find related requirements that refer to the same nouns. You can do this by just clicking on the tag in question.

In the Detailed Analysis section of the requirement, the SpiraApp will list out all of the reasons that explain why it was given a specific score. For each reason the SpiraApp will also give a positive and negative example of the specific reason, as well as giving hints and guidance for how to correct it.

Below the reasons, the detailed analysis will also include a bulleted list of nouns that were identified in the requirement text.

Finally, the Markup section shows you the original requirements' text with the reasons and nouns highlighted inline (if applicable)

This information will help the business analysts improve the quality and specificity of the system's requirements.

Requirements Analysis Dashboard

Once you have completed the initial analysis of the product's requirements, you can add a special Requirements' Analysis Summary widget to the Product Home dashboard. This will show you the number and percentage of requirements that are in each Score category:

As your business analysts and other team members follow the recommendations to improve the requirements' quality score, you can simply refresh this page to observe the improvements in real time.

Take the Next Step!

If you're excited about improving your requirements management, we want to hear from you. Contact us today to join the beta program!

Don't miss this chance to maximize the benefits of Inflectra's AI-powered project management platforms.

RemoteLaunch Update Released to Support SSO and Cross-Product Test Sets

2024-11-19T10:17:32-05:00

Background

RemoteLaunch, is an add-on for our Spira platform (SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, and SpiraPlan) that enables centralized management and execution of automated tests across various platforms and environments. It integrates with a wide range of commercial and open-source testing tools, including Selenium, HP Unified Functional Testing (UFT), SmartBear TestComplete, Ranorex, and more.

The Key Features of RemoteLaunch include:

Centralized Test Management: Manage manual and automated tests within a unified platform, providing a holistic view of your testing activities.
Distributed Test Execution: Schedule and execute automated tests on multiple machines globally, facilitating continuous testing across different environments.
Integration with Various Testing Tools: Supports integration with numerous testing tools, allowing you to leverage existing test scripts and frameworks.
Real-Time Reporting: Receive immediate feedback on test execution status, including detailed reports with screenshots and logs, enhancing transparency and traceability.

The Benefits of Using RemoteLaunch are:

Efficiency: Automate regression testing to ensure new features or bug fixes don't disrupt existing functionality, reducing manual testing efforts.
Scalability: Manage a global test lab from a central server, enabling 24/7 test execution across various platforms, browsers, devices, and environments.
Flexibility: Utilize an open architecture that supports different test automation tools, allowing you to choose the best tools for your testing needs.

Integrating RemoteLaunch into your testing process allows you to streamline test management, improve test coverage, and accelerate the delivery of high-quality software.

What's In The Latest Version?

We recently released updates to Spira that allow you to have a test set in one product that also includes test cases from other products. This feature is great for end-to-end testing where you need to potentially test a business process that spans multiple different products and systems. However, a limitation in RemoteLaunch prevented it from executing an automated test set that contained test cases from other products.

The new version of RemoteLaunch can now schedule and execute an automated test set from one Spira product that includes test cases from other related products.

In addition, we added support for Single Sign On (SSO) using OAuth / OpenID Connect several years ago in the v6.4 release of Spira. For RemoteLaunch users, it was not possible to use an SSO user as the authorized Spira user in the connection settings.

With the latest RemoteLaunch update, you can now use an SSO user and API Key instead of a password.

Where Do I Get the New Version?

You can download the latest (v6.0.4.0) version of RemoteLaunch from the secure Inflectra Customer Area on our website. You will find the latest executable and license keys ready for use.

Spira v8.5 Released: New Timesheet Functionality

2024-11-11T09:52:26-05:00

Overview

Spira's new timesheets functionality lets users track how much time they have spent on incidents and tasks across all their products. They can record time against each artifact for a given day in the current week. This time data is used to update the effort recorded against each artifact as well as being available to report on by specific date. Users can also easily see timesheets from the past and make changes as needed. This new functionality is a giant leap forward from the previous Timecard page that let users record time only against the artifact itself, with no record of the specific date or timecard being retained.

Accessing Timesheets

Users can access the timesheet functionality by going to the My Page icon on the top-left of the application, then clicking on the My Timesheet entry in the sub-header.

Alternatively, the My Timesheet menu entry is always available directly from the user profile dropdown menu:

Regardless of which route is taken, the menu entries will take the current users to their specific My Timesheet page. This page will be initially blank, showing just the current week, with the current day highlighted in orange:

Entering Effort/Time Spent on the Timesheet

Once you are on the Timesheet page, you can choose the artifact to add to the weekly timesheet by using the dropdown menu. This will list all of the tasks and incidents that are currently assigned to you.

Once you have added the artifacts to the timesheet, you can enter in the numbers of hours (and minutes) spent each day on that specific task or incident:

When you click the Save button, the timesheet and individual time entries will be recorded in the system. The timesheet will update to show you the total time logged per-day and per-artifact.

You can edit the timesheet by simply clicking on a cell and making the appropriate edits. To view or modify a previous timesheet, you simply use the navigation arrows next to the current date. They will let you move backwards and forwards one week at a time.

Viewing the Actual Effort on the Artifacts

The time saved on the timesheet pages is also visible on the artifacts themselves. For example, if you view one of the tasks from the timesheet, you will see the Actual Effort field that records the time logged:

Note that the actual effort (time logged) is not related directly to the % complete or the time remaining. Those values need to be entered separately because the % complete is calculated from the remaining effort.

To see the history of time logged against the artifact by each timesheet, you can simply click on the History tab for the artifact in question:

Where you have multiple timesheets reporting time, they will be shown as individual history entries:

Reporting on the Timesheet Data

Once the timesheets have been logged and submitted, a key need is the ability to report on the timesheets and time entries logged. To make this easy, we have added new reportable entities that will let you create and run custom reports that pull the timesheet data, as well as the data related to the associated artifacts. We have some sample custom reports available to get you started in the support Knowledge Base:

The sample report can also be run in an Excel format for convenient data extract:

What's Coming Next?

As part of our product roadmap, the following timesheet related features will be coming in the next versions of Spira:

Timesheet statuses that will let you submit draft timesheets and then track if they are approved or rejected
The ability to review, reject and approve timesheets, with a completely new time/resource management page

Where Can I Learn More?

For more details on all of the new features, enhancements and bug-fixes in Spira v8.5, please refer to the release notes.
For comprehensive documentation on the new Timesheet functionality, please refer to the Timesheet section of SpiraDocs.

Unveiling Our Newest TestRail Migration Tool: Upgrade Seamlessly to SpiraTest

2024-12-03T14:47:18-05:00

Overview

We have had many customers over the past 7 years use our free TestRail migration tool to migrate projects from various versions of TestRail to SpiraTest. However, in the past two months, we have seen a massive uptick in the number of prospective customers looking to make the switch. There are many reasons why SpiraTest is a superior test management alternative to TestRail, but recently (based on what we've heard from the customers), it seems that the stability and usability of the platform has suffered a lack of investment. Whatever the reason, we realized that we need to improve our existing migration tool to bring over additional data and handle some API discrepancies between the different versions of TestRail.

In the following sections, we'll outline the enhancements and changes we have made in this new release.

Custom Property Support

The new importer adds support for importing the various types of TestRail test case custom field as SpiraTest custom properties:

The importer will correctly map the TestRail custom field type into the corresponding SpiraTest custom property type. It handles both global custom fields and those that are project-specific.

Similarly, the new importer also imports TestRail test result custom fields as SpiraTest test run custom properties:

For both test cases and test results, there is special handling for the steps_separated and step_results fields. These are mapped into the SpiraTest native test step fields instead.

Customizable Execution Status Mapping

In the previous version of the importer, only the standard (out of the box) TestRail execution statuses could be handled. However, many customers customized the statuses used in their projects. So, in the updated importer, we have added a new dialog box where you can customize the mapping of execution status between the two systems:

Of course, if you haven't customized the values in TestRail, no change is necessary; we have populated the dialog with the out-of-the-box TestRail values.

Mapping of Test Case Fields

The new importer automatically retrieves the list of test case templates in a project and uses those to create corresponding test case types in SpiraTest.

We chose to map TestRail test templates to SpiraTest test case types as they drive the workflows and the required fields in SpiraTest, similar to how fields are handled in TestRail.

Since we have already mapped SpiraTest test case types to TestRail templates, the new importer will create a new custom property in SpiraTest to store the list of TestRail test case types:

The new importer will also automatically import and map the test case priorities defined in the TestRail project.

This is in contrast to the old importer that assumed the test case priorities were on a scale of 1-4 only.

Populating Test Set Test Cases

In SpiraTest, you have the ability to create test sets and associate test cases with them. When you run the test sets in SpiraTest, the logged test runs are then associated with the test set and test case in question. TestRail, on the other hand, has test plans that you can execute, creating test results and associated tests. These test executions are linked to the test plan, not the test cases themselves. Due to this logical difference in how data is related in the two systems, the old import tool would import TestRail test plans as SpiraTest test sets, but would not include any of the test cases.

The new importer tool addresses this limitation by importing the test runs for a test case. When it finds an associated test plan, it adds the test case in question to the corresponding test set test case instance in SpiraTest. As a result, when you look at a test set in SpiraTest, you will now see the various test cases that were executed as part of it.

Attachment Handling

One of the biggest challenges in migrating data from TestRail is that they have changed the API and storage format for attachments multiple times during its development. This means no standardized way to retrieve attachments or screenshots related to a test case exists. In some cases, the test case would have image URLs embedded that referred to files that were not actually attached to the test case. We have worked with our customers who were running many different versions of TestRail (6.x, 7.x, and 8.x) to identify all possible document storage and API options and ensure the importer can handle them.

Cloud Rate Limiting Support

Finally, for customers using TestRail on the cloud, there is an API rate limit of 500 transactions per minute (unlike the cloud version of SpiraTest, which has no such imposed limits). This rate limit prevented our old importer from successfully importing large projects that required lots of API calls. In the new version of the importer, we have added code to identify when a rate limit message is returned by TestRail, intelligently wait for 1 minute, and then resume the import. This prevents the importer from failing due to the TestRail API rate limits.

Inflectra Unveils Amazon Bedrock SpiraApp: Our Journey of AI Innovation Continues

2025-04-09T08:56:25-04:00

Key Features of Amazon Bedrock SpiraApp

AI-Driven Test Case Generation: Automate the creation of test cases directly from requirements, saving time and reducing manual effort.
Development Task Suggestions: AI identifies probable tasks for each requirement, aiding project development.
Risk Identification: Automatically recognize potential risks and generate AI-suggested mitigations.
Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) Support: Generate Gherkin-style BDD scenarios from requirements for more effective behavior-driven development.

AI Innovation at the Core of Inflectra

Inflectra’s ongoing AI advancements highlight its mission to transform project management. The Amazon Bedrock SpiraApp follows the success of ChatGPT and Azure OpenAI integrations, building on a legacy of cutting-edge technology. This latest AI solution is part of a forward-looking roadmap, with more AI innovations already in development to revolutionize requirement management, testing, and risk mitigation.

Seamless Integration with Amazon Bedrock

The Amazon Bedrock SpiraApp integrates effortlessly into your existing AWS infrastructure, ensuring flexibility and control. Users can select models, optimize performance, and enjoy enterprise-grade security with full data encryption. Customize outputs by configuring LLM models, token limits, and language settings to meet specific project needs.

Why Choose Amazon Bedrock SpiraApp?

Faster Project Workflows: Streamline tasks with AI-powered suggestions, reducing manual work and increasing accuracy.
Customizable Solutions: Tailor AI models to fit your organization’s unique project demands.
Enterprise-Grade Security: Ensure the highest level of data security with Amazon Bedrock encryption protocols.

Activate AI Innovation Today: Unlock the Future with Amazon Bedrock SpiraApp

Inflectra is driving AI innovation forward, with the Amazon Bedrock SpiraApp as just the beginning. Stay ahead of the curve by adopting AI-powered tools that elevate how teams manage projects, tests, and risks.

Ready to revolutionize your project management processes? Download the SpiraApp here!

For a deeper dive into how the Amazon Bedrock SpiraApp and other AI-powered tools can enhance your workflows, be sure to explore the comprehensive SpiraApps documentation.

Updates to Spira's AI Assistant - Getting Things Done 10x Faster

2024-10-02T22:40:22-04:00

New SpiraApps On Marketplace

We have released a new set of AI plugins for Spira on our SpiraApps marketplace that add the completely new AWS Bedrock option as well as updates for our Azure OpenAI and ChatGPT (OpenAI) plugins. All of the plugins provide the same functionality, but let customers choose which LLM platform they want to use and which model in that platform to use. In the coming months we will be rolling out a native Spira AI assistant based on our AWS Bedrock plugin that will provide the same functionality, but allow you have the billing and account management built-into your Spira subscription with inflectra.

Access to New Models

The new plugins provide access to a wider range of Generative AI LLMs than before. In addition to the OpenAI GPT3.5 and GPT4 models previously supported, the new plugins support the Meta Llama family of models as well as the Anthropic Claude family of models. These are accessible to any customer that has an AWS account and has enabled the AWS Bedrock service.

The new plugin lets you choose the family of model you wish to use and also allows you to now specify additional options:

Detailed Test Steps - do you want to generate detailed test steps for each test case vs. just a single default step
Use Artifact Descriptions - by default the plugins send just the artifact name to the LLM, with this option you can now choose to also send the long description as well.

If you choose to use the Llama family of models, you can specify the exact Llama model to use (we default to Llama 3) as well as the temperature, Top p and maximum number of generated tokens to use:

If you choose to use the Claude family of models, you can specify the exact Claude model to use (we default to Haiku as well as the temperature, and maximum number of generated tokens to use.

Code Generation Options

The latest versions of the plugins now include the option to generate sample implementation and unit testing code for each Task in the project. Since the implementation choices will vary per project, you can specify which coding languages and/or unit test frameworks are being used by the current project:

The End User Experience

When a user logs into Spira, they can create requirements and user stories in either the grid or planning board views as they would using the previous version:

Using the AI Assistant, they can generate a set of Behavior Driven Development (BDD) scenarios for this requirement, written in the Gherkin syntax. The AI Assistant will automatically convert them into an easy to read format with bold for the Gherkin keywords and bullets separating out the components. The previous version only performed limited text formatting and was not as readable as the new version:

The user can also generate the development tasks appropriate for implementing the feature in question. The assistant will attempt to generate the most likely tasks for the type of feature. It is expected that the user will review and refine the tasks. Unlike the previous version, the tasks will be generated with both a short name and a long description.

Once the tasks have been generated (and for any additional tasks the user manually creates), the user can use the new AI Assistant to generate sample source for the current development task.

The user can choose whether to just generate the development code in one of the languages that was specified for the current project, or to generate the development code and the associated unit tests in the matching test automation framework.

Once the source code files are created, they will be displayed in the Attachments tab of the current task.

When a user clicks on the appropriate filename, Spira will display the generated source code, with the appropriate syntax highlighting in place:

The same is true for the generated unit testing source code as well:

In parallel with the software development activities, the project manager will usually want to assess the potential risks associated with the current feature. They can use the option in the AI Assistant to automatically Identify possible risks:

Unlike the previous version, the risks will include both a short name and a separate long description.

Once the risks have been identified, the user can click on each risk in turn to edit them and make adjustments. In addition, there is additional functionality whereby the AI Assistant can automatically suggest potential mitigations to the identified risk:

This functionality can be used to generate potential mitigations for both AI-generated risks as well as those that were manually identified by the project team:

Finally, the AI assistant can help the quality engineering team by automating the process of writing test cases and test scripts associated with the requirements.

Unlike with the previous version of the plugins, each generated test case is created with detailed test steps, expected results and (where applicable) sample data.

In some cases, there may be test cases that have been created manually that are missing requirements. For example, the team imported some test cases from a spreadsheet or MS-Word document and now they need to reverse-engineer the requirements. The good news is that the AI assistant can now help with this process as well:

When you click on the option to generate requirements, the system will create multiple requirements for the test case in question:

Conclusion

The new and updated SpiraApps extend the already ground breaking GenAI functionality in Spira to streamline common project management and quality engineering tasks. Using the latest LLM models and updated SpiraApps framework, they can now speed up the generation of test cases, tasks and code by a factor of ten (10x).

Time to Upgrade: The New Spira Plugin For Enhanced Jira QA

2024-09-29T20:50:19-04:00

Why Upgrade to the New Spira Plugin?

As your needs evolve, so must our technology. Our previous plugin, developed on Atlassian's legacy Connect framework, had limitations that no longer meet the demands of modern workflows. With the new Forge framework, we’ve created a more robust and integrated experience, delivering enhanced visibility into your QA metrics. This upgrade aligns with Atlassian’s strategic shift to Forge, ensuring you have a future-proof tool tailored to your success.

Transitioning to the Enhanced Plugin: What You Need to Know

The new Spira plugin will replace our original free app, which will be removed from the marketplace in early October 2024. We strongly encourage you to upgrade to the new version now to maintain uninterrupted access to Spira’s superior QA coverage features in Jira.

How to Upgrade

Upgrading is quick and seamless:

Uninstall the older version of the Spira app from your Jira instance.
Download and install the new plugin from the Atlassian Marketplace here.
Explore our detailed documentation for guidance on a smooth transition.

We're Here to Support You

Our team is dedicated to making this transition as smooth as possible. If you need assistance or have any questions, please reach out to us at support@inflectra.com.

Thank you for being a valued member of our community. We’re excited for you to experience the enhanced capabilities of the new Spira plugin.

#TeamInflectra

Stay on Top of Your Work with the New 'My Assigned Work' SpiraApp

2024-09-26T19:56:56-04:00

What is the "My Assigned Work" SpiraApp?

The "My Assigned Work" SpiraApp is an all-in-one, interactive grid that consolidates your assigned artifacts into a single, user-friendly interface. Available for both SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan users, this new widget serves as a streamlined alternative to the existing "My Assigned..." widgets, providing direct access to essential information at a glance.

Key Benefits

Comprehensive Overview: Easily view your most recent open artifacts, including Requirements, Test Cases, Incidents, Tasks, Test Sets, Documents, and Risks – all within an interactive grid.
Enhanced Efficiency: Sort, filter, and manage your work with just a few clicks. Use column headers to organize by key details like ID, Name, Priority, Status, Type, and Due Date. No more jumping between different screens; everything you need is right at your fingertips.
Customization: Choose between viewing all products or focusing on your current product. In "Current Product" mode, use the dropdown to filter artifacts linked to specific releases, allowing you to hone in on what's most relevant to your current priorities.
Visual Indicators: Important dates turn red if they’re overdue, providing you with a clear, visual reminder to prioritize tasks effectively.

How to Use the SpiraApp

Access the "My Assigned Work" SpiraApp: Download this SpiraApp from the Inflectra website here.
Add the SpiraApp: Go to your "My Page," enter edit mode, and locate the "SpiraApp Widgets" section. Simply drag and drop the "My Assigned Work" widget to your desired section on the page.
Explore Features: The widget displays a comprehensive grid of your artifacts, which you can sort and filter based on artifact type or specific releases. Your preferences are saved locally, so the next time you log in, your settings are just as you left them!

By leveraging the "My Assigned Work" SpiraApp, you can stay on top of your workload, minimize time spent searching for tasks, and focus on what matters most to your projects.

Get Started Today!

We encourage you to try out this new SpiraApp and experience a more intuitive way to manage your work within Spira. For detailed instructions, please refer to our documentation here.

For any questions, our support team is here to help! Feel free to reach out at support@inflectra.com.

New Jira Marketplace Add-On Available that Displays QA Coverage in Jira

2024-09-11T22:25:50-04:00

What Does The Add-On Do?

The new Spira QA Coverage Add-On lets you monitor test coverage of any user story in Jira, any time, from data managed in SpiraTest, SpiraTeam or SpiraPlan from Inflectra. The test coverage information is shown as a bar-chart directly on the issue page inside Jira:

You can click on the link directly above the bar-chart to access the corresponding requirement (and covering test cases) in Spira:

This lets you see in real-time the test coverage for each user story in Jira.

To display the test coverage bar chart, you simply click on the new icon in the Jira issue toolbar:

Why Did We Replace the Existing Add-On?

This new plugin replaces our legacy SpiraTest Jira Connector. This was also available in the Atlassian marketplace, but it used the older Connect plugin technology that is being deprecated by Atlassian in favor of their newer Forge framework. One of the drawbacks of the old plugin technology was that the add-on was relegated to a side-panel in Jira:

In addition, the old plugin was not able to display a textual legend for the colored indicators, unlike the new bar chart:

We believe that the new plugin represents a major advance in usability. In addition, the new Forge platform will allow us to expand the capabilities of the plugin in future.

Where Do I Get The New Add-On?

The new add-on can be found on the Spira Downloads Page, along with the other Jira integration plugins:

Existing users of the older Connect-based add-on will need to uninstall the add-on and install the new one from the Atlassian Marketplace.

Documentation on the plugin can be found in a dedicated section on SpiraDocs.

Enhanced Risk Management SpiraApp Released

2024-08-23T17:05:52-04:00

What Happens When a Risk Materializes?

One of the key differences between a risk and an issue is that a risk is a potential future hazard, whereas an issue is something that has already happened. The risk management module of SpiraPlan is very good at letting you create and manage the risks in your project, however if that risk actually occurs, we need a way to turn that risk into an issue.

The new Risks+ SpiraApp includes this amazing time saving functionality, as well as an option that lets you restrict the review date of a risk to be before its closed date.

Converting a Risk to an Issue Automatically

With this new SpiraApp, when you click on an existing Risk, you have the new option to Move to Incident. Clicking on this option will automatically create a new issue in the same product:

In addition, to save time, the SpiraApp will also automatically change the status of the risk to the appropriate closed status that is used when a risk has occurred:

The new issue will be created in the same product automatically, and will inherit the name, description, release, owner, detector, and component from the risk:

This new issue can then be managed and triaged as part of your standard issue management workflow. The previous risk is now archived and no longer needs to be actively managed. However, to ensure traceability and auditability, there is an associated automatically created between the new issue and the existing risk:

Configuring the Functionality

Once the new SpiraApp has been uploaded and activated, the only setting that needs to be configured is to specify the appropriate risk status that the risk will be switched to upon creation of the new issue:

We would recommend using a closed status such as "Closed" or creating a new status as "Materialized" if that makes more sense.

On this page you can also enable the additional risk management functionality that validates the risk review date.

Rapise v8.2 Released - GenerativeAI Assistant, Shadow DOM Selectors & ExtentReports

2024-08-22T10:13:06-04:00

Generative AI Assistant

The new Generative Artificial Intelligence features (GenAI) we have introduced in Rapise 8.2 are designed to assist human testers in creating automation test scripts more efficiently and easily. We have designed it to be a flexible and extensible platform for customers to access our existing GenAI features and craft their use cases. The goal of the functionality is to shorten the chain from a human-readable test scenario to a working automation script. In addition, the functionality will simplify test script maintenance, speed up synthetic test data generation, and act as a general-purpose assistant to the automation engineer and manual tester.

We have a more detailed description of the AI functionality in a dedicated section on RapiseDocs, and we shall be hosting live webinars to showcase the new features, but in summary, the new AI functionality will let you:

Create automated test scenarios directly from a manual test case
Allow you to natively run a natural language test automatically
Simplify test script maintenance
Speed up synthetic test data generation
Act as a general-purpose assistant to the automation engineer and manual tester

Learn more about the new Generative AI functionality in Rapise.

Appium 2.0 Support

Appium 2.0 is the latest and greatest release of Appium, the popular open-source test automation framework designed for native, hybrid, and mobile web applications. This version brings a host of game-changing improvements that make it a must-have for any serious test automation platform. We have added Appium 2.0 support to the latest version of Rapise. Supporting this new standard ensures that our Rapise test automation platform stays ahead of the curve, leveraging the latest features and maintaining compatibility with emerging technologies, including support for Windows 11 built-in applications and, eventually, MacOS desktop applications. Learn More.

Shadow DOM Support

As described in previous articles, the Shadow DOM is a key part of the Web Components standard, enabling developers to encapsulate their HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, making them reusable without risking conflicts with other parts of the web page. The Shadow DOM is essential for creating encapsulated, reusable web components, ensuring that styles and scripts do not interfere with the main document or other components. So we are therefore pleased to announce that the latest version of Rapise, now supports Shadow DOM selectors when recording or executing tests. Learn More.

Selenium WebDriver ExtentReports

ExtentReports is a popular reporting library used primarily in the context of automated testing, particularly with Selenium WebDriver for test automation in Java and .NET environments. It provides a flexible and customizable way to generate detailed, visually appealing test reports. We have introduced a simple wrapper library, which is incorporated into the ExtentReports page object of FWUsefulPageObjects. To enable ExtentReports in your Rapise framework, simply import the page object as described in the documentation.

Once you include the ExtentReports page object in your framework, Rapise will generate an ExtentReports.html file in addition to the standard Rapise reports. The HTML report is automatically opened inside Rapise at the end of the test execution. You can learn more about it in this article.

Release Notes

Key New Features

Enhance CSS selectors to pierce open shadow DOM [IN:9230]
Implement Repository RVL command [IN:9316]
Add support for W3C actions in Web/Selenium [IN:9381]
Add support for W3C Actions in Mobile/Appium [IN:9521]
AI capabilities for scenario, code and data generation [IN:9689]
Appium 2.0 support [IN:9694]
Optimize Rapise for swift support of large frameworks with > 1k test cases [IN:9695]

New Object APIs

Global.DoLaunch - add a parameter to specify a parent process [IN:9422]
AppiumDriver.CreatePointerInput [IN:9690]
AppiumDriver.PerformActions [IN:9691]
WebDriver.CreatePointerInput [IN:9692]
WebDriver.PerformActions [IN:9693]

Improvements

Global object renaming [IN:8680]
Allow to change local execution parameters without playing a test [IN:8949]
Make Test Framework a Default [IN:9205]
Increase max Test Case loading count in Spira Dashboard to 10k [IN:9236]
Drag & Drop object from repository to objectId parameter value in RVL [IN:9278]
Don't create Spira test case for template test cases [IN:9281]
Make active test set actions more visible on the Framework page [IN:9283]
Add deasync to default NPM packages [IN:9303]
Speed up test loading when many RVL files are open [IN:9317]
Add all Files - make recursive [IN:9319]
Auto-fix JS cache issues [IN:9322]
Skip template test cases from Play All [IN:9328]
Set embedded Node engine global module path to ProgramData [IN:9333]
WebAppProfile: treatMouseUpAsClick and treatMouseDownAsClick options [IN:9379]
When we stop Debugging manually - do not open Report [IN:9392]
Add tags recorder and skip to shared .js files [IN:9425]
Large project: improve speed of switching between tabs and opening a new document [IN:9426]
Spira Dashboard: improve test case search speed on Framework tab [IN:9472]
Disable all navigation in Spira Dashboard while Sync with Spira is in progress [IN:9475]
OnSave hook [IN:9520]
In Node Engine show null in watch as null, not as {...} [IN:9567]
Allow to specify additional arguments for Chrome embedded into Rapise [IN:9580]
Allow to merge Browserstack mobile params set via profile and via additional capabilities callback [IN:9674]

Bug Fixes

Spira integration: take into account that a test case can be named just like framework itself [IN:9267]
Spira integration: if for some reason a test can not be loaded - do not switch project id [IN:9268]
Spira integration: if a user does not have access to the selected project - Load From Spira dialog is not opening [IN:9269]
Reveal in explorer fails if test case name contains , [IN:9280]
Delete test set on Framework tab should also delete it in Spira [IN:9282]
When a test case is deleted in Rapise, its link to Spira should be removed [IN:9284]
Load from Spira does not load metadata files for Frameworks [IN:9288]
Trailing whitespace in Spira server URL breaks dashboard & savetospira [IN:9302]
Play All defaults to WScript [IN:9315]
Find in Files hangs when one of framework files does not exist [IN:9318]
Automation host token gets cut [IN:9325]
RapiseLauncher failes to clone a repository after update [IN:9326]
Wrong test case is selected in Choose Test Case dialog [IN:9327]
Trailing slash in Appium URL in Mobile Profile causes inability to connect [IN:9360]
New Test Case with Mobile methodology does not see local mobile profiles [IN:9361]
Play This in Object Tree starts playback from the very beginning [IN:9382]
ParamStartPage - Fails if test path root contains whitespaces [IN:9404]
Rapise stays collapsed if debugger stays on breakpoint to quickly [IN:9423]
RaspieLauncher incorrectly overrides GitRoot set in GitCredentials using Env Var [IN:9473]
Spira Dashboard deletes Framework root test case when saving to Spira in case of Git repository [IN:9474]
SeSOnTestFailed not executed for nested tests [IN:9498]
Functions/Variables are vanished when new test case is created [IN:9499]
Show Location in RVL does not work if object is from Shared repository [IN:9505]
Rapise - creating a new json file doesn't work properly, causes issues with .sstest file [IN:9508]
Fix Azure TAP writer [IN:9553]
Salesforce Classic Grid - DoClick not working with Sleenium - Chrome profile [IN:9557]
Corrupted .sstest leads to infinite loading. Need to show some more verbose. [IN:9583]

For more details, please check out the Rapise 8.2 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

Spira v8.3 Released: Additional Custom Reporting Views & Updated German Localization

2024-08-16T17:29:17-04:00

New custom report views

Add a custom report view for pending test runs [IN:3897]
Add a custom report view R_ArtifactAssociation_Extended that extends the normal association view to include a 'Name' column [IN:9256]
Add a custom report view R_RequirementIncidents_Extended that includes requirement and incident name columns [IN:9257]
Add a custom report view R_BuildStatus so report admins to create more useful build custom reports [IN:9311]
Add a custom report view for Task Folders [IN:9388]
Add a custom report view for R_ProjectGroup_MembershipUsers [IN:9504]
Add a custom report view for Requirement Importances [IN:9639]
Add a custom report view for Test Case Priorities [IN:9640]

Improved custom report views

Update the R_TestRunIncidents custom report to include a test step and test run step id columns [IN:7461]
Update the R_TestCaseFolders custom report table to include HIERARCHY_LEVEL and INDENT_LEVEL columns [IN:8570]
Update the TestConfigurationEntries custom report view to include a PROJECT_ID column [IN:8645]
Update the R_RiskMitigations custom report view to include a Project_ID column [IN:9389]
Update the R_TestSets custom report views to include a PROJECT_IS_ACTIVE field, in addition to the PROJECT_ACTIVE_YN field [IN:9391]
Update the R_TestSetFolders custom report table to include HIERARCHY_LEVEL and INDENT_LEVEL columns [IN:9831]

For more details on all of the new features, enhancements and bug-fixes in Spira v8.3, please refer to the release notes.

Rapise 8.2 - Adding Support for Selenium WebDriver ExtentReports

2024-08-06T11:32:13-04:00

What is Extent Reports?

Key Features of ExtentReports:

HTML Reports: ExtentReports can generate rich, interactive HTML reports that include detailed logs, screenshots, and various levels of test information (e.g., pass, fail, skip).
Customizable: You can customize the reports to match your requirements, including adding logos, modifying the color scheme, and structuring the report format.
Logging Levels: It supports different logging levels (e.g., info, warning, error) which can be used to give more context to the steps in the test.
Screenshots: You can embed screenshots in the reports, which is particularly useful for visual validation or understanding why a test failed.
Integration with TestNG/JUnit: ExtentReports integrates well with popular testing frameworks like TestNG and JUnit, allowing seamless generation of reports after tests are executed.
Parallel Execution Support: It handles reports for tests running in parallel, making it suitable for large-scale automated test suites.

When is ExtentReports Used?

Automated Testing: ExtentReports is commonly used in automated testing environments to produce detailed reports that help in understanding test results, debugging failures, and presenting test outcomes to stakeholders.
Selenium/WebDriver Testing: It is frequently paired with Selenium/WebDriver to report on the execution of UI-based tests across different browsers and platforms.
Continuous Integration: ExtentReports is often integrated into CI/CD pipelines, where automated test results are crucial for making informed decisions about the release readiness of software.
Enhanced Test Reporting: When teams require more than basic console or log output, ExtentReports provides a more professional and comprehensive reporting solution.

How is ExtentReports used with Selenium WebDriver?

After running a Selenium WebDriver test suite, ExtentReports can generate an HTML report that shows which tests passed, failed, or were skipped, along with detailed logs and screenshots of each test case. This report can then be reviewed by the QA team or shared with other stakeholders to quickly assess the quality of the application being tested.

How Can I Use ExtentReports in Rapise 8.2?

We have introduced a simple wrapper library, which is incorporated into the ExtentReports page object of FWUsefulPageObjects. To enable ExtentReports in your Rapise framework, simply import the page object as described in the documentation.

When running multiple tests, Rapise will replace the old report and compile all test executions into a new report. However, if you run test cases individually, Rapise will append the new report data to the existing report.

Rapise 8.2 - Introducing Appium 2.0 Support & Shadow DOM Selectors

2024-07-21T10:59:56-04:00

Appium 2.0 Support

Modular Architecture: Appium 2.0 features a new modular architecture, allowing different components to be developed, updated, and replaced independently. This modularity ensures easier maintenance, quicker updates, and more flexibility to customize and extend Appium as needed.
Plugin System: The introduction of a robust plugin system means you can add custom functionality or tweak existing behavior without altering the core framework. This extensibility paves the way for a wide array of enhancements and optimizations tailored to your specific testing needs.
Improved Stability and Performance: With a focus on delivering a more stable and performant experience, Appium 2.0 reduces flakiness and errors, leading to more reliable test executions. The modular architecture and plugin system contribute to this enhanced stability and efficiency.
Backward Compatibility: Despite the new features and improvements, Appium 2.0 maintains backward compatibility with existing scripts. This ensures a smooth transition, allowing teams to upgrade without the hassle of rewriting their existing test cases.
Better Debugging and Reporting: Appium 2.0 offers improved debugging and reporting capabilities, making it easier to diagnose issues and interpret test results. Enhanced logs and detailed error messages help testers quickly identify and resolve problems.
Appium Mac Driver: The Appium Mac Driver is specifically designed for macOS applications. It uses Apple’s XCUITest framework under the hood, enabling robust and reliable automation of macOS apps. This driver is fully integrated into Appium 2.0, making it easy to get started with macOS testing.
Windows Application Driver (WinAppDriver): Appium 2.0 integrates seamlessly with the Windows Application Driver (WinAppDriver), which is essential for automating new-style Windows 11 applications. This driver, developed by Microsoft, enables Appium to interact with Universal Windows Platform (UWP) applications.
Cross-Platform Testing: By supporting macOS alongside iOS and Android, Appium 2.0 enables cross-platform testing from a single test framework. This reduces the overhead of maintaining multiple testing frameworks and scripts, leading to more efficient and cost-effective testing.

Appium 2.0 is a significant leap forward in mobile test automation. Its modular architecture, extensibility, improved stability, and enhanced platform support make it an indispensable tool for modern test automation. Supporting this new standard ensures that our Rapise test automation platform stays ahead of the curve, leveraging the latest features and maintaining compatibility with emerging technologies, including support for Windows 11 built-in applications and eventually MacOS desktop applications.

Shadow DOM Selectors

Why is it Important for Rapise to Support Shadow DOM Selectors?

Modern Web Applications: Many modern web applications and frameworks, such as Angular, React, and Vue.js, utilize Web Components and Shadow DOM to build modular and reusable components. Supporting Shadow DOM selectors is crucial for accurately interacting with these applications.
Accurate Element Selection: Without support for Shadow DOM selectors, Rapise might struggle to accurately identify and interact with elements within shadow trees. This can lead to unreliable test scripts and false positives/negatives in test results.
Comprehensive Testing: Supporting Shadow DOM selectors allows Rapise to fully test applications that use Shadow DOM. This ensures that all elements, including those encapsulated within shadow trees, are tested for functionality, styling, and behavior.
Isolation of Test Environments: Just as Shadow DOM isolates component styling and behavior, supporting it in testing tools ensures that tests can be conducted in an isolated manner. This prevents interference from external styles or scripts, leading to more reliable and consistent test results.
Improved Automation Accuracy: With support for Shadow DOM selectors, Rapise can interact with elements as users would, ensuring that automated tests reflect real user interactions. This improves the accuracy and relevance of our automated tests.

The Shadow DOM is essential for creating encapsulated, reusable web components, ensuring that styles and scripts do not interfere with the main document or other components. So we are pleased to announce that Rapise, in supporting Shadow DOM selectors will remain the number one platform for test automation of your most complex and mission critical applications.

Behavior Driven Development (BDD) SpiraApp Now Released

2024-07-21T10:47:20-04:00

What is BDD and Gherkin Syntax?

Behavior Driven Development (BDD) is a methodology of software development that combines the principles of test-driven development and Domain-driven design. It was developed to help teams create software that is more user-centric, easier to maintain, and more reliable. BDD focuses on the user experience and allows teams to quickly identify and address issues that arise during the development process.

Gherkin is a business readable language which helps you to describe business behavior without going into details of implementation. It is a domain specific language for defining tests in a standardized format for specifications. It uses plain language to describe use cases and allows users to remove logic details from behavior tests.

The new BDD SpiraApp in Action

For example, suppose we have a new user story:

In this user story, we will write a simple statement that describes the functionality in the "As a [xxx] I want [yyyy]" style:

Using the Scenario option in Spira, I can refine this simple user story about registering on LinkedIn to one or more detailed BDD style scenario using Gherkin syntax:

Scenario: User successfully creates a LinkedIn Account

Given John is on the LinkedIn Registration page
When he enters all required registration fields
Then a LinkedIn account is created

When I activate the BDD SpiraApp in my instance of Spira and enable it for my product, I will now see the following syntax highlighting automatically:

This functionality is available for the following artifacts in Spira:

Requirement Steps
Test Case Steps
Risk Mitigations

Exporting a .Feature File

In addition to the syntax highlighting, there is an option in the BDD toolbar to export the current scenarios as a Gherkin .feature file:

When you click this button, a new .feature file is automatically created in the Spira documents repository and linked to the current artifact:

If you click on this file, you will see the syntax highlighting:

In addition, this feature file can be downloaded and accessed by Rapise or RemoteLaunch for test automation.

How Do I Get the BDD SpiraApp?

You can download the latest version of the BDD SpiraApp from the Inflectra SpiraApps marketplace.

From there you can download the SpiraApp and then add it to your system:

Productivity and Usability Enhancements Coming to Spira with AG Grid

2024-07-21T10:17:40-04:00

Background

In Spira, like many critical business applications, we make heavy use of grids and tables for displaying data. In the end user modules of the system we use a variety of in-house AJAX based grid controls that have been developed by Inflectra to provide a fast and fluid user experience. We have dedicated grids that are hierarchical (for requirements and releases), allow sorting (for most other artifacts) or allow drag and drop positioning (for test steps, requirement scenarios and test set test cases). For example, in requirements we have:

These dedicated AJAX grids allow you to filter, sort, making bulk inline edits, save filters, adjust columns and create saved views.

However in the administration section of the application, we mainly use off the shelf Microsoft ASP.NET grid controls. For example, for managing users we have:

These grids offer a basic experience, with simple sorting and filtering available. You can make simple inline edits, but there is limited functionality for making bulk changes, filtering or sorting by more than one column. With the release of Spira v8.2 we are making the first big change to the administration UI that will eventually transform the entire application! We have purchased the professional version of AG Grid and will be implementing it throughout Spira! So what is AG Grid and what does it mean for you?

Introducing the AG Grid

AG Grid is a powerhouse data grid solution for JavaScript frameworks like Angular, React, Vue, and pure JavaScript/TypeScript. It’s the go-to choice for developers building complex, data-intensive web applications. Here’s why AG Grid excels, and explains why we have decided to use it in Spira:

Unmatched Performance: Designed for speed, AG Grid handles large datasets with ease. Experience smooth scrolling, rapid rendering, and top-tier performance, making it perfect for enterprise-level applications.
Packed with Features: AG Grid is a feature-rich platform. From sorting, filtering, and pagination to row grouping, aggregation, pivoting, and infinite scrolling, it’s equipped with everything you need for advanced data manipulation and presentation.
Highly Customizable: Flexibility is key with AG Grid. Customize its look and behavior to suit your needs. Whether it’s custom cell renderers, editors, or complex grid layouts, AG Grid adapts to your requirements seamlessly.
Enterprise-Grade Features: For those advanced scenarios, AG Grid offers enterprise features like server-side row models, complex data grouping, tree data structures, and range selection. These robust features are designed for the most demanding applications and require a commercial license.
Accessibility: Committed to inclusivity, AG Grid includes features that make it accessible to users with disabilities, adhering to WAI-ARIA standards. Applications built with AG Grid will be usable by everyone.

For the v8.2 release of Spira, we have completely rebuilt the Product Membership and Team Membership pages to use the new AG Grid.

Refreshed Product/Team Membership

When you first access the product membership pages after upgrading to Spira v8.2, you will see the new grid in action:

This new grid allows you to manage the membership of a product and assign both a product role and a global team in the same grid. Lets explore some of the key features this new grid offers beyond the incredible speed and responsiveness that you'll see from the first time you use it.

Advanced Filtering

The new grids allow you to create complex, positive and negative matching filters (contains, begins with, does not contain, etc.) on a field by field level:

With the advanced query builder, you can create combinations of filters, either requiring all conditions be fulfilled (AND) or requiring just one condition be fulfilled (OR) in a simple graphical interface:

Multiple Sorts

In addition to the advanced filtering, the new grids allow you to sort by more than one column. You can sort either column ascending or descending to get the data exactly the way you want it:

Column Customization

To improve flexibility, the new grids let you choose which columns are visible in the grid:

In addition to choosing which columns to display, you can also pin certain columns to the left/right and change the width (size) of the column for the ultimate in flexibility:

Bulk Edits

With the new grid you can select multiple columns using the checkbox, put them in edit mode and then edit all of the fields inline:

When you want to change multiple rows to the same value, there is the option to "Paste cell value to rows being edited", which acts like the "Fill" option on the requirements and test case grids.

Data Export in CSV Format

Finally, in addition to all of the existing CSV data export options and reports already in Spira, these new grids make exporting the current filtered, sorted view to CSV as easy as a simple click:

Future Plans

Now that we have implemented the grid for product membership, we anticipate rolling out the new grid initially for the most heavily used administration pages, especially those that customers either use frequently or have lots of editing requirements that will take most advantage of the new features. In addition to the new grid, behind the scenes we are using the new grids as an opportunity to modernize much of the Spira architecture, including migration from Microsoft WCF REST web services to ASP.NET Web API and from ASP.NET AJAX to Razor.

Once we have refreshed the administration experience, we anticipate that AG Grid will become the standard grid across the entire application, eventually replacing the existing AJAX grids that we use for requirements, test cases, etc. We are very excited about the improvements to the user experience this will bring, and we hope you are too!

Spira v8.2 Released: Auditability and Traceability Enhancements for Administration

2024-07-21T09:45:35-04:00

Background

Spira has always included strong audit support for changes made to artifacts in the products and programs that comprise the system For example, if you make changes to a requirement or test cases, or even change the relationship between the artifacts, the changes are logged in the system:

This allows the product manager and program manager to be able to audit all changes in the system.

In this latest version of Spira, we have now included the same level of auditability to key system administration tasks:

Changes to a user's profile
Changes to the definition of a product role, including the defined permissions
Changes to the role that a user has on a product (membership)

Why Is This Functionality Important?

Keeping an audit log of all changes to user roles and permissions in a product management system is crucial for a number of compelling reasons:

Security Assurance: By tracking every change made to user roles and permissions, we ensure that any unauthorized or malicious modifications are quickly identified. This is our first line of defense against security breaches, giving us the visibility needed to protect sensitive information.
Accountability and Responsibility: An audit log records every change along with who made it and when it was done. This creates a culture of accountability, where users with administrative privileges are aware that their actions are being tracked, discouraging improper modifications.
Regulatory Compliance: In many industries, compliance with regulations and standards is non-negotiable. Our audit logs help you meet these stringent requirements by providing a detailed record of all access control changes, ensuring you’re always audit-ready.
Effective Troubleshooting: When something goes wrong, an audit log becomes invaluable. It allows us to trace back and identify if recent changes to roles and permissions are at the root of access problems or unexpected system behavior, enabling faster and more accurate troubleshooting.
Streamlined Change Management: Knowing the history of role and permission changes helps manage transitions smoothly. This ensures changes are made systematically with the necessary oversight, minimizing disruptions and maintaining system integrity.
Incident Response Readiness: In the event of a security incident, having a detailed audit log is critical. It provides a comprehensive timeline of changes, helping investigators understand the incident’s progression and pinpoint the actions that may have contributed to it.
Organizational Transparency: Transparency is key. An audit log allows stakeholders to review changes and ensures role and permission modifications are made openly and in line with company policies.
Simplified User Management: For large organizations, managing user roles and permissions can be a complex task. An audit log helps track these changes over time, making it easier to manage user access and ensure roles are correctly assigned.
Historical Insight: The audit log serves as a historical record, useful for training new administrators, reviewing past decisions, and understanding the context of changes. This historical insight is essential for continuous improvement of access control policies.
Prevention of Privilege Abuse: By maintaining a detailed record of changes, the audit log acts as a deterrent against potential abuse or negligence. Knowing that every action is logged ensures that administrative privileges are used responsibly.

By maintaining a detailed and thorough audit log, you can safeguard your system, streamline your operations, and ensure compliance with confidence.

System Audit Logs in Action!

To see the functionality in action, lets make some common administrative changes. Lets say that we change the permissions on one of our users (Bernard Tyler) to make them a System Administrator:

This user is currently a member of one product as a Developer role:

Lets say we add Bernard to another product as a Tester and also change his role on this product to Manager:

Finally, we decide to change the permissions associated with the Tester role:

With the new administrative auditing functionality we can now see the changes in the System History Log:

First lets look at the user setting change:

You can see clearly that their Admin flag has been changed.

Next lets look at the change of role on the current product:

You can see that the user's role was changed for product PR:1. Similarly, if we click on the product role add change:

When you add a user to a product, it listed as an Addition, with the old role shown as blank, and the new role specified.

Finally, lets look at the changes we made to the Tester product role itself:

When you look at the permissions changes, we show all of the permissions both new and old:

This allows you to see what changes were made to the role.

All of the system audit log entries include the date/time that the change was made, and which user was responsible for making the change/ For further security, these audit log entries cannot be deleted, even by an administrator.

Spira v8.2 Released: Cross Product Test Sets for End-to-End Testing

2024-07-21T07:38:13-04:00

Background

Prior to this new version, test cases in Spira products could be linked to requirements in other products, and requirements can be shared amongst products, however it was not possible to create a test set in product A that contains test cases from products B and C. With this new version, you can now create a test set in one product that includes test cases from other products. For security reasons, those other products must first grant access to their test cases to the product containing the test set.

Benefit of Cross Product Test Sets

Creating test sets that include test cases from several systems in the same test set is important and useful for several reasons:

Comprehensive Testing: Modern software systems are often complex and interconnected, involving multiple subsystems or components. Testing these systems in isolation might not reveal integration issues or interactions between components. Including test cases from several systems ensures that the entire system is tested comprehensively.
Realistic Scenarios: Users typically interact with a system as a whole, not with individual components. Test sets that include test cases from multiple systems can simulate real-world usage more accurately, leading to more reliable and relevant testing outcomes.
Efficiency: Managing and executing tests for different systems separately can be time-consuming and inefficient. By combining test cases from multiple systems into a single test set, testers can streamline their testing processes, reduce redundancy, and save time.
Dependency Management: Systems often depend on each other to function correctly. Testing these dependencies together helps identify and resolve issues that might not be apparent when testing systems independently.
Consistent Test Coverage: Ensuring that all parts of a system are tested consistently can be challenging when dealing with multiple systems. Combined test sets help maintain consistent test coverage across the entire system.
Simplified Reporting: Generating test reports for integrated systems can be complex if test cases are scattered across different test sets. Combined test sets enable more straightforward and cohesive reporting, making it easier to understand the overall test coverage and results.
Regression Testing: When updates or changes are made to one part of a system, it’s essential to verify that these changes haven’t adversely affected other systems. Including test cases from multiple systems in a single test set facilitates more effective regression testing.
Collaboration and Communication: Development and testing teams often work on different systems. Combined test sets encourage collaboration and communication between teams, fostering a more integrated approach to testing and problem-solving.
Traceability: Managing test cases from multiple systems in a single test set improves traceability, making it easier to track which test cases cover which requirements, and how changes in one system affect others.
Scalability: As systems grow and evolve, the complexity of testing increases. Combined test sets provide a scalable approach to managing this complexity, allowing testers to handle larger and more intricate test scenarios effectively.

Cross Product Test Sets in Action

To understand the new feature, lets look at it in action. This example is the same one demonstrated in the recent webinar on Spira 8.2. Using one of the sample Programs "Financial Services > Customer Experience", lets imagine we have two core products:

A web banking portal that allows customers to transact with their bank online
A mobile banking application that allows the same customers to perform of these tasks on a phone

We now want to be able to test some integrated flows where a customer starts a payment on the website, but has to authorize it on their phone (for example):

To facilitate this, we now create a new product called "End to End Banking Integration Testing". This product can then include requirements and use cases that describe some of the desired end to end capabilities.These requirements may well roll up into the capabilities outlined at the program level (for example, allowing customers to make secure payments across devices). Now the question is, how would we test such as cross-product capability?

Well, first we need to authorize the two existing products (Mobile Banking and Web Banking) to share their test cases with the new product:

Once this is done, you can now create a new test set in the new product:

When you click on the newly created test set, you have the option to include test cases from the current product and the two other products that have been authorized to share their test cases:

Once you have added the test cases from the two different products, you can use the Show/Hide Columns option to display the product name as one of the columns to make it easier to see which product the test cases come from:

Now the test set can be assigned and executed in the current product in the same was as normal:

You can see that the tester is able to enter results for all the test cases, regardless of the product they belong to. The recorded test runs are logged in the same product as the test case, but any associated incidents they create are logged in the new integrated product, but associated back to the test case and test runs in the source products. This allows you to have traceability of test results across products seamlessly.

Once the test set has been executed, you can see the execution status in the integrated product:

Drilling down, you can see the test results by test case in this test set:

You can also see the individual test runs logged across multiple cycles for this test set:

As mentioned above, any defects/incidents logged during the testing, will also be logged in the integrated testing product:

For more details on how this feature works, please refer to the detailed guidance in SpiraDocs.

KronoDesk 5.0: Enhanced SLA Support and New Feature Preview

2024-06-25T13:20:42-04:00

The Overview

Key Upgrades coming to KronoDesk in v5.0:

Group Views: Collaborate seamlessly with shared ticket views and faster response times.
SLA Tracking: Monitor ticket metrics (including business hours) to ensure SLA compliance.
Color Coding: Easily identify and prioritize tickets with customizable colors.
Ticket Organization: Effortlessly navigate and manage your support queue.

Group Views

The new version of KronoDesk will introduce additional display options that allow you to view just the open or closed tickets associated with a specific customer support group:

You will be able to click on the Group Open Tickets or Group Closed Tickets options on the main navigation menu and then select the name of the support group from the dropdown list. The system will then display the list of tickets assigned to members of that support group only. You can then sort/filter the list using the standard functionality available on other screens.

Customer SLA Tracking

One of the most frequent requests for KronoDesk has been the need to support tracking the reaction and resolution times against customer-defined SLAs. The new version of KronoDesk will allow you to specify a maximum permitted reaction time and response time for each combination of ticket type and priority:

To make this SLA tracking meaningful, the new version of KronoDesk will also introduce the concept of working hours per day so that time outside of those hours is excluded from the SLA calculations:

The working hours per day will allow you to specify the standard working hours per day of the week and add special non-working days such as public holidays.

Enhanced Color Coding

In addition to the new views and SLA tracking, the latest version also allows you to specify color coding for ticket types and statuses:

We already have color coding for tickets, which denotes the ticket's priority. The status/type color coding is typically used only for a small number of ticket types and statuses where you want to highlight exception cases. For example, in the screenshot above, we are highlighting tickets that are of type "support" and those that are "waiting on development."

Overall, the new version of KronoDesk is a significant upgrade that will make it even easier for businesses to track and manage customer support tickets.

Master customer satisfaction and discover the future of flexible support!

Get started with KronoDesk!

Rapise 8.2 Adopts Dark Mode for Better User Experience

2024-06-25T14:11:59-04:00

Why Introduce a Dark Mode?

When we originally developed our three main product platforms, Spira, Rapise, and KronoDesk, we released them with solely a light mode (dark text on a white background) as that was the prevailing aesthetic in the mid-2000s. However, since then, the popularity of dark mode in applications has exploded.

There are many reasons for this:

Reduced Eye Strain: Many users find dark mode less straining on their eyes, especially in low-light conditions. The reduced brightness can help minimize eye fatigue and discomfort from prolonged screen use.
Better Contrast: Dark mode often offers better contrast for reading and viewing digital content. This can make it easier for some users to discern text and other interface elements, particularly those with visual impairments or conditions like astigmatism.
Power Savings: On devices with OLED or AMOLED screens, dark mode can help save battery life. These types of screens use less power to display dark colors because they actually turn off pixels to render blacks.
Aesthetic Preference: Some users simply prefer the look of dark mode. It can provide a sleek, modern appearance that feels less cluttered and more focused than traditional bright interfaces.
Less Blue Light: Dark mode reduces the amount of blue light emitted by screens, which can improve sleep quality if using devices before bedtime. Exposure to high levels of blue light in the evening can disrupt natural sleep patterns.
Reduced Screen Glare: In environments with ambient light, dark mode can help reduce screen glare, making it easier to view content without interference from reflections.
Helps with Focus: Some users find that dark mode helps them focus better on the content itself without the distraction of a bright interface, particularly when working on tasks involving text or detailed graphics.

So over time, we've introduced the option of dark mode in our various products...

Dark Mode in Spira

We introduced dark mode in SpiraTest, SpiraTeam & SpiraPlan in 2019 as part of our v6.1 release of the product:

Dark Mode in KronoDesk

When we released KronoDesk 2.0, it included a new theming component, that lets customers configure the look and feel of the system to match their company branding and website. As part of the default set of themes, we included a dark mode option:

Finally, Dark Mode in Rapise

We have wanted to include a dark mode option in Rapise for a while, but the variety of technologies we use to render the user interface made it more difficult than with Spira or KronoDesk. However, we have finally managed to make it happen, and the result is that the next version of Rapise (8.2) will sport a stylish new dark mode for the first time:

Exploring Rapise 8.2, including the all-new dark mode. Sign up for a free trial today and enjoy the benefits of our latest enhancements!

Rapise v8.2 Set to Introduce AI Test Scripts and GenAI Assistant

2024-06-25T12:34:41-04:00

Overview

Using GenerativeAI in Rapise:

When you open the new AI features in Rapise, you will be taken to the AI dashboard. This is where you can use one of the new AI assistants to start helping you automate your test scenarios.

In the following sections, we will illustrate some of the critical default GenAI workflows and capabilities available in Rapise 8.2.

Generating Code from AI Commands

Rapise 8.1 introduces a new conversational interface for interactively communicating with the Rapise AI assistant. Using this assistant, we can provide the details of a test scenario (e.g., logging into a specific application, waiting a few seconds, and then logging out) in natural language, and the AI assistant will write the RVL test actions for us:

We can refine the suggestions using the conversational interface until we are happy with the provided solution. Then, we can use the Apply button to tell Rapise to implement the suggestion into the codeless RVL test scenario. If you prefer a scripted test approach, you can also do the same thing with the JavaScript code editor.

This looks like we're getting close to the "holy grail" of test automation - namely, taking a manual test case or test scenario and automatically turning it into running code. Well, the following workflow gets us pretty close to that...

Using AI Commands in RVL

In addition to using the conversational interface to write natural language test scenarios, we can use the new "AI" Rapise Visual Language (RVL) command to directly execute manual test scenarios from within the RVL editor. In the example below, we have used a single-line RVL statement that contains the natural language test scenario:

Login as librarian/librarian

Click Books link

Click Create New Book link

Logout

And from that simple statement, Rapise will dynamically ask the AI engine to generate the appropriate automated test script "on the fly" and then execute it.

The result is that you can now execute a manual test case via the AI engine in one single step! In the background, Rapise uses the same set of AI prompts to get the JavaScript version of the test script from the manual test scenario and then executes it in real time. For this to work, you will already have had to learn the appropriate UI objects or API endpoints using the standard Rapise Learn tools.

Generating Data Lists

In addition to automating manual test cases, the GenAI functionality can accelerate other tedious manual tasks, such as creating synthetic test data. For example, suppose we need to generate ten fake company names for use in a test script. Typically we'd create an RVL Map and then populate it from some external source. With Rapise 8.2, you can ask your AI assistant to create them for you:

You can use the conversational interface to refine the question to get exactly what you want. For example, if the company names are too long, you could ask for ten shorter ones. Once you are happy with the results, you can use the Apply button to simply add them to your RVL map:

The nice thing about our AI implementation is that it maintains a "session history", so it remembers you previous questions. That way, if you want to get ten more companies that are similar to the ten you previously entered, you can simply ask it to "Generate 10 more rows" rather than having to write out the full prompt again:

You can then apply these new company names to your RVL Map in exactly the same way:

You now have 20 company names ready for use in your test scripts. You can use the AI data table generator default workflow to generate a table of data with multiple columns in exactly the same way.

Generic Interactive AI Assistant

Finally, another common use case is to have a "copilot" that helps you with basic (and some not-so-basic) test automation tasks. For example, you might need to create a simple JavaScript utility function to get the current day of the week. Since Rapise uses standard JavaScript and ECMAScript for its engine, you could probably go to StackOverflow or a similar website to find some sample code.

However, with Rapise 8.2, you can skip that step and simply ask Rapise to help you:

Once you are happy with its recommendation, you can then simply insert the generated JavaScript utility function right into your Rapise test script:

Ensuring Audit Control using AI Session History

As part of our commitment to responsible AI, Rapise includes a full session history of all AI conversations. This allows you to see all the previous interactions and check for any hallucinations or discrepancies.

Configuring AI in Rapise

When you go to the new Rapise AI dashboard, you will see that it comes with a predefined set of models, agents, and workflows. You can use the default workflows to immediately start working with, or you can create your own models, agents, and workflows to customize the AI functionality. In the previous section, we illustrated how you can use some of the out-of-the-box AI workflows to perform common tasks. In this section, we'll explain the different elements that make up the AI functionality and how you can configure them to create AI workflows of your own.

Configuring AI: Models

The models dialog lets you define the different large language Models (LLM) that you want to use with Rapise. For example, you might want to use GPT 3.5 turbo, GPT4, or another model. It also lets you specify the connection URL, API Key, and API version. This is important as you may want to use a public model such as OpenAI GPT4 or a private LLM such as GPT4 running under Microsoft Azure OpenAI.

You then give the model a friendly name that it will be referred to elsewhere. In the example, we have called the model "Sample OpenAI GPT-4 model".

Configuring AI: Agents

The agent dialog lets you specify how to process the data coming back from the LLM. For example, you want to return back JSON or a comma-separated list of values. You then associate the agent with a specific model and also specify the temperature of the AI prompt:

The temperature determines how "predictable" the answer will be.

Temperature in AI is like a special setting that helps decide how the AI behaves and what kind of answers it gives. Imagine you have a robot that can talk. If you set its ‘temperature’ high, the robot might give you lots of different and sometimes surprising answers.

But if you set it low, the robot will give you safer, more expected answers. This ‘temperature’ setting is really important for people who work with AI because it helps them control how creative or careful the AI is when it answers questions or solves problems.

Configuring AI: Workflows

Finally, you use the workflow dialog to create a specific AI use case that you want Rapise to provide. The workflow screen allows you to write the actual system prompt that will be sent to the AI model. Any data returned back from the model will then be processed and parsed using the agent you specify:

With these three components (model, agent and workflow) you can create new AI use cases and assistants right from within Rapise itself.

Unlock your testing team's full potential with Rapise 8.2. Don't just automate—amplify your team's ingenuity with AI. Make tedious tasks a thing of the past, and your testers will be free to focus on what they do best: ensuring exceptional software quality. Explore the possibilities with Rapise 8.2 today!

Spira v8.1 Released: Integration with AWS CodeBuild and CodePipelines

2024-06-25T14:14:46-04:00

What is AWS CodeBuild?

AWS CodeBuild is a fully managed build service that compiles source code, runs tests, and produces software packages that are ready to deploy. It's part of the Amazon Web Services (AWS), cloud computing platform.

Here are some key features of AWS CodeBuild:

Fully Managed Service: CodeBuild eliminates the need to set up, patch, and manage your own build servers. It scales automatically to handle multiple builds concurrently.
Continuous Scaling: The service scales up and down automatically to meet the number of builds you need to complete.
Pay as You Go: You pay only for the compute resources you use during the build, making it cost-effective for projects of any scale.
Integration with Other AWS Services: It integrates seamlessly with AWS CodePipeline, Amazon S3, AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), and other services to support a complete software release workflow.
Customizable Build Environments: You can use pre-packaged build environments, or you can specify custom build environments based on Docker, allowing you to define your own build tools and environments.
Security: Builds are run in isolated environments, and CodeBuild is integrated with IAM to assign specific permissions to build projects.
Support for Multiple Programming Languages: It supports several programming languages and build tools such as Java, Python, Ruby, Go, Node.js, Android, and Docker.

AWS CodeBuild is a robust tool particularly suited for developers who need a reliable, scalable, and efficient way to automate builds and testing as part of a CI/CD pipeline in the AWS ecosystem.

What is AWS CodePipeline, and How Is It Different from AWS CodeBuild?

AWS CodePipeline and AWS CodeBuild are both parts of Amazon Web Services' suite of developer tools, but they serve different purposes within the realm of continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD). Here’s how they differ and what each one is specifically used for:

AWS CodePipeline

AWS CodePipeline is a continuous integration and continuous delivery service for fast and reliable application and infrastructure updates.

CodePipeline automates the build, test, and deploy phases of your release process every time there is a code change based on the release model you define. Here are some of its key features:

Automation of Release Processes: CodePipeline automates the steps required to release your software changes continuously.
Modular Design: You can define your build, test, and deploy stages and use different tools for each stage (e.g., GitHub for source control, CodeBuild for building the project, and AWS Elastic Beanstalk for deployment).
Integration with Third-party Services: It integrates with third-party services like GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab for source control and Jenkins or TeamCity for builds.
Customizable Workflow: You can customize the workflow to suit your development process. Each action in a pipeline is a plug-in to an external service, which can be swapped or reconfigured as needed.

AWS CodeBuild

AWS CodeBuild, on the other hand, is a service specifically focused on compiling code, running tests, and producing ready-to-deploy software packages. It's essentially a single component of the broader CI/CD pipeline that can be used independently or integrated into CodePipeline. Here are its specific features:

Fully Managed Build Service: CodeBuild runs each build in a fresh environment, handling the infrastructure, environment scaling, and build execution.
Integrated with AWS Services: It works well with other AWS services, allowing you to store artifacts in Amazon S3 and manage identities via AWS IAM.
Support for Custom Build Environments: You can use pre-configured environments or define your own custom Docker containers.

Differences

Scope: CodePipeline orchestrates the flow of changes from source control through build, test, and deployment. CodeBuild is focused solely on the build or test phase and can be used as one of the steps within a CodePipeline pipeline or separately for any build or test tasks.
Integration: CodePipeline is designed to integrate various steps into a cohesive workflow, whereas CodeBuild is primarily a tool that executes one of these steps — the build or test phase.
Usage: If you just need to automate the compilation and testing of your code, CodeBuild might be sufficient. If you need a full pipeline that includes CI/CD processes with stages for build, test, and deployment, then CodePipeline is necessary, possibly incorporating CodeBuild as one of its stages.

In practice, many AWS customers use both together to take full advantage of automated CI/CD pipelines within the AWS ecosystem. CodePipeline manages the overall workflow and uses services like CodeBuild and others to handle specific tasks within the pipeline.

How Does the Integration Between Spira & AWS Code Work?

SpiraTeam integrates seamlessly with AWS Code tools in a variety of ways. You can easily configure your AWS CodeBuild projects to report against a release by creating a new build in SpiraTeam each time they run. This lets you see the health of your CI/CD process within SpiraTeam.

You can easily configure your AWS CodeBuild projects to report against a release by creating a new build in Spira each time they run. This let's you see the health of your CI/CD process within Spira. You can record the results of a build against a single release, or multiple releases, even if they are in different products. Any CodeBuild project that is set up to report to Spira will also report to Spira if the project is run as part of an AWS CodePipeline. This give a lot of flexibility in how to track builds from AWS in Spira.

The flexibility is enabled by the use of AWS environment variables:

AWS CodeBuild can pass environmental variables into the build process and send these as part of the recording process in Spira.

Whenever the AWS CodeBuild project runs - manually, automatically, or as part of an AWS CodePipeline, the build will be recorded against the specified release(s) in Spira (as long as the user has permissions to create a build in the relevant product(s)).

Spira creates a build against that release with the key information, including the build status.

Where Can I Learn More

For more information on the new AWS CodeBuild and CodePipeline integration, please check out the topic in SpiraDocs.

Migration Tool for XRAY Test Management Tool Now Available

2024-05-24T16:29:48-04:00

How It Works

The XRAY additions to our Jira Migration Tool allows you to simply connect to your instance of Jira (either Cloud, Server or DataCenter) and choose which XRAY artifacts you want to migrate (test case and/or test runs) in conjunction with the standard Jira artifacts:

We all the selected data project at the same time from Jira to Spira. We do this because many of the XRAY objects are in fact simply customized Jira issues (test case, test execution and test set/plan) and will be associated with other related Jira issues (requirements and defects). This ensures that you can view the resulting requirements test coverage, and other key metrics from within Spira (post migration).

In the Spira/Jira artifact mapping screen, you will generally map the XRAY artifacts as follows:

Test Cases and Pre-Conditions are mapped to SpiraTest Test Cases
Test Sets and Test Plans are mapped to SpiraTest Test Sets
Test Executions and Sub Test Executions are mapped to SpiraTest Test Runs

What is Migrated

The XRAY part of the Jira migration tool currently handles the following:

Test Case Folders (Repository Path)
- Name
- Description
Test Cases
- Standard Fields
- Custom Fields
- Attachments
- Repository Path
- Test Parameters / Data Sets
- Associations to Requirements
Test Steps
- Step Description
- Expected Result
- Sample Data
- Attachments
- Linked (Nested) Child Test Cases
- Test Parameter Values
Test Sets (Test Sets + Test Plans)
- Name
- Description
- List of Mapped Test Cases
Test Runs (Test Executions, Sub Test Executions)
- Name
- Description
- Execution Status
- Attachments
- Fix Version / Release
- Custom Properties
Test Run Steps
- Step Description
- Expected Result
- Actual Result
- Sample Data
- Attachments
- Association to Defects/Bugs

The following screenshots illustrate the data imported from some sample XRAY projects (sanitized):

Test Case Repository

The test case folders, hierarchy and names are imported, along with the IDs of the various XRAY test cases:

Test Steps

The migration tool will migrate XRAY test cases that contain standard steps with an Action, Description, Description and Sample Data:

Note that it will convert XRAY parameters from the formal used in XRAY to those in SpiraTest. It also migrates over the test parameter values from the corresponding XRAY data set.

It will also correctly migrate over any test cases that contain links to other test cases as their steps (or a combination of both):

Test Sets and Test Plans

The migration tool will migrate the XRAY test sets and test plans into SpiraTest as test sets:

The test sets will be imported into a flat list in SpiraTest (that you can organize by folder, post-migration), together with the mapping to the various test cases included in the XRAY test set or test plan.

Test Executions

The XRAY test executions and sub-test executions will be imported into SpiraTest together with their mapped test cases and test runs. These will be migrated into SpiraTest as a test run. The various fields and statuses are faithfully migrated.

The test run migration includes the test run step level of detail, with the appropriate XRAY test run step results imported, including the expected result, actual result and any test parameter values:

What About Other Jira Test Management Plugins?

We have heard from other potential customers using different Jira test management plugins that they are also looking for migration options. So, depending on customer demand, we anticipate developing similar Jira migration extensions for the following test management plugins:

Zephyr Squad from SmartBear (formerly Zephyr)
Zephyr Scale from SmartBear (formerly TM4J from Adaptavist)

Updated Jira Migration Tool Now Available for Jira Server, DataCenter and Cloud

2024-05-21T16:50:28-04:00

Easy to Use Migration Tool

Our out of the box migration tool for Jira allows you to simply connect to your instance of Jira (either Cloud, Server or DataCenter) and choose which artifacts you want to migrate:

From there you can connect it to your instance of Spira (SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, or SpiraPlan) and decide whether you want to use an existing product template to create a new one 'on the fly':

The final step is to then map the various Jira artifacts to the ones in Spira. After that is done, you can click the button to start the migration:

Once the import is done, all of your Jira project data is seamlessly migrated over to Spira.

Migration Tool Enhancements

In the most recent update to this migration tool we have added the following enhancements

Migration of Jira Requirements Backlog Hierarchy

The previous version of the Jira migration tool would import of all the Jira issues that map to requirement types as a simple flat list in Spira. However Spira has a powerful requirements management system that allows you to create hierarchical product backlogs, so we have enhanced the migration tool to convert Jira issue dependent associations between requirements into the parent....child hierarchy within Spira:

This makes it easy to get started with Spira, taking your Jira backlog and planning the Epics, Features and Stories without any manual work to connect them:

Migration of Jira Associations

For those user stories, features and epics in Jira that are connected to each other with non-depedent relationships, the updated migration tool will import them as Associations within Spira:

This new Association migration functionality will handle requirement-incident associations as well as incident-incident and requirement-requirement associations.

Migration of Jira Labels

With the introduction of Spira 7.13 we completed adding support for meta tags for all artifact types. Consequently the migration tool can now import Jira labels as meta tags for all Spira artifacts:

This is in addition to the existing handling of Jira custom fields.

Handling of Additional Jira Custom Field Types

This latest version of the Jira migration tool supports additional Jira custom field types, including the following standard and third-party field types:

com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:textfield
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:urlfield
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:textarea
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:freetextfield
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:selectlist
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:select
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:cascadingselect
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:multiselect
com.sourcesense.jira.plugin.cascadingselect:multi-level-cascading-select
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:datepickerfield
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:datetimefield
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:datetime
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:numberfield
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:float
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:userpicker
com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.customfieldtypes:versionpicker
com.pyxis.greenhopper.jira:gh-sprint

How Do I Get The Latest Jira Migration Tool?

You can download the latest version of the Jira migration tool from our website:

The documentation is available on SpiraDocs. If you have questions, please Contact Us.

Spira v8.0 Released: SpiraApps Marketplace & Risk Management Comes to SpiraTeam

2024-05-15T09:57:40-04:00

SpiraApps Now Open to Third-Party Developers

After much work by our product teams, we are excited to announce that we have opened up our SpiraApps ecosystem to third-party developers for the first time. With the new version of Spira, we have updated the design of the grid that shows you which SpiraApps are installed in your instance and whether they are active or not:

In addition to being able to activate and deactivate SpiraApps more easily, the new page lets you also upload a packaged SpiraApp for the first time:

To make it easy to add SpiraApps to your instance of Spira, we have released a new SpiraApps homepage that contains information on how to use and develop SpiraApps, as well as a download marketplace of all available SpiraApps:

All you need to do is download the SpiraApp from the Inflectra marketplace onto your local computer and then upload it directly into your Spira instance. This process works with all editions of Spira (SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, SpiraPlan) version 8.0 or newer. It works for both cloud and on-premise customers.

Once you have uploaded the new SpiraApp to your instance, it will be listed in the table of installed apps. Then, you can click on the Activate button and start using it!

For more information on SpiraApps, please refer to:

The new SpiraApps homepage on our website
Documentation for how to use SpiraApps
Documentation on how to develop SpiraApps.

Risk Management Now Available in SpiraTeam

Previously, the risk management and risk-based testing features of the Spira platform were only available in the SpiraPlan edition of the product. Now that we have completed the first version of the scaled agile functionality in SpiraPlan - with the ability to manage program backlogs, define program capabilities, plan program milestones, track projects in a portfolio, and perform project portfolio management, we felt it was time to enable the one product-level feature that was excluded from SpiraTeam.

This change lets us clearly focus our product lineup on the intended audience:

SpiraTest - designed for QA teams, with a focus on test case management, requirements traceability, and defect tracking
SpiraTeam - a complete project/product level platform that lets product teams manage their entire project end-to-end
SpiraPlan - an enterprise product that contains support for organizations wishing to deploy Spira at scale across multiple programs and portfolios.

Bug Fixes and Enhancements

In addition to the two new marquee features, we have implemented the following enhancements and bug fixes:

Add an API call that will allow Spira to track when a data sync starts running or changes status from Not Run to In Progress [IN:8629]
Fix the test case folder count not updating correctly when one of its subfolders is deleted [IN:7165]
Fix v6 & v7 APIs to return the user's full name when getting project users (introduced in 7.13) [IN:9440]
Help admins get help or more information about a SpiraApp by showing the link of the SpiraApp on their settings pages [IN:9416]
Improve SpiraApps for developers by requiring API calls to third parties be made with reference to the guid and not the name of the SpiraApp [IN:9427]
Improve the SpiraApp developer experience with css nesting and localStorage support [IN:9417]
Show the test coverage indicator at the top of the requirement details page to help users see the same information on the details page that they can on the list page [IN:9185]
Show the test coverage indicator at the top of the release details page to help users see the same information on the details page that they can on the list page [IN:9186]
Update the SpiraPlan product name to use bold for "Spira" [IN:9418]
Upgrade the icon set used throughout the application to allow for future flexibility in icon design [IN:9296]

How Do I Get the New Version?

Download customers can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website. Cloud customers will have already been updated during the May maintenance window. If you have any questions about the new version, please get in touch with support@inflectra.com. The full release notes can be found on SpiraDocs.

Elevate Your Testing: SpiraTeam's Integration with LambdaTest

2024-05-10T11:26:30-04:00

A Powerful Partnership

Our collaboration with LambdaTest underscores our commitment to providing you with the best software testing and management solutions. This integration streamlines your workflow, empowering you to deliver the exceptional software experiences your users expect. LambdaTest's cross-browser testing capabilities dovetail seamlessly with SpiraTeam's project management expertise, enabling development and testing teams to work in unison for enhanced software quality. This partnership eliminates the friction of multiple systems and directly facilitates bug logging. The result? Higher-quality products delivered faster.

Here's a breakdown of the key advantages highlighted in the video:

Streamlined Bug Logging: No more switching between platforms! Track issues directly from LambdaTest into your SpiraTeam project, eliminating duplicated effort.
Enhanced Team Alignment: Centralized bug tracking offers greater visibility across your development and testing teams.
Software Quality Boost: A seamless testing workflow promotes faster bug identification and resolution, directly contributing to delivering high-quality software.

Level Up Your Software Testing with Inflectra and LambdaTest

We are committed at Inflectra to providing solutions that make software development simpler, faster, and more focused on quality. The LambdaTest-SpiraTeam integration is another step in that direction. Questions? Contact us at sales@inflectra.com.

Spira v7.13 Released: New Product Onboarding Widget and My Page Updates

2024-04-13T11:06:47-04:00

Streamlined My Page

When you login to Spira, unless you have customized your choice of Start Page, you will be taken to the My Page. This page is designed to be your go-to place to find all the work you need to do and see all of the items that are assigned to you (across all projects and artifacts). When this page was originally designed, Spira did not have as many artifacts and therefore the design worked well. However, as we have added Risks, Documents, Tasks, not all users will be working on all types of artifact, and the page was starting to get cluttered, with lots of empty widgets getting in the way. For example, a user might see the following:

Although you can manually hide or minimize any of the widgets, that takes time for users, and means they might miss something if they are assigned an item of a type they don't usually work on. So, in v7.13 we have modified the default behavior of the My Page to automatically only show items that contain data. The same user would now see the following:

Which is much better!! However since we know that not all users will want this automated visibility, we have added a setting to the My Page where you can opt-out of this feature:

Since we believe that most users will prefer the new display, we have defaulted this setting to being enabled for all users.

On-boarding Checklist

In addition to the streamlining of the My Page, we have added a new 'on-boarding checklist' widget for new customers. This widget will only display for the default 'administrator' user when they first sign up for a Spira account. This new widget helps orient them in the application, walking them through the basics of using Spira for the first time:

Logging in, choosing light/dark mode, and updating your avatar
Opening a product and following the quick start guide
Inviting other team members to join the instance of Spira
Creating a new product and viewing the key customization options and settings

The on-boarding widget comes in two parts:

and as users complete the various tasks, the system tracks the completion so they know what is left.

If you are an existing, experienced user, you can of course just hide this widget in the dashboard layout settings!!

How Do I Get the New Version?

Download customers can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website. Cloud customers will have already been updated during the April maintenance window. If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com. The full release notes can be found on SpiraDocs.

SpiraPlan v7.13 Released: Introducing The New Program Capabilities Board

2024-04-13T17:36:04-04:00

Program Capabilities Backlog View

In SpiraPlan version 7.7 we introduced the Scaled Agile artifacts for managing program backlogs - capabilities and milestones. These new program artifacts let you define key program initiatives and map them to high-level deadlines. You can then associate product backlog items such as requirements, epics, features, and user stories to these capabilities (from multiple different products). The initial view that was released was a hierarchical grid, similar to those we have for product requirements:

This is a great view for defining new capabilities, establishing a hierarchy of needs and filtering the backlog hierarchy by priority, type, status, progress or any defined custom field. The progress field lets you see the % complete of the product requirements associated with the capability. However this view was not ideal for visualizing all of the capabilities in a milestone, and moving capabilities between priorities, statuses, types or milestone meant editing the fields. So with that in mind, we are excited to announce that we now have a program board view designed specifically for managing the program backlog:

Program Capabilities Board View

Using the new agile boards introduced in Spira v7.9, we have added a board view to program capabilities. This new board lets you visualize the capabilities as "cards" on the board. In the default view shown below we are displaying the capability cards on a board with the different capability statuses as the columns:

Now you can easily drag and drop the capability cards to change the status of the capability. The capability cards display the name, ID and status of the capability, with the assignee's avatar shown in the bottom-right.

Board Display Options

However this is not the only display option, if you click on the card features icon, you can see the different display options that are available:

If we change the display to include the capability type, priority, progress, and requirement indicators, the same board will now look like:

Now we can see the priority of each card by the colored circle in the bottom right (next to the user avatar). You can see the capability status displayed next to its ID (under the title). We also have colored bar-charts that display the % completion of each capability.

Program Capabilities Progress Tracking

Each of the program capability cards can display a colored bar chart that shows the % completion of each capability. This is the Req. Progress indicator and it aggregates the % complete of each of the products requirements associated with the capability. When all of the product requirements associated with the capability are completed, the bar will show 100% green. When it shows less than 100% you will want to drill down and see which requirements are incomplete. That is where the small colored circles next to the bar-chart come in:

When you hover the mouse over the requirement circle it will display the name and ID of the product requirement as well as its individual requirement status. Clicking on the circle will open up the requirement in question (in the appropriate product):

Program Capability Inline Editing

The program capability board includes full inline editing functionality - if you click on the card it will popup a dialog where you can edit any of the fields:

When you click the + button to add a new capability, the same form is displayed, allowing you to quickly and easily add new capabilities to the program backlog.

Program Capability Board Views

The capability board features multiple different view options that allow you to use it for all the stages of the program management lifecycle. Initially you will want to use the priority and status rows/columns to prioritize the different capabilities by business value:

Then once they have been prioritized, you can use the milestone view to assign the capabilities to different program increments and milestones:

This can be done by simply dragging the capability cards into the appropriate program incident / milestone as desired.

What's Planned Next?

We hope you like the new program capability board. Now that we have revamped all of the product boards and added the new capability board, the next stream of work in our roadmap is to refresh the existing program planning board to use our new board design and display the product requirements against the capabilities/milestones.

How Do I Get the New Version?

Spira v7.13 Released: Azure OpenAI SpiraApp Enables GenerativeAI Functionality for Azure Users

2024-05-11T13:19:20-04:00

Overview

We introduced the ChatGPT assistant SpiraApp in Spira v7.10 that allows users to automate the generation of standard downstream artifacts from user stories, features, epics, and business/system requirements. It allows users to quickly generate a set of standard test cases, tasks, risks, and BDD scenarios that can then be refined and improved as needed. We were pleasantly surprised by the response from our customers, everyone was excited about the functionality and the potential time savings it could generate.

However for a lot of our customers in more regulated industries, there was concern with sending their data to the public OpenAI API that is needed to generate the artifacts. Although OpenAI's terms of service state that API queries are not used to train the underlying Large Language Model (LLM), many of our customers were interesting in having a more private solution.

So we have good news! The latest release of Spira includes a new Azure OpenAI version of the plugin that lets you connect to your private LLMs hosted inside Microsoft Azure, accessible via. the same REST API as the public ChatGPT version.

How Does It Work?

The new Azure OpenAI SpiraApp is available inside Spira as a separate SpiraApp (from the existing ChatGPT one). Simply Activate the new plugin:

Then you can enter in the settings to enable Spira to connect to your instance of Azure OpenAI. The settings are different to those in the regular ChatGPT version:

Since each instance of the OpenAI GPT models is hosted privately inside a customer's Azure environment, you need to enter the URL of your own instance of Azure OpenAI. In addition, you will need to enter in the API Key and API Version that your environment supports. Once that's done, you can then use the plugin in the same was as the ChatGPT version.

You can choose a specific requirement (including Epics, User Stories, and Use Cases) and then generate the test cases tasks, BDD scenarios and risks associated with them. For example:

What's Planned in The Future?

We are planning on expanding the AI functionality available in Spira to include such use cases as: generating requirements from a product description, generating more detailed test cases and scenarios based on the defined types in the system, and introducing an AI assistant that helps you perform everyday tasks more quickly. We also plan on giving you more flexibility in the choice of LLMs being used, with plans to allow access to models such as Mistral and Claude via. AWS Bedrock.

How Do I Get the New Version?

Spira v7.13 Released: Audit Tracking of Product Membership Changes

2024-04-13T11:51:18-04:00

Product Membership Audit Tracking

As part of our efforts to enhance the auditability and traceability of administrator activities, every change to product membership (adding a user, removing them, changing roles) is now tracked in both product history and system history.

For example, if you go to the product membership administration page:

You can add new users to the product, remove existing users and change the roles of existing users. If make such changes, the membership would now look like:

Previously there would be now way to see the changes that were made, who made the changes, and when they were made.

With the new product membership audit tracking, you can see that in the product history change log:

You can click on one of the Modified items and see what the change was:

To make it easier for system administrators to see the changes across all the products, it is also available in the system history change log as well:

Similarly, you can drill down on a specific change, to see more details:

What's Planned Next?

This is just one piece in the larger stream of work related to audit tracking. As part of our product roadmap, we will be adding additional audit tracking of key administrative tasks in upcoming releases, specifically:

Provide audit tracking of changes made by administrators to product roles.
Provide audit tracking of changes made by administrators to users.

Furthermore, for general users, we are also extending the baselining audit tracking to include the following additional association types:

Associations between risks and requirements
Associations between risks and test cases
How Do I Get the New Version?

Download customers can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website. Cloud customers will have already been updated during the April maintenance window. If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com. The full release notes can be found on SpiraDocs.

Spira v7.13 Released: Tags/Labels Now Available For Test Cases and Other Artifacts

2024-04-12T15:39:43-04:00

Tags (aka Labels) For All Product Artifacts

In Spira v7.10 we introduced the ability to add free-form tags (known as labels in some other platforms) to certain product artifacts such as requirements, tasks, documents and incidents. Now in version 7.13 we have completed the rollout of product artifact tags, with the same functionality now available on the remaining artifacts (test cases, test runs, test sets and risks):

This functionality augments the existing custom properties functionality to allow users to tag artifacts with new ideas and concepts as they develop. For example, in the test case above you might want to tag it with "search", "flights", "booking" and "one way". Adding a tag is as simple as typing a comma and then adding the new tag. If the system detects a partial match it will first let know that an existing tag matches the text, you can either accept that, or tell the system to create a new tag:

Once the new tag is added, you can easily edit/remove the tag by hovering the mouse over the tag and using the option to delete the tag and then enter a new/modified one:

The tags are also visible and editable on the main list pages as well, so you can then filter, sort or search by artifact tag, as well as all the other fields:

Tags Available In Boards

Version 7.13 also extends the tags to the new agile boards in the system (requirements, incidents, tasks and planning boards). When you go to the new boards view, if you click on the button to create a new item or edit an existing item, the popup screen has the tag field now available:

Finally, the new tag fields are available in the custom reporting views, so you can create custom reports that use the new tags either in the query or the data retrieved.

How Do I Get the New Version?

Spira Product Template Migration Tool Released

2024-04-08T09:23:46-04:00

What Does the New Tool Do?

This new cross-platform application lets you save a copy of a Spira product template to a .templ file on your local computer. It also lets you migrate everything about the template to any Spira instance.

What is the Benefit for Me?

Being able to store, share, and migrate Spira product templates gives you lots of powerful workflows. For example:

The backup file can be used to audit a live product template in Spira to see if it has changed
You can restore a backup to your main Spira instance to clone the template quickly or to help you revert to a template before a series of now unwanted changes
You can share templates with others that serve a specific need, such as for a particular industry or process

Many of our customers in more regulated industries such as healthcare, life sciences, capital financial markets, manufacturing, and defense/aerospace will need to have multiple instances of Spira from a configuration management perspective:

Product instance that is used with live data, where no untested configuration changes are allowed
Staging/test instance that is used to test and verify workflow/configuration changes
Development instances that are used to try out possible workflow/configuration changes

Previously, you would need to make a configuration change to a template (e.g., add a workflow status or transition, modify custom properties, etc.) in the development/staging environments, and once tested, manually recreate the same change in the production instance.

Now with the new template migration tool, you can create and test potential configuration changes and then, once accepted, migrate the template from test/staging to production.

How Do I Obtain and Use The Tool?

To get the new product template migration tool, go to the Spira Add-Ons and Downloads section of our website and then download the appropriate (Mac or PC) version of the new migration tool:

The application runs on Windows or Mac OS and is available to download. To install it, follow the instructions in the application installer on your platform.

The documentation for the new tool can be found on our central SpiraDoc documentation website.

When you open the application, you see the main welcome screen:

From here, you have two options (note that you must be a system administrator to proceed):

Start New Backup: starts a new process to save a Spira product template to a template file
Open Backup File: continues a previous process based on the state of the template file selected.

These options are discussed in more detail below.

Template backup

To start a new backup of a product template to a local file:

select "Start New Backup" from the welcome screen.
on the next screen, enter valid administrator credentials for the Spira instance you want to backup a template from
select the product template to backup and a place to save it on your computer (the file extension will be .templ)

During the backup process, you will see the progress and details about what actions have been completed. If you click "Stop" during the backup, the process will pause, so you can resume it later (you can only migrate after the backup has been 100% completed). Just in case there are any issues or errors, the application saves a log alongside the backup file.

Once the backup has finished, you have two options:

"Return to Start" to go back to the welcome screen. Choose this option to either make another backup or to quit the application
"Migrate" to immediately start the process of migrating the template to a different Spira instance

Template Migration

Once you have completed a product template backup, you can migrate the product template to another Spira instance:

During the migration process, you will see the progress and details about what actions have been completed. If you click "Stop" during the migration, the process will pause, so you can resume it later (the new product template will not be usable in Spira until the migration is 100% completed). Just in case there are any issues or errors, the application saves a log alongside the backup file.

Future Plans

Now that we have released the new product template backup and migration tool, we have the following exciting plans:

The older Spira product backup and migration tool that is Windows-only and was released prior to the introduction of product templates in Spira 6.0 will be fully depreciated, and its functionality incorporated into the new cross-platform tool.
We are in the process of creating a new Inflectra marketplace for extensions and add-ons for our products. It will include third-party extension such as SpiraApps and Rapise custom libraries, but we also plan to include product templates for different industries, use cases and methodologies, developed by our partners and other third parties that you can use.

Spira v7.12 Released: New Incident & Requirement Scrum/Kanban Boards

2024-02-13T21:49:59-05:00

New Incident Board

The new incident agile board uses the new design we introduced in Spira v7.9 for the main planning board. This new design lets you divide up the board into vertical columns, which can be any of the incident fields such as status, type, priority, severity, release or owner. The board will show the number of incident "cards" that are contained in each column at the top. The new board makes it easy to view the incidents and drag them between the different statuses as the work is completed. In addition, the board view is great during meetings where you want to be able to see the progress of the team at a glance:

One other major change is that you can now configure the order of the statuses as they appear on the board. This means the left-right ordering on the board can be aligned with your specific incident workflow for the first time, making it easier to visualize intuitively the flow of work on the project.

In the same way that the new planning board offers the ability to have horizontal rows or "swimlanes" as well as columns, the new incident board also has this feature. This allows you to segment the incidents by multiple fields at the same time. For example, in the view below, we are displaying the incident cards by priority and status. We have also changed the card settings to show the progress, and type and severity of the incident on the card:

You can easily change what information is displayed on each of the cards using the handy popup configuration dialog box:

Furthermore, when you choose certain incident fields as the row selection (e.g. person), you will get the additional option to group the rows into board groups. This is most commonly used when displaying the incidents by person, as you may have a large number of different team members working on the project. In this case, you can use the teams feature to group the people by project team:

In this example above, we have grouped the incidents by team, with the groups showing people as the rows and status as the columns. We have also added the incident status field on the card as an additional item.

Refreshed Requirements Board

In addition to the completely new incident board, we have also updated the requirements board to use the new design pioneered with the main planning board:

This brings the requirements views (hierarchy, grid, mind map and document) into alignment with the rest of the system.

Other Key Board Enhancements

Finally, one other enhancement that was requested by the beta testers of the new boards has been released as well, namely the ability to more clearly see the effort information associated with a release, sprint or person:

In the previous version this information was displayed in light grey that made it hard to read. Since some users had given the feedback that the effort information was too hidden, and others had same that it was not used and therefore added unnecessary clutter, we have now made it a configurable option:

So if you want to hide (or show) the effort information, it is now just a simple toggle switch on the configuration menu. For example, the previous screen would now look like the following if they were hidden:

We hope you enjoy the new requirement, task, incident and planning boards in Spira. The next boards to be updated will be the program-level boards that were originally introduced in Spira v5.1.

Bug Fixes & Enhancements

In addition to the major features listed above, the following bug fixes and minor enhancements were also included in this release:

Board improvements SpiraTeam SpiraPlan
- Add option to the planning board to show or hide progress and efforts information in row and column headers (off by default) [IN:8963]
- Add option to the task board to show or hide progress and efforts information in row and column headers (off by default) [IN:9100]
- Allow users to move requirement cards when rows or columns is by status, and the status is completed [IN:9145]
- Change how the boards update when updating their settings on the page to avoid edge cases where the wrong cards or duplicate cards may show (particularly on slower networks) [IN:8697]
- Fix adding a new requirement on the planning board when rows is set to "By Parent" not having a parent requirement set [IN:8786]
- Fix column counts on the planning board set to rows By Parent and groups By Component showing unassigned, in certain edge cases [IN:8787]
- Fix duplicate cards showing if you change any card option or the unassigned toggle really quickly [IN:8716]
- Fix not being able to set WIP limits for all requirement statuses [IN:8776]
- Fix the planning board and task board letting users move cards when rows is set to status but the template does not allow status bulk editing [IN:8929]
- Fix the task board not loading if the user is not able to view requirements [IN:8966]
- Hide the "Other artifact cards to show" on the Planning Board Card Features popup if there are no artifacts to show [IN:8927]
- Remove the legacy task board so users can only use the new and improved task board [IN:8958]
- Remove the projected effort field from the incident popup on the incident board and on the planning board [IN:9130]
Other fixes and enhancements
- Fix API calls that retrieve source code revisions / commits not sending the commit message [IN:9117] SpiraTeam SpiraPlan
- Fix capability "Create Child" API endpoint not populating default values correctly (StatusId, TypeId, CreatorId) [IN:9029] SpiraPlan
- Fix changes to custom properties not being saved when editing documents of type URL [IN:7710]
- Fix product level custom reports containing PROJECT_GROUP_ID and ${ProjectId} in a single query not being able to be generated [IN:9099]
- Fix the API to retrieve an associated test run [IN:9126]
- Improve ease of understanding of a button toggled into an active state, especially while in dark mode [IN:8928]
- Improve showing errors on user profile page, especially when trying to change a password [IN:9038]
- Migrating a product between templates removes history IDs for system wide lookup fields such as requirement & release statuses [IN:9112]
- Remove unnecessary debugging information when the installer runs for on premise customers [IN:9132]

How Do I Get the New Version?

Download customers can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website. Cloud customers will have already been updated during the February maintenance window. If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com. The full release notes can be found on SpiraDocs.

Rapise 2024 Roadmap: Leveraging Generative AI, Enterprise Application Support & Frameworks

2024-01-22T15:38:20-05:00

Version 8.2 (Q2 2024)

AI: Generate data to use for Data-Driven Testing using Generative AI.
- Example: generate 10 fake company names
- Example: generate more data lines for this spreadsheet
AI: AI(text) command in RVL to perform actions based on high level text descriptions.
- Example: log into the Library Information System with username librarian and password librarian
- Example: open Books section

2024 Roadmap

We will continue to work on deep integration between Rapise, Spira and Git.
- The focus is on simplicity of building test frameworks and execution of tests.
Also as usual we will keep up-to-date our support for selected CRM/ERP systems:
- Microsoft Dynamics family of products
- Salesforce
- Oracle
- SAP.
We are also going to expand our AI research and equip Rapise with AI-based features.
- These features will help in areas such as:
  - test data generation
  - test case creation
  - code generation
  - manual test conversion
  - UI element recognition
  - framework management.

We are committed to delivering these features as we build our software solutions that prioritize our users’ needs. Expect these enhancements to be rolled out as promised in line with our consistent quarterly feature release cycle.

We hope you can be part of our journey of continuous improvement so you can build the software of your dreams better, faster, and with lower risk.

For more information, please visit Inflectra’s 2024-2025 Rapise roadmap on RapiseDocs.

Team Inflectra

Rapise v8.1 Released - Enhanced API Testing, Integrates Chrome for Testing & More

2024-01-19T12:43:01-05:00

Summary

Rapise v8.1, the latest update to our flagship automation platform, marks a significant leap in testing capabilities, notably in API testing and integration with the innovative Google Chrome for Testing.

Key Enhancements in Rapise v8.1:

Advanced API Testing: Now with folder hierarchies for efficient organization of RESTful web service requests.
Robust Web and Mobile Testing Features: Including the ability to connect with Web Spy for mobile targets, adding a new dimension to mobile testing.
Google Chrome for Testing Integration: Seamlessly incorporate this dedicated Chrome version, optimized for testing, into your web testing workflows.

Chrome for Testing is a dedicated flavor of Chrome targeting the testing use case, without auto-update, integrated into the Chrome release process, made available for every Chrome release. It is a versioned binary that’s as close to regular Chrome as possible without negatively affecting the testing use case. With v8.1, Rapise has native support for downloading and executing web tests on this platform.

Detailed List of Enhancements in Rapise v8.1:

Folder hierarchy for Web Services (REST) requests [IN:7913]
Run multiple test cases from Rapise [IN:8900]
Incorporate Chrome for Testing into Web Testing workflow [IN:8921]

Features

Enable JS Formatter/Beautifier for JS Editor to simplify code formatting [IN:7667]
Enable Proxy support for REST/SOAP service testing [IN:7678]
Folder hierarchy for Web Services (REST) requests [IN:7913]
Add support for connecting with Web Spy to WEBVIEWs on Mobile targets [IN:8571]

When mobile testing session is in progress launch Web Spy to connect to a WEBVIEW displayed on a mobile device.
Run multiple test cases from Rapise [IN:8900]
Incorporate Chrome for Testing into Web Testing workflow [IN:8921]

RVL Enhancements & Improvements

Question mark (?) in Flow column of RVL [IN:8080]

Applicable to Object.DoAction type of steps in RVL. If an object is not found, don't do the action and do not report an error. Use to interact with objects that may not appear during playback (e.g. Accept Cookies button).
Drag&Drop sheet into RVL should generate RVL.DoPlaySheet for local sheets [IN:8874]
Double click on boolean action param in RVL should negate current value [IN:8956]

New Object API

Improvements

In Debugger, disable Continue, Step In, Step Out, and Step Over buttons when we are not paused [IN:7505]
UIAutomation Spy, add a popup menu item to call Default Action [IN:7663]
Browserstack support, allows setting a username in a profile and access key in an external file [IN:7939]
Upgrade JavaScript parser from ES2015 to ES2020 [IN:8051]
Update Object Manager Icons [IN:8101]
In Mobile and Web Spy, rename the top menu Spy to Spy Menu [IN:8117]
Ignore tag in the Execution monitor (show colored/formatted messages) [IN:8223]
Navigator.DoScreenshot should add screenshots to the Screen Flow area and allow labels [IN:8240]
On test set run, automatically create an automation host for a local machine if missing in the Spira project [IN:8305]
F12 for DoPlayTest/DoPlaySheet/DoPlayScript [IN:8306]
Encrypt toolbar item for built-in Excel editor to encrypt passwords in data sheets [IN:8307]

In the built-in Excel editor, select a cell and click the Encrypt button in the Cells group on the toolbar.
Dashboard, exclude test cases with internal tag from showing in the tree [IN:8309]
Update default mobile profiles for Android [IN:8332]
AppiumDriver.FindElementByXPath and others should not throw exceptions when an element is not found [IN:8335]
Allow to include unlinked test cases into a Test Set in the Dashboard [IN:8406]
Add support for automatic downloading of chromedriver for Chrome 115 and above [IN:8411]
Scale Recording Activity dialog so the buttons are fully visible on 125-150% [IN:8415]
Add New Dropdowns.xlsx Shared node menu item [IN:8423]
Dashboard, add a tooltip to explain the reordering of test cases [IN:8433]
Dashboard, allow empty data files and user-defined values instead of column names [IN:8434]
Make SeSVSUnit friendly to 64-bit xunit.console.exe [IN:8454]
Improve Disp error messages for NodeJS engine [IN:8468]
Improve heuristics for detecting window name when learning/re-learning [IN:8477]
Improve support for recording/learning SVG elements [IN:8494]
Disable Activation menu item until we get information about the license [IN:8518]
Add Verbose Level to the list of built-in framework parameters [IN:8519]
UIAutomation, improve object name detection (sometimes use ID instead of Text1, Text2) [IN:8659]
Allow /../ in UIAutomation locators to select parent element [IN:8660]

Example: ../[3]/Button[1] - go to parent, then 4^th child, then find 2^nd button.
Add ComputedStyle property for Web objects to show in Verify dialog [IN:8690]
Upgrade SeSWait to do progressive Sleep [IN:8692]
Enable usage of Web Spy and Mobile Spy in the same test [IN:8693]
Allow , as a path separator for Find in Files dialog [IN:8695]
Make it impossible to edit autogenerated .js files [IN:8702]
Performance optimizations for Spira Dashboard (link/unlink/search) [IN:8736]
Enable interactive mode in custom hooks for file save and Spira save [IN:8737]
Upgrade to NodeJS 18 [IN:8738]
Enable Execute on Host of the original test set [IN:8739]
Add Show Disk Files root node item and Add All Files folder menu item in Files view [IN:8764]
When a new browser/mobile profile is created, the active test must switch to it [IN:8784]
Optimize Test Case tree reload [IN:8809]
Update UsingReporting sample to include HTML generation in the end [IN:8812]
Allow to import files into Shared section in Framework Mode [IN:8876]
It would be great to have Rename for Shared files [IN:8878]
Add popup menu Reveal in Explorer for Folders [IN:8879]
Allow choosing of an active configuration in Choose Test Case dialog [IN:8886]
Show shared PO objects as [Objects@POName] [IN:8893]
Add Connection Timeout setting for Rapise Launcher [IN:8897]
Allow to override Chrome binary location from GetWebDriverNonProfileCapabilities [IN:8948]

caps["binary"] = "c:\\ProgramData\\Inflectra\\Rapise\\SeleniumChrome\\119.0.6002.0\\chrome.exe";
Add column number limit to Spreadsheet. [IN:8972]
Rerun Failed Tests on Host must copy Release information to a host-specific Test Set [IN:8991]
Make LastObject and LastAction from RVL available in JavaScript [IN:8993]

it's now possible to use these variables in callbacks, such as SeSOnReportMessage.
Change icon for .trp file [IN:9002]
SAPUI5 table structure changed, update DomSAPTable object [IN:9064]
When running multiple test cases - show the report in Hierarchical, Collapsed mode [IN:9071]
Play All and Play All (Recursive) for Test Case groups [IN:9094]

For more details, please check out the Rapise 8.1 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About Rapise

Whether it’s the web, mobile, desktop applications, APIs (REST and SOAP), Rapise helps you test it all. Rapise doesn't just test; it understands. It knows about a wealth of complex applications, including, for example, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, Oracle Fusion, and SAP. And it will help you manage tests spanning multiple technologies at once. Rapise makes automated testing accessible to everyone. Using Rapise, anyone can create and change tests. Rapise records your actions and lets you edit them in its easy-to-use visual keyword-driven framework, called RVL. Want to get into the code? Then, dig into our JavaScript-based engine, which is a breeze to extend and integrate with open-source standards such as Selenium and Appium.

New Generic xUnit Automated Testing Framework Integration Released

2024-01-16T08:58:46-05:00

Overview

When you run automated tests using a framework such as JUnit, the test results are often generated in a standard XML format known as the xUnit report format. This XML file contains a list of the test cases that were executed, the results that occurred, and potentially a list of associated screenshots or other attachments.

A sample report file looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--
This is a basic JUnit-style XML example to highlight the basic structure.
-->
<testsuites time="15.682687">
    <testsuite name="LIS.Registration" time="6.605871">
        <testcase name="registration1" classname="LIS.Registration" time="2.113871" />
        <testcase name="registration2" classname="LIS.Registration" time="1.051" />
        <testcase name="registration3" classname="LIS.Registration" time="3.441" />
    </testsuite>
    <testsuite name="LIS.Authentication" time="9.076816">
        <testsuite name="LIS.Authentication.Login" time="4.356">
            <testcase name="login1" classname="LIS.Authentication.Login" time="2.244" />
            <testcase name="login2" classname="LIS.Authentication.Login" time="0.781" />
            <testcase name="login3" classname="LIS.Authentication.Login" time="1.331" />
        </testsuite>
        <testcase name="auth1" classname="LIS.Authentication" time="2.508" />
        <testcase name="auth2" classname="LIS.Authentication" time="1.230816" />
        <testcase name="auth3" classname="LIS.Authentication" time="0.982">
            <failure message="Assertion error message" type="AssertionError">
                Resource: Login Page
                File: /Login.aspx
                URL: https://www.libraryinformationsystem.org
                Login failed with error message: XYZ
            </failure>
        </testcase>
    </testsuite>
</testsuites>

Our new xUnit Framework Integration utility will read and parse the xUnit XML file and import the test results into Spira using our standard APIs. We have written this initial version using Python and published it on the Inflectra PyPI download site. Our plans also include creating a NodeJS version. Over time, we plan on adding samples that show using this new tool with specific frameworks such as Playwright and WebDriverIO.

Key Benefits:

Universal Framework Compatibility: Works seamlessly with any testing framework that generates xUnit report formats, ensuring wide-ranging applicability and giving freedom to users to deploy any preferred testing tool without worrying about compatibility with Spira.
Streamlined Quality Management: Automatically integrates test results from diverse frameworks into Spira's platform, thus saving time, reducing complexity in managing test results, and enhancing focus on development.
User-Friendly Design: Implemented as a Python module for ease of use, with plans for NodeJS version expansion. This will simplify the integration process, making it accessible to teams of all skill levels.
Advanced Functionality for Experts: Offers additional features for complex mapping and build generation in Spira, providing detailed insights and control for advanced users.
Open Source Community Support: The source code is available on GitHub, inviting collaboration and continuous improvement and supporting community involvement, leading to innovative approaches.
Aligned with Inflectra's Mission of helping customers deliver better software efficiently.

Using the Integration

The integration consists of a Python module called spira_xunit_reader.py that is executed after your xUnit tests are executed and the appropriate XML report file has been created. This module will then read the results in the xUnit report file and send the results to Spira, mapping each xUnit test case to a matching Spira test case.

For advanced users, you can also optionally map the xUnit test suites to corresponding Spira test sets and/or have the plugin generate a new build in Spira that contains all of the executed test cases and test suites.

First, run your tests using your existing framework code. That will generate an output file. We have two supplied example files you can use:

junit-basic.xml -- this is a minimalistic jUnit style example that contains several test cases nested in test suites with one test failure. It uses only the minimum set of attributes.
junit-complete.xml -- this is a more advanced, complete example that includes file attachments, URL attachments, errors, warnings, failures, and additional optional xUnit attributes such as assertions, properties, and standard error/output streams.

Next, you need to run the Spira results parser module spira_xunit_reader.py to upload the results to Spira. For example, with the sample tests, you can use either:

python spira_xunit_reader.py samples\junit-basic.xml spira.cfg

python spira_xunit_reader.py samples\junit-complete.xml spira.cfg

The second parameter is the location and name of the Spira configuration file spira.cfg. Once you run the XML parser, you should see a message similar to the following:

Sending test results to Spira at URL 'https://myserver/spiraservice.net'.
Successfully reported 4 test cases to Spira.

If there are any errors or warnings, they will be displayed instead.

Viewing the Results in Spira

Once the reporting of results has finished, you can view the results in Spira by going to the Test Runs tab. That will display the list of test runs:

If you click on one of the failed test runs, it will display the name of the test case from the xUnit XML file, together with the status (fail), the test set, release, and actual duration:

Scrolling down to the Console Output section displays the full name and path of the xUnit test case, the details of what caused the test to fail, and any test case properties or standard output/error streams.

This plugin will also import any screenshots or other file attachments if they are part of the report file:

How Do I Get The Integration?

The latest versions of the plugin can be downloaded from the Python Package Index, and the source code can be found in our public GitHub repository:

Please feel free to fork the repository if you'd like to make changes.

Robot Framework Integration for SpiraTest Just Released

2024-01-03T11:53:11-05:00

Using the Integration

The integration consists of a Python module called robot_spira_integration.py that is executed after your Robot Framework tests are executed. This module will read the results of the Robot Framework output.xml report file and send the results to Spira, mapping each Robot Framework test case to a matching Spira test case. The integration uses a simple configuration file to connect to Spira:

[credentials]
# Following are required

url = https://myserver/spiraservice.net
username = fredbloggs
token = {XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXXX}
project_id = 1

# Following are optional:
release_id = 5
test_set_id = 1

Once that is in place, you simply tag the various Robot Framework test cases with their corresponding Spira test case IDs:

Simple Test Case
    [Documentation]    Shows some assertion keywords
    [Tags]    TC:2
    Should Be Title Case    Robot Framework
    Should Be Equal    Text123    Text123
    Should Be True    5 + 5 == 10

Once that is done, you should see something like:

Sending test results to Spira at URL 'https://myserver/spiraservice.net'.
Successfully reported 4 test cases to Spira.

If there are any errors or warnings, they will be displayed instead.

Viewing the Results in Spira

Finally, to view the results in Spira, you can go to the Test Runs tab to see the list of test runs:

If you click on one of the passed test runs, it will display the name of the test case from Robot Framework, together with the status (pass), the test set, release and actual duration:

If you scroll down to the Console Output section, it displays the full name and path of the Robot Framework test case as well as the contents of the Documentation attribute and any messages.

If you click on one of the failed test runs, it will display the name of the test case from Robot Framework, together with the status (fail), the test set, release and actual duration:

If you scroll down to the Console Output section, it displays the full name and path of the Robot Framework test case as well as the contents of the Documentation attribute and in this case, the details of what caused the test to fail:

How Do I Get The Integration?

The latest versions of the plugin can be downloaded from the Python Package Index, and the source code can be found in our public GitHub repository:

If you'd like to make changes, please feel free to fork the repository.

Spira v7.10 Released: Artifact Tags, Program Reports and ChatGPT

2024-05-11T13:19:30-04:00

Major New Features

Brings new widgets to the program home page, letting you see meaningful information about capabilities and program milestones in SpiraPlan
Improves program-level reporting with the ability to filter and sort standard reports and show program-specific custom graphs on the program reporting page in SpiraPlan
Adds tagging support to a range of artifacts, including improvements to how you can see and work with tags on the document details page (tags are now supported on documents, requirements, releases, tasks, and incidents - more to come next year)
Let users leverage the power of ChatGPT in Spira with a new SpiraApp that auto-generates test cases, requirement steps, or tasks from a requirement.

Artifact Tags

In the previous versions of Spira, there was a very basic version of freetext meta-tags available in the Documents module only. This included a simple text field that lets you enter a comma-separated set of tags. The field could also be displayed as a column, with the tag field used for filtering the list of documents. In this completely revamped update, we have added tagging support to a range of artifacts (tags are now supported on documents, requirements, releases, tasks, and incidents - more to come next year) and added improvements to how you can see and work with tags on the various details pages.

For example, on the requirements artifact detail page, you will see the new Tags field right away:

When you click on the field, instead of it being a simple text box, it now displays a menu of all the previously entered tags in the product. This makes it easier to reuse existing tags and avoid creating multiple tags that are synonymous but not exactly the same:

When you enter in text or choose one from the list, it will be displayed as a tag in the field:

Clicking on the "X" icon for any of the tags will quickly remove it from the list of tags for that artifact.

The new Tags field can then be displayed on the appropriate artifact list page as well:

This allows you to easily filter on the tags to find matches:

Currently, the new Tags functionality is only available for the following artifacts:

Documents
Requirements
Releases
Tasks
Incidents

But in 2024, we'll be adding it to the remaining artifacts, including:

Test Cases
Test Sets
Risks

Program Reporting

For SpiraPlan customers, the new version improves program-level reporting with the ability to filter and sort standard reports and show program-specific custom graphs on the program reporting page.

When you go to the Reporting page for a Program:

You now have the ability to filter and sort Program Standard Reports just like you already could with Product Standard Reports:

With this new functionality, you can filter/sort a program report by both standard (built-in) fields and custom properties (user-defined fields).

In addition, you can now create and add program-level custom graphs to the Program Reports dashboard itself. When you create a custom graph, you can now specify the appropriate workspace (product vs. program):

Once you have created several custom graphs, the program users can then use the [+] button on the dashboard to add them to their program reporting dashboard:

Once added, they will display similar to those on the Product Reporting dashboard:

Program Dashboard Widgets

In addition to the major new functionality available for program-level reporting in SpiraPlan, we have also added a whole new program homepage view dedicated specifically to the new Scaled Agile capabilities and milestones functionality introduced in v7.7. When you view program, there is a new Capabilities view (in addition to the General and Quality views):

This new dashboard includes the following new reporting widgets:

Capability Open Count

This chart shows the proportion of capabilities that are open, as well as the breakdown of all open capabilities in the program by priority. The bar chart's bars are colored to match the configured color of each priority. (Works with the program milestone filter at the top of the page).

Capability Summary

This widget shows a table of capabilities split by their status (on the y-axis) and their priority (on the x-axis). It provides a count of capabilities with each status/priority combination (for instance, how many capabilities are high priority with a status of to do). Clicking on any of the counts for a given status/priority will open the capability list page filtered to that combination of status and priority. (Works with the program milestone filter at the top of the page).

Program Milestone Capability Progress

This widget shows a list of all open program milestones. For each program milestone, it shows the name (click to see more), the number of associated capabilities (click to see more), and its overall progress. (Works with the program milestone filter at the top of the page).

Program Milestone Completion

This chart shows the proportion of planned days remaining as well as the proportion of all active capabilities that have been completed across currently open milestones in this program. It highlights the data in different colors depending on the proportion of capabilities and days remaining to give an idea of how well program milestones are sticking to their planned timeframes. (Works with the program milestone filter at the top of the page).

ChatGPT GenerativeAI Plugin

As we announced in October to much fanfare, we have added a new SpiraApp that lets you use the power of GenerativeAI to auto-generate test cases, risks, BDD scenarios, and tasks from simple requirement names inside Spira.

This new ChatGPT SpiraApp runs inside the Spira application and provides a set of dropdown menus with options to auto-generate derived Spira artifacts from the current requirement. It does this by connecting to the OpenAI LLM model using its REST API and sending specific prompts to generate items based on the name of a requirement inside Spira.

As a simple example, let's say we create the following requirement to "reserve a hotel room for multiple nights."

The AI model will generate the following test cases automatically:

Similarly, it will identify the following risks:

It was able to suggest the following development tasks:

And finally, it could generate the following BDD scenarios:

This functionality will save business analysts, testers, project managers, and quality engineers an incredible amount of time (vs. doing it manually), estimated to be at least a 600% time saving (10 minutes vs. 1 hour).

Bug Fixes & Enhancements

In addition to the major features listed above, the following bug fixes and minor enhancements were also included in this release:

Add more space between columns on the Report Edit page so that the Program Milestone report titles don't appear too close [IN:8496]
Create temporary web.config.old and DataSyncService.exe.config files during upgrades using the installer to protect against corruption during upgrades [IN:8371]
Do not automatically add "WHERE R.PROJECT_ID = ${projectId}" when adding queries for custom graphs for tables that do not have a PROJECT_ID column [IN:8534]
Do not automatically add "WHERE R.PROJECT_ID = ${projectId}" when adding queries for custom reports for tables that do not have a PROJECT_ID column [IN:7704]
Fix adding a task to a "Tested" requirement and then completing that task, not rolling that requirement's completion up correctly to a parent release [IN:5805]
Fix assigning requirements to child sprints not updating the requirement count of the parent release (without using data tools) [IN:6041]
Fix potential database concurrency issues when upgrading from 5.4 to the latest version [IN:8610]
Fix exporting a test case to a product not recording the exported test steps in the product history [IN:8848]
Fix exporting a test case to a product using the same template, not exporting its test steps' or linked test steps' custom property values [IN:6286]
Fix inconsistent authorization checks when an admin attempts to preview a custom report [IN:8824]
Fix not always seeing an error message when trying to add a new child capability to an existing child [IN:8355]
Fix product-level custom reports with a ${ProjectGroupID} token to show data for the product's program [IN:8935]
Fix projected effort for incidents not being calculated correctly - it should work the same as tasks currently does [IN:5806]
Fix report administrators not being able to preview custom graphs on the report admin pages [IN:7645]
Fix requirement completion from a canceled release so that it does rollup to any parent release [IN:5760]
Fix test coverage for releases getting out of sync in edge case scenarios when indenting, outdenting, or moving releases [IN:8004]
Fix the default sort order for the 'IsAutoScheduled' column for test sets [IN:8939]
Fix the parent requirement status not moving to "Tested" if all its children have a status of tested [IN:7315]
Fix the report admin graph editing page from throwing an error when a user tries to display the data grid [IN:8646]
Fix the workspace dropdown always showing loading if a user is not a member of any workspaces or on a system with no workspaces [IN:8018]
Fix users not being able to show the "Last Updated" field on the program milestone list page [IN:8621]
Fix users of SpiraTest or SpiraTeam seeing the program-level artifacts menu when viewing a program and never having viewed a product [IN:8644]
Fix widgets a user added to their product reporting page from showing on the program reporting page [IN:8626]
Fully localize the report configuration page's report element names [IN:8508]
Improve the performance of association tabs by removing duplicate SQL code from the relevant stored procedure [IN:8436]
Improve the on-premise installer to be more fault tolerant when creating the database [IN:8600]
Improve the on-premise installer to log out more information from SQL Server to aid in troubleshooting [IN:8612]
Improve usability of the HTML report view by making the report spacing wider and easy to scroll horizontally [IN:8530]
Prevent users from being able to paste a screenshot into rich text fields of program milestones and capabilities [IN:8618]
Remove the tag cloud product home page widget and the document list page tag cloud sidebar graph [IN:8882]
Update JiraDataSync explanation notes in Spira to match updates to the data sync [IN:8942]
Update the field name from "ModifiedDate" to "Last Updated" on the capability list page [IN:8620]

How Do I Get the New Version?

Download customers can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website. Cloud customers will have already been updated during the December maintenance window. If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com. The full release notes can be found on SpiraDocs.

Enhancements to Jira Cloud & Server Integration Released

2025-01-07T15:26:16-05:00

Summary

The new version was developed based on feedback from our customers and includes logging and configuration enhancements to make the setup and management of the plugin easier. In addition, the enhancements allow additional effort and date fields to be mapped, as well as improvements in the handling of associations and comments.

Release Notes

Jira Cloud DataSync v6.0 and - Jira Server DataSync v6: these updates includes a number of enhancements and bug fixes:
- Add support for JIRA estimate fields [IN:6345]
- Add the ability to sync requirements and not import new incidents with a new dedicated "NoIncidents" sync mode [IN:6341]
- Allow the Jira Due Date field to be mapped to a Spira requirement custom property [IN:6672]
- Fix the first Comment from Jira Cloud sometimes being duplicated in Spira [IN:7689]
- Fix artifact associations not always syncing for incidents and requirements, and never syncing for tasks [IN:8864]
- Improve Jira field mapping for "release" fields [IN:8831]
- Improve logging by capturing the ProjectID from Jira to help debugging [IN:8684]
- Improve logging by reducing warning entries for similar issues [IN:8815]
- Improve the names of the different data sync modes to be more meaningful for end users (True becomes noRequirements and Both becomes Bidirectional) [IN:8936]
Jira Configuration Helper: adds the ability to filter statuses by project [IN:8686]
Jira Migration Tool : fixes not being able to import users from Jira due to breaking changes in Atlassian's APIs [IN:8840]

How to Obtain the New Version

For customers using our cloud-synchronization option, the latest versions of the Jira Cloud and Jira Sever data synchronization tools are already live and running as of the December 11th weekend maintenance window. For on-premise customers, you can download the latest versions from our website.

Inflectra's Plans for Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in our Platform

2024-01-10T10:17:31-05:00

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning in SpiraPlan

There are several different use cases that we are planning on addressing with AI in SpiraPlan, including both traditional large data machine learning and also the ability to leverage the power of generative AI to automate and streamline common tasks in the platform. We discuss each in turn:

Deep Machine Learning

One of the main benefits of using the SpiraPlan platform over other products and tools is the rich integrated dataset that we have in the system, For example, SpiraPlan includes information on product requirements, test results, quality metrics, code commits, CI/CD pipeline actions, product defects, customer issues, development metrics and most importantly, rich information on all the relationships that connect these items.

Currently SpiraPlan has a robust set of dashboards and reports that let you run reports and perform Business Intelligence (BI) activities to make decisions. What we envision is that using deep ML we can mine this data more proactively and use it to generate predictive metrics that allow you to address risks before they happen. For example:

Identify flaky tests automatically and flag as such
Analyze risks, code commits, test results to find predictive failures
Look for areas of most risk in each product / release

Some of these will be done natively inside SpiraPlan, others may use external tools and extensions.

For example, Inflectra is currently partnering with Angulon AI to create models based on sanitized SpiraPlan data repositories to be able to generate predictions that would:

De-bottleneck the process of application update release.
Speed up the regression testing cycle.
Improve feedback by highlighting most important problems fast.
Instantly select which test cases to run (test coverage).
Fail fast: Automatically prioritize tests so that problems can be identified early.

Generative AI

As described in this article we will be releasing in SpiraPlan v7.10 a new plugin for OpenAI / ChatGPT.

This new plugin harnesses the power of generative AI to automate the following common tasks in Spira:

Generate test cases and test scenarios for a specific requirement or user story.
Generate development and management tasks for a specific requirement or user story.
Generate BDD Gherkin-style scenarios for a specific requirement or user story.
Identify the possible business and technical risks associated with a particular requirement

Based on feedback from users, we plan on supporting additional use case such as:

Instructing ChatGPT to generate test cases, tasks, and risks for all the specific types defined in the product template. Currently, it just asks it to create "tasks," "risks," and "test cases" generically.
Adding similar functionality onto the test case details page where it will be able to generate the test steps for a specific test case automatically
Extending the functionality to the requirements and test case list pages so you can select multiple items on a grid and generate the test cases, tasks, etc.
Adding support for generating child requirements/backlog items directly from the requirements grid and mind-map views.

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning in Rapise

Self Healing Tests

In Rapise, we have already released the first piece of machine learning functionality in Rapise 6.2 - the ability to have self-healing tests that use multiple recorded locators during the application learn phase.

Then during the execution of the test, Rapise can dynamically chose the best locators to identify the objects and thereby increase the resilience of automated tests, thereby reducing maintenance costs.

It was implemented as an initial use case in 2019 and has been useful to many customers
The current version has proved to be useful but limited due to the risk of false positives
We are working to investigating deeper models to see how we can improve its utility and reduce the risk of false positives

Rapise integrates with a wide range of different image recognition (OCR) technologies and we are using these to aid in the execution of tests where image to text interpretation is needed.

Assistance and Optimization

We are planning on extending the existing Rapise Toolbox to include an AI-based smart helper that will increase the productivity of test creation
We will be adding AI based Code analysis tools to Rapise that will assist in finding duplicates, suggest refactoring and optimizations, similar to CoPilot by GitHub.
Using deep machine learning algorithms to analyze execution practices and behaviors to optimize playback (e.e.g use of Sleep vs. Wait, use of Global.DoSendKeys vs. DoSetText)

As we continue to refine the use cases and release the functionality, we will provide more information in the Inflectra product news channel. Stay Tuned!

Spira v7.9 Released: Updated Agile Planning & Task Boards

2023-11-15T15:29:50-05:00

Planning Board Revamp

The new planning boards have a completely refreshed layout and look and feel. They include a new visual design that moves the configuration settings to popup menus that are accessed from the toolbar, rather than cluttering up the top of the page. We have also added more clearly defined borders around the different row/column sections to make the different cells in the boards easier to distinguish. Finally, we have added simple numeric displays that quickly indicate how many cards are inside each row or column.

The board options popup lets you choose the view (product backlog, release backlog, or sprint backlog) as well as specify what is being used for the row or columns. If you choose a row that can have a parent value, you will also get the option to choose a grouping. For example, if you select Parent Requirement as the row, the grouping option will be by Component, and if you choose Person as the row, the grouping option will be by Team. You can also specify whether you want to show rows or columns that are used to contain items that do not match the row/column in question.

In the card features popup, you can configure what is displayed in the story cards themselves. By default, the cases are displayed in a minimalistic mode with just the name and type displayed. However, you can also display the requirement status, requirement description, and colored progress bars for the tasks and test cases, along with a display of their counts. Depending on the board view, it may also be possible to include incidents in the updated board.

For example, when we enable all of the card features, the board displayed above would now look like the following:

The requirements are displayed with their name, type, status, and description. The test coverage is shown along with a distinct colored circle for each test case (who's ID, name and description is displayed as a tooltip). The task progress is shown along with a distinct colored circle for each task (who's ID, name and description is displayed as a tooltip)

Finally, the new planning board uses the new administration options to specify which requirement statuses should be shown on the board and if so, what position they should be in. For our example, we are displaying just the statuses listed above in that specific order.

Next, we can discuss the three different distinct planning board views in more detail...

Product Backlog View

The product backlog view is designed to make it easy to see all of the unplanned items that need to be prioritized and "groomed" for inclusion into an upcoming release or sprint.

The view lets you slice and dice the unplanned items by various fields, including priority, component, status, and type. In the example screenshot above, we are displaying component vs. priority.

Release Backlog Views

The release backlog view lets you view all of the items for a specific release or, alternatively, for all planned items in all active releases.

In this example, we are displaying status vs. component for all active releases. When you select a specific release, you also have the option of displaying the requirements by parent epic, with the further option of grouping the parent epics by the product component.

In this view, you can see the grouping by component, as well as the individual rows and columns.

Sprint Backlog Views

Finally, the sprint backlog views let you plan either a specific sprint or all the active sprints in the current release (that must be selected for this view):

In this example above, we are filtering by release, displaying sprints as the columns, and not having any row category selected.

Task Board Revamp

The new planning board UI has also been used to update the task board in the same way. The task board lets you choose different values for the rows and columns, set a release, and also choose the fields to be displayed in the board.

The task board has many different views, let you slice and dice the development tasks in various ways. For example, below, we are simply displaying the task status as the columns.

We can also choose the option to group these tasks under the appropriate parent requirement - shown below:

When displaying the parent requirements associated with the tasks, you can expand a requirement to show the associated tasks right below:

Like their planning board cousin, the task board also sports different views of the tasks, together with the ability to link from the test cads to the requirements and tasks.

What's Next for the Boards?

Now that we are about to release the final version of the updated planning board and task board, the next step will be to roll out the same updated user interface (UI) to refresh/revamp the incidents board and the requirements board. Once that is done, we anticipate the new Scaled Agile capabilities in SpiraPlan will be updated to use the new boards on separate views for the product requirements and the program-wide capabilities and milestones.

Detailed Release Notes

This release brings a brand new planning board. Streamlined and beautiful by default. Powerful customizations when you need them for columns, cards, and swimlanes (rows). This takes the beta board released earlier this year to the next level, thanks to the invaluable feedback from customers. The legacy board remains available to help users with the transition. (not available in SpiraTest)
Like the planning board, the task board is all new, setting the beta board as the new default. The legacy task board currently remains available. (not available in SpiraTest)
What requirement statuses show on the planning board can be tailored per product template. This feature was previously only available as a beta but is now always available (note that it only applies to the new planning board). (not available in SpiraTest)

(See SpiraDoc for the full release notes.)

Major Features

Planning Board and Task Board (not available in SpiraTest)
- As a board user, I use the new planning and task boards by default, but can still access the equivalent legacy board if I need to [RQ:4649]
- As a task board user, I can change the board setting by dropdowns in a popup, to organize the board to meet my needs [RQ:4687]
- As a planning board user, I can change the board setting by dropdowns in a popup, to organize the board to meet my needs [RQ:4681]
- As a board user, I do not see the "All Items" banner header on the boards when no grouping is selected to simplify how I use the board [RQ:4683]
- As a board user, I do not see the "All items" row when no rows are selected on the boards to simplify how I use the board [RQ:4684]
- As a board user, I can easily view the planning boards by improving the spacing and layout of the headers for columns, rows, and groups so I can see more information in less space [RQ:4685]
- As a board user, I can see the number of cards in the column, row, and group headers of the planning board to make it easier to know what has data in it [RQ:4686]
- As a task board user, I can exclusively group by teams and only when rows is set to By Person to streamline how I can use the board [RQ:4652]
- As a planning board user, I can use grouping to sometimes improve specific use cases for how I organize the board to meet my needs [RQ:4651]
- As a planning board user, I can freely pick from any standard list field for either rows or columns, so I can organize the board to meet my needs [RQ:4650]
- As a board user, when I group by teams, I only see teams with people in them for the current product, so I do not see irrelevant information [RQ:4670]
- As a board user, I can easily expand and collapse rows and groups in a clear and understandable way to help me set up the board how I need [RQ:4672]
- As a board user, I do not see columns, rows, or groups for unassigned items by default to streamline and simplify how I use the board [RQ:4674]
As a document user, I can associate a set of documents to any single artifact in my product from the document list page to make it quicker to add lots of documents to an artifact [RQ:4682]

Bug Fixes & Enhancements

Board improvements
- Fix boards not sorting user names alphabetically when a release is provided [IN:8603]
- Fix showing duplicate cards on the beta planning board when moving from Release or Product backlog with no release set to the sprint backlog [IN:8602]
- Hide the "All Items" banner header on the boards when no grouping is selected to declutter and improve the user experience [IN:8521]
- Hide the "All items" row when no rows are selected on the boards to streamline the user experience [IN:8524]
- Improve the design of new boards when showing groups to make it clearer what group the user is currently focused on [IN:8507]
- Improve the feel of the new planning boards with clearer column and cell differentiation [IN:8539]
- Improve the usability of the boards when showing rows by making empty rows shorter [IN:8537]
- Improve the use of vertical space on the new planning boards by improving the spacing and layout of the headers for columns, rows, and groups [IN:8531]
- Make it clearer which row a user is looking at on the board by making the row name stick to the left when scrolling horizontally to the right [IN:8540]
- Make the boards work better when cells have many cards in them by limiting the maximum height of a cell [IN:8543]
- Make the planning board cards take up less vertical space while still being readable, particularly for the cards showing minimal extra information [IN:8546]
- Move the save, add and cancel buttons for the default product artifact boards on the artifact popups to make saving changes easier [IN:8562]
- Show the number of cards in the column, row, and group headers of the planning board to make it easier to know what has data in it [IN:8560]
- Simplify the planning board top toolbar by moving the dropdowns into a board settings popup [IN:8503]
- Simplify the task board top toolbar by moving the dropdowns into a board settings popup [IN:8504]
- Switch the current beta boards to be the primary board for those pages and the old main board the legacy board [IN:8381]
- When showing rows on the board, put row information as a new mini row header bar instead of in a dedicated column to preserve horizontal space and improve the user experience [IN:8522]
Fix not being able to retrieve program milestones using the API, if there are no program milestone custom property definitions [IN:8627]
Replace "k.A." with "N/A" in German in the N/A all testing setting to better align with test execution localization [IN:8672]

How Do I Get the New Version?

Download customers can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website. Cloud customers will have already been updated during the October maintenance window. If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com. The full release notes can be found on SpiraDocs.

ChatGPT Plugin Coming to Spira: Generate Tests, Risks, Tasks & BDD Steps using AI

2024-05-11T13:19:36-04:00

Unlock the Future with Inflectra - Powered by AI

We have been working on a new SpiraApp for the Spira platform that integrates with the popular OpenAI Large Language Model (LLM) known as ChatGPT. This new plugin leverages the power of Generative AI to automate the generation of standard downstream artifacts from user stories, features, epics, and business/system requirements. This new facility doesn't replace human business analysis and QA. Instead, it allows you to quickly generate a set of standard test cases, tasks, risks, and BDD scenarios that can then be refined and improved as needed. Learn more about this new plugin that is coming soon to Spira.

How Does This Game-Changer Work?

Once this has been configured at the organization level, all projects and users can use the plugin without needing their own OpenAI account.

Ready to Upgrade Your Spira Experience? Read on!

Real-World Impact: An Example

The easiest way to understand how the new ChatGPT plugin can be helpful is to see a simple example in action. For example, imagine that you have just created a new requirement or user story that consists of a single-line Ability to login to a web application or As a user I want to be able to login to a web application.

Normally, you would now need to manually write the various test cases that cover this requirement, including positive (can log in successfully) and negative tests (failure to log in for various reasons). In addition, you would need to decompose this requirement in a set of lower-level development tasks for the developers to create the user interface, database, and other items that need to be in place to have a working login page. If using a BDD approach, you might also want to create a set of BDD Gherkin scenarios that describe each use case for a login page more specifically. Finally, you would want to identify and document all potential risks associated with this new feature.

With our new ChatGPT plugin, instead of all these tedious, manual tasks, you can click on the various options in the ChatGPT dropdown menu for this requirement.

Step 1 - Generating Test Cases

When you click on the option to generate test cases, the plugin will call the OpenAI API and create a set of test cases for the requirement in question. For our sample requirement, you can see that it has generated four test cases, one for the positive case and three additional negative cases:

Each of the test cases consists of a single test step that has the description of the test to be carried out, the expected result from the test, and any sample data that you might want to use:

Note that the sample data will most likely be very notional since it does not know valid/invalid logins for your application. Still, the overall structure is correct and will save a lot of manual time writing and documenting the test cases.

Step 2 - Generating Development Tasks

Next, we can click the generate tasks option to generate five standard development tasks typical for a web login page. You can see that they are relatively high-level but cover the key areas, both the front-end (creating pages) and the back-end (database, session management, authentication system):

Step 3 - Identifying Risks

Next, we would want to understand the risks of deploying a new login page. Since one of the most critical security attack vectors is an application's authentication and session management mechanisms, understanding these risks is very important and often overlooked. All you need to do is click the generate risks button, and the plugin does the rest:

In this example, you can see that it generated six different potential risks, including GDPR privacy risks, security vulnerabilities, performance issues, compatibility, and more. It also includes risks related to the user experience, which are also often forgotten until too late!

Step 4 - Generating BDD Scenarios

Finally, we can use the option to generate BDD scenarios to have the plugin create a set of positive and exception scenarios for using the login page:

In this example, it has created four scenarios, one positive and three negative. Each is written in the Gherkin Given... When.... Then, format and is ready to use.

Watch the ChatGPT Plugin in Action

We have recorded a 5-minute video where Adam Sandman from Inflectra demonstrates how the new ChatGPT plugin can generate test cases, risks, tasks, and BDD scenarios from a simple one-line requirement name.

🎬 Witness the Magic in Action:

When Will It Be Available and What's Next?

This new SpiraApp is still undergoing final testing and documentation, but we anticipate it will be available in late Q4 2023 for all customers.

Once our customers have had a chance to try it out and give feedback, we anticipate releasing updated versions in 2024. Some ideas we have already planned include:

Instructing ChatGPT to generate test cases, tasks, and risks for all the specific types defined in the product template. Currently, it just asks it to create "tasks," "risks," and "test cases" generically.
Adding similar functionality onto the test case details page where it will be able to generate the test steps for a specific test case automatically
Extending the functionality to the requirements and test case list pages so you can select multiple items on a grid and generate the test cases, tasks, etc.
Adding support for generating child requirements/backlog items directly from the requirements grid and mind-map views.

Embrace the innovation that will redefine how you approach software development, testing, and project management. We're bringing the future to you, and it's powered by AI.

Stay tuned for more updates from your trusted team at Inflectra!

Spira v7.8 Released: User Mentions and Program-Level Reports

2023-09-12T10:23:33-04:00

Major Features

This new version introduces the ability to tag followers into conversations using the common @mention method found in other platforms and new program-level reports for SpiraPlan that build on the new scaled agile functionality introduced in v7.7:

SpiraPlan (only) adds brand new program-level reporting functionality. Four new standard reports for program milestones and capabilities are now included, or create your own program-level custom reports.
Our upgraded rich text editor lets you use @ to quickly find any product member and mention them in comments or a description. Any mentioned user is, where relevant, automatically added to the artifact as a follower.
System admins can now quickly see all the programs a user is a member of, with a dedicated tab on the View/Edit user detailed screen in system administration.

Bug Fixes & Enhancements

Add API operations to let users create, update, and delete product roles [IN:8480]
Add a confirmation dialog when an admin resets a data sync to provide options about how far back the data sync should be reset [IN:8384]
Add a new API operation to update only FixedBuildId property of an incident to provide faster integration with CI/CD systems [IN:8529]
Add an API operation to let users create a blank template with minimal pre-populated fields like statuses, types, or workflows [IN:8437]
Add a new API call to let users delete builds [IN:7881]
Allow system admins to see a user's program membership with a new Program Membership tab on the admin edit user page [IN:3005]
Fix non system admins not being able to save changes to test configuration properties on its detail page [IN:4566]
Fix the API to not accept an test case folder, priority, or type ID from invalid products or templates on creation or updates [IN:7320]
Fix product cloning so that it also clones the product's custom properties [IN:7472]
Fix editing test set test case mapping using the API so that it requires both test case and test set relevant permissions [IN:7811]
Fix the API to create a requirement without a child to set its type [IN:7845]
Fix tooltips on the system history list page not showing the description for product, program milestone, and capability entries [IN:7874]
Fix emoji with skin tones like "🤚🏽" in description fields causing the Recent Artifacts and Subscribed Artifacts widgets on the My Page to break the page [IN:7916]
Fix purging a single item from the product admin history pages showing an error "System.guid does not contain a definition for 'Progress''' [IN:8098]
Fix getting an error when filtering documents by a custom property on the document list page or attachment tab [IN:8231]
Fix the system admin system-level custom property definitions page not loading correctly if you try to delete a definition that has system history entries [IN:8319]
Fix not being able to filter system history records for deleting a program on the system history list page [IN:8356]
Fix an error message showing when you try and save a capability or program milestone and the creator dropdown is left blank [IN:8357]
Fix the program milestone list page so that it does not show the release count or requirement count columns [IN:8362]
Fix error logging when creating a new program milestone in specific edge cases [IN:8376]
Fix the program milestone and capability detail pages to have fully responsive designs [IN:8388]
Fix some idiosyncrasies in the structure of certain translation files to prepare for improvements in German and French translations [IN:8391]
Fix the program milestone and risk detail pages' toolbar buttons hiding and showing responsively in the correct way [IN:8416]
Fix the installer to provide consistent internal file names (inside the installer itself not the application) when upgrading to v7.7 [IN:8473]
Fix upgrading to or through Spira v7.7 not unnecessarily upgrading the full-text indexes [IN:8474]

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website. Cloud customers will have already been updated during the December maintenance window. If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com. The full release notes can be found on SpiraDocs.

About SpiraPlan

SpiraPlan is Inflectra’s flagship enterprise-level portfolio management platform. Now in its 6th version, this all-in-one solution combines the world-class test management, portfolio management, and requirements traceability features. Spiraplan boasts a full set of capabilities for program management, release planning, baselining, resource management, and risk analysis. With integrated executive dashboards full of critical metrics, real-time charts, customizable reports, and templates, you have a birds-eye view of your teams' progress. SpiraPlan is methodology agnostic, with support for Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall, and hybrid approaches. The tool is available in a secure cloud (AWS) or as a download. SpiraPlan integrates with over 60 apps on the market, including Jira, Bamboo, Selenium, Git, Version One, Eclipse, Jenkins, Visual Studio, Zendesk.

Enhancements to GitHub Integration Released

2024-05-11T13:19:43-04:00

Background

Back in 2018, we released our first ever plugin for GitHub that allows you to synchronize project issues between projects in Spira and those in GitHub. With this plug-in, users can easily see new issues created in GitHub right inside the Spira defect management system (and vice-versa). Comments, releases (milestones), and statuses will automatically sync, so users don't have to worry about managing two separate systems.

Then, in 2022, we added support for invoking and viewing GitHub actions right from the Spira user interface using our new GitHub SpiraApp. This new integration with GitHub actions allows users to execute a GitHub pipeline directly from the Spira user interface. In addition, the GitHub pipelines may be automatically triggered by source code commits or other events from within GitHub itself. Whenever a GitHub pipeline executes (either from Spira or via normal source code commit events), the new GitHub pipeline event will be recorded in Spira as a new build.

New Functionality

We have now further enhanced the GitHub data synchronization plugin to handle the synchronization of pull requests as well as issues. The benefit of this integration is to allow teams to use the branch management and permission features in GitHub and still have the traceability in Spira of the pull requests and code merges from a compliance and validation perspective. For example, you will often use different tools (GitHub, TaraVault, GitLab, etc.) to manage the source code and associated branch merges, but inside Spira, you need to be able to provide evidence that the appropriate code reviews were done and track all the comments on the code changes prior to merge approval. Spira lets you have this global view regardless of the developer platforms being used.

To simplify this process, the new functionality will let you create the pull requests in GitHub, and as changes are made to the pull request, they will be reflected automatically in the corresponding Spira pull request. The synchronization will automatically add comments, change the pull request status, and notify the appropriate owners.

You can see all of the GitHub code review comments in a nice discussion thread in Spira:

In summary, our latest update supercharges Spira's existing GitHub integration capabilities by adding the essential functionality of pull request synchronization. You no longer have to toggle between GitHub and Spira for a 360-degree view of your project. Whether you're operating in healthcare, finance, government, or any other regulated industry, this added feature enhances code traceability and streamlines compliance requirements, making your workflow seamless and more efficient.

Ready to experience this next level of synchronization?

Upgrade your SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam today and start benefiting from enhanced traceability and efficient pull request management. This is not just an update; it's a transformation of how you manage your projects.

Not an Inflectra customer yet?

We invite you to try SpiraPlan out and see the difference it makes. Upgrade now to Spira to bring synergy to your software development process.

Spotlight on Spira 7.8 - @Mentions and Program-Level Reporting

2023-09-12T09:43:34-04:00

Tagging Followers using @Mentions

One of the most requested features we've had from our users in the past year has been the ability to tag users in a conversation in Spira by using the @mention method that was first popularized by Twitter and has been adopted by other messaging tools, such as Slack and Teams. In our latest version of Spira, we have upgraded our text editor CKEDITOR and enabled the ability to use the @mention option to pick a user from the project membership:

Once you select the name of the project user, the text in the new comment will be highlighted in pink shading / bold font as shown below:

When you save the comment, it will automatically highlight the name of the person in the artifact comments as well as add them to the list of people emailed about the artifact in question (in this example, an incident).

So in this example, the user Fred Bloggs would be emailed on the specific comment and also added to the general list of followers that will receive updates on any other comments in the same conversation:

In addition to receiving both email notifications and in-app notifications, once the user is subscribed to the item, they will appear in the follower list, allowing quick access to them via the Spira instant messenger:

This new @mention feature makes it easier and more natural to add participants to a conversation without needing to break their flow and access the Followers menu. It also adds a record in the comments of when the user was added to the conversation.

Scaled Agile Reports

In the last release of SpiraPlan, we added program-level capabilities and milestones to allow teams to define program / large solution backlogs of requirements and tie them to specific milestones.

Now that these new program-level artifacts can be managed in the system, we have added a completely new program-level reporting center that lets program members run key program reports:

Program Capabilities Detailed - This report lets you generate a document (in PDF, Word, HTML formats) that contains a detailed description of all the program capabilities along with details of their associated product requirements and any history changes.
Program Capabilities Summary - This report lets you generate a summary table (in Excel, HTML, PDF, and Word) of the program capabilities in a tabular format.
Program Milestones Detailed - This report lets you generate a document (in PDF, Word, HTML formats) that contains a detailed description of all the program milestones along with details of their associated program capabilities, product releases, and any history changes.
Program Milestones Summary - This report lets you generate a summary table (in Excel, HTML, PDF, and Word) of the program milestones in a tabular format.

When you click on the link, you are taken to the report configuration page. This lets you choose the desired output format as well as the ancillary items to include in the report (in this case the list of associated product requirements and change history records):

Once the report is ready, you can click on the button to open the report, and you will see something like the following:

In this example, we have run the report with Linked Requirements displayed and the Acrobat PDF output format selected.

Spira v7.7 Released: Program Capabilities & Milestones for Scaling Agile

2023-07-10T10:55:11-04:00

Major Features

This new version of our Enterprise Agile Planning platform includes the first major component of our Scaled Agile roadmap - the ability to plan and manage a program-level backlog, with program capabilities and milestones. These SpiraPlan (only) features add functionality to Programs to help users manage the delivery of features and releases across multiple products at once. Brand new program-level artifacts let you scale your agile practices beyond products like never before.

SpiraPlan (only) gains powerful new program features to help you manage delivery of features and releases across multiple products at once. Brand new program level artifacts let you scale your agile practices beyond products like never before.
Capabilities let you define cross-product, program-level features. Customize them with types, statuses, priorities, and fully customizable fields. Link capabilities to product requirements to track their progress at a higher level.
Program Milestones help you manage deadlines and delivery of product releases. Think of them as sprints for programs. Customize their types, statuses, and more. Tie releases to a milestone to easily see if things are at risk of delay.
By linking Capabilities to Program Milestones you can manage multiple capabilities and easily track if relevant features are ready for delivery. Is your Q3 target for a complex interconnected program on time? Are its features at risk? Scaled agile in SpiraPlan surfaces these insights with ease.
All these new features have matching new API calls to allow you to extend how you use program artifacts even further.

Bug Fixes

Add Eggplant as an active Test Automation Engine option in sample data [IN:7934]
Fix the installer so that SQL login and DB user credentials are correctly stored during advanced operations [IN:8123]
Fix the installer so the correct credentials are always used during upgrades [IN:8126]
Fix the installer so the correct connection information is stored in the settings and the log is cleaned up accordingly [IN:8127]
Fix the installer so the correct connection information is used when performing backups [IN:8128]
When creating a new user with the v7 API set the report admin flag if passed in [IN:8025]

How Do I Get the New Version?

About SpiraPlan

Spotlight on Rapise 8.0 - New Test Frameworks That Sync with Spira

2023-06-16T11:29:39-04:00

Benefits of Rapise 8.0

The previous way of dealing with Sub-Tests and linking tests to SpiraTest required doing it on a per test case basis, whereas in the new Framework mode, there is a single button labeled Sync with Spira that handles everything. When this button is pressed, test cases and test sets are automatically synchronized with SpiraTest, and files are uploaded/downloaded.

With the Framework mode, team collaboration is streamlined because changes made by team members are automatically merged. In addition, it is possible to view diffs and resolve conflicts in complex cases. In addition, the new Framework mode offers the following additional benefits:

Modules / Pages

The new framework mode introduces the new concept of Modules. Every module has its own dedicated object repository, allowing for better organization and isolation. Defining module actions in both RVL and JavaScript mode is straightforward. These actions can accept parameters and return values, offering increased flexibility and reusability.

The key advantage is that using a module in a test case is as simple as selecting the module in the Object column of RVL and then choosing the desired action from the Action column. If there are any parameter values required, they can be easily filled in.

Test Cases

With the new Framework mode, test cases also have their own private object repositories, providing a dedicated space for organizing test-specific elements. It is effortless to record steps into any test case and execute them for testing purposes. Additionally, the Object Tree displays the color-coded status of the last local execution for each test case, using green, yellow, and red indicators. This visual representation allows users to quickly assess the execution status of test cases at a glance.

Test Sets

On the Framework page of the Spira Dashboard in Rapise 8.0, you can conveniently create test sets. By simply setting checkboxes next to the desired test cases, you can include them in a test set.

Parameters / Configurations

The Framework mode in Rapise 8.0 introduces Test Set Configurations, offering a powerful feature for managing parameters. Defining parameters of various types and assigning different values for parameters in different configurations is incredibly simple and straightforward. When a configuration is assigned to a test set, every executed test case within that test set can access the specific parameter values defined for that configuration. This capability enables flexible and customizable parameterization, allowing for fine-tuning test behavior and data based on specific configurations.

Libraries

In the Framework mode the burden of manually loading libraries is eliminated. Modules and test cases are intelligent enough to recognize the required libraries and load them automatically. For instance, if a test case interacts with a browser, it automatically loads the Web library. Similarly, if a module interacts with a desktop application, it automatically loads the UIAutomation or Managed library.

Summary

Experience the power of Rapise 8.0's new Framework mode and revolutionize your test management workflow. With streamlined test case and test set management, simplified parameterization, modular organization, and seamless integration with SpiraTest, Rapise 8.0 empowers you to optimize your testing processes like never before. Say goodbye to manual library loading and embrace the automation and intelligence offered by Rapise. Take the leap and try Rapise 8.0 today to unlock enhanced collaboration, efficient test execution, and a more scalable and flexible testing framework. Your testing journey awaits with Rapise 8.0 - the future of test automation.

Spotlight on Spira 7.7 - Scaled Agile Program Capabilities & Milestones

2023-07-07T17:20:40-04:00

Scaled Agile Overview

As described in our Guide to Scaled Agile & SAFe Methodologies, one of the limitations of standard agile methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban is that they are designed to operate primarily at a team or product level. Therefore, scaled agile methods have seen a recent boom in popularity as companies realize they need to be able to manage larger solutions (called programs) and collections of different related products (called portfolios).

Our roadmap for SpiraPlan is for it to be the premier platform for allowing organizations to meet the challenges of scaling agile, both now, and in the future. Therefore, SpiraPlan has been designed to support many different frameworks allowing organizations to adopt them into methodologies that address their challenges. Consequently, we will be using the term “scaling agile” more than “Scaled Agile” since the latter has become associated with a specific framework (SAFe).

As part of the first component of this wider roadmap, Spira v7.7 includes the following new functionality:

Manage a backlog of program capabilities (similar to requirements at the product level)
Define key program milestones (similar to releases and sprints at the product level)
Plan the backlog of capabilities against specific program milestones
Associate product requirements with program capabilities to track execution of the capabilities
Associate product releases with program milestones to track progress and completion to date

Program Capabilities

With the new program capabilities module, you can create and manage a hierarchical list of program capabilities. In this fictitious example, we are planning the key capabilities for improving the overall customer experience of a commercial retail bank:

These capabilities can be categorized into different types, such as improvements, innovations, integrations, as well as non-functional capabilities such as enablers. For some methodologies (e.g. SAFe) they might be called Solution Epics and Features. In addition, the capabilities have a priority and status associated with them. In this example, we have a new improvement to allow payment transfers to third parties:

The progress of the capabilities is also displayed as a colored indicator bar that denotes how many of the associated product requirements have been completed.

These types, statuses, and priorities are managed at the system-level, and can be fully customized:

You can also define custom properties for the capabilities, including all of the standard property types (rich text, plain text, dropdown list, multi-select list, etc.):

Finally, you can associate the capabilities with the product requirements (epics, user stories, etc.). In this example, we have features from both the mobile banking and web banking products that are needed to realize this new payment capability, so until all four product features are completed, this overall capability is incomplete:

The status of the individual requirements will be used to calculate the overall progress of the overarching capability. For example, in the screenshot, there are four requirements, two are in the completed status, and two are still in progress (developed counts as in progress). Therefore the overall progress indicator shows that 50% of the capability is complete. The relationship between capabilities and requirements is "many to many" for maximum flexibility.

The capability is targeted to be completed by a specific program milestone - interbank connectivity - as illustrated below:

Now we can discuss how SpiraPlan will let you manage the program milestones themselves.

Program Milestones

In SpiraPlan, the primary way of time-boxing the solution backlog is through program milestones. They are the program equivalent of product releases and sprints, although they are meant to much higher-level, often aligned with fiscal quarters or representing an organizational deadline by which series of capabilities need to be delivered. Unlike product releases they are a simple flat, sortable list rather than being hierarchical. They can be categorized by type and status, and are displayed along with their planned start date, end date, completion progress and any custom properties defined by the administrators.

The program milestones grid can be configured to show/hide different columns, similar to the program capabilities grid and the equivalent grids at the product-level.

SpiraPlan lets you view the details of each milestones in a standard Spira artifact details page, complete with standard fields, custom properties, status, rich text description and tabs for the associated artifacts. One key unique feature is the ability to set the planned start date and end date for the milestone and compare that to the actual minimum and maximum start/end dates for the product releases that are associated. These are called the child start date and child end date.

This lets program managers set the high-level deadlines, with the individual product teams free to manage their own schedules, yet still allow the program managers to have visibility if there is a projected breach of the deadline.

The overall completion progress bar of the milestone is determined by the status of the associated capabilities. In this example, one of the capabilities is completed, while the other one is still in-progress. Hence the overall progress bar shows 50% complete. However since the end date of the milestone is in the past, the color of the progress bar is shown in red (vs. green). You can see the individual program capabilities by clicking on the Capabilities tab of the milestone:

If you click on the Releases tab of the milestone, you can see at a glance all of the product releases (and sprints) that are associated with this program milestone. This is association is used to calculate the minimum child start date and the maximum child end date. The relationship between milestones and releases is "many to many" for maximum flexibility.

As mentioned above, the program milestones are highly customizable by administrators. You can edit the list of milestones statuses and types:

In addition, you can define custom properties on program milestones, similar to those for program capabilities.

The image above shows the complete range of customization available for these new program artifacts.

What's Next?

Now that we have finished the core program capabilities and milestones functionality, the following functionality will be part of future releases:

Redesigning the Program Planning Board to use the new board user interface we introduced last year and be based on capabilities and milestones not just product requirements and releases
Implementing a set of program-level capability/release dashboard widgets, reporting dashboards and standard reports
Extending the Spira API to allow access to these new program artifacts (capabilities, milestones and related standard fields)

Beyond these enhancements at the program-level, we also have planned in 2024 to implement a similar set of features at the portfolio-level, allowing you to define/manage portfolio-level backlogs as well.

What About SpiraTest and SpiraTeam Users?

These new scaled agile artifacts are only available in SpiraPlan, so if you are a current SpiraTest or SpiraTeam user, please contact your account manager or our sales team to get a quote for upgrading.

Scaling Agile With SpiraPlan - Whitepaper Now Available

2023-04-10T13:20:05-04:00

The adoption of agile methodologies in the software industry has enabled teams to radically improve quality, reduce waste and deliver the right features on time. However, as agile is being used in larger organizations and to support more complex programs, its inherent limitations are requiring companies to think about how the scale agile for these new situations. In this whitepaper we outline how the SpiraPlan will enable organizations to meet the challenges of scaling agile, both now, and in the future.

> Read the Whitepaper - Scaling Agile with SpiraPlan

Updated Importer for Microsoft AzureDevOps and TFS Released

2023-02-06T12:11:46-05:00

What is Azure DevOps?

Azure DevOps was first introduced in 2014 as a way to bring together the power of Azure, the agility of DevOps, and the reliability of Azure. Since its inception, Azure DevOps has grown to be a powerful tool for managing and deploying applications in the cloud. However, recent changes to Azure DevOps may signal that the platform is being deprecated.

Is Azure DevOps Being Deprecated?

First, Microsoft is discontinuing the Azure DevOps Services Preview Program. This program allowed users to try out new features and get early feedback. With the program ending, feedback will no longer be available to help improve Azure DevOps.

Second, Microsoft is introducing a new tool called Azure Automation. Azure Automation is a machine learning platform that can automate the deployment of applications and services. Azure Automation is similar to Azure DevOps Services, but it is not a preview program.

Finally, Microsoft has been actively investing in its GitHub Enterprise platform, migrating CI / CD pipelines, issue tracking, and other key DevOps activities to GitHub. It is understood that the future platform for CI/CD and DevOps will be GitHub, with all new future development being focused on its features, such as Advanced Security, Codespaces, and Copilot.

Why Are Companies Switching to SpiraTeam?

With the eventual retirement of ADO likely, companies are looking to migrate to GitHub and take advantage of the new CI/CD features while at the same time having the key lifecycle management functionality they have gotten used to in ADO (boards, test management, project management, etc.). With SpiraTeam and GitHub, you have the best of both worlds - modern agile project management, requirements and test management, issue tracking, reporting, and support for scaled agile by upgrading to SpiraPlan.

So, with the increased demand from companies for an easy migration path to SpiraTeam or SpiraPlan, we have just made some major enhancements to the Azure DevOps / TFS migration wizard that improves the migration process and supports additional artifacts and work items.

Improvements to the ADO Migration Tool

Ability to Customize Work Item Mapping

In the previous version of the migration tool, it would automatically choose which ADO work items would map to SpiraTeam requirements and incidents. This meant that if you had customized your ADO/TFS installation considerably, some of the work items would migrate as the wrong artifact type.

In this new version, you can choose which SpiraTeam artifact type should be used for each ADO work item type:

Support for Tasks and Requirements

In addition, the previous version of the migration tool was limited to importing: requirements, test cases, and incidents. The latest version adds support for tasks:

This means you can now import project backlog items such as Epics, Features, and User Stories and have the appropriate child tasks imported into SpiraTeam with the relationship between the tasks and the backlog items preserved.

Where Can I Learn More?

Rapise Product Roadmap for 2023 and 2024 Released

2023-01-27T16:28:13-05:00

New Test Framework Architecture

We will be implementing a new test framework architecture in Rapise 8.0 in the coming year. This new framework will provide the following benefits:

Improved Test Structure

The new test framework will allow you to have a single Rapise test project that has multiple test cases, each with its own set of RVL scripts:

In addition, this new structure will provide:

Improved framework structure with test cases, test case folders, shared modules/page objects and scripts
Import, rename, and move test cases in the Object Tree
PageObject pattern support. Allow testers to define global objects with own object repository reusable across multiple test cases.
- It can also be used to cover API endpoints and more easily used in RVL test scenarios.

Enhanced Spira Integration

We know that many customers are using Rapise with the Spira dashboard to more easily manage their automated test scripts and test assets. This seamless integration will be further enhanced in this new version:

The new framework will offer the following benefits to Rapise users that are using the Spira integration:

It will allow testers to put their whole framework into Spira with a single button click:
- It will have the automatic creation of test cases and test sets
It will offer a fast way of storing framework files in Spira
A simplified way of defining parameters and configurations
Easy way of defining test sets

SAP Gui Support

Rapise already has support for the web components of the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, called UI5 and/or SAP Fiori. With the new versions planned in 2023, we are working closely with one of our key implementation partners to extend the Rapise support for SAP to include the SAP thick-client, often known as SAP GUI or SAP Hana.

Other Key Features

In addition to these two major features, the following key enhancements are planned for 2023:

GutHub Actions - run Rapise tests as a step of GitHub CI/CD workflow
FileCompare - add FileCompare UI to assist with adding file checkpoints on recording, updating checkpoints, and analyzing differences after execution for files (txt, PDF, doc, JSON, CSV) and text fields of runtime objects (Window text, Object Value).

Where Can I Learn More?

To see the complete product roadmap, please refer to the live Rapise roadmap on our RapiseDocs website.

Spira Product Roadmap for 2023 and 2024 Released

2023-01-27T16:50:34-05:00

Key Focus Areas

The published roadmap focuses on the two key major strategic themes that we're using to guide the development of Spira 7.x and 8.x in the next two years:

Scaled Agile. As part of our commitment to making Spira the premier platform for designing, developing and delivering large-scale agile projects, one of the key areas will be the creation of new work items and artifacts at the program and portfolios in Spira. This will let organizations define their company's strategic goals, decompose them into program capabilities, and deliver them as product features, epics and user stories. Based on successful scaled agile frameworks such as SAFe, Spira will provide organizations the only integrated program and project management platform to safely deliver their most mission-critical initiatives.
Agile Boards. We recently released our new beta agile planning board in Spira 7.3. Based on the excellent feedback and suggestions from our customers, we will be releasing an updated planning board that incorporates the feedback as well using the feedback and new design to update the other boards in Spira, including but not limited to:
1. The requirements boards
2. The task boards
3. The incident boards

Delivering Scaled Agile

As part of of the new scaled agile functionality planned for Spira, we are releasing new artifacts for programs and portfolios:

Program capabilities that can be mapped to product requirements
Program milestones that can be mapped to product releases

Similarly for the portfolio-level:

Portfolio strategic objectives that can be mapped to program capabilities
Portfolio milestones that can be mapped to program milestones:

Revamping the Agile Boards

As part of the Spira 7.3 release we provided a complete new agile planning board user interface:

We have been collecting feedback from our customers and based on this feedback, we will be delivering the following:

Incorporating the key feedback into the main planning board and making available for general release (vs. beta)
Updating the task board to use the new user interface, incorporating the feedback
Updating the requirements board to use the new user interface, incorporating the feedback
Updating the incident board to use the new user interface, incorporating the feedback

Other Key Features

In addition to these two major themes that will be delivered in successive releases on the next two years, we will be continuing to add additional user suggested enhancements and fix bugs and issues identified by users. In addition, the roadmap identifies the following important new features that are outside of the two major themes:

Improvements for background operations (like report generation) for users in load-balanced environments
Initial release of v7 of our API (all prior versions of the API will remain 100% supported)
Release to requirement, and release to release associations
Multi-approval workflows enabled with a new dedicated SpiraApp
Risk enhancements, including in reporting
Support for artifact tags, similar to those available in documents
The ability to @ mention people in comments and descriptions

Where Can I Learn More?

To see the complete product roadmap, please refer to the live Spira roadmap on our SpiraDocs website.

Updated Importer for Micro Focus / HPE ALM Released

2022-12-30T12:42:17-05:00

What is Micro Focus ALM?

Micro Focus Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is a set of software tools developed and marketed by Micro Focus for application development and testing. It includes tools for requirements management, test planning and functional testing, performance testing, developer management, and defect management. It was formerly known as Hewlett Packard ALM, Hewlett Packard Quality Center (QC) and Mercury Interactive Test Director. It was based on ActiveX technology and therefore relied on Internet Explorer (IE) to be able to display its "web pages".

Why Are Companies Switching to SpiraTeam?

Over the past few years, companies have been looking for more modern quality management tools that provide all of the functionality of Micro Focus ALM, but are cross-browser, modern and are better suited to modern agile projects. With its modern user interface, simplified administration and new features such as agile boards, resource management, multiple requirements views, Gantt charts, easy DevOps integration and real-time analytics, SpiraTeam has emerged as one of the most popular replacements for ALM.

The phase-out of IE has become the final additional reason why companies and government agencies are accelerating their plans to migrate from ALM. With this in mind, we have improved our already easy to use, out of the box migration tool for ALM.

Improvements to the ALM Migration Tool

The major improvements we have made to the Micro Focus ALM migration tool are for the benefit of customers looking to migrate very large projects to SpiraTeam. The new importer offers these enhancements over the previous version:

The importer now displays the progress of the import with a percentage complete and estimate for the time to import the remainder of the project
Sometimes ALM would go offline during the middle of the import. With the new version, you can now resume imports from any point, if this happens.

Display of Import Progress

During the import process, the importer shows the current session identifier (which is part of the session log name), as well as the progress and estimated remaining time for every artifact.

The Event History at the bottom logs important events of the session. As each of the types of artifact are imported, the progress display will change (as shown above).

Ability to Resume the Import from Any Point

If you can cancel a session part way through, or the session fails for any reason, you can easily resume importing artifacts from that session. Each import session is saved as a flat file that you can pick from to resume the import from that point in time:

This means that very large project migrations that could sometimes be impacted by network outages or failures in ALM are no longer a problem.

Where Can I Learn More?

Spira v7.3 Released: New Agile Planning Board, Teams, Tracks and More

2022-12-29T14:52:01-05:00

Major Features

Introducing our next generation planning board for SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan. Available as a beta alongside the existing planning board, the new board has a brand new look, big new features (including swimlanes), and simpler to use than ever.

SpiraPlan admins can create teams and assign members of a product to those teams (in beta). Currently teams are available exclusively on the beta planning board.

New Features

Beta Planning Board
- The new beta planning board has powerful functionality with a new layout and overhauled design to let you plan work effortlessly [RQ:4286]
- There are useful main display modes that dictate how you use the boards
  - The Product backlog lets managers prioritize ("groom") unplanned work items that do not have a scheduled release [RQ:4368]
  - The Release backlog lets managers review planned or in progress work items [RQ:4369]
  - The sprint backlog lets managers review work in a release and its sprint, or for a single sprint [RQ:4370]
  - When working on the release or sprint backlog there is a release dropdown [RQ:4381]
- **The planning board makes it easy to customize how the board is organized to help you focus on the right information **
  - Users can group the board by certain fields (based on the view) to show one board per member of the group [RQ:4372]
  - Within a board users can choose what field to organize data by as columns (the x-axis) [RQ:4373]
  - Within a board users can choose what field to organize data by as rows (the y-axis) [RQ:4374]
- Planning board cards design updated with greater customization
  - Planning board cards always show a standard set of information that is useful and meaningful [RQ:4382]
  - Planning board cards can optionally show the artifact's description, type, status, and position [RQ:4375]
  - Planning board cards can optionally show the artifact's task progress and task mini indicators [RQ:4376]
  - Planning board cards can optionally show the artifact's test coverage and test case mini indicators [RQ:4377]
- Incident cards can be shown alongside requirement cards for certain views of the Planning Board
  - When organizing the planning board by priority, incident priority names are matched to requirement importance names [RQ:4379]
  - Incident cards can be displayed alongside requirement cards in certain views of the planning board [RQ:4380]
  - Teams/Tracks Support in Boards (SpiraPlan only) [RQ:2316]
** System Administration**
- System admins can enable or disable beta functionality across the application for their users [RQ:4317]
- System admins can create and manage a list of team names (SpiraPlan only) [RQ:3689]
- Product admins can associate product users to specific teams [RQ:3690]

Bug fixes and enhancements

Retain the user-designated ordering on the planning board in all cases (including the first time a card is moved, and moving a card to the end of a stack) [IN:6467]
Ensure all incident progress tooltips are shown in the user's local time zone and not in UTC [IN:6573]
Improve performance by caching user avatar images in the browser [IN:7287]
Fix the SpiraApp for WorX actions that happen when you click the buttons in the column grids [IN:7391]
Do not restrict task start and end dates to its release's dates, so that changes to a task whose dates fall outside those of its release are not blocked [IN:7435]
Fix the status filter dropdown on the requirement sorted list page not being localized [IN:7470]
Show the correct testing settings for SpiraTest (show "Allow users to mark every step in a test case as N/A at once" and hide "Users can create tasks...") [IN:7488]
Fix concurrency dates and concurrency checks to serialize using the Invariant Culture to avoid problems using certain cultural settings (for example, Thai) [IN:7499]
Logging in and out
- Fix a user being logged out and redirected to a broken URL by removing the product ID portion of this broken URL [IN:7584]
- Fix the browser from getting stuck in a loop if there is unsaved user input after client-side forced session termination [IN:7587]
- Fix the error that can occur when starting test execution if you have lost the authorization in the current tab for any reason [IN:7607]
- Fix some actions on the detail pages causing a logged out user to be redirected to a broken URL if their Form Manager, onRetrieve wasn't calling proper URL redirect on Auth Failure [IN:7669]
On premise installer
- Fix the installer for on premise customers so that users are informed when they are using an incorrect SQL Version for an upgrade [IN:7588]
- Fix the wrong installer version number being recorded in the web.config file [IN:7612]
- Fix edge case null reference exception in the installer [IN:7638]
- When on premise customers upgrade, include the version they are upgrading from on the summary screen and in the log [IN:7610]
Documentation and logging
- Change the color of the message box about the best browser to use for the document spreadsheet from red to yellow [IN:7563]
- Clarify the API documentation about what happens when the user create call is made but the user already exists [IN:7618]
- Fix the help link used for the Rapise Floating Licenses administration page [IN:7490]
- Correct the v6 SOAP API documentation example for the Document_AddFile method documentation [IN:7654]
- Record a success audit log message into the event log when any datasync 'Reset Sync' button is pressed. [IN:7525]
- Turn off logging for a specific "TaraVault active for a product" check to not confuse users with extra noise in the logs [IN:7608]

How Do I Get the New Version?

About SpiraPlan

SpiraCapture Revamped To Improve Spira Integration

2022-11-25T14:33:10-05:00

Revamped Spira Integration

SpiraCapture now provides the ability to fill out the incident details form in a similar way to how these details are filled out within SpiraPlan. This allows SpiraCapture to be a one stop shop for incident creation in SpiraPlan during exploratory testing.

The form is created based on the incident workflow for the product and incident type selected, which allows the person using it to know what information they need to fill out without needing to go into SpiraPlan to do so afterwards.

Other Fixes

This update also comes with some bug fixes, so issues with creating incidents that people ran into before (such as custom properties with “Allow empty” set to “No” or failed screenshots blocking incident creation) should no longer be an issue.

What Is Exploratory Testing?

Cem Kaner, who coined the term Exploratory Testing, described it as "a style of software testing that emphasizes the personal freedom and responsibility of the individual tester.”

During this freeform, intuitive approach to testing, the testing steps and path are not predefined and have to be manually captured. The flow and steps of a testing session are important for effective communication between testers and developers.

Product Changes Coming in 2023

2022-11-06T12:34:48-05:00

Spira Product Roadmap

During 2022 we released many new features and updates to our SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, and SpiraPlan platforms, including our new SpiraApps plugin architecture, integration with popular CI tools such as GitLab and GitHub, enhanced FMEA risk management, product-level custom properties, completely revamped text editor, and inline artifact editing on the Gantt charts and agile boards. For 2023, we have many exciting features on the roadmap, including world-class support for the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), enhancements to the risk management functionality to support risk-based testing and risk coverage, and completely revamped agile boards. We will have more information on these new features in early 2023.

Rapise Roadmap

During 2022 we released major updates to our Rapise test and process automation system, including support for 64-bit .NET and Java Swing applications, support for Salesforce Shadow DOM, the popular AG Grid, enhancements to our Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle ERP, and Salesforce support as well as many quality of life enhancements. For 2023 we plan on adding new functionality to improve the handling of testing complex web applications that use the new Shadow DOM and Web Components features, support for testing ServiceNow and SAP GUI, as well as user-suggested enhancements.

KronoDesk Product Roadmap

During 2022 we released a new update - KronoDesk 4.0 that included a compendium of enhancements and bug fixes requested by our users. In 2023 we will be releasing KronoDesk 4.1, which will have some major usability enhancements as well as support for Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Subscription and Pricing Changes

Cloud and On-Premise Forever

Before we get into what is changing, we'd first like to take this opportunity to let you know what is staying the same. At Inflectra, we value customer choice, and we believe that customers of all sizes and in all industries should have the choice of having their software cloud-hosted or installed locally. Unlike other companies in our industry, we maintain 100% compatibility between the cloud and on-premise versions of SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, SpiraPlan, and KronoDesk. In addition, our unique use of concurrent user licensing also remains the same going forward. Further building on this, we released floating licenses for Rapise at the start of 2022.

Cloud Subscriptions

For our cloud customers, there are some small pricing adjustments effective January 1st, 2023, however, the core pricing model of concurrent pricing and the choice of monthly (billed to a credit card) and annual (pre-paid) subscriptions remains the same:

SpiraTest
Product	# Users	Description	Monthly	Annual
SpiraTest	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users, and projects	$120.99	$1,306.69
SpiraTest	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users, and projects	$193.99	$2,095.09
SpiraTest	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users, and projects	$350.99	$3,790.69
SpiraTest	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users, and projects	$677.99	$7,322.29
SpiraTest	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users, and projects	$967.99	$10,454.29
SpiraTest	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users, and projects	$1,354.99	$14,633.89
SpiraTest	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users, and projects	$1,693.99	$18,295.09
SpiraTest	150	150 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,298.99	$24,829.09
SpiraTest	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,782.99	$30,056.29
SpiraTest	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,387.99	$36,590.29
SpiraTest	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,992.99	$43,124.29
SpiraTest	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$5,807.99	$62,726.29

SpiraTeam
Product	# Users	Description	Monthly	Annual
SpiraTeam	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$158.99	$1,717.09
SpiraTeam	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$248.99	$2,689.09
SpiraTeam	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$442.99	$4,784.29
SpiraTeam	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$847.99	$9,158.29
SpiraTeam	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,239.99	$13,391.89
SpiraTeam	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,593.99	$17,215.09
SpiraTeam	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,441.99	$26,373.49
SpiraTeam	150	150 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,010.99	$32,518.69
SpiraTeam	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,541.99	$38,253.49
SpiraTeam	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$4,249.99	$45,899.89
SpiraTeam	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$4,958.99	$53,557.09
SpiraTeam	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$8,146.99	$87,987.49

SpiraPlan
Product	# Users	Description	Monthly	Annual
SpiraPlan	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$201.99	$2,181.49
SpiraPlan	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$316.99	$3,423.49
SpiraPlan	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$633.99	$6,847.09
SpiraPlan	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,151.99	$12,441.49
SpiraPlan	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,612.99	$17,420.29
SpiraPlan	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,087.99	$22,550.29
SpiraPlan	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,455.99	$37,324.69
SpiraPlan	150	150 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$4,391.99	$47,433.49
SpiraPlan	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$5,039.99	$54,431.89
SpiraPlan	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$6,249.99	$67,499.89
SpiraPlan	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$7,055.99	$76,204.69
SpiraPlan	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$11,490.99	$124,102.69
SpiraPlan	750	750 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$16,012.99	$172,940.29
SpiraPlan	1000	1000 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$20,159.99	$217,727.89

KronoDesk
Product	# Agents	Description	Monthly	Annual
KronoDesk	3	3 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$87.99	$950.29
KronoDesk	5	5 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$120.99	$1,306.69
KronoDesk	10	10 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$197.99	$2,138.29
KronoDesk	20	20 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$241.99	$2,613.49
KronoDesk	30	30 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$318.99	$3,445.09
KronoDesk	50	50 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$406.99	$4,395.49
KronoDesk	100	100 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$725.99	$7,840.69

In addition, TaraVault remains a free add-on for our SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan cloud subscriptions, providing unlimited Git/Subversion code repositories at no additional cost.

On-Premise Subscriptions - Current

For our on-premise customers that are on the current flat pricing model that we introduced in 2022, the pricing for on-premise products will be as follows, effective January 1st, 2023:

SpiraTest
Product	Edition	Description	Annual
SpiraTest	3-User	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,175.99
SpiraTest	5-User	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,881.99
SpiraTest	10-User	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,410.99
SpiraTest	20-User	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$6,585.99
SpiraTest	30-User	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$9,408.99
SpiraTest	50-User	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$13,171.99
SpiraTest	100-User	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$16,465.99
SpiraTest	200-User	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$27,050.99
SpiraTest	250-User	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$32,930.99
SpiraTest	300-User	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$38,811.99
SpiraTest	500-User	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$56,453.99

SpiraTeam
Product	Edition	Description	Annual
SpiraTeam	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,549.99
SpiraTeam	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,415.99
SpiraTeam	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$4,308.99
SpiraTeam	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$8,242.99
SpiraTeam	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$12,049.99
SpiraTeam	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$15,492.99
SpiraTeam	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$23,735.99
SpiraTeam	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$34,427.99
SpiraTeam	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$41,313.99
SpiraTeam	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$48,198.99
SpiraTeam	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$79,184.99

SpiraPlan
Product	Edition	Description	Annual
SpiraPlan	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,958.99
SpiraPlan	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,078.99
SpiraPlan	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$6,157.99
SpiraPlan	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$11,196.99
SpiraPlan	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$15,675.99
SpiraPlan	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$20,294.99
SpiraPlan	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$33,591.99
SpiraPlan	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$48,988.99
SpiraPlan	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$60,745.99
SpiraPlan	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$68,583.99
SpiraPlan	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$111,693.99
SpiraPlan	750	750 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$155,643.99
SpiraPlan	1000	1000 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$195,954.99

KronoDesk
Product	Edition	Description	Annual
KronoDesk	3-User	3 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$1,759.99
KronoDesk	5-User	5 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$2,529.99
KronoDesk	10-User	10 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$4,069.99
KronoDesk	20-User	20 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$5,059.99
KronoDesk	30-User	30 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$6,599.99
KronoDesk	50-User	50 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$8,689.99
KronoDesk	100-User	100 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$15,399.99

On-Premise Subscriptions - Classic

For our on-premise customers that are on the classic, purchase upfront, and cheaper annual renewal model (those before January 1st, 2022), the pricing for on-premise products will be as follows, effective January 1st, 2023:

SpiraTest
Product	Edition	Description	Classic
SpiraTest	3-User	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$689.99
SpiraTest	5-User	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,034.99
SpiraTest	10-User	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,954.99
SpiraTest	20-User	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,334.99
SpiraTest	30-User	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$4,599.99
SpiraTest	50-User	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$5,749.99
SpiraTest	100-User	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$9,199.99
SpiraTest	200-User	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$15,455.99
SpiraTest	250-User	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$16,559.99
SpiraTest	300-User	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$19,319.99
SpiraTest	500-User	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$29,255.99

SpiraTeam
Product	Edition	Description	Classic
SpiraTeam	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,034.99
SpiraTeam	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,609.99
SpiraTeam	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,414.99
SpiraTeam	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,794.99
SpiraTeam	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$5,215.99
SpiraTeam	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$7,727.99
SpiraTeam	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$11,591.99
SpiraTeam	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$21,251.99
SpiraTeam	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$25,874.99
SpiraTeam	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$30,014.99
SpiraTeam	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$48,299.99

SpiraPlan
Product	Edition	Description	Classic
SpiraPlan	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,199.99
SpiraPlan	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,679.99
SpiraPlan	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,999.99
SpiraPlan	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$4,233.99
SpiraPlan	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$6,047.99
SpiraPlan	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$8,466.99
SpiraPlan	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$14,111.99
SpiraPlan	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$25,401.99
SpiraPlan	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$38,699.99
SpiraPlan	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$45,359.99
SpiraPlan	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$73,799.99
SpiraPlan	750	750 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$107,999.99
SpiraPlan	1000	1000 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$140,399.99

KronoDesk
Product	Edition	Description	Classic
KronoDesk	3-User	3 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$574.99
KronoDesk	5-User	5 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$804.99
KronoDesk	10-User	10 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$1,149.99
KronoDesk	20-User	20 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$1,494.99
KronoDesk	30-User	30 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$1,839.99
KronoDesk	50-User	50 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$2,299.99
KronoDesk	100-User	100 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$4,024.99

What About Rapise and RemoteLaunch?

We are not making price changes to either Rapise or RemoteLaunch in 2023.

Can I Lock in My Current Pricing?

Yes, absolutely, you can renew your subscriptions early (i.e. before December 31st, 2022) and get the 2022 prices, even if they will be expiring in 2023. In addition, for additional savings, please contact our sales team about a multi-year purchase, which will not only lock in the current price but, depending on the length, give you access to additional discounts as well!

What About Legacy Customers and Perpetual Pricing?

If you are a long-term legacy customer and have special legacy pricing, these prices do not apply to you, but the price changes will be similar on a percentage basis. Please contact our sales team if you have any questions.

If you are looking to purchase a perpetual on-premise license of SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, SpiraPlan or KronoDesk, those are still available, please contact our sales team for a custom quote.

What About Unexpired Existing Quotes?

Of course, if you already have an unexpired quote, we will honor it 100%. If your price quote is expiring soon, we recommend you contact our sales team to place the order ASAP.

Chrome and Edge Context Menu Extension for Spira

2022-11-04T14:51:19-04:00

How Do I Get the Extension?

You can download a copy of this free extension from the Google Chrome Store: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/spira-context-menu/kjnbpgoeemihfggpmenihckhnkgpocck

Rapise v7.4 Released - Support for Web Components, AgGrid, Mixed-Mode and 64-Bit Apps

2022-10-25T07:12:10-04:00

Summary

Mixed Mode Recording (Web, Managed, UIA, Java) [IN:7436]
Test Set scheduling in Spira Dashboard [IN:7475]
Add support for the Web Component Slot element (WebSpy, XPath generator) [IN:7479]
Change navigation concept in Spira Dashboard - ID links must expand/collapse [IN:7502]
Add generic support for AgGrid web component [IN:7581]
Add support for Managed 64-bit desktop applications [IN:7582]
Add support for Java 64-bit desktop applications [IN:7583]

Features

Mixed Mode Recording (Web, Managed, UIA, Java) [IN:7436]
Test Set scheduling in Spira Dashboard [IN:7475]
Add generic support for AgGrid web component [IN:7581]
Add support for Managed 64-bit desktop applications [IN:7582]
Add support for Java 64-bit desktop applications [IN:7583]

New Object API

Navigator.DoWaitForVisible [IN:7481]
Navigator.CheckObjectEnabled [IN:7483]
Navigator.EnsureVisibleScrollBehavior [IN:7590]
Navigator.DoWaitForEnabled [IN:7591]

Improvements

Ability to instrument Liberica JDK for Java testing [IN:6866]
When a Test Case is created from Dashboard it should have one manual step [IN:7000]

This step can be used to link an incident.
When link Web/Mobile test to Spira - create g_browserLibrary/g_mobileProfile param for Test Case [IN:7023]
Ability to add all Test Cases from a folder when adding test cases to a test set [IN:7057]

expand a folder, right click and use popup menu Select Child Test Cases.
Use Rapise Tests folder in Spira Documents for saving tests [IN:7124]

It does not impact already saved tests, but new tests will be saved into Root\Rapise Tests folder in Spira Documents.
SpiraDashboard: New Folder for Test Cases and Test Sets views [IN:7128]

Both Test Cases and Test Sets views in Spira Dashboard now have New Folder button.
SpiraDashboard: Test Cases view: rename Folder or Test Case [IN:7129]

Select a folder or a test case, expand menu in Actions column and choose Rename….
Click on last.trp in Test Run details in Spira Dashboard should open the report in Rapise [IN:7170]
Upgrade JS parser to support ES2015 [IN:7325]
Spira Dashboard: Test Sets view: rename Test Set or Test Set Folder [IN:7326]

Select a folder or a test set, expand menu in Actions column and choose Rename….
Spira Dashboard: Test Run details - open screenshot links in Rapise image viewer [IN:7334]
Synchronize parameters of Test Case and Rapise Test when saving to Spira [IN:7352]
Auto set project in Spira Dashboard based on opened test [IN:7356]
Propagate common parameters of the parent test to CSV editor in Spira Dashboard [IN:7360]
Optimize performance of Get Snapshot in WebSpy [IN:7369]
Make callback hooks for SeSHandleObjectNotFound and TestLocatorHook [IN:7416]
Call SeSOnTestPrepare in Recorder [IN:7426]
Make WebDriverSession.json global to reuse browser session across tests [IN:7431]
Speed up Managed locator creation [IN:7439]
Optimize Spira Dashboard performance [IN:7444]
Add Tools/Remove All Breakpoints [IN:7450]
Spira Dashboard: In Framework View add Unlink from Test Case option [IN:7463]
Spira Dashboard: stability of loading Test Case and Test Set views and expanding/collapsing detail views [IN:7464]
Reorganize Rapise Library Chooser (Tools > Libraries) [IN:7466]
Add SeSRunNodeCommand, SeSRunNode, SeSRunNpm, SeSRunNpx [IN:7476]
Add support for the Web Component Slot element (WebSpy, XPath generator) [IN:7479]
Add a reference to the Floating License option to the Install popup window asking for activation code [IN:7493]
Improve recording of Combo Boxes on Web pages [IN:7500]
Change navigation concept in Spira Dashboard - ID links must expand/collapse [IN:7502]
WebSpy must show tested locators in the property grid [IN:7518]
Edit/View XPath/Location in ActionEditor of Recording Activity dialog [IN:7526]
Support for FSAL in OracleForms (standalone Java) [IN:7530]
Allow to explicitly choose Spy in Recording Activity dialog [IN:7539]
Automatically change test type when Web or Mobile library is added after test creation [IN:7540]
Do not show Engine in Dashboard view [IN:7547]
Progress Dialog for synchronizing files to/from Spira needs replacement [IN:7561]
Saving a sub-test to Spira before saving the Framework Root should save from the root [IN:7564]
Update DomSAP library to work on most recent SAP UI5 version [IN:7577]
Remove Settings / Browser menu item [IN:7578]

It was for legacy browsers and we should now better use … next to profiles instead.

Bug Fixes

Rename for a test does not work [IN:6933]
Delete Test Case parameter that is used in a Test Set - no message [IN:7015]
Test Matrix hides info if selected parameter values are not unique [IN:7056]
Save to Spira hangs when saving to removed test case [IN:7333]
Playback via Selenium - SetText is slow [IN:7342]
Problem updating custom properties of a Test Set when GitPassword was never set [IN:7343]
Selenium Recorder - save session information immediately after opening a browser [IN:7347]
SpiraDashboard multiple refresh on Save to Spira [IN:7348]
Selenium Recorder stops working after switching to and then closing a Popup window [IN:7368]
OnBeforeUnload event is not handled in Selenium Recorder [IN:7370]
Navigator.LaunchBrowser is missing in Selenium library [IN:7375]
Navigator.Open should navigate when URL is non-empty [IN:7376]
Dash symbol in tags inside Shadow Root breaks XPath generators [IN:7377]
Global.SetClipboardText crash on date string in Nodejs [IN:7382]
Selenium Chrome silent crash on test playback or profile test when App Paths is missing in Registry [IN:7417]
WebSpy is slow when working with large pages [IN:7428]
Corrupted Dashboard.json breaks whole Spira Dashboard [IN:7430]
Java/OracleForms auto detection slows down recording of Java SWT applications [IN:7438]
REST editor refresh issue [IN:7441]
Show test properties when selecting root repository node in Test Objects [IN:7447]
Save test when test case was deleted in Spira - no error [IN:7454]
Navigator.Close must close browser even if there are opened alerts [IN:7498]
iFrame within Shadow DOM is shown as empty in WebSpy [IN:7503]
Do Try Action without debugger - it is crashing on g_executionMonitor [IN:7544]
Salesforce: ComboBox.DoSelectItem, ListBox.DoSelectItem not working [IN:7546]
Test clone does not update g_rvlScriptPath in UI and RVL button opens wrong file [IN:7548]
RVL: Variable name in Param line is not highlighted when inside Assert statement [IN:7551]
Navigator.SelectBrowserProfile - unable to switch from Edge to Firefox [IN:7552]
Not all INPUT types are recorded [IN:7553]
Activation Status dialog in Floating mode must show correct information [IN:7558]
Save to Spira dialog - 1^st column is too narrow [IN:7562]
HTML markup in test report breaks styles in Spira Dashboard [IN:7565]
Spira Save/Load is slow when there are many document folders in Documents module [IN:7570]
DevExpress: Grid.DoFullText stopped working [IN:7585]

For more details, please check out the Rapise 7.4 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About Rapise

Whether it’s the web, mobile, desktop applications, APIs (REST and SOAP), Rapise helps you test it all. Rapise doesn’t just test; it understands. It knows about a wealth of complex applications, including, for example, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, Oracle Fusion, and SAP. And it will help you manage tests spanning multiple technologies at once. Rapise makes automated testing accessible to everyone. Using Rapise, anyone can create and change tests. Rapise records your actions, then lets you edit them in its easy-to-use visual keyword driven framework called RVL. Want to get into the code? Then dig into our JavaScript-based engine that’s a breeze to extend and integrates with open source standards such as Selenium and Appium.

Spira v7.2 Released: Product Custom Properties, Program Management & Spreadsheet Editor

2022-10-21T09:30:58-04:00

Major Features

This new version allows you to manage products in a whole new way (SpiraPlan only). New system level custom properties and custom lists let program users see and manage your products with custom data and through new dedicated pages and custom report options. You can use these new features for improved Project Portfolio Management, to implement project charters, and much more.

Along with existing support for creating and editing dynamic documents inside Spira (including diagrams and documents), the new spreadsheet editor lets you create simple spreadsheets to better organize your teams and track work. You can have multiple sheets, apply formatting to cells, use a wide number of functions, and even import from and export to Excel spreadsheets.

New Features

Allow users to create and edit simple spreadsheets as an option for inline documents [RQ:4322]
Email all system administrators every time that the concurrent user limit is exceeded by a user trying to login but can't due to license issues [RQ:4361]
Improved Product Management and Customization
- System admins can add, edit, and remove up to 30 custom properties, shared across all products [RQ:4147]
- System admins can add and manage system-wide custom lists and their values [RQ:4150]
- The program level product list page shows all products in a program and lets users see, sort, and filter by any standard or custom field (but not edit) [RQ:4145]
- The program level product detail page lets users see all information about a specific product (including custom fields) [RQ:4146]
- Custom report views support product level custom properties, including on the products report [RQ:4192]

Bug fixes and enhancements

Add a link on the product home page, overview widget to the new product details page, shown to program members only [IN:7501]
Add a new dedicated "Account Lockout Period" security setting, so system admins can specify how long a user is locked out for once they enter too many wrong passwords within the relevant window [IN:5010]
Add a new system admin security setting to enforce stricter security only possible on HTTPS sites [IN:7359]
Fix a typo in the 7.1 onboarding tour about TaraVault [IN:7443]
Fix editing tasks or requirements on the release details page not triggering notification events [IN:6954]
Fix the documentation link on the user's Add 2-Step Authentication page [IN:7396]
Improve explanatory text in two places in administration for the flag that disables rollup calculations, and also the 2 pop-up messages [IN:7338]
Improve the error pages throughout the app, with a more consistent design in more places, and showing stack trace information to system admins only [IN:6293]
Reduce css file sizes by removing Internet Explorer 11 specific rules and values [IN:7412]
Show more of the test case names on the test case grid of the test set details page (up to 150 characters) [IN:7299]
Show the program artifact dropdown when a user goes to a program page before ever going to a product [IN:7474]
Update the minimum SQL Server required version under which SpiraPlan can be installed to 2016 [IN:7424]
Set the minimum required version of .NET that the application will work under to 4.8 [RQ:3085]
When a product has rollup calculations disabled, also disable test case parameter hierarchy refreshes [IN:7422]

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website. Cloud customers will have already been updated during the October maintenance window. If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About SpiraPlan

Monday.com Plugin for Spira Now Available

2025-01-07T15:26:08-05:00

What is Monday.com?

Monday.com is a customizable web and mobile work management platform, designed to help teams and organizations with operational efficiency by tracking projects and workflows, visualizing data, and team collaboration. It includes automation capabilities and supports integrations with other work apps.

Many of our customers are using SpiraTest, SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan in heterogeneous environments, with different teams using different tools to manage team-level development activities. For example, teams may be using Jira, GitLab and Azure DevOps in the same company. Several customers reached out to us looking for us to add a similar connector for Monday.com so that managers could create and assign the tasks in SpiraTeam, but allow the teams to track and complete their tasks in Monday.com.

We are seeing a move away from some of the more heavyweight, complex tools such as Jira, Rational products and Micro Focus ALM to newer tools such as SpiraTeam and GitLab. The new plugin for Monday.com is the next step in that trend.

How Does the Plugin Work?

Our new plugin for Monday.com is available for both cloud and on-premise customers of SpiraTeam. For on-premise customers you need to download the plugin into your environment:

For cloud customers it is available already on our cloud synchronization platform.

Once enabled, you can log new incidents and tasks directly in SpiraTeam as normal:

The new incidents and tasks will then be synchronized over to Monday.com as a new task:

When users make any of the following changes in Monday.com, they will synchronize back into Spira:

Assign the task to someone
Mark the task as completed
Add a comment to the task
Make changes to its name or description

In addition, the Spira task will automatically include a hyperlink to the corresponding item in Monday.com.

With this plugin, you can now manage your Spira incidents and tasks from the comfort of Monday.com:

For more information, please refer to the documentation available on SpiraDocs: Using Spira with Monday.com.

About SpiraTeam

SpiraTeam is a complete agile software development management system that manages your project's requirements, releases, iterations, tasks and bugs/issues. Designed specifically to support agile methodologies such as Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), DSDM and Agile Unified Process (AUP) it allows teams to manage all their information in one environment. In SpiraTeam, each project has a dashboard home-page that summarizes all of the information regarding the project into a comprehensive, easily digestible form that provides a “one-stop-shop” for people interested in understanding the overall status of the project at a glance. It contains summary-level information for all types of artifact (requirements, test cases, incidents, etc.) that you can use to drill-down into the appropriate section of the application.

About Inflectra

Founded in 2006, Inflectra is a market leader in software test management, test automation and application lifecycle management space. The company is headquartered in the USA, but has offices in over 10 countries. Known globally for its legendary customer support, Inflectra makes turn-key solutions that address many challenges in software test management and QA, test automation and product lifecycle management. Its methodology agnostic software tools are used in many industries where portfolio management, requirements traceability, release planning, resource management, document workflow and enterprise risk analysis are required. The company uses a concurrent pricing model for all its tools with unlimited products, projects, sprints, tests, API calls, included in a single price. All Inflectra products have a 30-day free trial.

Enhancements to Jira Cloud Plugin for Spira Released

2022-09-20T13:15:32-04:00

Rich Text Handling

Previously, when you synchronize an incident, task or requirement to/from Jira, all of the text formatting was lost. This is because Spira internally uses an HTML format to store its rich text, whereas Jira uses a variation of Markdown. Therefore in previous versions, we would need to convert the rich text to plain text to ensure it could be displayed correctly in the other tool.

With the new version, we use a more powerful HTML <--> Markdown conversion utility that lets us intelligently convert between HTML and Markdown. This means that when incidents, tasks and requirements are synchronized with Jira, we can keep the text formatting.

Better Association Handling

The previous version of the plugin would add hyperlinks between artifacts in Spira and the corresponding items in Jira. In addition, it could create links between issues in Jira based on the associations between those same incidents in Spira. In this new version, it will also add associations in Spira between requirements (for example, between Epics, Stories and Features that are linked in Jira) and associations between incidents and requirements (for items that were originally linked in Jira).

Automatic Handling of Timezones

The previous version of the plugin did not correctly handle the fact that the Jira API uses local time, and the Spira API uses UTC. This meant that dates in Jira (due date, start date, etc.) would not correctly show up in Spira (and vice-versa) because of the difference, and also that bidirectional updates could be flaky because of timezone differences. The new version of the plugin uses the Jira API to get the timezone offset from UTC and dynamically uses that to convert the dates.

Other Enhancements

In addition to these major enhancements, the latest version also allows the Jira plugin to bring over story points to new requirements correct.

Cypress Reporter for SpiraTest Now Available

2022-09-13T11:46:36-04:00

Running a Cypress Test

You can execute the tests using the Cypress command-line, launch-pad, CI tool or whatever method you currently use. For example, to execute one of the sample tests in this repository, you can use:

npx cypress run --browser edge --spec "cypress\e2e\1-getting-started\todo.cy.js"

to run the entire folder of tests, you can use:

npx cypress run --browser edge --spec "cypress\e2e\1-getting-started"

The system will then execute the test and let you know that it is reporting back to Spira:

Viewing the Results in Spira

Once the Cypress tests have finished running, you can view the results in Spira:

If you click on one of the runs, you will see the details of that specific execution, including the pass/fail steps and the actions recorded:

In addition, if you choose one of the failed runs, you will see that any screenshots have been automatically uploaded as well:

If you click on the picture link, you can view the uploaded image/screenshot directly in Spira:

To learn more about downloading, installing and using the Inflectra Spira Reporter for Cypress, go to the public GitHub repository. If you'd like to make changes, please feel free to fork the repo.

New Cross-Platform Microsoft Word Import Tool Available

2022-09-01T11:23:58-04:00

Overview

This add-in lets you import a list of requirements or test cases (with folders and test steps) into any product in your SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, or SpiraPlan application. It lets you specify how your document is organized using its styles and headings so the data added to SpiraPlan will be hierarchically structured in the same way. It supports importing rich text, tables, lists, and images.

This add-in requires:

a support version of Microsoft Word
- Word 2019+ (Windows and Mac OS)
- Word with Office 365 (Windows and Mac OS)
- Word in the cloud (via a web browser)
- Word on iPad
SpiraTest®, SpiraTeam®, or SpiraPlan® application (called SpiraPlan from here on) version 6.3.0.1+

Where Do I Get The New Import Tool?

To install the add-in:

Go to the Insert tab in Word
Click on "Get Add-ins" and in the window that opens, navigate to the store tab
Search for "Spira" or "SpiraPlan"
When you see the correct add-in developed by Inflectra, click on its "Add" button
You should now see the SpiraPlan icon labeled "SpiraPlan Document Importer" in your home tab. Click on it to begin.

Alternatively, there is a direct hyperlink from the Add-Ons section of our website.

How Can I Get Additional Documentation?

For additional information, please take a look at the MS-Word Importer Documentation on our central SpiraDoc website.

Spira v7.1 Released: More Flexible Source Code Integration & OctoPerf Integration

2024-05-11T13:20:01-04:00

New Features

Ability to switch (at a product level) cloud Spira between TaraVault and external Git/Subversion [RQ:4287]
A new SpiraApp integrates SpiraPlan with Octoperf to allow users to launch tests directly from Spira and see relevant results as test runs [RQ:4121]

Bug fixes and enhancements

Improve diagram export options when viewing a diagram on the document details page to save a diagram as an SVG [IN:7134]
Replace Internet Explorer to Edge in sample data, as Internet Explorer has finally, officially retired [IN:7311]
Do not let a product have more than one source code provider in active use at any one time [IN:7321]
Let product admins disable / enable TaraVault for a product (in addition to full deactivation (hard deletion) as now) [IN:7324]
Fix typos and a screenshot in the 7.0 walkthrough popup [IN:7328]
Fix the documentation link on the System and Product Admin > SpiraApps settings pages [IN:7330]
Fix Product Template custom lists letting you save a blank value name (even though it shows an error suggesting this not allowed) [IN:7384]

Rapise v7.3 Released - Selenium based Web Recorder, Shadow DOM and Spira/Git Enhancements

2022-07-06T22:04:58-04:00

Features

Selenium based Web Recorder [IN:6903]
Show Execution Plan for a Test Set [IN:7048]
CSV editor for Test Set attachments [IN:7055]
Central storage for Git Credentials [IN:7164]
Add support for Shadow DOM [IN:7206]

New Object API

Global.SetWindowPosition [IN:7001]
Global.SetWindowSize [IN:7002]
Tester.BlockTest to set blocked status for a test case in Spira [IN:7097]
Add duration parameter to SeSSimulatedObject.DoMouseMove [IN:7190]
WebDriver - actions for Back, Forward and Refresh [IN:7236]

Improvements

Record keystrokes, {TAB} and control focus [IN:6867]
Edit menu in RVL mode [IN:6896]
Rename Global window to Global Objects window [IN:6897]
Enable Open as Text File to open .cs, .py, etc. in Rapise text editor [IN:6945]
Option to continue Test Set execution even if Test Case is Blocked [IN:6985]
Show enhanced tooltip for Test Runs [IN:7050]
Show Parameters column in Test Cases table [IN:7051]
Show Parameters column in Test Sets table [IN:7052]
Show Parameters column in [Test Cases in Test Set] table [IN:7053]
CSV tooltip in Test Set attachments [IN:7054]
Calculate Test Set status from Test Runs [IN:7067]
Allow RapiseLauncher to use Git for Windows to clone a repository [IN:7178]
Update DomDynamicsCrmAgGrid for 2022 Wave 1 release [IN:7220]
Trim new test name when do Clone in Files View [IN:7232]
DoSendKeys action in Selenium should support patterns as Global.DoSendKeys [IN:7234]
Set default timeout for Selenium profiles to 60 seconds [IN:7248]
Improve tooltip for Object Tree filter [IN:7289]
Switch remote assistance platform from GoToMeeting to Zoom [IN:7301]

Bug Fixes

REST - after Create Script the request page is not reinitialized [IN:7022]
Include rapise-doctor.cmd into the setup package [IN:7095]
Spira.RunTestSet action works but always creates failed assertion [IN:7145]
Add Image for Text object [IN:7152]
RapiseLauncher unable to execute a test case with & in its name [IN:7172]
Record parameter names for global actions [IN:7202]

For more details, please check out the Rapise 7.3 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About Rapise

Jira Migration Tool Released to Simplify Migration to Spira

2023-07-20T11:41:44-04:00

Why Migrate From Jira?

Starting February 2, 2021, Atlassian will stop selling new server licenses for many of their products, including Jira Software. At the same time, they will increase the price for the remaining on-premise alternative, Jira Data Center, for which the smallest order will correspond to ordering 500 users.

While Atlassian is investing in its cloud services to provide feature upgrades, that doesn’t mean everyone can - or wants to - move to the cloud.

Many customers in high assurance industries or running projects on secure networks are unable to ever use a cloud-based solution for regulatory, security or compliance reasons.

In addition, Jira Cloud has known issues of poor performance, inflexible data localization options and increasing instability and unreliability due to the need to have many plugins installed to achieve basic functionality. In addition, the cost grows exponentially as you add users and plugins since all plugins have to be licensed at the same license tier, regardless of how many users actually use each plugin.

To learn about the other reasons why people are looking to switch from Jira to Spira, take a look at our whitepaper - SpiraTeam, the Seamless Alternative to Jira

New Simplified Migration Process

To make things easier, we have just released a new migration tool that will migrate entire projects from Jira to Spira. This new migration tool will work with:

Jira Cloud, Server and Data Center
Spira Cloud and On-Premise

The migration tool consists of an easy to use wizard that allows you to connect to your Jira instance:

and then connect to your Spira instance:

The migration tool lets you map the different Jira issue types to the appropriate Spira artifact type:

Currently, the following artifact types in Spira can be mapped to Jira issues: - Requirements (used for user stories, features, epics, etc.) - Tasks (used for tasks and sub-tasks) - Incidents (used for all other issue types such as bugs, defects, issues).

The migration wizard will automatically create a new project in Spira to hold all the artifacts with the same name as that used in Jira.

What is Imported?

The migration tool will import the following artifacts:

Product Definition together with components, priorities, types and statuses
Custom Properties and Custom Lists
Users (but not their roles and permissions)
Releases
Requirements
Tasks
Incidents, together with their associated lists of priorities and statuses
Any attachments associated with the requirements, tasks and incidents

Requirements

Any of the Jira issue types that are mapped to requirements in SpiraTeam:

Will be imported into SpiraTeam as types of requirement:

Tasks

Any of the Jira issue types that are mapped to tasks in SpiraTeam:

Will be imported into SpiraTeam as types of task:

Incidents

Any of the Jira issue types that are mapped to incidents in SpiraTeam:

Will be imported into SpiraTeam as types of incident:

Where Can I Learn More?

To learn more about the new Jira Importer and why you should consider migrating to Spira:

Excel Offline Test Runner for Spira Now Available

2022-05-19T13:00:26-04:00

Overview

The new Spira Test Runner for Excel is an Office365 native extension that you can quickly and easily install into your existing Excel environment.

This add-in lets you retrieve your assigned Test Cases and Test Sets for a specific product in SpiraPlan. You can run your tests straight away or later. When you are ready you can send your test executions back to SpiraPlan.

Retrieving Tests from SpiraPlan

After successfully logging in to the application, you need to get the most up to date list of Test Cases and/or Test Sets assigned to you from SpiraPlan. Select a product to retrieve all your assigned tests cases and sets from and click on 'Get from Spira'.

When you click the Get from Spira button you will see the Test Cases and their Test Steps be added the current sheet of the spreadsheet. The following tests are retrieved:

Test Cases assigned to you from the product selected
Test Sets of type "manual" assigned to you from the product selected

Running Tests

On retrieving your assigned tests from SpiraPlan the add-in populates the sheet with the information in a format to make it clear how to run your tests.

Spreadsheet Structure

The spreadsheet is generating using the following columns:

'Send to Spira' Log: Here, you can see warning, error, and success messages after you finish your testing and record the test runs back into SpiraPlan. Remember to always check this column at the end to make sure the operation was successful. If it wasn't the log information here will help you make the necessary corrections.
Test Case ID: the unique ID of the Test Case from SpiraPlan - this is only populated for test case rows. You can't edit this field.
Test Set ID: if the Test Case came from a Test Step assigned to you, you should see its ID in this field. Otherwise, it will remain blank. This is only populated for test case rows. You can't edit this field.
Test Step ID: the unique ID of each Test Step from SpiraPlan - this is only populated for test step rows. You can't edit this field.
Test Case Name: The name of the Test Case in SpiraPlan.
Release: The release associated with the Test Case in SpiraPlan.
Set Case Unique ID: This is a unique cross-reference ID for the Test Case within the Test Set. It is blank if the Test Case is not part of a Test Set and is only populated in Test Case rows. You can't edit this field.
Test Step Description: the full text of the description field for each Test Step in SpiraPlan (only populated in Test Step rows).
Test Step Expected Result: the full text of the expected result field for each Test Step in SpiraPlan (only populated in Test Step rows).
Test Step Sample Data: the full text of the sample data field for each Test Step in SpiraPlan (only populated in Test Step rows).
Execution Status: the execution status of that test step, chosen from the dropdown list.
Actual Result: the description of the actual result experienced during testing. Plain text only can be sent to SpiraPlan from Excel, so do not add images to these cells. To apply formatting please use HTML tags such as <b> for bold.
Incident Name : if you want to log an incident associated with the test failure, enter the name of the incident here. The description of the incident will be automatically populated from the Test Step Description, Expected Result, and Actual Result.

How to Execute Tests

To execute the Test Cases on the spreadsheet:

give each test step an Execution Status from the dropdown list
add any details about the Actual Result of each test step
optionally, add an Incident Name for test steps where you want to create an incident in SpiraPlan
If necessary (for example, if they contain errors), update the test steps' Description, Expected Results, or Sample Data fields
Review your work
When you are ready you can send your tests as Test Runs in SpiraPlan (discussed below).

Sending Test Runs to SpiraPlan

Once you have finished executing all the tests and recorded the results of your test runs on the spreadsheet, it is time to send the data to Spira to get properly recorded. There are two ways of doing this, depending on how you executed your tests:

retrieving and executing your assigned tests in a single session
executing your assigned tests over multiple sessions using the same spreadsheet

Single Session Testing

If you got your data from SpiraPlan using the add-in, and straight away executed your tests in a single session, you can easily send the data back to SpiraPlan.

To do so click the button "Send to Spira" on the add-in and wait for the operation to complete.

Multi Session Testing

If you have first got your data from SpiraPlan and then executed your assigned tests over multiple sessions, you now need to send the data back to SpiraPlan, without wiping out your work. If you have been testing over multiple sessions in this way follow the steps below:

Open the saved and completed spreadsheet
Open and log in to the add-in
Select the product you originally chose to generate the template - it is not possible to save the Test Runs in a different product
Click the "Use Current Sheet" - this will not touch any data on the spreadsheet. Note that if you clicked the Get from Spira button the current sheet would be completed erased and fresh data from Spira added there: this is NOT what you want in this case
Click "Send to Spira" to send your results.

What Versions of Excel Does it Work With?

This new addin for Excel is 100% cross-platform and works with Microsoft Excel 2016 or later running on Windows or MacOS, Excel365 in the cloud (via a web browser), and Excel on iPad OS.

How Do I Get the Extension?

You simply need to go to the Add-Ons and Downloads page on the Inflectra website:

From there you will be taken to the Microsoft Office365 AppSource marketplace. You can install SpiraPlan Test Runner into your version of Excel or Excel365 by clicking the Get it Now button:

For more information on how to use the Excel Test Runner with Spira, please refer to the documentation available on the SpiraDocs website.

Spira v6.16 Released: Workspace Filtering, CI Webhook Integrations and Custom Reporting

2022-04-08T14:31:31-04:00

New Features

The global navigation helps users understand what key features are available in the tool but not currently accessible to them [RQ:4154]
** Webhooks (inbound)**
- Integrate with GitHub Actions so they can be saved against a release as a new build [RQ:4198]
- Integrate with GitLab Pipelines so they can be saved against a release as a new build [RQ:4197]
- Integrate with CircleCI Pipelines so they can be saved against a release as a new build [RQ:4196]

Bug Fixes & Enhancements

Navigation
- Improve the global search by including not just recent searches, but also a list of recently viewed artifacts [IN:6922]
- Let users filter the global navigation workspace dropdown to make it easier to find the workspace a user [IN:6921]
- Show artifact icons in the headings of the template administration menu subsections to make them more visually clear [IN:7046]
Reporting
- Fix not being able to generate the Release Summary report in PDF format [IN:5278]
- Let users add specific custom graphs to their reporting page and show the name of that custom graph in the widget header [IN:4787]
- Make the "associated task" tables in the the Requirement Detailed Report more legible by removing non essential columns [IN:7132]
- Show the custom graph description when you hover on the help icon of a custom graph on the reporting page [IN:4700]
Other
- Fix the "Set Sample Data" popup from continuously popping up if you open the application for the first time only after it has been installed and then upgraded [IN:7123]
- Fix the app pool and database not being deleted on uninstall after an upgrade operation (app directory is deleted) [IN:7031]
- Fix the association type "prerequisite-for" not showing correctly for artifacts associated to an artifact that "depends-on" it (introduced in 6.15.1) [IN:7159]
- Fix the product home page failing with a system error with certain configurations of widgets and permissions [IN:7107]
- Fix updating a release via the API not recording history for the changes [IN:7131]
- Fix users and system admins not being able to turn off RSS Feeds (on user profile or system admin pages respectively) [IN:7098]
- Fix users not being able to see or set the "displaying" release dropdown on the product home page, if the Product Overview widget is not shown (introduced in 6.15.1) [IN:7138]
- Hide the attachment tab on artifact details pages if the user does not have document view permissions [IN:4779]
- Make code blocks inside the rich text editor more legible when in dark mode [IN:7140]

Migration Tool for IBM Rational Quality Manager (RQM) Now Available

2022-02-13T07:58:48-05:00

Overview

IBM® Rational® Quality Manager (RQM) was a collaborative, web-based tool that offered test planning, test construction, and test artifact management features. RQM was developed as part of the IBM Jazz® platform, a web based set of ALM tools. In recent years, RQM has been rebranded as IBM Engineering Test Management and we have had many requests from current customers for an easier way to migrate their projects to a newer platform such as Spira.

We have therefore released a new self-service migration tool for Spira that makes it easier than ever to migrate your test assets from RQM to Spira.

How do I get the Migration Tool?

You can download the new RQM migration wizard from the SpiraTest Add-Ons and Downloads section:

Once you have downloaded and installed the tool, you are all ready to start your migration.

How Does the Migration Work?

The migration tool is a simple wizard that connects to RQM via its REST API and downloads all the test plans, test cases, test suites, test scripts and test executions. It then connects to Spira using its SOAP API and imports the corresponding data seamlessly and effortlessly into Spira.

The migration tool will import the following artifacts from RQM:

The project name and description
Test plans -> test case folders
Test scripts -> template test cases with steps
Test cases -> test cases with linked test steps to the the template test cases
Test suites -> test sets, linked to test cases
Test executions -> test runs linked to test cases

What Does the Migrated Data Look Like?

The test plans and associated test cases from RQM will migrate into Spira test case folders and test cases:

The test scripts and associated manual test steps from RQM will migrate into Spira template test cases and test steps:

In RQM, the test cases don't contain test steps themselves. Instead, the test case contain references to the test scripts, which contain the test steps.

Therefore when we migrate over the test cases from RQM to Spira, we create linked test cases from the test plan test cases to the test script test cases to maintain these relationships:

The test executions from RQM are migrated over into Spira and test runs and test run steps:

How Much Does the Migration Tool Cost?

In line with our company philosophy of Harmony, of course there is no charge for this migration tool. It's completely free and comes with our legendary technical support and assistance.

Spira v6.15 Released: Rich Text Editor Enhancements, UI and Performance Improvements

2022-02-10T17:55:45-05:00

Summary

Improves the welcome emails users receive on getting their brand new SpiraPlan user account. The emails are now more clear and easier to read.
Building on the overhaul we did to our rich text editor in 6.13, the editor is now more powerful and feature-packed than ever. The editor supports find and replace, has more formatting options for tables and images, and is more performant.
UI tweaks under the hood to improve the user experience, particularly for users with more limited product permissions.

New Features

Improvements and fixes to the SpiraPlan installer and upgrader application [RQ:3706]
Send a clear and well designed email to a user if their pending user request is rejected [RQ:4040]
Improve the design and usability of the email sent to a user after an admin creates a new user [RQ:4026]

Bug Fixes and Enhancements

Rich text editor
- Add find and replace support to the rich text editor to let users make updates more easily [IN:6929]
- Add more image positioning options to the rich text editor, including left align [IN:6898]
- Add more table formatting options to the rich text editor [IN:6858]
- Allow certain HTML tags that the rich text editor does not use to still be rendered (for example, <pre> tags) [IN:6887]
- Allow users to insert images with a URL in the rich text editor [IN:6893]
- Fix users not being able to add a hyperlink to text when in full screen mode of the rich text editor [IN:6872]
- Improve page rendering speed on pages with the new rich text editor by loading the editor asynchronously [IN:6909]
- Improve the performance of entering test step edit mode on the test case details page [IN:6884]
- Make the edges of the description rich text boxes always visible [IN:6845]
- When editing rich text fields, make numbering of a numbered list continue, even when you insert an image in the middle [IN:6839]
Testing
- Let users delete links between incidents and test runs from the test run and test case details pages (when baselining is disabled) [IN:3249]
- Add the read-only "actual duration" field to the test case details page [IN:5067]
- Fix the reporting Testing Date Range's Test Run Progress graph and Product Home Page Test Run Progress widget so that they omit deleted test cases [IN:6722]
Improvements for those with limited permissions
- Disable the delete button on the folder edit popup dialog if you do not have delete permissions for that artifact [IN:6473]
- Disable the "link existing incident" button on test run detail page if you do not have incident modify all permissions [IN:6975]
- Do not let users create or clone a test step on the test step details page if they cannot modify the test step's test case (even if they can create test cases) [IN:4661]
- Hide the new comment box on the document details page if you cannot add comments [IN:6974]
- If a user cannot edit a specific artifact, make the whole artifact read only (instead of letting them edit fields but then not be able to save) [IN:4257]
- Let users without bulk edit permissions still add comments to artifacts on inline editing popups (on planning boards, mindmaps, and Gantt charts) [IN:6955]
- Make sure you can only import test steps on the test case detail page if your role lets you create test steps and you can modify the test case [IN:4662]
Other
- Allow changes to risks to be reverted and/or purged from the product history changes page [IN:6935]
- Database schema parity standardization on upgrading [IN:6181]
- Fix the on premise installer program to say "Removal Successful" when uninstalling (and not "Installation Successful") [IN:6891]
- Fix the requirement use case steps' context menu so that all options work and behave as expected on the requirement details page [IN:6079]
- Fix the risk mitigations' context menu so that all options work and behave as expected on the risk details page [IN:6080]
- Fix the task Gantt chart error messages when editing a release or task popup so that the error shows in the popup and not on the page behind it [IN:6895]
- If a user tries to create a release with a start date that is later than its end date, set the end date to match the start date [IN:6683]
- If a user tries to set a risk's closed date to be before its creation date, automatically set the closed date to match the creation date (instead of not allowing the risk to be saved as now) [IN:6684]
- Make sure all history and association tab dropdowns are fully localized [IN:6910]
- Make sure all fields on the history and association grids are fully localized [IN:7027]
- Record risk exposure and changes to exposure in the risk history to make it easier for users to meet audit and compliance needs [IN:6913]
- Show a tooltip with all selected values when you hover over a multi-select dropdown [IN:6987]
- Update REST documentation to provide the type IDs for custom property types added in SpiraPlan 6.13 [IN:6966]

Rapise v7.2 Released - Parallel Execution, Enhanced Spira and Selenium Integration

2022-02-08T15:22:45-05:00

Features

Option to take a screenshot on test failure [IN:5595]
Add Generator global object [IN:6731]
Add SpiraApi global object [IN:6763]
Show Test Matrix from Test Runs in Spira Dashboard [IN:6785]
Automatically download and load Selenium drivers from Rapise Data folder [IN:6877]
Add Text global object [IN:6889]
Allow parallel execution for multiple configurations in RapiseLauncher [IN:6905]

Improvements

Read column names for Excel binding in RVL [IN:6543]
Select and execute several test cases from the main page of Spira Dashboard [IN:6768]
Quick way to add tests from main page of Spira Dashboard to a test set [IN:6769]
Show Release column for Test Sets and Test Runs in Spira Dashboard [IN:6771]
Filters to view My Assigned Test Cases/Test Sets in Spira Dashboard [IN:6772]
RapiseLauncher - add Open Log file button to Client Setup page [IN:6775]
RapiseLauncher - indicate that Git clone or Spira repository download is in progress [IN:6776]
Spira Dashboard - Test Set details - move Git custom properties to bottom [IN:6777]
Show parameters on Test Run page in Spira Dashboard [IN:6784]
Move Spira Dashboard. settings file to ProgramData [IN:6813]
Dashboard - create Password type custom property for GitPassword [IN:6816]
Remember list of selected columns for major tables in Spira Dashboard [IN:6823]
Spira Dashboard - framework page - show RVL, User, Objects link for tests [IN:6836]
Spira Settings - use machine name as automation token (default value) [IN:6843]
Add Test Set Status graph on main page of Spira Dashboard [IN:6871]
Create new test case right from the main page of Spira Dashboard [IN:6875]
Usability improvements for Spira Dashboard [IN:6899]
Flash in Selenium (when connected via debuggerAddress) [IN:6906]
Remove Test Sets in Progress from main dashboard page [IN:6923]
More flexible way to expand/collapse framework folders on the main page of the dashboard [IN:6924]
Read pixel color in ImageWrapper [IN:6952]
On multi monitor system Rapise should capture desktop that contains the object [IN:6967]
Add Test Git Credentials button to Test Set details in Spira Dashboard [IN:7012]

For more details, please check out the Rapise 7.2 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About Rapise

Rapise Floating Licenses Now Available

2022-01-17T14:24:11-05:00

How Do I Purchase Floating Licenses?

Unlike fixed licenses which are purchased from our website as a standalone purchase, Rapise uses our Spira test management platform to manage its floating licenses. So you will need to first login to Customer Portal on our website. From here, you need to locate your SpiraTest, SpiraTeam or SpiraPlan cloud subscription and click the [Customize] button:

(If you are not using the cloud version of Spira, then unfortunately at this time you cannot use floating licenses)

Once you click on the Customize button you can choose the number of Rapise floating licenses you want to purchase:

If you have a monthly Spira subscription, the Rapise floating licenses will also be charged monthly, whereas if you have an annual Spira subscription, then the Rapise floating licenses will similarly be part of the annual renewal. Once you have completed the purchase of the floating licenses, you will see a new Rapise subscription add-on in your Customer Area homepage:

It will be initially in the 'Pending' status while our cloud servers complete the task of updating your Spira instance with the number of Rapise licenses. Once that task is completed, you will get an email letting you know, and the status will change to Active.

How Do I Manage Rapise Floating Licenses?

Once the subscription add-on has been provisioned, you will see a new menu entry in the System Administration: Integration section of your Spira instance:

When you click on this link you will see how many Rapise floating licenses are available as well as how many are currently in use (initially the list will be empty):

You can now connect Rapise to your Spira instance to use the new floating licenses.

How Do I Use Floating Licenses in Rapise?

Now that you have floating licenses available, when you connect Rapise to Spira as you would normally to start writing tests:

Rapise automatically requests a floating license from Spira and will use that license until Rapise is closed or an administrator clicks the [End Session] button in Spira:

The advantage of the floating licenses is that you can have all your computers install Rapise and they will only use a license when Rapise is active, vs. having to purchase a fixed license for a machine regardless of whether that machine is actually using the license. In addition, it lets you purchase Rapise licenses monthly bundled with your existing Spira subscription.

What About Fixed Licenses?

The existing fixed license activation system is not impacted by the new floating licenses. For on-premise Spira customers or customers that don't use Spira, you won't be able to use the new floating license system, so you will need to continue to use fixed licenses.

The fixed licenses work by having an activation code generated from our website that you enter into Rapise. Rapise then contacts our website to get authorization and if successful, will activate the license on Rapise and associate it with the unique ID of your computer. To move the license, you need to first deactivate the license and then a new activation code will be available on our website for use on the new machine.

This process is explained here: https://rapisedoc.inflectra.com/Manuals/Rapise_Installation_Guide/#2-activating-rapise

Updated Jenkins Plugin Released for Spira

2022-01-14T16:56:12-05:00

The new plugin is v4.0.0 available here: https://plugins.jenkins.io/inflectra-spira-integration/#documentation

New features:

SOAP calls refactored to REST: this provides greater flexibility with more recent Java versions, and improves compatibility with some other Jenkins plugins
Improved output parsing, to make some outputs more readable
Fixed a bug to correctly record the fixed build against relevant incidents

You can read the full Jenkins plugin documentation on SpiraDoc.

AWS Outage in US-East-1d Region Affecting Cloud Instances - RESOLVED

2021-12-22T11:40:10-05:00

Latest Update

We have completed the restarting of the remaining EC2 instances and at all this time all Inflectra EC2 services are up and running normally. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Impacted Services

Spira and KronoDesk Demo instances hosted for all US trial customers
Spira and KronoDesk production instances for certain US customers
Data Synchronization services between Spira and other tools such as ADO, Jira.

As we learn more from AWS, we will update this article accordingly.

07:35AM EST Update

[From AWS] We are investigating increased EC2 launched failures and networking connectivity issues for some instances in a single Availability Zone (USE1-AZ4) in the US-EAST-1 Region. Other Availability Zones within the US-EAST-1 Region are not affected by this issue.

08:01AM EST Update

[From AWS] We can confirm a loss of power within a single data center within a single Availability Zone (USE1-AZ4) in the US-EAST-1 Region. This is affecting availability and connectivity to EC2 instances that are part of the affected data center within the affected Availability Zone. We are also experiencing elevated RunInstance API error rates for launches within the affected Availability Zone. Connectivity and power to other data centers within the affected Availability Zone, or other Availability Zones within the US-EAST-1 Region are not affected by this issue, but we would recommend failing away from the affected Availability Zone (USE1-AZ4) if you are able to do so. We continue to work to address the issue and restore power within the affected data center.

08:18AM EST Update

[From AWS] We continue to make progress in restoring power to the affected data center within the affected Availability Zone (USE1-AZ4) in the US-EAST-1 Region. We have now restored power to the majority of instances and networking devices within the affected data center and are starting to see some early signs of recovery. Customers experiencing connectivity or instance availability issues within the affected Availability Zone, should start to see some recovery as power is restored to the affected data center. RunInstances API error rates are returning to normal levels and we are working to recover affected EC2 instances and EBS volumes. While we would expect continued improvement over the coming hour, we would still recommend failing away from the Availability Zone if you are able to do so to mitigate this issue.

We are observing the majority of our affected US EC2 instances returning to normal operations. We will post an update when all services are restored.

08:39 AM EST Update

[From AWS] We have now restored power to all instances and network devices within the affected data center and are seeing recovery for the majority of EC2 instances and EBS volumes within the affected Availability Zone. Network connectivity within the affected Availability Zone has also returned to normal levels. While all services are starting to see meaningful recovery, services which were hosting endpoints within the affected data center - such as single-AZ RDS databases, ElastiCache, etc. - would have seen impact during the event, but are starting to see recovery now. Given the level of recovery, if you have not yet failed away from the affected Availability Zone, you should be starting to see recovery at this stage.

Based on guidance from AWS and our own monitoring, we are seeing the return to normal operation of our affected EC2 instances. We will keep you posted.

09:13 AM EST Update

[From AWS] We have now restored power to all instances and network devices within the affected data center and are seeing recovery for the majority of EC2 instances and EBS volumes within the affected Availability Zone. We continue to make progress in recovering the remaining EC2 instances and EBS volumes within the affected Availability Zone. If you are able to relaunch affected EC2 instances within the affected Availability Zone, that may help to speed up recovery. We have a small number of affected EBS volumes that are still experiencing degraded IO performance that we are working to recover. The majority of AWS services have also recovered, but services which host endpoints within the customer’s VPCs - such as single-AZ RDS databases, ElasticCache, Redshift, etc. - continue to see some impact as we work towards full recovery.

We are continuing to see the restoration of the affected US EC2 instances. At this time there are still 2 EC2 instances that are affected.

09:51 AM EST Update

[From AWS] We have now restored power to all instances and network devices within the affected data center and are seeing recovery for the majority of EC2 instances and EBS volumes within the affected Availability Zone. For the remaining EC2 instances, we are experiencing some network connectivity issues, which is slowing down full recovery. We believe we understand why this is the case and are working on a resolution. Once resolved, we expect to see faster recovery for the remaining EC2 instances and EBS volumes. If you are able to relaunch affected EC2 instances within the affected Availability Zone, that may help to speed up recovery. Note that restarting an instance at this stage will not help as a restart does not change the underlying hardware. We have a small number of affected EBS volumes that are still experiencing degraded IO performance that we are working to recover. The majority of AWS services have also recovered, but services which host endpoints within the customer’s VPCs - such as single-AZ RDS databases, ElasticCache, Redshift, etc. - continue to see some impact as we work towards full recovery.

At this time there are still 2 EC2 instances that are affected. Based on current AWS guidance we are awaiting their restoration. If we do not see restoration within the next hour we will consider relaunching the instances from our hourly EBS snaphots.

11:02 AM EST Update

[From AWS] Power continues to be stable within the affected data center within the affected Availability Zone (USE1-AZ4) in the US-EAST-1 Region. We have been working to resolve the connectivity issues that the remaining EC2 instances and EBS volumes are experiencing in the affected data center, which is part of a single Availability Zone (USE1-AZ4) in the US-EAST-1 Region. We have addressed the connectivity issue for the affected EBS volumes, which are now starting to see further recovery. We continue to work on mitigating the networking impact for EC2 instances within the affected data center, and expect to see further recover there starting in the next 30 minutes. Since the EC2 APIs have been healthy for some time within the affected Availability Zone, the fastest path to recovery now would be to relaunch affected EC2 instances within the affected Availability Zone or other Availability Zones within the region.

At this time there is a single Inflectra EC2 instance that is affected. We are checking with AWS to get a concrete timelime or we shall initiate the relaunch of the EBS snapshot in a new availability zone.

11:02 AM EST Update

We have completed the restarting of the remaining EC2 instances and at all this time all Inflectra EC2 services are up and running normally. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Spira v6.14 Released: Editable Gantt Charts and OneLogin OAuth Support

2021-12-12T11:41:52-05:00

Summary

View, edit, and add releases inline on the release mindmap, release Gantt chart, or task Gantt chart pages in a new popup View full details about each release without leaving the mindmap or Gantt chart, or edit and save changes right there. (SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan only)
View, edit, and add tasks inline on the task Gantt chart pages in a new popup View full details about each task without leaving the Gantt chart, or edit and save changes right there. (SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan only)
Support for two new Single Sign On (SSO) providers: the popular OneLogin service and a generic OpenID provider. This makes it even easiser to integrate your external authentication system with Spira.

New Features

OAuth connectors are available for specific providers
- OneLogin [RQ:3876]
- Generic OpenID Connect [RQ:3877]
Product Release List Page Changes (SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan only)
- Allow releases to be edited inline on Release Mind Map View [RQ:3716]
- Allow releases to be edited inline on Release Gantt Chart [RQ:3714]
- Allow releases to be added on the Release Gantt Chart view [RQ:3715]
Product Task List Page Changes (SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan only)
- Allow tasks to be edited inline on Task Gantt Chart [RQ:3686]
- Allow tasks to be added on the Task Gantt Chart [RQ:3713]
- Allow releases to be edited inline on the Task Gantt Chart [RQ:3687]

Bug Fixes and Enhancements

On-premise installer
- Fix the upgrade process from ever overwriting attachments with IDs 1 through 16 with sample attachments [IN:6714]
- Fix the upgrade process so that custom SSMS passwords are not reset to the default [IN:6709]
- No longer attempt to dynamically inform users which prerequisites have been met during on premise installation, and instead shows users a static guide during installation for information only [IN:6718]
- Stop the on-premise installer showing a popup warning that uninstallation may not have completed successfully even when it had done so [IN:6520]
- The on-premise installer will no longer allow installation on servers older than SQL Server 2012 to match the application's minimum system requirements [IN:6492]
Fix text not wrapping when editing rich text fields of test steps on a test case details page (introduced in 6.13) [IN:6833]
Fix error message appearing when creating new items on details pages when changing the type and on boards (introduced in 6.13) [IN:6834]
Fix the diagram tab for use case requirements with steps no longer rendering the diagram on the requirements details page (introduced in 6.13) [IN:6860]
Fix details pages for artifacts that use workflows so that the comments settings in the workflow always control the comment box [IN:4917]
Fix the Task Gantt Chart not showing child sprints as part of their parent release (SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan only) [IN:6494]
Let users change the release using a dropdown on the Release and Task Gantt Charts. This syncs with release dropdowns used on product home page and elsewhere (SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan only) [IN:6747]

Release Notes

For the full list of features, bug fixes, and enhancements, please check out the v6.14 release notes.

Updated Microsoft Azure DevOps (ADO) Migration Tool Available

2021-12-08T08:32:41-05:00

What's New?

Previously our migration tool was known as the Microsoft Test Manager (MTM) Migration Tool and it only was able to migrate the Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) or Azure DevOps (ADO) Test Plans data into SpiraTest. With the recent announcement that ADO is being eventually replaced by GitHub Enterprise, we decided it made sense to extend the functionality of the migration tool to cover all work item items, hence it has been renamed the Microsoft Azure DevOps (ADO) Migration Tool:

Backlog Items
Iterations
Test Cases
Test Plans
Test Runs
Defects / Bugs

Migrating from ADO/TFS to SpiraTeam

The migration tool for ADO lets you connect to an instance of Microsoft Azure DevOps (ADO), Azure DevOps Server, Team Foundation Server (TFS), or Microsoft Test Manager (MTM) - which are all basically the same system - and specify which items you would like to migrate. For on-premise installations, you log in with a Windows ActiveDirectory domain, login, and password, for ADO you will typically use a Personal Access Token (PAT) instead:

Once that is done, the import tool will seamlessly migrate over the different artifacts, maintaining the relationships between the items:

Azure DevOps Boards

From the Boards section, the importer will migrate over the following:

Bugs > Incidents [type = Bug]
Features > Requirements [type = Feature]
Stories> Requirements [type = Story]
Epics> Requirements [type = Epic]

Azure DevOps Test Plans

From the Test Plans section, the importer will migrate over the following:

Test Suite > Test Set
Test Case > Test Case
Test Step > Test Step
Test Run > Test Run

In addition, the Iterations from the Iteration Path will be migrated over as Releases and Sprints into SpiraTeam, and the Areas from ADO will become a new custom property in SpiraTeam called "Area".

Once the migration is complete, all the data will be seamlessly migrated over to SpiraTeam:

Requirements

The Product Backlog Items (PBIs) from ADO will be migrated over as the appropriate type of requirement in SpiraTeam. We maintain the priority, status, and other fields:

Releases / Iterations

The Iterations from ADO will be migrated over as the appropriate type of release or sprint in SpiraTeam:

Test Cases and Test Sets

The Test Plans from ADO will be migrated over as test cases, test steps, test sets and test runs in SpiraTeam. We maintain important items such as the folder structure, shared test steps and execution history:

Incidents

The Bugs from ADO will be migrated over as the appropriate type of incident in SpiraTeam. We maintain the priority, status and other fields:

Once the migration is complete, you are now ready to use the migrated project in SpiraTeam.

Connecting SpiraTeam and GitHub

Once you have the project migrated from ADO to SpiraTeam, you can now connect the project to GitHub. The following article describes the different integrations available with GitHub, both present (issues and code repositories) and planned (GitHub actions).

With the migration from ADO to SpiraTeam completed and the connection to GitHub established, you now have your enterprise Agile and DevOps toolchain in place.

Product Changes Coming in 2022

2022-01-17T10:39:22-05:00

Spira Product Roadmap

During 2021 we released many new features and updates to our SpiraTest, SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan platform, including baselining functionality, enhanced requirements management views, a revamped text editor, diagramming support, MFA support and a completely new development module. For 2022 we have many exciting features on the roadmap, including a new plugin architecture with support for DevOps pipelines such as GitLab and GitHub, and new Teams functionality.

Rapise Roadmap

During 2021 we released major updates to our Rapise test and process automation system including a new integrated Spira dashboard, support for Oracle ERP and E-Business Suite (EBS), enhancements to our Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce support as well as many quality of life enhancements. For 2022 we plan on adding new functionality to improve the handling of flaky tests, support for more complex business applications as well as user suggested enhancements.

KronoDesk Product Roadmap

During 2021 we released a new update - KronoDesk 4.0 that included a compendium of enhancements and bug-fixes requested by our users. In 2022 we will be releasing KronoDesk 4.1 that will have some major usability enhancements as well as support for Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Subscription and Pricing Changes

Cloud and On-Premise Forever

Before we get into what is changing, we'd first like to take this opportunity to let you know what is staying the same. At Inflectra we value customer choice and we believe that customers of all sizes and in all industries should have the choice of having their software cloud hosted or installed locally. Unlike some other companies in our industry we maintain 100% compatibility between the cloud and on-premise versions of SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, SpiraPlan and KronoDesk. For cloud customers, in 2020 we rolled out additional hosting options including Mumbai, India and Singapore, and for on-premise customers we released new and improved installation wizards for both Spira and KronoDesk. In addition, our unique use of concurrent user licensing also remains the same going forward. Further building on this, we will be releasing floating licenses for Rapise for the first time in early 2022 as well.

Cloud Subscription Changes

For our cloud customers, there are some small pricing adjustments effective January 1st, 2022, however the core pricing model of concurrent pricing and the choice of monthly (billed to a credit card) and annual (pre-paid) subscriptions remains the same:

SpiraTest
Product	# Users	Description	Monthly	Annual
SpiraTest	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$109.99	$1,187.88
SpiraTest	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$175.99	$1,900.68
SpiraTest	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$318.99	$3,445.08
SpiraTest	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$615.99	$6,652.68
SpiraTest	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$879.99	$9,503.88
SpiraTest	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,231.99	$13,305.48
SpiraTest	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,539.99	$16,631.88
SpiraTest	150	150 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,089.99	$22,571.88
SpiraTest	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,529.99	$27,323.88
SpiraTest	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,079.99	$33,263.88
SpiraTest	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,629.99	$39,203.88
SpiraTest	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$5,279.99	$57,023.88

SpiraTeam
Product	# Users	Description	Monthly	Annual
SpiraTeam	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$144.99	$1,565.89
SpiraTeam	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$225.99	$2,440.69
SpiraTeam	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$402.99	$4,352.29
SpiraTeam	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$770.99	$8,326.69
SpiraTeam	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,126.99	$12,171.49
SpiraTeam	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,448.99	$15,649.09
SpiraTeam	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,219.99	$23,975.89
SpiraTeam	150	150 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,736.99	$29,559.49
SpiraTeam	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,219.99	$34,775.89
SpiraTeam	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,863.99	$41,731.09
SpiraTeam	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$4,507.99	$48,686.29
SpiraTeam	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$7,405.99	$79,984.69

SpiraPlan
Product	# Users	Description	Monthly	Annual
SpiraPlan	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$167.99	$1,814.29
SpiraPlan	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$263.99	$2,851.09
SpiraPlan	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$527.99	$5,702.29
SpiraPlan	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$959.99	$10,367.89
SpiraPlan	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,343.99	$14,515.09
SpiraPlan	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,739.99	$18,791.89
SpiraPlan	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,879.99	$31,103.89
SpiraPlan	150	150 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,659.99	$39,527.89
SpiraPlan	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$4,199.99	$45,359.89
SpiraPlan	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$5,207.99	$56,246.29
SpiraPlan	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$5,879.99	$63,503.89
SpiraPlan	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$9,575.99	$103,420.69
SpiraPlan	750	750 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$13,343.99	$144,115.09
SpiraPlan	1000	1000 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$16,799.99	$181,439.89

KronoDesk
Product	# Agents	Description	Monthly	Annual
KronoDesk	3	3 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$79.99	$863.89
KronoDesk	5	5 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$109.99	$1,187.89
KronoDesk	10	10 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$179.99	$1,943.89
KronoDesk	20	20 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$219.99	$2,375.89
KronoDesk	30	30 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$289.99	$3,131.89
KronoDesk	50	50 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$369.99	$3,995.89
KronoDesk	100	100 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$659.99	$7,127.89

In addition, TaraVault remains a free add-on for our SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan cloud subscriptions, providing unlimited Git/Subversion code repositories at no additional cost.

On-Premise Perpetual Licenses

Our RemoteLaunch product uses a perpetual license with annual support and maintenance renewals. These have some minor price adjustments effective January 1st, 2022:

RemoteLaunch
Product	Edition	Description	Purchase	Renewal
RemoteLaunch	Single	Supports 1 automation engine	$299.99	$99.99
RemoteLaunch	2-Engine	Supports 2 automation engines	$399.99	$129.99
RemoteLaunch	5-Engine	Supports 5 automation engines	$499.99	$179.99
RemoteLaunch	10-Engine	Supports 10 automation engines	$799.99	$299.99

On-Premise New Subscriptions

For our on-premise customers, we are going to be simplifying our pricing on annual subscriptions effective January 1st, 2022. Instead of a separate purchase and annual renewal price, we are moving to a flat subscription price that will be level for the entire subscription. This allows customers to compare the costs of cloud and download options more easily as well as reduce the opt-in price to use our on-premise products.

That means for new customers, the pricing for on-premise products will be as follows:

SpiraTest
Product	Edition	Description	Annual
SpiraTest	3-User	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,069.09
SpiraTest	5-User	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,710.61
SpiraTest	10-User	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,100.57
SpiraTest	20-User	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$5,987.41
SpiraTest	30-User	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$8,553.49
SpiraTest	50-User	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$11,974.93
SpiraTest	100-User	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$14,968.69
SpiraTest	200-User	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$24,591.49
SpiraTest	250-User	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$29,937.49
SpiraTest	300-User	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$35,283.49
SpiraTest	500-User	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$51,321.49

SpiraTeam
Product	Edition	Description	Annual
SpiraTeam	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,409.30
SpiraTeam	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,196.62
SpiraTeam	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,917.06
SpiraTeam	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$7,494.02
SpiraTeam	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$10,954.34
SpiraTeam	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$14,084.18
SpiraTeam	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$21,578.30
SpiraTeam	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$31,298.30
SpiraTeam	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$37,557.98
SpiraTeam	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$43,817.66
SpiraTeam	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$71,986.22

SpiraPlan
Product	Edition	Description	Annual
SpiraPlan	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,632.86
SpiraPlan	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,565.98
SpiraPlan	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$5,132.06
SpiraPlan	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$9,331.10
SpiraPlan	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$13,063.58
SpiraPlan	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$16,912.70
SpiraPlan	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$27,993.50
SpiraPlan	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$40,823.90
SpiraPlan	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$50,621.66
SpiraPlan	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$57,153.50
SpiraPlan	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$93,078.62
SpiraPlan	750	750 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$129,703.58
SpiraPlan	1000	1000 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$163,295.90

Rapise
Product	Edition	Description	Fixed	Floating
Rapise	Single	Single developer license, unlimited execution agents	$2,499.99	$3,239.89
Rapise	3-License	3 developer licenses, unlimited execution agents	$6,599.99	$8,639.89
Rapise	5-License	5 developer licenses, unlimited execution agents	$9,999.99	$10,799.89
Rapise	10-License	10 developer licenses, unlimited execution agents	$17,499.99	$20,519.89
Rapise	20-License	20 developer licenses, unlimited execution agents	$29,999.99	$39,959.89
Rapise	50-License	50 developer licenses, unlimited execution agents	$62,499.99	$86,399.89
Rapise	100-License	100 developer licenses, unlimited execution agents	$99,999.99	$151,199.89

KronoDesk
Product	Edition	Description	Annual
KronoDesk	3-User	3 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$799.99
KronoDesk	5-User	5 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$999.99
KronoDesk	10-User	10 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$1,799.99
KronoDesk	20-User	20 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$2,199.99
KronoDesk	30-User	30 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$2,999.99
KronoDesk	50-User	50 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$3,799.99
KronoDesk	100-User	100 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$6,599.99

On-Premise "Classic" Subscriptions

For those customers that have already purchased an on-premise subscription prior to January 1st, 2022 (or are purchasing using an existing 2021 quote), we will be maintaining "classic" subscription renewal prices that account for the fact that you paid more upfront for the initial first year term:

SpiraTest
Product	Edition	Description	Classic
SpiraTest	3-User	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$599.99
SpiraTest	5-User	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$899.99
SpiraTest	10-User	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,699.99
SpiraTest	20-User	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,899.99
SpiraTest	30-User	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,999.99
SpiraTest	50-User	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$4,999.99
SpiraTest	100-User	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$7,999.99
SpiraTest	200-User	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$13,439.99
SpiraTest	250-User	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$14,399.99
SpiraTest	300-User	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$16,799.99
SpiraTest	500-User	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$25,439.99

SpiraTeam
Product	Edition	Description	Classic
SpiraTeam	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$899.99
SpiraTeam	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,399.99
SpiraTeam	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,099.99
SpiraTeam	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,299.99
SpiraTeam	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$4,535.99
SpiraTeam	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$6,719.99
SpiraTeam	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$10,079.99
SpiraTeam	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$18,479.99
SpiraTeam	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$22,499.99
SpiraTeam	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$26,099.99
SpiraTeam	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$41,999.99

SpiraPlan
Product	Edition	Description	Classic
SpiraPlan	3	3 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$999.99
SpiraPlan	5	5 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$1,399.99
SpiraPlan	10	10 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$2,499.99
SpiraPlan	20	20 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$3,527.99
SpiraPlan	30	30 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$5,039.99
SpiraPlan	50	50 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$7,055.99
SpiraPlan	100	100 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$11,759.99
SpiraPlan	200	200 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$21,167.99
SpiraPlan	250	250 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$32,249.99
SpiraPlan	300	300 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$37,799.99
SpiraPlan	500	500 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$61,499.99
SpiraPlan	750	750 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$89,999.99
SpiraPlan	1000	1000 concurrent users, unlimited named users and projects	$116,999.99

KronoDesk
Product	Edition	Description	Classic
KronoDesk	3-User	3 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$499.99
KronoDesk	5-User	5 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$699.99
KronoDesk	10-User	10 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$999.99
KronoDesk	20-User	20 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$1,299.99
KronoDesk	30-User	30 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$1,599.99
KronoDesk	50-User	50 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$1,999.99
KronoDesk	100-User	100 agents, unlimited customers, unlimited tickets	$3,499.99

What About Legacy Customers and Perpetual Pricing?

If you are a long-term legacy customer and have special legacy pricing, these changes do not apply to you. Please contact our sales team if you have any questions.

If you are looking to purchase a perpetual license of SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, SpiraPlan or KronoDesk, those are still available, please contact our sales team for a quote.

What About Unexpired Existing Quotes?

Of course, if you already have an unexpired quote, we will of course honor it 100%. If your quote is expiring soon, we recommend you contact our sales team to place the order ASAP.

SpiraPlan Jira Synchronization Now Synchronizes Tasks from Spira to Jira

2021-11-28T10:08:23-05:00

Ability to Sync Tasks

One of the common requests from our customers using SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan is that they would like to do the requirements development in Spira and have the business analysts and product owners create tasks in Spira that then get pushed to Jira. We have similar functionality available for Azure DevOps and Asana but not Jira. With this latest update, you can now create tasks in Spira (either connected to a requirement or just standalone) and they will get added to Jira as either an issue of type Task or Sub-Task:

If the task in Spira maps to a requirement already linked to a Jira User Story, Epic or Feature, the task will be automatically linked in Jira as well:

Then if the development team make any changes in Jira to the task, the updates will synchronize back into Spira.

The synchronization is flexible, allowing you to map different types of task in Spira to different types of task in Jira:

To enable this new functionality, you will need to modify the plugin configuration settings so that Custom 02 contains the list of Jira issue types that should be synchronized as Spira tasks:

Other Updates

In addition to this main enhancement, we've also added functionality whereby incidents that are created in Spira that are linked to requirements will also show this association in Jira. Previously only incident - incident associations were migrated to Jira.

On-Premise and Cloud

As with our existing integration functionality, the new versions of the data synchronization plugin continue to support all three flavors of Atlassian Jira:

Jira Cloud
Jira Server
Jira DataCenter

If you are using our cloud-based synchronization, then the new plugin is already active. If you are using on-premise synchronization, you will need to download the latest version from our website.

Rapise v7.1 Released - Oracle Fusion ERP Support Now Available

2021-10-16T10:55:48-04:00

Oracle Fusion Support

Rapise has built-in support for many popular packaged applications, including the following ERP and CRM Systems:

Microsoft Dynamics (AX, NAV, 365)
Salesforce (Classic and Lightning)
SAP (Fiori and Hana)

With this latest version of Rapise, we have now added support for Oracle Forms for the first time, opening up the Oracle ERP platform for modern test automation and DevOps practices.

Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP is a complete, modern, cloud ERP suite that provides your teams with advanced capabilities, such as AI to automate the manual processes that slow them down, analytics to react to market shifts in real time, and automatic updates to stay current and gain a competitive advantage. Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP replaces the previous Oracle e-Business Suite ERP platform.

Rapise has special extensions included out of the box that allow it easily test and validate Oracle Fusion implementations, reducing the time to regression test customizations and configurations. Rapise can test the base Oracle Fusion platform as well as extensions to that platform written by third-party developers. Learn More About Oracle ERP Support.

Summary of New Features

Spira Dashboard: add support for Rerun test set if failed option [IN:6561]
Parallel execution of Test Cases in RapiseLauncher [IN:6608]
Spira Dashboard: specify input data table (test configurations) in test set details [IN:6652]
Add support for Oracle Forms [IN:6698]
Enhance UFT converter [IN:6699]
Add support for Spira managed floating licenses [IN:6729]

New Features

Spira Dashboard: parameter editing for Test Cases and Test Sets [IN:6555]
Spira Dashboard: add support for Rerun test set if failed option [IN:6561]
Right-Click & Double-Click recording for ListView control (Managed) [IN:6563]
Spira Dashboard: add support for editing Test Set Test Case parameters [IN:6582]
Include npm into Rapise setup package [IN:6603]
Parallel execution of Test Cases in RapiseLauncher [IN:6608]
Spira Dashboard: Test Cases view - add Open This Test to Action items [IN:6623]
Spira Dashboard: Main view - Execute, Execute on Host for linked tests [IN:6624]
Spira Dashboard: specify input data table (test configurations) in test set details [IN:6652]
Add support for new AG grid in Dynamics 365 for Sales library [IN:6656]
Spira Dashboard: auto update status of executed test sets [IN:6663]
Spira Dashboard: tree view for the framework [IN:6666]
Spira Dashboard:: automatically add tags to Test Runs in RapiseLauncher for filtering [IN:6673]
OnTextSaved.cmd [IN:6694]
Tools > Npm Console to install node modules for a test framework [IN:6697]
Add support for Oracle Forms [IN:6698]
Enhance UFT converter [IN:6699]
Framework defined custom start page [IN:6700]
Enable StartPage customization [IN:6701]
SeSOnTestReportReady [IN:6702]
ConfigPrompt [IN:6703]
Add support for Spira managed floating licenses [IN:6729]

For more details, please check out the Rapise 7.1 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About Rapise

KronoDesk 4.0 Released: ActiveDirectory, LDAP Integration & Enhancements

2025-04-01T21:06:46-04:00

LDAP and ActiveDirectory Support

Many of our customers choose to use KronoDesk for their in-house company IT help desk / service desk. For these environments it makes a lot of sense to be able to integrate KronoDesk with their in-house user directory for internal users. Therefore we have been working in our upcoming KronoDesk 4.0 release to add LDAP and ActiveDirectory support to KronoDesk based on our existing functionality available in Spira. This feature is now available.

With this new functionality, you will be able to mix and match different types of user:

Users that login to KronoDesk using a KronoDesk login and password (same as the previous version)
Users that login to KronoDesk using their company network login and password (LDAP managed).

Bug Fixes and Enhancements

Fix deleting a custom list or value in use by a custom property throwing an error on the ticket details page [IN:2655]
Ensure that only logged in internal users can access the API documentation pages [IN:3058]
Improve the language of the action buttons on the article (KB) edit page to make their meaning clearer [IN:3982]
Ensure that tooltips on the Help Desk ticket list table always show the the latest note to internal users [IN:3990]
Allow system administrators to change the login ID of existing users [IN:4353]
Move the activity indicator icon to the left so that it does not obscure the user icon [IN:4888]
Fix the Recent Forum Posts widget on the home page sometimes displaying the entire forum post [IN:4918]
Fix changes not being saved on the organization detail page if the organization name is less than 5 characters [IN:5029]
Fix the display of the ticket name on the help desk ticket list page, so names are not cut off if they contain a "&" character [IN:5070]
Remove headers for deactivated sections showing on the external home page [IN:5279]
Improve how merging tickets works so each ticket becomes a distinct note on the combined ticket (merging no longer merges descriptions together) [IN:5288]
Fix the help desk ticket list table tooltip not properly displaying due to not escaping quote characters [IN:5308]
Fix user profile showing January 1, 0001 as the Member Since date for some users [IN:6210]
Internal links to documentation point to KronoDocs website instead of internal help files [IN:6225]
Fix clicking on tickets created by a user who is currently inactive displaying a system error [IN:6236]
Fix the global search returning inaccurate information under certain circumstances [IN:6248]
Remove headers for deactivated areas on the user profile page [IN:6249]
Fix searching for tickets within an organization showing an error [IN:6250]
Fix the ticket section of the external home page being blank if the Knowledge Base and/or Forum sections are disabled [IN:6478]
Improve the styling and display of error pages [IN:6548]
Ensure new installations create the database with the setting AUTO_CLOSE = False [IN:6568]
Make the language on the administration email menu option consistent with the heading on the Email Options page [IN:6585]
Improve the summary message on the administration > System Settings > Orphaned Documents page to make it more clear [IN:6586]
Remove the double colons from certain labels on the administration > Users > Security page [IN:6587]
Improve the message text on the administration > Users > User Roles page to make it more clear [IN:6588]
Fix spelling errors on the administration > Forum Settings > Appearance page [IN:6589]
Security fixes

Release Notes

For the full list of features, bug fixes, and enhancements, please check out the v4.0 release notes.

Spira v6.12 Released: Performance Improvements and Industry Sample Data

2021-09-09T15:35:35-04:00

New Sample Data System

The application includes different types of sample data, some about specific industries, to help you understand how the application works. For example, how products fit inside a program, or how different artifacts work together. There are six sample data sets available in the application. A system administrator can change which of these are available at any one time. The admin can make all available, none available, or anywhere in between:

When you first login to the system, you will be asked to choose which sets of sample data to include by default. This can always be changed later in the Administration console.

New Features

Can manage Rapise floating licenses inside Spira (will be available in the application at a later date) [RQ:3533]
Industry specific sample data installed with new installations
- Allow system admins to manage sample data by selecting which industry data to make active and display, showing a popup selector to the admin after a new install [RQ:2946]
- Manufacturing portfolio: Inventory Systems and Automotive programs (2) and products (4)
- Aerospace portfolio: Aviation and Space Platforms programs (2) and products (4)
- Financial Services portfolio: Back Office and Customer Experience programs (2) and products (4)
- Life Sciences portfolio: Clinical Trials and Medical Systems programs (2) and products (4)
- Core Services portfolio: Corporate Systems and Sales & Marketing programs (2) and products (4)

Bug Fixes and Enhancements

Add product-level testing setting to allow product-based parameter refresh for large projects [IN:6671]
Allow an incident's creation date to be after its start date and its closed on date (to avoid not being able to save an incident due to this validation criteria not being met) [IN:5505]
Ensure full database schema parity between a clean installation and an upgraded on-premise installation [IN:6182]
Ensure grid for adding product memberships to a specific user (UserDetailsAddProjectMembership page) does not disappear on small screen sizes [IN:6618]
Fix navigating to a deleted Test Step showing the wrong error message about which artifact was deleted [IN:5394]
Fix not being able to filter by custom properties on the document list page and on the attachment tab [IN:6269]
Fix Pull Request popup dialog Name field excessively limiting the character limit of the field [IN:6622]
Fix rare column order inconsistencies during upgrade process using on-premise installer [IN:5568]
Fix report admins who are not system admin getting authorization errors on editing standard or custom sections of custom reports or editing custom graphs [IN:6644]
For incidents, error message where start date cannot be before creation date should use the term "creation date" [IN:6206]
Improve performance when adding or removing test cases from a test set [IN:6600]
Improve performance working with test cases with linked test steps so it does not timeout during use [IN:6595]
Remove the Reporting button from the global navbar when viewing a Portfolio Homepage [IN:6213]

Release Notes

For the full list of features, bug fixes, and enhancements, please check out the v6.12 release notes.

Spira v6.11 Released: Diagrams, Flowcharts and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

2021-08-16T11:26:40-04:00

Multi-Factor Authentication

Security is always a critically important topic, and if you have been following the news recently it seems there is a different cyber attack every week. Having a well-developed cybersecurity program is a must, and as part of that, it is important that multiple layers of defense are employed to prevent a potential cyber-attack or data breach. With the latest update, SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, and SpiraPlan now support Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) also known as 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) as standard. Learn More.

Diagram and Flowchart Editor

Many of our customers use SpiraPlan to design and manage requirements for complex systems and products including aerospace, automotive and industrial systems. Accordingly, a common need is to be able to create requirements and associated documentation that includes diagrams, flowcharts, and mind-maps. The latest version of Spira now includes free, built-in diagram support. Learn More.

Excel365 Importer/Exporter Update

The Excel365 addin supports risks and test sets, and existing artifacts support even more fields. You can now update existing records using the tools. Advanced users can create new comments and test coverage and traceability links right from the spreadsheet. Learn More.

Other Enhancements and Fixes

Fix TaraVault breaking on activation if Pull Requests have been added using the sample source code provider [IN:6535]
Fix planning boards not letting you add a new item if you have create permissions but not bulk edit (introduced in 6.10.0.0) [IN:6536]
Fix planning board and incident board detected release field on the incident popup not showing all releases (only active ones) [IN:6577]
Fix planning boards and incident details page detected release field when the product is set to show active releases only in that field, so it correctly shows current release and only options for active releases [IN:6616]
Improve performance when cloning test cases with massive linked test step hierarchies [IN:6576]
Ensure that LDAP is disabled system-wide if the LDAP server name is blank [IN:6583]
Fix the owner field not being set when owner data is sent on first creating a release (e.g. when cloning a release, or creating a release via the API) [IN:6619]
API
- Add API calls to create, update, and delete Test Set Test Case parameters [IN:6471]
- Add API calls to create, update, and delete Test Step Parameters [IN:6495]
- Fix the v6 SOAP API not always falling back to accept a user's API Token as proper authentication [IN:6560]
- Fix the API so the test set folder ID is not ignored during test set updates (PUTs) [IN:6578]

Release Notes

For the full list of features, bug fixes, and enhancements, please check out the v6.11 release notes.

Tricentis Tosca Plug-In Released for RemoteLaunch

2022-07-07T14:05:33-04:00

What is Tricentis Tosca?

Tricentis Tosca is a software testing tool that is used to automate end-to-end testing for software applications. It is developed by Tricentis. Tricentis Tosca combines multiple aspects of software testing to test GUIs and APIs from a business perspective.

You can use SpiraTest together with RemoteLaunch to schedule and remotely launch instances of Tricentis Tosca on different computers and have the testing results be transmitted back to SpiraTest. This allows you to extend your SpiraTest’s test management capabilities to include automated Tosca tests.

Using RemoteLaunch with Tosca

Using Tosca in conjunction with SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch allows you to create test suites of Tosca tests and schedule them for execution across a global test lab in conjunction with other automated and manual tests. This lets you seamlessly include automated Tosca tests in your integrated test plan.

The integration allows you to map discrete Tosca test suites and test cases to SpiraTest test cases to allow granular reporting of test case status and allow meaningful analysis of key metrics and KPIs such as requirements' test coverage.

When Tosca executes the test suite, RemoteLaunch can parse the detailed results file and extract the list of test actions and corresponding results. These are then displayed inside SpiraTest seamlessly as test runs and test steps:

More Information

The plugin for Tricentis Tosca is available in the SpiraTest download center.
The RemoteLaunch user manual explains how to set up the integration between SpiraTest and Tosca.

About SpiraTest

SpiraTest^® is a powerful Quality Assurance and Project Management solution that manages a software project’s requirements, scope, use-cases, tests, releases, and bugs and issues in one environment, with complete requirements traceability throughout. Customers can track every bug or issue back to the test case and test step that being executed, and from there back to the underlying requirement needing fulfillment.

About RemoteLaunch

Extend your SpiraTest installation with support for automated regression testing. Our RemoteLaunch application will connect to your automated testing tools and allow SpiraTest to orchestrate your testing activities, both manual and automated, in one place. For complete test coverage, you need to perform the same automated tests across a complete spectrum of platforms, browsers, devices, and environments. Using RemoteLaunch with Spira allows you to manage the automated testing process. Track the automated tests against the project’s requirements. Have a holistic view of manual and automated testing.

Rapise v7.0 Released - New Spira Dashboard, Flaky Test Handling and Automated Test Rerun

2021-06-22T17:22:03-04:00

Summary of New Features

Features

Spira Dashboard 2.0
Upgrade Appium .NET to 4.1.1 and Selenium WebDriver to 3.141 [IN:6251]
Remove Neload integration [IN:6282]

New Object API

Tester.GetTestName [IN:6488]
Tester.SoftAssert [IN:6322]
Tester.SoftAssertAll [IN:6322]
Tester.AddImageToReport [IN:6125]
SeSReportFile to use with Tester.Message, Tester.Assert, Tester.AssertEqual [IN:6171]
RESTService.GetResponseStatusCode [IN:6287]
RESTService.GetResponseStatusText [IN:6287]

Enhancements

Show Test saved successfully message after saving test to Spira [IN:5914]
If Repository folder configured in Spira Settings is invalid - do not save settings [IN:5915]
Trim Test Name and Folder in Create New Test dialog [IN:5970]
RapiseLauncher - auto screenshots should do nothing for Mobile and API [IN:6137]
Remember full screen state of Mobile Spy [IN:6166]
Combine Discovery and Maintenance modes in Web and Mobile Spy [IN:6166]
Pass g_spiraProjectName, g_spiraTestSetName, g_spiraTestCaseName, g_spiraReleaseName to executed test from RapiseLauncher [IN:6186]
Reload list of project when switching between Spira instances [IN:6190]
Include certain actions of the Global object into execution report [IN:6208]
Make it easier to switch between sub-tests of a framework (via Spira Dashboard) [IN:6209]
Improve RVL Toolbox search [IN:6247]
Open KB & Help Topics on double click in RVL Toolbox [IN:6261]
Go to Symbol: add shortcut and improve the functionality [IN:6460]
Use "+" to add folder in Files/Show all files view [IN:6475]
Make Browser Created message in the report more informative [IN:6485]

For more details, please check out the Rapise 7.0 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About Rapise

Whether it’s the web, mobile, desktop applications, APIs (REST and SOAP), Rapise helps you test it all. Rapise doesn’t just test; it understands. It knows about a wealth of complex applications, including, for example, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, and SAP. And it will help you manage tests spanning multiple technologies at once. Rapise makes automated testing accessible to everyone. Using Rapise, anyone can create and change tests. Rapise records your actions, then lets you edit them in its easy-to-use visual keyword driven framework called RVL. Want to get into the code? Then dig into our JavaScript-based engine that’s a breeze to extend and integrates with open source standards such as Selenium and Appium.

Spira v6.10 Released: Agile Planning Board & Task Tracking Enhancements

2021-10-10T08:00:42-04:00

Agile Planning Board Enhancements

In the previous version of the agile planning boards, you could view and add requirement, incident and task cards to the various boards in the system, but when you clicked on an item, it would always navigate you to the page for that item. This meant that editing the name, description or other fields of an item on the board was not as quick and easy as we would like. With the enhancements available in v6.10, you can now click on a card in the planning board and be able to edit all the fields inline without changing page. Learn More...

Task Tracking Enhancements

On the task list page you can now perform actions on a whole folders at once, not just specific tasks. This lets you quickly clone, export, or print tasks in folders.

Other Enhancements and Fixes

API
- Add API calls to create, update, and delete Test Set Parameters [IN:5513]
- Add settings to allow throttling of API usage in Spira [IN:5819]
- Fix API call for creating test cases to allow setting TestCaseStatusId to 0 to use the default status, as per documentation [IN:5708]
- Fix API call for creating/updating document folders so that if no parent folder id is specified the folder becomes a child of the current root folder [IN:5459]
- Fix API call for getting a filtered list of test sets so that it works correctly with the sort_field parameter [IN:5995]
- Add API calls to update and delete Test Case Parameters [IN:6273]
- Fix v6 API test set search not returning proper results if the release_id query string parameter is set to null [IN:5779]
- Fix the documentation for the API call to get users/all to make it clear it returns all users, not only active ones [IN:5225]
- Fix the Rest API for documents not returning custom properties when retrieving documents [IN:6278]
- Soap and REST API add and update calls for artifacts with workflows abide by the template's Status Bulk Edit setting [IN:6457]
Other
- Add tool and edit functions to task folders on the main task list page grid, as you can with test cases and test sets [IN:6229]
- Darken the workspace Releases/Sprint Completion widget's overdue color and label [IN:6114]
- Fix document detail page styling potentially being changed by inline styling in HTML documents [IN:6444]
- Fix Firefox sporadically not loading some controls (due to timing issues) [IN:6487]
- Fix Risk Detail Page > Tasks Tab Clone and Task Split buttons not associating the new task with the original task's Risk [IN:6216]
- Fix some movable dialog boxes being shown too far to the bottom of the screen [IN:6321]
- Fix the follower card showing behind the artifact title, which is particularly problematic on the test case details page [IN:6481]
- Improve the performance of retrieving history data for products that use baselining [IN:6466]
- Remove the duplicate "Delete" entry from the task list page context menu [IN:6252]
- Schedule widgets for programs, portfolio and enterprise should calculate the product start and end date using the min max of active releases (using same definition as for releases / sprints of active) [IN:6228]
- Show the "is user Locked out" toggle on the system admin user details page only when the user is locked out, and show it for all authentication methods (normal, LDAP, Oauth) [IN:6482]
- Show which release data is being shown for on the Release and Task Gantt views (syncs with release dropdowns used on product home page and elsewhere) [IN:6201]

Release Notes

For the full list of features, bug fixes, and enhancements, please check out the v6.10 release notes.

Spira v6.9 Released: OData, Requirements Management, Baselining and Custom Property Enhancements

2021-05-08T13:39:44-04:00

Improved Requirement Document View

It is widely agreed in the software industry that one of the keys to delivering high-quality products is to get the requirements "right." However, there is far less consensus on what "right" actually means and even less consensus on the best way to get there. So having powerful requirements management and requirements traceability is vitally important to the software development and testing process. In our latest version of SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan, we have improved the new requirements document view to make it more useful for business analysts (BAs) and other team members. Learn More...

Baselining Enhancements

We have added new pages in SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan to display the list of artifacts changed between two baseline snapshots as well as the specific changes made to the artifact. The change history pages have been enhanced to display association changes and positional changes as well as field attribute changes.

Custom Reporting Just Got Easier via OData API

First, we've added lots more reporting views to help build out even more queries (available in all editions of Spira). Next, SpiraPlan customers can use 3^rd party tools like spreadsheets and database reporting packages to query and report against all custom report tables in the application via the ODATA standard (read our in-depth tutorial). This takes custom reports to a whole new level of integration and ease of use. Learn More....

Custom Property Improvements

Custom properties have been turned up to 100 (minus 1). You can now have 99 custom properties for each artifact in a template. In addition, you can now order your custom properties how you like with configurable field positions, and finally you can now add a tooltip description for users to read on details pages.

Release Notification Support

Finally, a much requested feature that we have included is the ability to have email notifications sent when releases, sprints and phases are changed. You can define different notification events and email templates for the different kinds of change. For example, when someone changes the due date of a Release you can now have all the project managers notified.

Release Notes

For the full list of features, bug fixes, and enhancements, please check out the v6.9 release notes.

Spira Plugin for YouTrack Now Available

2021-04-02T17:22:36-04:00

About JetBrains YouTrack

YouTrack is a commercial browser-based bug tracker, issue tracking system and project management software developed by JetBrains. It focuses on query-based issue search with auto-completion, manipulating issues in batches, customizing the set of issue attributes and creating custom workflows. YouTrack integrates closely with other JetBrains projects such as TeamCity for continuous integration and various developer IDEs such as IntelliJ.

Data Synchronization with YouTrack

The SpiraPlan data synchronization service lets you synchronize YouTrack issues with SpiraPlan. This integration service enables two-way syncing of SpiraPlan incidents and, if specified, tasks with SpiraPlan issues. Once set up, by default, all issues in a YouTrack project will sync to Incidents in SpiraPlan. You can specify certain types of issues to sync as Tasks in SpiraPlan instead if you want.

For example, an issue in YouTrack that might contain the following data:

Will synchronize with a mapped project / product in SpiraPlan so that you can manage the lifecycle of the issue in either system:

Where Can I Learn More?

Please refer to SpiraDoc to find out more information on using YouTrack with SpiraPlan. For on-premise customers, the plugin can be downloaded from the Spira Downloads Page.

Spira v6.8 Released: Inline Content Editing and Enhanced BDD/Gherkin Support

2021-03-11T20:16:17-05:00

Inline Content Editing of Rich Text and Markdown

This new version includes major enhancements to the documents management module to allow users the create and edit inline content directly in Spira. Customers have asked us for ways to make authoring the unstructured, freeform content easier in Spira, similar to how they could use a Wiki, Google Docs, or Confluence page. This new functionality lets you write plain text, rich text, and markdown inside Spira and have all of the versioning and workflow capabilities at your disposal. Of course, you can link this content to your requirements, test cases, and other Spira artifacts. Read More

Enhanced BDD and Gherkin Support

Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) is an Agile software development process that encourages collaboration among developers, QA and non-technical or business participants in a software project. The new inline content editing makes it amazing easy to write BDD style requirements and test cases in Spira using Gherkin syntax with automatic syntax highlighting. Read More

Release Notes

For the full list of features, bug fixes, and enhancements, please check out the v6.8 release notes.

Rapise v6.7 Released - NodeJS Execution, RapiseLauncher, Mobile, AWS, and REST API Enhancements

2021-10-10T10:01:09-04:00

Summary of New Features

Support for NodeJS as JavaScript execution engine in Rapise
RapiseLauncher: Test Set attachments, CLI enhancements, RDP disconnect and screen resolution
Mobile: SeeTest instrumented mode support and usability fixes
REST: Bearer token, parameters in request headers and credentials, JS callbacks
Amazon Web Services: support for AWS secrets and Amazon Device Farm (browser testing)

New Features

Support for NodeJS as JavaScript execution engine in Rapise [IN:6187]
RapiseLauncher: download Test Set attachments before execution and make them available in tests [IN:6059]
RapiseLauncher: CLI - allow passing Test Execution parameters to test runs [IN:6028]
RapiseLauncher: CLI - allow to run multiple test sets [IN:5848]
RapiseLauncher: screen resolution settings for disconnected RDP session [IN:6183]
RapiseLaucnher: tray icon menu to disconnect RDP session for unattended UI tests execution [IN:6170]
Azure DevOps: add extension for RapiseLauncher [IN:6188]
Azure DevOps: add extension with Rapise Test Adapter Task [IN:6189]
Mobile: support for SeeTest instrumented mode [IN:6163]
Mobile: Clear button on the Spy toolbar [IN:6143]
REST: parameters in request headers and credentials [IN:6118]
REST: Add support for Bearer token for REST calls [IN:5675]
REST: JavaScript callbacks in REST requests [IN:6038]
Support for Amazon Device Farm [IN:6112]
Support for AWS Secrets [IN:6113]
RVL Toolbox to help learn Rapise [IN:6198]

For more details, please check out the Rapise 6.7 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About Rapise

Whether it’s the web, mobile, desktop applications, APIs (REST and SOAP), Rapise helps you test it all. Rapise doesn’t just test; it understands. It knows about a wealth of complex applications, including, for example, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, and SAP. And it will help you manage tests spanning multiple technologies at once. Rapise makes automated testing accessible to everyone. Using Rapise, anyone can create and change tests. Rapise records your actions, then lets you edit them in its easy-to-use visual keyword driven framework called RVL. Want to get into the code? Then dig into our JavaScript-based engine that’s a breeze to extend and integrates with open source standards such as Selenium and Appium.

Spira v6.7.1 Released: Source Code Enhancements & Pull Requests

2021-02-10T13:31:26-05:00

CI Build and Source Code Diff Enhancements

We are excited about the next release of Spira 6.7.1, due to be released in early February. This new version includes some usability enhancements for viewing the differences between changes in large source code files as well as a major overhaul of the continuous integration (CI) build details page. These enhancements streamline the viewing of CI builds and verifying the code changes included in each CI build.

Source Code Pull Requests & Code Reviewing

We are excited about the next release of Spira 6.7.1, due to be released in early February. This new version includes new source code Pull Requests functionality that lets development teams leverage the existing tasks feature in Spira to more easily track the different code branches. The Pull Request tasks are used to help teams review the code before they are merged into the main development branches (develop, master or main depending on your branching and merging methodology).

Generating Documents from Reports

We are excited about the next release of Spira 6.7.1, due to be released in early February 2021. One of the key new features is the ability to automatically save generated reports from the Reports center into the Documents Management module, where they can be archived and versioned.

SpiraPlan Document Workflow Enhancements for GxP CFR Part 11 Projects

We're very excited about the upcoming release of SpiraPlan 6.7.1 for both our cloud and on-premise customers. In addition to the powerful new tools for developers and DevOps engineers, we also have some new document management enhancements that will be amazing for customers working in the life sciences, especially on GxP projects that have to follow FDA / EMA rules such as 21 CFR Part 11. Read More

Release Notes

For the full list of features, bug fixes, and enhancements, please check out the v6.7.1 release notes.

Other Enhancements - ADO Data Sync

In addition to the enhancements to the core system, we have also released some updates to the Microsoft Azure DevOps (ADO) Data Synchronization plug that synchronizes requirements, tasks and defects between ADO and Spira:

The plugin can now synchronize different Task Types
The plugin can now synchronize different Requirement Types
The plugin will correctly link ADO requirements and tasks together in Spira

Spira and Rapise Roadmaps Released for 2021

2021-01-05T15:23:00-05:00

Spira Roadmap

The latest roadmap for SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, and SpiraPlan can always be found on SpiraDoc:

The roadmap lists the features planned for the next version (v6.7.1) at the time of writing as well as the features and enhancements planned for future releases, grouped by theme and area of the system (Planning, Testing, Development, Tracking, Reporting and Cross-Cutting). Some of the key highlights for this coming year are:

Source Code Management (SCM) enhancements including Git pull requests
Inline document/content editing of rich text, plain text, and markdown pages
Time tracking and resource planning
Planning board and agile planning enhancements

Rapise Roadmap

The latest roadmap for Rapise can always be found on RapiseDoc:

The roadmap lists the features planned for the next version (v6.7) at the time of writing as well as the features and enhancements planned for future releases, grouped by theme and area of the system (SpiraTest integration, object repository, executing tests on Linux/Mac/containers, user experience, and integrations/platforms).

Some of the key highlights for this coming year are:

Enhancements to the integration between Rapise and Microsoft Azure DevOps Pipelines
Flaky test identification and tracking functionality
Flexible, hierarchical object repositories

What About Other Add-Ons/Products?

In addition to our core products, we will continue to release new plugins and updates to our existing plugins:

KronoDesk
SpiraCapture
Salesforce plugin
Jira plugin
YouTrack plugin

What if I have Questions or Suggestions?

If you have ideas, please free free to share them with our support team.

Spira v6.7 Released: Source Code Management, Git and Markdown Previewing

2020-12-11T13:57:54-05:00

Enhanced 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. Learn More.

Integrated Source Code Difference Viewing

As part of the revamp of the Spira source code management module, there is now a native code difference viewing capability in Spira. This lets you compare the changes between two revisions of each file and see the changes in either a side-by-side or unified DIFF view. Using easy to understand color coding, you can see which lines have been added, removed, and changed between the revisions, as well as see the individual changes in each line. Learn More.

Markdown Preview & Rendering Capability

A key area of focus in this new release is improving the experience and functionality for developers and development teams. With that in mind, we have revamped the source code management and documents management module, and for the first time, there is now a way to view rendered markdown files directly in Spira in both modules. Learn More.

Release Notes

For the full list of features, bug fixes, and enhancements, please check out the v6.7 release notes.

Spira Plugin for Salesforce.com Now Available

2020-12-07T09:48:05-05:00

About Salesforce

Salesforce (aka Salesforce.com) is a cloud computing service as a software (SaaS) company that specializes in customer relationship management (CRM). Salesforce's services allow businesses to use cloud technology to better connect with customers, partners, and potential customers. The software has become the number one for customer success and helps businesses track customer activity, market to customers, and many more services.

Spira Integration with Salesforce

Many of our customers have been looking for our SpiraTeam application lifecycle management (ALM) suite to integrate with Salesforce to provide an end to end application and IT lifecycle capability.

Our new integration with Salesforce will synchronize changes from different Salesforce objects with Incidents and Requirements in our Spira platform (SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, or SpiraPlan):

How Does it Work?

You can select a Salesforce object to sync with Incidents and another Salesforce object to sync with Requirements in Spira. To map to different projects in Spira, you will also need to designate a relevant field in each of the Salesforce objects.

The Salesforce Data Sync will sync name, status, priority/importance, description, owner, author, and any desired custom fields between the two systems.

New Incidents/Requirements created in Spira will be created in the appropriate Salesforce object.

In addition, new items created in the designated Salesforce objects will be created in Spira, and any changes after that will be synced with its counterpart in Spira.

With our new DataSync for Salesforce.com, you can just worry about solving your issue, and we’ll handle the rest!

You can get the new plugin from the Downloads section of our website:

About SpiraTeam®

SpiraTeam® is a complete agile software development management system that manages your project's requirements, releases, iterations, tasks, and bugs/issues. Designed specifically to support agile methodologies such as Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), DSDM, and Agile Unified Process (AUP), it allows teams to manage all their information in one environment. In SpiraTeam, each project has a dashboard home-page that summarizes all of the information regarding the project into a comprehensive, easily digestible form that provides a “one-stop-shop” for people interested in understanding the overall status of the project at a glance. It contains summary-level information for all types of artifacts (requirements, test cases, incidents, etc.) that you can use to drill-down into the appropriate section of the application.

About Inflectra®

Founded in 2006, Inflectra® is a market leader in software test management, test automation, and application lifecycle management space. The company is headquartered in the USA but has offices in over 10 countries. Known globally for its legendary customer support, Inflectra makes turn-key solutions that address many challenges in software test management and QA, test automation, and product lifecycle management. Its methodology agnostic software tools are used in many industries where portfolio management, requirements traceability, release planning, resource management, document workflow, and enterprise risk analysis are required. The company uses a concurrent pricing model for all its tools with unlimited products, projects, sprints, tests, API calls included in a single price. All Inflectra products have a 30-day free trial.

Rapise v6.6 Released - Enhanced Git and Azure DevOps Integration

2020-11-13T12:41:03-05:00

Summary of New Features

RapiseLauncher - the ability to store tests in Git [IN:5856]
Seamless Azure DevOps integration via Rapise.TestAdapter [IN:5929]
Add Report/Export as HTML [IN:5901]
Ability to define Local to framework Global objects [IN:5353]

For more details, please check out the Rapise 6.6 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About Rapise

Whether it’s the web, mobile, desktop applications, APIs (REST and SOAP), Rapise helps you test it all. Rapise doesn’t just test; it understands. It knows about a wealth of complex applications, including, for example, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, and SAP. And it will help you manage tests spanning multiple technologies at once. Rapise makes automated testing accessible to everyone. Using Rapise, anyone can create and change tests. Rapise records your actions, then lets you edit them in its easy-to-use visual keyword driven framework called RVL. Want to get into the code? Then dig into our JavaScript-based engine that’s a breeze to extend and integrates with open source standards such as Selenium and Appium.

End of Life for Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.0 and 1.1 on November 14th

2022-12-03T14:50:45-05:00

Question: What products and services are affected?

We are removing support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1 from our SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, SpiraPlan (aka Spira) and KronoDesk cloud based products. We are a this time not removing support for our company website, support website or other Inflectra internal applications. We anticipating depreciating TLS 1.0 and 1.1 for these platforms early in 2021.

These changes will not affect customers that choose to self-host Spira or KronoDesk, only those customers using our Cloud / SaaS option.

Question: What do I have to do to prepare?

If you only use a web browser to connect to Spira or KronoDesk then all you need to do is make sure you are using a modern web browser.
If you are using other Inflectra add-ons and extensions that use Microsoft .NET (for example RemoteLaunch, Rapise, Import Tools, Office Add-Ons, etc.) make sure you have downloaded the latest version, since only recent versions of .NET fully support TLS 1.2 and we've updated all of our plugins recently.

Question: Why are you deprecating TLS 1.0 and 1.1?

Answer: TLS 1.0 and 1.1 are out-of-date protocols that do not support modern cryptographic algorithms, and they contain security vulnerabilities that may be exploited by attackers. The Internet Engineering Task Force is also planning to officially deprecate both protocols. In addition, the vast majority of encrypted Internet traffic is now over TLS 1.2, which was introduced over a decade ago.

Question: Why did you choose November 14, 2020?

Answer: The industry is working to deprecate support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1 this year. Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Mozilla have all announced that their browsers will no longer support TLS 1.0 and 1.1 as of March 2020. We had originally targeted a similar date, but due to the Coronavirus pandemic we decided to delay our depreciation until later in the year. This was to avoid any disruptions for businesses that were moving to the cloud and/or adjusting to teleworking.

We chose November 14th specifically because it is our standard monthly maintenance window for Spira and KronoDesk and we wanted to complete the change before the December release of Spira 6.7.

Question: Will this affect my users that have up-to-date devices?

Answer: It should not, because the vast majority of websites support TLS 1.2 and most browsers have already been updated. According to Qualys’s SSL Labs 95.2% of websites support TLS 1.2 as of February 2020. We expect this number to rise significantly as March 2020 approaches. Note that having an up-do-date device includes the version of .NET for Windows machines. See below for further information.

Question: How can I tell if my endpoints support TLS 1.2?

Answer: For Microsoft Windows users, there are two areas that will impact TLS compatibility with Inflectra's Cloud Services.

Web Browser Support to access the Spira and KronoDesk applications

Browser test: https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/viewMyClient.html. Confirm that there is a “Yes” next to TLS 1.2 in the “Protocols” section

.NET framework Support for custom applications.

.NET: Native TLS 1.2 support requires .NET framework 4.6.2+. Prior versions require registry edits (4.x) or Registry edits and manual hotfix patches (3.5).

We also recommend that you disable support for SSL, TLS 1.0 and TLS v1.1 at the operating system level: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/187498/how-to-disable-pct-1-0-ssl-2-0-ssl-3-0-or-tls-1-0-in-internet-informat.

Migration Tool for Tricentis qTest Now Available

2020-10-26T20:28:37-04:00

How do I get the Migration Tool?

You can download the new qTest importer tool from the SpiraTest Add-Ons and Downloads section:

How does the Migration Work?

The migration tool is a simple wizard that connects to qTest via its REST API and downloads all the Users, Test Cases, Test Sets, Test Runs, Issues, Requirements and Attachments from qTest . It then connects to SpiraTest using its SOAP API and imports the corresponding data seamlessly and effortlessly into SpiraTest.

The migration tool will import the following artifacts from qTest:

Project name
Users with a default password (but not their roles and permissions)
Requirements
Releases
Test cases with their steps (if defined)
Test Sets
Test Runs
Defects
Modules (these will be imported automatically as Test Case folders and also as Requirement epics)
Test Cycles (these will be imported automatically if Test Sets are imported, and will be imported as Test Set folders)
Attachments for Releases, Requirements, Test Cases, Test Steps and Defects
Associations between Releases, Requirements, Test Cases, Test Runs, Test Steps

How Does The Data Look?

To give you an idea of how the data migrates between the two systems, here are some screenshots of how the requirements, test cases, test sets, and defects look in the two systems:

Requirements

When you migrate requirements from qTest that look like this:

They will appear in SpiraTest like this:

Releases

When you migrate releases from qTest that look like this:

They will appear in SpiraTest like this:

Test Cases

When you migrate test cases from qTest that look like this:

They will appear in SpiraTest like this:

Test Sets

When you migrate test sets from qTest that look like this:

They will appear in SpiraTest like this:

Test Runs

The Test Runs migrated in this example from qTest will be displayed in SpiraTest like the following:

Defects

When you migrate defects from qTest that look like this:

They will appear in SpiraTest as incidents like this:

Where Can I Learn More?

For more information on using the Tricentis qTest importer, please refer to the Migrating from Tricentis qTest Guide.

Spira v6.6.1 Released: Baselining Enhancements and Bug Fixes

2020-10-10T11:08:41-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of the latest version of our award winning test management SpiraTest system, application lifecycle management SpiraTeam platform, and enterprise agile planning platform - SpiraPlan. The new version (6.6.1) provides some key enhancements to the requirements and test case baselining enhancements added in v6.6. This release also includes a number of general bug fixes and enhancements.

Requirements Management Import for ReqIF Files Now Available for SpiraTeam

2020-09-13T09:55:51-04:00

How do I get the Migration Tool?

You can download the new ReqIF requirements interchange format importer tool from the SpiraTeam Add-Ons and Downloads section:

How does the ReqIF Migration Work?

The migration tool is a simple wizard that allows you to open up any Requirements Interchange Format (ReqIF) file exported from one of the legacy tools:

It will then seamlessly and effortlessly migrate the requirements (including custom attributes and relationships between the requirements) into SpiraTeam.

For example, if you import the sample Sample-Model.reqif file that is supplied with the importer, you will see the following requirements in SpiraTeam:

In addition, the importer will create the necessary custom properties as needed automatically:

Which Tools Can I Migrate From?

You can use this import tool to migrate from the following products (and many more):

Intland CodeBeamer
Intland Retina
IBM Rational DOORS
Sparx Enterprise Architect
Siemens Polarion
SystemWeaver
IBM Rational Requirements Composer
TechnoSolutions TopTeam Analyst

Where Can I Learn More?

For more information on using the ReqIF import tool, please refer to the Importing From ReqIF Files Guide.

Migration Tool for PractiTest Now Available

2020-10-26T17:19:57-04:00

How do I get the Migration Tool?

You can download the new PractiTest importer tool from the SpiraTest Add-Ons and Downloads section:

How does the Migration Work?

The migration tool is a simple wizard that connects to PractiTest via its REST API and downloads all the Users, Test Cases, Test Sets, Test Runs, Issues, Requirements and Attachments from PractiTest. It then connects to SpiraTest using its SOAP API and imports the corresponding data seamlessly and effortlessly into SpiraTest.

The migration tool will import the following artifacts from PractiTest:

The project name
Users (not their roles and permissions)
Requirements
Defects (imported as Incidents)
Test cases with their steps (if defined)
Test Sets
Test Runs
Attachments for test cases, test sets, requirements and incidents
Associations and test coverage with requirements

Where Can I Learn More?

For more information on using the PractiTest importer, please refer to the Migrating from PractiTest Guide.

Retiring IE11 Support for SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, SpiraPlan, and KronoDesk

2020-08-13T23:27:18-04:00

By no longer having to support IE11, we can provide better service and products to our customers. It will allow us to provide improved security by no longer needing to support outdated and vulnerable technologies. We can focus instead on taking advantage of modern web standards to improve performance and user experience.

Customers do not need to take action at this time. If you are using IE11 as your main browser, then we recommend, as does Microsoft, that you switch to a modern browser.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When will IE11 support stop for Inflectra products? March 31, 2021
What products will be affected: SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, SpiraPlan, and KronoDesk. It will affect both cloud and on-premise installations. Rapise record and playback using IE11 will continue to be supported until further notice
What will happen after March 2021? Releases for the products mentioned above will start to include functionality not possible or available in IE11. The Inflectra support team will no longer be able to provide support for the above products with customers using IE11
Will my product stop working on April 2021? No, the applications will likely continue to work as expected for some time, but this will change as we remove legacy code for IE11 and introduce new features.
How do I contact you about what this means to me? We welcome your feedback on this issue. Please contact us at support@inflectra.com

Spira v6.6 Released - Baselining, Kanban WIP Support, Planning Enhancements

2020-08-06T23:28:19-04:00

Project Baselining Enhancements

One of the focus areas in the new release v6.6 of SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan is completing the initial support for baselining. This is an exciting new piece of functionality that makes SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan especially well suited for managing requirements, test cases and artifacts on more complex systems and engineering projects. Read More

Kanban Work In Progress (WIP) Support Added

One of the focus areas in the new release v6.6 of SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan is to improve the support for different agile project management methodologies and approaches. In this article we'll discuss some of the exciting new features that have been added to Spira to better support the popular Kanban agile methodology. Read More

Agile Planning Enhancements, Plan by Points

Release Notes

For the full list of features, bug fixes, and enhancements, please check out the v6.6 release notes.

TurtleSpira Plugin Released to Integrate Spira with TortoiseGit and TortoiseSVN

2020-07-23T13:48:49-04:00

What is Tortoise?

Tortoise is a family of Windows Explorer shell extensions that helps programmers manage different versions of the source code for their programs directly inside the standard Windows Explorer user interface. There are different versions of Tortoise that are compatible with different version control systems such as Git, Subversion, Mercurial, and CVS.

What Does TurtleSpira Do?

The Spira issue-tracker plugin for Tortoise (called TurtleSpira) works with all variants of Tortoise, including TortoiseGit,TortoiseSVN, and TortoiseCVS, and lets you streamline your workflow for linking source code commits / revisions to assigned artifacts in SpiraTeam or SpiraPlan.

The Tortoise plugin system lets you integrate different issue trackers. With such plugins it is possible to fetch information directly from the issue tracker, interact with the user and provide information back to Tortoise about open issues, verify log messages entered by the user and even run actions after a successful commit to e.g, close an issue.

Committing a Code Change Linked to Spira Artifacts

As an example, consider the case of committing a change using Tortoise, and associating that change with artifacts in Spira that are assigned to your user.

For example, you might be fixing a bug, implementing a feature, or completing a task associated with a requirement. When you choose the menu option in Tortoise to commit the change, it displays the following dialog box:

You would click on the Choose Artifact button on the top-right of the dialog box:

This screen will list all of the Spira requirements, tasks, and incidents assigned to you. Simply select the checkboxes of the items you want to associate with this commit operation and click OK:

The plugin will automatically populate the list of requirements, tasks and incidents into the commit text. Now click the OK button to commit the change:

Check the box of any tasks that you want the plugin to automatically close for you in Spira. If the source code revision completed all the work on the task, you should check the box. If the revision was merely part of the task, you should leave it unchecked.

In addition, there is a checkbox which will tell the plugin to add the commit text as comments onto all the selected artifacts.

Once that has been done, you will see the following comments appear in Spira:

Why Did We Create TurtleSpira?

One of the key missions of Inflectra is to help Developers, Testers and Managers work together in Harmony:

So, adding tools to make the lives of developers easier and reduce the number of steps to committing code fits with that ethos. It makes the lives of testers and managers easier by guaranteeing there is traceability from code changes to the work that has been planned for each release or sprint.

How Do I Get TurtleSpira?

To get the new plugin, please go to the Add-Ons and Downloads section of the SpiraTeam website:

From there, you can download the TurtleSpira plugin and install it onto any computer running Tortoise. The full documentation is available in the TurtleSpira section of SpiraDoc.

Microsoft Azure DevOps Integration Enhancements

2020-07-20T12:47:38-04:00

Overview

SpiraTest comes with a free data-synchronization plugin that will allow you to seamlessly integrate test management with your Azure DevOps environment (both cloud and server). The integration with Azure DevOps is seamless to the end-user and features full bi-directional data synchronization of incidents and optional synchronization of requirements and tasks.

Streamlined Configuration

State and Reasons

One of the unusual features of Azure DevOps (a heritage from its days as Team Foundation Server or TFS) is that work items in Azure DevOps (hereafter ADO) can have both a high-level status, called a State and a lower-level status called a Reason. Since SpiraTest uses a single status field to drive its workflow, the integration between SpiraTest and ADO is designed to let you map each SpiraTest status to a combination of ADO State+Reason as you can see below:

However, based on feedback from our customers, we have found that in some cases they would prefer to ignore the lower-level reason codes in ADO and simply map each of the SpiraTest statuses to the high-level work item State only. With the new version of the integration plugin, this is now possible:

You can even mix and match the mapping to have some statuses mapped to States, and other statuses mapped to State + Reason combinations!

Area Field Mapping

Microsoft ADO has a built-in field called the Area:

which lets you describe which area of the system the work item relates to. This is a hierarchical path in ADO which you can map to a list custom property in SpiraTest.

Previously, you had to map each of these area values to the physical ID of the area in ADO. This works well for ADO Server, but is not so easy with ADO cloud because the IDs are hidden.

So, with the updated plugin you can instead map the Area values to the path in ADO instead:

Giving you the choice of using either Area ID or Area Path.

Enhancements for General Users

When you log a new incident in SpiraTest, it includes the various details of the bug to be synchronized with ADO. There is a special field in SpiraTest that is auto-populated by the synchronization service to display the corresponding Azure DevOps Work Item ID for each incident (or task/requirement) in SpiraTest:

However, we have added in this new version of the synchronization plugin, a new hyperlink directly from the incident, requirement or task in SpiraTest, with the corresponding work item in ADO:

This will take you directory to the work item in ADO:

For symmetry, we also add a hyperlink from the work item in ADO back to the incident in SpiraTest:

Rapise v6.5 Released - Chrome Edge Support Enhancements

2020-07-17T12:07:09-04:00

Summary of New Features

Window/Tab manipulation functionality in the Navigator object [IN:5608]
Test run and custom test set properties are propagated from RapiseLauncher to Rapise [IN:5630]
It is now possible to record desktop actions into a Web test [IN:5654]
Chrome extension updated to use the latest technology [IN:5610]
Flash from RVL popup menu [IN:5657]
Change Object Tree context menu - Rename instead of Remove [IN:5634]
DoClick in Web, Generic and UIAutomation libraries now supports width/height % offsets [IN:5162]
Support for SeeTest Mobile [IN:5757]

For more details, please check out the Rapise 6.5 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About Rapise

Whether it’s the web, mobile, desktop applications, APIs (REST and SOAP) Rapise helps you test it all. Rapise doesn’t just test, it understands. It knows about a wealth of complex applications including, for example, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, and SAP. And it will help you manage tests spanning multiple technologies at once. Rapise makes automated testing accessible for everyone. Using Rapise, anyone can create and change tests. Rapise records your actions, then lets you edit them in its easy-to-use visual keyword driven framework called RVL. Want to get into the code? Then dig in to our JavaScript-based engine that’s a breeze to extend and integrates with open source standards such as Selenium and Appium.

Spira v6.5.2 Released - Baselining, Test Customization, DevOps Visibility

2020-07-13T11:36:43-04:00

Requirements and Test Case Baselining

One of the focus areas in the upcoming release v6.5.2 of SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan is support for baselining. This is an exciting new piece of functionality that will make SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan especially well suited for managing requirements, test cases and artifacts on more complex systems and engineering projects. Learn More.

Manual Testing Customization Enhancements

Over the past few years, we have collected many enhancement requests for the test case execution page, to make it easier to show and hide certain options, make specific data required, and allow the settings to be configured differently for different products. Well we are happy to add these long awaited features to our upcoming v6.5.2 release. Learn More.

Visibility of User Stories through the DevOps Toolchain

One of the focus areas in the upcoming release v6.5.2 of SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan is to streamline and improve the process for managing code within Spira, and providing better traceability between source code revisions, CI builds, DevOps pipelines, and Spira artifacts such as requirements, user stories, tasks, defects and change requests. Learn More.

Release Notes

For the full list of features, bug fixes, and enhancements, please check out the v6.5.2 release notes.

RemoteLaunch 6.0 Released to Allow Load-Balanced Test Automation

2020-06-16T15:41:36-04:00

Sequential Test Execution on Unique Hosts

RemoteLaunch was originally designed (along with SpiraTest) to have each unique test set (containing test cases) assigned to a specific automation host:

This meant that if you had two sets to execute, you would assign each test set to run on a unique machine (automation host) individually.

When that happens, RemoteLaunch downloads the entire test set and proceeds to execute each of its test cases in turn sequentially (based on the order of test cases in the test set):

Each host downloads the entire test set and executes from start to finish
If you schedule two test sets for the same host, it will execute them one at a time depending on which one it downloads first
This is a reliable and deterministic case

Test Execution on Shared Hosts

However, some of our customers have more sophisticated test environments where they have:

Multiple machines available to run the automation test cases
Large numbers of automated test cases that can be run in parallel, independent of each other.

There was a partial solution available in previous versions of RemoteLaunch...

Standard Mode (RemoteLaunch 5.0)

This is not how RemoteLaunch was designed, but a side effect use case allows you to run a test set on a choice of multiple machines:

You can assign multiple machines to the same ‘host token’
Both hosts will check for the same tests and one will get the test set first.

However if the second host gets the test set before the first one has a chance to mark it as in-process, sometimes they will both try and run the same test set at the same time, with unpredictable results.
So this is not always a reliable use case, and although it could work in some very simple cases, it was not a reliable solution.

So, with RemoteLaunch 6.0 we introduce a new, load balanced execution option.

Load-Balancing Mode (RemoteLaunch 6.0)

Inside RemoteLaunch 6.0 we have added a new flag in the Client Setup screen:

To use this new option, you will need to enable this flag on all of the RemoteLaunch machines that will take part in the "test pool".

Now, inside Spira you simply create an automation host token for the pool (rather than individual machines).

You then assign a single test set (containing many test cases) to the test pool:

Now, each of the automation hosts (running RemoteLaunch) that belong to that pool will execute each of those test cases in turn (following the sequence) as the machines become available:

The tests will always be taken from the test set in the correct, deterministic sequential order, but they will be distributed dynamically to each of the available automation hosts in the specific automation host pool.

Rapise v6.4 Released - Enhancements to WebAppProfile, Dynamics 365 and SAP UI5

2020-05-15T13:20:13-04:00

Highlights

Rename.. sub-test in the Test Files view [IN:5446]
Clone... sub-test in the Test Files view [IN:5447]
New menu item: Tools -> Rapise Launcher [IN:5183]
New menu item: Help -> Remote Assistance [IN:5567]
RVL editor improvements
WebAppProfile enhancements
Ability to set path for local Browser and Mobile profiles [IN:5405]
IFRAME support in SAP UI5 applications [IN:5493]
Improvements to Dynamics 365 for Sales support [IN:5574]
Update support for Dynamics 365 for Operations [IN:5536]

Web App Profile Enhancements

Anchors pointing to specific elements [IN:5516]
Add configuration for clickable elements [IN:5522]
Add support for Text [IN:5569]
Add support for Handlers [IN:5570]

Rapise Visual Language (RVL) Improvements

From,To params in Map Range made optional [IN:4701]
Drag & Drop of *.rvl.xlsx into JS and RVL now generates DoPlayScript [IN:4757]
RVL to suggest getter/setter optional parameters [IN:5342]
RVL Assert == should output compared values to the report [IN:5372]
Copy-Paste of a Map should not truncate columns after H [IN:5401]
Do not wipe parameters if underscore added to action name in RVL (_Do) [IN:5406]
RVL.DoPlayTest should suggest available sub-tests for pathToTest parameter [IN:5414]
RVL quick access toolbar items changed [IN:5437]
Recorder adds new line to Test function (RVL mode) [IN:5438]
Insert lines in RVL should insert between lines [IN:5503]
_Do actions in RVL should automatically use params from Do actions [IN:5509]
Always add rows when doing Paste in RVL [IN:5529]
RVL Shift+Enter should insert a line after [IN:5532]
RVL Editor: automatically add defaultValue when variable type is selected as Global [IN:5533]
Support boolean values in RVL map [IN:4646]

The full list of release notes are available on our website as well.

See the New Features in Action

The following video shows the new Rapise v6.4 in action:

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About Rapise

Spira v6.5 Released - Portfolios, Programs and Gantt Charts

2020-05-11T17:15:01-04:00

What are the key features in v6.5?

Check out this news article that provides an overview of the most exciting new features.

Here's a recap of the key features:

Portfolio & Program Management

SpiraPlan v6.5 includes a new type of workspace, called a portfolio. A portfolio is a collection of programs, which in turn can have a collection of products. Previously SpiraPlan only offered products and programs, with no way to group and view multiple programs. In addition, the navigation bar includes a new "enterprise" view that will give you a system-wide view of the different products.

When you click on a portfolio in the navigation bar you will see the new portfolio dashboard. It includes new widgets that display the overall completion and progress of the portfolio based on how many requirements in the portfolio have been completed, as well as a breakdown by program. The dashboard also includes new widgets that show you the relative size of the programs that comprise the portfolio and a risk widget that shows you the top risks in the portfolio, sorted by greatest exposure first.

In addition, there is a new schedule widget that lets you see the hierarchy of programs, products and releases in the portfolio in a simple, color-coded GANTT chart. Each bar in the chart represents a program, product, release or sprint/phase. The bar includes a progress indicator that visually shows you what % of the item has been completed to date.

We have added similar functionality at the program and product levels, with additional widgets added to the program and product dashboards for overall completion, progress by product / release, relative size, and a GANTT schedule view. The program dashboard now has three views (Dev, Test, General) similar to that available at the product level.

These new widgets are available in both SpiraTeam and SpiraTest as well as SpiraPlan.

In the future we shall be adding additional reporting widgets to the program level as we continue to build out the three new views.

New Enterprise-Level View

In addition, we have added a new top-down "enterprise" view for SpiraPlan that lets you see all of the portfolios, programs, and risks in a single view across the entire system.

This lets you view the progress of all your teams in a single place. In the future we will be adding additional widgets to the enterprise dashboard as well as adding additional tools and features to assist resource managers and staffing/training departments.

New Release GANTT and PERT Views

The new version is not just about dashboards however. The releases page now includes a new set of columns that let you see the %complete for a release or sprint (by requirement) as well as display the number of requirements and the sum of the total story points estimated for the release or sprint.

For our customers working with more traditional methodologies, we have added a GANTT chart that lets you see the hierarchy of releases and phases in a graphical view, plotted against the dates along the x-axis.

Another useful view that is now available is a hierarchical PERT chart that shows you the decomposition of releases, phases and sprints in a top-down tree diagram:

These new views are available in both SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan, so if you are still using SpiraTest, please contact our sales team and we'd be happy to discuss upgrade options.

New Task GANTT View

The task management module in SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan lets you have both a grid and board view of tasks, and now with v6.5 we have added a GANTT chart option as well:

This view is similar to the GANTT chart available on the releases page, but in this view it can be drilled-down one additional level, from the releases and phases to the individual tasks in each release or phase.

My Page Changes

In developing v6.5, our team found one major usability issue that we have corrected. When you have a large number of products and programs, the existing My Assigned Products widget quickly became unmanageable, with hundreds of products listed. So in v6.5 we have replaced this widget with two new widgets:

The Recent Products widget will now display the five most recent products that you have accessed, and the Recent Artifacts widget displays the last five artifacts (requirements, test cases, incidents, tasks, etc.) that you have opened. We can't wait to upgrade our internal production instance for this new feature alone!!

Want to See v6.5 in Action?

Take a look at our recent webinar that walked you through the new features in v6.5: Webinar recap: Spira v6.5 - Portfolios & Oauth Have Arrived

What is the More Comprehensive List?

To see a full list of all the new features, enhancements and bug fixes in Spira 6.5, please take a look at the Spira 6.5 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

For on-premise / download customers, you can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

For cloud customers, you have already been updated this past weekend (Saturday, May 9th) to v6.5 during our normal maintenance window.

If you are an FDA-regulated customer, you may have your cloud platform set to have auto-updates disabled, in which case, please contact Inflectra Support to have your cloud instance updated.

What is Coming Next?

To learn more about what we have planned in the next releases, please take a look at the Spira Development Roadmap:

Baselining a product to a specific point in time(SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan)
Improved methodologies for effort and progress rollups
Industry and methodology specific template and samples

Asana Plugin for Spira Now Available

2025-01-07T15:26:00-05:00

What is Asana?

Asana is a web and mobile application designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work. Forrester, Inc. reports that “Asana simplifies team-based work management". Asana is a lightweight easy to use task management system that lets you organized tasks into workspaces, organizations and projects:

Many of our customers are using SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan in heterogeneous environments, with different teams using different tools to manage team-level development activities. For example, teams may be using Jira, GitLab and Azure DevOps in the same company. Several customers reached out to us looking for us to add a similar connector for Asana so that managers could create and assign the tasks in SpiraTeam, but allow the teams to track and complete their tasks in Asana.

How Does the Plugin Work?

Our new plugin for Asana is available for both cloud and on-premise customers of SpiraTeam. For on-premise customers you need to download the plugin into your environment:

For cloud customers it is available already on our cloud synchronization platform.

Once enabled, you can log new incidents and tasks directly in SpiraTeam as normal:

The new incidents and tasks will then be synchronized over to Asana as a new task:

When users make any of the following changes in Asana, they will synchronize back into Spira:

Assign the task to someone
Mark the task as completed
Add a comment to the task
Make changes to its name or description

In addition, the Spira task will automatically include a hyperlink to the corresponding item in Asana:

About SpiraTeam

About Inflectra

Rapise JavaScript Reference Documentation Site Launched

2020-03-30T21:48:20-04:00

What is JScript Exactly?

Rapise uses Microsoft JScript as its underlying scripting technology. It is an implementation of ECMAScript (aka JavaScript) that was designed to be executed on a computer rather than a web browser and gives access to many of the underlying components of the operating system and related applications such as Microsoft Excel. Specifically, JScript is the Microsoft implementation of the ECMA 262 language specification (ECMAScript Edition 3). With only a few minor exceptions (to maintain backwards compatibility), JScript is a full implementation of the ECMA standard.

Why Do We Need JSDoc for Rapise?

Since Rapise uses this special variant of JavaScript for its scripting, we realized that it would be very helpful to have a central repository of its language syntax and all the objects and extensions that are available. Some of these features are not Rapise-specific, but of general utility when writing automation scripts. This reference library is based on the authoritative library from Microsoft, but hosted by Inflectra to make it more accessible.

You can access JSDoc by going to this URL:

https://jsdoc.inflectra.com

This brings up the documentation home page:

There are several different ways to navigate the documentation...

The Contents Tab

This tab lets you browse the different JavaScript topics and when you click an item of interest, it will appear in the right-hand viewing page:

This is useful when you don't have a specific topic in mind, but you're interested in learning more about specific aspects of the language in general.

The Index Tab

This tab allows you to enter in a partial search term, and the help system will find topics that match those keywords:

This is most useful when you have a specific item in mind that you want help on.

In addition, if you have questions about using Rapise, you can always content our excellent support team, who stand ready to assist you.

Spira v6.4 Released - OAuth Support & Reporting Enhancements

2020-03-15T10:37:13-04:00

What are the key features in v6.4?

Check out this news article that provides an overview of the most exciting new features.

Here's a recap of the key features:

Single Sign On (SSO) with OAuth 2.0

When you enable OAuth support in Spira, your users will be given a choice of logging in as normal with a Spira login and password, or using an external "provider" such as Google (illustrated below).

When the user logs in with the external provider, they will be redirected to a web page belonging to that system (in this example below we show okta):

Once the user has logged in with the external OAuth provider, if it is the first time, they will be asked to either create a new (unapproved) Spira account, or link the login to an existing one:

If they already have linked their OAuth account to their Spira account they won't see this page, but instead would be immediately logged into Spira, and taken to their My Page as normal.

What Providers Are Supported?

The released 6.4 version of Spira comes with the following OAuth providers:

Google
Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS)
Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)
Okta
GitLab
GitHub

Depending on customer feedback, we may add to this list in the near future.

Reports Center Enhancements

The other major new enhancement in v6.4 is to update the Spira reports center dashboard to have a new, central release picker. Previously some of the reporting widgets (but not all) let you pick a release to filter the graph by, but it had to be done on a per-widget basis. In v6.4 we have introduced a new dashboard-wide release selection dropdown list. This selection will affect all of the reporting / graphing widgets simultaneously, and will make configuring the dashboard by release much easier.

What is the More Comprehensive List?

To see a full list of all the new features, enhancements and bug fixes in Spira 6.4, please take a look at the Spira 6.4 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

For on-premise / download customers, you can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

For cloud customers, you have already been updated this past weekend (Saturday, March 14th - aka PI Day) to v6.4 during our normal maintenance window.

If you are an FDA-regulated customer, you may have your cloud platform set to have auto-updates disabled, in which case, please contact Inflectra Support to have your cloud instance updated.

What is Coming Next?

To learn more about what was released in 6.4 and what is coming in the next major update - 6.5 please check out the recent webinar:

Webinar recap: Spira v6.5 - Portfolios & Oauth Have Arrived

RadView WebLOAD Plug-In Released for RemoteLaunch

2020-03-10T20:14:13-04:00

What is WebLOAD

RadView WebLOAD is a performance, scalability, and reliability testing solution for Internet applications. WebLOAD is easy to use and delivers maximum testing performance and value. WebLOAD verifies the scalability and integrity of web applications by generating a load composed of Virtual Clients (known as virtual users or VUs) that simulate real-world traffic. Probing Clients let you refine the testing process by acting as a single user that measures the performance of targeted activities, and provides individual performance statistics of the internet application under load.

WebLOAD includes a rich set of key performance indicators (KPIs) and reporting dashboards so that you can view and analyze the performance and responsiveness of your application under varying levels of simulated user load.

Using RemoteLaunch with WebLOAD

Using WebLOAD in conjunction with SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch allows you to create test sets of WebLOAD tests and be able to schedule them for execution across a global test lab in conjunction with other automated and manual tests. This lets you seamlessly include load and performance testing in your integrated test plan.

Once executed, all the test results are collated by RemoteLaunch and sent back to SpiraTest, which acts as a central repository for your automated testing activities.

More Information

The plugin for WebLOAD is available in the SpiraTest download center.
The RemoteLaunch user manual explains how to setup the integration between SpiraTest and WebLOAD.

About SpiraTest

SpiraTest^® is a powerful Quality Assurance and Project Management solution that manages a software project’s requirements, scope, use-cases, tests, releases and bugs and issues in one environment, with complete requirements traceability throughout. Customers can track every bug or issue back to the test case and test step that being executed, and from there back to the underlying requirement needing fulfillment.

About RemoteLaunch

Extend your SpiraTest installation with support for automated regression testing. Our RemoteLaunch application will connect to your automated testing tools and allow SpiraTest to orchestrate your testing activities, both manual and automated in one place. For complete test coverage you need to perform the same automated tests across a complete spectrum of platforms, browsers, devices and environments. Using RemoteLaunch with Spira allows you to manage the automated testing process. Track the automated tests against the project’s requirements Have a holistic view of manual and automated testing.

Jump-Starting Your Rapise Test Automation Project with Our QuickStart Package

2020-03-05T06:55:32-05:00

Implementation Overview

The following presentation walks you through a typical Rapise test automation engagement from start to finish:

Inflectra Rapise Implementation Quick Start Package from Inflectra

(or download the original PowerPoint presentation)

Implementation Services

The Inflectra implementation approach for Rapise is based on the idea that the best way to learn the tool and also to get experience automating the testing of your packaged application is to have Inflectra combine training with feedback and assistance. Our approach focuses on having Inflectra's experienced personnel assist with the initial setup of the test automation environment, automate some of the more complex scenarios (agile spike solutions) and then train and transition the automation project to either the customer's team or a long term certified implementation partner. We want to enable you to be productive and self-sufficient as quickly and effectively as possible.

To achieve this, we recommend the following high-level approach:

A typical implementation project is broken down into three main phases but any of the phases can be tailored accordingly to fit your company size and requirements:

Phase 1

Kick-off
Review technical requirements
Installation of Rapise
- Integration with SpiraTest
- Configuration of developer machines
- Configuration of RapiseLauncher execution agents
Timeframe
- Typically takes 2-6 hours spread over one week

Phase 2

Training of Client testers
- 12 hours of training for the Rapise test creation users
- Would be delivered remotely via. GotoMeeting
- Includes the use of practical labs and review of progress by Inflectra Rapise experts.
Review of Test Cases
- Team will review test cases to ensure training is aligned
- Finalize the list of test cases to be implemented in phase 3
Timeframe
- 12 hours of work spread over 2-4 weeks depending on schedule

Phase 3

The Inflectra team will automate a critical set for Client
- The final lists of tasks will be defined in Phase 2
We typically implement ~ 20 hours worth of test cases
- The Inflectra team will focus on implementing test cases that have unique challenges
- The Client team can then become self-sufficient and implement the other test cases with the provided assistance and training
- Transition should take ~2-6 hours
Initial training will happen before phase 3, additional training in parallel with phase 3, to ensure success.

Support & Assistance (included)

During project, Inflectra team would be available to answer adhoc questions and provide assistance
- There is no cost for this, it is included with license purchase
- This will be available during the initial 5 weeks after for the remainder of the year after initial purchase
The key will be to have a smooth transition from phase 3 into ongoing support to ensure long-term success
- This is why we will focus on the test cases (tasks) that present specific automation challenges, and leave the Client team to focus on the test cases that match those already trained

Extended Training (Optional)

After the initial 5 week phase, Inflectra will have implemented the agreed test cases, completed training and transitioned automation to the client team
This optional item would be to have available 5 hours of GotoMeeting team training time available for use later in the project to be used on an as-needed basis to supplement the support and assistance that comes with the product licenses.

Next Steps

If you would like to discuss a Rapise test automation project, please contact us at your convenience, we are ready to assist.

RemoteLaunchX 5.0 Released for Cross-Platform Testing

2020-07-09T13:53:42-04:00

New Features

The latest update to RemoteLaunchX gives it feature parity with the desktop version of RemoteLaunch, specifically it includes support for data-driven testing with test configurations, more flexible regular expression matching, and support for configurable default statuses.

Data-Driven Testing

The new data-driven testing functionality allows you to create test configurations in SpiraTest that model all of the different platforms and environments you need to test against:

Test configurations can also be used to test against different sets of logins, user profiles and other test data in addition. With RemoteLaunchX, you can schedule tests to run against different automation hosts, and each of the hosts will execute the set of test cases multiple times, one iteration for each unique combination of parameter values in the test configuration set. This allows you to perform large-scale automated regression testing on different platforms and have a central platform for orchestration and reporting.

About SpiraTest®

SpiraTest® is a powerful Requirements and Test Management solution that manages a software project’s requirements, scope, use-cases, tests, releases and bugs and issues in one environment, with complete requirements traceability throughout. Customers can track every bug or issue back to the test case and test step that being executed, and from there back to the underlying requirement needing fulfillment.

About RemoteLaunchX

RemoteLaunchX extends the functionality of SpiraTest to allow the remote execution of testing applications and frameworks on different platforms including Linux, Mac and Windows. RemoteLaunchX reports the test results automatically back into eSpiraTest for enterprise quality reporting and metrics. The system allows testers to specify custom regular expressions for parsing the output of automated test frameworks to more accurately determine the execution status and outcome as well as perform data-driven testing using test configurations.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is a privately held software company dedicated to helping its customers - large corporations, small businesses, professional services firms, government agencies and individual developers – with the means to effectively and affordably manage their software development lifecycles, so as to decrease the time to market and increase return on investment.

Rapise v6.3 Released - Adds Support for SAP Hana UI5

2020-07-27T11:05:42-04:00

Support for Testing SAP Hana UI5 Applications

We are very excited to have added support for testing and automating the SAP Hana ERP Platform. Rapise is already a proven solution for other complex ERP and CRM applications such as Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce, and now that power and flexibility has finally come to the SAP ecosystem.

Rapise 6.3 comes with a new web library dedicated to testing SAP UI5. This provides support for the SAP UI5 (Fiori) platform itself, plus any other non-SAP applications that are using the same OpenUI5 web toolkit.

When you try and test SAP applications using just open source tools such as Selenium or many other testing tools not specifically designed for SAP, the results are pretty poor. This is because the SAP user interface is sophisticated and uses dynamic elements, hidden layers and other elements that make testing by hand quite challenging. The dedicated support in Rapise makes this much easier. Pages that would take several days to automate by hand using Selenium can be created in Rapise in less than an hour.

In addition, the new Self-Healing Mode available in Rapise v6.2 was a crucial foundation from which we were able to create the SAP support in Rapise. The unique Rapise self-healing engine helps deal with complex cases in SAP and makes playback much more reliable.

Ability to Run Rapise Tests in a Container using NodeJS

We are excited to announce another amazing new feature in Rapise v6.3 - running web and mobile tests under NodeJS. This lets you execute Rapise tests not just on Windows where Rapise is typically installed to write tests, but in other places - on Macs, Linux, containers such as Docker or Kubernetes, and build pipelines such as Azure DevOps pipelines, CircleCI, TravisCI and GitHub pipelines.

Features

Local Browser and Mobile profiles [IN:4916]
Add Assertions from Web Spy [IN:4937]
Start at Logon option in RapiseLauncher [IN:4901]
Cookie handling to REST service testing module [IN:3262]
Highlight TODO rows in reports [IN:4329]
UIAutomation2 locator [IN:5289]
RPA Monitor for RPA Agents [IN:5400]

RVL Enhancements & Improvements

Dropdowns.xlsx to define dropdown values for any action called from RVL [IN:5357]
Password parameter type [IN:5326]
RVL.DoPlayTest with custom parameters [IN:5299]
Tester.GetParam to read parameters passed via RVL.DoPlayTest [IN:5312]
Global.DoLoadObjects is now a part of preamble [IN:5339]
Copy+Paste of cell region [IN:5324]
Clear cell region [IN:5322]
Show only non-global objects for param type - objectid [IN:4600]
Make Find Object in Tree for row, not for Object cell only [IN:4990]
Open as Spreadsheet in file context menu for RVL [IN:5323]
Drag&Drop of *.rvl.xlsx into RVL should generate RVL.DoPlayScript [IN:5325]
Drag&Drop Objects.js as Global.DoLoadObjects in JS and RVL [IN:5338]

New Object API

Navigator.NativeEvents [IN:5297]
Navigator.DoWaitFor [IN:5298]
Navigator.DoClickWhileOnScreen [IN:4602]
Navigator.DoClickUntilOnScreen [IN:4602]
Global.SetConfigPath [IN:5310]
Global.GetRapiseVersion [IN:5300]
HTMLObject.DoSelect now supports UL and OL lists [IN:5305]

Improvements

Ability to pass Firefox args and prefs from Selenium Settings dialog [IN:5266]
Save As in Image Viewer [IN:5223]
Show Warnings tab on test open and save only [IN:5235]
Always show last report as just 'Report' instead of full name [IN:5236]
Replace Source Modified Message Box with less annoying, non blocking notifier [IN:5237]
Show error if we can not Flash/Highlight object because it's coordinates are null [IN:5359]
Display error message if out.log is locked by another process [IN:5351]
Support for Unicode symbols in Object IDs (Hebrew, Chinese, etc) [IN:5286]
In WebSpy add context menu Learn for DOM elements in the tree [IN:5306]

The full list of release notes are available on our website as well.

See the New Features in Action

The following video shows the new Rapise v6.3 in action:

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

About Rapise

SAP Hana Support Coming Soon to Rapise

2020-01-23T14:10:53-05:00

What are our Plans for 2020

Following on from developing specialized support for Dynamics and Salesforce, we are focused in 2020 on adding support for testing SAP HANA ERP installations. The support for SAP HANA will be released by Inflectra in two broad phases:

Support for the SAP HANA Web Interface, also known as UI5 or Fiori
Support for the thick-client SAP GUI interface that runs as a desktop application

Phase 1 - Support for SAP UI5 (Fiori)

Rapise 6.3 will include an initial version of a new web library called DomSAP. This will provide support for the SAP UI5 (Fiori) platform itself. In fact, UI5 is a complete web platform that was developed by SAP as OpenUI5 for use by other applications, not just SAP. Currently UI5 is being used by SAP for its new web user interface, as well as by third party SAP ERP addons and even other standalone applications (unrelated to SAP).

The OpenUI5 library is very extensive and has support many different types of controls and user interface elements:

Despite being a common platform, applications built with SAP OpenUI5 often will have different page layouts and organizations. Therefore once we have released the initial platform support in Rapise 6.3, we will be working with our solution partners and MVP customers to define which use cases and business processes will be the highest priority to model and build explicit support for.

Why Rapise Makes SAP Web Testing Easy?

If we try to test SAP using open source tools like Selenium or even with just the standard web library in Rapise, the results are pretty poor. There are many reasons for this:

SAP uses dynamic and semi-dynamic IDs
They have many hidden layers
Text input and button clicks via synthetic browser events do not work

So for Rapise, we have created the new DomSAP library (the same approach we took for Microsoft Dynamics 365) and now it makes testing SAP easy:

With usage of the Rapise web application profiles we are able to use anchors to cope with hidden layers
WebAppProfile also helps to ignore pure dynamic IDs and consistently record a good attribute set
Post processing of IDs helps with element identification, e.g. //div[@id='__field12-Search'] is automatically changed to //div[contains[@id, '-Search']
We've added Navigator.NativeEvents flag, it is enabled by default in DomSAP and it instructs Rapise to use system level keyboard and mouse emulation instead of browser events. It works well.
We've enabled Self-Healing Mode in DomSAP by default. It helps a lot to deal with complex cases not explicitly supported by the DomSAP library and makes playback much more reliable.

Other Features

Selenium integration also works well with Rapise SAP web tests, since Selenium is capable of generating native browser events. So, you can perform recording and playback with Rapise's native browser connectors and initiate playback with Selenium (even on headless browsers).
All the general Web related features we have added to Rapise in the last couple of releases have been crucial for making SAP web support a reality. Using the current DomSAP library to be released in Rapise 6.3, an experienced automation engineer with some coding skills can test SAP web applications right away.

Next Steps

To make the testing of SAP Web easier by less technical, more functional users, we will be extending the new DomSAP library even further. We will be adding support for additional UI controls (fields, buttons, lists, comboboxes, grids, trees, etc.) as well as composing entire scenario blocks (e.g. create a purchase order, add line items) into a framework that will simplify creating scenarios for functional users. This is the same, proven approach we have taken with Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce.

Phase 2 - Support for SAP GUI

In parallel with our work to improve and refine Rapise's support for SAP Web UI5, we are also working on adding support this year for testing SAP GUI. The challenge with SAP GUI is that it is not visible automatically with standard Microsoft libraries and technologies for enabling test automation.

But SAP does provide a Microsoft ActiveX / COM interface and built-in recorder that produces a basic automation script in the Visual Basic (VB) programming language. The initial work we have done is to simply convert the script into Rapise JavaScript and then allow execution in Rapise. For example, the sample script generated by SAP can be automatically converted into Rapise JavaScript:

So using Rapise today, a tester may either write a test using JavaScript and the COM interface or use SAP for recording and then convert to Rapise. Our plans include the option of converting SAP locators into native Rapise Objects that wrap the COM API to make it all available in Rapise Visual Language (RVL), and even using the SAP recording libraries to add SAP GUI as a built-in recording option within Rapise. This will be the topic of future blogs on SAP.

See Rapise in Action

In the following video you can see Rapise automating a sample SAP UI5 Fiori application:

This video illustrates the ease of playback of a recorded RVL script in Rapise.

Migrating to Rapise from Other Tools

One of the factors driving customers to use Rapise for their testing of complex ERP applications such as SAP and Dynamics is the lack of investment in the existing tools such as UFT and QTP that previously were used to automate a lot of SAP testing. So one key consideration is that we have also released last year a new migration toolkit for migrating your existing tests from UFT to Rapise.

Unlimited TaraVault Source Code Licenses With Every SpiraTeam/Plan Subscription

2020-01-17T17:02:03-05:00

Reason for the Change

We announced in December 2019 that we would changing some of the prices of our products. One of the key changes that we outlined was that we'd be simplifying the pricing and licensing for TaraVault in 2020.

One of the key differentiators and unique selling points of SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan is that they are licensed by concurrent user vs. the named used model favored by many other tools in our industry. Due to the way that source code management systems work, TaraVault was licensed by named user and also it required a separate set of licenses to be managed in our company website and also to be added to a SpiraTeam or SpiraPlan subscription. Since we have raised the prices for Spira in 2020, we decided it made sense to completely eliminate the additional cost for TaraVault and make it a completely free add-on for Spira.

So now, when you are looking to add TaraVault to your Spira subscription, you will see the following:

So, instead of the previous list of different editions and prices, all users will now have a single, unlimited free edition instead. We have already moved all existing TaraVault customers to this new licensing model.

Inside Spira, you will notice the following changes that announce the new unlimited licensing:

You can now provision as many TaraVault users as you'd like

About TaraVault

When you are looking for safe, secure, and accessible source code hosting with both Git and Subversion code repositories, integrated ALM and issue-tracking for your projects? TaraVault is your best choice. For full traceability, TaraVault is integrated with our SpiraTeam ALM suite. TaraVault has the following key features:

Enterprise-grade source code repository hosting
Integrates with SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam systems for source code browsing
Your choice of Git or Subversion Hosting for each project
Requirements, tasks, defects and issues can be linked to source code files and revisions for maximum traceability

Switching to TaraVault

So if you are using alternative tools such as GitHub, GitLab or BitBucket, you may want to consider migrating to TaraVault. We have these handy resources that explain the migration paths:

SpiraTest, SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan v6.3 Now Available

2020-01-07T22:32:00-05:00

What are the key features in v6.3?

Check out this news article that provides an overview of the most exciting new features.

What is the More Comprehensive List?

To see a full list of all the new features, enhancements and bug fixes in Spira 6.3, please take a look at the Spira 6.3 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

For on-premise / download customers, you can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

For cloud customers, you will be updated this weekend (Saturday, January 11th) to v6.3 during our normal maintenance window.

Spotlight on Spira 6.3 - Saved Views, Saved Filter Enhancements and More

2020-01-06T21:37:30-05:00

Saved Views and Saved Filter Enhancements

One of the most requested feature in the past couple of years is finally here! We have added support for 'saved views' in Spira that extend the existing saved filters and sorts functionality to include the column selection. Now when you choose to save a filter, you have the option (enabled by default) to include the column selection.

This means when you select this saved filter, Spira will change the displayed columns (including their relative ordering and width) to match those in the filter. This means that you can Show/Hide different columns, filter on them, and save the entire combination as a saved view. When you switch between saved views, the system will show/hide and reposition the columns associated with the view.

Updating Existing Shared Filters

Furthermore, when you want to make a change to a saved view (or simple saved filter) you can now choose to update the existing filter, rather than having to save a new copy and delete the original (as was previously the case).

This means you can create shared favorites and update them frequently as your needs change.

Saved Filters Available for Documents

In addition,we have added saved filters and saved views for the first time to the Spira document management system:

Shareable URLs for Artifact Folders

Another feature that has been frequently requested is the ability to share the URLs of specific test case, test set, task, or document folders. You can already share the URL to the list pages and the individual artifacts, but not to a specific folder selection. With this latest version, each folder now has a unique, sharable URL that you can give to someone to display the list of artifacts with the appropriate folder selected.

In addition, this now means that you can open up multiple folders in different browser tabs and easily toggle between them. This is in addition to the current functionality that lets you have multiple artifact details pages open in different browser tabs.

This is available for all artifacts that support folders: test cases, test sets, tasks, and documents.

Clickable Breadcrumbs on Artifact Pages

Now that we have unique URLs for all artifacts and artifact folders, we have added clickable breadcrumb links to all artifact detailed pages:

Clicking on the breadcrumb hyperlink will either take you to that folder (if the artifact supports folders) or to the parent requirement / release if the item is a hierarchical artifact type.

Improvements to Convert Incident to Requirement

Finally, one subtle but important enhancement was to the Create Requirement from Incident feature. This is often used when you have enhancement ideas in the issue tracker that you want to add to your product backlog as a new requirement / user story. The feature has been available in Spira for a while, but the new template features introduced in v6.0 mean that we can enhance the feature further.

Now when you create a requirement from an incident, in addition to fields copied across in earlier version of Spira, the conversion will now:

auto-link any attachment linked to the incident to the requirement
Map across the priority field to importance using an intelligent name match.
Map across any custom fields that are of type list or MultiList (similar to what we do for test sets and test runs).
Make components copy over if there is exactly one set on the incident

Where Can I See All The Enhancements?

To see a full list of all the new features, enhancements and bug fixes in Spira 6.3, please take a look at the Spira 6.3 Release Notes.

SpiraTest, SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan v6.2.2 Now Available

2019-12-10T12:25:26-05:00

Where Can I Learn More

Here are some of the more important items in the new version:

Build detail page: need ability to collapse description section, or confine it within a scrollable box-[IN:4300]
Cloning workflows does not copy digital signature settings correctly-[IN:4674]
Fix sidebars on list and details pages to the top of the page so they are always visible-[IN:5214]
Search in dropdowns for anywhere in the values, not just at the start-[IN:5244]
Improve the UI for the Modal Dialog Boxes when creating Custom Reports -[IN:5293]

The full list is available in the Spira 6.2.2 Release Notes.

How Do I Get the New Version?

For on-premise / download customers, you can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

For cloud customers, we will be updating you to v6.2.2.0 this coming weekend (Saturday December 14th, 2019).

Jira Plugin Updated to Streamline User Integration with Spira

2019-12-03T16:34:37-05:00

Background

When we first released our Jira plugin, we had a single documentation page and plugin for both the Jira cloud and server versions. This was possible because the Atlassian API was the same for both versions of Jira.

However earlier this year, Atlassian made some changes to the Jira API to better comply with data privacy rules and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These changes only affected the Jira Cloud platform. This, together with some other changes to the Jira Cloud and Server APIs means that going forward we will be treating them as two separate products (Jira Cloud and Jira Server) with different documentation and plugins.

Updating Spira Documentation

We have updated our Spira Documentation website (known as Spira Doc) to have separate pages for Jira Cloud and Jira Server:

In addition, we have separated out the downloads page to have two separate plugins:

If you are using the Inflectra Cloud Data Synchronization Service, then you are already using the latest Jira Cloud plugin automatically.

Changes to the Jira Cloud User Mapping

One side-effect of the GDPR changes was that it is no longer possible for Spira to be able to get a user's profile from the Jira Cloud API unless each user has explicitly granted it.

That means, when you map users in Spira to Jira Cloud, you have two choices:

You can map the Spira user to the Jira login name / email address, but this means the Jira email address must be publicly visible:
You can map the Spira user to the Jira Atlassian AccountID, but this is usually a less meaningful identifier. However it will work in all cases:

The good news is that you can mix and match the two approaches. You can have some users map to (1) and some users map to (2) and the synchronization will work just fine.

Rapise 6 Development Roadmap Update

2019-11-07T04:33:45-05:00

Major Upcoming Features

Some of the new and exciting features coming up include:

Rapise Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Monitoring Tool
Micro Focus UFT Migration Framework
Support for local browser profiles
Enhanced Azure DevOps support
Mouse wheel emulation
Node JS as execution engine
Run Web Tests on Mac OS and Linux
Run Web Tests in Docker containers
Support for Selenium 4
Run API tests on Mac OS and Linux
Enhanced Jenkins integration

SpiraTest, SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan v6.2.1 Now Available

2019-10-16T15:42:02-04:00

Changing Product Templates

In Spira v6.0 we introduced the idea of reusable product templates that allowed multiple products to use the same template. This meant that you could have a standard set of priorities, types, statuses, workflows, and custom properties that were used by multiple products, dramatically simplifying maintenance for large installations. However one limitation in v6.0 was the fact that once you had a created a product with a specific template, you could not subsequently change that product's template.

With Spira v6.2.1 we have now added the ability to take an existing product and change its template after the fact. This lets you consolidate your existing products and templates to take advantage of the new product template feature. To change a product's template, you simply choose the name of the new template from the dropdown list in Administration:

Now changing a product template means that Spira needs to map the various fields used in the product to the new template. If you don't have the same names for types, statuses, priorities, and custom properties, it will not necessarily know how to map the data over. In such cases it will either blank out the field (if optional) or set to default value (if required). Therefore the system will warn you before making the change if it detects cases where it will need to change a value to either blank or a default value:

As a further safeguard, before you can complete the operation, you need to type in the full name of the product to ensure you mean to make the change. Once you click Change, the system runs the template change process in the background:

Once it completes, your product will now be using the new template.

Data Synchronization Improvements

With the updates to the administration navigation and layout in Spira 6.0, we separated out the functionality related to system administration and product administration. However one awkward side effect was that the main data synchronization page was a mixture of system and product-level functionality, with no easy way to navigate to the Product Mappings configuration for different products without having to leave administration, choose a different product and then come back.

With version 6.2.1 we have improved this user experience:

You can now see in the drop-down list, which products are using the different plugins (for example some products may use Jira and others use Azure DevOps / TFS), and you can navigate to the product mappings for any product directly from this screen.

Where Can I Learn More

In addition to these two main enhancements, there are numerous other smaller enhancements and bug fixes. The full list is available in the Spira 6.2.1 Release Notes.

For more information specifically on how the product template changing feature works, please refer to this help topic - Changing Product Templates.

How Do I Get the New Version?

For on-premise / download customers, you can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

For cloud customers, you have already been updated to v6.2.1.0 last weekend and there will a second update this coming weekend to v6.2.1.1 to fix a minor usability issue we found with artifact attachments

Webinar Recording

We also have a webinar that discusses the new features in v6.2 and v6.2.1:

Rapise v6.2 Now Available

2019-09-06T10:28:40-04:00

New Features

The new features available in Rapise 6.2 are described here:

The full list of release notes are available on our website as well.

How Do I Get the New Version?

You can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

SpiraTest, SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan v6.2 Now Available

2019-08-28T16:16:11-04:00

New Features

The new features available in Spira 6.2 are described here:

The full list of release notes are available on our website as well.

How Do I Get the New Version?

For on-premise / download customers, you can get the latest version right away by going to the secure Customer Area of our website.

For cloud customers, we will be updating cloud instances of SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, and SpiraPlan to the latest version (v6.2) this Saturday (August 31st) between 09:00 - 11:00 UTC-4.

If you have any questions about the new version, please contact support@inflectra.com.

New Product Documentation Sites for Spira and KronoDesk

2019-08-05T13:39:02-04:00

Feedback from Rapise Users

When we released Rapise 6.0 back in March of this year, we introduce a completely new documentation system that replaced the older PDF files and web help viewer with a completely new modern online documentation platform based on GitHub and MarkDown:

At the time we mentioned, that if the new system was popular, then we'd be extending it to our other products. Well the good news is that we had lots of positive customer feedback on new documentation system, so we have extended it to our other products: SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, SpiraPlan, TaraVault, RemoteLaunch, and KronoDesk.

Spira Documentation Site

The new Spira documentation site can be found at https://spiradoc.inflectra.com/ and includes all of the formerly separate Spira documentation in a single, integrated portal:

It includes the Quick Start Guides used by new users that want to learn how to use the system for the first time, the user manual that describes every feature available to end users, and the administration guide that is designed help people installer and administer thee system.

In addition, we have consolidated all of the manuals for the add-on products such as TaraVault, RemoteLaunch, and SpiraCapture, and the integration guides for each of the plugins and integrations with other products and platforms. This makes it much easier to quickly navigate to a specific plugin (for example, using SpiraTest with Atlassian Jira or Microsoft Azure DevOps) rather than having to download the entire integration guide.

Krono Documentation Site

Similarly, for KronoDesk, we have a new documentation portal that contains the Quick Start Guide for new users, the User Manual that is the reference guide for using the system, and the Administration Guide that explains how to install and configure the system.

There is also a separate section that contains the manuals for using the extensions and plugins for KronoDesk, including the email integration and Microsoft Excel migration tools.

Azure DevOps Integration for Spira Is Now Available

2019-07-17T13:03:01-04:00

About Azure DevOps

Azure DevOps is the evolution of VSTS (Visual Studio Team Services) and is used for building and delivering products effectively and with efficiency that the modern day apps so often require. The Azure DevOps services include everything in the development lifecycle and are designed to help developers ship software faster and with higher quality. Azure DevOps includes Azure Boards, Azure Repos, Azure Pipelines, Azure Test Plans and Azure Artifacts.

How Does It Work?

A popular choice for CI/CD (Continuous Integration and Delivery) is Microsoft’s Azure DevOps Pipelines.

With the help of our intern, Peter, we have crafted an incredibly simple way to report builds from DevOps Pipelines directly into Spira.

How Do I Get The New Extension?

Getting started is quick and simple – just install our extension from the Azure DevOps Marketplace here and follow the directions. With our new extension for DevOps Pipelines, you can get back to doing what you love!

We hope you find this helpful.

SpiraPlan, SpiraTeam and SpiraTest 6.1 Now Available

2020-07-09T13:49:44-04:00

What's New in Version 6.1

The following newfeatures have been added in this release:

Enable beta dark color mode for modern browsers-[RQ:2557]
Add new 6.0 API for existing calls-[RQ:2308]
All workflow status field permissions are set with radio buttons not checkboxes-[RQ:2408]
Change the artifacts that create an initial item to use a blank name v.s. "New Artifact"-[RQ:2498]
Admin type, priority, and status pages can be filtered in the same way as components-[RQ:2502]
Add new API functions for template management-[RQ:2542]
Can filter admin users and product membership lists by all or active only-[RQ:2548]
Planning Boards: Hide Statuses that have no transition to them or from them for RQs and TKs-[RQ:2549]
Onboarding for 6.1-[RQ:2570]

Please take a look the Spira Release Notes for mode information.

What's Planned for the Next Version

The Spira roadmap document outlines the functionality planned for the version 6 platform of SpiraPlan (including SpiraTest and SpiraTeam). We are responsive to feedback so the contents of each individual release will be subject to change.If you have any feedback or suggestions regarding this roadmap, please email us atsupport@inflectra.com.

Want to learn more about the future of Spira?

We are going to be sharing our plans and ideas for the Spira platform (as well as our other products: Rapise, KronoDesk, RemoteLaunch and TaraVault) at our InflectraCon conference in Cincinnati, OH in September 2019. We'd love for you attend and learn more!

Spira Plugin for ServiceNow Now Available

2019-07-08T22:41:05-04:00

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow is a company that provides service management software as a service. It specializes in IT services management (ITSM), IT operations management (ITOM) and IT business management (ITBM). The ServiceNow platform can be used to manage IT infrastructure and a wide variety of other tasks. ServiceNow is primarily an ITSM tool that has been specifically designed for IT departments. However, ServiceNow is not just a simple Change Management system, it has a much broader functionality, corresponding to the different aspects defined the the Infrastructure IT Library (ITIL).

ServiceNow is typically used by mid-sized or large companies for managing their IT workflows, but it can be configured or customized to the individual business needs of different enterprises. ServiceNow is a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) product, that in addition to its core ITSM functionality, has other modules, for instance, enterprise IT Operations Management (ITOM), IT Business Management (ITBM), Security, Customer Service, HR Service Management tools and a number of others.

Spira Integration with ServiceNow

Many of our customers have been looking for our SpiraTeam application lifecycle management (ALM) suite to integrate with ServiceNow to provide an end to end application and IT lifecycle capability.

Our new integration with ServiceNow will synchronize changes from different ServiceNow tables with Incidents and Requirements in our Spira platform (SpiraTest, SpiraTeam or SpiraPlan):

How Does it Work?

You can select a ServiceNow table to sync with Incidents and another ServiceNow table to sync with Requirements in Spira. To map to different projects in Spira, you will also need to designate a relevant field in each of the ServiceNow tables.

The ServiceNow Data Sync will sync name, status, priority/importance, description, owner, author, and any desired custom fields between the two systems.

New Incidents/Requirements created in Spira will be created in the appropriate ServiceNow table. In addition, new items created in the designated ServiceNow tables will be created in Spira and any changes after that will be synced with its counterpart in Spira.

With our new DataSync for ServiceNow, you can just worry about solving your issue and we’ll handle the rest!

About SpiraTeam

About Inflectra

SpiraTest, SpiraTeam & SpiraPlan v6.0 Now Available

2020-07-09T13:47:15-04:00

What's Available in the Latest Version

To help you prepare, we have published the following articles that highlight some of the marquee features of Spira 6:

We'll also be writing some future articles outlining the UI changes, especially for the administration section.

What Should I be Aware of When I Upgrade

To help you prepare for the upgrade, we have published these handy blog articles:

How do I get the Latest Version

Spira version 6.0 is available for our download customers right now. Simply login to the secure Customer Area and download the latest version.

For our cloud customers we will be releasing it during the next maintenance window on Saturday May 11th. If you would like to be upgraded early, please let us know by emailing support@inflectra.com and indicate your URL and when you would like to be upgraded.

Where Can I Learn More?

The release notes are available on our website: SpiraPlan 6.0 Release Notes (PDF).

Rapise 6.0 Released with New User Interface & Codeless Automation Enhancements

2019-03-15T06:07:18-04:00

What's New in Version 6.0

For a full description of what's changed in v6.0, please check out our blog post from earlier in the month - Spotlight on Rapise 6.0: UI Redesign, Dynamics Unified Client and SAP Fiori. Here are a few highlights:

User Interface Changes

We have removed the old Rapise ribbon, and instead moved all of the functions formerly in the ribbon into a set of quick to access menus that allow access to all the features from any page (vs. requiring the right ribbon to be displayed):

File
Edit
View
Test
Tools
Settings
Help

In addition, the compact toolbar replaces the ribbon and provides even faster access to the most commonly used features (e.g. saving tests, recording, learning, playback, spy tools, debugging, viewing the RVL test script, viewing custom function JavaScript files, viewing the manual test steps) without needing to have every option on the toolbar, which was one of the limitations of the ribbon design.

For example, if you look at the Edit menu, all of the options for editing the current test script (whether it be a codeless RVL file or a JavaScript function) are in one place:

Similarly, the View menu provides access to the shortcuts to the different parts of the test script (the main test, user functions, manual steps, web services) from a central place.

Support for SAP Fiori Applications

We are pleased to announce that Rapise 6.0 also adds support for the SAP Fiori suite of enterprise applications Based on the OpenUI5 web application framework, SAP Fiori brings the power of the world's most popular ERP package into the cloud computing age:

As companies switch to the new versions of SAP, Rapise will be ready to help them with their testing and process automation needs.

Enhanced Support for Dynamics 365 CRM

Not to be outdone, Rapise 6.0 also includes enhanced support for the latest versions of Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, including its new Unified Client Interface that is designed to work across a full range of devices and platforms:

Rapise now covers all the latest versions of Dynamics 365, including Sales, Finance & Operations, and Business Central as well as support for the traditional Dynamics AX and NAV platforms.

New Documentation System

Since all these changes necessitated massive updates and redesigns of our entire documentation library for Rapise (every screenshot has changed!) we have decided to implement a completely new documentation system that replaces the current collection of separate web pages, PDF documents and Microsoft Help files.

The new documentation will live at a dedicated URL - https://rapisedoc.inflectra.com/ and will provide a central gateway to the latest, most up to date documentation:

This documentation centralizes the documentation for the entire Rapise platform. We are planning on similar changes for Spira if the reception from users is positive.

Where Can I Get the New Version?

You can download the latest version of Rapise from the Customer Portal on our website. The release notes are available if you would like to learn more.

SpiraTest Integration with Jest Testing Framework Now Available

2019-02-20T19:18:09-05:00

About Jest

Jest is a JavaScript testing framework designed to ensure correctness of any JavaScript codebase. It allows you to write tests with an approachable, familiar and feature-rich API that gives you results quickly. Jest is a delightful JavaScript Testing Framework with a focus on simplicity. It works with projects using: Babel, TypeScript, Node, React, Angular, Vue and more!

About SpiraTest

How do you know that all of your requirements have been tested? Are you currently reliant on spreadsheets and documents? Do you have to juggle between separate tools such as Jira, Jenkins, and Selenium to keep track of it all? Do you wish your requirements management, testing tools, and defect trackers were all in sync?

SpiraTest is the powerful test management tool from Inflectra. SpiraTest is trusted by over 3,000 organizations to manage their testing activities.

What Does the Integration do Exactly?

The new Jest reporter will integrate Jest with SpiraTeam. It will create a new test run in SpiraTeam for each test executed in Jest.

How Do I Get The New Extension?

Simply go to the Spira Reporter for Jest NPM Page and install the package.

Setting up the integration

Install the integration by running npm i jest-spiratest in the root directory of your tests. Inside your package.json file, add the jest field with the format as shown below. You can see a full sample package.json at the bottom of this README.

"reporters": [
            "default",
            [
                "jest-spiratest",
                {
                    "url": "https://doctor/SpiraPlan",
                    "username": "fredbloggs",
                    "token": "{XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}",
                    "projectId": 1,
                    "releaseId": 1,
                    "testSetId": 1,
                    "testCases": {
                        "default": 20,
                        "storesCorrectly": 21,
                        "javascriptWorks": 16
                    }
                }
            ]
        ]

Fields are required unless otherwise noted.

Field	Description
`url`	The root URL of your SpiraTest instance without a '/' at the end
`username`	The username you use to sign into SpiraTest
`token`	Your RSS Token. Foundin your profile page as the `RSS Token` field. You must have RSS Feeds enabled for this to work
`projectId`	The ID of the project you would like the Test Runs to be filed under
`releaseId`	OPTIONAL - Use if you would like to associate created test runs with a release
`testSetId`	OPTIONAL - Use if you would like to associated created test runs with a test set
`testCases`	Must contain the `default` field within it and, optionally, specific test cases for a given test spec name
`default`	Inside the `testCases` field, this is the ID of the default test case mapped to a created test run
`<test_name>`	OPTIONAL - Use as many times as you would like to map a the created test run to a particular test case in SpiraTest. Note that capitalization, special characters and spaces are ignored both in `testCases` and the test declaration

Once you have added the SpiraReporter to jest as described above, you are all set!

Using the SpiraTest Reporter

Actually, you don't do anything different! Just run npm test or however you ran jest before and you should see test runs created in the project you specified!

Sample `package.json` with SpiraTest Integration

{
    "name": "sample",
    "scripts": {
        "test": "jest"
    },
    "jest": {
        "reporters": [
            "default",
            [
                "jest-spiratest",
                {
                    "url": "https://doctor/SpiraPlan",
                    "username": "fredbloggs",
                    "token": "{XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}",
                    "projectId": 1,
                    "releaseId": 1,
                    "testSetId": 1,
                    "testCases": {
                        "default": 20,
                        "storesCorrectly": 21,
                        "javascriptWorks": 16
                    }
                }
            ]
        ]
    }
}

SpiraTest Integration with JasmineJS Now Available

2019-02-19T16:27:54-05:00

About JasmineJS

Jasmine is a behavior-driven development framework for testing JavaScript code. It does not depend on any other JavaScript frameworks. It does not require a DOM. And it has a clean, obvious syntax so that you can easily write tests.

Some key features of Jasmine are:

Fast- Low overhead, jasmine-core has no external dependencies.
Batteries Included - Comes out of the box with everything you need to test your code.
NodeJS and Browser - Run your browser tests and Node.js tests with the same framework.

About SpiraTest

SpiraTest is the powerful test management tool from Inflectra. SpiraTest is trusted by over 3,000 organizations to manage their testing activities.

What Does the Integration do Exactly?

The new Jasmine reporter will integrate JasmineJS with Inflectra's ALM suite. It will create a test run in SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, or SpiraPlan for each test spec executed in Jasmine.

How Do I Get The New Extension?

Simply go to the Spira Reporter for Jasmine NPM Page and install the package.

Setting up the integration

Install the integration by running npm i jasmine-spiratest in the root directory of your tests. Inside each test spec file, import the SpiraReporter with var SpiraReporter = require('jasmine-spiratest') then put the line jasmine.getEnv().addReporter(new SpiraReporter(spiraCredentials)); where spiraCredentials is an object of the format below. You can see a full sample test spec at the bottom of this README.

{
    "url": "https://doctor/SpiraPlan",
    "username": "fredbloggs",
    "token": "{XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}",
    "projectId": 1,
    "releaseId": 1,
    "testSetId": 1,
    "testCases": {
        "default": 20,
        "should multiply correctly": 21,
        "should solve exponents and logarithms correctly": 16
    }
}

Fields are required unless otherwise noted.

Field	Description
`url`	The root URL of your SpiraTest instance without a '/' at the end
`username`	The username you use to sign into SpiraTest
`token`	Your RSS Token. Foundin your profile page as the `RSS Token` field. You must have RSS Feeds enabled for this to work
`projectId`	The ID of the project you would like the Test Runs to be filed under
`releaseId`	OPTIONAL - Use if you would like to associate created test runs with a release
`testSetId`	OPTIONAL - Use if you would like to associated created test runs with a test set
`testCases`	Must contain the `default` field within it and, optionally, specific test cases for a given test spec name
`default`	Inside the `testCases` field, this is the ID of the default test case mapped to a created test run
`<spec_name>`	OPTIONAL - Use as many times as you would like to map a the created test run for a spec to a particular test case in SpiraTest. Note that capitalization, special characters and spaces are ignored both in `testCases` and the spec itself

Once you have added the SpiraReporter to the jasmine environment in each file as described above, you are all set!

Using the SpiraTest Reporter

Actually, you don't do anything different! Just run npm test or however you ran jasmine before and you should see test runs created in the project you specified!

Sample Test Spec with SpiraTest Integration

describe("Test having two specs", () => {
    var SpiraReporter = require('jasmine-spiratest');
 
    jasmine.getEnv().addReporter(new SpiraReporter({
        "url": "https://doctor/SpiraPlan",
        "username": "fredbloggs",
        "token": "{XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}",
        "projectId": 1,
        "releaseId": 1,
        "testSetId": 1,
        "testCases": {
            "default": 20,
            "equality works": 21,
            "addition works": 16
        }
    }));
 
    describe("Test basic JavaScript", () => {
        it("Equality works...", () => {
            expect(2).toEqual(2);
        });
        it("Addition works", () => {
            expect(3 + 2).toEqual(5);
        });
        it("Multiplication works", () => {
            expect(4 * 5).toEqual(20);
        });
    });
});

Updated Email Integration Available for Spira and KronoDesk

2019-01-16T09:35:05-05:00

Background

The Inflectra email integration system allows you to integrate your mail system into our range of test management, project management, and customer help desk systems. It connects to a dedicated mailbox on your mail server, reads the incoming emails and then raises new tickets in KronoDesk, logs new incidents in Spira (SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, or SpiraPlan), and updates existing tickets or project artifacts (requirements, test cases, tasks, and incidents) in both systems with new comments.

New Functionality

The updated version of the email integration service provides the following enhancements:

KronoDesk

Support for the latest Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols such as TLS 1.2
The ability to CC another email address and have that email address added to the new CC field available in KronoDesk 3.0

SpiraTeam

Support for the latest Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols such as TLS 1.2
The ability to include attachments in an email to Spira and have the new incident raised include those attachments
The ability to reply to a Spira email notification with an attachment and have that updated against the appropriate project artifact

You can download the latest version of our email integration service from the Add-Ons and Downloads Section of our website.

KronoDesk 3.0 Released by Inflectra to Transform the Help Desk Experience

2019-01-06T22:31:12-05:00

Why Use KronoDesk?

KronoDesk lets customers focus on helping their customers, not configuring tools. Kronodesk is beautiful on the outside and powerful on the inside. Customers can be up and running with a live help-desk in moments after sign-up. In addition, with Kronodesk, customers can get a customized look and feel in a few minutes and then set up the roles, permissions, forums within an hour.

End users love KronoDesk because they can get support fast and get back to what matters: being productive with their day job. When they need it, Kronodesk helps them help themselves. When they need personalized help, Kronodesk's powerful ticketing system gets customers in touch from anywhere, from email or online. A one-stop support-hub lets them see all their conversations and questions at a glance.

About the New Version

The new version includes many new features and enhancements that are described below:

Reporting Enhancements

The new reporting module in KronoDesk 3.0 is based on the reporting system developed for SpiraTeam. With the new version, in addition to the existing set of graphs and charts that are displayed on the reporting dashboard, you will also see a library of reports that you can generate:

Each of these reports will let you choose the format you want to display it in (we plan on supporting Acrobat, HTML, MS-Word, MS-Excel, and XML), as well choosing which elements to include in the report (for example, do we just want a simple list of help desk tickets, or do we want a comprehensive report that includes: tickets, support messages, notes, change history, linked incidents, and file attachments):

The reporting system includes a rich set of filtering and sorting options. So (for example), you can easily get a list of help desk tickets for a specific user or organization, within a certain date range, then export to a convenient PDF file.

Help Desk Ticketing Enhancements

We have completely redesigned the new help desk ticket logging page to make it quicker and easier for customers and users to raise new tickets when they need a problem addressed right away.

The new ticket creation page puts all the required fields "above the fold" on the page, with the optional fields displayed lower down. This makes it easier for a customer to know what they have to fill in to get the tickets submitted.

For customer support agents (and end users) the ticket viewing / editing page has also been completely rewritten from scratch. The new design reduces the vertical scrolling that was an annoyance with earlier versions of KronoDesk, better integrates the ticket notes, history, and file attachments into a single "journal view" designed to make it easier to see at a glance what action needs to be taken.

Ability to CC People

One of the most requested features is the ability to include a list of CCed people, so that when a support agent replies to the ticket, the opener and associated CC users will get an email response. We shall be updating our email integration tool to also read the CCed email addresses from the incoming email message. That way when you log a support ticket for the first time, all interested parties will get a response.

Support Agent Groups

Another key new feature in KronoDesk 3.0 is the ability to create support agent user groups that let multiple support personnel collaborate on tickets, where tickets can be assigned to individual agents as well as a group:

Knowledge Base Enhancements

We have made some changes to the design and layout of the knowledge base pages, to make better use of the space on the page, and have it display better across different sized devices, and handle articles with large screenshots more comfortably:

For a complete list of the new features, please refer to the official KronoDesk 3.0 release notes.

About KronoDesk

Superb customer support is critical to building and maintaining strong customer relationships and satisfaction. KronoDesk is an integrated customer support system that provides help desk ticketing, online forums and a searchable knowledge base.

About Inflectra

Inflectra is dedicated to helping our customers effectively and affordably manage their software development lifecycle. We are proud to be able to help software teams decrease their time to market and increase the return on investment.

Our strong focus on providing an excellent customer experience helps us attract and retain customers of all sizes, across a broad range of markets and industries—from large corporations to small businesses, government agencies to individual developers, and professional services firms.

Private ownership and a debt-free structure give our customers stability and the promise that we will continue to support their needs long after the close of a sale.

To learn more about Inflectra, visit us at www.inflectra.com or call 202-558-6885.

Migration Tool from TestLink Now Available

2018-12-17T17:12:53-05:00

How do I get the Migration Tool?

You can download the new TestLink importer tool from the SpiraTest Add-Ons and Downloads section:

How does the Migration Work?

The migration tool is a simple wizard that connects to TestLink via its XMLRPC API and downloads all the test suites, test cases, and test steps. It then connects to SpiraTest using its SOAP API and imports the corresponding data into SpiraTest so that:

Test Suites in TestLink become Test Folders in SpiraTest
Test Cases in TestLink become Test Cases in SpiraTest
Test Steps in TestLink become Test Steps in SpiraTest

As an example, a test case in TestLink:

now becomes a much nicer looking test case in SpiraTest:

For more information on using the TestLink importer, please refer to the SpiraTest Migration Guide.

Spira Cloud Price Changes Coming Soon

2018-12-03T16:25:47-05:00

How Big Is The Change?

The changes we're making to the pricing are designed to be affordable to our customers who value having solutions that are powerful, easy to use, and deliver a superior return on investment. So although the prices will be going up slightly (on average ~ 15%), we believe that we continue to offer the best value in the industry for a complete set of tools to manage your software projects. You can see the new prices on our pricing page (they are displayed with a line-through until January 1st).

If you already have an unexpired quote from us, they will continue to be honored at the price they were issued, so please make sure you place such orders as soon as possible :-)

Why The Change?

This announcement comes after five years of continuous improvements to Spira (with no changes in cloud pricing) that has seen numerous usability and feature enhancements, integrations and performance improvements made to this powerful ALM platform by our dedicated team of software engineers. Among the most significant product enhancements are:

Data-Driven Testing – SpiraTeam 5.3 Released, Provides Exploratory & Data-Driven Testing and Productivity Improvements
Pervasive Agile Scrum & Kanban Boards – New Agile Task and Incident Boards
Exploratory Testing Support - SpiraTeam 5.3 Released, Provides Exploratory & Data-Driven Testing and Productivity Improvements
Custom Graphing Engine - SpiraTeam 5.4 - Graphing Enhancements and Custom Graphs
Cross Project Associations and Requirements Reuse - Spira 5.1 - Cross Project Associations

For a full set of SpiraPlan's features, please view our dedicated page here.

Need help? Please direct your inquiries to our sales team at sales@inflectra.com

Jira Integration with SpiraTest Now Bidirectional

2018-09-17T14:32:06-04:00

What Does The Updated Plugin Provide?

Our plugin that integrates Spira with Jira has always supported the bidirectional creation of new issues and incidents from either system. However the adding of comments, and the synchronization of updates only worked in one direction (from Jira to Spira).

With the latest version of our plugin, we now let you:

Make updates in either system.
1. That way the testing / QA team can use exclusively SpiraTest without needing to login to Jira
2. The development team can work solely in Jira and not need to login to SpiraTest
Comments added in either system get synchronized bidirectionally.

The updated plugin is already available on our cloud platform, and on-premise customers can download it from our website.

NUnit 3.0 Plugin Released for SpiraTest

2020-07-09T13:41:49-04:00

Here at Inflectra, we integrate with many different unit testing frameworks so you can get back to developing. With the help of our intern, Peter, we have expanded our unit testing support this summer with a brand new integration with PyTest, and updates to our JUnit extension and now to our NUnit add-in.

New Plugin Available for NUnit 3.0

When testing a .NET application, one of the most common unit testing frameworks used is NUnit. We are pleased to announce that we have updated our NUnit add-in to support the newest version of NUnit – NUnit 3.

With only a few extra files you can easily import your test results from NUnit into SpiraTest/Team/Plan as test runs. You can further customize these test runs by associating releases and test sets with them as well.

With Inflectra’s new NUnit 3 add-in, you can get back to developing quicker!

What about SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam?

Don't worry, although we mention SpiraTest in this announcement, it works for SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan as well :-)

Rapise 5.7 Released with New Data-Driven Testing Editor

2018-08-14T12:57:51-04:00

New Data-Driven Testing Editor

Rapise 5.7 introduces a completely new Spreadsheet editor which replaces the need to use Excel to do any of the tasks associated with data-driven testing. The editor provides a full set of formatting options, tools to quickly and easily add/remove rows/cells/columns, and an integrated formula editor. With the new editor you don't need to install Excel on your test machines or externally open your data files:

In addition, the Object Tree has been enhanced to have named spreadsheet objects as well as the global Spreadsheet utility object. This lets you access the specific spreadsheets by name with full intellisense. It also makes use of the Spreadsheet commands easier in the RVL codeless editor:

The expanded Spreadsheet object also provides functionality for both reading and writing data to/from the spreadsheet, unlike previous Rapise versions where it only supported reading data.

RVL Enhancements

There are several enhancements to the Rapise Visual Language in Rapise 5.7 that improve the usability and save time:

Files Dropdown

Several of the global Rapise objects relate to accessing specific filepaths (e.g. launching an application with Global.DoLaunch or attaching to a spreadsheet with Spreadsheet.DoAttach). We have simplified this process by having Rapise automatically suggest filenames and filepaths relative to the current Rapise test:

Enhanced Parameter Handling

When using an Action command, by default Rapise will only display the required parameters underneath the command. You can always use the { } parameters icon in the ribbon to display all the parameters, but now there is a simpler way! You can simply use the ParamName dropdown underneath the last parameter, and Rapise will display the list of additional parameters you can use:

Locator Options

Often when recording a test you record a single object that represents a class of objects you want to interact with. For example, you may record/learn a single cell in a grid, but want to be able to select other cells. Instead of having to learn each object individually, you can just learn one of them, and use the new RVL.SetLocatorOpts command to specify a new locator or XPATH expression to find the object:

String Formatting

When using Rapise Visual Language you often need to do string concatenation, which is easy in JavaScript, but not as easy in RVL. Enter the new RVL.FormatString function that lets you define a format string that contains text and parameters using curly brackets ( {....} ) that can be substituted by text values or variables:

Then when you playback the steps, Rapise will do the substitution for you:

Custom Library Enhancements

Many users extend their Rapise environments with custom libraries and frameworks that make testing of their in-house applications easier. Rapise 5.7 introduces a new custom library generator that simplifies the task of creating and maintaining custom libraries for both recording and playback against bespoke applications:

Want to Learn More

Alexey from #teamInflectra outlines the new features in this recorded webinar:

Where Can I Get the New Version?

You can download the latest version of Rapise from the Customer Portal on our website. The release notes are available if you would like to learn more.

Code Smarter: SpiraTeam Visual Studio 2017 Integration and More

2018-07-13T16:21:03-04:00

How do I get the Visual Studio Extension

If you would like to install the extension, you can visit the Visual Studio Marketplace here, or search for ‘Spira’ or ‘Inflectra’ in the extensions panel within Visual Studio:

You may see multiple versions of the extension. Due to the way Visual Studio works, we have a couple of different versions:

One for Visual Studio 2017 and newer
One for Visual Studio 2012, 2013, 2015

They are exactly the same in terms of UI and functionality, just that they use different versions of the Visual Studio SDK.

What does the Visual Studio Extension Do

With our Visual Studio extension, we have crafted an easy way for you to see what’s most important to developers right from Visual Studio. Opening the main view will show you all the requirements, tasks, and incidents assigned to you. It will even automatically refresh! Clicking one of the items will show you additional information and provide you with a link to open it in browser:

One thing our developers often want to do while in the middle of coding is create a quick reminder task for themselves. With the Visual Studio extension, you now can! It’s easy to create a new task right from the toolbar, just click on the plus (+) icon:

Where Can I Learn More?

You can read the full SpiraTeam IDE Integration Manual on our website.

Rapise 6 Development Roadmap Published

2018-06-23T10:43:27-04:00

Major Planned Features

As part of version 6.x we will be including the following major features:

Streamlined and refreshed user interface
Machine-learning based XPATH engine that learns from your application
Ability to create web application profiles that simply testing specific applications
Completely rewritten spreadsheet editor for both RVP and data-driven testing
Smart grid for generic complex data grid handling
Pre-built libraries for testing SharePoint-built applications

More Information

For a complete list of planned new features, please check out the roadmap - https://www.inflectra.com/Documents/Rapise%20Development%20Roadmap.pdf

SpiraPlan 6 Development Roadmap Published

2018-06-14T10:55:38-04:00

Major Planned Features

As part of version 6.x we will be including the following major features:

Single-sign-on OAUTH 2.0 support
Ability to have project templates that share workflows, custom fields, etc.
Ability to baseline projects and have multiple baselines per release
Support for risk-based testing and alerting using machine learning
Risk management and risk cube reporting
Program management and roadmapping
Project portfolio management
Support for teams and tracks
Enhanced resource management and time tracking

More Information

For a complete list of planned new features, please check out the roadmap - https://www.inflectra.com/Documents/SpiraPlan%20Development%20Roadmap.pdf

SpiraTeam 6 Development Roadmap Published

2018-06-14T10:54:59-04:00

Major Planned Features

As part of version 6.x we will be including the following major features:

Single-sign-on OAUTH 2.0 support
Ability to have project templates that share workflows, custom fields, etc.
Ability to baseline projects and have multiple baselines per release
Support for risk-based testing and alerting using machine learning
Risk management and risk cube reporting
Support for waterfall GANTT/Pert views
Support for teams and tracks
Enhanced resource management and time tracking

More Information

For a complete list of planned new features, please check out the roadmap - https://www.inflectra.com/Documents/SpiraTeam%20Development%20Roadmap.pdf

SpiraTest 6 Development Roadmap Published

2020-07-09T13:41:32-04:00

Major Planned Features

As part of version 6.x we will be including the following major features:

Single-sign-on OAUTH 2.0 support
Ability to have project templates that share workflows, custom fields, etc.
Ability to baseline projects and have multiple baselines per release
Document management workflows and reviewing
Support for risk-based testing and alerting using machine learning
Dynamic query-based test sets

More Information

For a complete list of planned new features, please check out the roadmap - https://www.inflectra.com/Documents/SpiraTest%20Development%20Roadmap.pdf

Updated Subversion Plugin Improves Source Code Management in SpiraTeam

2018-06-14T09:53:19-04:00

Performance Enhancements

We have updated the connection and data caching architecture to improve the speed of connecting to Subversion (SVN) and generating the local folder/file/revision cache in SpiraTeam by upto 400%. You should notice much faster response times in the application as well as faster times getting the latest revisions and file/folder updates.

Feature Enhancements

In addition, you can now map "standard" Subversion branch layouts into SpiraTeam so that the Trunk, Branches and Tags are displayed in SpiraTeam as actual branches, rather than nested folders:

As an end user, you will now see the branches, tags and Trunk displayed in the main repository browser in SpiraTeam:

ZAPTEST Plug-In Released for RemoteLaunch

2018-05-01T16:03:17-04:00

What is ZAPTEST?

ZAPTEST is a cross-platform and cross-browser software testing solution. Using OCR and Image Based recognition, it's able to automate the testing process without any API, Framework or environment dependencies and work only with a Graphic User Interface.

When you execute automated visual UI tests in ZAPTEST, there are built in reports and metrics available for verifying your quality assurance and testing activities:

Using RemoteLaunch with ZAPTEST

Using ZAPTEST in conjunction with SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch allows you to create test sets of ZAPTEST UI tests and be able to schedule them for execution across a global test lab.

Once executed, all the test results are collated by RemoteLaunch and sent back to SpiraTest, which acts as a central repository for your automated acceptance testing activities.

More Information

The plugin for ZAPTEST is available in the SpiraTest download center.
The RemoteLaunch user manual explains how to setup the integration between SpiraTest and ZAPTEST.

About SpiraTest

Rapise 5.6 Released - Enhanced Automation for Dynamics NAV

2018-04-27T15:19:17-04:00

Rapise 5.6 includes the following new features:

RVL Editor

Rename Object

Change object ID

Find in Object Tree

Show object tree and select this object in it.

Playback Options

Play Selection

Play selected range of rows

Play From Here

Start playing form given row and go on

Play this Sheet

Start playing from the beginning of the given sheet

Search as Type in Object tree

The ability to search for objects by name:

BrowserStack specific options in Selenium settings

BrowserStack specific options in Mobile settings

New WebSpy Settings

Shortcuts in Files Tab

Reveal in Explorer – open folder containing a file displayed in this tab
Show in Files Tree – Locate this file in the ‘Files’ tab of the test

Release Notes

For a complete list of the new features, enhancements and bug fixes, please take a look at the Rapise v5.6 Release Notes.

SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, SpiraPlan v5.4.0.2 Now Available for Download

2018-04-19T16:54:31-04:00

Faster Way to Create New Items

Based on extensive feedback from our customers (and also learned the hard way ourselves during our recent Social Testing Hackathon), we realized that there was not an easy way to create new requirements, test cases, tasks, or defects when you are already on an item. You had to make a change and use the 'Save and New' feature.

We have now added a new "New" button on all our artifact pages that makes this much easier. In addition, we have moved the Clone button underneath the 'New' option, as many users were accidentally cloning items by mistake.

Release Notes

Moving iteration should update test coverage but it does not.- [IN:4463]
Update or refresh cache when workflow settings are changed- [IN:4543]
Edit test case folders: it allows you to set a folder's parent to its own child. Should prohibit this.- [IN:4545]
Permission required to be able to clone incident- [IN:4551]
Clone test case: Component field is populated incorrectly- [IN:4564]
Permission problems with Test Configuration detail page- [IN:4566]
Summary graphs do not handle custom fields correctly- [IN:4577]
SpiraTeam 5.4.0.1: Missing populate localization text in Test Configuration Details- [IN:4603]
Excel 2003 reports show blank effort as zeros and incorrectly show effort as percentages- [IN:2797]
Executing test cases from the test set detail page: system returns to main test set list; should go back to test set detail- [IN:2844]
Activity List page (new in 4.2.0.7): filter on Artifact Type does not work, except for Project Owner- [IN:3181]
Task start and end date get changed when other data on task is updated- [IN:3472]
Release list isn't refreshed when pasting: Copy/Pasted Releases seem to be hidden- [IN:3608]
Test Set update problem when remove all test cases- [IN:3631]
Requirement details, associations tab: filter functionality ignores links with type "source code" - [IN:3771]
Resource List Allocation Filter not returning correct results- [IN:3824]
If requirement has tasks, marking it as "Obsolete" not possible, when Use Task Status setting is on.- [IN:4006]
When dragging multiple items, they don't stay in the original order- [IN:4150]
Filter with 'Execution Status' set causes 'New Test Case' to be populated.- [IN:4205]
Task Start Date canot be set to same as Release Start Date- [IN:4256]
For limited view user, asterisks on tabs are missing- [IN:4307]
Exploratory testing: associated incidents are not shown during test execution- [IN:4461]
Exploratory test containing a link to another test case: upon saving, the link is removed.- [IN:4466]
Clicking 'Save & New' button after error does not load 'New'.- [IN:4562]
Release list: outdent iteration does not update test coverage for the former parent release- [IN:4565]
Test Execution "Link Existing Incident": can choose incident in another project- [IN:4575]
Task detail page: if start/end dates are blank, they get filled in with the current date/time- [IN:4583]
Test Step Insert Parameter at Cursor not working in IE11 or Edge- [IN:3729]
Resource Detail not displaying Test Sets by Release- [IN:3829]
Executing test set from test case context menu doesn't return to test set details page- [IN:3848]
Test Set list: folder creation date is wrong if a release is selected- [IN:4166]
Creating a Release while filtering on Version gives error message- [IN:4303]
Reports: Extra zeroes are displayed in history records- [IN:4556]

Worksoft Certify Plug-In Released for RemoteLaunch

2025-04-01T22:25:35-04:00

What is Worksoft Certify?

Worksoft® Certify® is an automated codeless testing solution built specifically for nontechnical users to test end-to-end business processes at enterprise scale. Built to test complex processes that span multiple applications, Certify ensures that not only your software works but that your business works.

When you execute automated business process tests in Worksoft Cerify, there are built in reports and metrics available for verifying your quality assurance and testing activities:

Using RemoteLaunch with Worksoft Certify

Using Worksoft Certify in conjunction with SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch allows you to create test sets of Worksoft Certify tests and be able to schedule them for execution across a global test lab.

Once executed, all the test results are collated by RemoteLaunch and sent back to SpiraTest, which acts as a central repository for your automated acceptance testing activities.

More Information

The plugin for Worksoft Certify is available in the SpiraTest download center.
The RemoteLaunch user manual explains how to setup the integration between SpiraTest and Certify.

About SpiraTest

SpiraTest Add-On Now Available in Atlassian Jira Marketplace

2025-04-01T21:16:18-04:00

Overview of the Functionality

The SpiraTest for Jira add-on lets you easily and quickly track the test coverage of any issue within Jira:

Testing Has Never Been This Easy

SpiraTest manages requirements, bugs, tests, and more with full traceability and real time reporting. SpiraTest is the central platform for all your tests (manual and automated) with variables, scheduling, and more.

Track Test Results Right From Jira

Our new add-on for Jira Cloud let's you check the test coverage of any story, across all your projects, at a glance. Dive into the details whenever you need to inside SpiraTest.

How Do I Get the New Add-On?

To get the new add-on, simply browse to the add-on in the Atlassian Jira marketplace:

Then click on the Get it Now button to install the new add-on into your instance of Jira. For the add-on to work, you will need to already have configured SpiraTest to use our data-synchronization service.

We have a webinar recording on how to setup the Jira integration:

Updates Released for SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, SpiraPlan, and KronoDesk

2020-07-09T13:40:29-04:00

New Product Branding

When you apply the latest updates to our products, you will see the new product logos for SpiraTest, SpiraPlan, SpiraTeam, and KronoDesk:

(Rapise will getting its new logo when it's updated in v5.6 later this month)

Spira v5.4.0.1 Release Notes

   Improve behavior on list page if user has "create" and "modify owned" permissions- [IN:2220]
    Excel 2003 reports show blank effort as zeros and incorrectly show effort as percentages- [IN:2797]
    Custom integer fields: some minor issues with validation- [IN:2851]
    Associations: the Edit button, for editing the association itself, is not present if user has "modify owned" permission,- [IN:2860]
    Selection Box is empty after apply filter- [IN:2931]
    Add ArtifactLinkView as a reportable entity for custom reporting- [IN:2953]
    Custom integer and decimal properties: sorting is incorrect- [IN:3092]
    Issue with custom list value sort order when we copy a project- [IN:3371]
    Reports: Incorrect rendering of lists in PDF format- [IN:3382]
    Unable to close message window if title bar was moved outside the browser- [IN:3534]
    Release list isn't refreshed when pasting: Copy/Pasted Releases seem to be hidden- [IN:3608]
    Test step number are showing incorrectly on Incident Detailed Report in PDF format only- [IN:3611]
    If custom property field name is more than about 50 characters, an exception occurs when you try to fill in a value.- [IN:3617]
    Notification events: ${Comments} token doesn't work in subject line.- [IN:3652]
    On Premise API documentation can at times not show Request Parameters due to an invalid date- [IN:3657]
    Add ArtifactLink / Association as Reportable Entity- [IN:3658]
    Release details, Reqs & Tasks tab: some minor UI issues- [IN:3691]
    Users allows to create incidents during test execution who don't have permission- [IN:3699]
    Test Coverage tab on Requirement detail page has some problems with filtering- [IN:3768]
    Requirement details, associations tab: filter functionality ignores links with type "source code" - [IN:3771]
    Problems with pagination on the main requirements list- [IN:3781]
    A few places where the server language is used instead of the language specified in General Settings- [IN:3803]
    PDF Reporting Catalan with malformed text- [IN:3876]
    Make project owner able to see (but not edit) version control settings.- [IN:3900]
    Reporting: Test Case Detailed Report: lists in test steps displayed strangely- [IN:4017]
    Admin cannot see which workflow applies to a requirement package- [IN:4073]
    Cannot search by test step ID on incident details association panel- [IN:4074]
    Limited View role: during test execution, suggest hiding the authorization error on incident tab- [IN:4078]
    When dragging multiple items, they don't stay in the original order- [IN:4150]
    Report Custom Section based on TST_ARTIFACT_LINK table (and other tables)- [IN:4269]
    Test execution, table view: New incident pop-up needs styling update- [IN:4306]
    Add Component Names Table to Reportable Entities- [IN:4312]
    Project Home dashboard: two widgets don't refresh when change from a specific release to all releases- [IN:4333]
    Release execution status not updated when test runs are deleted or edited.- [IN:4349]
    Reporting: Test Set Summary Graph: Test Execution Release field should be omitted.- [IN:4365]
    Exception removing a parameter from a test case if it is used in any test configuration- [IN:4384]
    Need to prevent a test being executed if it has test cases in an invalid status for execution- [IN:4387]
    Add Follower button does not appear when it should for certain artifact/role combinations- [IN:4453]
    Moving iteration should update test coverage but it does not. (also outdent/indent)- [IN:4463]
    No cross-association displayed in TESTCASE dedicated sub-tab- [IN:4475]
    For default developer role, Testing -> Configurations menu item leads to error- [IN:4495]
    Split requirement dialog has a place to specify owner but it does not get used- [IN:4510]
    Add event log table to reportable entities- [IN:4513]
    Some tooltips not working if user is not system administrator- [IN:4530]
    test execution actual result displayed wrongly on table view- [IN:4540]
    Find button: problems when Incident is in a different project- [IN:4544]
    Loading an assigned test set takes really long.- [IN:4547]
    Switch over the refresh test case to use the faster stored procedure- [IN:4548]
    Permission required to be able to clone incident- [IN:4551]
    Association panel gives an option to choose another project, when it should not- [IN:4552]

KronoDesk 2.1.5 Release Notes

Fixes issue of Intrnal Notes sometimes being seen by customers.
Adds filtering to the SpiraIntegration Incident panel on Ticket Details page.

How Do I Get the New Versions?

For download customers, please go to the secure Customer Area to download the updates
For cloud customers, we shall be applying the updates this weekend

SpiraTeam 5.4 Released, Provides New Project Management, Reporting and Performance Enhancements

2018-02-05T13:21:37-05:00

What's New in SpiraTest, SpiraTeam and SpiraPlan 5.4?

Document Management
- Remove document popup- [RQ:1867]
- live reloading: document details page- [RQ:2099]
Program Management
- Add a project-group level incident list page for programs- [RQ:1896]
- Program-view of Planning > Releases- [RQ:2165]
Project Management
- Add incident-only planning board- [RQ:1911]
- Add Task-only planning board- [RQ:1913]
- Ability to Split a User Story (requirement)- [RQ:2160]
- Live reloading on the release > build page- [RQ:2161]
- Implement Bulk Edit permission- [RQ:2169]
Reporting
- Custom SQL widget for graphs- [RQ:2173]
- Add graphs to list pages and changing release list- [RQ:2175]

For a complete list of all the new features and issues resolved, please refer to the product release notes.

To upgrade from v4.2 or earlier, please read this KB article - https://www.inflectra.com/Support/KnowledgeBase/KB150.aspx
To upgrade from v5.x, simply download the ZIP file from the customer area and follow the instructions in the ReadMe.txt file.

About SpiraTest, SpiraTeam, and SpiraPlan

The Spira™ family of applications from Inflectra® are a powerful set of tools that help you manage your software lifecycle. SpiraTest® is our powerful and easy to use requirements, test and defect management system, ideal for quality assurance teams.

SpiraTeam® is our integrated Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) system that manages your project's requirements, releases, test cases, issues and tasks in one unified environment. SpiraPlan® expands on the features in SpiraTeam® to provide a complete Enterprise Agile Planning® solution that lets you manage projects, programs and the entire organization with ease.

About Inflectra

To learn more about Inflectra, visit us at www.inflectra.com or call 202-558-6885.

Google Sheets Import Tool Now Supports Requirements, Test Cases, Test Steps, Releases, and Tasks

2018-01-08T14:29:57-05:00

What's New in the Latest Version?

In the latest version of our Google Sheets Add-On, you can now import the following different types of artifact into SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam:

Requirements
Test Cases
- Including Test Steps
Releases
Tasks

The major benefit over our existing Microsoft Excel Add-In which can also import these artifacts is that it's completely cloud-based and cross-platform. So if you have legacy test cases stored in Excel, CSV, or any other spreadsheet format, you now have an even easier migration path into Spira. You can do the migration on a Mac, PC, Linux, or mobile device, any tool that can run a modern web browser in fact.

The Future

We also have an Add-In for Office 365, Microsoft's cloud-based successor to Microsoft Office. We have an add-in for Excel365 that can handle requirements, and based on customer demand, we may also expand that to other artifact types. Please let us know if that would be useful...

Migration Tool from TestRail Now Available

2019-10-24T07:38:57-04:00

You can download the new TestRail importer tool from the SpiraTest Add-Ons and Downloads section:

For more information on using the TestRail importer, please refer to the SpiraTest Migration Guide, or a recent blog post on Migrating from TestRail.

RemoteLaunch 5.0 Released to Provide Data-Driven Test Automation

2017-11-27T16:21:40-05:00

Support for Data-Driven Testing

The latest version of RemoteLaunch uses the new API introduced in SpiraTest 5.3 that allows you to associate a test set with different sets of test data, called test configurations. This allows RemoteLaunch to download the defined test set and iterate over each of the rows of test data, executing the same test set repeatedly without any additional work on the part of the test manager:

Since of the looping is done by RemoteLaunch, the use of data-driven testing does not increase the time or bandwidth needed to download the test cases, and it allows RemoteLaunch 5.0 to use the same library of plugins as previous versions without change.

Other Changes

Fixes issue with inadvertent parallel execution of overdue test cases
Corrects minor UI issue with Force Execution option

KronoDesk 2.1.1 Released - Provides Enhancements to Organizations Module

2017-11-13T15:59:47-05:00

Release Notes for KronoDesk 2.1.1

Here's the fixes and resolved issues for the latest version:

Installation issue: online help is formatted incorrectly.- [IN:4227]
Admin manual is missing the new user security options- [IN:4231]
Upgrade from 2.0 to 2.1: organization roles are labeled incorrectly- [IN:4235]
Verifying account: email address is filled in correctly at first, but goes blank if other invalid data is entered...- [IN:4236]
Organization list page: # users column is always blank- [IN:4239]
DataTables Date fields do not honor User/System Date Formats- [IN:4275]
Stored XSS Vulnerability fixed - [IN:4281]
Security Issue: Stored Cross Site Scripting fixed - [IN:4283]

Why Use KronoDesk?

About the New Version

The new version includes many new features and enhancements including the new support for multi-user Organizations and FDA compliant electronic signatures for life science customers using a help desk tool. For more information on the features, please refer to the official KronoDesk 2.1 release notes.

About KronoDesk

About Inflectra

Private ownership and a debt-free structure give our customers stability and the promise that we will continue to support their needs long after the close of a sale.

To learn more about Inflectra, visit us at www.inflectra.com or call 202-558-6885.

Rapise 5.4 Released - Provides Support for Testing Salesforce.com

2017-11-07T09:10:57-05:00

The following new features have been added in this release:

Support for new Firefox 57 plugin architecture
Data-Driven / keyword testing with SpiraTest test configurations
Library for testing Salesforce.com

For a full list of new features, please check out the Rapise 5.4 Release Notes.

About Salesforce.com

Salesforce.com is a cloud-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Sales Force Automation (SFA) platform that is delivered as a Software as a Service (CRM) solution. It provides companies with an interface for case management and task management, and a system for automatically routing and escalating important events.

About Rapise

Whether it's the web, mobile, desktop applications, APIs (REST and SOAP) Rapise helps you test it all. Rapise doesn't just test, it understands. It knows about a wealth of complex applications including, for example, Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce.com. And it will help you manage tests spanning multiple technologies at once.

About Inflectra

Private ownership and a debt-free structure give our customers stability and the promise that we will continue to support their needs long after the close of a sale.

To learn more about Inflectra, visit us at www.inflectra.com or call 202-558-6885.

SpiraTeam v5.3.0.1 Released - Several Fixes and Enhancements for v5.3

2017-10-27T14:40:24-04:00

This update for SpiraTeam fixes the following identified issues:

Cannot remove attachments- [IN:4273]
Permission problems during test execution- [IN:4274]
Detail pages: blue confirmation message gets dismissed automatically- [IN:4284]
Test case detail page: component not refreshed when switching test cases- [IN:4285]
Tasks tab on Test case page: problems with add and remove- [IN:4286]
Task page, associations tab: remove does not work- [IN:4287]
Test case detail page: links are incorrect on Release tab and Test Set tab- [IN:4289]
History Admin View button does not work, leads to 404 error- [IN:4292]
ID filter field on Grids broken due to change to Number- [IN:4294]
When adding test cases to a test set, need to restrict to current project- [IN:4296]
Problems adding comment to Test Sets- [IN:4298]
Build detail page: need ability to collapse description section, or confine it within a scrollable box- [IN:4300]
Folder Hierarchies don't work correctly on Swedish/Norwegian SQL Server- [IN:4301]

Download customers can get the latest update from their Customer Area on our website. Cloud hosted customers will be upgraded automatically this weekend.

SpiraTeam 5.3 Released, Provides Exploratory & Data-Driven Testing and Productivity Improvements

2017-10-17T16:59:08-04:00

What's New in SpiraTeam 5.3?

Session Management
- Database-backed session management- [RQ:1791]
Reporting
- Incident Cumulative Count by Status- [RQ:2143]
- Charts using jqplot are improved by replacing them with c3/d3- [RQ:2100]
- Test Case Progress Graphs- [RQ:2144]
- Reporting page charts have popovers in place to give quick help information- [RQ:2158]
- Project/Program home page charts have popovers in place to give quick help information- [RQ:2157]
Test Configurations
- Test Configuration Management- [RQ:1868]
UI Updates
- All details pages have unified top title area, including workflow operations- [RQ:2091]
- live reloading: test case details page- [RQ:2092]
- live reloading: test set details page- [RQ:2093]
- live reloading: test step details page- [RQ:2094]
- live reloading: test run details page- [RQ:2095]
- live reloading: requirement details page- [RQ:2097]
- live reloading: release details page- [RQ:2098]
- All details pages restyled with new "unity" design- [RQ:2106]
Exploratory Testing
- Executing a single test case of type "exploratory" launches exploratory execution page- [RQ:2111]
- Dedicated exploratory test execution page- [RQ:2114]

Enhanced Support for FDA Processes- [RQ:2149]

For a complete list of all the new features and issues resolved, please refer to the product release notes.

To upgrade from v4.2 or earlier, please read this KB article - https://www.inflectra.com/Support/KnowledgeBase/KB150.aspx
To upgrade from v5.x, simply download the ZIP file from the customer area and follow the instructions in the ReadMe.txt file.

About SpiraTeam

SpiraTeam comprises SpiraTest for test management and SpiraPlan for project management, in one easy to use, fully integrated application lifecycle management (ALM) platform. Over 5,000 customers around the world use SpiraTeam to manage their software development and testing lifecycles every day.

About Inflectra

To learn more about Inflectra, visit us at www.inflectra.com or call 202-558-6885.

KronoDesk 2.1 Released by Inflectra to Enhance the Help Desk Experience

2017-09-18T13:07:25-04:00

Why Use KronoDesk?

About the New Version

About KronoDesk

About Inflectra

Private ownership and a debt-free structure give our customers stability and the promise that we will continue to support their needs long after the close of a sale.

To learn more about Inflectra, visit us at www.inflectra.com or call 202-558-6885.

Rapise 5.3 Released - Provides Support for Dynamics NAV and 365

2017-09-11T16:14:17-04:00

The following new features have been added in this release:

Packaged 'ERP' Applications
- Microsoft Dynamics
  - Dynamics NAV- [RQ:1864]
  - Dynamics 365 for Operations Enhanced Support- [RQ:2130]
  - Dynamics 365 for Sales- [RQ:2142]
General Features
- Add a Global Mouse object- [RQ:2132]
- Add a global Keyboard object- [RQ:2133]
Mobile Testing
- Recording of Events In Mobile Spy [RQ:2104]

For a full list of new features, please check out the Rapise 5.3 Release Notes.

About Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is the premier family of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) business applications from Microsoft. The Microsoft Dynamics platform includes Dynamics AX and 365 for enterprise customers, Dynamics NAV for mid-market and Dynamics CRM for sales teams.

About Rapise

Whether it's the web, mobile, desktop applications, APIs (REST and SOAP) Rapise helps you test it all. Rapise doesn't just test, it understands. It knows about a wealth of complex applications including, for example, Microsoft Dynamics. And it will help you manage tests spanning multiple technologies at once.

About Inflectra

Private ownership and a debt-free structure give our customers stability and the promise that we will continue to support their needs long after the close of a sale.

To learn more about Inflectra, visit us at www.inflectra.com or call 202-558-6885.

SpiraTest Integration with NodeJS, UnitJS and Mocha Now Available

2017-08-31T05:57:31-04:00

About UnitJS

UnitJS is an assertion library for JavaScript, running on Node.js or a web browser. It works with various test runner and unit testing frameworks, including Mocha, Jasmine, Karma, Protractor, and QUnit.

About Mocha

Mocha is a feature-rich JavaScript test framework running on Node.js and in the browser, making asynchronous testing simple and fun. Mocha tests run serially, allowing for flexible and accurate reporting, while mapping uncaught exceptions to the correct test cases.

About NodeJS

NodeJS is a JavaScript run-time built on top of Chrome's JavaScript engine. NodeJS uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient. A unique feature of NodeJS is its package ecosystem, npm, which is one of the largest ecosystem of open source libraries in the world.

About the SpiraTest Integration with UnitJS and Mocha

The new SpiraTest extension for UnitJS consists of a custom reporter for the Mocha test runner that automatically takes the results from each executed test suite and sends them to SpiraTest. In addition, we supply the source code to the extension, so you can easily adapt it for other runners such as Jasmine and Protractor, or change how it reports back depending on your specific needs.

How Do I Get The New Extension?

You can download the latest version of the UnitJS / Mocha custom reporter for SpiraTest from the main SpiraTest downloads page. The documentation is included on our main SpiraTest Unit Test Integration Manual.

Rapise 5.2 Released - Provides Data-Driven Scriptless Automated Testing

2017-08-01T10:54:39-04:00

New Features and Enhancements

The following new features have been added in this release:

Rapise Visual Language (RVL) Support
- RVL Support for Loops and Maps- [RQ:2102]
- RVL Data-Driven Testing- [RQ:2103]
Object Tree Enhancements
- Inline XPATH and CSS editor in Object Tree

For a full list of enhancements and fixed issues, please take a look at the Rapise 5.2 Release Notes.

About Rapise

Whether it's the web, mobile, desktop applications, APIs (REST and SOAP) Rapise helps you test it all. Rapise doesn't just test, it understands. It knows about a wealth of complex applications including, for example, Microsoft Dynamics. And it will help you manage tests spanning multiple technologies at once.

About Rapise Visual Language (RVL)

Automated testing shouldn't be for coders only. Using Rapise, anyone can create and change tests. Rapise records your actions, then lets you edit them in its easy-to-use spreadsheet-based language called RVL. Want to get into the code? Then dig in to our JavaScript-based engine that's a breeze to extend.

About Inflectra

Private ownership and a debt-free structure give our customers stability and the promise that we will continue to support their needs long after the close of a sale.

To learn more about Inflectra, visit us at www.inflectra.com or call 202-558-6885.

Rapise 5.1 Released - Brings Scriptless Test Automation for Everyone

2017-05-25T07:48:05-04:00

Introducing Rapise Visual Language (RVL)

The new version of Rapise provides a completely new way of writing tests. In addition to the ability to create tests in JavaScript, Rapise lets you record tests using its powerful test recorder and object spy and generate tests in a table-based scriptless framework called RVL:

Each of the recorded actions and verification steps is now represented by a simple set of rows in the table, with the parameters and values displayed alongside.

The new Rapise Visual Language opens up the door to automated testing for testers and QA professionals who don't want to become programmers and need a way to easily create and maintain tests without the overhead of writing code by hand.

Unleash the Power of Excel

Now one the really exciting things about RVL is that it's ultimately stored as an actual Microsoft Excel file (XLSX) file inside the Rapise project. So in addition to doing simple editing within the Rapise visual editor, you also have the option to open the file in Excel natively:

This opens up many exciting possibilities of being able to use Excel formulas to auto-generate test data from another worksheet, perform validation tests by doing calculations in Excel and comparing them with the results returned from the application. You can now use Excel and Rapise to have a powerful, easy to use, yet incredibly extensive test automation framework.

Other Enhancements

In addition to the new scriptless visual language, Rapise includes several other major enhancements that we've previewed in our blog articles:

The REST web service testing functionality has been enhanced to make it easier and quicker to verify the data being returned by the API.
A new set of web libraries has been added to make it easier to test Dynamics 365 for Operations ERP applications.
The application has been updated to use the new Inflectra branding, with UI changes also made to enhance readability

More Information

For a full list of fixed issues, enhancements, and new features, please take a look at the Rapise 5.1 Release Notes

For more information on using the new Rapise scriptless visual language please check out the Rapise Visual Language (RVL) Guide.

About Inflectra

Private ownership and a debt-free structure give our customers stability and the promise that we will continue to support their needs long after the close of a sale.

To learn more about Inflectra, visit us at www.inflectra.com or call 202-558-6885.

SpiraTeam 5.2 Released by Inflectra, Enables Effective Program Management

2017-04-26T12:54:57-04:00

What's New in SpiraTeam 5.2?

Complete Redesign of Incident Tracking

We have redesigned the incident tracking pages, both the list page (where you search, sort and filter the incidents) and the details page where you create and edit the incidents. We have introduced a new faster data loading system, added a new field grouping system to make it easier to see the various fields on the page, and streamlined the interface, removing unnecessary chrome.

Testing Enhancements

The new version includes a set of enhancements to the test management functionality that were a favorite of our testers at the recent user summits in Europe, including these popular changes:

1. Test cases are now auto-flagged when requirements change

2. You can now schedule test sets to run automatically after a build

3. Hand off a pending test run to someone else

New Dashboards, Graphs and Widgets

We have added new predefined project dashboards in SpiraTeam for the different roles on a project, with new graphs showing the number of source code commits / revisions, and a new testing progress graph:

For a complete list of all the new features and issues resolved, please refer to the product release notes.

About SpiraTeam

About Inflectra

To learn more about Inflectra, visit us at www.inflectra.com or call 202-558-6885.

Synchronize Your Testing with Visual Studio Team Services in the Cloud

2017-02-28T16:52:22-05:00

What's New?

Previously to use Microsoft Team Services with SpiraTest, SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam, you had to install a plugin on your local environment to enable the integration. With the move to DevOps and cloud-based application lifecycle management (ALM) we are pleased to provide a completely cloud-based data-synchronization solution for integrating Inflectra's ALM suite with Microsoft Team Services:

with this new plugin your teams can do requirements management, agile planning and test management in SpiraTeam whilst having the development team work seamlessly in Visual Studio Team Services:

With our cloud-based plugin, you can create requirements in Visual Studio and have them flow seamlessly into SpiraTeam, you can create defects in either system and have them bidirectionally synchronize during testing and you can have development tasks created in SpiraTeam flow into Visual Studio as developer work items.

How Do I Learn More?

To learn more about using SpiraTest with Visual Studio Team Services, check out these resources:

Updated Plugin For Test Management with Jira

2017-02-27T13:21:43-05:00

Test Management with Jira

SpiraTest comes with a built-in data-synchronization system that lets you easily connect to Atlassian Jira:

With the plugin, you can get the best of both worlds, use Jira for bug tracking and project management and SpiraTest for your quality and test management:

When you use the SpiraTest plugin for Jira, you can write test cases linked to Jira user stories, assign and schedule the test cases and have your testers do their testing directly in SpiraTest. When they record test failures and log defects they are seamlessly synchronized with Jira:

New Features

The new version provides the following features:

The ability to synchronize file attachments and screenshots in both directions (SpiraTest > Jira and Jira > SpiraTest)
The ability to synchronize requirement types between SpiraTest and Jira
The ability to handle the new SpiraTest component field added in SpiraTest 5.0.
Support for TLS 1.2 encryption protocols.

More Information

To learn more about using SpiraTest with Jira, please check out these resources:

SpiraTeam 5.1 Released by Inflectra, Enables Effective Program Management

2016-12-12T07:05:25-05:00

SpiraTeam 5.1 Released by Inflectra, Enables Effective Program Management

Inflectra® is pleased to announce the release of SpiraTeam 5.1, the latest version of its award-winning application lifecycle management (ALM) suite.

The latest version of SpiraTeam brings together major enhancements in performance and usability along with the ability to break the project paradigm for the first time. With SpiraTeam 5.1, you can take control of even the most complex programs.

SpiraTeam 5.1 provides users with the ability to have complete traceability between items in different projects, the ability to view integrated program backlogs and the ability to quickly search across all items and projects to make associations.

Cross Project Traceability

SpiraTeam 5.1 lets you create reusable component projects that can be composed together to handle large-scale programs and system of systems. Unlike other tools on the market, you don’t need to manually copy items between projects, you can instead have a single set of shared requirements, test cases and tasks that are used as needed.

Project Planning

SpiraPlan 5.1 includes new program management functionality that lets you plan your agile backlogs across multiple projects with the new project group planning board. These new features let you view the backlog of the entire project at a glance and prioritize work across all of the projects in your program simultaneously.

Powerful New Searching Capabilities

Taking advantage in new database free-text indexing capabilities, SpiraTeam v5.1 has a completely redesigned search interface that lets you find information 80% faster than in the previous versions. The new ranking algorithms ensure you get the most appropriate information first time around.

Enhanced Usability

In addition to the new features, we have continued our relentless focus on refining the usability of our products. In SpiraTeam 5.1, we have streamlined the global navigation bar, added support for resizable columns throughout the application and improved the rich text editor to have additional formatting functions.

Enhanced Test Traceability

SpiraTest 5.1 provides new functionality specific for certain industries (e.g. Defense and Government) that need traceability at the test step level. Based on feedback from our customers that no other tool on the market provides this sorely needed feature, we have added support for deep traceability between requirements and test steps, making SpiraTest 5.1 the first test management solution in the market to address the needs of mission systems in the Defense sector.

About SpiraTeam

About Inflectra

To learn more about Inflectra, visit us at www.inflectra.com or call 202-558-6885.

SpiraTeam Plugin for ZenDesk Now Available

2016-10-04T15:02:01-04:00

Empowering software teams everywhere

SpiraTeam provides a powerful and elegant platform for developers, testers, project managers, and end users to collaborate, and create.

With easy to use logging, tracking, and reporting tools, SpiraTeam is the perfect tool to manage every aspect of application delivery. Combining issue tracking, testing, and product management in a single platform.

Integrating SpiraTeam with Zendesk is a straightforward way to help customers faster and smarter. This application lets Zendesk agents:

log a bug from a ticket directly into SpiraTeam
assign the bug to one of the development team
see and review any SpiraTeam bug already linked to existing Zendesk tickets
never leave the familiar Zendesk interface.

SpiraTeam's Zendesk app focuses agents on the essential information - required fields are grouped together, but optional fields are just a click away. Any attachments stored with the ticket will also be sent to SpiraTeam as links, so developers can see exactly what the agents see.

You can learn more about the free plugin on our website and take a look at the documentation online.

Microsoft Office Importer and Project Migration Tool Updated for Spira 5.0

2016-09-26T22:24:04-04:00

Microsoft Office Add-Ins

We have updated each of the import/export tools in the suite:

Microsoft Excel

Components supported in requirement, test case and incident import/export
Requirement statuses and types supported
Release statuses and types supported
Test case types and statuses supported
Requirement association import now available
Support for new folder structure in Spira v5.0.

Microsoft Word

Support for importing formatted text inside MS-Word tables.

Microsoft Project

You can now mark specific tasks in Microsoft Project to not be synchronized with Spira.

Project Backup & Migration Tool

The updated version includes new support for:

Components
Release Types, Statuses
Requirement Types, Statuses
Task Types, Statuses
Test Case Types & Statuses
New folder structure introduced in Spira 5.0

You can download the latest versions of the Add-ons for SpiraTeam from the product website.

SpiraTeam v5.0.0.8 Update Released

2016-08-28T08:27:49-04:00

Releases Notes

The following bugs were fixed and enhancements added:

- Add history items to SOAP API- [IN:1770]
- Test Set information not updated after changing test run information- [IN:2004]
- Add RemoteHistory object to API and allow artifact history retrieval- [IN:2297]
- Attachment and test data visibility. Disable "Add existing" attachment link for limited view.- [IN:2979]
- Click-through from Project Home Requirements Summary widget erroneously filters by release- [IN:3309]
- On task detail page, the component field cannot be hidden or disabled- [IN:3332]
- Nav Sidebar in test case details, test set details, task details and document screens can show strange data.- [IN:3508]
- Document Export to Project function doesn't create a new document, just a link to the original...- [IN:3593]
- Test Step Custom properties missing from printable test script report- [IN:3647]
- Test Sets: Time value for 'Planned Date' partially obscured by the clock icon. Chrome 52 and Edge.- [IN:3650]
- v5 API for POST to search Test cases throws an error- [IN:3656]
- DataSync ID missing from Incident reports- [IN:3659]
- Cannot enable TaraVault Users (password box does not appear)- [IN:3661]
- Test execution list does not always scroll correctly with a large number of test steps in the run- [IN:3671]
- Notifications not being sent for automated test runs (inc. subscriptions)- [IN:3672]
- ExecutionStatusId returns None in TestCase_RetrieveByTestSet functions- [IN:3673]
- Users with role set to "Limited View" no longer have access to view attached documents for their assigned items- [IN:3677]
- Test Step grid on Test Case Page could make columns too wide making review and editing very hard- [IN:3680]
- Ability to download REST web services as Rapise web service (.rest) defition files

SpiraTeam v5.0.0.7 Update Released

2016-07-23T10:04:42-04:00

Version 5.0.0.1
---------------
- Right-Clicking on Folder in List gives error- [IN:3507]
- Test run detail page does not display properly, unless a rich text custom property exists- [IN:3510]
- Changed Button Color/Icon on Project Membership 2nd page- [IN:3511]
- Resolved Release Not Populating on New Incident Page- [IN:3512]
- The ability to paste a screenshot directly in a rich text field is not working in Chrome - [IN:3513]

Version 5.0.0.2
---------------
- Execution status emails are not working properly- [IN:3515]
- On artifact detail page, selecting Tools -> Export to Excel includes all of the artifacts. Should be only the current one.- [IN:3518]
- TST_ARTIFACT_LINK_TYPE not being backed up by data-migration- [IN:3519]
- Spira POST API handler from KronoDesk broken- [IN:3520]
- Test Execution hangs when there are no test steps- [IN:3521]
- SpiraPlan should not show Testing > Automation Hosts in the navbar- [IN:3522]
- Version 5.0 Data Migration tool is including deleted folders- [IN:3523]
- Test Case details page: when you collapse the workflow panel, an authorization error occurs.- [IN:3524]
- Test Execution loads with error when data syncs are enabled (eg Jira)- [IN:3525]
- Online help: If you launch help from "My Profile" page, it doesn't open to the right help topic.- [IN:3527]

Version 5.0.0.3
---------------
- Test Execution loads with error for some customers - [IN:3525]

Version 5.0.0.4
---------------
- Event log: don't generate warnings about non-existent usernames anymore.- [IN:3374]
- Test step history: the artifact name for test step changes is currently "Artifact [TS: ]". Should be the test case name.- [IN:3498]
- Role that does not have permission to create test cases can still create them by using the new button within Add Linked Test Case dialog- [IN:3500]
- Drag and Drop not initiated on creation from list view- [IN:3509]
- On list pages and detail pages, Tools -> Export to Excel includes all of the artifacts. Should be only the selected ones.- [IN:3518]
- Edit Buttons lost after refresh in Folder View Spira 5.0- [IN:3530]
- Instant Message dialog pops up off the screen in certain circumstances- [IN:3532]
- During test execution, the attachment and incident pop ups don't always work.- [IN:3533]
- Test step history is hidden for the default tester role, it should be visible since tester has view permission for test steps- [IN:3535]
- Test execution leave button refreshes the page, does not return to previous page- [IN:3536]
- Test Case Folder added to release do not add the child test cases to that release- [IN:3537]
- Resource details page: After adding or removing contact, the screen refreshes and all requirements in the project are displayed- [IN:3538]
- Issues with Multi-Select Filtered- [IN:3540]
- Task detailed report in HTML format is almost blank. OK in XML format.- [IN:3541]

Version 5.0.0.5
---------------
- Test Case Folder added to release do not add the child test cases to that release- [IN:3537]
- Test Case and Test Set lists: issues with Tools -> Print and Tools -> Export and folder selection- [IN:3542]
- Test Case Tools -> Add to Test Set feature: the dialog allows you to select a test set FOLDER, which gives an error.- [IN:3544]
- Workflow operations text does not wrap to next line properly- [IN:3546]
- The Test Case Priority Field is empty on list pages- [IN:3547]
- Modify My page: IE11 does not properly show the modification dialog box- [IN:3548]
- Some high-ascii characters not appearing in tooltips..- [IN:3549]
- Test Execution repeats test case description of first test run to all test runs in the test runs pending- [IN:3551]
- Edit Role Details page: hide Requirement Step & Placeholder items under Artifact Permissions- [IN:3552]
- Editing on main Test Case list: make the "Test Steps?" field read-only- [IN:3553]
- Release test coverage is still counting deleted test cases. - [IN:3558]
- Requirement detail page: for Use Cases, the scenario section renders badly- [IN:3560]
- Remove confusing UI on test case details page, where the functionality of the delete buttons was not clear- [IN:3563]
- Pagination Issue when you have a multiple of the pagination size- [IN:3564]

Version 5.0.0.6
---------------
- Updates to Finnish translations
- Error deleting Test Case folders that have multiple levels of subfolders- [IN:3543]
- Instant Message dialog: often when you attempt to move it by dragging its header, its shadow jumps up and to the left.- [IN:3550]
- Side bar resize drag handles don't syncronize when two panels are in the side bar- [IN:3565]
- Test Case list: folders don't get updated with the latest test coverage changes...- [IN:3566]
- Cloning a release: the test case folders don't have the expected test case coverage- [IN:3570]
- Add workflow button on admin, incident workflows does not work- [IN:3572]
- Getting exception when data-mapping Test Case Priority- [IN:3573]
- Images added to test steps show too large when in datagrids (eg test steps on test case details page)- [IN:3574]
- The 'Add Component' button has no effect.- [IN:3575]
- Clicking on execution status on test case details page does not take you to most recent test run- [IN:3579]
- Document subscription doesn't appear on "My Subscribed Artifacts" widget- [IN:3581]
- ConcurrencyException When Setting Release Data Sync ID value- [IN:3583]
- Spira Test Runs Page Not Displaying Rapise Test Run Steps- [IN:3585]
- When a new incident is created by cloning an existing one, a notification is not sent.- [IN:3586]
- Test Set Status Widget Overdue list on project home page is not filtered correctly to current project.- [IN:3587]
- Unneccery Error thrown when exporting Document to another project.- [IN:3591]
- Reporting datagrid popup can be taller than viewport and its top above the top of the page, meaning it can't be moved or closed- [IN:3594]
- Test Case "Save & New" button throws error.- [IN:3596]
- Images that are pasted into rich text are not included in PDF format and Word 2003 reports.- [IN:3597]
- System Error when saving a user profile- [IN:3599]
- In Test Set Details, the Test Cases context menu - Execute link does not do anything- [IN:3604]
- Editing Test Case Parameters > Name Deletes the Parameter- [IN:3607]
- Test case parameters slow when you have lots of parameters- [IN:3609]
- UI problem with dropdowns within a dialog: they are too small (seem to be restricted to the border of the dialog behind them)- [IN:3613]
- Add Existing Attachment Dialog too short and its document ordering is not alphabetical- [IN:3614]

Version 5.0.0.7
---------------
- Version control settings page 'Test' button uses the saved password if it is left masked
- Add test case/step/set parameter retrieval to API- [IN:1877]
- Add TestRun_RetrieveByTestCaseId function to v5.0 API- [IN:2344]
- API - Add TestRun_Delete- [IN:2761]
- Additional fields to the Test Case APIs- [IN:2887]
- Release detailed report: test case coverage section is incomplete- [IN:3567]
- New document notification does not fire when image is pasted directly into an artifact- [IN:3580]
- Test case can still have the no-steps icon even after you add steps- [IN:3601]
- Show/Hide columns throw 'System.NullReferenceException: ...' message on custom fields in the Test Cases section of a Test Set- [IN:3616]
- Add Existing Attachment dialog: long folder names overlap each other in the folder tree- [IN:3618]
- SpiraTeam - TFS Version control authentication, not working when password masked (encrypted)- [IN:3619]
- Remove confusing UI on test set and requirements details page, where the functionality of the delete buttons was not clear- [IN:3620]
- Source code details page does not provide enough space for long filepaths- [IN:3625]
- Add Test Case to the Test Set dialog: Error occurs if you navigate off the root and then back to it.- [IN:3626]
- Unable to save certain artifacts on SQL Server 2016- [IN:3628]
- Live spell checking does not work in rich text editor- [IN:3629]
- Test Set Last Executed time is reset to 12:00 AM when the set is modified.- [IN:3636]
- 404 when clicking ENTER and no text box highlighted- [IN:3637]
- Test Case Last Executed time is reset to 12:00 AM when the case is modified.- [IN:3642]

SpiraTeam Ranked In The Top Three Application Lifecycle Management Tools For SMBs

2016-07-13T14:10:15-04:00

What is Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)?

In the article, Eileen describes ALM as being a specialized subset of project management that is devoted to delivering software projects vs. project management in general. We agree with Eileen and in fact our vision of ALM is that it is the entire set of tools and processes, covering the capture and management of requirements, the project management, infrastructure and quality assurance necessary to support and drive the software development lifecycle.

ALM tools provide a standardized environment for communication and collaboration between software development teams and related departments, such as test and operations. They also automate the process of software development and delivery.

The article includes this handy reference model for ALM:

SpiraTeam ALM

We are honored that SoftwareAdvice have chosen SpiraTeam from the entire space of ALM tools to be in their top-three along with other leading tools such as Jira and VersionOne. We feel that is a testament to the functionality and ease of use that is provided by the SpiraTeam v5 platform.

As mentioned in the article,there are three products that make up our “Spira” brand. Each product targets a different set of user needs:

SpiraTest: Requirements, defect and issue management

SpiraPlan: Robust agile PM (supports both scrum and kanban methodologies)

SpiraTeam: Integrated ALM solution, containing all the features and capabilities found in the other two products: SpiraTest + SpiraPlan = SpiraTeam

Their advice to customers looking for an ALM solution from Inflectra is:

SMB teams looking for a full-service ALM solution would be best served by SpiraTeam. However, for teams not quite ready to institutionalize ALM practices, SpiraPlan can be a stepping stone to help them scale their processes toward product portfolio management.

We agree with that advice and advocate that customers looking to solve their testing and quality assurance challenges first should consider adopting SpiraTest and then graduating to SpiraTeam, whereas companies looking primarily for a planning / management tool start with SpiraPlan before scaling up to SpiraTeam.

SpiraPlan for Scrum

In addition, SoftwareAdvice has included SpiraPlan in its in-depth article describing recommended tools for agile project management using the Scrum methodology. The article highlights five common Scrum project management tools that can help agile teams structure and improve their workflows.

Cloud-Based ALM Integration Hub Now Available for SpiraTest

2016-07-10T19:47:49-04:00

Background

SpiraTest was designed to be an open test management solution, with the ability to integrate with different bug-tracking and project management tools. Traditionally you would install SpiraTest locally and it would connect to other tools using it's built in data-synchronization framework.

However for customers that were using SpiraTest as a cloud-based service (hosted by Inflectra) they needed to use a standalone data-synchronization application (called the Desktop DataSync) instead. With the release of SpiraTest 5.0 this is no longer needed, you can now use our new 100% cloud-based data synchronization service and have us do the work for you. With cloud-based data-synchronization you simply need the URL and login credentials for the other tool.

Using the Cloud Based Data Synchronization

When you sign up for Spira as a cloud-hosted subscription, you have the option of including the Spira DataSync service as an add-on feature to the subscription:

Make sure you include the ‘Spira DataSync’ add-on with your subscription. Once your subscription is provisioned, you will be able to configure the connection to Spira by going to your secure Customer Area on our website:

Click on the ‘Configure’ button associated with the Spira-DataSync addon row:

Enter a login and password that can connect to your Spira instance. This user needs to be a member of the project(s) that will be synchronized with the external bug-tracker and needs to have at least Incident create/modify/view permissions and Release create/modify/view permissions in these projects.

Click on the ‘Test’ button to verify the credentials, and once they validate, make sure the ‘Active’ flag is checked and then click ‘Save’. You have now configured the synchronization.

You should now see a list of the plugins currently configured in your Spira instance:

If you click on any of the ‘Manage’ buttons you will be taken to your Spira instance where you can complete the plugin configuration:

Plug-Ins for Different Issue Tracking & Project Management Tools

Our hosted data-synchronization service comes out of the box with plugins for integrating with the following cloud-based services:

Jira
Bugzilla
Redmine
Mantis
Axosoft
Fogbugz
IBM Rational Team Concert (RTC)

In addition, the DesktopDataSync utility is still available for those applications that are not cloud based and have resident components:

Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server
IBM Rational ClearQuest

Spira v5.0 Now Available

2016-05-31T21:37:40-04:00

New Features

The following new features have been added in this release:

Approval status for test cases- [RQ:914]
Tab that displays linked test sets- [RQ:1328]
Historical Test Run Report- [RQ:645]
Manipulate Components through the API- [RQ:1855]
Workflow for test cases- [RQ:1699]
Support for electronic signatures on specific workflow transitions- [RQ:1792]
Components can include test cases- [RQ:1793]
Workflow for releases- [RQ:1794]
Ability to scale fields and display custom properties on test execution wizard- [RQ:1797]
Ability to have Document custom properties- [RQ:1798]
Ability to track Documents history- [RQ:1807]
Add CORS support to the v5.0 REST API- [RQ:1821]
Releases can be categorized into different types- [RQ:1824]
Releases can have different statuses- [RQ:1825]
Screenshot annotation capture tools- [RQ:1830]
All pages are fully responsive to different devices (desktop, mobile, etc.) - [RQ:1832]
Releases can have execution status / task progress roll-up multiple levels- [RQ:1839]
Encrypt password and other secure global settings- [RQ:1851]
Can set test case parameter values at the test set level- [RQ:1854]

More Information

The full release notes and product documentation are available online:

How do I upgrade to Spira 5.0?

If you are a self-hosted customer, then you can go ahead and download/install v5.0 from the secure https://www.inflectra.com/CustomerArea/ https://www.inflectra.com/CustomerArea/ of our website (please read the Administration / Installation Guide first).

If you are hosted by Inflectra then we shall be upgrading your cloud instance to v5.0 during a weekend maintenance window. You will receive a separate email from our support team scheduling your upgrade.

Spira Version 5.0 to be Released on Tuesday May 31st, 2016

2016-05-27T16:37:31-04:00

There will be more information available next week, but if you are interested, the release notes and product documentation are available online:

KronoDesk named as a Customer Service Category Leader

2016-05-09T10:31:31-04:00

GetApp's unique ‘five-factor ranking’ incorporates an analysis of product data security, integrations, user ratings and more and we are pleased to be included:

We are very pleased to have KronoDesk recognized as a leader in the help desk and customer support category. We are also very excited with work underway on the next major update for KronoDesk v2.0. This new version will add enhanced reporting, customizable roles and a revamped user interfaces that will be completely responsive across a range of mobile devices as well as traditional desktop web browsers.

https://www.getapp.com/customer-service-support-software/customer-service/#getrank

SpiraTeam 5 Beta Release--All New Test Execution

2018-02-28T16:30:20-05:00

Please Note: this beta release is NOT for use on your live Spira install. Please only use it on a fresh database server.

SpiraTeam 5 Beta is all but feature complete--but we know that there are lots of little things to iron out. If you want to try out the new features for yourself, details about how to download it are below.

What's changed since the alpha?

Reports have been improved to give you even more control over what you can view. For example, you can now get a report of a test set with not only its test cases, but also its test steps.

The new test execution page is now live. We've spoken before about completely redesiging SpiraTeam's test execution page. We had great user feedback on our suggestions and we hope we've done them justice. We think the new page balances different needs, streamlines and enhances the testing process, and will be intuitive and easy to use.

The final design for test execution has a lot in common with our initial sketches, but with more polished and a lot of little touches that address many issues customers have recently raised. We would love to know what you think so please email us.

We have more to do

A lot of other changes have happened under the hood that will make SpiraTeam faster and more stable than ever.

We want you to play with the new version to see what you think of the new design and features. But please do not take the time to share bugs or glitches with us. The kind of low-level changes we've made need a lot of testing and our engineers have a healthy list from the testing team still to work through (and we would hate for you to duplicate that effort when we know how busy you are).

Taking the Beta for a Spin

Again, please do not use this as your main Spira install - we do not want you losing any real data.

This beta is only available as a download, so you will need the usual system prerequisites (IIS web server, SQL Server database). Please use the following link for the download:

URL: [link removed]
Product: SpiraTeam
Install Type: Complete Installation
Organization Name: Preview
License Key: EF5976C93076965D35F8D4BBCDBC8C60 (expires 28-May-2016)

Once you have it installed, the default URL, login and password would be:

http://localhost/SpiraTeam
Login: administrator
Password: PleaseChange

That's it, take a look and let us know what you think...

First Alpha Release of SpiraTeam v5

2022-11-05T14:31:15-04:00

We would love to know what you think so please email us. We know many of you are very keen to get this new release and we want to get it to you as soon as we possibly can.

Formal testing of SpiraTeam 5 is far from complete--please do not use this as your main Spira install and be forgiving of obvious glitches or little quirks. We cannot offer support for this alpha version so please use it with caution.

What does it Include?

It includes the test case workflows, with electronic signature support
The new mobile responsive user interface
New test case and test set folder system
Revamped user interface for test case/set editing
Enhanced test case and test set parameters functionality

What does it Not Include?

It does not include the cross-project associations functionality
It does not have the 'library project' functionality where you can share artifacts
Working test case reports
The new test case execution screen that we asked for feedback on

Screenshots

Here are some screenshots of the new version that were not in the previous technical preview release.

Test Case List Page

Test Case Details Page

Test Set List Page

Test Set Details - Parameters

Test Set Details - Test Cases

Rapise 4.0 Released - Integration with Selenium, Support for Safari, Opera and Enhanced Mobile Testing

2016-03-16T19:31:33-04:00

New Features

Integration of Selenium WebDriver to allow both Selenium and object-based tests
Support for running web tests on Safari and Opera web browsers in addition to current browsers
Adoption of ARIA based testing attributes to allow ‘smart-learning’ of compound web objects/controls
Ability to send mobile events and gestures to devices during test recording

Enhancements

Allow user to configure the XPATH pattern used for recording HTML tests
Browser Profile manager
Add function for determining the selected item(s) in a multi-select list
Add option to Web Settings to use Universal XPath Generator.
Allow user to use Array.prototype extensions

More Information

For a full list of fixed issues, enhancements and new features, please take a look at the Rapise 4.0 Release Notes

For more information on using Rapise with Selenium WebDriver please check out the Rapise Selenium Guide.

SpiraPlan Featured on TechnologyAdvice.com

2015-12-30T10:15:48-05:00

SpiraPlan, by Inflectra, helps teams and organizations fed up with an inefficient software development lifecycle.

The SpiraPlan project management solution lets you take control of your projects’ Agile development, and is totally adaptable to your unique processes and methodology; regardless of whether you use Scrum, Kanban, XP, or something else entirely, SpiraPlan can work for you.

Whether delivered via a cloud hosting provider or installed on your own server, SpiraPlan offers robust project and portfolio management functionality while maintaining a flexible interface. It integrates with a wide variety of tools, meaning it can be adapted to almost any existing development team or environment, and the tiered pricing structure allows you to implement the system for minimal cost, especially when compared to similar hybrid or subscription-only solutions.

I have used SpiraPlan for several years to help manage projects. It is a very stable and reliable piece of software. I find it great for managing tasks for staff working remote from the office. It took a bit of getting used to at first as there are several ways of setting up projects. However, once you get the hang of it and find the way it works for you, it’s great. I really like the import / export functions to Microsoft Project and Excel — very useful. Also the ability to set up your own custom fields gives it a lot of flexibility. I have used several other software products over the years, both good and not so good ones, and I would thoroughly recommend SpiraPlan. – Alan Bissett, Bearwood Consultants Ltd.

We recommend SpiraPlan to any organization looking for a flexible, Agile project management tool that supports multiple methodologies, but especially for software or web development firms managing remote teams.

Learn more about SpiraPlan and TechnologyAdvice.com by viewing our profile here:

http://technologyadvice.com/products/spiraplan-reviews/

Rapise Listed on SoftwareInformer.com

2015-12-09T15:42:18-05:00

We are pleased to announce that our Rapise test automation system has been added to Software Informer in the Software Development Tools category.

Technical Preview of SpiraTeam v5

2018-02-28T16:42:52-05:00

We are releasing a technical preview (available for download and local install with a special license key). This is a great way for those who want to try out the new features, or who want to experience the new user interface. It’s also a great way for us to get valuable insights from you, to help us make refinements before the final release. If you download this preview, we would love to hear what you think.

While we’ve made a lot of changes, this preview branch only contains some of the new functionality and does contain known bugs. Please do not use this as your main Spira install and be forgiving of obvious glitches. We cannot offer support for this preview so please use it with caution.

With that said, here’s a short list of all the top things in the technical preview. We hope that you will be as excited by these as us:

Digital signatures
Customizable workflows for releases
Release rollups to give more flexible ways to manage releases
A new user interface that will be fully responsive to work on mobile as well as large desktops
Redesigned and clearer dashboards

Trying out the Preview

This preview version is only available as a download, so you will need the usual system prerequisites (IIS web server, SQL Server database). To actually download and install the software please use:

URL: [link removed]
Product: SpiraTeam
Install Type: Complete Installation
Organization Name: Preview
License Key: CDF359D56F51395D3F50B8144FE5B2CA (expires 28-March-2016)

Once you have it installed, the default URL, login and password would be:

http://localhost/SpiraTeam
Login: administrator
Password: PleaseChange

That's it, take a look and let us know what you think...

Screenshots

Here are some screenshots of the new version:

Login Page

Release List Page

Release Details Page

Scrum Project Management Tools for Your Agile Team

2022-12-16T10:19:52-05:00

Overview

In this article, the author highlights five common Scrum project management tools (often called Scrum artifacts) that can help agile teams structure and improve their workflows. The article includes sections on the following key areas:

• User Stories
• Scrum Boards
• Sprint Backlogs
• Burndown Charts
• Velocity Charts

The full article can be read on the SoftwareAdvice Website.

SpiraPlan Listed on SoftwareAdvice for Agile Project Management

2015-11-06T13:12:25-05:00

Learn more about SpiraPlan by viewing our profile here:

http://www.softwareadvice.com/project-management/spiraplan-profile/

TaraVault Released - Secure Private Git & Subversion for Spira

2015-10-24T13:32:58-04:00

When you need a complete solution for managing your software projects, SpiraTeam and TaraVault give you everything you need to quickly and effortlessly design, plan, test and deliver on-time and on-budget. With powerful features such as requirements management, test management, bug-tracking, source code management and powerful reporting, why look anywhere else.

Enterprise Git & Subversion Hosting

The heart of TaraVault is our enterprise-grade repository hosting. Each TaraVault project comes with its own private source code repository (Subversion or Git). Both are fully compatible with standard clients and use secure, encrypted communications for all access. Choose centralized or distributed version control per project.

Application Lifecycle Management

TaraVault is fully-integrated with our SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam application lifecycle management (ALM) platforms so that you can manage your software development projects in one environment. With powerful features for managing requirements, planning projects, tracking bugs/issues and allocating resources, TaraVault will let you manage your source code repositories, link source code revisions, and ensure quality.

Secure, Reliable and Private

TaraVault is designed for businesses and others that need to keep their source code private, so we take the integrity and security of all customer data very seriously. We combine a number of approaches across our infrastructure to meet the ever-evolving challenges to security and data integrity.

SpiraTeam Featured in DevMedia for Managing Agile Programs

2015-10-07T15:56:37-04:00

A recent article published by our partner OAT Solutions in the popular DevMedia magazine discusses strategies and best practices for structuring and managing agile programs for success. Using our SpiraTeam ALM system as the technology solution, it describes how you can use SpiraTeam to deliver on the promise of the agile manifesto. OAT Solutions chose SpiraTeam for its simplicity, ease of use and breadth of capability.

Excel Importer for KronoDesk Released

2015-09-25T14:37:28-04:00

Customers face the challenge of migrating their legacy help desk tickets from other solutions to modern web-based help desk solutions such as KronoDesk.

Our new Excel Importer can be used to quickly and easily migrate help desk tickets from Excel or other systems directly into KronoDesk with the minimum of effort.

You can learn more about our Excel Help Desk Ticket Importer and KronoDesk customer support solution on our website.

Spira Build Server Plugin for MS TFS Released

2015-07-31T16:55:05-04:00

How does SpiraTeam work with Build Servers?

SpiraTeam includes the ability to integrate with a variety of continuous integration / automated build servers so that the results of automated builds can be displayed in SpiraTeam linked to the associated release or iteration. In addition, the results of automated tests and source code operations can be linked to the build events, providing traceability from a specific build to the bugs that were fixed, tests that were run and source code files that were modified.

Microsoft Team Foundation Server (commonly abbreviated to TFS) is a Microsoft product offering source control, data collection, reporting, and build management, and is intended for collaborative software development projects. It is available either as stand-alone software, or as the server side back end platform for Visual Studio Team System (VSTS).

When you use the SpiraTeam Build-Server Plug-In for TFS, it will allow you to associate each TFS project with a corresponding project and release in SpiraTeam. Then, each time TFS creates a new build, a new build artifact will be created in SpiraTeam. Each build in SpiraTeam will be automatically linked to the incidents fixed, tasks implemented, tests executed, requirements developed and source code revisions committed.

Where can I learn more?

For more details, please refer to the SpiraTeam Add-On / Downloads Page. Documentation for using the Plugin can be found at: https://www.inflectra.com/Documents/SpiraTestPlanTeam-Build-Server-Integration-Guide.pdf

Inflectra Webinar on using SpiraTest with Neotys NeoLoad for Load Testing

2015-07-15T15:04:57-04:00

To sign up for the webinar, please fill our the following contact form:

https://www.inflectra.com/Company/Contact-Us.aspx

and we shall add you to the webinar invitation list.

The webinar will cover the following topics:

Installing RemoteLaunch onto the NeoLoad controller
Installing and configuring the NeoLoad plugin for RemoteLaunch
Configuring SpiraTest with the automation host, engine and test cases
Writing a simple NeoLoad performance test
Mapping the SpiraTest test case to NeoLoad
Scheduling the automated test set
Running the NeoLoad test from SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch
The different reporting available with the integration

Spira Plugin for Atlassian Bamboo Released

2015-07-10T13:31:17-04:00

How does SpiraTeam work with Build Servers?

Bamboo is a build management and continuous integration server from Atlassian that integrates with their JIRA bug-tracking system. Bamboo provides support for continuous integration, DevOps and agile projects with its integrated code inspection tool Crucible, source code hosting Stash/BitBucket and support for various development platforms.

When you use the SpiraTeam Plug-In for Bamboo, it will allow you to associate each Bamboo project with a corresponding project and release in SpiraTeam. Then, each time Bamboo creates a new build, a new build artifact will be created in SpiraTeam. Each build in SpiraTeam will be automatically linked to the incidents fixed, tasks implemented, tests executed, requirements developed and source code revisions committed.

Where can I learn more?

Rapise 3.1 Released - Makes Web Testing Easy with Interactive DOM Browser and Query Tools

2015-07-08T17:36:07-04:00

New Features

Web browser DOM Spy that lets you inspect web applications, browse the DOM Tree and Learn objects
Interactive tool for easier building of dynamic XPATH and CSS selectors and adding matches objects to Object Tree

Enhancements

When use opens a test, open one of its files in the main window.-[IN:2808]
Ability to query HTML DOM using CSS Selectors as well as XPATH-[IN:2975]
Improve merging capabilities for recorded HTML objects-[IN:3014]
Make it easier to check whether an object is on the screen, for testing web applications-[IN:3038]
Option to disable recorded comments and keep indenting-[IN:3109]
Tie in Manual Functionality to Spira Dashboard-[IN:3145]
Rapise application icon needs to be adopted to high DPI-[IN:3154]
Make Rapise check for both Firefox and Firefox ESR registry keys-[IN:3177]

Resolved Issues

RapiseLauncher should use temporary repository folder for execution-[IN:1845]
Rapise Launcher: minimize the cscript command window-[IN:3009]
Execution Monitor may stay alive when Test is finished abnormally (crash, kill)-[IN:3067]
Object Manager does not work if destination has no objects-[IN:3170]
Improve user feedback when trying to create SpiraTeam Tests from Rapise but without correct permission-[IN:3174]
Need to handle long filenames when using Rapise with Spira-[IN:3178]
Create New Test vanishes list of files currently open in editor for current test-[IN:3180]
Rapise not able to connect to Firefox-[IN:3212]
Rapise Throws Error using Mobile Spy on iOS in Recording Mode-[IN:3216]
When a new test is created and opened, the files for the currently-open test remain open.-[IN:3226]

Spira Plugin for JetBrains TeamCity Released

2015-06-30T15:50:08-04:00

TeamCity is a Java-based build management and continuous integration server from JetBrains. TeamCity provides support for gated commits, distributed builds (using its build grid), integrated code inspection and support for Java, .NET and Ruby development platforms.

When you use the SpiraTeam Plug-In for TeamCity, it will allow you to associate each TeamCity project with a corresponding project and release in SpiraTeam. Then, each time TeamCity creates a new build, a new build artifact will be created in SpiraTeam. Each build in SpiraTeam will be automatically linked to the incidents fixed, tasks implemented, requirements developed and source code revisions committed.

Inflectra Webinar on using SpiraTest to setup and manage your QA

2015-06-29T14:55:31-04:00

To sign up for the webinar, please fill our the following contact form:

https://www.inflectra.com/Company/Contact-Us.aspx

and we shall add you to the webinar invitation list.

The webinar will cover the following topics:

Creating a new project in SpiraTest
Entering requirements, user stories and use cases
Creating the test plan to test the requirements
Defining the releases and their associated test plans
Scheduling tests using test sets
Manual playback of tests using SpiraTest and/or Rapise
Logging of defects during test playback
Reporting using dashboards and reporting center
Using Rapise to streamline test creation

Inflectra Webinar on Mobile Testing with Rapise 3.0

2015-06-03T13:05:58-04:00

To sign up for the webinar, please fill our the following contact form:

https://www.inflectra.com/Company/Contact-Us.aspx

and we shall add you to the webinar invitation list.

The webinar will cover the following topics:

How to use Rapise and Appium to test mobile applications
Testing mobile apps running on iOS simulated devices
Testing mobile apps running on iOS physical devices (e.g. iPad, iPhone)
Testing mobile apps running on Android devices (e.g. Nexus, Galaxy)

Spira 4.2.0.7 Released - Activity Stream Added and Updates to Scrum Task Board

2015-05-26T16:41:18-04:00

New Features

The following new features have been added:

Activity Stream

This new functionality lets you see quickly which users have been active on the current project:

Scrum Task Board

This new view lets you see the tasks in the current iteration/sprint organized by status:

Release Notes

Source Code Revisions page: problems with filtering and sorting- [IN:3194]
Issue with static filter lookup (Test Set - Execution Status) could crash program.- [IN:3118]
Sorting history in Artifact could break Admin History page.- [IN:3147]
Test step handling if the step numbers are not unique- [IN:3162]
Bug when creating Task from Requirement, if filtering by an iteration- [IN:2723]
Clicking Finish on a Test Set/Run that has deleted test cases gives a nasty error message- [IN:3091]
Check for missing user profiles..- [IN:3019]
Improve handling of requirements without tasks, and their effect on the various effort calculations- [IN:3093]
One requirement is showing as not covered, but do not find any requirement that is not covered- [IN:2467]
Requirements Coverage Widget: Obsolete Requirements included in "Not Covered" count- [IN:3065]
added project is assigned to wrong Project Group during its creation (always in Project Group of the selected template)- [IN:2384]
In Administration -> Project History Changes, for incidents, the incident description appears in the Artifact Name column- [IN:3030]
Permissions problem with artifact descriptions, when rich text is OFF: Developer role can't edit some descriptions.- [IN:2696]
Error appears when resizing navigation panel using IE- [IN:3062]
My Account page -> Activity- [IN:2815]
Filter not displayed on "Actions" tab of "My Profile" page- [IN:3186]
Adding an accomplished task with actuals and remaining effort to 0 leaves the task In Progress- [IN:2475]
change password/profile link is bad (happens when Spira is installed at root, instead of within SpiraTeam folder, and no project is selected)- [IN:2421]
Project activity report- [IN:546]
Activity Stream dashboard widget- [IN:1645]
Requirements workflow: When comment is required in workflow, it's not being enforced.- [IN:2617]
Report template editing problem: can't delete all the standard sections- [IN:2427]
Add a Scrum 'Tasks by Status' view to the planning board- [IN:3184]
Tools-> Export to Project: Parameters are not exported if entire test folder is selected- [IN:3079]
Filtering on "Creation Date" & Then Creating Requirement Generates Requirement w/Old Creation Date- [IN:2776]
Character encoding problem on Administration->(Incidents part) Edit workflow->Incident Step page- [IN:2842]
Timecard: every time you submit a timecard, it updates every incident and task that were shown- [IN:2699]
SpiraTest only: new requirements are created with blank estimate, rather than the estimate configured in Planning Options- [IN:3185]

Deployment Plan

This update is available right now to download from the customer area of our website. Users of our cloud service will be updated automatically.

Inflectra Webinar on Agile Development with SpiraPlan / SpiraTeam

2015-05-14T14:39:17-04:00

To sign up for the webinar, please fill our the following contact form:

https://www.inflectra.com/Company/Contact-Us.aspx

and we shall add you to the webinar invitation list.

The webinar will cover the following topics:

The new agile planning board and agile planning features in SpiraPlan / SpiraTeam v4.2.
How you can use SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam on Scrum, Kanban and other agile projects
Practical examples of how the product should be configured for Scrum vs. Kanban
Best practices and pitfalls when transitioning from waterfall to agile.

Inflectra Webinar on Manual Testing with Rapise

2015-05-07T14:37:10-04:00

To sign up for the webinar, please fill our the following contact form:

https://www.inflectra.com/Company/Contact-Us.aspx

and we shall add you to the webinar invitation list.

The webinar will cover the following topics:

The new manual test editing and playback features in Rapise 3.0
How you can use Rapise 3.0 to create a manual test case by just clicking through your application
The advanced image capture and annotation features in Rapise that augment those in SpiraTest
How you can best use Rapise and SpiraTest together for maximum efficiency.

Rapise 3.0 Released - Provides Mobile Device and Exploratory Testing

2015-04-21T10:37:51-04:00

New Features

Ability to record exploratory manual tests and import into SpiraTest / SpiraTeam
Playback of manual tests and hybrid manual-automated tests
Support for testing on Android mobile devices
Support for testing on Apple iOS mobile devices
Ability to create, edit and manage manual tests and link to automation scenarios
Custom Ajax library that tests applications using the in-house Spira framework
Ability to log defects into SpiraTest / SpiraTeam from within Rapise

Enhancements

Simpler way of creating tests in Rapise that will be saved to SpiraTest / SpiraTeam
Using manual tests as the basis for automated testing simplified and streamlined

Resolved Issues

Issue where Global.DoLaunch() was not working with .BAT files fixed
OCR functionality fixed to not require the user to create a Temp folder manually
Bug where events not being passed on to web-page in IE during playback fixed
Bug where IE11 not handling FRAMEs correctly in Rapise v2.2 fixed
Rapiselauncher now identifies folders by ID not name allowing duplicate names

For more information, please refer to the Rapise Release Notes and give the new version a spin today.

Spira 4.2.0.6 Released - REST Web Services and High Priority Enhancements

2015-03-12T16:52:40-04:00

SpiraTest, SpiraPlan, SpiraTeam v4.2.0.6

Release Notes

~ Updates to the German language resource files (thanks to PTA GmbH)
+ Test step history changes added to test case detailed reports
+ Dialog box added to manual test execution screens to allow linking of a test run to an existing incident
+ Ability to easily split a task into two sub-tasks (linked to the same requirement if applicable)
+ Resource details page can now be filtered by release (same as resource list page)
+ ARIA accessibility meta-data added to user interface to simplify automated testing and for Section 508 compliance
+ Project Group dashboard enhanced with new build status widget that shows builds for all projects in the group
! Fixed bug on task list page when Release column is hidden and you try to edit a row
~ The panels for logging a new incident and viewing existing incidents separated on the test execution pages
+ Filter buttons added to resource detail page
~ Test step IDs added to test step tooltips displayed during test execution
+ REST web services API fully implemented

Software Testing in the Cloud using Rapise Cloud Edition

2015-03-11T10:27:25-04:00

Rent your virtual test lab from Inflectra using Amazon Web Services.

Pay only for the time that you do testing
Flexible pricing by machine size and lifespan
Globally available in all AWS regions Globally accessible through Remote Desktop and SSH
Get up and running in minutes with no installations
Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) pre-loaded with all tools

Virtual Test Lab on-Demand

Test your application on multiple platforms and technologies
No need to buy hardware, rent as you need
Runs on proven Amazon EC2 and Amazon EBS services
Fully integrated with SpiraTest for management and reporting
Add-on additional Amazon AWS services as needed

Flexible Pricing

Instead of purchasing a license outright, just rent as you need
Our pricing is aligned with Amazon hourly model starting at $1/hour
Pay just for what you use - no monthly or annual fees
Our pricing varies according to chosen EC2 instance type
Same pricing available in all AWS regions and zones

Saves You Time

Rapise Cloud delivered as pre-installed Amazon Machine Images (AMIs)
Each AMI comes with Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox pre-loaded
Java and other Desktop technologies are pre-installed on each AMI
Powerful debugging tools included at no extra cost
Connect using Remote Desktop and start testing right away

Next Steps

Spira v4.2.0.5 Now Available

2015-02-12T16:21:51-05:00

SpiraTest, SpiraPlan, SpiraTeam v4.2.0.5

Release Notes

+ Added Portuguese (Brazilian dialect) language files
+ Added UK English language files
! Fixes some issues with the source code caching when branches have duplicate names
! Fixes filtering and sorting on the resource list page
~ Changes the resource effort calculations to account for requirements' effort as well as tasks and incidents
! Fixes issue on resources list where the users displayed was inconsistent depending on the release/project/group selection
! Fixes an issue where the top open issues/risks were not displaying on the project group dashboard
+ Adds a refresh button the event log page
+ Implements REST web services for documents, associations, data mapping and automation hosts/engines
+ Adds an API function for getting the default incident type and status for a specific project

KronoDesk v1.1.0.12 Now Available

2015-01-20T16:21:08-05:00

KronoDesk v1.1.0.12 Release Notes

! Fixes several identified bugs
+ Ticket list added to user profile page
+ Log in as user option added to administration pages

Load Testing Plugin Released for RemoteLaunch and NeoLoad that Supports SLAs

2015-01-08T13:48:12-05:00

About the NeoLoad Integration

Neotys NeoLoad is a performance and load testing system that lets you record application performance by a number of ‘virtual users’ and measure the performance against specified Service Level Agreement (SLA) metrics for the application. When you use NeoLoad with SpiraTest you can report back pass/fail/caution by comparing the actual results against the specified SLA metrics.

What Has Changed

Previously the integration between SpiraTest/SpiraTeam and NeoLoad was fairly basic and the reporting of results was limited to the summary metrics with no pass/fail result recorded in Spira. The latest version adds several key enhancements:

There is an option to attach the complete NeoLoad PDF format test report to the test runs in Spira. This lets you easily maintain a central repository of performance testing results and documentation
The summary results of the testing are displayed in an easy to read web format:
The plugin can interpret the SLA results in the NeoLoad report and use that to display the appropriate status in Spira, both at an aggregate level and for each metric:

How Do I Get The Plugin

As always, you can download the latest version of the NeoLoad plugin from our website:

Spira v4.2.0.4 and KronoDesk v1.1.0.11 Now Available

2014-12-09T16:20:46-05:00

Spira v4.2.0.4 Release Notes

! Fixes issue where changing incident type back to 'None' on project home page gave an error
+ Added requirement name to the task tooltips and also added artifact id to other tooltips
! Fixed length truncation issue on editing requirement, task and incident names
! Incident detailed report was not including the name of the person that added comments to the incidents
+ Added support for the new Component field to the notification template system
~ The notification system now displays the full release name in the email notifications for incidents
! Sorting fixed on History > changes list pages
! Adding support for backlinks from Spira to KronoDesk when incidents opened from KronoDesk tickets
! Fixed an issue with workflow-based email notifications that could result in multiple emails being sent

KronoDesk v1.1.0.11 Release Notes

+ Adding an incident to Spira v4.2.0.4 or later adds a hyperlink back to the KronoDesk ticket
! Fixes an issue where certain administration roles could not delete threads
! Fixes an issue with the display of paginated ticket results

Updated Bug-Tracking Integration with AxoSoft OnTime14+

2014-12-02T16:30:37-05:00

We are pleased to announce the release of an updated version of our AxoSoft OnTime plugin for SpiraTeam. This updated version uses the new REST API introduced in OnTime14 and works with both the hosted and on-premise versions of AxoSoft OnTime. You can get the updated version from the SpiraTeam download page.

SpiraPlan Featured in Zintro Project Management Directory

2014-11-24T13:57:15-05:00

Zintro has scoured the far corners of the web to find some of the most comprehensive, feature-packed, useful project management tools that are ideal for solopreneurs and freelance consultants and SpiraPlan made the cut:

http://blog.zintro.com/2014/11/20/50-project-management-tools-freelance-consultants/

Zintro, a free platform for freelance consultants to connect with clients looking for highly specialized experts with skills and expertise ranging from aquaculture to high velocity trading and everything in between.

Updated Microsoft TFS 2012 Source Code Provider Released

2014-11-20T10:12:32-05:00

We have released an updated plugin for SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam that provides support for integrating with Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2012 or later. This allows you to view multiple branches on the TFS source code repository inside Spira and link the changesets with artifacts such as requirements, tasks and incidents.

Rapise v2.2 Released

2014-11-17T14:53:25-05:00

We have just released v2.2 of our Rapise test automation system. The latest version fixes some issues identified when recording using Firefox and optimizes playback support using Chrome and Firefox. It also includes support for CSS-based locators.

Spira v4.2.0.2 and Updated Git / Subversion Providers Released

2014-11-07T17:22:12-05:00

The following enhancements, changes and bug-fixes are included in v4.2.0.2:

~ Additional Changes to the version control interface in support of updated V2 Git/Subversion plugins
! Fixed bug where filtering incidents by Detected Release did not include child iterations
~ Allows users to add comments to artifacts that they don't have general edit permissions to
! Fixed permission issue when accessing test runs
! Source code file list pages were always showing zero (0) files in the page count
+ Added cache status display to version control admin page
! Fixes bug where source code revision associations not showing up for certain artifacts
! Fixes issue where component section was not being saved when you create a new incident
+ The component dropdown was added to the incident section of the test execution page
! Fixes issue where new incident notifications were not being sent
~ Changes date display in source code screens to display in local time instead of UTC

Spira v4.2 Now Available

2014-10-06T10:39:02-04:00

New Features

Ability to have artifact dependencies and associate tasks to incidents
Enhanced source code inspection and traceability capabilities including multiple-branch support
Refreshed Planning Board for Scrum, Kanban and other agile methodologies
Requirements burndown, burnup and velocity graphs added
Build details now includes consolidated list of affected artifacts on one screen

Enhancements and Resolved Issues

Code preview and syntax coloring added to source code file viewing pages
Test automation user interface improved when using Rapise automated test cases
Task burndown and burnup graphs updated to better visualize the information
Assigning a requirement to a release/iteration automatically associates any linked test cases
Associations grids and reports now include the artifact status as an additional field
List custom properties can now be categorized as active / inactive and an undelete option has been added
Components are now available for categorizing tasks and incidents as well as requirements
Performance enhancements when viewing lots of project documents and using nested linked test steps
Copying a project now copies the tasks associated with the requirements
Ability to rank backlog items in the updated Scrum/Kanban planning boards
Dates in reports standardized to all display in user’s local timezone rather than a mix of local and UTC
Use case scenario steps added to requirements reports
Additional functions added to both the SOAP and REST web service APIs
Incident dashboard widgets can now use either Detected Release or Resolved Release for displaying data
Sorting fixed on main project administration screen.
Build dropdown list now correctly populates on various report configuration screens
Rich-text custom properties now render correctly in the various reports

Updated NUnit Plugin Available for SpiraTest / SpiraTeam

2014-10-03T15:03:30-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of an updated plugin for the popular NUnit unit testing framework. The latest version of the plugin provides support for both NUnit v2.5.5 and v2.6.3.

Updated FitNesse Plugin for Spira RemoteLaunch

2014-10-03T10:57:20-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of an updated plugin for the popular FitNesse acceptance testing framework. The v4.0.0 version of the plugin provides enhanced reporting for users of SpiraTest v4.0 and SpiraTeam v4.0 or later.

Rapise 2.1 Released - Syncfusion Support, New UI & Spira Integration

2014-09-16T20:43:36-04:00

The new version of Rapise features a completely refreshed clean user interface that puts the key information front and center, with a built-in quick-start guide for new users, shortcuts for opening the current test, creating a new test and accessing key documentation:

The new Spira Dashboard allows you to manage your automated testing from within Rapise. You can view upcoming scheduled tests, manage your test lab, convert manual test cases into automated test scripts and load/save automated tests directly into Spira. With Rapise 2.1, we have streamlined the process of creating tests, signing up for a Spira account and saving the test results. Using Rapise and Spira you have an unbeatable combination for test management:

The redesigned Start Page lets you focus on the most important tasks, it allows you to specify test parameters, download samples and change the current browser, all with a single click:

For a complete list of all the enhancements, new features and fixed bugs, please refer to the Rapise 2.1 Release Notes.

Updated SoapUI and LoadUI Plugin Released

2014-09-03T14:45:46-04:00

We have just released an updated plugin for the SoapUI web service functional testing and LoadUI load testing systems from SmartBear. The new versions provide enhanced reporting functionality. You can download the new versions from the RemoteLaunch home page.

KronoDesk v1.1.0.10 Released

2014-08-01T15:18:52-04:00

This new version has the following changes:

Fixes security issue where temporary attachments associated with un-submitted tickets could be viewed by other users
Fixes XSS issue on forum tag search results page
Adds shortcut hyperlink from user details page to the Administration > Edit Users page
Ability for administrators to create users as well as existing self-registration option
Employee, manager and administrator roles can now submit tickets on behalf of other users

Spira v4.1.0.6 Now Available

2014-07-01T10:13:29-04:00

! Fixes error from showing when copying a task with no Priority set.
! Copying a project didn't correctly point the copied requirements to the copied releases
! Fixes issue pasting screenshots on Chrome 35+
~ Changes to session management to improve performance of Ajax web services
~ Enhanced error logging for entity framework database errors
! Fixes issue where project copy will fail if a project has a name > 45 characters
! Fixes filtering of tasks by custom property
! Fixes validation message handling of REST web services

KronoDesk v1.1.0.9 Now Available

2014-05-30T14:50:30-04:00

We have just released KronoDesk v1.1.0.9. This update for our KronoDesk customer support & help desk system includes updated language resources files for French customers as well as fixes for displaying history and pasting screenshots from the latest versions of Google Chrome.

Rapise 2.0 Now Available

2014-05-15T12:46:46-04:00

New Features

Support for new HTML5 Controls (Number, Progress, Range)
Database global object now available for creating data-driven tests using an ODBC / SQL database
Object Manager module added that allows test authors to easily copy learned objects between test scripts

Enhancements

Additional controls available in GWTExt and SmartGWT libraries
Updated add-on for Mozilla Firefox that offers greater performance
Updated extension for Google Chrome that replaces the NSAPI API with the new Native API

Fixes

RapiseChrome.crx updated to work with planned versions of Chrome that use Native API
REST Web Service add-in now correctly detects filenames with characters that will not create valid object names
Library Information System samples updated to work correctly on Firefox and Chrome
Save-As functionality fixed so that .JS files are correctly renamed to match .sstest files
Fixes to the Silverlight, jQuery and SampleATM samples

New Add-Ins Released for Microsoft Office 2010/2013

2014-04-17T17:31:25-04:00

These new versions of the Microsoft Office Add-Ins provide the following new features:

Support for the new custom property types introduced in Spira v4.0 and later.
The ability to associate imported test cases with multiple test sets, requirements and releases in one import stage
The ability to import comments associated with releases, requirements, test sets and tasks
You can now use version numbers to refer to releases instead of having to enter in the internal release ID
The ability to import custom property list values from Excel into Spira

TestingAnywhere Plug-In Released for RemoteLaunch

2014-04-02T15:20:49-04:00

Testing Anywhere is a powerful and easy to use automated software testing tool that allows users to automate any type of testing. Powerful GUI based recording capabilities and a no-programming required user interface allows testers to quickly set up even complex test cases. A built-in editor allows users to build tests that can be easily edited to allow for changes in the test cases.

Using TestingAnywhere in conjunction with SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch allows you to create test sets of TestingAnywhere tests and be able to schedule them for execution across a global test lab.

Once executed, all the test results are collated by RemoteLaunch and sent back to SpiraTest, which acts as a central repository for your automated acceptance testing activities.

Spira v4.1.0.5 Now Available

2014-03-28T15:06:49-04:00

! Fixes performance issue on test set list page
! Improves performance on global search when lots of projects and artifacts are being searched
! Fixes issue in SpiraPlan where planning board not displaying correctly for certain user roles
! Fixes indent/outdent issue in requirements where collapsed items being auto-expanded
~ Enables timecard to accept negative hours for 'additional effort' column
! Fixes issue in data mapping when trying to display task type datamapping values
! Adds some missing German language resource files

Importer for HP ALM 11.5 Released

2014-03-25T14:24:18-04:00

The importer connects to your existing HP ALM instance and lets you import an entire HP ALM project. The importer will then migrate the custom fields, requirements, releases, test cases, test sets, design steps, defects and associated file attachments into SpiraTest or SpiraTeam. The importer is available at no cost and can be downloaded from https://www.inflectra.com/SpiraTest/Downloads.aspx

SpiraTest® is a powerful Requirements and Test Management solution that manages a software project’s requirements, scope, use-cases, tests, releases and bugs and issues in one environment, with complete requirements traceability throughout. Customers can track every bug or issue back to the test case and test step that being executed, and from there back to the underlying requirement needing fulfillment.

SpiraTeam® is an integrated Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) system that manages your project's requirements, releases, test cases, issues and tasks in one unified environment. SpiraTeam®contains all of the features provided by SpiraTest® - our highly acclaimed quality assurance system and SpiraPlan® - our agile-enabled project management solution. With integrated customizable dashboards of key project information, SpiraTeam® allows you to take control of your entire project lifecycle and synchronize the hitherto separate worlds of development and testing.

Spira v4.1.0.4 Now Available

2014-03-18T14:39:40-04:00

We have just released SpiraTest, SpiraPlan, SpiraTeam v4.1.0.4. This update includes some important fixes for v4.1 and should be installed by all on-premise users. On-demand customers will be updated during their next scheduled maintenance window.

KronoDesk v1.1.0.8 Now Available

2014-03-11T20:06:42-04:00

We have just released KronoDesk v1.1.0.8. This update for our KronoDesk customer support & help desk system includes language resources files for German customers (thanks to our partner www.pta.de) and updates to the rich text editing capability.

Updated Plugin Released for Selenium 2

2014-03-05T22:33:29-05:00

We are pleased to announce the release of an updated plugin for SpiraTest, SpiraTeam and RemoteLaunch that enhances the integration with Selenium IDE and Selenium WebDriver. The updated plugin supports the capturing of individual actions as test steps as well as fixes some known issues when integrating with Selenium 2.0 WebDriver.

Spira v4.1.0.3 Now Available

2014-03-03T00:40:33-05:00

We have just released SpiraTest, SpiraPlan, SpiraTeam v4.1.0.3. This update includes some important fixes for v4.1 and should be installed by all on-premise users. On-demand customers will be updated during their next scheduled maintenance window.

Rapise 1.8.1 Now Available

2014-02-14T13:30:22-05:00

New Features

Support for ActiveX SofttelVDM Tree Control in Visual Basic (SftTree)
Support for ActiveX FarPoint Spreadsheet Control in Visual Basic

Enhancements

Flash of HTML object no longer opens a new browser window, but instead can use the currently open page in the web browser
Adds the .sstest files to the Recent Document list when opened by double-click from Windows Explorer

Fixes

RapiseChrome.crx updated to use latest Chrome manifest file format.
Chrome HTML library updated to support breaking changes in Chrome32
DoClick - find element coordinates in IE now works when nested frames are available
Document paths in debugger (ReparsePoints) fixed

KronoDesk v1.1.0.7 Now Available

2014-02-05T12:51:04-05:00

We have just released KronoDesk v1.1.0.7. This update for our KronoDesk customer support & help desk system includes an updated screenshot capture tool that no longer requires Java to be installed and also a Czech language pack.

RemoteLaunchX Released for Cross-Platform Testing

2013-12-19T13:34:06-05:00

RemoteLaunchX™ includes support for existing command-line applications on different platforms and reporting the results automatically back into either SpiraTest or SpiraTeam. The system allows testers to specify custom regular expressions for parsing the output of automated test frameworks to more accurately determine the execution status and outcome.

SpiraTeam® is an integrated Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) system that manages your project's requirements, releases, test cases, issues and tasks in one unified environment. SpiraTeam® contains all of the features provided by SpiraTest® - our highly acclaimed quality assurance system and SpiraPlan® - our agile-enabled project management solution. With integrated customizable dashboards of key project information, SpiraTeam® allows you to take control of your entire project lifecycle and synchronize the hitherto separate worlds of development and testing.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Maryland located just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan®, SpiraTeam®, RemoteLaunch® and RemoteLaunchX™ are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

Importer for Microsoft Test Manager (MTM) Released

2013-12-11T12:25:13-05:00

The importer connects to your existing MTM instance and lets you import an entire MTM project or just selected test plans. The importer will then migrate the test plan(s), test suites, test cases, test runs and any associated attachments into SpiraTest or SpiraTeam. The importer is available at no cost and can be downloaded from https://www.inflectra.com/SpiraTest/Downloads.aspx

KronoDesk v1.1 Released: Customizable Notifications and Mobile Support

2013-11-07T12:52:23-05:00

New Features

Users can upload small graphic avatars that will be displayed in forums and help desk
Users can specify override timezone and culture
Display forum statistics and total number open/answered messages in each forum
Support for meta-tags in Forums with Tag Cloud for easy access to tagged threads
Workflow step/status can be marked separately as 'active' for submitter and 'active' for agent
Templating system for all help desk notifications and emails
Customizable Reporting system including graphs, data-grids and MS-Excel, CSV exports
Mobile web interface for Apple iOS Devices and Android Devices
Enhanced ability to change look and feel of application to match company standards / website
REST Web Services API added in addition to existing SOAP Web Services API

Enhancements

Ability for system to 'auto-close' after a period of time.
Stores user settings in database so that the system remembers filters, opened/closed widgets, etc.
My Subscribed Articles widget added to both customer and employee dashboards
Closed date now auto-populates and clears when you close/open a help desk ticket
Watermark added to the ticket creation page to better explain to customers the purpose of the Ticket Name field

About KronoDesk®

KronoDesk® is an integrated customer support system that includes help desk ticketing, customer support forums and an online knowledge base in a single user interface.

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Maryland located just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan®, SpiraTeam® and KronoDesk™ are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

SpiraTeam Featured ALM Tool in SD Journal

2013-10-25T16:40:27-04:00

SpiraTeam has been featured as in the October 2013 issue of Software Developer's Journal. The article provides some background on the history and components of ALM and uses SpiraTeam to illustrate the features and components of a modern ALM system. For more details: https://www.inflectra.com/Partners/Articles/SoftwareDeveloperJournal_SpiraTeamALM_Softlab_PL.pdf

Rapise Demos Now On YouTube

2013-10-10T16:49:56-04:00

We have just posted some new demo videos illustrating how to use Rapise for testing web sites, jQuery rich text web applications and RESTful web service interfaces. Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3ovzy-3_JejOHS9BeHKjl9rEFxIN1q07

Rapise v1.8 Released: Adds jQuery, ActiveX and Component One Support

2013-10-03T16:40:25-04:00

New Features

New jQuery library that provides pre-built support for testing Ajax web applications written using the popular jQuery Javascript library and jQuery-UI widget toolkit.
ActiveX library added that support testing Microsoft COM/ActiveX applications including those written using Visual Basic 6.0.
New ActiveXC1 library that provides support for ComponentOne ActiveX Controls, including: Component One FlexGrid and ComponentOne FlexList
Support added for testing the FarPoint spreadsheet grid controls (v6, v7)

Enhancements

User experience enhanced for saving test scripts.
Performance enhancements when loading/saving test cases to/from SpiraTest.

About Rapise®

Rapise is the next generation software test automation platform that leverages the power of open, extensible architecture to provide the most rapid and flexible functional testing tool on the market today.

Rapise is ideal for functional GUI testing - both client-server and standalone applications, cross-browser web testing, and the testing of web service APIs. Rapise is the ideal testing solution for today's agile software projects.

Rapise® provides powerful built-in support for the following environments: Java, Google Web Toolkit, Yahoo User Interface, Web applications including AJAX, Windows Forms including Infragistics, DevExpress, Telerik, Adobe Flash/Flex including AIR, Microsoft .NET, Silverlight, Win32 applications and WPF. With Rapise you can use the same environment to test all these technologies.

Rapise's cross-browser testing capabilities are best in class, with support for multiple versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Choose Rapise to test web applications in all of the most widely used browsers. Record or create one test script and execute the same script without modification across the major browsers. Built-in support for GWT and YUI.

Rapise includes a built-in Web Service testing module that allows you to prototype web service requests, inspect the message packets and returned data and then create reusable objects that can be used in your Rapise test scripts. With native support for JSON data formats, you can now test the UI and back-end of Ajax web applications in a single integrated scenario.

When used with SpiraTest you can manage an entire Rapise global test lab from your central SpiraTest server and have an integrated set of reports and dashboards containing all your automated testing results.

You can record and create your test cases using Rapise, upload them to SpiraTest with full version control and then schedule the tests to be executed on multiple remote computers.

Rapise®'s open architecture provides unlimited flexibility to extend and customize automated testing to meet unique test needs. Rapise's extreme adaptability means improved quality and reduced time to market.

Users can modify and extend key functions and customize aspects of the recording and test execution behaviors by creating custom plug-in libraries using JavaScript, the most widely used scripting language.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Maryland located just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan®, SpiraTeam® and Rapise® are registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

Redmine Plugin Released for SpiraTeam

2013-08-28T12:37:31-04:00

The plugin for Redmine uses the built-in data synchronization capability of SpiraTeam to allow incidents logged in SpiraTeam to be added as new issues in Redmine and vice-versa. In addition, any changes made to a previously-synchronized issue in Redmine will be updated accordingly in SpiraTeam. You can download the plugin from https://www.inflectra.com/SpiraTeam/Downloads.aspx

Redmine is a free and open source, web-based project management and bug-tracking tool. It includes a calendar and Gantt charts to aid visual representation of projects and their deadlines. It handles multiple projects. Redmine provides integrated project management features, issue tracking, and support for various version control systems.

SpiraPlan®provides a complete Agile Project Management System in one package, that can manages your project's requirements, releases, iterations, tasks and issues in one environment, fully synchronized. SpiraPlan® provides reporting dashboards of key project progress and risk indicators - task progress, effort slippage, project velocity, task burndown / burnup, top risk and issues – in one consolidated view. Designed to be methodology agnostic, SpiraPlan supports Scrum, Extreme Programming, DSDM, Agile United Process and other agile/hybrid methodologies.

Updated Plugin For TFS 2012 Released

2013-08-21T08:13:45-04:00

Since SpiraTest is one of the most popular test management system in use with TFS, we have upgraded the functionality to provide the following new features:

The plugin uses the new TFS 2012 API that offers enhanced access to TFS data and also allows use of Windows Live IDs as well as ActiveDirectory credentials.
Work items such as user stories can now be imported directly into SpiraTest as requirements.
Support for additional custom property / field types including user, multiselect lists, dates and boolean flags.
The hyperlinks and related work item links added to the TFS work item are now imported into SpiraTest as associations. Similarly, associations in SpiraTest are now imported into TFS work items.
Attachments (screen shots, error files, etc.) added to SpiraTest incidents are now imported into TFS and attached to the appropriate work item.
Attachments (screen shots, error files, etc.) added to TFS work items are now imported into SpiraTest and attached to the appropriate incident, requirement or task.

Team Foundation Server (commonly abbreviated to TFS) is a Microsoft product offering source control, data collection, reporting, and project tracking, and is intended for collaborative software development projects

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Maryland located just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan®, SpiraTeam® and Rapise® are registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

Updated Spira Software Development Kit (SDK) Released

2013-08-08T01:50:51-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of an updated version of our Spira SDK that helps customers and partners integrate SpiraTest, SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam with their existing bug-tracking, version-control or test-automation systems.

The latest version adds support for the new test automation and custom properties features in Spira v4.0. The SDK can be downloaded from our website - Spira SDK.

Spira v4.0 Patch 012 Released Today

2013-07-05T09:34:28-04:00

· ! Fixes issue that could cause creating a new project to fail when using a template project.

· ! Fixes some internal error-throwing code.

· ! Fixes error that could occur if "Max Length" is set on custom test field.

· + Added 'Artifact Name' field to Admin->History pages.

· ! Small speed improvement for browser detection.

· ! Fixes issue where test sets' test cases were not respecting their specific assigned owners

· ! Fixes display issue in IE10 where text caret appears in next line when you click ENTER after editing an item

· + Adds ability to enter in negative time offset needed for certain datasyncs.

· ! Fixes issue where user could get blank page after logging in.

Rapise v1.7 Released: Web Service Testing & Enhanced Support for GWT

2013-06-25T10:13:41-04:00

New Features

New REST web services testing add-in that enables the testing of RESTful web service APIs.
Package Manager that can connect to the QA-Forge for installing third-party libraries
New third party libraries that support:
- Google Web Toolkit – GWT-Ext
- Google Web Toolkit - SimpleGWT

Enhancements

Ability to export reports as Adobe Acrobat PDF files as well as Microsoft Excel
Samples added for testing Flex4 applications

Resolved Issues

Fixes incompatibility issues with Internet Explorer (IE) 10 on 64-bit platforms
Documentation updated to specifically describe how to test Flex4 (vs. Flex3) applications

About Rapise®

You can record and create your test cases using Rapise, upload them to SpiraTest with full version control and then schedule the tests to be executed on multiple remote computers.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Maryland located just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan®, SpiraTeam® and Rapise® are registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

Spira 4.0 Plugin for Eclipse Mylyn Now Available

2013-05-10T18:14:58-04:00

We have just released an updated extension for the Eclipse Mylyn task-based interface that brings the power of SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam to your desktop. Completely rewritten to take advantage of the new custom property features in SpiraTeam 4.0 and Eclipse Mylyn 3.8, the extension allows you to seamlessly manage your requirements, tasks and incidents directly inside of Eclipse.

Spira Extension for Visual Studio 2010/2012 Just Released

2013-05-07T16:49:40-04:00

We have just released an updated extension for Visual Studio 2010 and 2012 that brings the power of SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam to your desktop. Completely rewritten to take advantage of the new custom property features in SpiraTeam 4.0 and Visual Studio 2012, the extension allows you to seamlessly manage your requirements, tasks and incidents directly inside of Visual Studio. You can download it from http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/ef3e5da0-ac1e-48de-9c4b-0a8479ef8498

Spira v4.0 Patch 010 Released Today

2013-05-01T14:27:02-04:00

! Fixes issue where changes to security settings were not taking effect until application restarted
~ Extends SOAP web services send/receive timeouts to 10 minutes
~ Adds ampersands to the list of allowed characters in an email address
! Fixes issue where requirements and test case data mapping lists not being populated
! Fixes issue where Artifact Details screen could show a system error if a Decuimal Custom Property has a Min or Max value.
~ Allows single quotes in users' email addresses
! Fixed issue where My Profile link gives a 404 error if no project is selected
! Fixed display issue on IE10 on add attachments page
! Workflow details page now saves the value of the Notify checkbox
! Fixes issue where reports not filtering on boolean custom properties
! Fixes issue where all new incidents were being listed as having attachements (even when not the case)
~ Changes label on custom list details page to show 'By ID' instead of 'Remove'
! Fixes issue where you can occasionally get a system error filtering the administration user list
! Fixes issue where copying a folder of test cases doesn't copy the test case parameters
~ Displays friendly message when a tester tries to execute a single test case that has no test steps
~ Security settings label changed from 'Remember Me' to 'Keep Me Logged-In' to match login page
! Fixes error that could occur on Admin -> Event Log page.
~ IE10 cross icons removed from dropdown list autocomplete text boxes
! Fixes a couple of usability issues on the Edit Reports administration page
! Fixes issue where Release details page complaining about negative available effort when saving changes
! Fixes issue in workflow where incident Closed-Date was not being hidden or disabled
! Fixes workflow issue where required/disabled/hidden states for deleted custom properties was being used
+ Added additional API functions for retrieving test case and test step parameters and values
! Fixed bug in documents api where artifact id was returning a null value
! Fixes issue where filtering by date-range can be one-day offset when using timezones that are +UTC
! Fixes bug introduced in patch 008 where embedded images were not appearing in MS-Word 2003 format reports
! Fixes performance issues when expanding/collapsing hierarchical items with large numbers of artifacts
! Fixes performance issues when executing test cases against releases that have large numbers of test cases

Updated Plugin For JIRA 5+ Released

2013-04-25T10:33:09-04:00

Since SpiraTest is one of the most popular test management system in use with JIRA, we have upgraded the functionality to provide the following new features:

The plugin uses the new JIRA REST API that offers enhanced access to JIRA Data.
Greenhopper items such as user stories can now be imported directly into SpiraTest as requirements.
Support for additional custom property / field types including user, multiselect lists, dates and boolean flags.
The hyperlinks added to the JIRA issue that point to the requirements and test runs in SpiraTest use the JIRA web link functionality rather than being embedded in the text.
Incident associations in SpiraTest are now correctly converted into JIRA issue links.
The limitation on retrieving only the most recent 1000 new issues from JIRA has been removed.

JIRA is a popular issue tracking product, developed by Atlassian, commonly used for bug tracking, issue tracking, and project management. JIRA lets you track bugs and defects, link issues to related source code, plan agile development and monitor team activity.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Maryland located just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan®, SpiraTeam® and Rapise® are registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

Updated Command-Line Plugin Released for RemoteLaunch

2013-04-23T23:12:22-04:00

We have just released an updated version of the Command-Line plugin for Spira RemoteLaunch v4.0. The latest version of the plugin allows testers to specify custom regular expressions for parsing the output of automated test frameworks to more accurately determine the execution status and outcome.

Updated Plugin Released for SmartBear TestComplete 9.x

2013-04-22T22:42:47-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of an updated plugin for SpiraTest, SpiraTeam and RemoteLaunch that enhances the integration with TestComplete from SmartBear. The updated plugin supports the capturing of individual actions as test steps as well as the ability to store screenshots captured during testing within the SpiraTest integrated test repository.

Updated Plugin for Subversion Released

2013-03-21T13:03:38-04:00

Subversion exists to be universally recognized and adopted as an open-source, centralized version control system characterized by its reliability as a safe haven for valuable data; the simplicity of its model and usage; and its ability to support the needs of a wide variety of users and projects, from individuals to large-scale enterprise operations.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Marylandlocated just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan® and SpiraTeam® are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

Updated Plugin for Git Released

2013-03-19T10:06:09-04:00

Git is a free & open source, distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.

Every Git clone is a full-fledged repository with complete history and full revision tracking capabilities, not dependent on network access or a central server. Branching and merging are fast and easy to do.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Marylandlocated just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan® and SpiraTeam® are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

RemoteLaunch 4.0 Released for Global Test Automation

2013-03-14T13:59:48-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of the 4.0 version of RemoteLaunch. This updated version of the system takes advantage of the new test automation features in SpiraTest and SpiraTeam 4.0 and also provides support for executing tests across multiple timezones.

Spira v4.0 Patch 009 Released Today

2013-03-07T16:20:35-05:00

We just released patch 009 for SpiraTeam, SpiraTest and SpiraPlan that fixes some known issues and adds additional language file updates. It will be deployed to our hosted SaaS sites this weekend.

Rapise v1.6 Released - Enhanced Spira Integration & Chrome Support

2013-02-26T08:11:25-05:00

New Features

Ability to create a new Rapise test script based on an existing SpiraTest / SpiraTeam manual test case
Rapise Chrome Extension 1.6 now supports DOM items stored in frames
Chrome Extension Manifest v2 support for enhanced Chrome testing
Cross-domain frames record/playback in Google Chrome

Enhancements

RapiseLauncher now supports the ability to return back a structured test report to SpiraTest / SpiraTeam, with each Assert statement being recorded as a SpiraTest test step.
Improved stability of the Execution Monitor
Programmatic way to export native report .trp format into other standard formats (MS-Word, MS-Excel)
Support for Popup windows in Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome
UI Automation Library: Speed optimization for interacting with large lists

About Rapise®

Rapise is ideal for functional GUI testing - both client-server and standalone applications, cross-browser web testing, and data-driven testing. Rapise is the ideal testing solution for today's agile software projects.

You can record and create your test cases using Rapise, upload them to SpiraTest with full version control and then schedule the tests to be executed on multiple remote computers.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Maryland located just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan®, SpiraTeam® and Rapise® are registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

Inbound Email Integration for SpiraTeam Now Available

2013-02-06T15:44:44-05:00

With this new add-on (available at https://www.inflectra.com/SpiraTeam/Downloads.aspx) you can connect to your company's email server and have the system scan for inbound emails from end users.

The system will then either create a new incident request in SpiraTeam or if the email is in response to a notification from the system, it will simply add the email contents as a new comment on the existing SpiraTeam item.

KronoDesk Development Roadmap Released for 2013

2013-01-28T12:28:17-05:00

We are pleased to release the Development Roadmap for our KronoDesk customer support and help desk system in 2013. The development roadmap outlines the functionality enhancements planned for this year:

https://www.inflectra.com/Documents/KronoDesk%20Development%20Roadmap.pdf

Spira v4.0 Patch 004 Released Today

2013-01-24T13:19:20-05:00

We just released patch 004 for SpiraTeam, SpiraTest and SpiraPlan that fixes some known issues and adds additional language file updates.

SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam 4.0 Beta Now Available

2012-11-30T13:56:40-05:00

The beta version is available both as a Public Demo and a Trial Download. If you have any suggestions or feedback based on your experiences of the beta release, please let our customer support team know at https://www.inflectra.com/Support or just send an email to support@inflectra.com.

New Features

Support for more than 20 custom properties per artifact-type
Support for multi-list, rich text, date, Boolean, integer, decimal and user custom properties
Ability to raise incidents and add discussions from inbound emails
Ability to more easily customize the look and feel and content of the standard reports
Ability to create custom reports using Microsoft Entity SQL (ESQL) query format
Support for mobile devices – iOS (iPod, iPhone, iPad) and Android (Galaxy, Nexus, etc.)
Enhanced security mode for more granular permissions

Enhancements & Issues Resolved

List pages remember the arrangement of columns
List pages display the currently active filters
Test case and test run pages now show list of associated incidents
Acrobat format reports available for all report types
Ability to set default values for custom properties and make them required
New incident custom properties made visible and active by default
All pages check for unsaved changes and require confirmation before leaving page
Performance enhancements on artifact detail pages

Spira v3.2 Patch 15 Adds Support for Chinese & Polish Languages

2012-09-06T15:07:48-04:00

Patch 15 is now available for SpiraTest , SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam v3.2. It fixes some issues installing the software on Windows 8 and also adds new language packs for Simplified Chinese and Polish.

Spira Project Backup & Migration Tool Released

2012-07-13T16:09:14-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of the project archiving and migration tool for SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam. This new tool allows you to easily backup/archive individual projects as well as migrate projects from one instance of Spira to another.

Rational Team Concert Plugin Released for SpiraTeam

2012-07-10T13:12:47-04:00

The plugin for RTC uses the built-in data synchronization capability of SpiraTeam to allow incidents logged in SpiraTeam to be added as new work items in RTC and vice-versa. In addition, any changes made to a previously-synchronized work item in RTC will be updated accordingly in SpiraTeam.

IBM Rational Team Concert is a software development team collaboration tool. It provides software development teams with a collaborative environment in which they can manage all aspects of their work, such as plans, tasks, revision control, build management, and reports

Rapise v1.5 Released - Enables Testing of Java SWT and Silverlight

2012-06-19T14:09:26-04:00

New Features

Support added for Silverlight and Java SWT applications
Enhanced support for WPF applications using the new UIAutomation library
Support for testing .NET 4.0 applications
Execution monitor dialog box that displays progress during playback and allows pause/cancel of running tests
Spy chooser that allows inspection of MSAA, UIAutomation, Managed (.NET) and Java applications

Enhancements

Regular Expression option added to Find and FindReplace in the Rapise IDE
Keyboard shortcut added to allow users to stop running scripts more easily
SpreadSheet object API enhanced with additional functions
Screen capturing now has the option to display cursor position
Support added for Embedded Java in IE, Chrome, Firefox web applications

About Rapise
Rapise is the next generation software test automation platform that leverages the power of open, extensible architecture to provide the most rapid and flexible functional testing tool on the market today.

Rapise™ provides powerful built-in support for the following environments: Java, Google Web Toolkit, Yahoo User Interface, Web applications including AJAX, Windows Forms including Infragistics, DevExpress, Telerik, Adobe Flash/Flex including AIR, Microsoft .NET, Silverlight, Win32 applications and WPF. With Rapise you can use the same environment to test all these technologies.

You can record and create your test cases using Rapise, upload them to SpiraTest with full version control and then schedule the tests to be executed on multiple remote computers.

Rapise™'s open architecture provides unlimited flexibility to extend and customize automated testing to meet unique test needs. Rapise's extreme adaptability means improved quality and reduced time to market.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Maryland located just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan®, SpiraTeam® and RemoteLaunch™ are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

KronoDesk v1.0 Beta Now Available

2012-06-07T19:25:58-04:00

We are pleased to announce that the public beta of KronoDesk - our new customer support application is now available. KronoDesk features include help-desk ticketing, online forums and an integrated knowledge base. For more details see the KronoDesk product page.

Review of SpiraTest by GetApp

2012-06-04T21:53:50-04:00

The problem with test solutions in the market is that they are piecemeal. Thus, you need to invest and spend on several test suites for each testing phase.

GetApp.com, the leading website of software applications, cloud computing and SaaS published an independent review of SpiraTest this week.

http://www.getapp.com/blog/testing-cloud-spiratest-review/

Spira v3.2 Patch 11 Now Available

2012-05-18T14:45:55-04:00

The complete release notes are:

! Fixes display issue on Release Detailed XML report
+ Added automated test run information to Test Run saved search RSS feed
! Fixes issue where removing custom property definitions can sometimes throw an exception
~ Username validation relaxed to allow all numeric usernames
! Fixes translation errors in the Czech language files
! Fixes error popup on 'My Account' when items are missing from database.
+ Adds REST API for use by KronoDesk help desk application
! Fixes issue with pagination and sorting on Test Step and Test Run navigation bars
~ Administration pages now check that the attachment folder exists before allowing an admin to update it

Rapise v1.4 Released That Enables Testing of Flex 4.0

2012-03-29T18:37:29-04:00

New Features

· Ability to capture screenshots during test playback from within Rapise and when using RapiseLauncher

· Support for Flex 4.0 applications running inside either Flash or AIR (previously only Flex 3.0 was supported)

Enhancements

· Users able to save the file ignore list as a setting when uploading tests to SpiraTest

· Navigator object added to intellisense and online help

· Added win32 spy-like window chooser

· Show report after execution is now optional

· Lets user choose entry point when executing a scenario (other than "Test")

· Implemented "Extract User Scenario..." feature

· LibTelerik ListControl have a ClearSelection function added

· Assert removed from the actions (DoClickCell) of ManagedGrid and DevExpressGrid

· Generic Combo and List: Property added to get item count

Rapise™ provides powerful built-in support for the following environments: Java, Google Web Toolkit, Yahoo User Interface, Web applications including AJAX, Windows Forms including Infragistics, DevExpress, Telerik, Adobe Flash/Flex including AIR, Microsoft .NET, Win32 applications and WPF. With Rapise you can use the same environment to test all these technologies.

You can record and create your test cases using Rapise, upload them to SpiraTest with full version control and then schedule the tests to be executed on multiple remote computers.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Maryland located just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan®, SpiraTeam® and RemoteLaunch™ are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

New Lower Pricing on Spira SaaS Subscriptions

2012-03-19T15:30:08-04:00

SpiraTest
Edition	Description	New Price	Old Price
Single	1 concurrent user	$24.99 / month	(Not available)
3-User	3 concurrent users	$69.99 / month	(Not available)
5-User	5 concurrent users	$109.99 / month	$149.99 / month
SpiraPlan
Edition	Description	New Price	Old Price
Single	1 concurrent user	$24.99 / month	(Not available)
3-User	3 concurrent users	$69.99 / month	(Not available)
5-User	5 concurrent users	$99.99 / month	$139.99 / month
SpiraTeam
Edition	Description	New Price	Old Price
Single	1 concurrent user	$29.99 / month	(Not available)
3-User	3 concurrent users	$79.99 / month	(Not available)
5-User	5 concurrent users	$119.99 / month	$159.99 / month

The prices for the downloadable editions of the products and the 10, 20, 50 and 100 SaaS hosted editions are not affected by this change.

So, if you’ve been considering purchasing a SaaS subscription but didn’t need 5-concurrent users or found that the price for 5-concurrent users was beyond your budget, we’d like to make sure that you don’t miss out on this great news.

You can obtain the software immediately from our online store (https://www.inflectra.com/Purchase) – with any major credit-card or PayPal. If you’d prefer to use the phone, you can contact us at 1-866-572-5878 (+1 202-558-6885) and we’d be more than happy to help process your order.

Spira Plugin for Jenkins/Hudson Released

2012-03-16T10:51:08-04:00

SpiraTeam includes the ability to integrate with a variety of continuous integration / automated build servers so that the results of automated builds can be displayed in SpiraTeam linked to the associated release or iteration. In addition, the results of automated tests and source code operations can be linked to the build events, providing traceability from a specific build to the bugs that were fixed, tests that were run and source code files that were modified.

Jenkins provides continuous integration services for software development, primarily in the Java programming language. It is a server-based system running in a servlet container such as Apache Tomcat. It supports SCM tools including CVS, Subversion, Git, Mercurial, Perforce and Clearcase, and can execute Apache Ant and Apache Maven based projects as well as arbitrary shell scripts and Windows batch commands.

Hudson is a continuous integration (CI) tool written in Java, which runs in a servlet container, such as Apache Tomcat or the GlassFish application server. It supports SCM tools including CVS, Subversion, Git and Clearcase and can execute Apache Ant and Apache Maven based projects, as well as arbitrary shell scripts and Windows batch commands. Builds can be started by various means, including scheduling via a cron-like mechanism, building when other builds have completed, and by requesting a specific build URL.

When you use the SpiraTeam plugin for Jenkins/Hudson, it will allow you to associate each Jenkins/Hudson project with a corresponding project and release in SpiraTeam. Then, each time Jenkins/Hudson creates a new build, a corresponding build artifact will be created in SpiraTeam. Each build in SpiraTeam will be automatically linked to the incidents fixed, source code revisions committed, and any SpiraTeam tokens in the Jenkins/Hudson changelog will be parsed and turned into SpiraTeam artifact hyperlinks.

Plug-ins for Mercurial (Hg) and Git Now Available

2012-02-13T13:54:44-05:00

Mercurial is a free, distributed source control management tool. It offers you the power to efficiently handle projects of any size while using an intuitive interface. It is easy to use and hard to break, making it ideal for anyone working with versioned files.

Traditional version control systems such as Subversion are typical client-server architectures with a central server to store the revisions of a project. In contrast, Mercurial is truly distributed, giving each developer a local copy of the entire development history. This way it works independent of network access or a central server. Committing, branching and merging are fast and cheap.

Git is a free & open source, distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Marylandlocated just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan® and SpiraTeam® are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

Rapise v1.3.1 Released That Enables Testing of Qt Applications

2012-01-27T16:27:39-05:00

Qt is a cross-platform application and UI framework. It includes a cross-platform class library, integrated development tools and a cross-platform IDE. Using Qt, you can write web-enabled applications once and deploy them across many desktop and embedded operating systems without rewriting the source code.

Rapise™ provides powerful built-in support for the following environments: Java, Google Web Toolkit, Yahoo User Interface, Web applications including AJAX, Windows Forms including Infragistics, DevExpress, Telerik, Adobe Flash/Flex including AIR, Microsoft .NET, Win32 applications and WPF. With Rapise you can use the same environment to test all these technologies.

You can record and create your test cases using Rapise, upload them to SpiraTest with full version control and then schedule the tests to be executed on multiple remote computers.

About Inflectra®

Inflectra® is currently headquartered in the growing technology community of Silver Spring, Maryland located just outside Washington, D.C.

Inflectra®, SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan®, SpiraTeam® and RemoteLaunch™ are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Inflectra Corporation.

Importer for IBM Rational DOORS Released

2012-01-09T21:58:42-05:00

The new importer allows you to import and synchronize folders, projects, modules and requirements from an IBM Rational DOORS database into a project in SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan® or SpiraTeam®. For more information please refer to the SpiraTeam Requirements Management Integration Guide

IBM® Rational® DOORS® is a leading requirements management software application that helps customers reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve quality by enabling the optimization of requirements communication, collaboration and verification.

SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam v3.2 Now Available

2011-12-22T07:33:22-05:00

New Features

· Language pack for Finnish customers

· Global search capability across artifacts and projects

· Ability to schedule recurring test automation schedules

· Enhanced integration with Rapise test automation system

· Build management and integration capabilities

· Ability to attach a source code file to a SpiraTeam artifact

· Additional My Page widgets for reading RSS feeds, logging incidents and displaying subscriptions

Enhancements and Resolved Issues

· Test run creation moved to background thread to accommodate execution of larger test sets (-)

· Automation engine filename no longer read-only when test case first displayed (!)

· Ability to specify multiple IDs for artifact filters in printable reports (+)

· Print button added to Task Details page (+)

· Links added to artifact History tabs to make it easier to perform revert and purge operations (+)

· Application restarts when database previously offline without needing IIS reset (!)

· Ability to filter reports by selecting a folder / summary requirement to report on just one branch (+)

· Report option added to list screen toolbars to allow easier reporting on lists of items (+)

· Ability to more easily attach an existing document from the Documents tab to an artifact (+)

· Saving filters option for test runs added (+)

· Test set and test step parameters added to the appropriate reports (+)

· Web Service API extended to allow artifact moves, test step deletes and test coverage retrieval (+)

· Incident closed date automatically cleared when incident moves to open status (-)

· Allows document version to be set on initial upload and adds screenshot capture to document upload screen (+)

· Updated navigation bar added to task, test execution, automation hosts, documentation and resources pages (+)

Rational Functional Tester Plug-In Released for RemoteLaunch

2011-11-07T16:10:55-05:00

IBM Rational Functional Tester (RFT) is a software test automation tool used by quality assurance teams to perform automated regression testing. Testers create scripts by using a test recorder which captures a user's actions against their application under test. The recording mechanism creates a test script from the actions. The test script is produced as either a Java or Visual Basic.net application.

Using RFT in conjunction with SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch allows you to create test sets of RFT tests written in either Java or .NET and be able to schedule them for execution across a global test lab.

Once executed, all the test results are collated by RemoteLaunch and sent back to SpiraTest, which acts as a central repository for your automated acceptance testing activities.

Ranorex Plug-In Released for Spira RemoteLaunch

2011-10-14T14:53:06-04:00

We have just released a free plugin for Ranorex. This allows SpiraTest or SpiraTeam in conjunction with RemoteLaunch to manage the scheduling, execution and reporting of Ranorex automated tests.

SpiraTest/Team/Plan Patch 016 Released

2011-10-03T15:27:51-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of patch 16 for SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam v3.1. This patch provides some important fixes as well as adding support for the Hungarian language. The translation of the system into Hungarian was provided by our partner - Mortoff.

Rational ClearQuest Plugin Released for SpiraTeam

2011-09-13T15:19:03-04:00

The plugin for ClearQuest uses the built-in data synchronization capability of SpiraTeam to allow incidents logged in SpiraTeam to be added as new defects in ClearQuest and vice-versa. In addition, any changes made to a previously-synchronized defect in ClearQuest will be updated accordingly in SpiraTeam.

Rational ClearQuest is an enterprise level workflow automation tool from the Rational Software division of IBM. Commonly, ClearQuest is configured as a bug tracking system, but it can be configured to act as a CRM tool or to track a complex manufacturing process. It can also implement these functions together. IBM provides a number of predefined "schemas" for common tasks such as software Defect Tracking which can themselves be further customized if required.

JMeter Plug-In Released for Spira RemoteLaunch

2011-09-02T13:17:37-04:00

Apache JMeter is open source software, a 100% pure Java desktop application designed to load test functional behavior and measure performance. It was originally designed for testing Web Applications but has since expanded to other test functions.

Apache JMeter may be used to test performance both on static and dynamic resources (files, Servlets, Perl scripts, Java Objects, Data Bases and Queries, FTP Servers and more). It can be used to simulate a heavy load on a server, network or object to test its strength or to analyze overall performance under different load types. You can use it to make a graphical analysis of performance or to test your server/script/object behavior under heavy concurrent load.

Using JMeter in conjunction with SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch allows you to create test sets of JMeter tests and be able to schedule them for execution across a global test lab.

Once executed, all the test results are collated by RemoteLaunch and sent back to SpiraTest, which acts as a central repository for your automated load and performance testing activities.

Badboy Plug-In Released for Spira RemoteLaunch

2011-08-29T13:09:02-04:00

Badboy is a powerful tool designed to aid in testing and development of complex dynamic applications. Badboy makes web testing and development easier with dozens of features including a simple yet comprehensive capture/replay interface, powerful load testing support, detailed reports, graphs and much more!

Using Badboy in conjunction with SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch allows you to create test sets of Badboy tests and be able to schedule them for execution across a global test lab.

Once executed, all the test results are collated by RemoteLaunch and sent back to SpiraTest, which acts as a central repository for your automated acceptance testing activities.

Updated Importer Released for Sparx Enterprise Architect

2011-08-10T15:09:36-04:00

We have just released an updated importer for Enterprise Architect by Sparx Systems. It can now handle importing requirement associations and links between requirements and use-cases, screens and other importable elements.

Importer for VersionOne Released

2011-08-04T12:43:27-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of a new importer for VersionOne. This importer will allow business analysts and software designers to manage their Epics and Backlog Items inside VersionOne and have the data seamlessly synchronize with SpiraTest, SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam. This integration allows you to have complete requirements test coverage traceability across your organization. For more details, please see the SpiraTest Migration and Integration Guide.

Updated Plugin For JIRA 4 Released

2011-07-29T11:36:19-04:00

Since SpiraTest is one of the most popular test management system in use with JIRA, we have upgraded the functionality to provide the following new features:

New incidents created in Spira will take the creation date from JIRA if specified
Support added for auto-mapping users by having them use the same login name in both SpiraTest and JIRA.
URL hyperlinks added to the JIRA issue that point to the requirements and test runs in SpiraTest
Configuration option that lets you specify that no NEW issues should be created in SpiraTest, i.e. works similar to the older JIRA 3.x plugin
The earliest date that is used when a Force-Resync is clicked is now configurable
Option to have attachments in SpiraTest synchronize over to JIRA

Updated Microsoft Excel 2007/2010 Add-In Released

2011-07-25T18:21:00-04:00

We have just released an updated version of the Spira Excel Add-In that fixes an issue updating test steps in Excel as well as provides enhanced support for importing large batches of data into Excel from SpiraTest, SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam.

Spira Software Development Kit (SDK) Released

2011-07-08T16:41:12-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of the Spira SDK that will make it easier for customers and partners to integrate SpiraTest, SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam with their existing bug-tracking, version-control or test-automation systems. The SDK can be downloaded from our website - Spira SDK.

Updated Plug-In Available for Bugzilla 4.x

2011-06-13T12:56:52-04:00

We have just released an updated data-synchronization plug-in for version 4.x of the Bugzilla bug-tracking system. The updated version of the plug-in allows new bugs logged in Bugzilla to be synchronized into SpiraTest, SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam.

SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam 3.1 Now Available

2011-06-06T16:49:35-04:00

We are pleased to announce that the latest version of our award winning requirements, test, defect and project management suite - SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam - has been released. The new version includes a new Scrum/Agile Planning Board feature, the ability to version control changes to artifacts, undo deletes and also support for Spanish, French, German and Czech languages.
> See the Release Notes for more details.

TestPartner Plug-In Released for Spira RemoteLaunch

2011-05-03T11:43:46-04:00

We have just released a free plugin for Micro Focus Test Partner. This allows SpiraTest or SpiraTeam in conjunction with RemoteLaunch to manage the scheduling, execution and reporting of TestPartner automated tests.

FitNesse Plug-In Released for Spira RemoteLaunch

2011-04-06T13:54:39-04:00

FitNesse is a lightweight, open-source automated software testing framework that uses web-based Wikis to define the inputs and expected results from different combinations of input values and then compare the results with what is actually generated during testing.

Using FitNesse in conjunction with SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch allows you to create test sets of FitNesse tests and be able to schedule them for execution across a global test lab.

Once executed, all the test results are collated by RemoteLaunch and sent back to SpiraTest, which acts as a central repository for your automated acceptance testing activities.

NeoLoad Plug-In Released for Spira RemoteLaunch

2011-04-06T13:51:17-04:00

Neotys NeoLoad is a load testing system that lets you record application performance by a number of ‘virtual users’. Using NeoLoad in conjunction with SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch allows you to create test sets of peformance scenarios and be able to schedule them for execution across a global test lab.

Once executed, all the test results are collated by RemoteLaunch and sent back to SpiraTest, which acts as a central repository for your automated performance testing activities.

SOAP-UI Plug-In Released for Spira RemoteLaunch

2011-04-01T13:20:47-04:00

We have just released a free plugin for the SOAP-UI web service functional testing system. This allows SpiraTest or SpiraTeam in conjunction with RemoteLaunch to manage the scheduling, execution and reporting of web service automated tests.

Updated RemoteLaunch Released For Use In Continuous Integration

2011-03-30T16:58:47-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of an updated version of RemoteLaunch that can be used inside automated build scripts. This allows continuous intregration engines to call RemoteLaunch to run automated test scripts and have the results be reported back to SpiraTest or SpiraTeam.

LoadRunner Plug-In Released for Spira RemoteLaunch

2011-03-17T14:46:41-04:00

HP® LoadRunner is a load testing system that lets you record application performance by a number of ‘virtual users’. Using LoadRunner in conjunction with SpiraTest and RemoteLaunch allows you to create test sets of peformance scenarios and be able to schedule them for execution across a global test lab.

Once executed, all the test results are collated by RemoteLaunch and sent back to SpiraTest, which acts as a central repository for your automated performance testing activities.

Plug-In for Perforce Now Available

2011-02-24T15:30:50-05:00

Using this plug-in you can use SpiraPlan/SpiraTeam in conjunction with the popular Perforce configuration management system. This allows you to browse Perforce depots through the SpiraPlan/Team web interface and link changelists in Perforce to SpiraPlan/Team artifacts.
See the SpiraPlan/Team Version Control Integration Guide for more details.

Spira Extension for Visual Studio 2010 Just Released

2011-02-15T19:55:09-05:00

We have just released a new extension for Visual Studio 2010 that brings the power of SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam to your desktop. Completely rewritten to take advantage of the new features in SpiraTeam 3.0 and Visual Studio 2010, the extension allows you to seamlessly manage your requirements, tasks and incidents directly inside of Visual Studio. You can download it from http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/ef3e5da0-ac1e-48de-9c4b-0a8479ef8498

Updated TestComplete Plugin Released

2011-01-23T22:33:40-05:00

We have released an updated version of our plugin for TestComplete 8.0 that fixes some known issues with the original release. We recommend that all customers upgrade to the latest version.

Importer for Jama Contour Released

2010-12-29T15:32:19-05:00

We are pleased to announce the release of a new importer for Jama Contour. This importer will allow business analysts and software designers to manage their requirements, use cases and features inside Contour and have the data seamlessly synchronize with SpiraTest, SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam. This integration allows you to have complete requirements test coverage traceability across your organization. For more details, please see the SpiraTest Migration and Integration Guide.

Updated RemoteLaunch Released

2010-12-24T10:11:57-05:00

We have released an updated version of RemoteLaunch that fixes some known issues with the original release. We recommend that all customers upgrade to the latest version.

Spira Patch 012 Released

2010-12-19T20:49:20-05:00

The latest patch for SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam has just been released. Patch 012 fixes some issues that have been identified since the release of v3.0. The patch package contains a ReadMe file that outlines the various enhancements and bug fixes.

Updated Spira 3.0 Plug-In Available for Eclipse Mylyn

2011-03-17T14:47:34-04:00

We have just released an updated plug-in for Eclipse Mylyn that takes advantage of the new features in SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam version 3.0. It allows the editing of requirements, submission/viewing of attachments and comments, ability to display custom properties and integration with the context-management features of Eclipse.

Updated Add-Ins Released for Microsoft Office 2007/2010

2010-11-19T15:36:14-05:00

We are pleased to announce the release of updated Add-Ins for Microsoft Excel, Word and Project 2007 and 2010 that allow you to easily import and export requirements, test cases, defects and project plans into SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam.
For more details see Spira Migration and Integration Guide.

SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam 3.0 Now Available

2010-09-30T14:47:15-04:00

We are pleased to announce that the latest version of our award winning requirements, test, defect and project management suite - SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam - has been released. The new version provides enhanced test automation features as well as updated Agile/Scrum planning functionality.
> See the Release Notes for more details.

Updated Plug-Ins Available for Microsoft TFS 2010

2010-06-25T12:33:06-04:00

We have just released updated data-synchronization and version control plug-ins for Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2010. Team Foundation Server 2010 is part of the new Microsoft Visual Studio Team System 2010 release. Plug-ins are still available for customers using TFS 2005 and 2008.

Importer for Sparx Enterprise Architect Released

2010-05-26T09:56:54-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of a new importer for Sparx Enterprise Architect. This importer will allow business analysts and software designers to manage their requirements, use cases and screens inside Enterprise Architect and have the data seamlessly synchronize with SpiraTest, SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam. This integration allows you to have complete requirements test coverage traceability across your organization. For more details, please see the SpiraTest Migration and Integration Guide.

Add-In for Microsoft Visual Studio Now Available

2010-05-03T16:02:29-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of a new add-in for Visual Studio. This add-in will allow developers to view their SpiraTeam requirements, complete their assigned tasks and fix their assigned incidents/defects directly within their Visual Studio IDE. This greatly enhances productivity by allowing developers to use a single application to maange all their information. For more details, please see the SpiraTeam IDE Integration Guide.

Plug-In for Eclipse / Mylyn Now Available

2010-04-22T15:10:22-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of a new plug-in for Eclipse. This plug-in will allow developers to view their SpiraTeam requirements, complete their assigned tasks and fix their assigned incidents/defects directly within their Eclipse IDE. The plug-in works with Mylyn, the task-focused interface for Eclipse.For more details, please see the SpiraTeam IDE Integration Guide.

Plug-In for AxoSoft OnTime Now Available

2010-03-23T15:53:30-04:00

Using this plug-in you can use SpiraTest, SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam in conjunction with the popular OnTime defect-tracking system from AxoSoft. When test failures are recorded in SpiraTeam, the corresponding incident will be automatically loaded into OnTime. The development team can then manage all defects in OnTime, with changes seamlessly synchronized with SpiraTeam.
See the SpiraTeam Integration Guide for more details.

Updated Plug-Ins Available for JIRA 3 and JIRA 4

2010-03-17T14:13:35-04:00

We have just released updated data-synchronization plug-ins for versions 3 and 4 of the JIRA bug/issue-tracking system. Both versions allows synchronization of additional fields, and the version 4 plug-in also allows new issues logged in JIRA to be synchronized into Spira.

> For more details see the Spira External Bug Tracking Integration Guide.

Import/Export Tools Released for Microsoft Excel, Word and Project

2010-03-14T17:29:10-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of a new Add-In for Microsoft Excel, Word and Project that allows you to easily import and export requirements, test cases, defects and project plans into SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam.
For more details see Spira Migration and Integration Guide.

Plug-In for Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) Now Available

2010-02-09T16:55:44-05:00

Using this plug-in you can use SpiraPlan/SpiraTeam in conjunction with the popular Microsoft Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) Team Foundation Server (TFS) Source Control capability. This allows you to browse TFS source code repositories through the SpiraPlan/Team web interface and link check-ins in TFS to SpiraPlan/Team artifacts.

See the SpiraPlan/Team Version Control Integration Guide for more details.

Plug-In for Visual SourceSafe Now Available

2010-02-04T16:07:56-05:00

Using this plug-in you can use SpiraPlan/SpiraTeam in conjunction with the popular Microsoft Visual SourceSafe (VSS) version control system. This allows you to browse VSS databases through the SpiraPlan/Team web interface and link check-ins in VSS to SpiraPlan/Team artifacts.

See the SpiraPlan/Team Version Control Integration Guide for more details.

Plug-In for CVS Repositories Now Available

2010-02-02T14:34:48-05:00

Using this plug-in you can use SpiraPlan/SpiraTeam in conjunction with the Concurrent Versions System (CVS) software configuration management system. This allows you to browse CVS repositories through the SpiraPlan/Team web interface and link revisions in CVS to SpiraPlan/Team artifacts.

See the SpiraPlan/Team Version Control Integration Guide for more details.

SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam v2.3.1 Released

2010-01-21T11:34:36-05:00

We are pleased to announce the v2.3.1 release of our range of Quality Assurance, Project Management and Application Lifecycle Management software products. Building on the success of the existing platform, the latest version provides the ability to integrate with Software Configuration Management (SCM) tools such as Subversion as well as numerous usability and performance enhancements. Please read the Release Notes for details.

Plug-In for Mantis Bug-Tracker Now Available

2009-12-13T16:54:14-05:00

Using this plug-in you can use SpiraTest, SpiraPlan or SpiraTeam in conjunction with the open source Mantis bug-tracking system. When test failures are recorded in SpiraTeam, the corresponding incident will be automatically loaded into Mantis. The development team can then manage all incidents in Mantis, with changes seamlessly synchronized with SpiraTeam.
See the SpiraTeam Integration Guide for more details.

Plug-In for Perl and PHP Unit Testing Frameworks Released

2009-12-13T13:56:23-05:00

Using these plug-ins you can use SpiraTest/SpiraTeam in conjunction with the Perl Test Anything Protocol (TAP) and PHPUnit automated unit testing frameworks. In addition to manually recording the results of a test run, you can now execute automated Perl and PHP unit tests and have the results report back to SpiraTest/SpiraTeam seamlessly.

See the SpiraTest/SpiraTeam Automated Testing Guide for more details.

SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam v2.3 Released

2009-12-13T13:43:37-05:00

We are pleased to announce the v2.3 release of our range of Quality Assurance, Project Management and Application Lifecycle Management software products. Building on the success of the existing platform, the latest version provides the ability to organize projects into groups, see customizable dashboards at the group level, save customized report configurations, move, reconfigure and customize user/project dashboards. In addition, this version includes numerous usability and performance enhancements. Please read the Release Notes for details.

Integration with NUnit Version 2.5 Now Available

2009-12-13T14:39:11-05:00

We are pleased to announce the release of an updated version of our Add-In for the popular .NET Unit Testing Framework (NUnit). The updated version supports NUnit v2.5 as well as adding the ability to link the automated test results with a specific Test Set in SpiraTest/Team.

See the SpiraTest/Team Automated Testing Guide for more details.

SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam v2.2 Released

2018-02-28T15:15:24-05:00

We are pleased to announce the v2.2 release of our range of Quality Assurance, Project Management and Application Lifecycle Management software products. Building on the success of the existing platform, the latest version provides enhanced robust document management/sharing capabilities, new drag and drop task/incident planning, resource load balancing capabilities, major usability improvements and a new web-based data integration architecture for integrating the product with other third-party tools and systems. Please read the Press Release for more details.

SpiraTest, SpiraPlan and SpiraTeam v2.1 Released

2009-12-13T16:47:55-05:00

We are pleased to announce the v2.1 release of our range of Quality Assurance, Project Management and Application Lifecycle Management software products. Building on the success of the existing platform, the latest version provides enhanced test execution capabilities, additonal filtering options, hierarchical test sets, and other enhancements. Please see the Release Notes for more details.

Plug-In for Ruby Unit Testing Framework Now Available

2009-12-13T16:45:50-05:00

Using this plug-in you can use SpiraTest/SpiraTeam in conjunction with the Ruby Test::Unit automated unit testing framework. In addition to manually recording the results of a test run, you can now also execute automated Ruby Test::Unit tests and have the results report back to SpiraTest/SpiraTeam seamlessly.

See the SpiraTest/SpiraTeam Automated Testing Guide for more details.

SpiraTest®, SpiraPlan® and SpiraTeam® v2.0.1 Released

2018-02-28T15:27:31-05:00

We are pleased to announce the release of SpiraTeam^® - an integrated Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) suite. Building upon the success of the established SpiraTest® platform, SpiraTeam^® adds Agile Project Management functionality with its new SpiraPlan^® module.

In addition to the new Agile Project Management functionality, this new version of SpiraTest® (v2.0.1) also includes key enhancements in the areas of performance, usability and project estimation.

Please read the Press Release for more details.

Plug-In for AutomedQA™ TestComplete™ Now Available

2009-12-13T16:44:11-05:00

Using this plug-in you can use SpiraTest in conjunction with the TestComplete™ automated unit, functional and load testing system. In addition to manually recording the results of a test run, you can now also execute automated TestComplete tests and have the results report back to SpiraTest seamlessly.

See the SpiraTest Automated Testing Guide for more details.

SpiraTest v2.0 Released

2009-12-13T16:20:59-05:00

We are pleased to accounce the release of SpiraTest v2.0, the latest version of our powerful requirements and test management platform. This new version uses AJAX web technology to provide a more streamlined user interface. In addition, the new version includes additional functionality to manage requirements and test cases, such as bulk editing, cross-project copying and drag-and-drop ordering.

Please read the Release Notes for more details.

SpiraTest v1.5.2 Released

2009-12-13T16:20:03-05:00

Building upon the success of the powerful SpiraTest platform, this version provides the capability to organize, assign and track groups of test cases as test sets, the ability to attach threaded comments/resolutions to incidents as well as many other enhancements and usability updates across the application. Read the Release Notes for more details.

Integration with TestNG, PyUnit and Selenium-RC Now Available

2008-03-13T00:00:00-04:00

We are pleased to announce the release of adapters that allow the popular TestNG Java unit testing framework, PyUnit Python unit testing framework and Selenium-RC automated browser testing system to be used with SpiraTest.
See the SpiraTest Automated Testing Guide for more details.

Adapter for HP® QuickTest Pro® Now Available

2009-12-13T16:17:02-05:00

Using this adapter you can use SpiraTest in conjunction with the QuickTest Pro automated functional testing system. Instead of having to manually track the results of a test run, you can simply execute the automated QuickTest Pro tests and have the results report back to SpiraTest seamlessly. See the SpiraTest Automated Testing Guide for more details.

SpiraTest v1.5.1 Released

2018-02-28T15:28:19-05:00

Building upon the success of the powerful SpiraTest platform, this version provides adds project task management, allowing requirements and releases to be decomposed into iterations and tasks. In addition it provides the ability to link artifacts to each other, pause incomplete test runs, and customize the project and user dashboards to enhance information targeting. Read the Press Release for more details.

SpiraTest v1.5 Released

2018-02-28T15:28:55-05:00

Expanding the capabilities of our proven SpiraTest^® quality assurance system, this version also significantly enhances the user experience. The new features include integration with LDAP / ActiveDirectory, hierarchical release management, customizable list screens, parameterized test cases, and customizable role-based security.
For this and much more, check out the full Press Release for more details.

SpiraTest v1.4 Released

2018-02-28T15:29:51-05:00

Building upon the success of the powerful SpiraTest^® platform, this version allows customers to tailor the defect management functionality to align with their business processes. All of the data elements in the module are now customizable, and each type of defect can be assigned its own customizable workflow from inception to resolution. In addition, each workflow features customizable email notification functionality and role-based security for each step in the workflow.
For this and much more, check out the full Press Release for more details.

SpiraTest v1.3.2 Released

2009-12-13T16:13:13-05:00

This release corrects limitations in SpiraTest v1.3.1 that restricted the size of rich-text description fields. The fields have now been extended to contain unlimited characters. In addition, this version provides full Unicode support for extended non-Latin character sets, better database support for regions with different sorting collations, and more robust handling of international date formats.

SpiraTest v1.3.1 Released

2009-12-13T16:12:22-05:00

Building upon the success of the powerful SpiraTest platform, this version expands the reporting functionality to allow customization and filtering of the different report types. In addition, the reports can now be exported into Microsoft Word or Excel formats as well as being viewed in HTML.
See the Release Notes for more details.

SpiraTest v1.3 Released

2018-02-28T15:30:24-05:00

Building upon the success of the powerful SpiraTest platform, this version adds significant features to enhance and streamline your quality assurance and requirements management processes. You can now define custom properties for Requirements, Test Cases, Releases and Incidents in the system, associate Test Cases and Requirements with Releases and track the resolution and verification of defects by Release.
For this and much more, check out the full Press Release for more details.

SpiraTest v1.2 Released

2009-12-13T16:08:56-05:00

This version adds several new capabilities to SpiraTest and provides many enhancements to existing features. You can now use SpiraTest in conjunction with the JUnit and NUnit automated testing frameworks as well as export incidents into the JIRA^® issue tracking system. In addition, you can now view the change history of all artifacts in the system and more easily enter test steps in the system.
See the Release Notes for more details.

SpiraTest Development Roadmap Published

2007-05-18T00:00:00-04:00

Check out the development roadmap for SpiraTest to discover what exciting functionality will be available in the next three releases of the system.
See the Development Roadmap to learn more...

SpiraTest v1.1 Released

2007-05-02T00:00:00-04:00

This version adds significant new capabilities to SpiraTest. You can now upload and attach documents and other files to requirements, test cases and incidents in the system. It provides release management functionality allowing the tracking of different releases of the system being tested. Also included is a comprehensive library of printable reports. See the Release Notes for more details.

SpiraTest v1.0.4 Released

2007-04-17T00:00:00-04:00

This version adds two add-on utilities, allowing easy migration from HP Mercury QualityCenter (formerly TestDirector) and easy import of Requirements and Use Cases from IBM Rational RequisitePro. See the Release Notes for more details.

SpiraTest v1.0.2 Released

2007-03-22T00:00:00-04:00

This version streamlines the user interface for entering / modifying large numbers of test steps, adds filtering capability to the Requirements and Test Cases modules, and provides move and copy functionality. See the Release Notes for more details.

SpiraTest v1.0.1 Released

2009-12-13T13:06:26-05:00

This fixes some small identified issues, and introduces user interface enhancements to the requirements and test case modules to simplify certain common operations. See the Release Notes for more details.

SpiraTest v1.0.0 Released

2007-01-01T00:00:00-05:00

SpiraTest launched by Inflectra to provide a complete testing and quality management solution. Integrating traditionally separate functions of requirements/scope capture, test management and defect tracking into a comprehensive yet easy to use package.