Guidelines for releases and sprints

Note: This topic is relevant for ALM Synchronizer for Agile Manager only. For details about the NextGen Synchronizer see NextGen Synchronizer, or search using the NextGen Synchronizer filter.

If you are still using ALM Synchronizer, we recommend migrating to the more robust NextGen Synchronizer embedded in Agile Manager's configuration area.

Synchronize releases to manage, view, and analyze release data in both Agile Manager and ALM. When you synchronize a release, all related Agile Manager sprints are synchronized with cycles in ALM.

Synchronized data includes:

  • Releases: Names, start and end dates, descriptions, and attachments
  • Sprints/cycles: Names, start and end dates

Caution: Agile Manager does not support custom release fields. If you have custom release fields that are mandatory in ALM, synchronize release data only from ALM to Agile Manager, and not from Agile Manager to ALM.

By default, Synchronizer synchronizes all current releases (with an end date that has not yet passed) in the ALM Releases root folder. Specify an alternate root folder to synchronize only a subset of the releases in your ALM project.

Note: If you specify an alternate root folder, ensure that other workspaces in your Agile Manager site do not synchronize with other root folders in the same ALM project.

Example: In the example illustrated on the right:

  • The releases in Agile ManagerWorkspace1 are synchronized with the releases in the ALMAG_Project1 folder instead of the Releases root folder.
  • The releases in Agile Manager Workspace2 are synchronized with the releases in the ALM AG_Project2 folder instead of the Releases root folder.
  • In both ALM projects, any other sub-folders that may exist are ignored by Synchronizer.

Guidelines for specifying an alternate root folder

Specifying an alternate root folder for synchronization can cause unexpected behavior.

Consider the following:

  • The path to the alternate folder defined in Synchronizer must replicate the exact hierarchy in ALM. For example: Requirements\MyProject. Note that when defining this folder, the Requirements folder is already defined for you in the dialog box path.

  • If you reorganize the Releases module in ALM after having run a synchronization task, carefully move the records while retaining the same hierarchy to retain the synchronization. Do not delete records and create new ones in the new location, as Synchronizer recognizes records according to their ALM ID.

    When you move records, make sure to retain the same hierarchy as is defined for the link in Synchronizer.

If you already have releases defined in both ALM and Agile Manager, compare the names of releases and sprints/cycles in both endpoints before synchronizing these releases.

If there are any pairs of releases or sprints with identical names in both endpoints, determine whether you want Synchronizer to map these pairs. Mapping pairs of releases and sprints with identical names uses data from the dominant endpoint for all fields, overriding any data in the other endpoint.

To automatically map these pairs, on the Rules tab, select the Map pairs of new releases or sprints found with identical names option. Clear this option if you want to retain the current release data in each endpoint.

If identically named releases or sprints are found and are not automatically mapped, these releases or sprints are not synchronized at all and an error is generated in the Run Report. If you later change the name of one of the releases or sprints, Synchronizer handles the release as a new record, and re-creates it in the destination endpoint.

For example:

If... Then...
  • You have an ALM release named Release_1.3, as well as an Agile Manager release named Release_1.3
  • You define Agile Manager as the dominant endpoint for the release link fields (in the Field Mapping tab)
  • You select the Map pairs of new releases or sprints found with identical names option in the Rules tab
  • The two releases are mapped.
  • All data in the ALM release Release_1.3 is overwritten by the data in the Agile Manager release Release_1.3.

 

If you delete a sprint or cycle in one endpoint, the deletion is not synchronized to the other endpoint during incremental synchronization tasks. Run a full synchronization task to update the sprints and cycles in the other endpoint.