What's New in ALM 15.5

This section provides an overview of the features that were introduced or enhanced in ALM 15.5.

What's New video

Learn about some of the new features included in ALM 15.5：

Web Runner updates

The following updates were added to Web Runner.

Defect management	Manage the entire lifecycle of defects by applying different forms for different phases of defects. Set rules to automate the applying of the forms. Control which form will be used under a certain condition. Defect forms and rules of template projects are propagated to their linked projects upon applying template settings (ALM Edition only). For details, see Set defect entities.
Web Runner Dashboard	The Dashboard tab was added to Web Runner. It allows you to view the Standard-mode dashboard pages created in ALM Client for your project. For details, see View dashboards.
Run automation tests in Web Runner	You can now run automation tests in Web Runner. For details, see Start automation test run.
Web Runner Admin page	The Web Runner Admin page was introduced. As the site admin, you can do the following in the page: Disable or enable Web Runner at a project level. Disable or enable defect editing for projects that have Web Runner enabled. For details, see Web Runner Admin.
Apply template settings to selected projects	You can apply template settings to selected linked projects only, instead of all linked projects (ALM Edition only). For details, see Apply template customization.
Cycle and release fields become drop-down-list fields	The cycle and release fields, which were previously text fields, are now drop-down-list fields that allow you to select a value from a list. Such fields include Detected in Release, Detected in Cycle, Target Release, and Target Cycle.

Analysis and dashboard updates

The following updates were added to the Analysis and Dashboard modules.

Analyze ALM data with new graph designs	The graph analysis reporting was updated with improved functionality, including refreshed look and feel and advanced customization options. For details, see View entity graphs.
New graph type: composite graphs	You can create a composite graph to view and compare data among two or three graphs at the same time. For details, see Composite graphs.
New graph type for test instances	A new graph type was added for the Test Instances entity type: Test Execution - Planned vs. Actual. For details, see Generate an entity graph and Entity graph types.
New display mode for dashboards	We introduced a new display mode for dashboards: Standard display mode, versus the existing Classic display mode. When you create a new dashboard, it is displayed by default in the Standard mode. Existing dashboard pages after the upgrade will be automatically switched to the Standard mode. You can switch the display mode for any dashboards that you can update. For details, see Dashboards.
Health Reports updates	The Test Execution - Planned vs. Actual graph is now available in Health Reports. For details, see Health reports.

ALM Test Runs Injection for Octane

ALM Test Runs Injection for Octane enables you to run tests stored in ALM and report the test results to test suites in ALM Octane.

For details, see ALM Test Runs Injection for ALM Octane.

My Homepage

When you open an ALM project, you are greeted by My Homepage that highlights your open work items and most recent updates.

For details, see ALM Homepage.

Projects export and import with ALM Robot (technical preview)

ALM Robot now supports exporting and importing multiple ALM projects in parallel.

For details, see Exporting and Importing Projects Using ALM Robot.

ALM REST API updates

The ALM REST API (Tech Preview) resources are now formally certified and supported for production environments.

ALM REST API references are renamed as follows.

Before 15.5	Since 15.5
REST API Reference (Tech Preview)	REST API Reference (Core)
REST API Reference	REST API Reference (Deprecated)

For details, see REST API Reference (Core).

Improved support for ALM Client Launcher

We provided improved user experiences with ALM Client Launcher version 3.0 for both ALM admins and end users.

Package ALM client files in the server during ALM install

ALM can now automatically generate and package the client files during the installation process. The client files are stored on ALM server so that they can be used by ALM Client Launcher without the need for ALM administrators to package and distribute them.

For details, see Installation and upgrade.

Facilitate the access to ALM Client Launcher

When you launch ALM from your Web browser, the ALM Client Launcher option is available in the ALM Options window. It facilitates the access to the tool and enables you to start ALM and Site Administration with the tool under the on-screen guidance.

For details, see Start ALM.

SSO authentication updates

The following updates were added to SSO authentication.

Support SSO for Lab Management	SSO authentication now supports Lab Management.
Improve the SAML certificate management	After you upload an SAML certificate, you can view the certificate details and expiration date. For details, see How to update the certificate.
Provide IdP metadata in the plain-text XML format	You can now provide the IdP metadata in the plain-text XML format. For details, see IdP Metadata.
Specify case sensitivity of identity keys	When ALM authorizes IdP users with identity keys, you can decide whether or not ALM treats the characters in the identity keys as case-sensitive. For details, see Identity Key Case-sensitive.
Context-sensitive help is available in the SSO Configuration Tool page	The Help button was added in the SSO configuration Tool page. If you click the button, it opens the SSO configuration help topic.

SaaS updates

The following updates were added to SaaS.

Audit license assignment changes

The Audit Log now records license assignment changes for projects and customers, including what the changes are, who make the changes, and when the changes are made.

For details, see Audit Log Page.

Easier way to generate QC Usage Report for the past six months

The Last six months option was added to the Data Range field. It facilitates the generation of a QC Usage Report for the past six months.

For detail, seeQC Usage Report Page.

License expiration reminders

If a license would expire within 30 days, site admins will receive reminders until the expiration date.

A warning icon stays displayed when site admins log on SaaS add-on.
Email notifications are sent on a daily basis.

For details, see License expiration warning.

User auditing updates

The following updates were added to user auditing.

You can use the AUDIT_LOG_PATH parameter to specify where the log file is stored.
More user operations are logged, including user creation, modification, and deletion, adding users to projects, and removing users from projects.

For details, see ALM auditing.

Usability enhancements

Tree/grid view zoom-in and zoom-out

You can press CTRL and scroll up or down to zoom in or out on a tree or grid view. It is not supported in the Test Plan > Design Steps page.