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# Releases and cycles

This section describes how to create and track releases and cycles.

You can also use Project Planning and Tracking (PPT) to track your application releases. PPT helps you make more informed release decisions using real-time key performance indicators (KPIs). For task details on working with PPT, see Project Planning and Tracking (PPT) releases.

In this topic:

## Releases and cycles overview

You begin the application management process by defining releases. This can be challenging. It requires aligning business priorities and quality expectations with project requirements, tests, and defects. Most applications require testing on multiple hardware platforms, multiple configurations (computers, operating systems, and browsers), and multiple application versions. Managing all aspects of an application release can be time-consuming and difficult.

You can organize and track your upcoming releases by defining releases and cycles.

Item | Description
--- | ---
Release | A release represents a group of changes in one or more applications that will be available for distribution at the same time. Each release can contain a number of cycles.
Cycle | A cycle is a set of development and quality assurance efforts performed to achieve a common goal based on the release timeline. Both releases and cycles have defined start and end dates.
Assign releases and cycles to requirements | After defining releases and cycles, you define and review requirements and assign them to releases and cycles.
Assign cycles to test sets | After assigning requirements to releases and cycles, you create test set folders and assign them to cycles. After assigning test set folders to a cycle, you run the test sets under these test set folders. If an application flaw is detected while running a test set, you can submit a defect. OpenText Application Quality Management automatically creates a link between the test run, associated release and cycle, and the new defect.
Assign releases and cycles to defects | A defect can be submitted to an OpenText Application Quality Management project from any module at any stage of the application management process. While reviewing and deciding which new defects need to be fixed, the defects can be assigned to the appropriate release and cycle.

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## Define releases and cycles

Create releases and cycles in a hierarchical releases tree.

To define releases and cycles:

1. On the OpenText Application Quality Management sidebar, under Management, select Releases.

2. Right-click the Releases root folder and select New Release Folder. To create a sub-folder, right-click a folder and select New Release Folder.

3. Right-click a folder or sub-folder and select New Release. Fill in the Name, Start Date, and End Date fields. Click OK.

4. Right-click a release and select New Cycle. Fill in the Name, Start Date, and End Date fields. Click OK.

To create a new release by copying from an existing release in a template project:

If you are working with a project that is linked to a template project, you can create a release by copying from the template project. For more details on linking and synchronizing template projects, see Cross project customization.

1. In the Releases module, right-click a release folder and select New Release from Template > New Release from Template.

2. Specify the following information:

   UI Element | Description
   --- | ---
   Template Release | Displays the releases available from the template project. Expand the tree and select a release.
   Release Name | Enter the name of the new release. If the release name already exists in the Releases module, the suffix _Copy will be added to the release name.

   The following release properties are copied from the template project: description, start/end dates, release scope, cycles, milestones, KPIs, KPI thresholds, threshold scope, attachments, and user-defined fields.

   The following properties are not copied from the template project: Links to OpenText Application Quality Management entities in other modules.

3. After creating the new release, you must update the copied dates.

To reschedule a release or cycle:

1. From the release tree, right-click a release or cycle, and select Reschedule.

2. Enter the new start date and end date.

   When rescheduling a release, the related cycles, milestones, and KPI thresholds are rescheduled accordingly.

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## Assign releases and cycles

Assign releases and cycles to requirements, test sets, and defects.

To assign releases and cycles to requirements:

In the Requirements module, from the requirements tree, right-click a requirement and select Assign to Release or Assign to Cycle.

When you assign a requirement to a release, the value is entered in the requirement's Target Release field. When you assign a requirement to a cycle, the value is entered in the requirement's Target Cycle field. In addition, the cycle's release is entered in the Target Release field.

To assign cycles to test sets:

In the Test Lab module, from the test sets tree, Right-click a test set folder and select Assign to Cycle.

When you assign a test set folder to a cycle, the test set's subfolders are automatically assigned to the same cycle.

To assign releases and cycles to defects:

Assign defects to a target release and a target cycle. For task details, see Defects .

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## Analyze releases and cycles

View statistics and graphs to track the progress of your releases and cycles.

View assigned requirements and test set folders

To view statistics on the requirements and test set folders assigned to your releases and cycles:

1. In the Releases module, select a release or cycle and click the Details tab.

2. In the Statistics area, view statistics on assigned requirements and test set folders.

View coverage progress

View statistics and graphs which provide visual indications of the current progress of your release or cycle.

- For a release: Select a release in the releases tree, click the Status tab, and then click the Progress tab.

- For a cycle: Expand a release in the releases tree, select a cycle, and click the Progress tab.

UI Element | Description
--- | ---
Total days in release/cycle | The total number of days in a selected release or cycle (end date - start date).
Remaining days in release/cycle | The total number of days remaining in a selected release or cycle.
Total test instances for release/cycle | The total number of test instances included in the test set folders assigned to a selected release or cycle.
Remaining test instances to run | The total number of test instances included in the assigned test set folders of a selected release or cycle that have not yet run.
Required execution rate (test instances/day) | The average number of test runs required per day for the remaining days in a selected release or cycle.
Days (progress bar) | The percentage of days elapsed in a selected release or cycle.
Test Instance Runs (progress bar) | The percentage of test runs completed in a selected release or cycle. A test instance is counted as executed if it was run and results of the run were saved, even if it is currently in a Not Completed or Blocked state.
Coverage Progress graph | Displays coverage progress for a selected release or cycle. Display options include: Assigned requirements. The accumulated percentage of requirements assigned to all cycles within the selected release. This option available for releases only. Planned coverage. The accumulated percentage of tests planned for a selected cycle, or for all cycles within a selected release. Executed coverage. The accumulated percentage of tests executed for a selected cycle, or for all cycles within a selected release. Passed coverage. The accumulated percentage of tests that ran successfully in a selected cycle, or for all cycles within a selected release. Note: To see the coverage progress relationships, you must define links between requirements and tests, and assign requirements and test sets to a cycle.

View quality graphs

View graphs in the Releases module displaying the number of defects submitted over the course of a release or cycle.

- For a release: Select a release in the releases tree, click the Status tab, and then click the Quality tab.

- For a cycle: Expand a release in the releases tree, select a cycle, and click the Quality tab.

UI Element | Description
--- | ---
Defect Opening Rate graph | Displays the number of defects opened over the course of the selected release or cycle. The graph displays defects whose Detected in Release or Detected in Cycle value matches the selected release or cycle. The defects are grouped according to their level of Severity. The x-axis displays the number of defects according to their severity on the last day of each cycle.
<Defect severity level display options> | Determine which defects are displayed in the graph based on defect severity level. The severity levels ranges from Low-1 to Urgent-5.
Outstanding Defects graph | Displays the number of outstanding defects for the selected release or cycle. The graph displays defects whose Target Release or Target Cycle value matches the selected release or cycle, or is empty. The defects are grouped according to their level of Severity. The x-axis displays the number of outstanding defects according to their severity on the last day of each cycle. By default, New, Open, and Reopened defects are considered outstanding.
Configure Outstanding Defects | Opens the Configure Outstanding Defects dialog box, enabling you to determine which defects are displayed in the graph by filtering them by their status. Available Defect Status. Lists statuses that are not currently used for configuring outstanding defects. Visible Defects Status. Lists statuses that are currently used for configuring outstanding defects. Note: Statuses displayed with the icon cannot be removed from the Visible Defects Status list. Only Targeted Defects. When selected, includes in the graph only the defects that match both of the following criteria: Defects whose statuses are listed in the Visible Defects Status column. Defects that are targeted to be fixed in this cycle.

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View release Gantt chart

To view the progress of a release in a Gantt chart, from the release tree, select a release, and click the Master Plan tab.

UI Element | Description
--- | ---
| Show Details. Opens the appropriate Details dialog box, depending on the selected entity. You can select the following entities: cycles, milestones, and release scope items. You can also double-click an entity on the chart. The appropriate Details dialog box opens. For more details on milestones and release scope items, see Project Planning and Tracking (PPT) releases.
| Refresh. Refreshes the chart.
| Reschedule. Reschedules the start and end date of a release, cycle or milestone.
| Zoom In/Out. Changes the magnification of the chart.
| Display Entire Release. Restores the chart to its normal size. This button is enabled when the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons are in use.
| Full Screen View. Opens the chart in a new window and maximizes its display.

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See also:

- How to Work with PPT

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