Author a test or component

This topic describes how to create a new test or component.

Sprinter's Plan mode enables you to create and edit tests or components directly in Sprinter and save them to the file system or Application Lifecycle Management. You can create and edit steps manually in the Steps tab, or use Steps Capture to automatically generate steps based on your user actions. You can then add screen captures or attachments to steps. You can define input parameters for each step, and also output parameters for components.

The following steps describe how to create and manage tests and components in Sprinter.

  1. Prerequisites

    Ensure that you have the required user permissions and connect to Application Lifecycle Management as described in Sprinter and ALM. Make sure that Plan tab is selected.

  2. Create a new test or component.

    • For non-ALM connections: To add a new test, click Create in the Plan area. A new test is added to the My Tests List list.

    • For ALM connections: Select Create > New ALM Test or Create > New ALM Business Component. A new entry is added to the My Tests Listlist.

  3. Open an existing test or component.

    • To open a test, click the Open button in the Plan area.

    • To open an ALM test or business component, expand the Open dropdown and select the desired option.

  4. When logged in with ALM, the Open dialog box enables you to select which Application Lifecycle Management tests or components to view and open.

    In the Test Lab view, you can organize the test list and select what to display using the following buttons:

    UI Elements

    Description
    Filter

    Opens the Filter dialog box, enabling you to filter the tests or components based on specific criteria. For details, click Help in the Filter dialog box.
    Select Columns

    Opens the Select Columns dialog box, enabling you to select the columns to display. For details, click Help in the Select Columns dialog box.
    Refresh Reloads the data from ALM.
    Select All

    Selects all the currently displayed tests or components in the list.
    Deselect All

    Deselects all the currently displayed tests or components in the list.
    <Test list>/
    <Component list>

    The list of tests or components in the selected folder in the folder list. Select the check boxes next to the tests or components you want to open in Sprinter.

  5. When logged in with ALM Octane, a list box opens showing all of the tests in the current workspace.

    Select a test and click OK. The test editor pane opens showing the test description and the step details.

  6. Manage version-controlled tests or components (ALM users only).

    If you open a test or component from an Application Lifecycle Management project that supports version-control, the test or component opens in read-only mode unless you have already checked it out. The following functionality is available from the Plan area's Versions menu for managing version-control:

    • To enable editing, select Versions > Check Out. The test or component is checked out for you, and only you can edit its contents. You can only check out the last version—not older versions.

    • To release the check out of the test or component, select Versions > Check In. The test or component is checked in to the Application Lifecycle Management project, and other users can now check out and edit that test or component.

    • To cancel the check out of the test or component without changing the version number or saving any changes that you made to it, select Versions > Undo Check Out. The test or component is checked back in and all changes that you made after the check out are lost.

  7. Manually add and edit steps

    Use the Steps tab to:

    • add, edit, move, and delete test or component steps

    • import steps from Excel or CSV files

    • format steps using rich text editing capabilities

    • add screen captures and attachments to steps

    • insert calls to an external Application Lifecycle Management test

    • insert parameters to steps

    For details, hover on the toolbar to see the button tooltip, or see the Steps tab (Plan mode).

    Note: It is recommended that you limit the content of all fields that support rich text, such as Description, to 2500 characters.

  8. Automatically add steps using Steps Capture.

    In the Steps tab, select an application for your test and then click the Steps Capture button to navigate within your application and perform typical user actions.

    If you have not defined an application, click the arrow adjacent to Steps Capture button and select Application Settings. Select or define an application. Then select the application from the Steps Capture dropdown. For details, see the Steps tab (Plan mode) and Applications tab.

    While you perform actions, Sprinter captures them and converts the actions into steps. Using the Captured Steps sidebar, you can define whether to convert each user action to a step or to group multiple user actions into steps. For details, see Captured Steps sidebar.

  9. Manage step parameters

    Add parameters to your test or component using the Test/Component tab's Parameters pane. You can then associate these parameters with steps in the Steps tab.

    Note: For tests, only input parameters are supported. For components, input and output parameters are supported, per component.

    For details on the Parameters pane, see the Parameters tab (Plan mode).

  10. Manage step attachments (tests only).

    Use the Attach dropdown to add and remove test attachments.

    Attachments are not available for components.

  11. Manage component snapshots (components only).

    Use the Snapshots pane to add, annotate, or remove screen captures for components. These screen captures are then saved with your component in Application Lifecycle Management.

    This pane is not available for tests.

  12. Save the test or component in Application Lifecycle Management.

    In the Tests and Components pane, do one of the following:

    • Click the Save button. The Save dialog box opens for tests or components that you save for the first time.

    • Select Save > Save As. The Save As dialog box opens and allows you to save your test or component under another name.