Overview

The integration updates three areas in VERA:

ALM Fields in Test Plan and Test Set
VERA Policy files
VERA/ALM action "workflow" as an extended ALM .tds file

A few ALM fields are added to support the connection and management of Tosca from ALM. ALM Field controls for items of type "Tosca" are specified in VERA's Records Management Policy. Tosca connection information is configured in VERA's Synchronization Policy. And, custom toolbar button/actions are configured in Tosca_Interface.tds.

ALM Fields

In the Test Plan and Test Lab: Test Set modules the following fields are defined as standard string fields:

Tosca ID	Tosca's Unique ID for the item to which this ALM item is connected. This number varies in format, governed by Tosca.
VERA Sync ID	A Unique ID that is consistent between Vera, ALM, and Tosca. This ID is used for VERA's ability to Synchronize across multiple systems.

VERA Policy Files

Two VERA Policy files are updated to configure record update controls and Tosca connection information:

Records Management Policy
Synchronization Policy

For additional information about VERA policy files, see the VERA Technical Architecture Specification.

Records Management Policy

Additional Rules are configured to control updates in the following areas:

Field Editability

These VERA fields are not editable for items of type "Tosca":

Tosca ID
Test Name (comes from Tosca)
Description (comes from Tosca)
Test Type

For example, this entry prevents the Description field from being updated if the item is linked to Tosca (Tosca ID field is empty):
                    {
                        "Name": "Description",
                        "Is Data": "Yes",
  						"Edit Rules": [
                            {
                                "Is Editable": "No",
                                "Roles": ["Everyone"\],
                                "Constraints": [
                                    {
                                        "Name": "Tosca ID"
                                        "Type": "Field Is Not Empty",
                                    }
                                ]
                            }
  						]
                    }

Disallowed Actions

The following actions are not allowed on Tosca Test types in ALM:

Smart Copy and Smart Paste – An ALM Tosca item cannot be copied because it links to one and only one Tosca item.
"Select Tests" toolbar button/operation in Test Set: Test Instances, within a Tosca Test Set are dictated by the Tosca Execution list and cannot be manually constructed in ALM.
"Remove Test Instances from Test Set (Del)" toolbar button/operation: Test Instances, within a Tosca Test Set are dictated by the Tosca Execution list and cannot be manually manipulated in ALM.
"Run" button on a Test Set's Execution Grid (Use Tosca Toolbar button, instead.)

Smart Delete action will delete entity in ALM but will not delete the entity in Tosca and it will not remove VERA Sync and ALM IDs from the associated Tosca record.

For example, this entry prevents Smart Copy on an ALM Tosca Test:
					{
                        "Is Allowed": "Yes",
                        "Constraints": [
                            {
                                "Type": "User Is",
                                "Role": "Editors"
                            },
                            {
                                "Type": "Record Type Is One Of",
                                "Record Types": [
                                    "Test Case"
                                ]
                            },
                            {
                    "Name": "Type",
                                "Type": "Field Is Not Equal",
                                "Value": "TOSCA"
                            }
                        ]
                    }

Synchronization Policy

The Synchronization Policy file contains information to enable synchronizing VERA operations across multiple systems.  This policy should be updated *for each* ALM project.  The following entry is an example to enable Tosca synchronization; Line items are explained below:
{
    "Synchronization Policy":
    {
        "Version": "0.0.0.1",
        "Locations": [
            {
                "System": "Tosca",
                "Name": "Tx3 Tosca",
                "Server": "http://myserver:8088/",
                "Workspace": "AnimalHealth_LIMS",
                "Service Account": "ToscaServiceAdminUser",
                "Service Password": "C3csD0895F23378ACB0",
                "Workflow Lock Group": "ALM Lock",
                "Workflow Unlock Group": "AHLims Users"
            }
        ]
    }
}

Variable	Meaning
System	The system with which VERA needs to synchronize. For Tosca, the value must be "Tosca".
Name	Any string that may be more descriptive for this Synchronization Policy entry.
Server	The exact Server and Port that maps to the main Tosca Server's REST API configuration. Refer to the Tosca documentation for installing the REST API service on the Tosca Server.
Workspace	The workspace, configured on the Tosca REST server to point to the correct Tosca Repository. It is recommended to have a naming convention that reflects the ALM Domain and Project. For example, in the above sample, "AnimalHealth" is the ALM domain and "LIMS" is the project name. This will help to avoid potential conflicts on the Tosca server and provide for more effective organization and troubleshooting. Refer to the documentation for installing a multi-user environment and repositories (databases for SQL Server, or Schemas for Oracle).
Service Account	A reserved account name that has Admin-level rights in Tosca to modify object ownership. VERA operations use this account to "lock" and "unlock" Tosca items that are routing for approval, approved, or taken out of the approval process. See section below on "Special Admin Level Integration User" for more details.
Service Password	The password for the Service Account. This is encrypted with a Tx3 utility by the ALM Administrator.
Workflow Lock Group	The Tosca Group designated as the group to own objects that are currently locked for updates, as they in the VERA approval process. This group must be reserved for one or two Admin users and should NOT contain other typical Tosca users.
Workflow Unlock Group	The Tosca Group designated as the owning group for Tosca objects that are free to be updated by the typical Tosca engineer. This group should have most, if not all users, as members.

ALM Custom Toolbar Button

Test Lab implements a custom toolbar button to provide an action menu of items for Tosca Test Sets. The ALM template is configured to display the button and a TDS extension file is configured to handle associated click events. "Tosca_Interface.tds", is stored along with VERA policy files in the ALM Requirements module.

Upon clicking the toolbar button, a "Vera-like" Action menu provides additional buttons to create/select a new Tosca Test Set, 'refresh' a Tosca Test Set with updates from Tosca, or execute a Test Set. Buttons are enabled/disabled depending on context - item selected, state, etc.

Creating a Test Set, links the ALM Test Set with the Tosca Execution List in the same manner as a Test Case, saving all ID's in both systems' entities. Additionally, the implementation creates underlying Test Instances.

Updating a Test Set rereads from Tosca and updates Test Instances accordingly.
Running a Test Set brings up another dialog, listing Test Instances and provides a logging section that fills in as the Run executes.

VERA Tosca Integration 2022.1

VERA for ALM Configuration