Introduction

ConnectALL now supports the syncing of records from the Tricentis Tosca server to other applications. 

Supported Authentication

        (tick) HTTP Basic

Supported Entity Types

        (tick) Requirements

        (tick) RequirementSet

        (tick) Issues

        (tick) TestCaseFolder

        (tick) TestCase

        (tick) ExecutionList

        (tick) ExecutionList Folder

        (tick) Execution Entry

        (tick) Execution Test Case Log

Supported Functionalities

        (tick) Sync Fields

        (tick) Sync Attachments

        (tick) Sync Parent-Child linking

Attachments Feature

        (tick) Create

        (tick) Update

Unsupported Fields

        (error) Comments

        (error) Attachment as URL

Application Link Configuration

Configuration of Application Server

As illustrated in the below image, choose 'Tricentis Tosca' under Application 1 and choose the other application under Application 2 (or vice-versa) and click Configure.

You will need the below details to create the application in the Tosca application server.  

  • URL (Add the URL of the Tosca commander installed location)
  • Username
  • Password

Entity Mapping

The Tosca adapter requires a mapping of the parent entity. In the below illustration a 'TestCaseFolder', a parent entity, is mapped to Jira's 'Story'.

Unique ID

The Tosca adapter requires a mapping using the 'Uniqueid' of the parent entity as explained further below.  Also, as all records reside inside a parent (a top-level artifact) in Tosca, a parent-child relationship is always required when creating an artifact in Tosca. When mapping parent-child entities for other artifacts (like Test Sets), it is required to map a relationship to a parent artifact (like Test Set Folder).

Field Mapping

The mapping starts with Entity Mapping and it is followed by field and value mappings that we discuss below. 
ConnectALL supports 'Parent-Child' linking for Tosca. By default, all Tosca artifacts have a 'Parent' entity. To sync the 'Parent' entity and its child, you need to create two app links. For example, let’s assume that the ‘TestCaseFolder’ folder is the parent and the ‘TestCase’ is the child under that. In such a scenario,
•    Create two app links in ConnectALL — one for the parent, and one for the child.
•    Create the first app link with the parent entity — 'TestCaseFolder', and create another app link with the child entity — 'TestCase'.
ConnectALL then syncs the parent and the child as you have created the app links. The below screenshots display the mapping.

Parent Automation Mapping


Child Automation Mapping

In this child automation, there is one more additional setting that you need to do. Click the cogwheel icon against the 'Parent' field that you have mapped. The Field Configuration screen will be displayed (right side image). Click Enable to select the Translate record Id option and select the tosca2jira automation (which is the parent automation).


 

Tips

  • The ‘ExecutionListId’ field will be available in the field mapping screen for Tosca. This is especially useful when you have an automation between Tosca’s ExecutionTestCaseLog and MicroFocus ALM’s Test Run entities. In that scenario, you could create a mapping between Tosca’s Execution ListId field and Microfocus ALM’s Cycle ID field.
  • If you are mapping MicroFocus ALM with Tricentis Tosca, you could map ALM’s Test Folder to Tosca’s TestCase Folder and sync the test steps under them.


Time Difference Configuration

To know how to calculate the time difference, and configure it in the ConnectALL UI, read the topic Time Difference Configuration.

Setting up Time Difference Calculation

You can easily define the time difference calculation in ConnectALL when you are configuring an application link.  This is essential for syncing your records with the correct time difference.  To set the time difference,
  1. Go to Entity Mapping.
  2. Click to expand the Advanced Properties option (below image).
  3. Enter the required information in the Time Difference field.

Flow Filter

You have to use the TQL commands in Tosca to derive the query for the Flow Filter field. Alternatively, you can search in the Tosca application by choosing Simple Search or TQL Search (as shown in the image) to derive the queries. To know more about the TQL search, click here. 

         

ConnectALL supports poll query for Tosca to selectively fetch records from the server. The poll query syntax is given below:

         

Troubleshooting

When using a Tosca record in an automation, you may face a couple of issues that may require you to implement certain workarounds. We have discussed below, the issues, the scenarios leading to those issues, and the workarounds that you can implement. 

Issue 1 – Synchronization Failure

Scenario: A ConnectALL automation is trying to synchronize a Tosca record, but that Tosca record is open in the Tosca commander. As a result, synchronization fails. 

This problem primarily occurs because Tosca Commander locks a project when it is open, and therefore synchronization attempts for that project will fail. So, you cannot trigger a synchronization of the automation when the project that you have used in an automation is open in the Tosca Commander.

To get around this issue, ensure that the project in the automation remains closed in the Tosca Commander when you are triggering a synchronization in ConnectALL. In other words, ensure that none of the users have the Tosca project open in the Tosca commander when the synchronization is triggered.

Issue 2 – Unable to open a Tosca project in the Tosca Commander

Scenario: You are unable to open a Tosca project (in the Tosca Commander) when the automation (in ConnectALL) is attempting to synchronize a Tosca record in that same project.

You will not be able to open a Tosca project (in the Tosca Commander) when the same record is a part of the automation that is being synchronized. This is because ConnectALL locks the project/record when it is being processed, and you will not be able to open the same project in Tosca Commander. 

One way to work around this issue is to temporarily disable the automation in ConnectALL.  This releases the lock on the specific record. As the lock is released, you will be able to open the project. 

Workaround

Closing the project in Tosca Commander to enable synchronization, or disabling an automation to open a project in Tosca may become a time-consuming ordeal.

One way to work around these issues is to schedule synchronization outside of working hours, or perhaps at a certain well-known time of day, such as at lunch-time. Let all users know the synchronization schedule and ask them to ensure they do not have the project locked at that time.

Here is another suggested workaround:
Create two projects in Tosca Commander with a shared folder structure (say, Project1 and Project2). In short, you will be cloning a project. In the ConnectALL automation, use ‘Project1’ (this project will be used when the synchronization is attempted). If you have to verify the project or change any details in ‘Project1, open ‘Project2’ in the Tosca Commander, and make the necessary changes and ‘Project1’ will be updated as they are both cloned.