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Contents

1. List of Abbreviations and Terms

2. Glossary

3. Introduction

3.1 Field of Application of This Document

3.2 Purpose of This Document

3.3 System Requirements

4. General Description

5. Configuration

5.1 Setting up parameters

5.2 Export and import of settings

6.1 Building a Gantt chart

6.2 Opening forms

6.3 Modifying planned dates

6.4 Reassigning owners

6.5 Owners workload

6.6 Saving changes

6.7 Export information

6.8 Visualization of states

List of Abbreviations and Terms

Glossary

Introduction

Field of Application of This Document

Purpose of This Document

• Configuring the application
• Using the application

System Requirements

• IBM Rational ClearQuest Eclipse Client 7.0.0 or later version.

General Description

Configuration

Setting up parameters

Configuration includes setting up the parameters of record types for which the Gantt chart will be build. First, you should set up the connection to the DB (see Figure 1. Setting up the connection to the ClearQuest database).

Figure 1. Setting up the connection to the ClearQuest database

1. Record types - on this tab, you can configure all necessary record types, for which the Gantt chart will be built.
2. Record types hierarchy - on this tab, you can set up all necessary relations between change requests:
1. Hierarchical relations
2. Sequential relations
3. Advanced - on this tab, you can adjust additional settings.
4. Custom - on this tab, you can adjust some custom settings to make your work with GanttChart for ClearQuest more convenient.

Figure 3. Configuring the module (the ALMRequest entity is taken as an example)

1. Connection - the list of active ClearQuest connections. In this list, you should select the connection to the user's ClearQuest database.
2. Record types - the list of record types that are used in the user's ClearQuest DB. In this list, select the record types that should be used for building the Gantt chart. For every record type, you can set up a number of parameters displayed on the right of the record types list:
1. Modify action - the action performed by ClearQuest to modify the change request. It is used for saving planned values for the change requests. This is an optional parameter. You need not set it up unless you need to save changes in the Gantt chart.
2. Assign action - the action performed by ClearQuest to transfer a change request into the Assigned state. It is used if it is necessary to automatically transfer a change request into the Assigned state when an owner is assigned to the request. This is an optional parameter. You need not set it up unless you need to automatically transfer a change request into the Assigned state.
3. Headline - this field contains a brief description. This is a mandatory parameter.
4. Owner - this field contains a name of an owner assigned to a change request. This parameter is optional.
5. Plan start date - this field contains a planned date of starting work in the ClearQuest request. This field is not mandatory for change requests with child requests.
6. Plan end date - this field contains a planned date of finishing work in the ClearQuest request. This field is not mandatory for change requests with child requests.
7. Actual start date - this field contains an actual date of starting work in the ClearQuest request. This field is not mandatory for change requests with child requests.
8. Actual end date - this field contains an actual date of finishing work in the ClearQuest request. This field is not mandatory for change requests with child requests.
9. Completing percent - this field contains the task completion rate. Its value should fall into the range between 0 and 100. This parameter is optional.

Figure 4. Configuring the hierarchy for the ALMActivity entity

1. Parameters for hierarchical relations, that are displayed in a Gantt chart as aggregated tasks:
1. Parent record - a parent change request for the request that is currently being configured.
2. Child record - a child change request for the request that is currently being configured.
2. Parameters for the sequential relations:
1. Predecessor record - a change request that goes before the request that is currently being configured.
2. Successor record - a change request that goes after the request that is currently being configured.

Figure 5. Additional settings

1. Color theme - the color scheme that will be applied to a Gantt chart.
2. Use color events - if this option is selected, all tasks will be highlighted by different colors depending on their states:
1. Grey - the task has not been planned.
2. Blue - the task has been planned and the plan end date has not come yet.
3. Yellow - the task has been planned and is in progress.
4. Crimson - the task has been planned, but the planned start date is past due.
5. Red - the task has been planned and the planned finish date is past due.
6. Green - the task is completed.
3. Split chart by section - if this option is selected, the Gantt chart is divided into sections concerning records of the first level of hierarchy.
4. Use AMWorkActivitySchedule package - if this option is selected, you can use the AMWorkActivitySchedule package.
5. Use users - allows creating lists of owners for using them in the Gantt chart the workload diagram:
1. Use the record choice list - creates the list of owners that corresponds to the selected record and its Owner field;
2. Use owners workload - allows selecting the necessary User entity which will be used a basis for building a diagram of workload per owner.
3. Use users record type - creates the list of owners on basis of the Users record type;
4. Use specified record type - creates the list of owners on basis of the specified type of record Record type and its main field User name, which contains the owner name.
5. Use record types for workload - a list of configured record types which will be used as a basis for building a workload diagram;
6. Split a diagram into sections - a workload diagram in addition to splitting by owners will also be splitted into sections by record types.
6. Enable change preferences by administrators only - if this option is selected, the settings can be edited only by users with Super user and Security admin privileges.

Figure 6. Custom settings

• Auto build queries - allows defining the list of queries. As a result of execution of these queries, a Gantt chart will be automatically built.

To finish the configuration, click Apply.

Export and import of settings

GanttChart for ClearQuest allows exporting and importing settings. You can do it in the Preferences window using the corresponding buttons (see Figure 7. Buttons for exporting and importing settings).

Figure 7. Buttons for exporting and importing settings

1. In the Preferences window, click Export.
2. In the dialog box, select the directory and specify the name of the file that will store the imported settings.

1. In the Preferences window, click Import.
2. In the dialog box, select the file with the settings.
3. To apply the new settings, click Apply.

Using the plug-in

Building a Gantt chart

Figure 8. Configuring the filter of displayed records

Figure 9. Launching the plug-in

Figure 10. Plug-in's tab displayed in ClearQuest

Figure 11. Running a query

Figure 12. Displaying the Gantt chart

Opening forms

Modifying planned dates

1. Fields containing planned dates.
2. Modify action for a record.

1. Selecting a group of tasks. You can select multiple tasks by clicking Shift or Ctrl and selecting the necessary tasks. Also, you can select a group of tasks by clicking Ctrl and then, using the right mouse button, selecting an area on a Gantt chart where the necessary tasks are displayed (see Figure 14. Selecting a group of tasks)

Figure 14. Selecting a group of tasks

1. Modifying a group of tasks. To modify a group of tasks, you should modify one of the selected tasks holding the Ctrl button.
2. Modifying connected tasks. To modify connected tasks, you should modify one of the selected tasks holding the Shift button.
3. Aggregated tasks. When you move an aggregated task, its child tasks are also moved, including the aggregated ones.

Figure 15. Displaying the shift between old and new planned dates

Reassigning owners

1. Owner field.
2. Modify or Assign action.

1. On a Gantt chart, right-click a task and select Assign owner.
2. The dialog appears (see Figure 16. Selecting an owner) with the list of available owners. To find a necessary owner in a large list, use the filter field.

Figure 16. Selecting an owner

1. Click OK to save changes, or Cancel to quit without saving.
2. Before you have saved the new settings, you can restore the previous owner by clicking Restore.

Owners workload

1. From the toolbar of the Gantt Chart

Figure 17. Opening the workload diagram from the toolbar

1. From the right-click menu of a task on the Gantt chart. For every task that is used for building the workload diagram, there are two additional items in the right-click menu:
   1. Show owners workload - the workload diagram will be built for owners that are selected from the Owner list for the selected record type;
   2. Show workload of available owners - the workload diagram will be built for owners that are available in the Owner list for the selected record type. This menu item is available, if the Use the record choice list option is selected in owner settings.

Figure 18. Opening the workload diagram from the right-click menu of a task

Figure 19. Toolbar of the workload diagram

• Period - in this field, specify the start and the end dates of the period for which the diagram should be built. By default, the start date is equal to the current date; the end date is set as current date plus two months.
• Style - allows setting the style of the workload diagram display.
• Tasks - in the workload diagram, in a section for every owner, a list of tasks is displayed that are assigned to the owner for the specified period. The distinguishing feature of this diagram is that you can change the planned dates for the selected tasks right from the diagram;

Figure 20. Workload diagram: the tasks view.

• Bars - in a section for every owner, a bar chart is build, where the height of bars for every date represents the number of tasks assigned for this owner. The color of bars depends on the number of tasks assigned to the owner:
• Blue - one task is assigned to the owner;
• Yellow - two tasks are assigned to the owner;
• Red - tree or more tasks are assigned to the owner;

Figure 21. Workload diagram: the bar view

• Source - this option allows selecting a source for building the workload diagram:

1. GanttChart - the workload diagram is built on basis of tasks from the Gantt chart;
2. ClearQuest - the workload diagram is built on basis of ClearQuest records.

• Owners - a list of owners for which the workload diagram is build. To specify the owner list, click the Select owners

Figure 22. Selecting owners

1. To build or refresh the workload diagram, click the Build diagram
2. Synchronization of task parameter changes - when the planned dates of a task are changed on one diagram, they are automatically changed on another. This functionality is available when the task view of workload diagram is selected;
3. Synchronization of display period change - when you scroll one diagram in horizontal direction, the other diagram is scrolled synchronously;
4. Synchronization of diagram zooming - when you click buttons Zoom in

Saving changes

To save the results of planning in the Gantt chart, you can use two methods (see Figure 17. Saving changes.):

• Complete saving of all changes Click

Figure 17. Saving changes.

Figure 18. Selecting tasks for saving

Figure 19. Log of the planned dates saving process

Export information

• Click "Export";

Figure 20. Exporting data

• Set the file name that you want to export the information;

Figure 21. Selecting file name

• Launch MS Project and select "FileaOpen";
• Choose a file export;

Figure 22. Opening file

• Select "Append the data to active project"

Figure 23. Import Wizard

• The new plan to add a display field "Text1" and "Text2", which contain CQID information and the type of record ClearQuest;

Figure 24. Inserting text fields

• Information on the planned dates stored in the baseline, so to display it on the MS Project Gantt chart to choose the type of View "Tracking Gantt"

Figure 25. View "Tracking Gantt"

Visualization of states

• At the required change request, right-click and choose "Show state chart"

Figure 26. Openning state chart

• On the resulting graph displays the states and transitions between states. In parentheses at the transitions is also reflected in the number of transitions executed during the entire lifecycle of the change request.

Figure 27. StateChart Vizualizer

Appendix A

Example of ALM-schema configuration

• Changes in the schema. Since the ALM-schema does not have all necessary fields for setting planned and actual dates, you should add them using ClearQuest Designer. For the ALMActivity record type it is necessary to add the following fields:

1. Plan_start - planned start date, type DATE_TIME;
2. Plan_start - planned end date, type DATE_TIME;
3. Fact_start - actual start date, type DATE_TIME;
4. Fact_end - actual end date, type DATE_TIME;
5. Percent_complete - completion rate, type INT;
6. PredecessorActivity - predecessor for a task, type REFERENCE_LIST for the record type ALMActivity;

• Configuring the application

• Configuring fields for ALMRequest: