Adding automation suites

Add an automation suite in Helix ALM to define a group of related automated tests that run together.

A suite contains:

  • Details about the group of tests, including the owners and options to automatically associate automated test results with test cases after tests run.
  • Test cases related to the automated tests.
  • Run configuration information, which is used to run an automation suite to start a build in Jenkins from Helix ALM.

See Managing automation suites for more information about automation suites.

You can add suites based on functional area, specific testing type, or any logical way that supports your testing needs. We recommend creating smaller, focused automation suites to make it easier to understand results and take any additional action needed based tests that fail or have undetermined results.

Tip:  You can add automation suites from the Test Cases list. Select the test cases to add to the suite, click Actions, and choose Add Suite. The test cases are added to the new suite. You can also add suites from Add, Edit, or View Test Case pages. Click Actions and choose Add. The test case you are working with is added to the new suite.

1. Click Automation Suites in the left navigation area.

The Automation Suites list opens.

2. Click Add.

The Add Automation Suite dialog box opens.

3. Enter and select options for the suite:

4. Click Add to add the automation suite.

1.Enter a Name for the suite.

2. Enter a Description for the suite that explains what it is used for and distinguishes it from other suites.

3. Select the Owners for the suite. Click Advanced Search in the users list to search for a user. See Searching for users and customers in fields.

4. Select Automatically associate test results with test cases by script ID to automatically associate test results submitted to Helix ALM after an automated test script runs with the related test case. Enter a Script ID prefix, which is prepended to the test case number to create an automated test script ID related to a test case. See Automatically associating automated test results with test cases for more information.

5. Click Next. The Select Test Cases page opens.

1.Click Add to add test cases to the suite.

The Select Items to Add dialog box opens.

2. Select the test cases to add to the suite.

To find test cases, you can search, apply a filter, or view a list of recently accessed items. If you know the test case URL, you can paste it in the search field to easily find it.

3. Click Add.

You return to the Add Automation Suite dialog box.

If you selected Automatically associate test results with test cases by script ID on the Details page, the Automated Test Script ID column displays the script ID you need to use to in the automated test script to associate the results with the test case. See Automatically associating automated test results with test cases for more information.

4. To remove a test case from the suite, select it and click Remove.

5. Click Next.

The Run Configuration page opens.

If you want to run Jenkins builds from an automation suite in Helix ALM, you need to configure a run configuration for the suite. The run configuration specifies the Jenkins configuration, project, and parameter values to use when the build runs.

If you will only run scripts from Jenkins, you do not need configure a run configuration for the suite and can skip this step.

See Running Jenkins automation suites from Helix ALM for more information.

Note:  A connection to the Jenkins instance must be added as a Jenkins configuration in Helix ALM before you can add a run configuration to an automation suite. See Adding Jenkins configurations.

1.Click Add Run Configuration.

  • If the project only contains one configuration, it is automatically displayed as the Jenkins configuration.
  • If the project contains more than one Jenkins configuration, the Select Automated Testing Configuration dialog box opens. Select a configuration to use and click Add. You return to the Add Automation Suite dialog box and the selected Jenkins configuration is displayed.
  • If the project does not contain any configurations, you need to add one. See Adding Jenkins configurations.

Note:  To remove the configuration from the automation suite, click Remove Run Configuration. You are prompted to confirm the removal. There is no undo available. Click Remove.

2. Click Select Project to select the Jenkins project to use when running the automation suite.

The Select Jenkins Project dialog box opens. The following Jenkins types are supported and displayed: Freestyle projects, Pipeline, Multi-configuration projects, Folders.

Note:  The Enter Jenkins Credentials dialog box may open if your Jenkins credentials are required to connect to the Jenkins instance. See Entering Jenkins credentials when working with automation suites.

3. Browse for and select the Jenkins project to build for the automation suite.

You can search for a project or folder by name, or paste the URL to a Jenkins project in the search field. The Jenkins URL must be in the same Jenkins instance as the Jenkins configuration selected for the automation suite.

To open a folder, select it and click Open Folder or click the folder name. Click Go To Parent Folder to navigate back up the folder structure one level. Click to refresh the list.

4. Click Select Project.

You return to the Add Automation Suite dialog box. The selected project is displayed. Click the project link to open the Jenkins project. Click Change Project to select a different project.

5. If the Jenkins project uses an authentication token to trigger builds remotely, enter the Project authentication token.

6. If the Jenkins project has parameters, review them in the Default Parameter Values area. The parameter name, default value, and description are displayed. If there are multiple parameters with the same name in the Jenkins project, only the last one is displayed.

To override a default parameter value and use a different value when the automation suite runs, click Override next to the parameter. Enter or select the parameter value to use. If you want to go back to using the default parameter value, click Use default.

Note:  All parameter types are supported except File parameters. The method to enter or select parameter values may be different than in Jenkins.