Dashboard items

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Creating dashboard items
   
3. Examples:
   
   • Database server requirements – Latest updates table
   • Test distribution table (all test templates) by Author and Status
   • Regression Tests statuses pie chart
   • Pie chart to review test sets by “Assign to” value
   • Execution Progress to review Instances progress
   • Planned vs Executed graph to review Instances execution progress vs expected progress
   • Creating instance based items with Test, Test Set, or Run level fields
   • Issue Status Changes Graph to review Issues by status
   • Issue Status Aggregated Progress Graph to review Issue resolution
   • Age graph for Issue management prioritization
4. Dashboard item customization: Advanced options
   
   • Customizing chart colors
     
   • Changing the location of a chart’s legend
5. Embedded dashboard items

Introduction

PractiTest dashboard provides you with an overview of your project: what portion of your planned tests were actually executed, how many tests passed, how many open issues are waiting to be solved, and so on. In fact, the dashboard enables you to manage your team, not only the data! You can always tell if the work load is distributed correctly, detect bottle-necks, see who is working on what, and so on.

This article will teach you how to add and edit your dashboard items, so that you are always informed about what interests you.

Creating dashboard items

There are 8 different dashboard items types:

1. Latest updates table
2. Distribution table
3. Pie chart (and Step Status pie – for Instances)
4. Bar chart
5. Progress graph
6. Execution progress (for Tests and Instances)
7. Defect age (for Issues)
8. Planned vs Executed (for Instances)

To create a dashboard item, click on “Add Dashboard Item” link. This will open the “new dashboard item” window.

1. Choose the Dashboard tab under which the new item will be added.
2. Select a name for your dashboard item. You can leave this field blank, in which case the default name will be used.
3. Choose the entity that interests you – Issue / Test / Test Set / Test Instance / Requirement / Run
4. Choose the Dashboard item type from the drop-down menu, and click “continue”. This will open additional criteria, according to the entity and item type you have selected.
   In case you chose Issue progress graph or Instance Planned vs Executed, you will be able to determine the time range - whether you want it to be relative or absolute:

Examples

Example 1 – Database server requirements – Latest updates table

This specific example uses the “Database Server” filter. You can create a dashboard item based on any filter you’ve created in the system.

The following chart will be added to your dashboard, showing you the latest database-related requirements, and their statuses.

Example 2 – Test distribution table (all test templates) by Author and Status

In the table below, you can see how many tests are ready to execute, how many drafts and so on. You can also view who the author of the test is.

Example 3 – Regression Tests statuses pie chart

The pie chart below is based on the Regression tests filter.

Example 4 – Pie chart to review test sets by “Assign to” value

The pie chart below shows how many test sets are assigned to each tester. It can teach us a lot – seems like one of the testers has less work than the rest. Clicking on the pie parts will automatically take you to the entities that it represents.

Example 5 – Execution Progress to review Instances progress

The Execution Progress below shows the progress of all instances where X Field shows day of month and Y Field shows number of instances.

Example 6 – Planned vs Executed graph to review Instances execution progress vs expected progress

The Planned vs Executed graph below shows the execution progress of all instances in the selected scope, against the planned execution date, taken from the 'Execution Date' field at the Test Set level.

Example 7 – Creating instance based items with Test, Test Set or Run level fields

When creating a test instance based dashboard item, you can choose to use Test, Test Set, and Run level fields in addition to fields from the Instance level. For example, if you have a ‘Sprint’ custom field enabled for the Test Set level, and you want to create a chart that would present Test Instances by Sprint, you can select ‘TestSet: Sprint’ as the X field of your chart.

Example 8 – Issue Status Changes Graph to review Issues by status

Issue Status Changes Graphs allows you to review the number of issues assigned with any status you select to include in the graph, in a selected period of time. In the following example you can see the number of issues by status from March first to June 15th.

Example 9 – Issue Status Aggregated Progress Graph to review Issue resolution

Issue Status Aggregated Progress Graphs allows you to review the progression of Issues resolution in your project.

Example 10 – Age graph for Issue management prioritization

When creating a 'Age graph' dashboard item type you can select to apply to 'All issues' or choose from the existing filters in the Issues module. Then choose how to group the information based on the entity's fields. This is an important dashboard item for issue management and prioritization

Dashboard item customization – Advanced options

When creating or editing dashboard charts, you can customize some of the options (e.g. colors, placement of the legend, etc). This following text describes these advanced options.

Customizing chart colors

Customizing the colors of the graphs is also possible. For example, you can define a specific color for a user or a project.

For example, to change a pie chart colors follow those steps:

Step 1 – When editing or creating a new pie chart, click the “Advanced Options” link (Click here to read about pie charts creation)
Step 2 – in the “Colors” field, type the selected RGB codes for your pie chart. (Click here to select your colors from the colors palette)

Make sure you define the colors in the correct format, as indicated in the settings. The RGB codes need to in the following format: ‘#RRGGBB’, with an apostrophe at the beginning and end, and the numbber sign (#) before the 6-digit code. For example, if we edit the pie chart “test set by assigned to”, and we would like to assign the user Joan Green with the color 006600, we will type in the color field:
Joan Green: ‘#006600’
We can add additional colors by separating the values with a comma. For example:
Joan Green: ‘#006600’, Joel Montvelisky: ‘#0099CC’

Also note that the “Empty values” checkbox is checked to ensure the colors you defined do not shift because of changes in your data.

The image below shows the customized pie chart.

Changing the location of a chart’s legend

Changing the location of the legend is available in bar charts and progress graphs. It may be useful in case the specific shape of the chart is hidden by the legend.

There are 3 options for the legend location:
1. In graph
2. Bottom
3. No legend

To change a bar chart legend location, follow these simple steps:
Step 1 – When editing or creating a new bar chart, click the “Advanced Options” link (Click here to read about creation of dashboard items).
Step 2 – Use the “Legend Location” drop-down list to choose the desired option. You can use the preview checkbox to see a preview of the bar and modify the legend location if necessary

Embedded dashboard items

Easily embed your PractiTest Dashboard items into any web portal, company Wiki page, including Confluence (JIRA)
In the main dashboard tab choose the Customize Dashboard option, enter a dashboard item and then the embed option appears.

Copy the embed script and paste it in your destination page.

In order to embed dashboard item to Confluence, copy the embed script, go to Confluence page where you want to see this dashboard item, press + and choose ‘Other macros’.

Then choose Iframe, put URL of the dashboard item, width and height of the item.

Press ‘Insert’ and the dashboard item will be embedded in your Confluence page.