How to Track Defects in ALM

This task describes how to track application defects during the development process.

To learn more about defects, see Defect Tracking Overview.

1. Create defects

   1. On the ALM sidebar, select Defects.

   2. Click New Defect in the Defects grid toolbar to open the New Defect dialog box. For user interface details on the New Defect dialog box, see New Defect Dialog Box.

      Tip: Creating a defect can be an ongoing process that may require switching between the New Defect dialog box, other ALM modules, and possibly the browser itself.

      To switch to another module while creating a defect, click Close without submitting the defect. To return to the defect you are creating, click New Defect from the Defects module again. ALM retains the data so you can continue working on the same defect.

      If you want to start work on a different defect, click the Clear All Fields button to clear the retained data.

   3. In the New Defect dialog box, fill in the fields.

2. Import defects - optional

   In addition to creating defects directly in ALM, you can also import defects to your ALM project from Microsoft Excel. To import defects, you must first install the appropriate add-in. For more information, see Data Import from Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel .

3. Link defects and other entities

   You can link defects to requirements, tests, test sets, test instances, runs, run steps, business process tests, flows, and other defects.

   For task details on how to link defects, see How to Link Defects.

4. Search for defects

   In the Defects module, you can search for defects from:

   • The Defects grid, for example, to find defects related to a specific issue, or to modify a specific defect.

   • The New Defect dialog box, for example, to avoid creating duplicate defects.

   For task details on how to search for defects, see How to Search for Defects.

5. Assign, repair, and update defects

   Periodically review defects in the project, decide which ones to fix, and modify defect statuses, target releases, target cycles, and other fields accordingly.

   In the Defects module, select a defect in the Defects grid and click the Defect Details button. In the Defect Details dialog box, fill in the fields. For user interface details on the Defect Details dialog box, see the Defect Details Dialog Box.

   Among other tasks, you can:

   • Change the status of defects that are candidates to be fixed to Open, and assign the defects to members of the development team.

   • In the Target Release and Target Cycle fields, assign the open defects to the releases and cycles in which they are targeted to be fixed.

   • Fix the open defects. This involves identifying the cause of the defects, modifying and rebuilding the application, and rerunning your tests. For example, if a defect does not recur, you can assign to the defect the status Closed. If a defect is detected again, you can reassign to the defect the status Open. When a defect is repaired, you can assign it the status Fixed.

6. Analyze defects

   Analyze defect data by generating reports and graphs.

   Use one of the following:

   • View defect data in a graph. On the Defects module menu, select Analysis > Graphs. For task details on generating graphs, see the How to Generate a Graph.

   • Create a report of defect data. On the Defects module menu, select Analysis > Project Report. For task details on creating reports, see How to Create Project Reports.

   For task details on additional analysis tools in ALM, see the How to Analyze Data in ALM.