This page describe how to investigate the difference of grades between two snapshots at the module level when there is no change in the source code, to explain the variation.

For example, you perform an upgarde of CAST version, then you connect to dashboard and observe  a variation of the grades at the health factor level.

Step by Step scenario

1. Run a first analysis and snapshot
2. Run a second analysis and snapshot
3. Connect to the dashboard and observe a variation of grades at health factor level that is not explained with any change in the source code

Action Plan

To troubleshoot this issue, you need the following Relevant input

Perform the below actions:

1. If you generated an analysis and snapshot after upgrading your CAST version, it is expected to have some changes in the grade results. As the corrections done meantime in the product may reduce false violations or detect new violation.
2. If you did not upgrade CAST version or if you did not rerun analysis and snapshot after the upgrade, go to next step.
3. Connect to the dashboard and go to the quality model drilldown for both snapshots. Start from the business criteria level for which the variation of grade is reported, Check all the technical criteria inside the business criteria, Identify missing technical criteria or change of grade of a technical criteria.
4. In case the technical criteria is missing, Check if the technical criteria is still attached to the business criteria in the assesment model and is still activated.
   1. In case the technical criteria is dettached from the business criteria or if it is deactivated, as a workaround you can Attach the technical criteria and activate it again with the right weight and criticality and run consolidation of the snapshot for the issue to be resolved.
   2. In case the technical criteria is attached to the business criteria and activated, go to next step.
5. Check all the quality rules inside the technical criteria that is missing or the one on which you obsever grade variation. identify some missing quality rule or some change of grade of the quality rule that may explain the change observed.
6. In case the quality rule is missing, check if it is still attached to the technical criteria in the assesment model and is still activated.
   1. In case the  quality is dettached from the technical criteria or deactived it, please attach it and activate it again with the right weight and criticality and run consolidation of the snapshot.
   2. In case the technical criteria is attached to the technical criteria and activated, please follow the following page to investigate why the quality rule is missing CAST Engineering Dashboard - Quality rule - Missing Quality Rule
7. In case there is a variation of grade at the quality rule level, please check the objects in violations and identify any missing or wrong violation between the two snapshots that is impacting the quality rule grade.
8. For any identified missing or wrong violation, please follow CAST Engineering Dashboard - Violations - False violation or no violation to further investigate this.
9. In case you did do the analysis and snapshot after upgrading, please contact CAST Technical Support.

Relevant input

1. CAST Support Tool (CST) - alias Sherlock
2. Screenshots showing the issue with the url visible
3. DBs corresponding to previous analysis and snapshot

Identify missing technical criteria or change of grade of a technical criteria

In the example given in the screenshot above, let us suppose we are investigating the variation on the Changeability health factor decreasing from 3.10 to 2.96.

We need to go through the drilldown of the Changeability health factor and try to identify any missing technical criteria that may explain the change of results.

In the example given, when going through the drilldown of the Changeability health factor, we can see that the Functional evolvability is missing from the new dashboard.

When comparing current snapshot and previous snapshot, we can see the Complexity - Functional Evolvability is coming in previous snapshot and no longer in current one.

Here is the screenshot associated to previous snapshot

Hence, the issue is due to the fact that a technical criteria is missing, please go to next step in the action plan to investigate why the technical criteria is not coming.

Check if the technical criteria is still attached to the business criteria in the assesment model and is still activated 

 In the problem above, we can see that the  Functional Evolvability is missing in the dashboard.

To verify whether this is due to a change in the assesment model, we need to do the following:

1. Go to CAST-MS and do import assesment model from central in CMS
   
2. Go to the Functional Evolvability, check if it is detached 
    
    
   
   

Here in the screenshot given, we can see that Functional Evolvability is dettached, in this case it is expected to no longer have it in the Dashboard. Please follow the procedure given in next step to attach it again. 

Attach the technical criteria and activate it again with the right weight and criticality

In case the Technical criteria is dettached as seen for the Functional evolvability in the example above. We need to attach it and activate it with the right weight and criticality for the results to be comparable.

For this, we need to do the following:

1. Restore the management base associated to previous snapshot and check what was the weight and criticality that were associated to this technical criteria in  the previous snapshot.
2. Apply the same in current management base.
    
    
3. Attach it by clicking on the Attach button.
   C
4. Once attached, you can run the consolidation of the latest snapshot to get the grade computed again based on the modified assesement model. In the example provided, we can see that the Changeablity grade is now back to the initial value 3.1.
   

 Ticket # 4915

CAST Engineering Dashboard - Quality rule - Missing Quality Rule

CAST Engineering Dashboard - Violations - False violation or no violation