CMS - Quality Rules/Quality Distributions/Quality Measures tabs

Quality Rules/Quality Distributions/Quality Measures tabs

These tabs allow you to edit existing or create new:

• Quality Rules (i.e. tactical quality indicators, designed to assess a component based on the compliance to a coding or architecture practice) that will govern how the analyzed source code is measured.
• Quality Distributions (i.e. tactical quality indicators, designed to assess a component based on the balance of the distribution of an attribute value among objects of the component)
• Quality Measures (i.e. tactical quality indicators, designed to assess a component based on a single measure value).

The tabs have very similar content but not all sub-tabs are visible in each parent tab. For ease of use, ALL available sub-tabs are explained in more detail below.

The tabs are divided into two distinct parts:

• a list of Quality Rules/Distributions/Measures
• and a separate editor to configure/edit each Quality Rule/Distribution/Measure with various sub tabs

List of Quality Rules/Distributions/Measures

This section simply lists the Quality Rules/Distributions/Measures. The below example is taken from the standard CAST supplied Assessment Model (see Assessment Models view):

Name	Name of the item
Active	Indicates whether the item is active (TRUE) or not (FALSE) - can be modified, see below.
Detached	Indicates whether the item is detached (TRUE) or not (FALSE) - can be modified, see below.
External ID	Indicates the item's External ID - the External ID is simply a unique numeric ID - can be modified, see General tab.
Deprecated	Note this column applies only to Quality Rules. Indicates the Deprecated status of the Quality Rule. In the majority of circumstances, the column will state "N/A" for all Quality Rules. However, Quality Rules may be marked as "deprecated" following an upgrade to CAST AIP 8.3.x and above in the following circumstance: If you choose to retain your previous Assessment Model during the upgrade process, then any "non-unified" Quality Rules will be marked as deprecated and set to "Detached" (non-unified Quality Rules have been removed from the Assessment Model in CAST AIP 8.3.x and above).
XXL	Note this column applies only to Quality Rules. Indicates the XXL status of the Quality Rule - can be modified, see General tab below.
Assessment Model	Indicated which Assessment Model the item belongs to.

To add a new Quality Rule/Distribution/Measure:

• Click the button, a new item called "My Quality Rule/Distribution/Measure" will be displayed in the list.
• Configure the item using the sections below

To edit an existing Quality Rule/Distribution/Measure:

• Select the item in the list
• Edit the item using the sections below

To remove an existing Quality Rule/Distribution/Measure:

• Select the Quality Rule in the list
• Click the button - this action cannot be undone. Once removed, an item is no longer part of the Assessment Model and is no longer referenced anywhere (including in the CAST Engineering Dashboard).

Quality Rule/Distribution/Measure editors

This editor allows you to configure/edit each selected Quality Rule/Distribution/Measure - it displays the details of an item selected in the above list (example below shows a Quality Rule):

The editor is itself divided into several sub section, each is explained below - remember depending on the context, the number of sub tabs differs:

Documentation tab (all parents)

This tab governs what is displayed in the CAST Dashboard with regard to the selected item. There are various sub sections:

• Name Translations > use this tab to define translations of the item name. You can configure translations for German, French and Italian - tick the check box to activate the configuration. Translations of the item name will be displayed in the CAST Dashboard when a CAST Dashboard user is configured to use one of the above languages.
• Description > use this tab to define the item's description:
  • of the violation pattern (Quality Rule)
  • of the distribution of objects in a category (Quality Distribution)
  • of the measure performed on the software components (Quality Measure)

  Tick the check box to activate the description configuration. You can also define a translation of the description for German, French and Italian. Translations of the description will be displayed in the CAST Dashboard when a CAST Dashboard user is configured to use one of the above languages.

• Rationale > use this tab to define the item's rationale:
  • why the violation pattern is a risk (Quality Rule)
  • why the unbalanced distribution of the attribute value is a risk (Quality Distribution)
  • why the measure value can become a risk (Quality Measure)

  Tick the check box to activate the rationale configuration. You can also define a translation of the rationale for German, French and Italian. Translations of the  rationale will be displayed in the CAST Dashboard when a CAST Dashboard user is configured to use one of the above languages.

• Reference > use this tab to define the Quality Rule's reference, i.e. links to any technical references - tick the check box to activate the reference configuration. You can also define a translation of the Quality Rule reference for German, French and Italian. Translations of the Quality Rule reference will be displayed in the CAST Dashboard when a CAST Dashboard user is configured to use one of the above languages.
• Remediation > use this tab to define the Quality Rule's remediation, i.e. a description of how to remove the occurrence of the violation pattern - tick the check box to activate the remediation configuration. You can also define a translation of the Quality Rule remediation for German, French and Italian. Translations of the Quality Rule remediation will be displayed in the CAST Dashboard when a CAST Dashboard user is configured to use one of the above languages.
• Remediation Sample > use this tab to define the Quality Rule's remediation sample, i.e. a sample of source code that shows the proposed remediation - tick the check box to activate the remediation sample configuration. You can also define a translation of the Quality Rule remediation sample for German, French and Italian. Translations of the Quality Rule remediation sample will be displayed in the CAST Engineering Dashboard when a CAST Dashboard user is configured to use one of the above languages.
• Pattern Sample > use this tab to define the Quality Rule's pattern sample, i.e. a sample of source code that shows the pattern violation - tick the check box to activate the pattern sample configuration. You can also define a translation of the Quality Rule pattern sample for German, French and Italian. Translations of the Quality Rule pattern sample will be displayed in the CAST Dashboard when a CAST Dashboard user is configured to use one of the above languages.
• Scope > use this tab to define the item's scope, i.e. the scope of objects that are tested - tick the check box to activate the scope configuration. You can also define a translation of the scope for German, French and Italian. Translations of the scope will be displayed in the CAST Engineering Dashboard when a CAST Engineering Dashboard user is configured to use one of the above languages.
• Output > use this tab to define the item's output, i.e. a description of the information that will be made available or a return value and settings to define how the output is presented:
  • Associated Value (Quality Rule only) > choose the associated value type that will be used to display the output
  • Number of Associated Value (Quality Rule only) > choose the number type that will be used to display the output (single or multiple)
  • Associated Values Names > give Associated Values a name.
  • Description > Tick the check box to activate the output configuration. You can also define a translation of the output for German, French and Italian. Translations of the output will be displayed in the CAST Dashboard when a CAST Dashboard user is configured to use one of the above languages.
• Short Name > use this tab to define the Quality Rule's short name, i.e. a shortened name for ease of display - tick the check box to activate the short name configuration. You can also define a translation of the Quality Rule's short name for German, French and Italian. Translations of the Quality Rule short name will be displayed in the CAST Dashboard when a CAST Dashboard user is configured to use one of the above languages.

Parameters tab (all parents)

This tab governs the input parameters for the selected item:

• configuration of Violation Pattern input parameters (Quality Rule and Quality Measure)
• configuration of input parameters that drive the distribution of objects in Categories (Quality Distribution)

Parameters listed in the dialog box are defined in the Contextual Parameters tab. As such, you must already have defined parameters prior to attempting to add them here.

Grade Thresholds tab (Quality Rules/Measures only)

This tab governs the thresholds for the selected Quality Rule or Quality Measure - i.e. at what minimum and maximum value is required to achieve a 1, 2, 3 or 4 grad:

• Configuration of thresholds used to turn compliance percentage to a 1-to-4 grade (Quality Rule)
• Configuration of thresholds used to turn measure value to a 1-to-4 grade (Quality Measure)

To set new or existing thresholds:

• Simply enter the thresholds required, or leave the default values as is:
  
  

Make sure you enter two values separated by a dot, that each value is unique and that the values are inputted in ascending or descending order.

Grade Impacts tab (all parents)

This tab governs the Technical Criteria that aggregate the selected Quality Rule/Distribution/Measure - in other words, which Technical Criteria are using the selected Quality Rule/Distribution/Measure. You can use it to determine their Grade Impacts - i.e. their weight and criticality in the context of the selected Quality Rule/Distribution/Measure.

To configure this tab, Technical Criteria must already exist in the Quality Model > Technical Criteria tab.

To add a new Grade Impact:

• Click the button, a new entry with default settings will be displayed in the list
• Configure the entry using the section below

To edit an existing Grade Impact:

• Select the entry in the list
• Edit the entry using the section below

To remove an existing Grade Impact:

• Select the entry in the list
• Click the button

Computing Settings tab (Quality Rules/Measures only)

This tab governs how the Quality Rule/Quality Measure is actually calculated:

• Configuration of the mechanisms used to track violation pattern occurrences in a given scope of objects (Quality Rules)
• Configuration of the mechanism used to compute the measure value (Quality Measures)

For Quality Rules the following can be configured:

• A list of Quality Rules that need to be executed BEFORE the current Quality Rule
• Whether the Rule is based on Scope and Property or based on SQL procedures (i.e. how the rule is calculated)
• Technologies to which the settings apply - note that if the list of Applicable Technologies does not contain any technologies, the Quality Rule is applicable to ALL technologies:

• If you have chosen to calculate the rule using Computing based on SQL procedures you can define how the Quality rule is calculated via the Total SQL Procedure and Detail SQL Procedure - note that it is not currently possible to define how the Quality Rule is calculated if you chose Computing based on Scope and Property

For Quality Measures the following can be configured:

• the name of the SQL procedure used to compute the measure value

Settings tab (Quality Distributions only)

This tab governs how the Quality Distribution is actually calculated:

• Configuration of the mechanisms used to distribute objects in the different categories.

To configure the Quality Distribution:

• enter the name of the SQL procedure that will initialize the processing of the categories
• then add in a new Category of the Distribution and define its settings:
  
  

General tab (all parents)

This governs various general settings:

• External ID (all parents) > The External ID is simply a numeric ID that uniquely identifies the entity. External IDs must be unique across all Business Criterion, Technical Criterion, Quality Rules, Quality Distributions, Quality Measures, Sizing Measures and Background Facts.

  CAST recommends letting the CAST Management Studio manage the IDs for you:

  • Existing ID > you should only update an existing ID if you need to resolve an ID conflict:
    • Click the Update URL and a dialog box will prompt you to enter the new External ID. If the chosen External ID is already assigned to another item, then the CAST Management Studio will suggest the next available increment and ask for confirmation.
    • Note that for in order for the change to be taken into account in correctly in the CAST Dashboard:
      • Business and Technical Criterion > you need to consolidate any existing snapshots via either the Dashboard Service editor or the Application editor.
      • For all other entities (such as Quality Rules, Quality Measures, Sizing Measures and Background Facts) > you need to generate a snapshot again.
  • ID at 0 for new Business Criterion > if you leave the External IDs at 0, the CAST Management Studio will assign the IDs when the Assessment Model is synchronized with the Dashboard Service.

  Note that IDs are reserved as follows:

  ID above 2 000 000	Reserved for customers
  ID above 1 500 000 and below 2 000 000	Reserved for field consultants
  ID above 1 000 000 and below 1 500 000	reserved for built-in packages created by CAST
  ID above 0 and below 1 000 000	reserved for CAST R&D and products

• XXL Quality Rule > (Quality Rule only) XXL Quality Rules are specific Quality Rules used when XXL table data is present in the Analysis Service. The CAST Management Studio will detect that this XXL table data is present and force the use of Quality Rules set to "XXL".

  Indicates whether the Quality Rule is:

  • N/A > Not applicable - i.e. this Quality Rule is not relevant to XXL. You should select this when creating a new Quality Rule if the rule is "standalone" - i.e. it is not XXL related. As such the rule will be executed regardless of whether XXL data exists or not.
  • non-XXL > i.e. this Quality Rule targets SQL, however it is not designed for XXL table data. If you select this, you need to ensure that you also create an identical Quality Rule that checks for XXL table data (marked as XXL).
  • XXL > i.e. this Quality Rule is specific to XXL table data and will be used when XXL table data is detected in the Analysis Service. If you select this, you need to ensure that you also create an identical Quality Rule that does NOT check for XXL table data (marked as non-XXL).

  With regard to Quality Rule execution during the analysis:

  • N/A > Will always be executed.
  • non-XXL/XXL > The analyzer will decide which Quality Rule to execute depending on whether XXL table data is present - i.e. one or the other will be executed.

Notes tab (all parents)

The Notes tab is simply an area that you can use to make notes or remarks about the selected item.