What is ALM?

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is an integrated system that manages the life of a software application from its initial planning to its eventual retirement. It ensures that software development aligns with business goals and addresses inefficiencies and delays often associated with traditional software development processes. By providing a standardized environment for communication and collaboration, ALM brings together various disciplines, practices, and teams to improve team satisfaction and enhance the speed and quality of development.

ALM encompasses the entire lifecycle of an application, which includes multiple Software Development Life Cycles (SDLCs). Its scope spans five key stages: requirements gathering, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Each stage is crucial, from defining user stories and compliance needs to planning, coding, debugging, and incorporating feedback from end-users. ALM tools support these stages by offering features such as project management, requirements management, source code management, and test management.

These tools not only automate development and deployment processes but also help maintain compliance, manage requirements, and establish governance. By integrating people, tools, and processes, ALM facilitates communication and collaboration among various roles within the software development team, including developers, analysts, testers, and change managers. Governance within ALM is pivotal, focusing on policies and procedures related to resource allocation, data security, and compliance, as well as application reviews, audits, rollbacks, and system monitoring.

ALM tools enhance visibility into workflows, promote compliance, enable faster deployments, and contribute to the delivery of higher-quality products. They also provide frameworks for setting requirements, processes, governance, and methodologies before software deployment. Services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) support ALM by offering management and governance services that aid in cost control, compliance, and provisioning of cloud infrastructure resources. By doing so, ALM tools and services help manage the entire spectrum of the application lifecycle efficiently and effectively.

ALM Plugins for Excel

Exporting Test Plans, Requirements, and Defects

The ALM Microsoft Excel Add-In enhances productivity by allowing users to export test plans, requirements, and defects directly from Excel to ALM. This integration streamlines processes within the application lifecycle management framework.

Compatibility and Requirements

Compatibility of the ALM Excel Add-In spans across multiple versions of Excel, including 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and the Office 365 Excel Desktop Application. However, it does not extend to Office 365 Excel Online. The plugin is compatible with ALM versions 12.2x, 12.5x, 12.60, and 15.0.x, among others. It necessitates the installation of both Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime and Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 on the client machine.

Installation Prerequisites and Language Support

Installation of the Excel Add-In for ALM can vary based on user privileges. It can be installed for all users with administrator privileges or for the current user without such privileges. The add-in is available exclusively in English and requires a certificate if Excel's security settings demand add-ins to be signed by a trusted publisher. The HP ALM Excel Add-in Guide offers detailed installation instructions.

System and Version Support

The ALM Excel Add-In is supported on Windows 10 and is tailored for the 32-bit versions of Microsoft Excel 2010 and 2013. It also supports later versions of Excel up to 2019 and the Office 365 Excel Desktop Application. This plugin is specifically designed for the Windows operating system and does not support the Office 365 Excel Online version.

Common Use Cases

• A

  
  Use case 1: Exporting test plans from ALM to Excel for review or offline manipulation
• A

  
  Use case 2: Exporting requirements from ALM into Excel to facilitate bulk editing or sharing
• A

  
  Use case 3: Exporting defects from ALM to Excel for advanced analysis or reporting
• A

  
  Use case 4: Importing test cases from Excel into an ALM test plan folder for streamlined test management
• A

  
  Use case 5: Connecting Microsoft Excel to an ALM client machine for enhanced test management workflows

Frequently Asked Questions

What versions of Microsoft Excel does the ALM plugin support?

The plugin supports Microsoft Excel versions 2010 SP1, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Office 365 Excel Desktop Application. It does not support Office 365 Excel Online.

How do I handle an 'untrusted publisher' error when using the ALM plugin?

To address the 'untrusted publisher' error, ensure you are using Windows 10 with Office 2013 32bit, and install the trusted publisher certificate named MicroFocusCodeSigning.cer to 'Trusted Publishers'. An update is available for download on the Microsoft website to fix this error.

Can the ALM plugin for Excel be used with multiple ALM projects?

Yes, the plugin supports data from multiple ALM projects starting from version 12.00.

What are the system requirements for installing the ALM plugin?

The system requirements include Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime and Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015. Previous versions of the add-in must be uninstalled before installation. Additionally, administrator privileges are required for installing the plugin for all users.

Where can I find the user guide and additional support for the ALM plugin?

User guides and additional support, including installation instructions and release notes, can be found on the AppDelivery Marketplace where the plugin is available for download.