Helix ALM, formerly called TestTrack, is

application lifecycle management Application lifecycle management (ALM) is the product lifecycle management (governance, development, and maintenance) of computer programs. It encompasses requirements management, software architecture, computer programming, software testing, ...

(ALM) software developed by

Perforce Perforce Software, Inc. is an American developer of software used for developing and running applications, including version control software, web-based repository management, developer collaboration, application lifecycle management, web applic ...

. The software allows developers to manage requirements, defects, issues and testing during software development.

History

Helix ALM's precursor, TestTrack Pro, was developed by

Seapine Software Seapine Software was a privately held Mason, Ohio-based software and services company. The company developed a suite of software products that managed the full software development lifecycle. Seapine's tools included testing tools, configuration m ...

, and first shipped in 1996. In November 2016, Perforce acquired Seapine, and rebranded the software as Helix ALM.

Functionality

The software tracks software development processes including feature requests and requirements to design revisions and actual changes in the code. It keeps track of what tests were done, what was tested, who performed the test and when, on what platform, under which configuration and in what language. It offers the ability to create, manage, and link artifacts from the beginning through the end of a design and development project providing end-to-end traceability of all development artifacts and giving managers a better handle on the shifting requirements that define their projects. It enforces regulatory compliance to meet regulatory compliance requirements, including 21 CFR Part 11 and Sarbanes-Oxley.

Architecture

Helix ALM has a client–server architecture. The server manages a central

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

of requirements, test cases, testing evidence, defects, feature requests, work items, test configurations, users, and security group. The client and server communicate via a

TCP/IP The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suite are ...

connection using 512-bit encryption.

Server

Helix ALM stores data in a variety of relational database management systems including SQL Server, Oracle, and Postgres.

Clients

There are several different categories of Helix ALM clients: GUI, Web UI,

SOAP Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

, REST API, and plugin. The

cross-platform Within computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several Computing platform, computing platforms. Some ...

GUI client is developed with Qt and available on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It fully supports all end-user operations and administration operations. The unified web application allows software developers and testers to create and review requirements, work with issues, and execute and track tests from their web browser. Helix ALM's SOAP SDK allows language and platform independent way to extend built-in functionality by writing applications that access and manipulate its data. The plugin interfaces integrate with popular IDEs to perform functionality, such as closing a defect or manually assign a work item to another team member, from the third-party applications. Helix ALM plugins are available for Eclipse, Visual Studio, Outlook, Excel, and QA Wizard. Helix ALM also integrates with various SCM tools including Git, CVS, Perforce, Subversion, Surround SCM, and SourceSafe.

References

External links

Helix ALM page on Perforce website
{{Bug tracking systems Proprietary version control systems Project management software