Getting Started

What is Dimensions CM Pulse?

Dimensions CM Pulse is a tool for developers that enables you to:

Videos

Click a link like this Video: CM 14 Overview to watch videos of Dimensions CM features in the Serena Documentation Center.

NOTE Internet access is required.

Quick Tour

Watch a quick tour to learn more about Pulse.



Top Navigation

The top navigation contains:

Sidebar

The sidebar contains links that are relevant to your current location in the Pulse hierarchy.

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs display your current location in the Pulse hierarchy.

Home

The Home page displays useful information for the user who is currently logged into Pulse, including:

The Home page sidebar has links to information related to the current user, such as a list of reviews, changeset history, email notifications, and user preferences.

To open the Home page for the current user, on the top navigation click Home.

You can search Pulse for specific reviews. A search is scoped to where you are in the Pulse hierarchy, for example, a stream.

  1. To restrict the scope of the search, select a suite, product, stream, or Home (the current user).
  2. Click Search on the top navigation and enter a string that matches one of the following search types:
    • A review's unique label, for example, Q234 (only complete matches are shown).
    • A Dimensions CM request, for example, QLARIUS_CR_44 (only complete matches are shown). A Dimensions CM request can be related to one or more reviews.
    • A user who owns reviews, for example, David (you can enter part of a name).
    • A review's title, for example, Refactoring (you can enter part of the title).
    NOTE Search is not case-sensitive.
  3. Click Search or press Return. The results are displayed in the Search Results page. Click a result to view more details.
  4. To refine your search, do one of the following:
    • Select a filter from one of the results lists. The filter appears in the Refined by box:

      • Search results refined by a review state

    • Control-click to select multiple filters from the lists. In the Refined by box click Apply. The box is updated:

      • Search results refined by multiple criteria

    The Search Results window is updated. You can further refine your search by removing filters from the Refined by box.

    Click Clear to remove all filters.

Keyboard Shortcuts

On Review and Changeset pages you can use these keyboard shortcuts:

TIPTo display the list of shortcuts press the '?' key.

Suites and Products

About Suites and Products

Administrators can organize work into suites and register CM products.

Use the following workflow to create a suite, add products, and configure streams:

  1. Create a suite.
  2. Register one or more products to the suite.
  3. Configure settings and defaults for each product.
  4. Optional:

 

View Activity for Suites, Products, and Streams

When you select a suite, product, or stream its latest activity is displayed in the main window, including:

Activity is scoped to the suite, product, or stream where you are currently located.

Filter the Activity Feed

To filter the information that is displayed in an activity feed, do one of the following:

Examples:

Create Suites and Register Products

Administrators can create new suites and register Dimensions CM products.

Create a New Suite

  1. On the top navigation click Suites.
  2. Click New Suite.
  3. Enter a title for the new suite.
  4. Optionally enter a description for the suite. Use the tools to format, and preview, the description.
  5. Click Save.

Register a Product to a Suite

  1. Select the suite where you want to register the product.
  2. Click Register and select Single Product.
  3. Enter a title for the product. A Pulse product is the same as a Dimensions CM product but the titles can be different.
  4. Optionally enter a description for the Pulse product. Use the tools to format, and preview, the description.
  5. From the Repository Name list do one of the following:
    • Select an existing Dimensions CM repository.
    • Select Create new repository.
  6. If you are creating a new repository do the following:
    1. Enter a title for the Dimensions CM repository.
    2. Enter the network address of the Dimensions CM server, for example: dmcm-server.example.com
    3. Enter the CM base database name and connection string, for example: CM_TYPICAL@DIM14
    4. For SCM Credentials, select or deselect the option Always use the following credentials. Click here for information about using this option.
    5. Enter a Dimensions CM account username and password.
  7. From the Product in Repository list select a CM product.
  8. Click Register.

Register Multiple Products to a Suite

  1. Select the suite where you want to register the products.
  2. Click Register and select Multiple Products.
  3. From the Repository Name list do one of the following:
    • Select an existing Dimensions CM repository.
    • Select Create new repository.
  4. If you are creating a new repository do the following:
    1. Enter a title for the Dimensions CM repository.
    2. Enter the network address of the Dimensions CM server, for example: dmcm-server.example.com
    3. Enter the CM base database name and connection string, for example: CM_TYPICAL@DIM14
    4. For SCM Credentials, select or deselect the option Always use the following credentials. Click here for information about using this option.
    5. Enter a Dimensions CM account username and password.
  5. From the Products in Repository list shift-click to select multiple CM products.
  6. Click Register. The new Pulse products have the same titles as the CM products. You can edit the titles later.

 

Configure Product Settings and Defaults

Set Default Review Check List and Rules

Administrators can set the default review check list and rules for a product.

You might want different products to show different check lists when users approve or reject reviews, and rules control how reviews move from one state to another (for example, whether all reviewers must approve a review, or just one).

  1. Select the product where you want to set defaults.
  2. On the sidebar select Product Settings.
  3. Select Review Defaults.
  4. From the Review Check List select one of the following:
  5. From the Review Rules To Use list select a rule.
  6. Click Save.

Set Default Delivery Filter

Administrators can set the default delivery filter for a product and automatically assign it to any streams that do not have a filter. A product can only have one default delivery filter.

Delivery filters determine which changesets will create a review or run expert chains. For example, you could exclude deliveries of built artefacts made on behalf of your automated CI system in those products where CI was configured.

  1. Select the product where you want to set defaults.
  2. On the sidebar select Delivery Filters.
  3. Select a delivery filter and click Set As Default. If there is no delivery filter, create a new one.
  4. Click Make Delivery Filter Default.

Register a Stream to a Product

Streams are registered automatically in a Pulse product when anyone makes a delivery to that stream in Dimensions CM. However, administrators can manually register a stream, for example, to add an expert chain before the next delivery to that stream.

  1. Select the product where you want register a stream.
  2. Click Register Stream.
  3. In the Stream Name box start typing the name of a stream. Pulse automatically displays a list of all the streams that match the string (not case sensitive).
    TIP Use wildcards to help you find a stream:
    • Type '*' at the end of a string to match specific names, for example: DEV:STREAM_A*
    • Type '*' to display all the streams in a Dimensions CM product.
  4. Select a stream.
  5. Click Save. The stream is registered with the product and you can now:

Delete Suites, Products, and Streams

Administrators can delete suites and products and unregister streams.

  1. On the top navigation click Suites.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Select one or more suites.
    • Select a suite and then select one or more products.
    • Select a suite, a product, and then select one or more streams.
  3. Click Delete and confirm.
NOTE
  • Reviews in Pulse are not deleted when their parent location is deleted. You can search for reviews and re-register the product and/or stream to browse to them.
  • Deleting a suite unregisters its products and streams from Pulse but does not affect Dimensions CM.
  • Unregistering a product unregisters its streams from Pulse but does not affect Dimensions CM.
  • Unregistering a stream does not affect Dimensions CM. The stream is automatically re-registered in Pulse when deliveries are made to it in CM (unless the parent product is also unregistered).
  • Delete a product or unregister a stream if you deleted the corresponding object in Dimensions CM and do not want it to appear in Pulse.

Modify a Suite or Product

Administrators can modify the title and description of suites and products.

  1. Open a suite or product.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Modify the title and/or description.
  4. Click Save.

Favorite Streams

You can add, or remove, a stream from your list of favorite, active streams. Favorite streams are marked with a star and are always displayed at the top of the streams list.

  1. Open a stream.
  2. To the right of the stream name toggle the star to add, or remove, it from your favorites.

Move a Product to another Suite

Administrators can move a product to another suite.

  1. Open a product.
  2. Click Move.
  3. Select a suite from the list.
  4. Click Move.

Filter the List of Streams

On a product page you can filter the list of streams that is displayed.

  1. Open a product's home page.
  2. In the Streams section, in the search box type a filter. Pulse automatically displays a list of all the streams that match the string (not case sensitive).

Plan and Track Work

You can use backlogs, iterations, and requests to plan and track your team's work.

About Backlog Planning

Backlog planning enables you to organize your team’s work and group requests into common areas of work using a prioritized hierarchy of epics and features. An epic is a large unit of work that is typically broken down into smaller units of features and requests.

NOTE
  • Epics, features, and requests can only belong to one backlog, but you can move them between backlogs.
  • Epic and features are optional and you can plan a flat backlog that only contains requests.
  • Backlogs are located at the product level in Pulse.
  • You can view a backlog as a hierarchy or a flat view.

About Requests

Requests are used to track and approve the changes your team is making. A request is a single unit of work, equivalent to a story in Agile planning, that can report a defect, suggest an enhancement, or detail other work for a particular product. You use story points to estimate the size of a request. Each request type has a lifecycle assigned to it that determines which users may work on the request.

The Request Catalog

The request catalog displays all the requests in a CM product. You can open any request and view its details.

  1. Select a product.
  2. On the sidebar click Request Catalog. Each row displays information about a specific request including its owner, lifecycle state, and any backlogs and iterations to which it belongs.

    3. TIPYou can sort the list of requests and search by request title and ID.
  3. To view a request's details, select it.
    • General tab: displays information about the request, including:
      • Associated reviews and changesets.
      • The request's owners.
      • Total and remaining story points.
      • A burndown chart (if the request is included in an iteration).
      • Any iteration or backlog to which the request belongs.
      • Attachments.
    • Attributes tab: each request type has different user defined attributes, which record important information about the request. For example, Estimated completed date, Raised by, and Severity. Some attributes may be required.
    • Action History tab: displays information about when the request was actioned to different states in its lifecycle and the users that performed the action. To filter the action history, select a lifecycle state.

Configure Request Types

Administrators can:

  1. Select the product where you want to enable request types.
  2. On the sidebar select Product Settings.
  3. Select Story Request Types. A list of all request types is displayed.
  4. Select the request type that you want to configure.
  5. Select or deselect Enable request type.
    • Enable: existing requests of this type are visible and you can create new requests.
    • Disable: existing requests of this type are visible but you cannot create new requests.
    • In the Attributes Mappings section, optionally map Pulse request attributes to CM request attributes. Select CM attributes that best suit how your team uses request planning. For details see below.
  6. Click Save.

Mapping Pulse Attributes to CM

To enable Agile planning, Pulse requires additional fields, for example, tracking effort over time. You can store these fields in Pulse or map them to CM request attributes:

Pulse attribute Description Default mapping Can be mapped to
Summary A detailed description of the request. Detailed description Single-value character field or Detailed description
Acceptance Criteria Specifies the criteria to be met before the story is considered to be complete. Not mapped (stored only in Pulse database) Single-value character field or Detailed description
Remaining Story Points The estimated effort left to complete the request (in arbitrary units, such as story points). Used to generate the burndown charts. Not mapped (stored only in Pulse database) Single-value number field
Total Story Points The total effort estimated to complete the request (in arbitrary units, such as story points). Used to generate the burndown charts. Not mapped (stored only in Pulse database) Single-value number field
Blocked Specifies if a story is blocked and cannot be progressed. Often a Yes/No attribute. Not mapped (stored only in Pulse database) Single-value character field with a valid set that has at least two values. You must specify which value means Yes and which value means No.

About Iteration Planning

An iteration is one development cycle, sometimes known as a sprint, which typically has a duration of a few weeks. An iteration includes the requests your team are confident they can complete before the duration ends. As an iteration progresses, the remaining effort required to complete the requests should decrease. You can view an iteration as a list or a card wall. Iterations are located at the product level in Pulse.

A list displays the content of an iteration in a flat list and includes information such as:

TIPYou can show or hide request labels and closed stories.

On a card wall each card displays information about a specific request such as:

Cards are grouped in rows by request type with a separate column for each lifecycle state.



A card wall also displays metrics about the progress of the current iteration:

Plan and Manage a Backlog

You typically start backlog planning by:

NOTE You must be an administrator or a backlog owner.

Create a Request Backlog

If you are an administrator, you can create a new backlog and assign backlog owners. A backlog owner can manage its content, for example: add, remove, and rank items. The backlog owners can be changed by an administrator or another owner.

  1. Select the product where you want to create the new backlog.
  2. On the sidebar select Backlog.
  3. Click New.
  4. Give the backlog a name and summarize its purpose.
  5. (Optional) To assign one or more owners:
    • Click Add. The Add Owner dialog box is displayed.
    • In the Search box enter a string that matches registered Pulse users.
    • Select one or more users and click Add Owner.
  6. Click Save.

Open a Backlog

  1. Select the product containing the backlog.
  2. On the sidebar select Backlogs.
  3. Select a backlog.
TIP
  • You can show or hide:
    • Planned stories that are already included in an iteration
    • Request IDs
    • Closed stories
  • To display the requests as a flat, ranked list, click .

Create an Epic or Feature

  1. Open the backlog where you want to create a new epic or feature.
  2. (Optional) Click New and select Epic or Feature.
  3. Give the epic or feature a title and summarize its purpose.
  4. Click Save.
  5. Add additional epics and features as required.
  6. To change the hierarchy, drag and drop epics and features in the backlog.

Add a Request from the Request Catalog

You can add an existing CM request that originated from inside or outside your team.

  1. Open the backlog where you want to add a request.
  2. Click this button to split the view and select Request Catalog.
  3. Select a request and drag it to a specific place in the backlog hierarchy.
TIP
  • You can search for a request using various criteria, for example, title or ID.
  • A backlog or iteration's label is displayed if the request is already included in one.
  • The request catalog displays all the requests in the current CM product.

Create a New Request

You can create a new request in a backlog.

  1. Open the backlog where you want to create a new request.
  2. Optionally select the parent epic or feature that will contain the request. To add the new request at the top level of the backlog do not select an epic or feature.
  3. Click New and select a request type, for example, CR.
  4. On the General tab do the following:
    • Give the request a title and summarize its purpose.
    • For Acceptance Criteria specify the criteria to be met before the story is considered to be complete.
    • For Story Points estimate the total number of points required to complete the work and the points remaining until will be finished. Story points are an estimation of a request’s relative complexity compared to other requests, and the effort required to complete it.
  5. On the Attributes tab specify or select values. Each request type has different attributes and some may be mandatory. The attributes are similar to those in the other CM clients.
  6. Click Save.

Move Epics, Features and Requests between Backlogs

You can move epics, features, and requests between backlogs. An object can only belong to one backlog; if you move one to the target backlog it is removed from the source backlog. When you move a feature its child requests are also moved.

  1. Open the backlog where you want to move an object to.
  2. Click this button to split the view and select Backlog.
  3. In the search field enter the name of a backlog. You can search by title or ID.
  4. Select a backlog from the list.
  5. Select an epic, feature, or request and drag it to a specific place in the backlog hierarchy on the left.
TIP
  • A backlog hierarchy automatically expands when you drag an object over it.
  • You can also move objects from the backlog on the left to the one on the right.

Prioritize and Rank Requests in a Backlog

In each backlog, requests are ranked in descending order of priority in their parent epic or feature. You can rank and prioritize requests in the structured or flat view.

TIPTo hide epics and features, display the flat view.
  1. Open the backlog where you want to prioritize and rank requests.
  2. Click this button if you want to display the flat view.
  3. Select a request and drag it to a different position in the hierarchy.

Mark a Request as Blocked

If you cannot continue working on a request you can mark it as blocked.

  1. Open the backlog containing the request you want to block.
  2. Select the request.
  3. Select Mark Blocked. In the backlog the request is now labeled as Blocked.

Delete an Epic, Feature or Request

You can delete an epic, feature, or request from a backlog. If you select an epic that has child features they are also removed. Any requests contained in an epic or feature are removed from the backlog and made available to the team.

NOTE Requests removed from a backlog are not deleted from Dimensions CM.
  1. Open the backlog where you want to delete objects.
  2. Select one or more epics, features, or requests. Multiple objects that you select must be at the same level in the backlog hierarchy. For example, you can only select requests and features that are at the same level in an epic.
  3. Click Delete.

Plan and Manage an Iteration

Create an Iteration from a Backlog

You can create a new iteration from a backlog if you are an administrator or the backlog owner. The new iteration can only include requests that are not already assigned to another iteration. Requests that you can add have a green circle next to the their label . If you select an epic or feature, its child requests are included in the new iteration.

  1. Open a backlog.
  2. Select one or more epics, features, and requests. Multiple objects that you select must be at the same level in the backlog hierarchy. For example, in an epic you can only select requests and features that are at the same level.
  3. Click Create Iteration.
  4. In the Create Iteration dialog box do the following:
    • Give the iteration a name and summarize its goals.
    • Specify the duration of the iteration and a start date.
  5. Click Save.

Create an Iteration from an Existing Iteration

You can create a new iteration containing requests from an existing iteration if you are its owner or an administrator. This is useful when you have finished a sprint and want to move uncompleted requests to a new iteration. The owner of the source iteration becomes the owner of the new iteration and the selected requests are moved to the new iteration.

  1. Select the product where you want to create the new iteration.
  2. On the sidebar select Iterations.
  3. Select the iteration that will be the source for the new iteration.
  4. Select one or more requests.
  5. From the Move To menu select New Iteration.
  6. In the Create Iteration dialog box do the following:
    • Give the iteration a name and summarize its goals.
    • Specify the duration of the iteration and a start date.
  7. Click Start.

Create a New Empty Iteration

If you are an administrator you can create a new, empty iteration.

  1. Select the product where you want to create the new iteration.
  2. On the sidebar select Iterations.
  3. Click New.
  4. Give the iteration a name and summarize its goals.
  5. Specify the duration of the iteration and a start date.
  6. (Optional) To add an owner:
    • Click Add. The Add Owner dialog box is displayed.
    • In the Search box enter a string that matches registered Pulse users.
    • Select one or more users and click Add Owner.
  7. Click Save.

Open an Iteration

  1. Select the product containing the iteration you want to view.
  2. On the sidebar select Iterations.
  3. Select one of these tabs: Current, Future, Previous
  4. Select the iteration.
TIPYou can search for a request using various criteria, for example, title or ID.

Add a Request from a Backlog

You can add a request from a backlog to an iteration if you are the owner of the iteration or an administrator. You can only add requests that are not already assigned to another iteration. Requests that you can add have a green circle next to the their label .

  1. Open the iteration where you want to add a request.
  2. Click the Content tab.
  3. Click this button to split the view and select Backlog.
  4. Select a backlog from the list. You can also search by title or ID.
  5. Select a request and drag it to any position in the iteration.

Move a Request from another Iteration

You can move a request from another iteration if you are the owner of both iterations. The request is removed from the source iteration and added to the target iteration.

  1. Open the iteration where you want to add a request.
  2. Click the Content tab.
  3. Click this button to split the view and select Iteration.
  4. Select an iteration from the list or search for an iteration by title or ID.
  5. Select a request and drag it to any position in the iteration on the left.

Prioritize and Rank Requests

In each iteration, requests are ranked in descending order of priority. To change a request's position, select it and drag to a different position.

Move Requests to another Iteration

You can move requests to another iteration if you are the owner of both iterations.

  1. Open the iteration from where you want to remove requests.
  2. Click the Content tab.
  3. Click this button to split the view and select Iteration.
  4. Select a target iteration from the list or search for an iteration by title or ID.
  5. In the source iteration on the left select the requests that you want to move.
  6. Select Move To and then Iteration on Right.

Move Requests to a New Iteration

You can move requests from an existing iteration to a new iteration.

  1. Open the iteration from where you want to remove requests.
  2. Click the Content tab.
  3. Select the requests that you want to move.
  4. Select Move To and then New Iteration.
  5. Give the new iteration a name and specify its duration and start date.
  6. Click Start.

Edit an Iteration

You can edit an iteration if you are the owner or an administrator.

  1. Open the iteration that you want to edit.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Edit the iteration.
  4. Click Save.

Remove Requests from an Iteration

You can remove requests from an iteration if you are the owner or an administrator. After you remove a request it can be added to other iteration.

  1. Open the iteration from where you want to remove requests.
  2. Select one or more requests.
  3. Click Remove and confirm.

Delete Iterations

You can delete one or more iterations if you are the owner or an administrator.

  1. Select the product containing the iterations.
  2. On the sidebar select Iteration.
  3. Select one of these tabs: Current, Future, Previous
  4. Select iterations.
  5. Click Delete and confirm.

View Request Details on the Card Wall

When the card wall is displayed you can quickly view a request's details.

  1. Open an iteration and display the card wall.
  2. Select a card. The request's details are displayed in a pane on the right.

Display Off-Normal Request States

You can display off-normal request lifecycle states, which are not displayed by default.

NOTE Normal states follow a progressive path through a lifecycle. Off-normal states are not located on that path.
  1. Open an iteration and display the card wall.
  2. Select Display Settings, select Show off normal states, and click Apply. If the off-normal state column is collapsed, click this button:

Hide Charts

You can hide the charts at the top of a card wall to make more space for request types and cards.

  1. Open an iteration and display the card wall.
  2. Select Display Settings, deselect Show charts, and click Apply.

 

Action Requests

You can action a request to a new lifecycle state if it is in your Inbox or you are a Dimensions CM administrator.

NOTE Normal Dimensions CM roles and privileges apply.

Action a Request from a Backlog or Iteration

  1. Open the request that you want to action.
  2. Click Action To and select a lifecycle state from the list. The Action Request dialog box is displayed.
  3. On the General tab optionally modify the total and remaining story points.
  4. Click the Owners tab and optionally add users who will own the request after it is actioned:
    1. Click Add. A dialog box displays a list of all the users that can be added as owners.
    2. From the Role to assign list, select the role with which to assign the new owners, for example, Developer.
    3. From the Capability of users list, select a capability for the new owners. For more information see the Dimensions CM Process Configuration Guide.
    4. Select one or more users and click Add.
  5. When you action a request you may need to provide additional information on the Attributes tab, some of which might be required.
  6. Click Action.

Action a Request from a Card Wall

  1. Open the iteration containing the request that you want to action.
  2. Click the Card Wall tab.
  3. Drag a request to another lifecycle column. The Action Request dialog box is displayed.
  4. When you action a request you may need to provide additional information on the Attributes tab, some of which might be required.
  5. On the Owners tab, optionally select the user who will become the request owner after it is actioned.
  6. Click Action. The request’s state is changed and it moves to the next lifecycle column on the card wall.

Delegate a Request

Delegate a request when you want to assign it to other users. When you delegate a request you can change the role assignments for it, for example, Developer. You can also select a Dimensions CM capability, for example:

NOTE For more information about role assignments and capabilities see the Dimensions CM Process Configuration Guide.
  1. Open the request catalog and select the request.
  2. On the General tab, in the Owners section click Add.
  3. From the Role to assign list, select the role to be delegated to the users.
  4. From the Capability of users list, select a capability for the users.
  5. From the Users to assign section select one or more users.
  6. Click Delegate.

Edit Requests

You can edit a request's details if it is in your Inbox or you are a Dimensions CM administrator. After you edit a request its new values are displayed in all CM clients.

NOTE Dimensions CM privileges, attribute update rules, and other process restrictions may apply.
  1. Open the backlog or iteration containing the request that you want to edit.
  2. Select the request.
  3. Click Edit.
  4. Select the General tab and edit the values. You can also:
    • Add and remove owners.
    • Edit the story points.
    • Add and remove attachments.
  5. Select the Attributes tab and edit the values. The attributes vary between request types but are the same as in the other CM clients. Each request type has different attributes. Attributes that are required for the next state are indicated.
  6. Click Save.

Review Work

About Reviews

Video: Introduction to Peer Review

You can use peer review to:

If you are a user with administrator rights you can also:

The review list displays all the reviews that have been created for the selected user, suite, product or stream. A review page displays information about a specific change. You can control how a review's state is changed with the configurable review rules.

Reviews are also displayed on the activity feed for suites, products, streams, and on the user's Home page.

Review States

Pulse's review states and state changes are:

Review states and state changes

Reviewers vote to approve, reject, and abstain from a review. Depending on the configurable rules their votes may cause a state change, or contribute to a state change in the future. By default, the first reviewer to vote on a review changes its state but different rules may be configured in your environment.

The review states are:

NOTE If a review's state is changed by mistake to Approved, or if a problem is found at In Review, a reviewer can vote to reject a review (which may change its state). Administrators can change a review's state at any time.

Review Roles

A user can hold one of the following roles on a review:

Delivery filters control which changesets automatically create reviews. Dimensions CM role assignments on the items in the changeset determine which users are automatically assigned as lead reviewers or are available to be assigned as optional reviewers.

Review Rules

A change in a review's state is triggered by one of the following:

The review rules are codified as a script that runs when one of the following significant events occur:

A rule script uses the votes of the lead and optional reviewers, and additional information, to decide whether to change a review's state. You can create, or modify, scripts and set the default rule script for each stream.

If you are using the built-in defaultRule.js rule script the default behavior automatically changes the review state from:

NOTE For details about creating or modifying rule scripts see the Dimensions CM Administrator's Guide.

The Review List

A review list displays the following reviews:

To open the review list:

  1. Select a suite, product, or stream.
  2. On the sidebar select Reviews.
TIP The Home page displays information specific to the user who is currently logged in.

Each row in a review list is a separate review and includes the following information:

You can select a filter to modify the type of reviews that are displayed.

  1. Open a review list.
  2. From the Reviews list select a filter.
NOTE Only users with administrator privileges can filter reviews that are at the states Completed or Abandoned.

You can also sort the reviews by category, and in ascending or descending order.

  1. Open a review list.
  2. Click Sort by.
  3. Select a category.
  4. Optionally select, or unselect, Sort descending.

Review Pages

A review page displays the following information:

Changes to files and folders, and to lines and characters in files, are displayed visually:

You can show an entire file or only the changes that have been made to it.

TIPYou can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate around this page.

View File Content

The contents section and the sidebar display all the files and folders in the review.

Click a file or folder to view its contents.

If a review is associated with multiple changesets you can filter the files that are displayed.

  1. In the Changesets section select two changesets to compare with each other.
  2. Click View. The contents section and the sidebar are updated and only files that have changed between the selected changesets are now displayed.
TIP
  • Binary files cannot be displayed but you can download them onto your machine.
  • If a file is marked as binary, but you know it is a text file, from the Show menu select As Text. In CM, check the format and upload rules.
  • If only part of a file's contents are displayed, from the Show menu select Entire File.
  • Only the contents of the first 30 files are displayed. To load a file scroll down to it and click Load File.
  • To display the previous revision of a file, from the Show menu select Previous. The current version is displayed in the right column and the previous version in the left column.

Related CM Requests

Related CM requests are displayed in the Requests section. Click a review to view its details.

Watch a Review

You can optionally watch a review when it is at specific states. When changes are made to the review you will be notified by email. You can select the notifications that you receive.

Publish a Review

When a review is created its initial state is Draft. If you are the review owner, or a user with administration privileges, you can publish the review so that it is available to your team. The owner is normally the user that delivered the changeset that created the review.

  1. On the review list page select the review you want to publish.
  2. Click Publish.
  3. Click Publish Review. The review is now at the In Review state.
NOTE If you use CM requests to deliver files to Dimensions CM, your administrator will typically configure Pulse to automatically publish reviews when the corresponding request is actioned to a particular state. In this case you do not need to publish reviews.

Add and Remove Reviewers

Each review can have reviewers with these roles:

NOTE
  • A review owner, or an administrator, can add and remove lead and optional reviewers.
  • A lead reviewer can add and remove optional reviewers.
  • An administrator can add anyone as a review owner or a reviewer.
  • A review owner or lead reviewer can only add reviewers that have a role on one of the review items' design parts.

To add reviewers to a review:

  1. Open a review.
  2. In the Reviewers section click Add and then Lead Reviewer or Optional Reviewer.
  3. Select more or more reviewers.
    4. TIP
    • Control click to select multiple users.
    • Use Search to find users.
  4. Click Add Reviewers.

To remove reviewers from a review:

  1. Open a review.
  2. In the Reviewers section select more or more reviewers.
  3. Click Remove and confirm.

Add Comments to Files in Reviews

You can add comments to specific files in a review and collaborate with team members. This is different to adding a comment to an entire review.

  1. On a review page find a file.
    2. TIP
    • The files in a review are listed in the Contents section and the sidebar.
    • The current version of a file is displayed in the right column and the previous version is displayed in the left column.
  2. In the left or right column click and drag to select the line numbers where you want to add a comment.
  3. In the Comments box enter your comments.
  4. Optionally format the comment (see the markdown reference).
  5. To display how your comment will look click Preview.
  6. To continue editing click Edit.
  7. To add the comment click Comment. Your comments are now visible to your team and responses are displayed in the same comment box.
NOTE
  • Comments are only displayed on review pages and are not added to files.
  • You can add comments when a review is at specific states.
  • You can edit your own comments until there is a reply.

Vote on a Review

You can vote to approve or reject a review. Depending on how the rules script for this stream is configured, your vote may trigger the rule script to move the review to its next state.

  1. At the top of a review click Approve or Reject.
  2. Enter the reasons why you are voting to approve or reject the review.
  3. Optionally format your comment (see the markdown reference).
  4. To display how your comment will look click Preview. To continue editing click Edit.
  5. If a check list is presented, select items that have influenced your voting decision.
  6. Click Approve or Reject.
NOTE Administrators can create review check lists and set the default for each product.

You can also abstain from voting. This useful if there is a rule that mandates that all reviewers must vote, but you have no opinion.

  1. Open a review.
  2. Click Action and select Abstain with No Opinion.
  3. Enter a reason for abstaining and click Abstain.

Mark a Review as Approved

If you are a user with administrator privileges you can bypass reviewer voting and mark a review as Approved.

  1. Open a review.
  2. Click Action and select Mark as Approved.
  3. Click Approve Review.

Change a Review’s Owner

If you are a user with administrator privileges you can change a review's owner.

  1. Open a review.
  2. Click Action and select Change Owner.
  3. Select a user.
  4. Click Change Owner.

Send a Review for Rework

If you are a review owner, or a user with administrator privileges, you can send a review back to its owner for rework with suggestions for improvement, and bypass reviewer voting.

  1. Open a review.
  2. Click Action and select Send for Rework.
  3. Click Send for Rework.

Abandon a Review

If you are a review owner, or a user with administrator privileges, you can abandon a review. Abandoning a review indicates that it is no longer active and stops further review activity. This action cannot be reversed.

  1. Open a review.
  2. Click Action and select Abandon Review.
  3. Click Abandon Review.

Close a Review

If you are a review owner, or a user with administrator privileges, you can close a review. Closing a review prevents further changes being made to it. Only close a review if you are sure that no further work is required.

  1. Open a review.
  2. Click Close Review and confirm.

Comment on a Review

You can add comments to an entire review when it is at specific states. Comments appear in a review's activity feed. This is different to adding comments to a specific file in a review.

  1. Open a review.
  2. Click Action and select Comment on Review.
  3. Optionally format your comment. To display how your comment will look click Preview. To continue editing click Edit.
  4. When you have finished click Add Comments.

Edit a Review's Title

You can edit a review's title.

  1. Open a review.
  2. Click Action and select Edit Title.
  3. Enter a new title and click Save.

Customize Review Page Defaults

You can customize how the following elements are displayed on your review pages:

You can also select a white space option for viewing file differences, for example, Ignore Trailing White Space.

NOTE Customizations are only applied to your review pages and do not affect other users.
  1. Open a review.
  2. Click Action and select Display Defaults.
  3. From the Visible Elements select options.
  4. From the White Spaces list select an option.
  5. Click OK.

Check the Health of Work

About Health and Quality

Pulse enables you to check the health and quality of the changes in your software products. You can:

About Changesets

Pulse uses Dimensions CM changesets to visualize information about changes. A changeset is a logical grouping of changes that is automatically created every time you deliver changes in a stream or project to a Dimensions CM repository. A changeset enables you to identify, work with, and track, sets of changes. Every changeset that you deliver creates a new version of a stream or project.

Video: Introduction to Changesets

View Changeset Information

There are multiple ways that you can view the information in changesets:

You can view changeset information for suites, products, and streams. The Home page displays changeset information specific to the user who is currently logged in.

Filter Changeset Information

You can filter the changeset graph, or any information view, to:

  1. Select a suite, product, or stream.
  2. Open the changeset graph or one of the information views.
  3. At top right click the date filter.
  4. In the Stream Name box enter a wildcard to match stream and project names, for example: QLARIUS:JAV*
    5. TIP
    • You can enter multiple wildcard strings; separate each wildcard with a comma.
    • To hide specific streams, add a minus '-' character at the start of the string, for example: -*JAV*
    • To only display streams that you have marked as favorites, select Show favourites only.
  5. From the Start Date and End Date lists do one of the following:
    • Select a predefined date range.
    • Select Since or Until and use the date picker to manually select a date range.
    TIP
    • Start Date displays all data that matches the wildcard from the date that you specify.
    • End Date displays all data that matches the wildcard up to and including the date that you specify.
  6. Click Apply. The graph or view refreshes and only displays data that matches the filters that you specified.

View Changesets on a Graph

Overview

A changeset graph visualizes streams and their change history across multiple releases A graph provides development teams and release managers with a visual understanding of what changes are being worked on, where, and why. Experts provide feedback on the health of changes and an indication of release readiness.

A changeset graph enables you to:

Changeset health is displayed visually:

Grey circle: the changeset has no associated expert results

Yellow circle: the expert results have warnings

Red circle: the expert results have errors or an expert may have failed

Green circle: the expert results are successful

Purple circle: an expert has aborted

Orange circle: an expert run has been requested or is in progress

Tick (inside a circle or group): the review was marked as approved

Cross (inside a circle or group): the review was sent for rework

Clock (inside a circle or group): an expert chain is in progress

Solid small circle (inside a circle or group): the changeset has a review

Hollow small circle (inside a circle or group): the changeset does not have a review

Blue circle: the changeset is selected and its details are displayed below

Display a Changeset Graph

  1. Select a suite, product, or stream. The graph is scoped to the suite, product, or stream that you select.
  2. On the sidebar select Changeset Graph.
  3. (Optional) Filter the information that is displayed.

Using the Changeset Graph

View Changeset Details

Click a changeset to view more details. A pane at the bottom displays information including:

TIP
  • Control-click to select and view the details of multiple changesets.
  • Click a review to open the review page associated with a changeset.
  • (Administrators only) If a changeset did not create a review automatically, click Create Review to create one manually.

Group Changesets

You can view changesets individually or grouped by days or weeks. Groups take up less space on the graph and look like this: The number of changesets contained in a group is displayed at the top right.

  1. Open the changeset graph.
  2. From the Changesets Graph list select one of the following:
    • Individual Changesets
    • Grouped by Days
    • Grouped by Weeks
TIPYou can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate around this page.

 

View Changeset History

The changeset history view displays changes to suites, products, and streams in chronological descending order. For each changeset the following information is displayed:

  1. Select a suite, product, or stream. The view is scoped to the suite, product, or stream that you select.
  2. On the sidebar, select Changeset History.
  3. (Optional) Filter the information that is displayed.

View Changeset Pages

A changeset page displays information about a specific changeset including:

  1. Select a suite, product, or stream.
  2. On the sidebar, select Changeset History.
  3. Select a changeset to open it.

Customize Changeset Page Defaults

You can customize how the following elements are displayed on all changeset pages:

You can also select a white space option for viewing file differences, for example, Ignore Trailing White Space.

  1. Open a changeset page.
  2. Click Action and select Display Defaults.
  3. From the Visible Elements select options.
  4. From the White Spaces list select an option.
  5. Click OK.

Display Delivery Activity

You can display the days and hours when deliveries were made to CM. Larger circles indicate higher activity.

  1. Select a suite, product, or stream. The view is scoped to the suite, product, or stream that you select.
  2. On the sidebar select Punch Card.
  3. (Optional) Filter the information that is displayed.

List who has Made Deliveries

You can display the developers who have contributed deliveries to CM in descending order (high to low). The colors on each horizontal bar represent the states of the experts that ran on the changesets:

Mouse over a colored section of a contributor's bar to display its percentage of the total number of changesets that have been delivered. The contributor's total number of deliveries is displayed to the right of their bar. The total number of contributors and deliveries for all developers is displayed at the top of the page.

  1. Select a suite, product, or stream. The view is scoped to the suite, product, or stream that you select.
  2. On the sidebar select Contributors. A list of contributors is displayed.
  3. (Optional) Filter the information that is displayed.

 

About Experts

Experts examine source code and built artefacts and report back any findings. The set of experts available in Pulse can be extended or updated by installing plug-ins. Experts are triggered when a delivery is made to a stream or according to a schedule, or can be triggered manually. You can configure experts to run in a sequence, called an expert chain. You can configure multiple independent chains to run on a stream, for example, the first chain runs on every delivery and performs brief static analysis. A second chain runs at midnight every day and performs more thorough analysis and deployment.

Expert Attributes

Experts have these attributes:

Experts Included with Pulse

The following experts are included with Pulse:

TIP You can write your own expert implementations if you have site-specific requirements or in-house utilities that you want to integrate with Pulse.

For details about each expert and how to configure them see Configure Experts.

To add an expert to a chain see Create Expert Chains.

List all Expert Chains

To view all the expert chains that have been configured for a stream, select a stream, and on the sidebar select Expert Chains. Each chain displays the status of the most recent run.

Create and Configure Expert Chains

Administrators can create expert chains and add, and configure, multiple experts.

NOTE Pulse includes built-in experts.
  1. Select a stream where you want to create an expert chain.
  2. On the sidebar select Expert Chains.
  3. Click New Expert Chain.
  4. In the Title box enter a description of this expert chain.
  5. On the Note tab optionally enter additional information about the chain.
  6. To configure the expert chain do the following:
  7. Save the new expert chain.

Schedule a Chain

  1. Select the When to Run tab.
  2. From the Schedule list select how often the chain will run, for example, when every changeset is delivered to the stream, or every hour at 30 minutes past the hour. To only start the chain manually select Never.
  3. To restrict when this expert chain runs, in the Matching Paths field enter Ant patterns. To trigger the chain, at least one path in the changeset must match the pattern. Enter one pattern per line or leave blank to run the chain on all changesets.
  4. In the Required capabilities field enter the machine capabilities (one per line) required by this expert chain, for example: Java
    Only machines that match the requirements will run this chain. Leave blank to run this expert chain on any machine.

Specify Streams to be Analyzed

  1. Select the What to Analyze tab.
  2. To limit the content that is fetched from the stream when this expert chain runs, enter Ant style patterns to include specific paths. Enter one pattern per line or leave blank to include all the stream's content.
    3. TIP To reduce the time taken to fetch data, download a subset of the code and not the entire stream.

Add and Configure an Expert

  1. Select the Experts in Chain tab.
  2. From the Add Expert list select an expert.
  3. Add a name for this step in the expert chain.
  4. Configure the expert you just added. Each expert has different parameters, some of which are mandatory. For details about each expert, and how to configure them, see Configure Experts.
  5. Add and configure more experts as required.
  6. To change the running order of experts on the chain, drag and drop experts into different positions.
  7. To remove an expert from the chain, select it and click Remove.
    8. TIP Click an expert to edit its parameters.

Set a Log Retention Policy

  1. Select the Retention Policy tab.
  2. Select a retention policy for all the logs in this chain. Retention policies are configured by your administrator.
    3. TIP You can override the retention policy for each log in the chain.

Inspect Expert Results

Expert results include:

You can inspect an expert's results in any activity feed or review page.

  1. Select a suite, product, or stream.
  2. Scroll down the Activity feed until you find an expert that you want to inspect. A typical expert result looks like this:

    3. An expert chain event showing the expert has completed

  3. To display the expert's full results click the review link. The review page opens.

    The Experts section displays results for all the experts that ran on this review. Expand each expert to view its findings. Some experts may include a link to a web page that provides more details. A typical Experts section looks like this:

    The Contents section of a review displays a list of all the files in the review and the number of expert findings for each file. A typical Contents section looks like this:

    4. The number of findings on a file are shown next to the filename

  4. To view an expert's findings for a specific file, in the Contents section select the file.
  5. From the Show menu select Show Entire File.
  6. Scroll down the file until you see results that you want to inspect. Each line number with a result has a color that represents one of these categories:
    • Blue: information
    • Dark Orange: error
    • Orange: warning

    A line may have multiple results.

  7. Mouse over a line number to display information.

    8. A tooltip showing the contents of an expert finding

View Expert Chain Logs

You can display the most recent runs of an expert chain and view the log for each run.

  1. Select a stream.
  2. On the sidebar select Expert Chains.
  3. Select an expert chain.
  4. The Runs tab displays the last six runs for the expert chain and includes:
    • The status (succeed, fail, etc).
    • The ID of the output log.
    • The changeset where the expert ran (click the link to view its details).
  5. To view the output log click its ID.
  6. To filter the information that is displayed select a log threshold level. Default: Info
  7. To override the default log retention policy for this expert chain and keep the log, click Keep Forever.

Edit and Delete Expert Chains

Administrators can edit and delete expert chains:

  1. Select the stream containing the expert chain that you want to edit or delete.
  2. On the sidebar select Expert Chains.
  3. To delete one of more expert chains, select them from the list, click Delete, and confirm.
  4. To edit an expert chain, select it, and click Edit.
  5. Edit the chain's settings, add and remove experts, and change their running order (see details).
  6. Save the changes.
NOTE When you delete a chain the following information is retained:
  • Activity events involving the deleted chain.
  • Findings or measurements that the deleted chain added to reviews.
  • Any panels that contain measurements from the deleted chain.

About Reports

Reports display statistics and trends that are generated from the activity in your streams. Reports are scoped to the suite, product, or stream from where you run them. If you are an administrator you can create and manage reports.

NOTE
  • Suites can only run reports created at the suite level.
  • Streams can run all reports created at all levels.

Run a Report

  1. Select the level at which you want to run the report (a suite, product, or stream).
  2. On the sidebar select Reports.
  3. From the Reports list select a pre-defined report.
  4. (Optional) Select a time period for the report (start and end dates).
  5. To refresh the report click Refresh.

 

Create Reports

You can create a new report and add multiple panels. Each panel can have one of the following:

Metric panel icon  Metric: a chart with a single value, for example, the number of deliveries made.
Line chart panel icon  Line Chart: an illustration of data points at successive time intervals. Mouse over a time interval to display the data for each value.
Pie chart panel icon  Pie Chart: a circular statistical graphic that is divided into sectors to illustrate numerical proportion. Mouse over a sector to display its value. The value in the middle is the first metric's numeric value as a percentage of the total.
Bar chart panel icon  Bar Chart: a diagram in which the numerical values of variables are represented by the height or length of lines, or rectangles of equal width.
Table panel icon  Table: a set of data arranged in rows and columns.
  1. Select the level where you want to create the report (a suite, product, or stream).
  2. On the sidebar select Reports.
  3. From the Actions menu and select Create View.
  4. In the Title box enter a name for the new view.
  5. In the Note box optionally enter information about the report.
  6. Click Save.
  7. To add a panel to the report do the following:
    1. Click Add panel.
    2. Enter a name for the panel.
    3. Select a display type.
    4. Select Report on difference from previous value to show how a value has changed over time. For example, to show a trend such as the number of defects.
    5. Select a width for the display (as a percentage of the width of the main window).
    6. Select one of these metric types:
      • Review Metrics
      • Expert Metrics (only available for streams)
    7. Click Add metric and select one from the list. You can add multiple metrics to these display types: pie charts, bar charts, and tables.
    8. Click Save.
  8. To add more panels repeat the previous step.
  9. Drag and drop panels to change their positions in the report.

Manage Reports

Administrators can delete and edit reports.

  1. Select the suite, product, or stream where the report is located.
  2. On the sidebar select Reports.
  3. From the Reports list select a report.
  4. To delete the report, from the Actions menu select Delete and confirm.
  5. To edit the report's title and description, from the Actions menu select Edit Title & Notes.
  6. To edit a report panel click Edit in its title bar. Modify the settings and click Save.
  7. To remove a panel click Delete in its title bar and confirm.
  8. Drag and drop panels to change their position in the report.

Create Reviews and Run Expert Chains

Overview

Administrators can configure changesets to automatically create reviews and run expert chains. The first delivery of a changeset to Dimensions CM creates a new Pulse review whose title is the same as the delivery change comment. If the review is related to a specific request, subsequent deliveries that use the same request are grouped under the same review.

Create Delivery Filters

Delivery filters enable administrators to control how reviews are created, and expert chains are triggered, for each stream. Every path in a changeset is matched against the patterns in a stream's delivery filter. If one or more paths pass through the filters, the changeset delivery creates reviews and runs expert chains. The default delivery filter for a product is used by any streams in that product that do not have an assigned delivery filter.

  1. Select the product where you want to create a delivery filter.
  2. On the sidebar select Delivery Filters.
  3. Select New Delivery Filter.
  4. In the Title box enter a name for the new delivery filter.
  5. In the Note box optionally enter information about the filter.
  6. Use the Changeset Path Filtering section to control which paths create reviews and run expert chains.
    In the Include these paths box do one of the following:
    • To only create reviews and run expert chains for specific paths, enter Ant style patterns (one pattern per line), for example:
      **/*.java
      **/*.jsp
    • To create reviews and run expert chains for all changesets, leave blank.
    In the Exclude these paths box do one of the following:
    • To prevent specific paths from creating reviews and running expert chains, enter Ant style patterns (one pattern per line), for example:
      **/.DS_Store
      **/tmp/**
    • To create reviews and run expert chains for the included changesets, leave blank.
  7. If you have a system that delivers changes using specific user names, for example a build process, you can ignore those changesets. In the Exclude changesets delivered by these users box enter the user names (login IDs) on separate lines. For example, regbuild excludes all deliveries by the user with the login ID regbuild. Leave this box blank to disable it.
  8. To ignore changesets with specific text in their delivery comments, in the Exclude changesets with these messages box enter message patterns, where * is a wildcard character and each pattern is on a separate line. For example, *NO_REVIEW* excludes deliveries where the message contains the keyword NO_REVIEW. Leave this box blank to disable it.
  9. Click Save.
  10. To make this the default delivery filter for this product, on the Delivery Filters page select the filter. Click Set As Default and then Make Delivery Filter Default. A product can have one default delivery filter.

Automatically Create Reviews and Run Expert Chains

Administrators can configure which changesets delivered to streams automatically create reviews and run expert chains.

  1. Select the stream that you want to configure.
  2. On the sidebar select Stream Settings.
  3. To control which changesets delivered to this stream create reviews and run expert chains, apply a delivery filter:
    1. Select Filter Changesets using Delivery Filter. If you want all changesets that are delivered to this stream to create a new review and run expert chains, do not select this option.
    2. From the Delivery Filter list select the product's default filter or any other filter.
  4. To enable all changesets that pass through the selected delivery filter to create new reviews, select Create/Attach to a Review. If you do not want to create reviews, do not select this option.
    NOTE If an existing review is associated with a Dimensions CM request, a new changeset is attached to that review (instead of creating a new one) when the following conditions are met:
    • The review is at the Draft or Rework state.
    • The review has the same owner as the user delivering the new changeset.
    • The changeset uses the same request, or has the same review label, in its changeset delivery message.
    • The changeset is associated with the same stream.
  5. To specify a review check list to be used with new reviews created in this stream, from the Review Check List To Use list select the product's default review check list or any other list. You can also choose not to use a check list with this stream.
  6. To specify the review rules for this stream, from the Review Rules To Use list select the product's default rule or any other rule.
  7. Click Save.

Diagnose Expert Chains

If you are having issues with an expert chain you can diagnose it by running it manually (administrator rights are required).

To diagnose the latest changeset

Select the stream that contains the expert chain that you want to diagnose and do one of the following:

To diagnose a specific changeset

  1. Select the stream that contains the expert chain that you want to diagnose.
  2. On the sidebar select Expert Chains.
  3. Select the expert chain.
  4. On the Runs tab select a specific run.
  5. Click Re-run.

Set User Preferences

Subscribe to Review Notifications

You can select the review email notifications to which you are subscribed. Notifications are sent when an event takes place on a review, for example:

NOTE The list of review notifications is managed by your Pulse administrator.
  1. On the top navigation click Home.
  2. On the sidebar select Email Subscriptions.
  3. Select, or unselect, review notifications.
  4. Click Save.

Set Changeset Graph Defaults

You can set defaults for how the changeset graph is displayed.

  1. On the top navigation click Home.
  2. On the sidebar click Preferences.
  3. In the Changeset Graph Defaults section, from the Display Scale list select one of the following:
    • Changeset: display individual changesets.
    • Daily: groups changesets by days.
    • Week: groups changesets by weeks.
  4. Select a Zoom Level.
  5. Click Save.

Set View Defaults

You can set defaults for how Views are displayed. Views include Reports, the Changeset Graph, Changeset History, Contributors, and Punch Card.

  1. On the top navigation click Home.
  2. On the sidebar click Preferences.
  3. In the Default Time Period for Views section select the default Start Date and End Date range for the data that is displayed.
  4. Click Save.

Administer Pulse

To administer Pulse you must be logged in as a user with administrator privileges.

Configure the Avatar Server

Administrators can configure where Pulse obtains user avatar images.

  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. Select Avatars.
  3. Select one of the following sources for avatar images and user information:
    • Disabled: all avatars display the default user picture.
    • Serena Business Manager: use an SBM server to find avatar images and full names. Set the SBM server.
    • LDAP Server: use the LDAP settings, see below.
    • Gravatar: use an email address suffix. Set the suffix.
  4. If you selected LDAP, specify the following information:
    • Server URL
      The URL of the LPAP server, for example:
      ldap://domain-controller.example.com:389
    • Username
      The bind user to perform searches as, for example:
      cn=binduser,ou=Organizational Unit 1,ou=Organizational Unit 2,dc=example,dc=com
    • Password
      The password of the LDAP bind user.
    • Base DN for search
      The base DN to search from, for example:
      dc=example,dc=com
    • Avatar image attribute
      The LDAP attribute containing avatar image data, for example:
      thumbnailPhoto
    • Follow LDAP referrals
      To enable searches to follow LDAP referrals, toggle Follow LDAP referrals to Yes.
    • Search filter
      The LDAP search filter to match objects, for example:
      (&(objectClass=person)(sAMAccountName={0}))

Configure Special Services

Administrators can configure the servers that provide specialized services to Pulse, such as Serena Business Manager.

  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. Select Servers.
  3. In the Serena Business Manager URL box enter the URL for the SBM user workspace, for example:
    http://sbm-server.example.com/tmtrack/tmtrack.dll?
  4. In the Email Address Domain Suffix box enter the suffix that is automatically appended to user names to form email addresses, for example:
    @example.com.
  5. Click Save.

Administer Email Notifications

Administrators can manage the review email notifications that users can subscribe to, and unsubscribe from. If a notification is disabled, users will not see the notification listed in their subscription preferences. If a notification is available, users can choose to subscribe to it.

  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. Select Notifications.
  3. For each notification type select one of the following:
    • Disabled: the notification is not available for users to subscribe to.
    • Send notification: the notification is sent to users by default though they can unsubscribe from it.
    • Do not send notification: the notification is not sent to users by default though they can subscribe to it.
  4. Click Save.

 

Manage Review Check Lists

When a user votes to approve or reject a review they are typically required to select items from a check list. Administrators can create different types of check lists to satisfy different levels of severity. For example:

For each stream the same check list is used for approvals and rejections, however, you can associate a different review check list with each stream.

To create a review check list:

  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. Select Review Check Lists.
  3. Click New Check List.
  4. Enter a name for the check list.
  5. Enter items that you want your reviewers to select when voting to approve or reject reviews. Review check lists may contain up to ten items. For example:
    • Coding standards
    • Export compliance regulations
    • Software complexity rules
  6. Click Save.

To delete review check lists:

  1. Select Administration | Review Check Lists.
  2. Select one or more check lists.
  3. Select Delete and confirm.

You can also select the default check list for a product.

Manage Users

A user can be one of the following:

NOTE The following step is optional as users are registered automatically in Pulse when they log in. Administrators only need to configure which users have administrator privileges.
  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. Select Users. A list of all the currently registered users is displayed including their user name, full name, email address, and user type.
  3. Select one or more standard users. From the Actions menu select Add administrator privilege.
  4. Select one or more administrators. From the Actions menu select Remove administrator privilege.

Keep Expert Chain Logs

By default expert chain logs are kept for 30 days. Administrators can create custom retention policies and apply them to expert chains.

  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. Select Retention Policies.
  3. Click New Retention Policy.
  4. Enter a tile and description for the retention policy.
  5. Specify the number of items to be retained in the log, for example: 100
  6. Specify how many days items in the log will be retained, for example: 365 (one year)
  7. Specify the maximum size of the log in megabytes, for example: 1024 (a gigabyte). When the log reaches the defined size the oldest items will be purged.
  8. Click Save.

Manage Experts

Administrators can check what experts are installed, enable and disable experts, and view the results of recent runs.

  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. Select Experts. The Experts page displays all the experts that are currently installed in your CM environment.
  3. (Optional) For each expert do the following:
    • Enable or disable the expert.
    • View the last runs.

A set of experts is installed with Pulse. For details about installing additional experts see the Dimensions CM Administrator's Guide.

NOTE If you disable an expert that is part of a chain it will be skipped when the chain runs.

 

Add and Modify Connections to CM Repositories

Administrators can add and modify connections to multiple repositories (Dimensions CM base databases).

NOTE During installation or upgrade of Pulse a CM repository should automatically be registered. If no repositories are listed you need to add one.
  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. Select Repositories.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • To add a new repository select New Repository.
    • To edit the connections for an existing repository, select it from the list. Click Connection Details.
  4. In the Title box enter, or modify, the name of the Dimensions CM repository.
  5. In the Server box enter, or modify, the network name of the Dimensions CM server, for example: dm-server.example.com
  6. In the Dimensions CM base database name box enter, or modify, the database connection, for example: CM_TYPICAL@DIM14 These two values, separated by the @ symbol, are the same information that you enter in the DB name and DB connection boxes when you log into a Dimensions CM client.
  7. For SCM Credentials, select or deselect the option Always use the following credentials. For details about using this option see below.
  8. Enter a Dimensions CM account username and password.
  9. Click Save.

Select Credentials to Access Dimensions CM Repositories

When Pulse accesses a Dimensions CM repository it presents a set of credentials. The credentials used for each repository depend on how you set the option Always use the following credentials in the repository connection:

Set Repository Defaults

Administrators can set repository defaults, such as integrations with Dimensions CM requests.

  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. Select Repositories.
  3. Select a CM repository.
  4. Select Defaults.
  5. In the Reviewer Role in CM section enter a Dimensions CM role. Users that hold this role can be selected as reviewers in Pulse. If you do not specify a role the default REVIEWER is used.
  6. In the Integrating with CM Requests section do the following:
    • In the In Review state name in CM box enter a comma separated list of CM request states that can add reviewers to associated Pulse reviews. Pulse listens for Action Request notifications from Dimensions CM. When a request enters one of these named states in CM, its Reviewer role assignment is copied to Pulse, and its review rules are executed.
    • In the Rework state name in CM box enter the CM state to which requests are actioned when any associated Pulse review is sent for rework.
    • In the Approved state name in CM box enter the CM state to which requests are actioned when any associated Pulse review is sent for rework or marked as approved.
      • NOTE
      • Actioning a request to In Review causes the review rules to run and will typically change the review's state to In Review.
      • These integrations are optional. Leave blank to disable an integration.
      • Leave all boxes blank unless your CM request lifecycle includes an In Review state.
      • If you do not want to automatically copy role assignments to Pulse, or push states from Pulse, do not use this integration. Users can make changes manually in Pulse and Dimensions CM without this integration.
      • Leave the boxes blank to disable the integration between Pulse reviews and Dimensions CM requests.
  7. Click Save.

Specify Expert Chain Capabilities

If you are an administrator you can mandate particular capabilities for each machine that runs an expert chain, for example:

When the expert chain runs, its requirements and all the machine capabilities and are matched. Only machines that match the requirements can run the chain. For example, if a chain requires Java, only machines where Java is installed can run the chain.

Specify Machine Capabilities

  1. On each machine where you want to specify capabilities, open this Pulse configuration file: ${dataDir}/conf/capabilities.properties
  2. Enter a keyword for each capability, one per line, for example, Java.
  3. Save the file.

Add a Machine Requirement to an Expert Chain

  1. Select the stream containing the expert chain that you want to configure.
  2. On the sidebar select Expert Chains.
  3. Select the chain.
  4. Click Edit.
  5. Select the When to Run tab.
  6. In the Required capabilities field enter the machine capabilities (one per line) required by this expert chain, for example, Java.
    These capabilities must match the keywords in the Pulse capabilities configuration file on each machine. Leave blank to run this expert chain on any machine.
  7. Click Save.

Clear Caches

If you have made a configuration change and it is not visible, try clearing the relevant cache.

  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. On the sidebar select Caches.
  3. Click Clear to empty a cache.
  4. To clear all caches click Clear All.

Other Administration Information

For information about the following Pulse administration topics see the Dimensions CM Administrator's Guide:

Use the Markdown Syntax

About the Markdown Syntax

Markdown is a syntax used to format information in plain text. You can use Markdown in any external text editor and copy the contents to Pulse, retaining a consistent look for all comments. The formatting is created with special sequences of punctuation characters in plain text.

Character Formatting

*This is italicized*, and so is _this_ This is italicized, and so is this
**This is bold**, and so is __this__ This is bold, and so is this
***Italics and bold*** together, as is ___this___ Italics and bold together, as is this

Inline Code and Code Blocks

`Back-quote character` (also known as backtick
or grave) is used for inline code
___		 Back-quote character (also known as backtick or grave) is used for inline code
Use 4 space indent for code blocks.

    Some code line 1
    Some code line 2
Back to normal text again.

Use four space indent for code blocks.

Some code line 1
Some code line 2

Back to normal text again.

Line Breaks and Paragraphs

Normally a single newline
is ignored.
___		 Normally a single new line is ignored.
End a line with two spaces  
to cause an explicit line break.
___		 End a line with two spaces
to cause an explicit line break.
Separate paragraphs.

With a blank line.
___

Separate paragraphs.

With a blank line.
Add a > to the beginning of a line to create
a block quotation
> Multiple quoted lines will
> wrap together.		 Add a > to the beginning of a line to create a block quotation
Multiple quoted lines will wrap together.

Simple Lists

- Use a minus sign for a bullet
+ Or a plus sign
* Or an asterisk
___
  • Use a minus sign for a bullet
  • Or a plus sign
  • Or an asterisk
1. Numbered lists can use
9. Any numbers
7. The steps will be renumbered
  1. Numbered lists can use
  2. Any numbers
  3. The steps will be renumbered
Basic link to http://example.com.
___		 Basic link to http://example.com.
Inline link to [An Example Web Site](http://example.com/).  
Numbered reference link to [An Example Web Site][1].  
Named reference link to [An Example Web Site][example].

  [1]: http://example.com.
  [example]: http://example.com/		 Inline link to An Example Web Site.
Numbered reference link to An Example Web Site.
Named reference link to An Example Web Site.

Headers and Rules

Header 1
=========

Header 1
Header 2
---------

Header 2
A horizontal rule is three or more hyphens,
asterisks or underscores on the same line with no other characters.
___
 A horizontal rule is three or more hyphens, asterisks, or underscores on the same line with no other characters.

Configure Experts

About Configuring Experts

Pulse includes bundled and built-in experts:

Except where specified all experts are either bundled or built-in.

Each expert section contains some, or all, of the following information:

The notation ${dataDir} refers to the Pulse data directory on the Pulse server, for example, C:\ProgramData\Serena\Pulse or /opt/serena/dimensions/cm/pulse_data.

NOTE In .properties files you can specify the path of a file using either '/' (Windows & UNIX) or '\' (Windows only) as a filename separator. If you use '\' as a separator you must escape it using another '\' character. For example, "file.path=C:\\TEMP\\myfile.bin".

Changeset Summary Expert

The Changeset Summary expert is a built-in expert that counts the number of files added, deleted, and modified in each changeset. To track of the number of changes, which indicates the level of code churn, you can configure this expert to run on every changeset.

This expert has no prerequisites or configuration and does not require a workspace because it uses the changeset information.

Checkstyle Expert

Overview

The Checkstyle expert is a bundled expert that uses the Checkstyle development tool to check that Java code adheres to a defined coding standard.

Use Checkstyle to help you comply with Java coding standards by automating code checking. Checkstyle is highly configurable and can support most coding standards, for more information see: http://checkstyle.sourceforge.net

This expert has no prerequisites (the Checkstyle 5.7 libraries are embedded in the expert so there are no external tools to install).

Configure

Create Server Configuration File

To customize the Checkstyle rules to be checked by this expert, create an XML configuration file in ${dataDir}/conf/experts/com.serena.starlight/checkstyle/ on the Pulse server. The default filename is config.xml.

The Checkstyle expert searches for a configuration file in the following sequence:

  1. If the field Configuration File Name specifies a filename, looks for that file in ${dataDir}/conf/experts/com.serena.starlight/checkstyle/.
  2. If the field Configuration File Name is empty, looks for config.xml in the same directory on the Pulse server.
  3. If the field Configuration File Name is empty, and config.xml does not exist, uses a built-in configuration based on Sun Coding Conventions.
NOTE Checkstyle (not the expert) has properties that you can configure using system properties. Checkstyle expert passes system properties used to start the JVM hosting Pulse through to the Checkstyle tool.

Configure Expert Settings

When you add this expert to an expert chain in Pulse modify the following properties:

Field Name Description
Step Name Enter a name for this step in the expert chain.
Configuration location Select one of the following options:
  • Use the default configuration file.
  • A local configuration file (specified in the Configuration File Name field).
  • A configuration file stored in a stream (specified in the Configuration File Name field).
Configuration File Name Specify the path and filename of a configuration file that you created on the Pulse server.

Checkstyle operates on source code files so add the Checkstyle expert to a chain that populates a workspace.

SonarQube Expert

Overview

The SonarQube expert is a bundled expert that runs static analysis against source code in a repository and reports findings and metrics. You can use it to analyze your source code on every changeset, or on a regular schedule, and optionally record the defects and metrics in your SonarQube server.

Prerequisites

The SonarQube expert requires SonarQube Runner, a command line application, to be installed and configured on the Pulse server. A SonarQube server must be installed on your network (not necessarily on the Pulse server) for this expert to connect to. For details see the SonarQube web site.

SonarQube expert uses the Web Service Java Client to make REST requests to a SonarQube server and has been tested with SonarQube server version 5.1.2 (previous versions of Pulse supported version 5.0).

The server configuration file ${dataDir}/conf/experts/com.serena.starlight/sonarqube/sonarqube-pulse-expert.properties must be present and set up correctly before you can use SonarQube expert.

Configure

Create Server Configuration File

The SonarQube expert properties file is mandatory and is located in: ${dataDir}/conf/experts/com.serena.starlight/sonarqube/sonarqube-pulse-expert.properties

Property Name Description Required Example
sonar.host.url Specifies the SonarQube Server URL. Yes http://localhost:9000
pulse.sonar.agent.path Specifies the full path to the SonarQube Runner application. Yes C:\\sonarrunner\\bin\\sonar-runner.bat
sonar.jdbc.url Specifies the JDBC connection URL for the SonarQube database. No jdbc:h2:tcp://localhost:9092/sonar
sonar.jdbc.username Specifies the database user for the JDBC connection. No sonar
sonar.jdbc.password Specifies the database password for the JDBC connection. No sonar
pulse.results.delay When SonarQube analyzes code that produces a large number of findings (2000) a short delay is needed before the results can be fetched. This delay is normally only required on the first run. On subsequent runs only the delta needs to be updated. Default: 30 seconds No 30

If you do not specify an optional property SonarQube Runner uses the default value specified in ${SONAR_RUNNER_HOME}/conf/sonar-runner.properties.

You can configure additional supported parameters in ${SONAR_RUNNER_HOME}/conf/sonar-runner.properties.

Configure Expert Settings

When you add this expert to an expert chain in Pulse modify the following properties:

Field Name Description Required Example
Step Name Enter a name for this step in the expert chain. Yes SonarQube
Username Specifies the username for the web server connection. No admin
Password Specifies the password for the web server connection. No admin
Analysis mode Select an analysis mode:
  • analysis
  • incremental
  • preview
Yes analysis
Project name Specifies the name of the SonarQube project that will be displayed in the web browser. Typically this is the value defined for <name> in Maven. Yes my_project
Project key Specifies the unique SonarQube project key. Typically this is the value defined for<groupId>:<artifactId> in Maven. Yes example-key or
com.example:project1
Project version Specifies the SonarQube project version. Typically this is the value defined for<version> in Maven. Yes 1.0
Source folder Specifies the relative stream folder in the workspace to run the analysis against. Yes src/main/java

The properties Username and Password are optional and are only required in specific security situations, see the SonarQube web site for details.

The SonarQube Runner operates on source code files so add the SonarQube expert to a chain that populates a workspace.

Jenkins Expert

Overview

The Jenkins expert is a bundled expert that can invoke a Jenkins job on a remote Jenkins server. For example, use it to run a continuous integration build against each changeset as it is delivered and report the build time.

Prerequisites

The Jenkins server must be installed on your network, but not necessarily on the Pulse server, for this expert to connect to. See the Jenkins web site for more information about installing.

You must define a job on your Jenkins server that the expert will invoke.

Optionally add build parameters to the job so that information about the Dimensions CM stream and changeset are available in your build. Alternatively, allow the Jenkins expert to make any configuration change to the Jenkins job automatically (no manual changes to your Jenkins job are needed).

If you add the build parameters manually select the option This build is parameterized in your Jenkins job configuration page and add each build parameter as a String Parameter. The values of Default Value and Description in Jenkins are not important.

Parameter Name Description Required
cmkey An opaque value that uniquely identifies the build run to the Jenkins expert.
Although shown here as Required, the Jenkins expert can automatically add this parameter to your Jenkins job and no manual job configuration is needed.		 Yes
repo An opaque value that is different for each SCM repository. No
stream The name of the stream or project to which there was a delivery. No
version The stream or project version that the delivery created. No
changeset The repository (forest) version of the changeset for the delivery. No

NOTE The notification plug-in required by Pulse 14.1 is no longer needed by the Jenkins expert so you can remove it from your Jenkins jobs. If you allow the Jenkins expert to configure your Pulse 14.1 Jenkins jobs, it adds the cmkey build parameter automatically (no other configuration is needed).

Configure

When you add this expert to an expert chain in Pulse modify the following properties:

Field Name Description Required
Step Name Enter a name for this step in the expert chain. Yes
Jenkins Job Location Specifies the URL for the Jenkins job (the location of the continuous integration server, including the job name). Yes
Username Specifies a Jenkins username. May be required if you are using Jenkins authentication. No
Password Specifies a Jenkins password or API token of the Jenkins user. May be required if you are using Jenkins authentication. No
Automatically add build parameters to Jenkins Job Automatically reconfigure the Jenkins job to add the mandatory build parameter cmkey. You can also add parameters manually (see above) if you prefer that the Jenkins expert does not touch your job. No
Record Jenkins Job build result Specifies whether the Jenkins expert should monitor the job and record its state it completes. No
Check Jenkins Job status every (seconds) If Record Jenkins Job build result is selected, specifies how often the Jenkins expert checks if the job has completed. No

TIP To find the value of the API token for a Jenkins user, log into your Jenkins server and open the user configuration page:
  1. Select your name at the top-right of the Jenkins page.
  2. From the Actions menu select Configure.
  3. Click Show API Token.
Serena recommends using the API token instead of a password, but you can use either value in the Jenkins expert.

If your Jenkins job requires a build authentication token before it can be triggered (see this Jenkins wiki page for details) add the token to the end of the Jenkins URL, for example: http://hostname:port/jenkins/job/MyProject/?token=buildtoken

The Jenkins expert uses the parameters after the question mark in the build request URLs that are sent to the Jenkins server.

NOTE The Jenkins expert is unable to trigger Jenkins builds if CSRF crumb protection is enabled on your Jenkins server.

Jenkins manages its own workspaces so you can add the Jenkins expert to a chain that does not populate a workspace.

PMD Expert

Overview

The PMD expert is a bundled expert that scans Java source code (and other languages) and looks for potential problems such as bugs, dead code, suboptimal code, overcomplicated expressions, and duplicate code. You can use it to find common programming flaws during your code review process. PMD is configurable and can find many different issues, for more information see the PMD web site.

This expert has no prerequisites (the PMD 5.3.7 libraries are embedded in the expert so there are no external tools to install).

Configure

When you add this expert to an expert chain in Pulse modify the following configuration fields:

Field Name Description Required Example PMD command line option Notes
Step Name Enter a name for this step in the expert chain. Yes PMD    
Source folder Enter the relative stream folder to run the analysis against. Yes src/main/java -dir Should be a relative path.
Rulesets location

Select a ruleset location:

  • Built-in rulesets
  • Local rulesets
  • Stored in the stream
 Yes      
Rulesets Enter a comma separated list of rulesets names to use. Yes rulesets/internal/all-java.xml -rulesets See the full list of possible rulesets: http://pmd.sourceforge.net/pmd-5.2.3/. You can also use a custom ruleset.
Project classpath Specify the classpath for libraries used by the source code. No commons-collections.jar;derby.jar -auxclasspath  
Source encoding Specify the source code encoding. No UTF-8 -encoding  
Source language Specify the source code language. No Java -language  
Language version Specify the language version. No 1.7 -version  
Show suppressed Show suppressed findings. No false -showsuppressed  
Suppress marker Specify the suppress marker. No NOPMDNEWMARKER -suppressmarker  

The PMD command line option column shows how each PMD expert configuration field maps to the PMD command line tool. For details see: http://pmd.sourceforge.net/pmd-5.2.3/usage/running.html.

TIP The PMD expert and PMD command line tool both use the PMD core library. Any options that you can pass to the PMD command line tool you can also pass to the PMD expert.

PMD operates on source code files so add the PMD expert to a chain that populates a workspace.

Kiuwan Expert

Overview

The Kiuwan expert is a bundled expert that integrates with Kiuwan Software Analytics in the Cloud, an online code quality and security service. If you are signed up to the Kiuwan service use this expert to:

Prerequisites

You must have an active account (username and password) for the Kiuwan service, have logged into the service, and configured an application name for your stream.

You must install the Kiuwan Local Analyzer on the Pulse server.

Configure

Create Server Configuration File

The Kiuwan expert's server configuration file is mandatory and is located in: ${dataDir}/conf/experts/com.serena.starlight/kiuwan/kiuwan-pulse-expert.properties

Property Name Description Required Example
kiuwan.agent.command Specifies the full path to the Kiuwan Local Analyzer's agent launcher (agent.cmd or agent.sh not kiuwan.cmd or kiuwan.sh). Yes C:\\KiuwanLocalAnalyzer\\agent.cmd
kiuwan.poll.interval Specifies how often to check whether an analysis has completed (seconds). Yes 180
kiuwanUsername Specifies the username (email) used to log into the Kiuwan service. No cibuild@example.com
kiuwanPassword Specifies the password to log into the Kiuwan service. No I@m!S3cR3t
kiuwanAnalysisApplication Specifies the application name that has been configured in the Kiuwan account. No Qlarius

NOTE
  • You can specify the properties kiuwanUsername and kiuwanPassword when you add the Kiuwan expert to an expert chain. However, if you always use the same account it is more convenient to specify them in the server configuration file.
  • Normally the property kiuwanAnalysisApplication will vary based on the stream. However, if you always use the same application name you can specify it globally in the server configuration file.

Configure Expert Settings

When you add this expert to an expert chain in Pulse modify the following fields:

Field Name Description Required Example
Step Name Enter a name for this step in the expert chain. Yes Kiuwan
Username Specifies a username for the Kiuwan account. No cibuild@example.com
Password Specifies the password for the Kiuwan account. No I@m!S3cR3t
Application Specifies the application name to register analysis results against in your Kiuwan account. No Qlarius

The properties Username, Password and Application are only optional if they have been configured in the server configuration file.

The Kiuwan Local Analyzer operates on source code files so add the Kiuwan expert to a chain that populates a workspace.

SDA Deployment Expert

Overview

The SDA Deployment expert is a bundled expert that allows you to integrate Pulse with Serena Deployment Automation (SDA) and to publish and deploy artefacts from a Dimensions CM stream.

You can use the SDA Deployment expert to automate the path to production for your application. For example, the expert can support continuous delivery by:

Prerequisites

The SDA server must be installed on your network, but not necessarily on the Pulse server, where this expert can connect to it. SDA Deployment expert has been tested with SDA server version 6.1.1.

You will need a working application process configured in your SDA server for the SDA Deployment expert to invoke.

Configure

Create Server Configuration File

The following SDA Deployment expert properties file is usually required: ${dataDir}/conf/experts/com.serena.starlight/sdadeploy/sda-pulse-expert.properties

The property below identifies the location of the SDA server, if the default value shown is correct you do not need to edit it:

Property Name Description Required Example
sdaServerUrl URL to the SDA server web application Yes http://localhost:8080/serena_ra

Configure Expert Settings

When you add this expert to an expert chain in Pulse modify the following configuration fields:

Field Name Description Example Required
Step Name Enter a name for this step in the expert chain. SDA Delpoyment Yes
Username Enter the username of an SDA server administrator. admin Yes
Password Enter the password of the SDA server administrator. admin Yes
Component Name Specify the name of the SDA component that will be published. my_component_1.5 Yes
Version

A new version of an SDA component is created each time this expert runs. Use this option to specify the format of the version name and make it easier to identify its source. You can include the following variables by using the syntax '$(<variable name>)' in the value.

CHANGESET_ID

EXPERT_RUN_ID

PRODUCT_NAME

STREAM_NAME

STREAM_VERSION

 'VERSION_NAME-$(CHANGESET_ID)' Yes
Artifact directory Specify the relative path in the stream where assets are located. target\ Yes
Include To only publish specific files, enter one or more Ant patterns (one per line). To publish all files leave this field blank. *.war
*.jar		 No
Exclude To exclude specific paths from being published, enter one or more Ant patterns (one per line). To publish all files leave this field blank. *.java
*.html
*.xml		 No
Add Status Select this option to display the field Status Name.   No
Status Name (Visible if Add Status is selected) Specifies the SDA status to move the new component version to. STATUS_SUCCESS Yes (if Add Status is selected)
Deploy Select this option to display fields that specify how the new component version will be deployed.   No
Application Name Specify an SDA application (contains a component to be deployed). my_application Yes (if Deploy is selected)
Application Process Name Specify the SDA application process to be executed. my_deploy_app_process Yes (if Deploy is selected)
Environment Name Specify the SDA environment to deploy to. my-environment Yes (if Deploy is selected)
Deploy Properties Specify deploy properties that will be used to run the SDA application process.
Enter one pattern per line in this format: <property_name>=<prop_value>		 set_up_db=true
use_logging_level=trace		 No

SDA normally operates on binary files so add the SDA Deployment expert to a chain that populates a workspace with built artefacts.

SDA Generic Process Expert

Overview

The SDA Generic Process expert is a bundled expert that allows you to integrate Pulse with Serena Deployment Automation (SDA) and run a SDA global process on a specific SDA resource. For example, you can use this expert to run a regular, repeated process when updated artefacts are delivered.

Prerequisites

The SDA server must be installed on your network, but not necessarily on the Pulse server, where this expert can connect to it. SDA Generic Process expert has been tested with SDA server version 6.1.1.

You will need a working global process configured in your SDA server for the SDA Generic Process expert to invoke.

Configure

Create Server Configuration File

The following SDA Generic Process expert properties file is usually required: ${dataDir}/conf/experts/com.serena.starlight/sdaprocessexecutor/sda-pulse-expert.properties

The property below identifies the location of the SDA server, if the default value shown is correct you do not need to edit it:

Property Name Description Required Example
sdaServerUrl URL to the SDA server web application Yes http://localhost:8080/serena_ra

Configure Expert Settings

When you add this expert to an expert chain in Pulse modify the following fields:

Field Name Description Example Required
Step Name Enter a name for this step in the expert chain. SDA Generic Process Yes
Username Enter the username of an SDA server administrator. admin Yes
Password Enter the password of the SDA server administrator. admin Yes
Generic Process Name Specify the name of the SDA global process to be run on the SDA server. setup_net_process Yes
Resource Name Specify the name of the SDA resource on which the global process will be run. machine_without_net_resource Yes
Process Properties Specify properties that will be used to run the SDA global process.
Enter one pattern per line in this format: <property_name>=<property_value>		 set_up_db=true
use_logging_level=trace		 No

SDA normally operates on binary files so add the SDA Generic Process expert to a chain that populates a workspace with built artefacts.

Dependency Vulnerabilities Expert

Overview

The Dependency Vulnerabilities expert is a bundled expert that integrates the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) dependency-check tool that can scan Java, .NET, and Python applications and their dependent libraries.

This expert identifies vulnerable dependencies in the analyzed stream and displays the findings in the Experts section of a Pulse Review page. One finding per vulnerability is displayed and there can be multiple vulnerabilities for each dependency. Each finding contains the ID of the vulnerability and the name of the dependency where it was found. A report file can be viewed from the Review page.

Prerequisites

There is no external software to install (the dependency-check 1.3.6 library is embedded in the Dependency Vulnerabilities expert). However, the expert relies on data from the National Vulnerabilities Database (NVD) web site to find vulnerabilities and requires access to the internet to download and update data.

On the first run the expert creates:

Configure

Create Server Configuration File

The properties file is optionally located in ${dataDir}/conf/experts/com.serena.starlight/dependencyvulnerabilities/dependencycheck-pulse-expert.properties. It contains configuration properties for both the Dependency Vulnerabilities expert and its embedded dependency-check library. You only need to create this file if you need to override one of the default values.

Property Name Description Example Value Default Value Required
pulseWarningCvssThreshold Vulnerabilities with a CVSS score less than the specified value are treated as a WARNING. 3.0 4.0 No
pulseErrorCvssThreshold Vulnerabilities with a CVSS score less than the specified value are treated as an ERROR. The value must be bigger than that specified for pulseWarningCvssThreshold. 9.0 7.0 Yes
pulseAutoUpdate

Automatically updates the CVE data. The possible values are:

  • ALWAYS
  • NEVER
  • ON_NEED
   ALWAYS  

NOTE All vulnerabilities with a CVSS score bigger than that specified for pulseErrorCvssThreshold are treated as FATAL. You should configure both, or none, of these properties.

Configure Expert Settings

When you add this expert to an expert chain in Pulse modify the following fields:

Field Name Description Example Value Default Value Required
Step Name Enter a name for this step in the expert chain. Dependency Vulnerabilities Dependency Vulnerabilities Yes
Application name Enter the application name to be displayed in the report file. My-App   Yes
Include patterns To only include specific paths, enter one or more Ant patterns (one per line). To include all paths leave blank. *.war
**/*.jar		 **/* No
Exclude patterns To exclude specific paths, enter one or more Ant patterns (one per line). To include all paths leave blank. target/*.class   No
Suppression file Enter the relative path in the stream to the suppression file. conf/suppression.xml   No
CVE Suppression List Enter a comma-separated list of CVE IDs to suppress. CVE-2008-0732,CVE-2011-5034   No
Enable Archive analyzer Scans these files types: ZIP, EAR, WAR, JAR, SAR, APK, NUPKG, TAR, GZ, TGZ   Yes No
Enable Jar analyzer Scans these files types: JAR, WAR   Yes No
Enable Assembly analyzer Scans these files types: EXE, DLL   Yes No
Enable Nuspec analyzer Scans the NUSPEC file type.   Yes No
Enable Python package analyzer Scans these files types: py, zip, PKG-INFO, METADATA   Yes No
Enable Python distribution analyzer Scans these files types: whl, egg, zip   Yes No
Enable CMaker analyzer Scans these files types: CMakeLists.txt, *.cmake     No
Enable NodeJS analyzer Scans this file type: package.json     No
Enable OpenSSL analyzer Scans this file type: opensslv.h     No
Enable Ruby analyzer Scans these files types: rakefile, *.gemspec     No
Enable Composer Lock analyzer Scans this file type: composer.lock     No
Enable Autoconf analyzer Scans these files types: configure, configure.in, configure.ac     No
Enable Central analyzer Checks for Maven GAV (Group/Artifact/Version) information in the scanned area.   Yes No
Enable Nexus analyzer Checks for Maven GAV (Group/Artifact/Version) information in the scanned area.   Yes No
Unstable threshold If there are vulnerabilities with a CVSS score higher than the value you specify, the expert result is UNSTABLE. If no value is set the result is SUCCESS. 7.0   No
Failure threshold If there are vulnerabilities with a CVSS score higher than the value you specify, the expert result is FAILURE. If no value is set the result is SUCCESS. 9.0   No

Automatically update CVE DB

Select an update option for the CVE database:

  • Never: never check for updates.
  • On need: only download if no database is present when the expert is initialized.
  • Always: check if an update is available before the expert runs.
      

For more information about analyzers see this web page.

The Dependency Vulnerabilities expert may report false-positive dependencies. For example, you consume a vulnerable library but you do not use the vulnerable functionality, or the vulnerability only applies in circumstances that does not apply to you. You can suppress any CVE by passing the suppression XML file with CVE suppressions (Suppression file property) or the CVE ID list (CVE suppression list property). For more information about suppression see this web page.

The dependency-check analyzers operates on binary files so add the Dependency Vulnerabilities expert to a chain that populates a workspace with built artefacts.

CM Build Expert

Overview

If your team uses Dimensions Build and you have existing build configurations, the bundled CM Build expert enables you to run the configurations in Pulse. Dimensions Build is a build management, execution, and monitoring tool that is part of Dimensions CM. For details see the Dimensions CM Build Tools User's Guide.

Prerequisites

A build configuration, created in Dimensions Build, for each stream that you are going to build.

Configure

When you add this expert to a chain configure it as follows:

  1. Enter a name for this step in the expert chain.
  2. Select a CM user account to be used to run the build:
    • Service account: use the account and credentials of the user current logged into Pulse. This is the account that was used to populate the work area associated with the stream.
    • Custom account: use a different CM user account. Specify the user name and password.
  3. Set Configure using command line to one of the following:
Field Name Description Required Example
Build based on request(s) Restrict the build to sources that are related to CM requests that you specify. Enter a comma separated list of requests. Leave blank if you do not want to restrict the build.   QLARIUS_CR_21,QLARIUS_CR_56
Area type

Select a Dimensions CM area type:

  • Work: a location on your local drive, a remote node, or a network drive that is associated with a stream or project.
  • Deployment: an area defined for a project or stream for deploying item files that have reached a particular stage in the Global Stage Lifecycle.
   
Area name Specify the area to be used for this build. Default: all areas associated with the build configuration or stage.    
Stage

Specify the stage where the targets will be built.

Only displayed if you select a Deployment area.

   DEV
Build configuration name Specify the build configuration, and version, that you want to build. If you do not specify a version, by default the latest is used. Yes ANT_JAVA_BUILD;6
Build area user

Enter a Dimensions CM credential set that has access to the build area.

Only displayed if you select a Work area.

   MY_CREDENTIAL_SET
Populate the work area with all files

Select this option to populate the work area with all the files that are related to the build.

Only displayed if you select a Work area.

    

Check in built items

 

Select one of the following options:

  • None: do not check in built items to Dimensions CM.
  • Use default request(s): check in the built items and use the same request that the sources are related to.
  • Use custom request(s): check in the built items and relate to the custom requests specified in Relate build items to requests.
    
Target stream name

Specify the stream where the collected and built items will be delivered. Default: the same stream as the sources.

Only displayed if you are checking in built items.

   QLARIUS:JAVA_BRANCHA_STR
Relate built items to requests

Specify a comma separated list of requests to which new items created from the final build targets will be related.

Only displayed if you are checking in built items related to custom requests.

   QLARIUS_CR_24,QLARIUS_CR_18
Build options

Select one of these options:

  • Clean area(s) before build: run the clean script specified in the build configuration before the build.
  • Audit area(s) before build: produce an audit report for the build areas associated with the Dimensions CM project or stream. The report is generated before the build.

Only displayed if you select a Deployment area.

    
Target selection
  • Dependency analysis: control the selection of build targets.
  • Configuration analysis: analyze the build configuration.
  • Final targets only: return intermediate and final targets.
  • Predicted: return predicted targets based on a previous revision of the item. Is relevant when the selected revision has not yet been built.
  • Foreign: include targets that are related to items in a different project or stream.
  • Side effect: request side effect targets from dependency analysis.
  • All targets: return all targets.

For details see the BLD command in the Dimensions CM Command-Line Reference.

    
Poll rate Specify how often (in seconds) that the expert checks if the build has completed. Yes 50

CM Build manages its own workspaces so you can add it to a chain that does not populate a workspace.

HP Fortify SCA Expert

Overview

The HP Fortify SCA expert is a bundled expert that analyzes the source code of an application for security issues. Static Code Analyzer (SCA) identifies the root causes of software security vulnerabilities and delivers accurate, risk-ranked results with line-of-code remediation guidance.

Prerequisites

The HP Fortify SCA expert requires HP Fortify SCA (and any tools that it will use, such as Microsoft Visual Studio) to be installed and configured correctly for the user account that Tomcat will run as.

Configure

Create Server Configuration File

The HP Fortify SCA expert's server configuration file is mandatory and is located in: ${dataDir}/conf/experts/com.serena.starlight/hpfortify/hpfortify-pulse-expert.properties

Property Name Description Required Example
sourceAnalyzerPath Specifes the full path to HP Fortify SCA. Yes C:\\Program Files\\HP_Fortify\\HP_Fortify_SCA_and_Apps_4.30\\bin\\sourceanalyzer.exe
reportGeneratorExecutablePath Specifes the full path to the HP Fortify SCA report generator. Yes C:\\ProgramFiles\\HP_Fortify\\HP_Fortify_SCA_and_Apps_4.30\\bin\\ReportGenerator.bat
visualStudioExecutablePath Specifies the full path to Microsoft Visual Studio. No C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\\Common7\\IDE\\devenv.exe

Example server configuration file:

sourceAnalyzerPath=C:\\Program Files\\HP_Fortify\\HP_Fortify_SCA_and_Apps_4.30\\bin\\sourceanalyzer.exe
reportGeneratorExecutablePath=C:\\ProgramFiles\\HP_Fortify\\HP_Fortify_SCA_and_Apps_4.30\\bin\\ReportGenerator.bat 
visualStudioExecutablePath=C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\\Common7\\IDE\\devenv.exe

Configure Expert Settings

When you add this expert to a chain configure it as follows:

  1. Enter a name for this step in the expert chain.
  2. Select a custom translation option:
    • Yes: use a custom translation string. Enter a string in Custom translation options but only include phase options and exclude '-b'.
    • No: select translation options (see the table below).
  3. For Analysis phase optionally enter additional rulepack files or folders, one per line. You can specify an absolute path or one that is relative to the root of the stream. Use the sourceanalyzer Ant task rules attribute.
  4. To create a PDF of the report select Generate PDF report and enter the path of a report template. You can specify an absolute path or one that is relative to the root of the stream. If you do not specify a report template the default is used. Use the ReportGenerator utility's template option.
Translator type Option Description
Java sources Sources include pattern

Enter patterns for Java sources, for example: src/**/ *.java

Default pattern: **/*.java
 

Classpath

 Enter a Java class path. The format is the same as javac (colon or semi-colon separated list of paths). Use the sourceanalyzer Ant task classpath attribute.
  Resolution source path Enter a path to a Java resolution sources folder. Sources are used for resolution not analysis. Use the sourceanalyzer Ant task sourcepath attribute.
 

Java version

Specify the JDK version the Java code is written for. Use the sourceanalyzer Ant task source attribute.
.NET sources Solution file path Enter the relative path to a solution file.
Other sources

Include pattern

 Enter an 'include' pattern for other sources, for example: **/ *.sql

 

Script Expert

Overview

The Script expert is a bundled expert that enables you to specify one of the following:

Configure

When you add this expert to a chain, configure it as follows:

  1. Enter a name for this step in the expert chain.
  2. From the Type of script list select one of the following:
    • Use inline command and enter an operating system command in the Command line box.
    • Use file path and enter the path in the File path box.

You can use the following environment variables:

All the variables in the environment.properties file are available to the script as environment variables.

If the script exits with an exit code of 0, it is a SUCCESS. If the script exits with a non-zero exit code, it is a FAILURE.

WhiteSource Expert

Overview

The WhiteSource expert is a bundled expert that identifies all the open source components and dependencies in your build, reports any known security vulnerabilities, and lists their licenses.

Prerequisites

Configure

Create Server Configuration File

The WhiteSource expert's server configuration file is located in: ${dataDir}\conf\experts\com.serena.starlight\whitesource\whitesource-pulse-expert.properties

Property Name Description Required Example
whitesourceServerUrl Specifies the URL to the WhiteSource server. Only change this URL if you are using the on-premise version of WhiteSource. No whitesourceServerUrl=https://saas.whitesourcesoftware.com

Example server configuration file:

whitesourceServerUrl=https://saas.whitesourcesoftware.com

Configure Expert Settings

When you add this expert to an expert chain in Pulse, specify the following fields:

Field Name Description Example Value Default Value Required
Step Name The name of this expert step.

WhiteSource

 WhiteSource Yes
Api key The API key of a product registered in WhiteSource (also known as organization token). Copy the value from WhiteSource.     Yes
Product token The product token generated when registered in WhiteSource. Copy the value from WhiteSource.     No
Project token The project token generated when the product was registered in WhiteSource. Copy the value from WhiteSource.     Yes
Include pattern Use Ant patterns to include specific resources. Separate each pattern with a space. **/*.jar    
Exclude pattern Use Ant patterns to exclude specific resources. Separate each pattern with a space. **/*sources.jar **/*javadoc.jar    
Poll delay Specify how often, in seconds, the expert polls the WhiteSource database. 120 30  
Update Inventory Select this option to update the WhiteSource project dashboard with new information that was found. If not selected, the information is only reported in Pulse.      

Troubleshoot

Administration Issues

Database not Accessible

If Pulse fails to start because it cannot connect to its database, a detailed exception message is displayed instead of the login page. A common reason is a missing or inaccessible database at application start up time. The logs in the Pulse data directory on the server contain more information. For information about configuring the JDBC URL, see the Pulse chapters in the Dimensions CM Administrator's Guide.

Reviews not Created Automatically

Reviews are not created automatically when deliveries are made to CM:

User Avatar Images not Displayed

Try the following:

Expert Chains do Not Start

If expert chains do not start when deliveries are made to CM check:

Expert Chain Results Not Displayed

If expert chains run successfully but results are not displayed, check that the parameters in Jenkins are configured correctly. Builds will run in Jenkins even if parameters are not configured correctly, but the results will not be sent to Pulse. You can also view expert chain logs.

For more information about configuring Jenkins see the Dimensions CM Build Tool User's Guide.

Other Issues

Reviewers Not as Expected

If the reviewers assigned to a new review are not as expected:

NOTE
  • A Pulse administrator can configure the Reviewer role for each repository.
  • Pulse assigns reviewers differently to the way that roles are assigned to CM requests:
    • Pulse takes a union of the users holding the role on the items' owning design parts.
    • CM requests take the role assignments from a common ancestor design part in the design part hierarchy.
Item Content Not Displayed in Reviews

If item content is not displayed correctly in reviews, in the Dimensions CM administration console check that:

Requests are Actioned but Pulse Reviews do Not Change State

If CM requests are actioned but the corresponding Pulse reviews do not change state, try the following:

  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. Select Repositories.
  3. Select the review's repository and click Defaults.
  4. In the Reviewer role name in CM field see what CM role that has been specified. Users that hold this role can be selected as reviewers in Pulse.
    • If the CM request does not have a user that holds this CM role, no changes are made in Pulse.
    • If the CM request does have a user hold this CM role, the role assignment should have been copied to the review. However, the review rule script for the stream also determines if the review changes its state.
    All reviews at the Draft and Rework states that are associated with the actioned request will have their reviewers updated. Reviews not at Draft or Rework are not affected by the request.

Check the ALF event configurations and Pulse server logs, see the Dimensions CM Administrator's Guide for details.

Pulse Reviews Change State but Requests are Not Actioned

If Pulse reviews change state but the corresponding CM requests are not actioned, try the following:

  1. On the top navigation click Administration.
  2. Select Repositories.
  3. Select the review's repository and click Defaults.
  4. In the Approved state name in CM and Rework state name in CM boxes check the state names are correct.
  5. Click Cancel.
  6. On the sidebar click Connection Details.
  7. In the Credentials section check that the specified user can log into Dimensions CM and that the user account has privileges in Dimensions CM to action requests to the necessary states.
NOTE
  • If a request in Dimensions CM requires mandatory attributes, enter them manually. Pulse cannot automatically populate the attributes unless the credentials on the repository are for an account that has privileges in Dimensions CM to bypass this requirement.
  • Delegate any role assignments on requests in Dimensions CM that are required before the request can be actioned to the next state. Pulse does not change the role assignments on requests in Dimensions CM, even for the Reviewer role of the repository.
  • Only reviews that change their state from In Review to Rework, or from In Review to Approved or Completed, cause their corresponding CM requests to be actioned. If a review is associated with multiple requests, all the requests are actioned. If a request is associated with multiple reviews, the request is actioned more than once.
  • Check the Pulse server logs at the DEBUG level, see the Dimensions CM Administrator's Guide for details.

Unexpected Formatting in Review Comments

PMD Expert

If the compilation unit (*.java file):

SonarQube Expert

If you have problems with SonarQube Runner see the web site.

If you receive the state Aborted check that:

Check the Pulse log file.

SDA Experts

Check the following:

Dependency Vulnerabilities Expert

Check the following:

Contact Serena Support

Serena provides technical support for all registered users of this product, including limited installation support for the first 30 days. If you need support after that time, contact Serena Support and follow the instructions. Language-specific technical support is available during local business hours. For all other hours, technical support is provided in English.

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