Requirements.cc Now Has an API

You can now access your project data programmatically, via a secure REST API. Read on for a quick overview, then head over to api.requirements.cc to learn the details.

What’s an API?

An API lets you access your project items from another program. Currently our API is read-only, meaning you can retrieve items, but you can’t change them or add new ones. Some of the things you might do using the API include integrating with other applications, analyzing your project to create a custom dashboard, or retrieving comments made by people you’ve shared your project with.

Example Application

Requirements Word CloudWe built a sample that accesses all the items in a project and creates an animated word cloud showing the words used most often. You can try it out on your own project at api.requirements.cc. Follow the directions there to create an API key that you’ll need on the Word Cloud page.

We’re in Beta

Please let us know if you have comments or questions. Even if you’re just dabbling with the API, we’d love to hear what type of application you have in mind and what improvements we could make that would help you out.


Report Filtering

Quick question: How many items do you have in your current CaseComplete project? 10? 20? 50? It’s not unusual for our customers to have thousands of items in each project. But when it comes time to generate a report, a list of thousands of items isn’t always useful. Enter report filtering.

In this episode of the Custom Reporting Video Series, we’ll cover all the reporting keywords you can use to filter precisely which items will appear in your report. You’ll learn:

  • The basics of the where clause.
  • Advanced keywords, such as AND, OR, Contains, StartsWith, and Exists.
  • How report parameters work hand-in-hand with a where clause.
  • Other filtering techniques such as generating a report from the filter tab, or by using Reporting options.

 


Kung Fu Reporting

In our first episode, we showed you how to modify an existing report template. Now you’re ready to learn how to create a report template from scratch. Join Jassonhopper and Doug in episode 2 of our custom reporting video series and take the next step towards becoming a custom reporting master.

In this episode, we’ll start from a blank slate and explain how to use keywords to put content into your report. By the end of this video you will:

  • Understand the differences between three of the most common list keywords: $list, $table and $repeat
  • Understand how the context of a keyword affects what gets reported
  • Know where to find a reference of all the reporting keywords

Create Your First Custom Report

We decided to create a video series on custom reporting. Actually, Doug thinks of it as an incredible journey.

The ability to tweak, tailor, and tune Word and Excel reports is one of the most powerful features in CaseComplete. Many of our customers use it extensively, but some of you might not know where to start. This video is aimed at you.

We’ll start with the basics of how make changes to an existing template: adding images, changing the footer, and removing a section or two.

After watching, let us know what you think. Was it helpful? Are you looking forward to Episode 2?


Filtering in CaseComplete 2013

We just released CaseComplete 2013 which lets you filter items in your project. Here’s a video overview of the new feature:

Filter your requirements

requirements filterJust as you can open new tabs in your web browser, you can now open new tabs in CaseComplete. Each tab shows a filtered view of your items, letting you focus in on a specific subset. For example, you could choose to show just requirements marked priority 1, for release 1.0, that are assigned to you.

use case filterYou can set up filters based on any field, including your own custom fields. Want to see all issues that contain the text “ASAP”? No problem. Have a custom field called Due Date? Set up a filter to view items due today, next week, or next month. (Or even next year, but hey, no one sets due dates that far in advance since we’re all using agile use cases, right?)

Save and share your filters

You can save your filters so they’re available the next time you start CaseComplete. For example, you might do this so Business Rules are shown in their own tab, separate from your other requirements.

Some filters may be useful for the entire team, while others apply only to you. When you save a filter, you can choose whether only you can see it, or everyone on the team.

Report on filtered items

ReportButtonReporting on the filtered items is just a click away. Click the Report button above each filtered view to generate a report that contains only the items shown in the list.

See more kinds of items

As a bonus, you can now view your diagrams, related documents and notes in a list. This makes it easier to find and keep track of these items, which are often attached to other items deeply nested in your package hierarchy.

You can install CaseComplete 2013 without disturbing your existing version. So go ahead, download today and give it a try.


Requirements.cc Webinar

A few weeks ago we released Requirements.cc, a new way to collaborate around your requirements. A lot of people have already signed up and a lot of people wanted to know more about it. So we held a 30-minute webinar where we showed the basics of how it works and then answered questions from the audience.

We recorded the session for those who couldn’t make it (or wanted to see it again). Here it is:

 

Requirements.cc is Here

We’re excited to tell you CaseComplete 2012 R2 is available today and along with it, something really big: Requirements.cc.

Why Requirements.cc?

Our customers today use CaseComplete to gather, organize, and communicate their requirements. They tell us they love how it lets them generate a requirements document faster than ever. But after the document is generated, it’s up to them to take it from there. While every customer is unique, most times the process looks something like this:

  1. Send the documents out for review.
  2. Try to get feedback or approval from your stakeholders.
  3. Incorporate feedback from each individual stakeholder.
  4. Produce an updated version of the document.
  5. Go to step 1 until all stakeholders are satisfied.

This seemed like an expensive, drawn-out process that could be improved – especially in the era of smartphones and cloud-computing. So we built Requirements.cc, one of the biggest features of CaseComplete 2012 R2.

What is it, exactly?

It's a new feature that lets you publish your requirements – securely – into the cloud. To get started, open a project you’d like to share, then from the Tools tab, hit the orange Publish button.

Cloud based requirements

Once published, you can navigate your project from a browser on your computer, your phone, or wherever. You can share your requirements with whomever you'd like by giving them a secure link. They can give you feedback instantly and they can see the changes you've made without having to re-read everything.

With Requirements.cc, we’re trying to help you cut the cost and time spent gathering and incorporating feedback on your requirements. And it's included at no extra cost with your copy of CaseComplete 2012 R2. Try it out by signing up today.


CaseComplete 2012 Now Available

The newest release of CaseComplete is now available. This time around, we tackled a few of the larger features that customers have been asking about: sharing dictionary entries, multiple test scenarios, and sharing built-in field values across projects. Here’s a quick video overview:

Here are the highlights of what’s new:

Shared Dictionaries

We now treat dictionary entries just like any other element, so you can move them from package to package. This means you can create packages that will act as shared dictionaries. You can reuse these dictionaries in other projects, while keeping them separate from any project-specific terms.

Multiple Test Scenarios

We've always let you specify test procedures and expected results for your use cases and requirements. Now you can specify an entire suite of tests that validate different use case scenarios.

Built-in Field Values

We now save field-value customizations along with the project, so once you change them, your teammates will see your changes. If you want to save your field settings as the default for new projects, we have a checkbox to let you do that as well.

Headless Deployment

We now support fully scripted deployments with all of the options needed to handle a silent installation and activation.

As always, you can try it free for 30-days.


Fine Tune Your Reports

We added two new keywords to CaseComplete 2011 that help you filter headings and other content from your report output: $ShowOnce and $When.

Show Once

“How do I create a report section that lists requirements with a heading that only displays if there are any requirements to show?” Our tech support team heard that request a lot, and the only solution was to use a table. With our newest version, it’s now easy to do.

The report syntax now includes a new keyword that you can use inside a repeat loop. Anything inside the $ShowOnce and $endShowOnce keywords will display the first time – and only the first time - through the repeat loop.

Learn more and see an example.

Advanced Conditional Logic

We’ve added a new keyword to Word and Excel reports that lets you include and exclude sections of a report based on what your project contains. This builds on the conditional $if keyword that lets you include or exclude sections based on attributes of specific elements.

Use the $when keyword when you want to include a report section only when the project includes specific elements. For example:

$whenUseCases where ImplStatus = ‘Started’

$endWhenUseCases

See an example report template.


Free Webinar: Custom Reports

custom requirements documentIf you’ve never customized a report in CaseComplete, you’re missing out. The ability to customize report templates (and create new ones) to show just the right information is one of the tool’s power features. Like any power feature, you need to learn the basics to become proficient.

In this hour-long webinar we’ll show you how to get started. We’ll cover the essentials of the report template language and how to modify existing reports. You’ll learn how to filter what information appears and how to change the overall look and appearance. We’ll spend some time answering whatever reporting questions you might have.

CaseComplete 202: Custom Reports
Thursday, August 18th at 11am Central Time