Integration of Jira within Tosca landscape
“Some might think that applications can directly be connected with each other. But that is simply not correct". With this statement, Michael Weiglein of Infometis AG hit the mark of the topic of the Interest Group Tosca on July 4, 2018. We talked about Tasktop as a tie between Jira and Tosca, shared our experiences and our collective knowledge. The group itself had asked for the topic.
Tasktop facilitates the collaboration of software engineers on the one hand and test managers on the other hand – without the necessity of leaving the respective tool. Tasktop builds communication between Jira and Tosca and synchronizes selected information of both applications with the help of mapping. The absence of friction, the traceability and the rapidity help software engineers and test managers to fix bugs faster and to assure software quality.
Basically Tasktop works very simple:
Via API Tasktop synchronizes e.g. the Jjira requirements with the requirements in Tosca. On the contrary it feeds defects which Tosca detects to issues in Jira where they can then be solved. Tasks automatically flow between Jira and Tosca without that one needs to leave the respective tool, eliminating manual status emails – it’s all transparent and traceable.
Therefore, one can imagine Tasktop as an independent model tool between the applications, as a connecting tool or as an integration tool. Raffaele Russo and Michael Weiglein demonstrated the most important functions live at Infometis in Zurich. Interposed questions helped on and pushed us even deeper into the topic. We were as close to the praxis as can be. This was an evening from the praxis for the praxis. When a participant introduced a new aspect with a question, often a fruitful discussion resulted from the answers – a discussion which helped on everybody.
Talking about subjects such as installation, licences, rules for synchronization or when a bug is being registered in both applications – Jira and Tosca – was sometimes tricky. Regarding bidirectional communication with the help of Tasktop Michael Weiglein explained: “It is important that you define what happens in the case of a conflict, e.g. when the same bug or similar bugs pop up in both applications. You need to define which application is the master. There the problem has to be solved, and in the other application the bug will be overwritten with the update.
The colleagues at Infometis also took a firm stand regarding the frequently asked question: Build it or buy it? Their recommendation was: Buy it! The Tasktop adapters integrate various external softwares. When updates are required, these are deployed automatically and the customer neither needs to deal with the handmade application nor with adapters which need to be adjusted. In other words: The professional solution saves time and efforts and guarantees access to the newest and most powerful system at any time. In addition, individual extensions via scripting are possible.
We thank Raffaele Russo and Michael Weiglein for sharing their expert knowledge with us, we thank Infometis for their hospitality and we thank our guests for their inquisitiveness. Together we advance the test management with Tosca in all aspects.