Integration with TestComplete

Owned by Kevin Pham (Deactivated)
Last updated: Oct 10, 2024 by Dominik Trygar
4 min read

Starting October 11, 2024 (Zephyr Enterprise 8.2), the Zephyr Enterprise documentation moved from its current location on Atlassian to a dedicated, standalone Zephyr Enterprise documentation page. Please see: https://support.smartbear.com/zephyr-enterprise/docs/en/zephyr-enterprise/zephyr-user-guide/zephyr-test-automation/integration-with-testcomplete.html

Overview

The integration of TestComplete into Zephyr allows Zephyr to directly trigger the execution of TestComplete Projects.  Zephyr will also be able to retrieve test case execution results for visualization within Zephyr.

There are two supported approaches for integration with TestComplete, both leveraging Vortex: 

  • Approach 1 allows triggering TestComplete projects directly from Zephyr Enterprise, which then parses the generated JUnit XML file to update the test case execution results. 

  • Approach 2 involves using the TestComplete Jenkins plugin, which needs to be setup and triggered separately. Then a Vortex Folder Watcher job is created in Zephyr Enterprise to watch for and parse the generated JUnit XML file. 

The table below outlines the pros and cons of each approach: 

Approach

Pros

Cons

Approach

Pros

Cons

1 - Triggering TestComplete Directly

  • TestComplete Projects can be triggered from the Zephyr Enterprise GUI.

  • Tests cannot be scheduled, they are triggered manually from Zephyr Enterprise

2 - Leveraging TestComplete Jenkins Plugin

  • TestComplete Projects can be executed as part of the CI pipeline, independently of Zephyr

  • It requires extra steps during the setup (for Jenkins).

  • It relies on another application (Jenkins) to manage the triggering.

Triggering TestComplete directly from Zephyr Enterprise

Overview for this Approach

The diagram below gives an overview of this setup:

Setup Process Overview

  1. Install TestComplete and create a BAT file to trigger the desired project 

  2. Install and configure zBot on the same machine as TestComplete 

  3. Setup an Automation job in Zephyr Enterprise 

Step 1 - Install and Configure TestComplete

Step 1a - If needed, install TestComplete

Step 1b - Ensure that it can be executed for the desired project

Please make sure that you're able to run TestComplete and execute the desired project properly.

Step 1c - Generate the BAT file

For this integration to work, Zephyr needs to be able to trigger TestComplete. It’s possible to trigger TestComplete directly, but it’s advisable to trigger a BAT file instead for the sake of convenience and future editing.  

Please create a BAT file located in the same machine as TestComplete with the content below: 

TestComplete.exe  "<fullPathToProject>” /run  /p:<projectName> /ExportSummary:"<fullPathForResults>"  

where: 

<fullPathToProject> is the full path and file name for the TestComplete .pjs project 

<projectName> is the TestComplete project name 

<fullPathForResults> is the desired full path and file name for the JUnit XML report (.xml file) 

For example: 

TestComplete.exe "\\Mac\Home\Documents\TC_examples\Zephyr_TestComplete_Integration.pjs" /run  /p:Zephyr_TestComplete_Integration  /ExportSummary:"C:\TestLogs\report.xml" 

After creating the BAT file, please trigger it locally to ensure the TestComplete project is executed automatically, and that the JUnit XML results are saved to the expected .xml file. 

The approach of using a BAT file is particularly useful if we want to perform some cleanup operations, like deleting temporary files from the automation run, closing the Browser, or closing down TestComplete (even if Silent mode is used). If you have a TestExecute licence, you’ll be able to reference TestExecute.exe in the BAT file instead. 



Step 2 - Install and Configure ZBot

ZBot is an agent for Zephyr Enterprise that runs on the same machine as the target test automation tool and communicates with Zephyr Enterprise to receive jobs and post results. You may read more about it here: ZBot Overview

Please follow the instructions below to install the ZBot on the local machine. https://zephyrdocs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ZE/pages/1558445336/Installing+and+Getting+Started+with+ZBots

Step 3 - Setup Vortex Automation

Setup Vortex (including ZBot) using the steps mentioned here for “How to Add and Execute Automation Job” : https://zephyrdocs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ZE/pages/1558444869/Zephyr+Vortex 

Please see below for the final Vortex configuration: 

Leveraging TestComplete Jenkins Plugin

Steps for setting up the Vortex Automation

Setup Vortex (including ZBot) using the steps mentioned here for “How to Add and Execute Folder Watcher Job”: https://zephyrdocs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ZE/pages/1558444869/Zephyr+Vortex 

Here is how the setup should look: 

Steps for setting up the TestComplete Jenkins Plugin

Please follow these steps for the setup. First, start the ZBot from where the results file will be placed. Then, setup the Jenkins job as shown here: 

Notice, with the above setup,TestComplete (rather than TestExecute) is being used, so we see the UI of TestComplete when the build is triggered/run.  

Now, once the Jenkins build is triggered/run, the Vortex Folder Watcher job will check the specified results folder containing the JUnit XML file. Upon finding a new file, the results are parsed and consumed by Zephyr Enterprise.  

Don’t forget to specify the XML path as an additional command line argument. This will help to produce the JUnit report file, which the Vortex Folder Watcher will use. 

You might want to setup some post build actions for cleanup, such as deleting temporary files generated by the automation run. If doing this, clean out the Folder Watcher location too so when a new run happens, the folder will have a new file to parse.