MQC: Frequently Asked Questions

Some of the most frequently asked questions are listed below:

Can MQC help to improve my software development process?

Yes! MQC is an interactive quality monitoring and management tool that captures all the decision-making data that you need throughout the software life cycle.

MQC provides you with an overview of your project. This includes completed tasks, and information about the current quality status of your project along with your expectations (target values). Additionally, MQC helps you to identify the problems and root causes of possible quality deficits. Finally, it offers a prioritized list of actions to improve the current status of your software.

All the results can be collected in a quality report for documentation purposes and to facilitate ISO compliance.

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What data do I need in order to set up an MQC project?

To set up an MQC project all you need are the report files containing the data to be loaded into MQC and a proper Quality Model. The Quality Model contains the list of measures that are expected to be read from the reports as well as quality property definitions (in compliance with ISO 25010).

MQC comes with a default Quality Model, which already fits to the data read from the MES quality tool reports. Additionally, MQC provides predefined tool-specific Quality Model suggestions for numerous other data sources. If you need help defining a Quality Model for your specific needs, please contact us.

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Do I have to create my own Quality Model?

MQC provides predefined tool-specific Quality Model suggestions for all data sources supported by MQC. This comprises the expected data to be read from the corresponding tool reports as well as quality properties and measurement function definitions to calculate quality out of the read data. Depending on the quality tools that are used in your company, the corresponding Quality Model can be compiled based on these suggestions.

We are happy to support you in defining a proper Quality Model for your project.
Please, contact us via the MQC support:
Email: mqc@model-engineers.com

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Can I see my test data in MQC?

Yes, you can see your test result data in MQC. The different results of your tests are the base for the quality calculation in MQC.

On the one hand you can see the data derived from your tests (like test result, model and code coverage, requirement coverage and so on). On the other hand MQC calculates the quality based on the test data and based on your Quality Model). These quality measures can then be combined with other results (i.e. static analysis, requirement analysis, etc) to get an overall picture of the state of your project.

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Where does the data come from that MQC uses to calculate quality?

MQC extracts the data from the result reports of the tools used during the software development process, i.e. tools providing static analysis results, test results, etc. For each supported data source a so-called adapter exists that reads the expected data from the report and maps it to MQC’s structures.

MQC is able to read various report formats like XLM, HTML or Excel.

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How can data be imported into MQC?

Importing data into MQC is quite easy. For example, you can simply configure the directory containing your data reports in MQC. MQC will then import all files of a known format in this directory and its subdirectories. In other words, all you have to do is configure the root directory as long as your files are stored in a hierarchical directory structure.

Once configured MQC will constantly monitor each data directory. That means that MQC will see each and every change that happens, for example if files are added or removed or if the file content itself has been changed. MQC will then notify you to manually refresh or MQC automatically triggers a refresh, if configured.

Data files can be located in the local file system, a network path or a git repository.

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Is it possible to access the original data reports in MQC?

Yes, MQC provides access to human-readable reports, for example in HTML or PDF format, if available. The underlying data reports, whether originally imported and/or human-readable, can be opened directly in MQC.

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Which quality tools / data reports are supported by MQC?

In addition to the MES tools, MQC supports many tools from different vendors. A list of all the supported tools and report formats can be found in the MQC User Guide. Please refer to the chapter titled “Data Sources Adapters”.

Additionally, you can import data from any other data source using the manual import option or implement your own tool adapter.

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Can I import data from my own reports into MQC?

Yes, data from any report can be imported into MQC. MQC provides matching, ready-to-use adapters for various tool reports. For your company or process-specific reports you can write your own adapters to read the data. MQC provides many examples of adapters that may support you when implementing your own adapters. You can also adapt the existing adapters.

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Can I implement my own adapter?

Yes, the implementation of adapters is completely open. The API is defined and can easily be used for your specific report data. MQC provides multiple examples in C# and Python.

We recommend using one of the existing adapters as a base and then changing it according to your specific needs.

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Can I add my own adapters during the runtime of MQC?

Yes, adapters are included (and compiled if needed) during runtime by MQC. No special programming environment is necessary (just a text editor to write or change the source code). The full details and more information is available in the MQC User Guide. Please refer to the chapter titled “Custom Adapters”.

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Can I share my MQC project with other people?

Yes, you can. There are different ways to share an MQC project.

First of all, you can create a quality report, which contains all the relevant information and visualizations. This can also be used for documentation purposes. The quality report can be created for browsing (HTML) and for print (PDF).

It is also possible to share a link to your MQC project, provided your project is stored on an MQC server. In this case, the project can be opened and viewed in any browser. No further client installation is necessary.

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