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OpenText Quality Center
View on Wikipedia| Quality Center | |
|---|---|
| Developer | OpenText |
| Stable release | 17.0.1
/ April 3, 2023[1] |
| Operating system | Windows, Linux |
| Type | Quality management/test management |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | OpenText ALM/Quality Center |
OpenText Quality Center, formerly known as Micro Focus Quality Center and HP Quality Center, is a quality management software offered by OpenText who acquired Micro Focus in 2023.[2] Micro Focus acquired the software division of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in 2017,[3] with many capabilities acquired from Mercury Interactive Corporation.[4] Quality Center offers software quality assurance, including requirements management, test management and business process testing for IT and application environments.[5] Quality Center is a component of the Micro Focus Application Lifecycle Management software set.[6]
Product packaging
[edit]Quality Center is available in the following editions:[7]
- Community
- Express
- Enterprise
Community and Express editions are designed for entry-level software quality assurance organizations. The Enterprise edition, originally called Mercury TestDirector for Quality Center, is for software quality assurance organizations that manage medium to large releases. For large and global organizations, OpenText Application Lifecycle Management incorporates the capabilities of Quality Center enterprise tracking, enterprise release management and asset sharing for requirements management through application delivery.[8] Quality Center is also available as a software-as-a-service offering.[9]
System requirements
[edit]Quality Center desktop client runs on the Windows platforms without the need of any browser. It also has a web client[10] that runs on any browser.
OpenText has published information about ALM's server-side and client-side system requirements,[11] updated periodically as new versions and patches are released.
References
[edit]- ^ "Learn what's new in service pack 1 for ALM 17 – Micro Focus Community". community.microfocus.com. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ "OpenText Buys Micro Focus" (Press release). Waterloo, Ontario: Open Text Corporation. January 31, 2023 – via PRNewswire.
- ^ "HPE Merger Status Update". Micro Focus (Press release). Archived from the original on January 19, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ "HP Closes Landmark Mercury Acquisition; Companies Unite to Lead in Business Technology Optimization Software". Hewlett Packard (Press release). November 7, 2006. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ "Quality Assurance - HP - BTO Software". Archived from the original on 19 January 2008.
- ^ Jackson, Joab (November 30, 2010). "HP Fuses Dev Management and Testing Tools". CIO. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ "Comparing ALM/Quality Center Editions and Offerings" (PDF). Open Text.
- ^ Jordon, Allen (2013-03-26). "What is Quality Center". Quality Center Basics. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
- ^ "HP Quality Center in the Cloud". EOH Application Management. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
- ^ "Web Runner". ALM Help Center.
- ^ "OpenText ALM/QC Support Matrix". MicroFocus.
OpenText Quality Center
View on GrokipediaHistory
Origins as Mercury Test Tools
Mercury Interactive Corporation was founded in 1989 in Mountain View, California, initially focusing on software testing and management solutions for enterprise applications.[9] The company began shipping its first software quality testing products in 1991, laying the groundwork for tools aimed at improving application performance and reliability.[10] By the late 1990s, Mercury launched TestDirector, its pioneering test management solution that served as the direct precursor to what would become Quality Center.[11] TestDirector was designed to streamline the software testing lifecycle through a client-server architecture, enabling teams to manage testing processes in a structured manner. Key early features included basic test case design for planning manual and automated tests, execution tracking to monitor test runs and results, and defect logging to record and prioritize issues discovered during testing.[12] These capabilities were organized into core modules—such as Requirements, Test Plan, Test Lab, and Defects—allowing centralized oversight of testing activities without requiring extensive custom scripting.[12] This approach addressed the growing need for collaborative testing in distributed environments, particularly as software development shifted toward more complex, multi-user systems. The product underwent significant evolution in the mid-2000s, transitioning from TestDirector version 7.0 in 2000 to Quality Center version 8.0 in 2004.[13][14] This period marked the shift to a fully web-based interface, replacing the earlier client-server model with browser-accessible functionality that improved accessibility for remote teams.[15] Concurrently, the introduction of a centralized repository enhanced data storage and retrieval, supporting version control and audit trails for test artifacts across projects. A key milestone during this phase was the deepened integration of Mercury's automated testing tools, WinRunner for functional testing and LoadRunner for performance testing, by 2005, allowing seamless execution and reporting of automated scripts directly within the TestDirector framework.[16] These advancements positioned the tool as a comprehensive platform for end-to-end quality assurance.Acquisitions by HP and Subsequent Owners
In 2006, Hewlett-Packard (HP) acquired Mercury Interactive, the developer of TestDirector, for $4.5 billion, marking HP's largest software acquisition at the time and integrating Mercury's Quality Center into HP's enterprise portfolio.[5] This deal, completed after regulatory approvals, led to the rebranding of the product as HP Quality Center, emphasizing a unified platform for application lifecycle management (ALM) under HP's software division.[11] Quality Center 9.0 was released in 2006, with subsequent versions under HP such as 9.2 in 2007, introducing enhanced ALM capabilities such as business process testing to support collaborative testing workflows and integration with automation tools.[17] This version focused on improving enterprise scalability and compliance with standards like ISO 9000, aligning with HP's strategy to address large-scale IT environments.[18] In 2015, HP split into two entities: HP Inc., focused on personal systems and printing, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), which retained the enterprise software business including Quality Center.[19] Under HPE, the product continued to evolve, with updates like ALM 12.0 in 2014 adding agile support through integrations with tools like HP Agile Manager, enhancing traceability and sprint planning for DevOps practices.[20] In 2017, Micro Focus acquired HPE's software division, including Quality Center, in an $8.8 billion reverse merger, renaming it Micro Focus ALM/Quality Center to bolster its application delivery management offerings.[7] This acquisition emphasized compliance enhancements, such as support for GDPR and SOX, while maintaining backward compatibility for existing deployments.[21] Finally, in 2023, OpenText acquired Micro Focus for approximately $6 billion, integrating ALM/Quality Center into its portfolio and rebranding it as OpenText Application Quality Management while preserving the Quality Center legacy for continuity.[8] Across these ownership changes, each transition drove strategic shifts toward greater scalability, agile methodologies, and regulatory adherence, enabling the tool to adapt to evolving enterprise needs without disrupting user workflows.[3]Evolution to ALM and Rebranding under OpenText
In 2010, the product transitioned from HP Quality Center to HP Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) with the release of version 11.0 in October, marking a significant expansion from a testing-focused tool to a comprehensive suite covering the entire application lifecycle, including requirements management, development collaboration, and deployment oversight.[22] This rebranding emphasized integrated processes to support agile methodologies and broader software delivery needs.[23] Subsequent versions introduced key enhancements to align with evolving DevOps practices. The 12.55 release in August 2017 improved user productivity and administrative capabilities, including better integration support for CI/CD pipelines and third-party tools like Jira, facilitating smoother DevOps workflows.[24] In August 2019, version 15.0 under Micro Focus added robust cloud capabilities, such as SAML-based single sign-on for both on-premises and SaaS deployments, enhancing scalability and security in hybrid environments.[25] The 17.0 release in November 2022 further advanced hybrid deployment options, including improved SaaS accessibility, advanced analytics for compliance, and streamlined test execution to support agile and DevOps teams.[26] Following OpenText's acquisition of Micro Focus in January 2023, the product underwent rebranding to OpenText Application Quality Management (AQM), starting with version 24.1 around late 2023, which incorporated OpenText branding in the web client and expanded toolchain integrations for end-to-end lifecycle governance.[27] The 25.1 update, released in February 2025, introduced the Aviator AI feature, providing generative AI-based suggestions for manual test creation and requirement coverage to accelerate testing processes.[28] Post-acquisition, OpenText shifted strategic focus toward agile, DevOps, and AI-driven enhancements, integrating AQM more deeply with OpenText's DevOps Cloud for automated pipelines and predictive analytics, while announcing end-of-support for legacy versions such as Quality Center 12.0x in March 2018 to encourage migration to modern platforms.[29][1]Overview
Core Purpose and Scope
OpenText Quality Center, now part of OpenText Application Quality Management, serves as a central platform for end-to-end management of software testing processes, spanning from requirements definition to deployment while ensuring comprehensive traceability and compliance with industry standards.[1] This tool enables quality assurance teams to govern the application lifecycle by providing a unified environment for planning, executing, and monitoring tests, thereby minimizing risks and delivering high-quality software experiences.[30] Its scope extends to supporting both manual and automated testing workflows for enterprise-scale applications, making it ideal for complex projects in sectors such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and government services.[1] Deployable via cloud-based SaaS or on-premises configurations, it accommodates distributed teams across global operations, handling large volumes of data and integrating with diverse development ecosystems to streamline quality management.[31] At its core, the platform features a centralized repository that consolidates all key artifacts—including requirements, test cases, and defects—allowing for real-time collaboration, version control, and end-to-end visibility into project progress.[30] Role-based access controls further enhance its utility by tailoring permissions for stakeholders like testers, developers, and managers, promoting secure and efficient team interactions.[31] The benefits include substantial reductions in testing cycles through seamless automation integrations and reusable assets, with organizations reporting up to 40% decreases in testing time in regulated environments.[32] Moreover, it supports audit-ready processes aligned with regulations such as FDA guidelines and ISO standards, leveraging traceability matrices and detailed audit trails to facilitate compliance and risk mitigation.[30]Architectural Design
OpenText Quality Center employs a three-tier architecture that separates the presentation, application logic, and data storage layers to ensure scalability, maintainability, and secure access in enterprise environments.[33] The database layer utilizes a relational database backend, supporting Oracle Database 19c/21c or Microsoft SQL Server 2014–2022, to store all project data including entities such as requirements, tests, defects, test sets, and execution runs (as of version 25.1).[34] This layer handles version control, unique identifiers (e.g., Release ID, Test Set ID), and hierarchical structures like requirements trees, enabling efficient querying and reporting while restricting operations like INSERT or DELETE for security via SELECT-only SQL access.[35] The application server layer is Java-based, built into the platform using JDK 17 (64-bit JVM), and manages client connections, background processes such as baseline creation and test execution, and integrations across modules.[34] It processes business logic for multi-user environments, facilitating tasks like timeslot reservations and data synchronization without requiring third-party servers like WebLogic or WebSphere.[33] The client layer provides web-based interfaces accessible via HTTPS through standard browsers (e.g., athttps://<server>/qcbin), alongside desktop add-ins for tools like Microsoft Excel and Word to support data import/export and reporting.[33]
At the core of this architecture is a relational data model implemented in the database schema, which defines key entities such as requirements, tests, and defects, interconnected through traceability matrices and coverage links to maintain end-to-end visibility.[35] These entities support hierarchical organization (e.g., test plan trees, defect cycles), rich text fields, attachments, and customizable user-defined fields, with dependencies enforced via relational joins for reporting and analysis.[35] Version control is embedded in the model, assigning unique version numbers and locking entities during edits to prevent conflicts in collaborative settings.[35] This schema ensures data integrity across projects, grouped by domains in multi-project setups, while allowing cross-project customization in enterprise editions.[35]
Deployment options for OpenText Quality Center include on-premises server installations, where administrators configure the three-tier components on local infrastructure for full control, as well as a SaaS cloud version hosted by OpenText on shared platforms with production and testing instances.[31] Hybrid setups combine on-premises elements with cloud services, supporting editions like ALM (5 projects, 3 TB storage), QC Enterprise (3 projects, 2 TB storage), and QC Team (2 projects, 1 TB storage) for varying scales.[31] Security is integrated throughout, featuring role-based permissions managed via user groups to control access to modules and data, encryption for data at rest (using industry standards) and in transit (via HTTPS), and comprehensive audit logs for tracking changes and compliance.[31] Physical and logical access controls, including ISO 27001-compliant authentication and intrusion detection, further safeguard the environment.[31]
