----- Original Message -----
From: Sandeep Bagati <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 1:28 am
Subject: [HACKYSTAT-DEV-L] Sensor for Win Runner
To: [email protected]

> Hi,
> 
> I am Sandeep and needed some help regarding writing a sensor for Win
> Runner that captures
> 
> Activity data like:
> -          When are tests ran?
> -          How long did the test run take?
> -          How much time was spent defining/reviewing a test plan?
> -          How much time was spent defining/reviewing a test script?
> -          How much time was spent scheduling a test run?
> -          How much time was spent reviewing test results?
> 
> Test data:
> -          Test coverage information per smallest possible unit
> (artifact/workspace/project)
> -          Test result information (pass/no pass) per smallest 
> possibleunit (artifact/workspace/project)
> -          Defects found during test run (Linking test run to defects)
> 
> I am totally new to sensor development .Can you please help me out so
> that I can get started?
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> Sandeep.

Greetings, Sandeep,

Thanks for your interest.  A sensor for Win Runner sounds very interesting.
Here are some ideas to get you started.

First, there are three "flavors" of Hackystat people: users (who can
install preexisting sensors, send data, and perform existing analyses),
administrators (who can download the source code and build the system), and
developers (who can enhance the system with new features such as a sensor
for Win Runner).

In general, each flavor is built on top of the others: to be an
administrator, it helps to first get comfortable being a user.  To be a
developer, it is necessary to first be able to function as an
administrator.

Thus, if you are totally new to Hackystat, what you will want to do is
begin by working through the User Guide (available by following the "help"
link on the public server home page <http://hackystat.ics.hawaii.edu/>.
Download a few sensors, install them, go through the StackyHack chapter,
and so forth.  This will give you a feel for sensors and analyses from the
user perspective, which will help you understand what to do when you start
developing your own.  This part might take you a few days or so.

Next, you need to learn how to download, build, and install Hackystat from
source code, and create custom configurations from the 70+ available
modules.  The process is documented in detail in Chapter 1 of the
Administrator Guide (also available on the public server).  This part will
also take you a few days or so.

Now you are ready to start doing development, and that brings you to the
Developer's Guide.  The first several chapters of that Guide explain how to
create your own private local module that you can combine with the public
modules to create a new configuration of Hackystat with your own
functionality.  

In your case, you might need two new modules. The first module, called
something like hackySensor_WinRunner, would provide the (client-side) plugin for
WinRunner.  This module might collect and send data in the form of several
(pre-existing) sensor data types: UnitTest sensor data (representing the
results of test invocations), Coverage data (representing the coverage of
the test suite), DevEvent data (representing the time spent doing this),
and CodeIssue data (representing the defects found).
 
The second module, called something like hackyApp_WinRunner, would provide
(server-side) analyses over the data you collected with the sensor to
generate the specific metrics you listed above.  With little additional
effort, you should be able to produce telemetry for those metrics which
will allow you to show trends in those values over time.  The telemetry is
often much more insightful than the static snapshots for actual project
management and decision making.

There are more details and support that we can provide as you work your way
into the development.  Hopefully this gives you enough of an overview to
get started.  I'm excited to see what you come up with!  Don't hesitate to
send more emails as you run into questions and problems along the way.

Cheers,
Philip

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