Lab 1

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Introduction to ClearQuest®
In this Laboratory, you will review the basics of defect tracking and the overall
architecture of the Rational ® ClearQuest® software tool.

Objectives
In this Lab, you will perform the following tasks:
 Describe the basic ClearQuest architecture.
 Identify major components of ClearQuest.
 Describe the basic concepts of defect and change tracking.

Exercise 1.1: Answer the following questions:

1. ClearQuest has a three-tier architecture. What are the three tiers?

2. All external programs that access the ClearQuest databases must do so through the
______.

3. In a Windows environment, both ClearQuest E-mail and ClearQuest Web rely on

the ________ to communicate with the Core of ClearQuest.

4. True or False: The defect and change tracking tool enforces and tracks the process
of resolving change requests but does not manage the changed artifacts such as the
software code.

5. In what areas can the functionality of ClearQuest be customized?

6. In ClearQuest, “states” of the process model are placeholders, and all the rules are
instituted through _______.

7. True or False: In ClearQuest, the execution of an action always moves the state of a
change request record from one state to another.

8. In a Windows environment, ClearQuest accesses the database through __________,

which is an industry standard for database connection and communication.

9. What are the major components of ClearQuest in the ClearQuest Windows

installation?

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Student Workbook

10. In a Windows environment, which ClearQuest component allows you to perform

tasks such as connecting to an existing ClearQuest database, creating a new schema
repository and sample database, or moving a database?

11. When there is more than one schema repository at a site, each schema repository
and its associated user database(s) is referred to as a ___________.

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 SCM490 Mastering Rational ClearQuest Administration

Answers for Exercise 1.1:

1. Tier 1: The ClearQuest User interface tools. Tier 2: The ClearQuest Core. Tier 3: The
relational database.
2. Core.
3. ClearQuest Web and ClearQuest E-mail use the Component Object Model (COM)
interface to read and write to the Core.
4. True.
5. Process, data, presentation of data, and analysis of data.
6. Actions.
7. False.
8. Open Database Connectivity (ODBC).
9. ClearQuest Client, ClearQuest Designer, ClearQuest Export Tool, ClearQuest Import
Tool, ClearQuest Maintenance Tool, and ClearQuest User Administration.
ClearQuest Web component is for setting ClearQuest Web on the Web server only.
ClearQuest E-mail component is for round-trip e-mail operations only. Module 11
will describe the functionality of ClearQuest Web and ClearQuest E-mail.
10. ClearQuest Maintenance Tool.
11. Database Set or Connection.

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Student Workbook

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Course materials may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written permission of IBM.