Exploring Analysis Results

Now that you have created a project, you are ready to start reviewing the analysis results in the main section of Squore, the Explorer, which consists of a set of trees for browsing through project artifacts and various dashboards to display the information associated with these artifacts.

Figure 1. The Squore Explorer

Common icons are used throughout the explorer to indicate the rating of a component and its evolution compared to the previous version. The image below shows the meaning of the different icons used:

Figure 2. The Squore Explorer icons

Using the tree pane

The left-hand part of the Explorer is a three-panel section containing expandable trees.

Figure 3. The Tree Pane

The top panel contains the Project Portfolios and the Review Set.

The Project Portfolios is a list of all the projects you have access to, grouped by analysis model. Each project is listed with its latest rating and evolution and can be expanded to show all versions of the project that were analysed with Squore.

The Review Set is a flat list of artifacts you collect from various projects in order to review them. This list is saved when you log out and log into Squore again.

Figure 4. The expanded Earth project and its 7 versions in the Project Portfolios

The tree in the middle panel is the Artifact Tree.

When Squore analyses a project, it breaks it down into artifacts of various configurable types, down to the function-level for source code, according to the analysis model used.

The artifacts in the tree are displayed for the version selected in the Project Portfolios. clicking a different version of a project refreshes the artifact tree with the ratings for the version just selected. Above the artifact tree are tools for sorting and searching artifacts. Each artifact is displayed with its current rating and can be expanded to reveal child artifacts if available. The number in brackets indicates the amount of child artifacts for the current artifact. You will learn about these tools later in Has the Quality of My Project Decreased Since the Previous Analysis? and How Do I Find and Keep Track of Artifacts?.

Figure 5. The Artifact Tree for version 7 of the Earth project

You can also interact with artifacts in the tree by using the artifact menu which can be accessed by hovering over an artifact name and clicking the menu icon.

Figure 6. The artifact menu

The bottom panel is the Indicator Tree , in which ratings for the indicators defined in the analysis model at the current level are displayed. Each indicator can be expanded to display the rating of each of its sub-indicators. The Indicator Tree displays statistics for the artifact currently selected in the Artifact Tree and refreshes when the selection is changed. The type of artifact selected in indicated in brackets. Two shortcut buttons can be found above the top node to quickly expand and collapse the entire tree.

Figure 7. The partly expanded Indicator Tree for version 7 of the Earth project at Application level

Clicking one of the tree nodes reveals more information about the indicator, including the formula used by Squore to compute its value and rating.

Figure 8. The popup displayed when clicking the Complexity Distribution indicator at application level

Using the dashboards

The right-hand side of the Squore Explorer contains a series of tabs, the first of which is the Dashboard. The Dashboard is dynamic and always displays information about the artifact currently selected in the artifact tree. There is not one Dashboard, but a Dashboard per node in the tree. Additionally, Dashboards can be customised by a Squore administrator so that users see different Dashboards according to their groups and to their role in a project, thus highlighting different information for project managers, quality engineers and developers for example. Ask your Squore administrator about Dashboard customisation, or refer to the Squore Configuration Guide for more information.

The left-hand area of the Dashboard contains the scorecard, which consists of a graphical representation of the key performance indicator for the current artifact, and some tables highlighting key metrics about the project.

Figure 9. The scorecard area

Each table lines display a series of details about the key performance indicator:

The name of the metric (e.g. Rule Compliance). When clicked, a popup shows the way the metric is computed. Optionally, some metrics may allow an extra link to be displayed. This link shows the list of findings taken into account when calculating this metric (See Non Conformity Count).
The raw value of the metric and its evolution according to the previous version (e.g. 41.18% ↓). Clicking a value ion this column displays a chart of the history of the last 10 values recorded for this metric.
If the metric displayed is an indicator, the rating of the indicator is displayed, along with its evolution (e.g. Level G, deteriorated). If the metric is a measure, then an information icon is shown. In both cases, you can click the information in this column to display more details about how the metric is computed.

The right-hand area of the Dashboard contains a series of charts representing key information about the current artifact. Clicking a graph opens a larger version of the image, so you can analyse the data. Note that the available charts will differ depending on the type of artifact selected in the tree. Files and functions also include a Source Code link in the top right corner (for users who have the privilege to browse source code), which does not appear in the Dashboard for folders and applications.

Figure 10. The charts area

The Dashboard is only the first of a series of tabs in the Explorer. In the following chapter, you will find out more about the role of the Action Items, Highlights, Findings, Forms, Reports, Indicators, Measures and Comments tabs. Note however that like the Dashboard, the information displayed in each tab is always relative to the node currently selected in the Artifact Tree.