Unlock the Future with Inflectra - Powered by AI
We have been working on a new SpiraApp for the Spira platform that integrates with the popular OpenAI Large Language Model (LLM) known as ChatGPT. This new plugin leverages the power of Generative AI to automate the generation of standard downstream artifacts from user stories, features, epics, and business/system requirements. This new facility doesn't replace human business analysis and QA. Instead, it allows you to quickly generate a set of standard test cases, tasks, risks, and BDD scenarios that can then be refined and improved as needed. Learn more about this new plugin that is coming soon to Spira.
How Does This Game-Changer Work?
This new ChatGPT SpiraApp runs inside the Spira application and provides a set of dropdown menus with options to auto-generate derived Spira artifacts from the current requirement. It does this by connecting to the OpenAI LLM model using its REST API and sending specific prompts to generate items based on the name of a requirement inside Spira. To use this plugin, you will need to have your own OpenAI account with a valid API Key:
Once this has been configured at the organization level, all projects and users can use the plugin without needing their own OpenAI account.
Ready to Upgrade Your Spira Experience? Read on!
Real-World Impact: An Example
The easiest way to understand how the new ChatGPT plugin can be helpful is to see a simple example in action. For example, imagine that you have just created a new requirement or user story that consists of a single-line Ability to login to a web application or As a user I want to be able to login to a web application.
Normally, you would now need to manually write the various test cases that cover this requirement, including positive (can log in successfully) and negative tests (failure to log in for various reasons). In addition, you would need to decompose this requirement in a set of lower-level development tasks for the developers to create the user interface, database, and other items that need to be in place to have a working login page. If using a BDD approach, you might also want to create a set of BDD Gherkin scenarios that describe each use case for a login page more specifically. Finally, you would want to identify and document all potential risks associated with this new feature.
With our new ChatGPT plugin, instead of all these tedious, manual tasks, you can click on the various options in the ChatGPT dropdown menu for this requirement.
Step 1 - Generating Test Cases
When you click on the option to generate test cases, the plugin will call the OpenAI API and create a set of test cases for the requirement in question. For our sample requirement, you can see that it has generated four test cases, one for the positive case and three additional negative cases:
Each of the test cases consists of a single test step that has the description of the test to be carried out, the expected result from the test, and any sample data that you might want to use:
Note that the sample data will most likely be very notional since it does not know valid/invalid logins for your application. Still, the overall structure is correct and will save a lot of manual time writing and documenting the test cases.
Step 2 - Generating Development Tasks
Next, we can click the generate tasks option to generate five standard development tasks typical for a web login page. You can see that they are relatively high-level but cover the key areas, both the front-end (creating pages) and the back-end (database, session management, authentication system):
Step 3 - Identifying Risks
Next, we would want to understand the risks of deploying a new login page. Since one of the most critical security attack vectors is an application's authentication and session management mechanisms, understanding these risks is very important and often overlooked. All you need to do is click the generate risks button, and the plugin does the rest:
In this example, you can see that it generated six different potential risks, including GDPR privacy risks, security vulnerabilities, performance issues, compatibility, and more. It also includes risks related to the user experience, which are also often forgotten until too late!
Step 4 - Generating BDD Scenarios
Finally, we can use the option to generate BDD scenarios to have the plugin create a set of positive and exception scenarios for using the login page:
In this example, it has created four scenarios, one positive and three negative. Each is written in the Gherkin Given... When.... Then, format and is ready to use.
Watch the ChatGPT Plugin in Action
We have recorded a 5-minute video where Adam Sandman from Inflectra demonstrates how the new ChatGPT plugin can generate test cases, risks, tasks, and BDD scenarios from a simple one-line requirement name.
🎬 Witness the Magic in Action:
When Will It Be Available and What's Next?
This new SpiraApp is still undergoing final testing and documentation, but we anticipate it will be available in late Q4 2023 for all customers.
Once our customers have had a chance to try it out and give feedback, we anticipate releasing updated versions in 2024. Some ideas we have already planned include:
- Instructing ChatGPT to generate test cases, tasks, and risks for all the specific types defined in the product template. Currently, it just asks it to create "tasks," "risks," and "test cases" generically.
- Adding similar functionality onto the test case details page where it will be able to generate the test steps for a specific test case automatically
- Extending the functionality to the requirements and test case list pages so you can select multiple items on a grid and generate the test cases, tasks, etc.
- Adding support for generating child requirements/backlog items directly from the requirements grid and mind-map views.
Embrace the innovation that will redefine how you approach software development, testing, and project management. We're bringing the future to you, and it's powered by AI.
Stay tuned for more updates from your trusted team at Inflectra!