Aqua ALM: Requirements-to-Tests Traceability System

Introduction to Aqua ALM

Aqua ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) by iSQI is an enterprise test management platform that emphasizes bidirectional traceability between requirements, test cases, defects, and releases. Unlike traditional Test Case Management (TCM) tools that treat tests as isolated artifacts, Aqua positions test management within the broader context of requirements engineering and compliance documentation.

The platform targets regulated industries (automotive, medical devices, aerospace) where demonstrating test coverage for every requirement is not optional but legally mandated. Aqua’s strength lies in generating compliance reports showing which tests validate which requirements, which defects block which features, and which releases satisfy which regulatory criteria.

This guide explores Aqua’s requirements-centric architecture, traceability capabilities, agile workflow integration, compliance features, and how it compares to pure-play test management tools.

Core Architecture

Requirements as First-Class Citizens

Aqua organizes projects around Requirements rather than test cases:

Requirement Hierarchy:

Epic: Online Banking Platform
  ├─ Feature: Account Management
  │   ├─ User Story: View account balance
  │   ├─ User Story: Transfer between accounts
  │   └─ User Story: Export transactions
  └─ Feature: Security
      ├─ User Story: Two-factor authentication
      └─ User Story: Session timeout

Each requirement can have:

• Acceptance Criteria: Testable conditions for requirement satisfaction
• Priority/Risk: Business priority and technical risk scores
• Status: Draft, Approved, Implemented, Verified
• Traceability Links: Connections to test cases, defects, code commits

Test Case Design from Requirements

Aqua’s workflow encourages deriving test cases directly from requirements:

Requirement: "User can transfer money between own accounts"

Acceptance Criteria:
1. Transfer form validates positive amounts
2. Source account balance decreases
3. Destination account balance increases
4. Transaction appears in history

Generated Test Cases:
├─ TC001: Validate transfer with valid amount
├─ TC002: Reject transfer with negative amount
├─ TC003: Verify source balance deduction
├─ TC004: Verify destination balance increase
└─ TC005: Verify transaction history entry

This link is bidirectional: from requirement view, you see linked test cases; from test case view, you see validated requirements.

Traceability Matrix

Aqua’s killer feature is automatic generation of traceability matrices:

For compliance audits, export to PDF/Excel showing complete requirement → test → result coverage.

Key Features

Agile Board Integration

Aqua provides Kanban/Scrum boards synchronized with requirements and tests:

Sprint Planning: Drag requirements to sprints, automatically pulling linked test cases

Definition of Done: Configure DoD criteria (all tests pass, coverage >80%, zero P1 defects)

Burndown Charts: Track requirement completion, test execution progress, defect resolution

Unlike JIRA-based solutions requiring separate TCM plugin, Aqua natively understands test-requirement relationships.

Test Execution Management

Test Runs: Group test cases into execution sessions with environment tracking

Testers Assignment: Assign runs to QA engineers with workload balancing

Evidence Capture: Attach screenshots, logs, videos to test execution steps

Pass/Fail/Blocked: Rich execution status with comments and defect links

Example workflow:

Release 2.3 Testing
├─ Regression Suite (85 tests)
│   ├─ Assigned to: QA Team A
│   ├─ Progress: 72/85 executed
│   └─ Status: 70 passed, 2 failed, 13 pending
└─ New Features (23 tests)
    ├─ Assigned to: QA Team B
    ├─ Progress: 20/23 executed
    └─ Status: 18 passed, 2 blocked

Defect Management

Aqua includes built-in defect tracking (no need for external JIRA):

Defect-to-Requirement Links: See which requirements are blocked by which defects

Defect-to-Test Links: Track which test executions discovered each defect

Risk Assessment: Auto-calculate release risk based on open defect severity

JIRA Integration: Optionally sync defects to external JIRA for developer tracking

Compliance and Audit Features

Baseline Management: Lock requirement/test versions for regulatory submissions

Change History: Complete audit trail of who changed what when

Signature Workflows: Require approval signatures for test plan approval

Compliance Reports: Pre-built templates for ISO 26262, IEC 62304, DO-178C

Example compliance report:

FDA IEC 62304 Compliance Report
- Requirements Traceability: 100% (345/345 requirements traced)
- Test Coverage: 98.5% (340/345 requirements tested)
- Outstanding Defects: 2 (Priority: Low)
- Verification Status: Ready for Submission

Integration Ecosystem

Requirements Import

DOORS Integration: Import requirements from IBM DOORS/DOORS Next

Excel Import: Bulk import requirements from spreadsheets

JIRA Sync: Synchronize JIRA stories as Aqua requirements

ReqIF Format: Industry-standard requirements interchange format

Test Automation Integration

Aqua connects to automation frameworks via API:

Selenium/Appium: Link automated test scripts to Aqua test cases

Jenkins/GitLab CI: Automatic test result import from CI pipelines

API Upload: POST test results via REST API

curl -X POST https://aqua.company.com/api/test-results \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "testCaseId": "TC-123",
    "status": "passed",
    "duration": 4.2,
    "evidence": "https://s3.bucket/screenshot.png"
  }'

DevOps Integration

Git Integration: Link requirements/tests to code commits

CI/CD Gates: Block deployments if critical tests fail

Release Management: Track which requirements ship in which release

Comparison with Alternatives

Aqua’s differentiators:

• Requirements-first workflow vs. test-first (TestRail, Zephyr)
• Built-in defect management (no JIRA dependency)
• Strong compliance reporting for regulated industries

When to choose alternatives:

• TestRail: Simple TCM without requirements overhead
• Zephyr: Already invested in JIRA ecosystem
• qTest: Need deeper CI/CD orchestration features

Pricing and Licensing

Aqua ALM offers tiered pricing:

Cloud (SaaS)

• Standard: €39/user/month (annual), requirements + tests + defects
• Professional: €59/user/month, compliance features, baselines, API
• Enterprise: Custom pricing, SSO, dedicated instance, SLA

On-Premise

• Perpetual License: €1,200/user (one-time) + 20% annual maintenance
• Server License: From €15,000 for 25-user deployment

Minimum: 5 users for cloud, 10 users for on-premise

Comparison:

• TestRail: $35-69/user/month (cheaper for basic needs)
• qTest: $36-68/user/month (similar pricing, different strengths)
• Zephyr Scale: $10-49/user/month + JIRA costs

Aqua premium pricing reflects its requirements management capabilities beyond pure test management.

Best Practices

Requirements Decomposition

Structure requirements hierarchically:

Avoid: Flat list of 500 requirements

Do: Epic → Feature → User Story → Acceptance Criteria

Epic: Payment Processing (8 features, 24 stories, 96 criteria)
├─ Feature: Credit Card Processing (3 stories, 15 criteria)
├─ Feature: PayPal Integration (2 stories, 8 criteria)
└─ Feature: Refund Handling (2 stories, 10 criteria)

This structure enables reporting at different abstraction levels.

Test-to-Requirement Ratio

Establish coverage guidelines:

• Critical requirements: Minimum 5 test cases (positive, negative, boundary, performance, security)
• Normal requirements: Minimum 3 test cases
• Low-priority requirements: Minimum 1 test case

Monitor coverage metrics dashboard.

Baseline Strategy

Create baselines at regulatory milestones:

Baseline v1.0 (FDA Submission)
├─ 345 requirements (locked)
├─ 1,240 test cases (locked)
└─ Execution results (read-only)

Baseline v1.1 (Post-Market Surveillance)
├─ 352 requirements (+7 new)
├─ 1,278 test cases (+38 new)
└─ Delta report showing changes from v1.0

Baselines enable proving “this is what we tested for submission” years later.

Implementation Recommendations

Pilot Project (Weeks 1-4)

1. Select scope: One feature or release (50-100 requirements)
2. Import requirements: From existing JIRA/Excel
3. Create test cases: Derive from requirements
4. Execute tests: Use Aqua for manual testing
5. Generate reports: Traceability matrix, coverage report

Rollout (Months 2-3)

1. Team training: Requirements decomposition, traceability linking
2. Template creation: Requirement/test templates for consistency
3. Automation integration: Connect CI/CD pipelines
4. Compliance setup: Configure audit workflows

Optimization (Month 4+)

1. Metrics dashboards: Coverage, defect density, execution progress
2. Process refinement: Based on bottlenecks identified
3. Advanced features: Risk-based testing, impact analysis

Limitations

Complexity: Aqua’s rich feature set has steeper learning curve than TestRail

Automation: Less developer-friendly than Allure TestOps for automation-heavy teams

Cost: Premium pricing may not justify ROI for non-regulated industries

Mobile Testing: No built-in device cloud (must integrate external providers)

Conclusion

Aqua ALM excels when requirements traceability is mission-critical. Regulated industries benefit from built-in compliance features that would require custom development in competing tools. The requirements-first workflow enforces discipline that improves test coverage and makes audits painless.

For teams without compliance mandates, simpler TCM tools like TestRail offer better value. But for automotive, medical device, aerospace, and financial services teams facing regulatory scrutiny, Aqua’s traceability matrix and baseline management capabilities justify the investment.

The platform represents a holistic view of quality: requirements define what to build, tests verify it was built correctly, and traceability proves both to auditors. This integration is Aqua’s core value proposition.