Learn how to effectively address the first step in creating a DesignWise model.
This article shows you:
- What key features are accessible from the Parameters screen
- How to navigate around the Parameters screen to access those features
You’ll spend a lot of time on this screen, so it’s worth understanding everything that is hiding here.
Think of this lesson as spending a couple minutes sipping coffee with a tour guide, while reviewing a map of Paris. You’re orienting yourself before you go off to explore the city. “Over here, we have the Eiffel Tower. Over here, is the Musée d’Orsay…” Not much detail just yet, but we’re just getting acquainted.
First, copy a Sample Test Model to make it editable. We will use the “Airplane Ticket Reservation” in this example.
Enter Your Variation Ideas
To add new / more parameters:
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Click “New Parameter.”
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Enter a Parameter Name (like “Flying to”) in the Parameter Name field. Your Parameters will be the “things that change” from test scenario to test scenario.
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Type in Values for that Parameter (like “the United States” or “France”) in the Values field.
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When finished editing the Parameter and its Values, add them to your model by clicking “Create.”
Hovering over different parts of the screen reveals important hidden tooltips
In the “My Test Models” view, hovering over names will reveal important tool tips. To display them:
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Click “Return to your test models” from the sub-menu of the Model Name dropdown or by going back to the landing page & selecting “My Test Models” from the left menu bar.
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Hover over a model. Tooltips will appear to the right of the name.
Hovering over a Parameter reveals a nifty “move this up or down” option
Hovering over a Value reveals an additional feature
This “branching” purple icon enables value expansions. They allow for maximized variation without increasing the number of scenarios by using general categories instead of explicit values.
Additionally under the “Rules” -> “Constraints” tab, parameter values can be required to appear together in scenarios (Bound) or not (Invalid). Constraints allow you to prevent “impossible to test for” scenarios from appearing in your test suite when you click on the “Scenarios” tab.