Using SmartRank to prioritize issues

In this topic:

You can use SmartRank to prioritize and tackle issues in your project. Based on a sophisticated analysis of your code, including factors such as analysis complexity, Validate identifies and applies a SmartRank recommendation to a subset of detected issues in each build. These are issues that you can be highly confident are true issues, and we recommend you investigate them first.

Validate identifies the SmartRank recommended issues in each build. Because Validate uses many factors to calculate the SmartRank, between builds, the SmartRank can change for individual issues depending on how your code has changed.

Turning on SmartRank

By default, SmartRank is turned off, so all issues are shown in the issues list. To turn on SmartRank

  1. Log into Validate if you haven't already done so.
  2. For any project in the list, click the Unique, New, or Open issues link (if available).
  3. Select the SmartRank check box.

    Validate filters the list of issues and only displays recommended issues. Validate identifies recommended issues with a lightbulb icon.

    SmartRank orders the list of issues by showing the most highly recommended issues at the top of the list.

Note that when you have SmartRank selected, the Sort by list is grayed out. If you want to use Sort to order items, you can further refine the list by using the keyword recommended in a view or search (instead of selecting the SmartRank check box).

Adjusting the SmartRank sensitivity level

Administrators can modify the SmartRank sensitivity level for a given project by setting the level to Low, Medium, or High. Administrators can also set the level when creating a new project. By default, the SmartRank Sensitivity level is Low. Low sensitivity applies the most stringent filter and displays the fewest issues. Medium and High sensitivity levels display progressively more issues.

The SmartRank sensitivity level applies to a project. To adjust the SmartRank sensitivity level

  1. Ensure you have administrator privileges.
  2. Log into Validate if you haven't already done so.
  3. Click the Edit project icon next to the project you want to edit.
  4. Click the SmartRank Sensitivity level you want to apply to the project: Low, Medium, or High.
  5. Click Save.