Strategy Integrity Manager introduces two concepts that are often referenced when using the application: baselines and test files. This document explains the differences between them to better understand both concepts.
A test file stores the configuration information of an Integrity test. Test files are saved as an MTC file (Strategy Test Configuration) and it is possible to reopen previously saved test file in order to load all the information that belongs to it (Strategy Intelligence Server name(s), reports and documents selected for comparison, governing settings, etc), in this way the user does not have to input those values again.
By default, test files are located under Drive:\Program Files\Strategy\Integrity Manager, however the user can change that location when prompted to save the test.
A baseline is a part of an Integrity test and stores information related to the results of the reports and documents for one Strategy Intelligence Server. That information is stored in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format.
Baselines are stored by test and Strategy Intelligence Server basis. When running a single project test, only one baseline will be created whereas when running a project vs. project test two baselines will be generated, one per Strategy Intelligence Server. Those files are stored in the folder that belongs to the Intelligence Server that was selected as base or target through the test wizard as shown in the following image:
A baseline can be used for future integrity tests by running a Project vs. Baseline or Baseline vs. Baseline comparison. When using a baseline to compare results, there is no need to have an active connection to the Strategy Intelligence Server specified, instead the results are read from the XML file.
