Test Plan (QA/QC)
Pro tier only
This command is Pro-only (flag QaQc). Standard-tier users see a 🔒 lock icon and an "Upgrade to Pro" dialog when clicking.
Auto-generates the Vietnamese construction industry's standard "Materials, Products and Components Test Plan" sheet from a selected range of material names. Backed by a TCVN database of 100 materials × 599 test criteria sourced from the reference Test Plan workbook + QCVN 16:2023/BXD + 12 Appendices + the "56 construction materials sampling criteria" document.
Open the Test Plan dialog
DVD Cons → group QAQC and Diary → click Test Plan.
3-step workflow
Step 1 — Select material names
Highlight cells containing material/work names in the current sheet. Example:
| A | B |
|---|---|
| 1 | Reinforced concrete |
| 2 | Cement PCB40 |
| 3 | Filling sand |
| 4 | Crushed stone 1×2 |
| 5 | Deformed rebar |
→ Select A1:A5 (or just the name column).
Step 2 — Click "🔍 Preview"
The Test Plan dialog will:
- Scan the selection, collect every non-empty cell as a query
- Match each query against the TCVN database by keyword
- Show preview: how many materials matched, how many unmatched, total criteria
Duplicate matches (e.g. "Reinforced concrete" + "Foundation concrete" both match TCVN 4453:1995) are deduped to one block.
Step 3 — Click "📄 Generate Sheet"
A new sheet Test Plan YYYY-MM-DD is appended at the end of the workbook with the standard 7-column layout:
| Col | Header | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A | No. | Sequential number (merged per material block) |
| B | MATERIAL | Short material name (merged) |
| C | TEST CRITERIA | One row per criterion, numbered 1., 2., 3. |
| D | TEST METHOD STANDARD | TCVN of the test procedure (e.g. TCVN 3118:1993) |
| E | SAMPLING STANDARD / SPEC | Product TCVN (merged) |
| F | SAMPLE SPECIFICATION | Sample quantity + spec (merged) |
| G | NOTES / FREQUENCY | Sampling frequency (merged) |
Manage the TCVN Database
DVD Cons → Test Plan → click ⚙ Manage DB → opens TCVN Database dialog.
Database layout
| Type | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline | C:\DVDAddin\Library\TCVN-Standards.json | 100 materials shipped with installer (read-only) |
| Custom | %APPDATA%\DVDAddin\TCVN-Custom.json | User customizations (writable, survives reinstall) |
| Hardcoded | In C# code | Safety fallback if both JSON files are missing |
Custom overrides baseline by Id. E.g. a custom entry with Id = "TCVN 4453:1995" replaces the baseline entry of the same ID.
Dialog operations
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Search | Type material name or TCVN code — list filters in real time |
| Show baseline / Show custom toggles | Filter by source |
| Edit baseline entry | Click to edit → modify fields on the right → 💾 Save → creates a custom override with the same Id |
| Add new material | ➕ Add material → fill Id (e.g. CUSTOM-01 New material) + name + criteria |
| Delete custom entry | 🗑 Delete — only applies to custom entries (baseline can't be deleted) |
| 📦 Backup | Export TCVN-Custom.json → timestamped file in %APPDATA%\DVDAddin\Backups\ |
| 📂 Restore / Import | Import a backup file into TCVN-Custom.json (auto-backs-up current first) |
| 📥 Import from Excel | Read a 7-column .xlsx and merge into the database — see details below |
Per-material schema (visible in the dialog)
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Id | Unique identifier (e.g. TCVN 4453:1995 or CUSTOM-01 Name) |
| Material name VI/EN | Short name — shown in column B of the output sheet |
| Standard title VI/EN | Full TCVN title (e.g. "Cast-in-place concrete structures...") |
| Scope VI/EN | Brief application summary |
| Keywords | Comma-separated — matcher uses these to find when user picks a range |
| Sampling std VI/EN | Product TCVN — shown in column E of output |
| Test list | Each row = 1 lab test (name + method + frequency + sample + days) |
Import database from Excel
Click 📥 Import from Excel in the TCVN Database dialog → pick a 7-column .xlsx file.
Expected Excel format
| Col | Content |
|---|---|
| A | No. (sequential, only filled on first row of each material) |
| B | MATERIAL (only first row) |
| C | TEST CRITERIA (one row per criterion) |
| D | TEST METHOD STANDARD (TCVN code) |
| E | SAMPLING STANDARD / SPEC (only first row) |
| F | SAMPLE SPECIFICATION (only first row) |
| G | NOTES / FREQUENCY (only first row) |
Alternatively, data can start from column B (column A blank padding) — the parser auto-detects both layouts. This is also the output format of the Test Plan generated sheet → you can re-import that file directly.
Merge logic
The parser:
- Material name matches an existing entry (normalized) → appends new criteria to that entry, no duplicates
- New material name → creates a custom entry with Id
CUSTOM-XX <name> - Material with no criteria → skipped (reported in preview)
Before merging, the Preview dialog shows 4 summary tiles:
| Tile | Meaning |
|---|---|
| New materials | Number of entries that will be created |
| Enriched materials | Number of existing entries gaining new criteria |
| Total criteria added | Total new criteria across all changes |
| Skipped | Materials with no criteria / fully duplicate (no-op) |
Click ✓ Apply to database → saves to TCVN-Custom.json.
Sharing database across machines
| Goal | Action |
|---|---|
| Copy database to another machine | Backup → email backup file → new machine: Restore |
| Maintain team standardization | Team lead edits baseline JSON (Library/TCVN-Standards.json) on company server → everyone pulls it |
| Test changes before committing | Edit dialog → Save → test → if wrong, Restore from latest backup |
Tips
- When the selection contains text that doesn't match: dialog records UnmatchedQueries → user can copy out for manual lookup
- Custom Ids should start with
CUSTOM-for easy filtering (toggle "Show custom") - After reinstalling the addin, custom JSON is NOT lost (stored in
%APPDATA%outside the install folder) - Editing the baseline JSON directly is NOT recommended — the next installer update will overwrite. Always use custom overrides
Related
- Calendar Setup — configure non-working days that affect sampling frequency
- Schedule advanced — plan schedule in parallel with test plan
- Gantt Chart — combine test plan into the schedule