Displaying items by tag: enterprise architect

As an Enterprise Architect user, you may have had the need to apply several times more or less the same set of elements on a given diagram, leading to numerous uses of copy and paste as new.

The "copy and paste" feature on a selection of elements, including their associations and layout works ok, but there could be a more suitable way to go about this. Given a context where we have our set of elements i.e. a pattern of modelling elements available from one or several diagrams within our model, we need to apply them several times onto a new diagram. Once the new diagram is created, the elements that need to be duplicated aren't available from this blank diagram. Hence the diagram that contains those elements has got to be opened first, followed by a selection on the elements of interest, copied to the clipboard (Ctrl+C). Then the newly created diagram needs to be displayed again so the paste as new command can be executed (Ctrl+Maj/Shift+V). We also need to ensure that any specific element or information, e.g. an activity description or a child composite diagram and its sub-elements, mustn't be re-used, hence they need to be deleted.

Enterprise Architect makes it possible to re-use a set of elements, their associations, any notes, and their layout on the diagram by creating UML patterns. Similarly to the use of design patterns (GoF), the aim is to define a set of elements that can be applied for modelling purposes.

In the following example, a test case has been represented by modelling each step to follow as a node within a UML activity diagram, e.g. : pre-conditions / initial context, expected result, test result (OK/KO).

We can abstract these elements to be represented as re-usable steps, shown here :

Once our pattern is defined in a standard diagram, such as the UML activity diagram above, we can save it into an Enterprise Architect UML pattern : open the Diagram menu > Advanced > Save UML Pattern, and save into a new XML file (e.g. C:\basic tests patterns.xml). Enable the "Merge" option if you need in some cases to merge a given activity (or another node) from your pattern with an existing activity from the target diagram (active diagram).

To import and have this pattern available from an EA project, open the Resources view (use the Project menu > Resources if this view is not displayed on your EA client), and right click onto UML patterns, choose "Import UML pattern", and browse to the UML pattern's XML file.

Your UML pattern is now available to use on your Enterprise Architect project ; it should be displayed within the list of UML Patterns. Simply drag and drop this pattern onto the current diagram to create a new test step with expected and test results, as defined in this UML pattern. This window lets you rename each element before it is created.

Of course UML patterns can be applied from any type of diagram (UML class, UML state machine, BPMN, SysML BDD, etc.) or model (analysis, design, tests, architecture, etc.).

Mr Ben Constable, Senior Analyst at Sparx Systems, explores Enterprise Architect's Structured Scenario Editor for model-driven use case analysis.

In this webinar, you'll learn how to:

To suit users in different time zones, we will hold two sessions - each 30 minutes in duration.

To register for this webinar, please visit www.sparxsystems.com/webinars.

You really CAN have a highly-effective Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) implementation in a short period of time! In fact, it is essential that the MBSE environment you setup has all of its required components upfront in order to avoid costly pitfalls later on, especially for large complex projects and systems.

Many of our customers use Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect as the tooling component because beyond supporting SysML, the standard language for MBSE, it also makes it easy to support the other essential components of the MBSE environment.

Our workshop Implement Highly Effective MBSE: A 7-Part Strategy is coming up in 2 weeks.

Please read this to see how this workshop will help you ...

• Launch a highly-effective MBSE environment in a short period of time
• Avert costly implementations by adopting the “right” practices in addition to “best” practices
• Get management buy-in and sustained support

Below is the official information and registration page:

 Committed to your professional education,

The Cephas Training Team

Authorized Training Partner for Sparx Systems

Email  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Phone 866.433.3183 #101

Committed to your professional education,

The Cephas Training Team
Authorized Training Partner for Sparx Systems
The full Cephas course catalog

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Phone 866.433.3183 #101

Metadata Management

At the recent meeting of the G8 in Northern Ireland, the members released the Open Data Charter. The Charter recognizes the central role open data can play in improving government and governance and in stimulating growth through innovation in data-driven products and services. On the principle of quality, the goal of the charter is to ensure that releases of “high-quality open data that are timely, comprehensive, and accurate. To the extent possible, data will be in their original, unmodified form and at the finest level of granularity available.”

High levels of granularity support more structured information and allow more technical manipulation while metadata with levels of low granularity can be created for much less cost but provide less detailed information. Granularity impacts creation and capture.  However, the greatest impact of granularity is in maintenance. As the metadata structures become outdated, access to the referred data will become much harder to manage.  To enable continued access to the reference data, Enterprise Architect helps to manage the structure and transformation of the metadata, from one structure to another as new systems get developed.

A metadata repository enables collection, storage, maintenance, and dissemination of metadata information and Enterprise Architect is a powerful and inexpensive repository tool that can be used with a variety of databases including:

• SQL Server 2000, 2005 or 2008
• MySQL 4 or 5
• PostgreSQL 7 or 8
• Adaptive Server Anywhere 8 or 9, or SQL Anywhere 10 or 11
• Access 2007
• Progress OpenEdge
• MSDE or
• Oracle 9i, 10g or 11g

By default, Enterprise Architect stores its repository data in a .eap file. 

Run the Windows software Enterprise Architect 10 on Mac and Linux with CrossOver 12. CrossOver can get your Windows productivity applications and up and running on your Mac and Linux system quickly and easily. Run the Windows software that you need on Mac or Linux at home, in the office or at school without purchasing a Windows license, without rebooting your computer and without having to use a virtual machine.

To learn more about running Enterprise Architect on Mac or Linux with CrossOver and to watch our short tutorial video on how to download CrossOver in order to run Enterprise Architect please visit:

http://www.codeweavers.com/via/enterprsiearchitect10

July, 2013

Mr Ben Constable, Senior Analyst at Sparx Systems, shares helpful tips on preparing Enterprise Architect diagrams for presentation in your specification documents, technical standards, reports or other publications. In this webinar, you'll learn:

• Great tips on rapid visual modeling and creation of diagrams
• An effective approach to tidying diagrams - whether imported from other tools or even machine-generated
• How to choose the best diagram options and image formats to suit your needs

Register Today to be part of this exciting event.

If you missed any of our previous webinars, please visit:

http://www.sparxsystems.com/resources/webinar/webinar-series.html

The Sparx Systems website was temporarily offline due to issues experienced by the hosting provider.  We believe this issue has now been resolved.

Sparx Systems would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

CRaG Systems has scheduled a number of public courses in Johannesburg, South Africa teaching model-driven development with UML, BPMN and Enterprise Architect. The courses take place over the five days of one full working week on a regular basis at the CRaG Systems Training Centre in the heart of the central business district of Sandton in the north of Johannesburg.

Over the 5 days students will learn the use of Enterprise Architect for business analysis, requirements definition and system analysis using the most appropriate syntax for the job in hand. Students can choose which of the three sections they would like to attend enrolling for one, two or all three sections in any one week.

Industry best practice is taught for business process modelling, system use case modelling and system analysis at every appropriate level of abstraction based on the Business Process Modelling Notation v2.0 for business process modelling and on the Unified Modelling Language v2.4 for systems modelling. The techniques are taught within the context of a business process management (BPM), improvement or re-engineering strategy and a model-driven development process in a way that satisfies the needs of both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Enterprise Architect is used for the exercises throughout the course and the relevant details of the use of Enterprise Architect for modelling, reporting, traceability and change management are taught.

Currently scheduled dates:

• August 19th - 23rd 2013
• October 7th - 11th 2013
• November 18th - 22nd 2013
• January 27th - 31st 2014
• March 10th - 14th 2014
• May 5th - 9th 2014

For more information see the CRaG Systems BPMN and UML using Enterprise Architect Training Courses in Johannesburg page.

CRaG Systems' Johannesburg Training Centre

The Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE™) Consortium is an aviation focused professional group managed by the Open Group. Recently Sparx Systems contributed a collection of licenses to assist members in their development of the FACE Data Model. The Open Group, via its latest news release and the FACE website thanked Sparx Systems for their assistance:

"[Enterprise Architect has] been instrumental towards the development of the FACE Data Model and DoDAF 2.0 representations of FACE Enterprise Architecture products. In addition we appreciate their assistance in setting up a shared working environment for these efforts."