Panorama 360 for Insurance and Wealth Management has a new website with new offerings and services. InsuranceFrameworks.com offers the most complete set of reference material, called Panorama 360, to the Insurance and Wealth Management industry, globally. Panorama 360 allows organizations to plan, design, develop and manage organizations, processes and technology.

On the website, we provide an import file to Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect with Enterprise Capability model, Enterprise Business Architecture Framework, information Models, an Organizational Integration map and more than 35 core business processes. Not only do we have an import file for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, we have added online courses that explain how Panorama 360 works so you can get the most out of your Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect tool. 

1. Architecture Frameworks (4.5 hours)
2. Business Process Models (4.5 hours)

The Panorama 360 Enterprise Business Architecture Framework and Business Process Models courses are also offered live-online or on your premises. 

For more information, go to https://www.insuranceframeworks.com. I can also be contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Join my network on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierre-gagn%C3%A9-fcip-fpaa-077701/.

You can also join the Insurance Frameworks Group on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7418443/ to get the latest news.

Images Assets and Custom Diagrams in EA 15

Using images to add relevance to any architecture diagram is a very common practice. Enterprise Architect has always supported modellers to set ‘Alternate Image’ or ‘Default Image’ for elements to create such diagrams.  However the users have always sought for an ability to manage a set of image assets in a catalogue and reuse it across multiple diagrams.

The New approach in EA 15 to manage and reuse images in diagrams is a significant enhancement. The ‘Image Asset’ element lets users create a model item to store an image. These items can then be used to apply overlays on other model elements.

Image Assets

The Image Asset images can be used as alternative images in place of the standard UML notation for elements on diagrams. They can also be used in documentation by inserting hyperlinks to the Image Asset element. When a report is generated, the hyperlinked Image Asset element is rendered using its 'owned image'

To create an image asset, Select the 'Artifacts' section in toolbox | select 'Image Asset' | click on the diagram, or Drag an 'Image Asset' Artifact from the toolbox onto a diagram.

Figure 1 Image Assets Catalogue

Custom Diagram

The new ‘Custom Diagram’ option in EA 15 allows users to create a highly customizable, graphic-rich diagram that is on-par with any modern drawing tools.  Custom Diagram enables the most options to use the Image Assets.

Using Image Assets

The Image Assets from the repository can be used to perform the following actions

• Set as Icon – As an icon of an Existing Element
• Set as Alternate Image – As an alternate Image on an existing element
• Add as element with Icon
• Add as element with Image
• Add as link

Figure 2 Options to Use Image Assets

Set As Icon

Use Image Asset to  set it as an icon for an existing element or a new element (This is my favourite!).  In the previous versions, users must rely on shapescripts to achieve such visualization.

Figure 3 Set Image as Icon

Set as Alternate Image

You can also use the Image Asset to set it as an alternate image for an existing element or create a new element with the image as alternate image.

Figure 4 Set Image as Alternate Image

Updating Image Asset

There are two key benefits in using the ‘Image Assets’

1. Ability to drag and drop from project browser to apply image as an icon or alternate image
2. Ability to update the image asset and also cascade the change across all diagrams where the image asset is used

You can ascertain the impact of modifying a Image Asset by using ‘Find In All Diagrams’ (Element Usage, similar to any other element usage)

Figure 5 Image Asset – Usage

Summary

Using the new enhanced ‘Custom Diagram’ and ‘Image Asset’ of EA 15, I’ve created a deployment diagram (below) which was in-par with a graphic rich diagram created using any drawing tool, at the same time retaining the benefits of a modelling repository.

Figure 6 Prolaborate Architecture Diagram created using EA 15 Image Assets

Exploring Enterprise Architect through video

I have had the pleasure of working with Phil Chudley over the last 8+ years at Dunstan Thomas Consulting & last year we were working very closely on the online training project. While putting together the various materials that make up our online content we recorded a series of helpful video clips to supplement the materials and we thought we would now share these with the wider EA community.

In these videos Phil Chudley, Principal Consultant & OMG Certified UML Professional at DT Consulting, will be walking us through the Sparx Systems modelling tool, Enterprise Architect.  This series of videos will talk us through the basics from the portals screen right up to some of the more specialised modelling functionality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iZuGbsHPvs  

If you can't wait to view all of our videos from this series please visit our YouTube channel ... and don't forget to subscribe!

New training course from Dunstan Thomas Consulting

Course design by Phil Chudley

Who Should Attend?

This course is suitable to anyone who models ArcGIS Geodatabases and wishes to create both a visual representation of the ArcGIS Geodatabase and an XML ArcGIS workspace file for input to other tools such as ArcCatalog.

What will I learn?

Upon completion of the course you will have learned the following:

• How Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect supports ArcGIS Geodatabase Modelling
• How to configure Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect for ArcGIS Geodatabase Modelling
• How to structure a model repository for efficient ArcGIS Geodatabase Modelling using libraries of re-usable elements
• The practical skills of creating and maintaining ArcGIS Geodatabase Modelling via a worked example
• Productivity tips and tricks when using Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect
• How to validate an ArcGIS Geodatabase Model
• How to import and export a ArcGIS Geodatabase Modelling via XML
• How to import a ArcGIS Geodatabase Model created in Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect into ArcCatalog

Course Content

• Overview of Enterprise Architect and its support for ArcGIS Geodatabase Modelling
  • Practical – Configuring Enterprise Architect for ArcGIS Geodatabase modelling
• Development of an example:
  • Design;
  • Practical use of Enterprise Architect to create an ArcGIS Geodatabase model
  • Productivity Aids when use Enterprise Architect
  • Capturing ArcGIS data within Enterprise Architect using ArcGIS tagged values
  • Dealing with relationships
• Validation
  • Validating the model using the ArcGIS validation script
• Implementation
  • Exporting the model to ArcGIS Workspace XML
  • Importing to the ArcGIS workspace XML to ArcCatlaog

Pre-requisites

It is assumed that all attendees for this course will be familiar with the ArcGIS Geodatabase Meta-Model. Previous knowledge of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is desirable but not essential.

If you would like to know more about our training & consulting services then please visit our website or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..