Work item linking in GC context in ELM 7.0.2

In my earlier post welcoming IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) 7.0.2, I summarized some key changes in 7.0.2 to how the system resolves links between work items in IBM Engineering Workflow Management (EWM) and versioned artifacts in a global configuration context. If you are using global configurations and linking work items, or plan to do so in future, it is critical to understand the changes and new system behaviour, and update your processes — and users — accordingly.

Nick Crossley (esteemed ELM architect) and I recently published the first in a planned series of Jazz.net articles exploring these changes in more detail: Work item linking in a global configuration context: Overview. I’ve included some key points in this post, but encourage you to read the complete article.

Highlights of what is new and different for work item linking in 7.0.2:

EWM work item editors provide a configuration context menu, which determines the target configuration for outgoing links to versioned artifacts.

Work items are not versioned, and don’t have any configuration context. However, in 7.0.2 you can set the configuration context menu in EWM to define the global configuration (GC) for resolving links to versioned artifacts.

When you set the GC context, all the work item’s outgoing links resolve in that context – regardless of any Link Type/Attribute mappings or release associations to global configurations, which EWM used for link resolution in previous releases. When you work in DOORS Next, Engineering Test Management (ETM), or Rhapsody Model Manager (RMM), the system still uses those settings to determine and resolve incoming work item links; EWM now uses only the configuration context menu setting. (Note: each EWM project area has an option to enable the configuration context menu; if not set, links from the work item resolve as if no configuration is specified.)

Link EWM releases to global configurations in the GCM application, instead of in EWM.

Before 7.0.2, you associated releases and global configurations in EWM where you defined the releases. In 7.0.2, you define those relationships in the GCM application, where global configurations now have a defined link type for releases. (If you have existing associations in EWM, there is a utility in 7.0.2 to move them to the GCM application.)

You can link multiple releases to a global configuration, and multiple global configurations can link to the same release.

Prior to 7.0.2, the GC-release mapping was one-to-one, which could be problematical if you wanted work item links to resolve in more than one global configuration context – for example, global baselines, different versions, different levels of hierarchy, or personal streams. Now you can link a release to any relevant global configuration, and a global configuration can link to multiple releases, for example, if you have multiple teams working in the context of a broad and deep configuration hierarchy. When you derive a new global configuration from an existing one, release links are initialized to match the parent. You can also define predecessor relationships between releases to easily include work item links from earlier related releases without having to specify each release every time.

You can filter work item links in Report Builder reports.

By default, LQE includes work items in all global configuration scopes: if a work item links to a versioned artifact in one configuration context, that link would appear in reports for all contexts that include that artifact. In 7.0.2, you can set an option in your report that filters linked work items based on the global configuration-release mappings. Set it in all reports where you want filtering to occur.

If your teams link work items and versioned artifacts in global configurations, ensure you understand the new capabilities and behaviours in 7.0.2 and the impact to administrators and end users. Educate your users on the correct configuration contexts to use and what to expect when creating, viewing, and navigating links in a configuration context.

For more details, please read the Jazz.net article in full, and watch for more in the series! (I’ll announce them here too.)

A 2020 holiday gift: ELM 7.0.2

IBM Engineering Lifeycle Management (ELM) 7.0.2 became available today, 11 Dec 2020, just in time for the holidays! You can read all the details in the New & Noteworthy on jazz.net, but I thought I’d highlight some of the new capabilities that I’m particularly pleased about.

One area of focus for the ELM team has been consistency across the suite, starting with some of the UI changes you’ve seen in recent releases. Progress continues, and there are a couple of great features that aid with efficiency and ease of use that have been implemented across the suite:

• Drag-and-drop linking within and across applications. Yes, you read that right. You can now drag a requirement, or a work item, or a test artifact, and drop it on to another requirement or work item or test artifact. You can also drag multiple artifacts. In Engineering Workflow Management (EWM), you can drag between work items and plans as well. Having spent far too much time using the link creation dialog to link requirements to multiple test cases, one at a time, I’m delighted that this capability is now available and at a suite level. Oh, and you can also copy and paste-as-link as well.

Dragging requirement links to a test artifact

• “Smart people picker” (user selection dialog). In previous releases, when you selected users for an attribute like owner or to subscribe them to a work item, the selection dialog exposed all the Jazz users. Not only could that take a while to search (especially with a large user base), the search didn’t take access control into account, so results included users that were not valid to select. The new people picker is available across ELM applications, and it does take access control into account. Not only that, it automatically populates the 10 most recent users you’ve chosen, hopefully reducing searches. It also shows users already selected, so you can add and remove users all at once. Another time-saver.

The new smart people picker

• Logging out actually logs you out of all the ELM applications. As someone who frequently has multiple tabs open with different applications, I’d frequently log out of one and discover I was still logged in elsewhere. (If you’re trying to switch users for a demo, that can be quite frustrating!) Now logging off in one application takes affect across all of them.

Another significant change for those using global configuration management is how links between work items and versioned artifacts resolve in a global configuration (GC) context. The system still uses the relationship between GCs and EWM Releases; however, you now define those relationships on the GC side, in the GCM. With this change, you can now associate a single GC with multiple EWM Releases, which eliminates a significant limitation in earlier releases. In EWM, you can set the GC context to determine resolution of links to versioned artifacts. (Note that work items are still not versioned and have no local configuration. )

GCM query showing GCs mapped to Releases

EWM with configuration context setting

You can reflect these associations in your Report Builder reports, excluding work items with versioned-artifact links that aren’t applicable in the selected GC context; in previous releases, reports included linked work items regardless of the configuration context. For more details on these changes and how to take advantage of them, see the New & Noteworthy for the GCM application and for Jazz Reporting Service (JRS). And stay tuned for more details here too 🙂

Speaking of reporting, JRS now lets you choose your default report grouping (by tag, by folder, by owner..). And if you’ve ever searched across a lot of groupings, you’ll be happy to know that search now includes collapsed groupings – meaning you don’t have to open the containing group in order for search to find hits within it. Publishing (PUB) enabled selective sharing of schedules and generated documents. DOORS Next now includes template for generating a configuration comparison document, and the audit history report works for modules.

There are many other improvements both large and small; you can read all the New & Noteworthy entries for the full scoop. Automotive Compliance 1.0.2 is also being released, featuring improved support for functional safety and ISO 26262 (read more here).

And for those of you who want to be on the cutting edge, there are several technical previews you might want to check out (in a non-production environment, of course):

• JRS reporting using Lifecycle Query Engine (LQE) for source control configurations and files and Rhapsody Model Manager artifacts through Lifecycle Query Engine (LQE).
• Simplified Create button, included as a preview in DOORS Next 7.0.2, and intended eventually for use across ELM applications to create any ELM artifact type.
• Multi-component test plans in Engineering Test Management, meaning you can link and reuse test artifacts across ETM components. You must install on a dedicated non-production server to try this out. See the Multi-component Tech Preview wiki for details including how to provide your feedback to influence the future of this capability.

While you might not have time to deploy 7.0.2 before the holidays, I encourage you to read up on all the new capabilities in anticipation of putting this gift to good use in the new year. Enjoy!