UML Model Management

What is a UML Model?

A Model is a special type of package and belongs to a collection of packages; it has a ParentID of 0. This is the top level entry point to an Enterprise Architect project file. Each model is a root node in the Project Browser and can contain items such as Views and packages. The model contains the diagrams, elements, relationships and associated metadata that define the structure and function of a system or process. These components are organized into a hierarchy of packages, which help to group and manage related components. By iterating through all models, you can access all the elements within the project hierarchy. You can also use the Add New function to create a new model. A model can also be deleted, but remember that everything contained in the model is deleted as well.

In Model Management, you configure and maintain:

• Project files and data repositories
• Project sharing in team environments
• Version Control of model packages
• User Security in updating model packages and elements
• Auditing of model changes
• Baselining and differencing to capture and roll back changes
• The Traceability of model development
• Use of the Automation Interface and Add-Ins to automate and extend Enterprise Architect functionality
• The transfer of data between projects in similar or different databases
• Replication of models for remote sharing of development
• A Discussion Forum for distributing and discussing information concerning a model or project.

Project Files and Data Repositories

An Enterprise Architect project is stored in a data repository. Enterprise Architect enables you to work with .EAP files (a Microsoft JET database). In the Enterprise Architect Corporate edition, you can also work with DBMS repositories such as:

• SQL Server
• MySQL
• Oracle 9i, 10g or 11g
• PostgreSQL
• Adaptive Server Anywhere
• MSDE Server
• Progress OpenEdge

Information on how to get started with projects can be found in the Quick Start - Create a Project topic.

Project Sharing in UML Models

Enterprise Architect enables project sharing for efficient management of team development. You can create a replica of your project, make changes to it, then merge your changes back into the master project.

Version Control For UML Models

Enterprise Architect UML Model version control enables you to:

• Coordinate sharing of packages between users, with either read-only access or update access
• Save and retrieve a history of changes to packages.

To use version control in Enterprise Architect, you require a third-party source-code control application such as Subversion, CVS, or any other version control product that complies with the Microsoft Common Source Code Control standard.

User Security

UML Model User Security in Enterprise Architect provides a means of limiting access to update functions in a project. Elements can be locked per user or per group, and a password defined for login. Enterprise Architect offers two security policies:

• Standard, where each element is considered unlocked until specifically locked
• Rigorous, where each element is assumed to be locked until specifically unlocked.

Traceability

Traceability identifies the way a given process has been, or is to be, developed in a system. The process can be an internal, model-management process, where you monitor work by asking questions such as 'what work has been done to realize this Requirement or Use Case?', or a business or system process that is being modeled, where you ask questions such as 'what Requirements, Use Cases, Classes, Components, Test Cases and other elements define the implementation and deployment of this process?'

Audit UML Models

Auditing is a project-level feature, available in the Corporate Edition, that enables you to record model changes in Enterprise Architect. By enabling this option, model administrators can view a range of information regarding changes, such as:

• Who changed an element
• How many elements they changed
• When they changed the data
• What the previous values were, and
• What type of elements they changed.

Baselines and Differences

The Enterprise Architect Corporate edition provides a facility to 'Baseline' or snapshot a model branch in XMI format at a particular point in time, and store it within the model in compressed format. More than one baseline can be stored against a single Enterprise Architect package. Using Baselines, you can compare packages at the current and earlier stages of development, using the Compare (Diff) utility. The Compare utility is available in the Professional and Corporate editions of Enterprise Architect. It enables you to compare the current model with either an exported or a version-controlled Enterprise Architect XMI file on disk, as well as with a Baseline.

Project Data Transfer

Enterprise Architect enables you to transfer project data between project data repositories, row by row, table by table.

The Automation Interface

The Enterprise Architect Automation Interface provides a way of accessing the internals of Enterprise Architect models to, for example, perform repetitive tasks or produce custom reports. All development environments capable of generating ActiveX Com clients, such as Microsoft C# or Java, should be able to connect to the Automation Interface.

Add-Ins

Add-Ins are ActiveX COM objects that expose public Dispatch methods. The Enterprise Architect Add-In model builds on the features provided by the Automation Interface to enable you to extend the Enterprise Architect user interface and add functionality.

Project Discussion Forum

Enterprise Architect provides a Project Discussion Forum, which can be used to discuss the development and progress of a project or model. You can switch the forum to other projects, so you can monitor and compare developments in several projects at once.

Replication

In addition to sharing projects in real time over a network, Enterprise Architect also enables projects to be shared using replication. Replication is a simple process that enables data interchange between .EAP based repositories and is suitable for use in situations where many different users work independently. Modelers merge their changes into a Design Master only as required. It is recommended that a backup is carried out prior to replication.

Replication requires the use .EAP based repositories, and cannot be performed on repositories stored on a DBMS server.

See Also

• Upgrading Models
• Project Data Integrity
• Setting Up a Database Repository
• Model Maintenance
• Manage Views
• XMI Import and Export
• Team Development
• Spell Checking

• Reference Data