Constrain model elements available

[Brad MacQuarrie AI]

I'd like to roll EA out to all of the architects and sous-architects in my org, but I would like to constrain the types of diagrams, objects and relationships available to a base class of users.  I have been reading about model wizard, templates, profiles, MDG technologies, etc but I haven't been able to land on what the preferred approach to do what I want to do is.

The last tool I used was SOftware AG's Aris and it has a simple feature of creating a constrained meta-model and locking the model repository to use that metamodel.

Any advice from the EA community?

[qwerty]

Well, the best approach is likely an MDG where you define diagram types that are edited by different groups. The diagrams can then limit the elements/connectors to what your choice is.

I'm currently writing on a book about MDG usage in EA. It has "some" content but at the moment it's not in stage I'd like to publish. If you are interested I can send you a copy. My mail address can be found below (following the ad logo).

q.

[Glassboy]

The impulse to roll out any kind of tooling and cripple it should always be resisted.  It is never the solution to the problem you think you have.

The answer to your problem is to create an organisation MDG with the diagram types, documentation templates, and standard models that can be created by wizard.  But this has to be backed by your architectural review process.  If people don't follow the process, don't approve their designs until they do.

[KP]

I would like to constrain the types of diagrams, objects and relationships available to a base class of users.

Perhaps it's as simple as going Extensions > MDG Technologies and disabling the technologies you don't want.

[Sunshine]

Perhaps it's as simple as going Extensions > MDG Technologies and disabling the technologies you don't want.

If you want to enforce that you'll need to set that up in the image of the Sparx EA app with the enterprise application deployment system you use an make the registry entry or where ever the setting is stored to be immutable. That way its all set up ready for the architects. Other wise you are going to have to get each architect to enable/disable the MDG's.

[qwerty]

Just clear the stuff in EA's program folder named MDGTechnologies. Would be nice to have a setup to limit that number, but a post-setup script works as well.

q.

[Uffe]

And just to pile on,

EA isn't the tool to use if metamodel constraints are critical. In EA, modellers will always be able to work around such constraints with very little effort.

In addition to the above advice, you can restrict users' permissions in a repository (referred to as "project security" in the help), but that restricts functionality (eg document generation), not the metamodel.

You can also restrict whole sections of the GUI using Workspaces and Commands (under the View menu); again, this restricts functionality rather than modelling language.

HTH,

/Uffe