Messages

1

Suggestions and Requests / Re: crappy UI or Why I hate EA

« on: January 08, 2007, 01:25:42 pm »

Wow, Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  Have you tried rationals product? I have and its much worse than EA.

2

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Highlight elements in project browser

« on: May 03, 2007, 01:21:38 pm »

My vote as well.  

3

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Settings for default connector labels' display

« on: November 03, 2006, 06:41:58 am »

Count my vote for this as well.

4

Suggestions and Requests / RTF Filters/Conditionals

« on: September 06, 2006, 10:26:18 am »

We need more filter options other than include or exclude.

Would like the ability to filter elements for inclusion or exclusion, etc.. by equal to a value, <, or > a value.

Would also like some sort of conditional statements in the RTF template so formatting of the output could be done (i.e.   If stereotype = XXXX then output this line or paragraph, Else output this line or paragraph  ENDIF.)

We need a way to use conditional statments to control what gets included or excluded in the RTF document and also conditional statements that can be used to control the formatting of the output.

Regards,
Jeff Weedman

5

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Move an element to a package

« on: November 09, 2006, 07:16:53 am »

Fourthed  

6

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Branches only seem to exist at root

« on: November 01, 2006, 07:32:32 am »

I for one would not mind some type of change on the "+" to indicate that there are suborninate branches/packages in that tree that are under version control so that I would know to drill down deeper in that branch to get to right level should I need to checkout or merger the model.

Our model is complicated as well with many subordinate levels.

Weedman

7

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Relationship Matrix

« on: November 03, 2006, 06:39:27 am »

I like this idea too, but would also like to have that control on output of the RTF documents.

Weedman

8

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Linked Diagram - packages

« on: October 25, 2006, 08:49:21 am »

I agree with Bruce, and eagerly awaiting the build which this is included in.

Jeff

9

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Suggestion: Rich text editor for the Notes fie

« on: October 02, 2006, 09:30:06 am »

We could use the editing capabilities in notes as well.

10

Suggestions and Requests / Re: What's in a diagram

« on: September 25, 2006, 03:02:02 pm »

I would find this useful as well. We currently are creating those so called project views of diagrams which is now additional overhead involved in making sure project views are aligned with the overall enterprise view of diagrams.

Besides knowing, by diagram, what connectors and elements are linked, I'd like the selection of an elements appearance when changed (ie background color for a use case) to reside with the diagram and not reside with the element and end up changing on every diagram that element is on, on change for that diagram.

11

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Is the RTF generator the way to go for EA?

« on: May 24, 2006, 10:27:40 am »

I tototally agrre with Julian.

I need to click on a diagram and genereate a report based on the contents of the diagram.

Another issue I have is needing to reormat the document after it is created in another tool (ie word). This is like printing somethingthing out to reneter in another system.

I also need the ability to make some descisions in the template for formating (ie If the element status = 'NEW") so I can change the document format based on element types, etc...

We are evaluating EA and these documentation issues will keep us from adopting the tool and force us to use a compeitors product.

12

Suggestions and Requests / Generation of Use Cases via Activity Diagrams

« on: May 10, 2006, 04:29:29 pm »

What do we use a modeling tool for?

I would venture to say to visually model the requirements, analysis, and the design of an application or system. We do this because a visual representation not subjected to personal preferences of semantics, and format as textual documents are. Words have different meaning to everyone and represent different visions of what is being stated. While a visual representation reduces or eliminates the various visual means by more accurately presenting what the author intended.

With that said our software process no longer creates textual use cases. Rather we create activity diagrams for all use cases. We then generate the textual use cases from the activity diagrams. This gives us a standardized look to the use cases, which also allows for standardizing the level of detail and content in the use cases. These generated use cases are what we have the Business sign off on.

Everyone else in IT now uses the model for requirements and basis the downstream UML artifacts on the activity diagrams in the model.

I have been trying to implement this methodology of activity diagrams and generate use cases as a report of the model at SRP where EA is the modeling tool we wish to use. I have successfully done this with Rose and SoDA but am having difficult time with the report generator in EA.

I have read a lot of forum requests to SPARX about various reporting needs and must say they all fall in line with what I need to create use case reports from activity diagrams. Almost all the responses are from developers wondering why we are asking to have filtering of selected elements, not repeating of headings like PRECONDTION when you have more than one of them, etc…

I really like EA much better than ROSE but need this reporting ability beefed up so I can get enterprise wide adoption of EA and my methodology at SRP.

Who can help me get this resolved or are there plans or some way I can use say crystal reports to go against the EA tables in the database?

13

Suggestions and Requests / Make "View Code" work on partial class?

« on: April 12, 2006, 08:43:10 pm »

I posted the message below on the general board, where another user confirmed that he had the same problem in C# and suggested that I post it here as a suggestion.  I guess the suggestion is to force EA to look in the file linked to the class we are trying to view.
------------------------------------------------------------------
I am using EA 6.1.789 and MDG Integration for VS2005.

Most of the UserControls I build in VB.NET have auto-generated partial classes in files named something like MyControl.Designer.vb.  The code I write goes into files named MyControl.vb.  These show up as two different classes of the same name in EA 6.1.789.

When I click "View Code" on the context menu in EA it works fine if I am trying to view the code for the EA class generated from MyControl.Designer.vb.   But if I try to "View Code" for the EA class generated from MyControl.vb (which is almost always what I want to do), EA takes me to the editor for  MyControl.Designer.vb in VS anyway.  If I try to "View Code" for a specific operation in the MyControl.vb class -- one that doesn't exist in MyControl.Designer.vb -- EA tells me it can't find it.

I have checked the file names in the class properties and they point to the correct files.  Any idea what I am doing wrong here?  I'd really like to be able to go directly to the code like I used to.

14

General Board / Re: System Glossary Type

« on: April 16, 2007, 05:34:25 am »

My team would also like to have more than two types of glossary entries, and be able to include in the RTF documents one or more of the glossary types.

15

General Board / Re: RTF documetnation keyword filter

« on: November 10, 2006, 11:47:06 am »

Do not know of an alternative. I too have requested filtering and/or conditional selections for RTF output as have many others in the forum.

I hope that SPARX will undertake this endeavor as more and more companies start to use EA for all aspects of the SDLC. The reporting of the requirements and functional design needs to be output in RTF format (prose of some sort) for end user acceptance/sign off. Its not enough now to just concentrate on the ability to output code and the class structures that developers and architects are concentrationg on.

Our use of activity diagrams to model use cases in EA rather than writing textual use cases still requires a textual output for use case sign off by the business/end users. The current RTF generator is very limited in its output and abilities to include elements and details not in the package being reported on (ie elements linked into diagrams of package being documented).

Regards,
Jeff Weedman