EA in Team Environment

[orcus]

I have already posted this in the "General forum" so my apologies for the crosspost but I think this message is more appropriate here.

In a large team environment, I am wondering how teams using EA are handling concurrent changes.  

I am using the security, locking and package control in EA with my team (about 10 members to grow to a 25 member team) with most of them using EA in various phases of the project.

My questions is - Is there any way to improve "Reload current Model"?  

Here is a typical scenario:  
If user A locked an existing package and  changed an element (e.g. added a new method to the Employee class), and user B is exploring the same package (in a readonly view) and wants to print the diagram with the employee class out, he will probably print the older version unless he reloads the model. I think this method is very error-prone.

Can a new feature be  added to prompt the user with a message if he is trying to enter a package that has been modified by another user?  

I'd like to know how other EA teams are handling this.  

Thanks in advance for your time...


regards,
orcus

[mbc]

Hi Orcus

In this case, the user B will not see the changes in the diagram:
1. User B opens a diagram
2. User A makes changes to a class in the diagram

In this case, user B will see the changes, because EA accesses the database every time an element is opened:
1. User A makes changes to a class in the diagram
2. User B opens a diagram

Is is not so that an EA user needs to Reload Model in order to see any changes. The Reload Model feature is mostly for updating the project browser tree.

I hope this clears things up a little.

Mikkel

[orcus]

Mikkel-

Thanks for the response.

In the two cases you mentioned, I was looking for a solution to the first one where User B already has the model file open.

I am not sure if the "Reload current Model" is just to update the project browser, coz it does have the added benefit of refreshing any open models with the most recent changes including any changes to elements.

In anyway, I think it would be a great new feature - if everytime I expand a package, EA could pop up a box notifying me if the package elements have been altered. This way I can force a reload. (...this however will not fix the issue if I am exploring a package that is being modified at that particular instant by another user.)

I hope Geoffrey is reading this thread....  


Orcus

[mbc]

Hi again

Note that I wrote "diagram", not "model". Let me be more specific:

1. User B opens the model
2. User A makes modifications
3. User B opens a diagram/package/element within the model.

In this case, user B will see the most recent version.

Mikkel

[orcus]

Mikkel-

Thanks again for the quick response.

Interestingly, as User B, I did try opening a diagram (and tried opening package) in build 613 and I am not sure if it updated the diagram.

I just got the new build 618 and will try with that.

regards,
Orcus

[mbc]

I have just verified that it works. I am using build 618, but this has always been the way that EA has worked.
Note that the diagram will not be updated while you are viewing it. You have to open the diagram to see new changes.

In my little test, I opened a model, had my colleague move a class in a diagram, I opened that diagram and saw the class in the new position. I opened a different diagram, had my colleague add an operation to a class in the first diagram, I opened that diagram again and saw the new operation.

Mikkel