Time aware modelling - Clone structure as new version

[Modesto Vega]

I have just used "Clone structure as new version" on package and got some unexpected results.

• All package elements have been moved to the new package but the only diagram remains within the cloned package
• All changes to the new version impact the diagram in cloned package - i.e., the diagram no longer reflects the original state

Somehow, this is not what I was expecting. I was expecting the elements in the cloned package to remain in their original location, both the elements and diagrams to be copied to the new package with some sort of relationship tracing them back to their original versions.

Have I misunderstood something or have too high expectations?

P.S.: Using v 16.1.1628 65-bit.

[wivel]

Hi

The behavior you expect is the behavior I would expect too, and also the way I see it documented by Sparx. I will do a deeper dive into time aware models for a client this weekend and see what I experience. 

Or could be because you are using the 65-bit version 

Henrik

[Modesto Vega]

Well spotted Henrik, fun typo, 65-bit edition and very appropriate to what I am finding.

This help page is not accurate https://sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/16.1/modeling_fundamentals/time_aware_models.html and INMHO it is not very informative.

Image 2 is not correct, the dialog is different and allows typing both a name and a version.

I have also managed to achieve what I wanted but a) I am not yet sure what I have done differently, and 2) I don't know what I did wrong in the first place. It is essentially the opposite as my OP, no elements were copied, only the diagram(s) were copied, then I can use the Clone Element in the diagram to replace existing elements with new improved elements, with Sparx maintaining traceability between versions.

The only trouble is that I would have to reproduce my steps to figure out were I went wrong the first time and how I got it right the 2nd time.

[wivel]

I have finally had time to play around with it, and have only managed to achieve what you mention here:

It is essentially the opposite as my OP, no elements were copied, only the diagram(s) were copied, then I can use the Clone Element in the diagram to replace existing elements with new improved elements, with Sparx maintaining traceability between versions.

I did a demo to some of my clients business people, that had a hard time comprehend that you had to clone each element before editing it, just after you had cloned the full structure. It seems more logical, that all elements are cloned, and changes you make after cloning the struture, only affects the elements in the, well, cloned structure.

Or are we missing the point?

Henrik

[BobM]

I used to list a series of bugs for it like simple stuff as it also duplicating legends which was fixed early on.

Release Notes for Enterprise Architect v16.1 (Build 1623)
17th of January 2023

• Ensure Diagram Legend objects are not duplicated with a Shallow Diagram copy or Diagram Clone

Release Notes for Enterprise Architect v16.1 (Build 1626)
14th of June 2023
Time Aware Modeling

• Diagram Swimlanes & Matrix restored in cloned Diagrams
• Element Clone version prompt read-only state removed
• External Document Artifact files stored internally are copied with element clones
• BPSim Artifact clones now preserve internal configuration files
• Cloned Sequence and Collaboration diagrams now include clones of original relationships

Yes, you need to clone each element for which the cloned element gains a new version number
What we primarily use it for is to go backwards in time for implementation phases and delete/add elements which aren't included in the later phases.

[wivel]

Thanks for the clarification and explanation. Glad to see that you have helped making time aware modelling usable.

How did you manage to 'consolidate' a version, in lack of a better term? When you had a 'to-be' version that had been approved and should form the baseline of the future 'as-is'? Would be nice to be able to merge al changes into a baseline.

In the EA summit 2023 keynote presentation it is mentioned that EA 17 will have time aware modelling extended and timelines for model changes. Seems interesting. (https://www.eaglobalsummit.com/sessions/sparx-systems-a-year-in-review/ roughly 49 mins in.

Henrik

[wivel]

Hi

Trying to get the time aware models to work on BPMN 2.0 diagrams but without much luck.

My structure for BPMN diagrams follow the structure imposed by EA, that is:
- Type:Package <Business Process Name>
--- Type:BusinessProcess <Business Process Name>
----- Type: BPMN Diagram <Business Process Name>
----- Type: BMPM element 1
----- Type: BPMN Element x

Creating a business process in EA will always create the process as a placeholder/container for all its elements, much in the same way as you would use a Package.

'Clone structure as new version’ works on Package Level, but it seems to me, that all elements to be cloned must be directly under the package to be cloned and have the diagram there as well to work. When I clone the package containing the business process, I only get a new package and nothing under it, i.e. no newly cloned diagram, where I can clone elements from.

If I add a diagram directly under the package containing the business process and add the business process to it as a link, I get a diagram in the cloned package, but since it contains only the business process element, I still can't clone the actual elements of the business process.

Seems there either is a bug here, allowing cloning to be performed only on the first level, or a missing the possibility to clone a business process, directly from the business process element.

What have I missed here?

Henrik

[Paolo F Cantoni]

Hi Henrik,
You may not have missed anything.  Eve has confirmed that BPMN is implemented using quite old technology and, consequently, is not "aware" of some of these new-fangled things...

But I'll leave it to Eve to confirm or deny more officially.

Paolo

[philchudley]

Hi

Sparx EA does not enforce the structure you describe. By default when you add a BPMN 2.0 diagram to a package you should see a dialog asking whether you want to

a) Create the diagram as a child of "model" element (as you have done)

OR

b) Create the diagram directly in the package (this is what I do)

If you choose option b) then Time Aware modelling should work fine.

BUT there is a checkbox Do Not Show this Dialog Again (or similar wording), if in the past you have checked this, then that would explain why you always get option a)

I am unsure how to "uncheck" the Do Not Dialog Again option, but maybe someone else here has that answer 

Of course, having created your structure, as per option a), you could always move things around to get option b).

Phil

[Geert Bellekens]

The structure you are using is the best practice for modelling BPMN.

The business process owns all the elements used in the diagram as it should.

Time aware modelling doesn't work for this type of modelling. You can't use activies from another business process as the activities should be owned by the lane that is owned by the business process.

I personally don't use time aware modelling at all, as it creates a mess of duplicates of elements in different version.

Geert

[Modesto Vega]

I have finally had time to play around with it, and have only managed to achieve what you mention here:

It is essentially the opposite as my OP, no elements were copied, only the diagram(s) were copied, then I can use the Clone Element in the diagram to replace existing elements with new improved elements, with Sparx maintaining traceability between versions.

I did a demo to some of my clients business people, that had a hard time comprehend that you had to clone each element before editing it, just after you had cloned the full structure. It seems more logical, that all elements are cloned, and changes you make after cloning the struture, only affects the elements in the, well, cloned structure.

Or are we missing the point?

Henrik

I don't think you are missing the point.

Just to sum up, Clone Structure as New Version only clones the diagrams and not the elements. I do prefer this approach, instead of a full clone, elements plus diagrams, because it easily allows leveraging some of the gap analysis functionality - i.e., if elements have been introduced, eliminated, and annotate any changes. The above works well with UML, including MDGs based on UML, and ArchiMate.

[wivel]

Thanks guys.

Looking forward to see if the Timeline functionality slated for EA 17 can be useful.

Henrik

[beredis]

However, based on your description, it appears that only the package elements were moved to the new package, and the diagram remained in the original package. Moreover, any changes made to the new version affected the original diagram, which is not the intended outcome. Autodesk Engineering Collection 2024 offer.

This could be a bug or an issue specific to the version you are using (v 16.1.1628 64-bit, assuming the “65-bit” was a typo). It’s also possible that there might be additional steps or settings that need to be configured correctly to achieve the expected result.

[Modesto Vega]

However, based on your description, it appears that only the package elements were moved to the new package, and the diagram remained in the original package. Moreover, any changes made to the new version affected the original diagram, which is not the intended outcome.

The trouble is that I cannot replicate the original behaviour, and don't have the time to see if I can figure out what happened.

[Modesto Vega]

Just an additional thought, the only thing I can think of is that I pressed Ok without changing anything on the 1st dialog, ended up with 2 packages with the same name and version number, and lost track of which one was the original one.

If this was the case, this is a user experience that Sparx Systems should definitely improve. It should not be possible to clone a package with the same name and version number.