Automatically creating a Business Reference Model diagram

To use the Diagram Hierarchy utility to create a Reference Model hierarchy, you must first create a blank diagram of the appropriate Reference Model Type so that you can provide the Build Diagram Hierarchy utility with a starting point at the top of the hierarchy.

Note These instructions are of the tutorial for iRMA. For overall help on creating the BRM Reference Model diagram, and using it to align your architecture with the BRM and publish reports, see Using the Business Reference Model (BRM).

1 Right-click Diagrams in the Encyclopedia Explorer, and then click New.

3 Provide a name for the new diagram, for example, “Business Reference Model Hierarchy”, and then click OK.

4 Select the BRM symbol from the diagram toolbar and put one on the diagram.

By default it is named BRM_1; you can name it BRM, or anything that you like. This symbol (and its underlying definition) serves as the top of the BRM hierarchy that you can automatically build, so it makes most sense to call it “BRM”.

5 Double-click the symbol to open its definition (or right-mouse click and choose Edit).

6 Click Choices for Child Business Areas to open the Select and Drag dialog.

The Select and Drag dialog lists all Business Area definitions already populated in the repository. These were brought into the repository when you imported the latest FEA XML document (see Importing the OMB reference models).

Note You must create a parent BRM symbol because the OMB XML does not provide an overall parent for the Business Areas.

7 Select all of the Business Area definitions in the Select and Drag dialog, and drag and drop them into the Child Business Area property field of the BRM definition.

8 Close the Select and Drag window, and click OK to close the BRM definition.

9 Select the BRM symbol on the diagram workspace, and choose Tools > iRMA Utilities > Build Diagram Hierarchy.

The diagram is built symbol-by-symbol until no more child instances are found. Depending on your computer’s speed, this can take several minutes or longer.

Once the diagram is completely built, you can choose to display the hierarchy vertically, horizontally, or in block format.

1 Right-click the top symbol of the hierarchy (that is, the BRM symbol), and then click Arrange Children Horizontally, Arrange Children Vertically, or Arrange Children as a Block.

2 You can choose any symbol of the hierarchy and perform the same commands to lay out its children horizontally, vertically, or as a block.