A workspace in a System Architect encyclopedia enables you to create team or project work areas that are self-contained, based on a common baseline. This makes it easy to view changes against a baseline and to merge multiple projects together to form a new baseline. A baselined workspace is read-only and can have multiple workspaces created from it. You can also model multiple scenarios (in a “to-be” state) from a common baseline (in a “as-is” state). Workspaces provide the flexibility to take projects down different routes from a common source while maintaining traceability.
Workspace administrators and users
The workspace functions users can execute depends on the role they are assigned on encyclopedias. A person assigned the Administrator role gains access to run System Architect Encyclopedia Manager (SAEM), to enable encyclopedias for workspaces, to create baselines and workspaces, and to enable Global Configurations. Someone assigned the User role can have the Manage Workspace menu hidden by System Architect Catalog Manager.
The tools available for you to perform workspace tasks depend on whether you are assigned the role of “Administrator” or “User” in System Architect Catalog Manager. Administrators can use SAEM, and Users can only use System Architect.
Tasks
Administrator
User
Promote a workspace into a Baseline
SAEM
n/a
Revert a Baseline back to a workspace (Provided it has no child workspaces)
SAEM
n/a
Delete a Workspace
SAEM
n/a
Enable Global Configuration
SAEM
n/a
Create Workspaces under a Baseline
SAEM
SA
Change a Workspace Name
SAEM
SA
Change a Workspace Description
SAEM
SA
Select a Workspace to use
SAEM
SA or SA XT
Working with workspaces
Note Enabling an encyclopedia for workspaces is irreversible, and requires exclusive encyclopedia access. Backup your encyclopedia before enabling it for workspaces.
The overall steps to create workspaces require that you enable an encyclopedia, create a baseline, and create a workspace. Each of these tasks is detailed in the sections below.
Enabling encyclopedia workspaces
This task requires that System Architect Encyclopedia Manager opens and closes the encyclopedia. Therefore, no encyclopedia objects can be in use, checked out, locked, and so on. During this process, dialogs may appear that require your input to proceed. For example, if the encyclopedia was created with an earlier version, a dialog asks whether you would like to upgrade the encyclopedia with the latest property set. Respond as required for the processes to complete.
To complete this task, System Architect has to open and close the encyclopedia successfully. To enable Workspaces on Encyclopedias, do this:
1 Select the encyclopedia to enable for Workspaces.
2 Click Tools > Encyclopedia Schema.
3 Click Workspace Schema, and then click OK.
A message appears to remind you that the operation is not reversible, and recommend that you backup the encyclopedia before proceeding: see Backup database.
4 Click OK.
The Workspace Schema dialog closes when the process completes and the encyclopedia is enabled for workspaces.
Creating a workspace baseline
Workspaces can only be created under a baseline. To create a baseline, proceed as follows:
1 Select an encyclopedia you have enabled for workspaces.
2 Click Tools > Manage Workspaces.
3 Click Baseline (read only workspace), and then click OK.
System Architect opens and closes the encyclopedia. When this process completes successfully the encyclopedia is enabled for workspaces.
Creating workspaces
1 Click Tools > Manage Workspaces.
Once a baseline is created for an encyclopedia, Create is enabled.
2 Click Root in the Encyclopedia Workspace field to rename the Workspace. Optionally, enter a Description in the Workspaces Properties field.
3 Click New.
You can only create a Workspace on a baselined encyclopedia.
4 Enter a name for the Workspace, and then click OK.
The Manage Workspaces dialog box closes. Reopen the dialog box to view the Workspace.
Deleting workspaces
Deleting a workspace requires exclusive access to the selected workspace and its children. When you delete a workspace, you delete the selected workspace, the changes it contains, and the child workspace trees.
1 From System Architect Encyclopedia Manager, click the List of databases on the server drop-down and select the encyclopedia with the workspace to delete.
2 Click Tools > Manage Workspaces.
3 Select a workspace from the Encyclopedia Workspaces field, and then click Delete.
Workspace options
After an initial Workspace has been created, an Administrator can manage Workspaces with the following options:
▪Promote a Workspace into a baseline: You can select a workspace under a baseline (MyRoot in the sample below), and convert it to a baseline. Once a workspace is promoted to a baseline, you can create child workspaces under it.
▪Revert a baseline back to a Workspace: If you promoted a workspace to a baseline, you can revert it back to a workspace, no child workspaces have been created. In the example below, the workspace named Workspace Created by SA User has been baselined. However, because it has no child workspaces, it can be reverted to a workspace. To revert the workspace, you select it (as shown below), and clear Baseline (read only workspace). Conversely, if you select the MyRoot baseline, which has child workspaces, Baseline (read only workspace) option is not enabled.
▪Delete a Workspace: Delete is only enabled when you select a workspace or baseline that can be deleted. You cannot delete a top-level baseline (MyRoot in the sample below). However, you can delete a baseline underneath a top-level baseline. This also deletes child workspace under the baseline you delete. In the example below, deleting the baseline Workspace Created by SA User also deletes the child workspaces Child WS 1.
Enabling global configurations
This task requires exclusive access to the System Architect encyclopedia.
To enable OLSC global configurations on Encyclopedias, complete these steps:
1 Select the encyclopedia to enable for global configurations.
2 Click Tools > Manage Workspaces.
3 Click Enable Global Configuration,
A message appears to remind you that the operation is not reversible, and recommends that you back up the encyclopedia before proceeding: see Backup database.
4 On the message box, press OK to continue or Cancel to turn off Global Configuration support.
5 Click OK on the dialog to store the current state of the Global Configuration integration.
6 If enabled, the administrator will now be able to contribute System Architect workspaces to CLM global configurations, and the user will be required to select a CLM Global Configuration for a Workspace before an OLSC link can be created.
7 The user can select a Global Configuration from the System Architect Tools > Select Global Configuration Context menu. When selected, the current context name will be added to the System Architect caption.
