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Topic Title: Methods for linking to baselines?
Topic Summary: What is the best method for linking to baselines?
Created On: 20-Jul-2005 23:58
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 20-Jul-2005 23:58
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Greg Lacefield

Posts: 13
Joined: 23-Oct-2003

Hello,

I would like to solicit input from the well-versed and long-experienced DOORS community on a problem that I'm sure others have wrestled with and addressed, especially those of you that operate in a high-process environment.

THE SCENARIO

We have a specification baselined at Level 1 (systems) and have written requirements against it at Level 2 (software) but not yet baselined that. We now want to trace the current version of L2 to the L1 baseline (not the current L1), since that's what we must hold to for this development phase. Prior to L2 entering formal review, we will baseline it and require that the outlinks to L1 will both carry into L2's new baseline and also be preserved in the current version. Both specs will continue to evolve and be re-baselined (usually L1 first, then L2), and we want the object-to-object relationships to propagate from baseline to baseline for each. We also want to be able to view the existing links from a current L2 to the latest baselined L1 at any time, and in fact that should be the only set of outlinks in the current L2, i.e., to the latest L1 baseline.

THE OPTIONS
  • Baseline sets -- I've read horror stories in these forums about baseline sets. Will these do what we need? Are there more details available beyond what the Managing DOORS and DXL reference manual offer?

  • Link by Attribute -- does it make sense to add attribute(s) to the L2 modules and track links that way for replication between the baseline and current? How would this work over time?

  • Directly linking to baseline -- Can we link from L2 to an L1 baseline directly, then baseline L2 (carrying the outlinks to the L1 baseline along with it), and expect that when we trace from L1 along inlinks that we'll trace to the baselined L2? How are links then propagated to the next iteration of L1?

  • Combination of the above -- ?
Are any of you in this predicament or have you managed to solve the issue with any combination of these, custom scripts, or other solutions? Or, do you have recommendations for us?

Like always, your input is most welcome, encouraged, and appreciated.

Regards,

Greg
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 25-Aug-2005 22:14
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Santosh Vishwanath

Posts: 5
Joined: 27-Jun-2005

Greg, Your best option in this case would be to link L2 to the baseline of L1 (in that direction). Yes you can link to a baseline directly. Remember to link, you need edit access only to L2 not L1. Once you baseline L2 you can then still preserve the links. I would advise you to create a "user defined" link module for the linkset from L2 to L1. This will give you more control on the links Thanks SV
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 17-Jan-2006 16:19
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Hubertus Grobbel

Posts: 58
Joined: 3-May-2005

Hi Greg,

I just encountered this thread while searching for a different problem. I want to leave an additional info to your question:

>>How are links then propagated to the next iteration of L1?

The links are only stored in that baseline and no longer propageted in future versions or the current version. This is what I found out with DOORS V7.1+011. These kind of links are presented by [brackets] showing the baseline x.y id.

Regards,
Hubertus
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 18-Jan-2006 14:16
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Tony Goodman

Posts: 1098
Joined: 12-Sep-2002

Linking to baselines is a good idea. We are implementing that now.

If you decide to link to baselines, then link to baselines only - don't mix and match linking to the current version. This just gets confusing and will cause trouble when you move to the next version.

When you create a baseline, outgoing links are handled for you. They appear in the baseline and remain in the current version. Links from the baseline I beleive are called echoed links and are displayed using the hollow arrow indicators.

Incoming links to the current version are preserved when you baseline, but incoming links to a baseline are NOT propogated to the next baseline, so you need tool support to do this for you.

So if you are linking from L2 to L1 (1.0) and decide you want to link to the next version of L1 (2.0), you need to copy all the links across yourself. This is one of the problems with baseline sets, in that not all the tools required are supplied with doors out of the box.

Having said that, propogating the links to a new version of a target module is not that big a DXL task.

-------------------------
Tony Goodman
http://www.smartdxl.com
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 18-Jan-2006 23:21
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Louie Landale

Posts: 2070
Joined: 12-Sep-2002

Did you say that if L2 links to L1 and you baseline L1, then L2 no longer sees current links to L1?
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 19-Jan-2006 08:30
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Hubertus Grobbel

Posts: 58
Joined: 3-May-2005

Hi Tony and all,

>>So if you are linking from L2 to L1 (1.0) and decide you want to link to the next version of L1 (2.0), you need to copy all the links across yourself. This is one of the problems with baseline sets, in that not all the tools required are supplied with doors out of the box.

1) Typically linkage happens, when your input document is already baselined, so - when not using linkage to baselines - you link to the current version, which may already be in an alteration process ... And when you check the inlinks of the baseline of your input document, you won't find any. They are in the next baseline or in the current version....

2) Using the linkage to baselines is a good idea, because more precise. This needs as you said a "link-management" to promote links from baseline to baseline not to loose linkage.

It would be nice to have the possibility - maybe as an admin-option - to assign links to a baseline and let them endure from that baseline on, as if they were drawn "at the right time".
What does the community think about that? Or what are your experiences/workarounds?

So far I did not investigate in Baseline-Sets. Is this feature solving that problem (without generating too many new ones)?

Regards
Hubertus
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 19-Jan-2006 16:15
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Tony Goodman

Posts: 1098
Joined: 12-Sep-2002

If you link from L2 to baseline L1(1.0) and then you baseline L1 to create L1(2.0), from L2 you can still see the links to L1(1.0), but there will be no links to L1(2.0) until you copy them across.

-------------------------
Tony Goodman
http://www.smartdxl.com
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 20-Jan-2006 08:15
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Hubertus Grobbel

Posts: 58
Joined: 3-May-2005

Hi Tony,

if you refer to my mail, I meant "loosing" links as they are no longer promoted to following baselines unless you copy them.

What is e.g. your linkage concept? Are you linking to the current version and when e.g. generating a traceability matrix you take the text from the baselines and the links from the current versions?
I spent some effort into investigation and found either concept is really convincing inDOORS. Maybe I missed something, so any rough idea is always welcome.

Bye
Hubertus
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 20-Jan-2006 09:13
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Tony Goodman

Posts: 1098
Joined: 12-Sep-2002

I am in the process of implementing this new way of linking.

The intention is to link to baselines only.
When you wish to link to a later version of a target module, you must copy the links from the previous baseline.

This means that the current version of any module will not have any in-links.

I believe most people link to the current version and when they baseline the links are saved with the baseline. This works and is simpler, but it does mean that you are potentially linking to a "moving target".

If (when) I get any trouble I will post my findings.

-------------------------
Tony Goodman
http://www.smartdxl.com

Edited: 20-Jan-2006 at 09:22 by Tony Goodman
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 20-Jan-2006 09:23
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Hubertus Grobbel

Posts: 58
Joined: 3-May-2005

Hi Tony,

the way you intend to do it it is the most precise! I would be interested in the side-effects and effort, if you have finished. I am looking forward to your postings on this issue ...

Regards
Hubertus
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 20-Jan-2006 14:52
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cliff Bly

Posts: 58
Joined: 11-Apr-2003

Interesting concept -- I just have a couple(?) of questions.
1. If modules only out-link to baselines how do you deal with suspect links?
2. If I delete an object in a current version, DOORS will normally not allow the deletion if it has in-links. Since the current verion has no inlinks - any deletion will be possible and not detected until one looks at the baselines. Since baselines are normally "invisible" would this not cause problems with the normal user with the DOORS GUI.

-- or am I missing something??

-------------------------
Cliff Bly
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 24-Mar-2006 22:02
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Smitha Babu

Posts: 1
Joined: 18-Oct-2005

Hi Tony

I am also facing the same problems about linking to baselines, and on researching found this discussion on the topic of Linking to baselines, I am very much interested in any insights you guys have gained in this,
1. Have you successfully implemented the process of linking to baselines?
2. Are you using baseline sets?
3. do you have a dxl that will copy the inlinks to a baseline to a current version?
4. In addition to the above problem i am facing trouble as our system and subsystem group will be working on different databases , hence we deliver a copy of the L1 after baseling to SW they will make links from L2 current to this copy of L1 baseline, I need to copy these links to the L1 baseline at System database,

does any one face the same problem, has anyone got a dxl that can do this?

Requesting for any possible insight to these queries
Thanks
Smitha
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