INTRODUCTION TO SPARXSYSTEMS ENTERPRISE ARCHITECT : documenting enterprise architecture in the most... affordable enterprise architecture suite

SparxSystems Enterprise Architect (EA) is a logical choice for many companies and organizations: it combines a broad feature set with an affordable price. However, the robust range of features makes starting to use this fantastic tool a bit intimidating. Enter Michael, a fictional consultant and experienced enterprise architect featured throughout the book to show you how to populate a model with elements and connectors, and how to create diagrams that speak to the audience: management, project managers, internal audit, business stakeholders and IT representatives. As the book progresses Michael's duties continue with more advanced topics including the use of workflow tools such as Kanban boards. You'll even see how to present directly from Enterprise Architect so that latest information can be shown straight from the source! The last days of Michael's mission are devoted to fine-tuning the enterprise architecture model with the help of tagged values. And to leave the model in the hands of the customer by creating a custom toolbox. What You'll Learn Setup EA and populate a model with elements, connectors and diagrams Review the Big Five of enterprise architect: Model, Packages, Diagrams, Elements, Connectors Implement evidence-based best practice strategies aligned with overall goals Who This Book Is For Non-technical users who use EA mainly to document entire landscapes. Table of Contents 5 About the Author 11 About the Technical Reviewer 12 Acknowledgments 13 Introduction 14 Chapter 1: Setting Up SparxSystems Enterprise Architect 16 Comparing the Different Versions of EA 16 Editions of EA 17 Flavors of EA 18 Downloading and Setting Up EA 18 Summary 20 Chapter 2: The First Model: Documenting the Systemplar Enterprise Architecture 21 Case 2-1: Documenting an Enterprise Architecture 22 Enterprise Architecture and the Zachman Framework 22 Notes on the Use of the Zachman Framework 23 Applying the Zachman Framework in Enterprise Architect 23 Repositories, Projects, and the Model Wizard 24 The Big Five of Enterprise Architect: Models, Elements, Diagrams, Connectors, and Packages 28 Models 28 Elements and Diagrams 29 Connectors 36 Delete the Connection Between Both Elements 38 Packages 39 Wrapping It All Up 40 Creating a Strategy Map in EA 41 The List of Geographic Locations 46 Summary 48 Chapter 3: Working with Elements 49 Elements 49 Elements Can Appear on Zero, One, or More Diagrams 52 Elements and Their Extended Properties 53 General Properties 54 Linked Documents 56 Responsibilities and Files 58 Related Elements 59 Adding Elements to the Model 60 The Visual Way 60 The Fastest Way 62 Flexibility Required? Try the csv Import! 63 Case 3-1: Importing a Project List into the Enterprise Architecture 63 Refining the Import with Parent-Child Relationships 68 Updating Instead of Importing 71 Finding Elements 73 Finding an Element from a Diagram in the Project Browser 73 Finding on Which Diagrams an Element Is Used 74 Finding Orphans 75 Deleting Elements 76 Bookmarking Elements 77 Element-Related Preferences 78 Element Default Appearance 80 Auto Names and Counters 81 Summary 83 Chapter 4: Connecting Elements with Connectors 84 Case 4-1: Relating Business Processes to Locations 84 Quickly Adding Links with the Quicklinker and Repeat Connector 85 Creating Links from the Project Browser 89 Relationship Properties 91 Connector Styles 92 Docking and Nesting Elements 94 Relationship-Related Preferences 95 Putting Elements on the Diagram Based on Links 97 More Options 99 Namespaces 100 The Traceability Window 102 Adding Information to Connectors: Notes and Information Flows 103 The Relationship Matrix 106 Saving Settings 107 Matrix Options 107 Exporting the Matrix 108 Working with Overlays 109 Summary 111 Chapter 5: Using Diagrams to Present Information 112 Case 5-1: A Business Process Model 113 Manual and Autolayout 115 Other Diagram Layout Options 116 Layout Tools 116 Manual Layouting 118 Copying Diagrams 120 Diagram Types 120 Status Colors 121 Legends 123 Case 5-2: A Heat Map for the Software Model 125 Step 1: Importing the Data 126 Step 2: Creating the Legends 130 Step 3: Using the Legends 133 Adding Elements to the Same Diagram Twice 134 Showing Alternative Info and Notes 136 Filtering Diagrams 138 Different Views: List, Gantt, Specification, and More 141 The Specification Manager 141 A List View 142 A Gantt Chart 143 Special Diagrams 144 Navigation Cells 144 Package Contents 146 Graphs 147 Saving Time Opening the Right Diagrams 148 User and Model Default 148 Working Sets 149 Save As a Shortcut 150 Importing Graphics 151 Diagram-Related Preferences 152 Summary 154 Chapter 6: Different Ways of Handling “Work to Do” 155 Bookmarking Elements 155 Adding #todo to Elements 157 Using Swimlanes to Get a Status Overview 158 Setting Up a Kanban Diagram 160 Case 6-1: A Kanban Diagram for the Enterprise Architecture 161 Setting Up the First Version 161 Adapting the Kanban Diagram 163 Adding and Removing Swimlanes 164 Tying the Item Status to the Phase Field 165 Defining Work in Progress Limits 166 Project Management in the EA Model 167 Summary 168 Chapter 7: Creating Reports and Slideshows 169 Diagram Exports 169 RTF Reports 172 Adding a Logo to the Footer 174 Changing the Color of the Main Title 175 Changing the Contents of the Report 175 CSV Exports 177 Exporting from List View 177 Exporting with an Export Specification 179 Exporting a Relationship Matrix 179 A Website 179 Case 7-1: A Website for the Enterprise Architecture 180 Slideshows in the EA User Interface 183 Summary 185 Chapter 8: Tagged Values and Stereotypes 186 General Types 186 Status 187 Constraint and Constraint Status 188 Difficulty 189 Priority 190 Test Status 191 Requirement 192 Scenario 193 Maintenance Status 193 Tagged Values 193 Adding a Tagged Value 194 Exporting Tagged Values 194 Applying to Multiple Items 194 Case 8-1: Adding Custom Information to the Enterprise Architecture Model 195 Local vs. Global Tagged Values 196 Dealing with Numeric Values 199 Additional Tagged Value Types 201 Stereotypes 202 Overriding Appearance with Metatypes 206 Overriding Appearance with Shape Script 208 A Simple Shape Script for Locations 208 Shape Main 210 Initializations 211 The Drawing Commands 212 The Text Command 212 Some More Connector Linked Shape Script Commands 213 An Example of a Shape Script Applied to Connectors 215 Shape Main 216 Shape Source and Target 217 Label Shapes 217 Summary 218 Chapter 9: Your Own Toolbox 219 Case 9-1: Leaving the Enterprise Architecture Model for the Architects of the Company 219 Exporting and Importing the Toolbox 221 Adding a Shape Script 223 Default Size 225 The Profile Helper 226 Inheriting Tagged Values 229 Adding Diagram Properties 231 Step 1: Adding the Diagram Property 232 Step 2: Changing the Shape Script of the Event Stereotype 233 Step 3: Updating the Existing Elements and Testing 234 Toolbox Visibility 235 Epilogue 235 Summary 235 Appendix: Useful Resources 236 Index 238