Overview

IBM® Rational® DOORS® is a requirements management tool, and IBM® Rational® System Architect is a tool for enterprise architecture and business process modeling. Requirements can be linked from the Department level down to the Component level to show that an enterprise architecture meets all of the high-level requirements for the EA artifacts. This article covers the entire process of integrating Rational DOORS with Rational System Architect, including staging artifacts in System Architect to send to DOORS, sending them to DOORS, and then linking them so you can view them in System Architect. Linking the artifacts helps in the traceability of the requirements that are associated with the EA artifacts. The Samples database has been used as an example for synchronization of the existing artifacts in System Architect. However, you can always create the artifacts in a new database in System Architect and synchronize them with DOORS. Synchronization and links created for the System Architect artifacts with DOORS objects can be viewed with a graphical indicator on the System Architect artifacts.

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System requirements

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (Standard or Enterprise), 32-bit or 64-bit

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Install Rational DOORS

To install Rational DOORS, first install the server and then the client.

Install the latest version of the Rational DOORS server

1. Run the Rational DOORS server setup.exe file.
2. Click the Next button, and accept the license server agreement.
3. For Setup Type, select Typical, and then click Next.
4. Enter the Database Port number, usually 36677.
5. Click Install.

Install the DOORS client that is the same version as the server

1. Run the Rational DOORS client setup.exe file.
2. Click Next, and accept the license server agreement.
3. For Setup Type, select Typical, and then click Next.
4. In the Database Port field, type 36677.
5. In the Database Host field, type either the IP address or the fully qualified host name of the machine on which the Rational DOORS server is installed.

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Install Rational System Architect

1. Run the ratlSysArch_version.exe file.
2. Click Next, and accept the license server agreement.
3. For Setup Type, select the Typical and then click Next.
4. Provide the License Information in the form of portnumber@hostname (where hostname is the machine name where the license server is configured).
5. Click Next to go the Summary page.
6. Click Finish on the Summary page to finish the installation.

Note:
The Rational System Architect DOORS link works with Rational DOORS 9.0, 9.1, and 9.2. Beginning with Rational System Architect 11.4.0.1, the Rational System Architect DOORS link works with DOORS 9.3.

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Install the Rational System Architect for DOORS Interface

1. Run the ratlSysArch_DOORSInteface_version.exe file.
2. Click the Next button on the Welcome screen, as shown in Figure 1.

3. Continue clicking Next until you see the wizard notice of successful installation, with the Finish button at the bottom (Figure 2).

4. Click Finish to complete the installation of the interface.

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Synchronize the two tools

Be sure to see the excerpt from the Rational System Architect Information Center in the sidebar, which puts this information in context and gives you a quick overview.

Create the database in Rational System Architect

1. Launch Rational System Architect.
2. Launch the Startup Wizard from the Help menu.
3. Click the Next button on the Welcome screen (see Figure 3).

4. On the screen that says "Configure where encyclopedia data will be stored," select the Configure advanced SQL Express options check box shown in Figure 4, and click Next.

5. Click the Next button on the consecutive pages displayed after this step until you see the Summary screen with the Finish button (Figure 5).
6. Click Finish.

Open the Samples database in System Architect

1. Open the Encyclopedia dialog window by selecting File > Open Encyclopedia from the Rational System Architect main menu.
2. Select the Existing folder on the left.
3. Select the Samples encyclopedia, as shown in Figure 6.
4. Click on the OK button for Samples encyclopedia to load.

5. After the Samples encyclopedia is loaded, you can see the All pane Explorer window on the right side.
6. Expand the Diagrams tree node on the All pane of the Explorer view in System Architect.
7. Further expand the Business Process diagram type (see Figure 7).
8. Double-click Reservations to open the view of the diagram.

9. Create a project for staging and sending the artifacts. Before you begin staging, sending, and linking the artifacts in Rational System Architect, you must follow these steps to create a project in DOORS that will be kept open:
   1. Log in to Rational DOORS.
   2. Create a new project named SADATA.
   3. With the SADATA project open, switch back to the System Architect diagram window.

Stage artifacts to send to DOORS from System Architect

1. Select a symbol on the diagram.
2. Right-click and, from the drop-down menus, select DOORS > Stage Symbol to DOORS (Figure 8).

Larger view of Figure 8.

After you select the Staging option, you will see the DOORS Select Transfer Units window shown in Figure 9.

3. The Module Name pane shows a pre-created unit, TU1, so select that unit.
4. For the first time, you need to create a transfer unit of any name of your choice by clicking the New button provided on the Select Transfers Unit dialog window shown in Figure 9.

Tip:
By default, the transfer unit gets created in the project opened in DOORS previously. You can have multiple transfer units in a single project or projects of your choice, and those should be available before creating the transfer units in System Architect.

5. Click OK.

Send artifacts to DOORS from System Architect

1. After staging the symbol, right-click on the symbol.
2. Select DOORS > Send to DOORS from the drop-down menus, as shown in Figure 10.

Larger view of Figure 10.

3. Select the TU1 transfer unit.
4. Click OK.

Figure 11 shows the transfer progress pop-up window that Rational DOORS will display.

Larger view of Figure 11.

After the transfer is finished, a report is generated in System Architect generates a saying that one item has been transferred to DOORS, as shown in Figure 12.

Larger view of Figure 12.

Link System Architect artifacts in DOORS

1. Open the DOORS SADATA project that you created for the integration in DOORS .
2. Open the TU1 transfer unit, which will be displayed as a module of DOORS.
3. User can now see all of the items sent from System Architect to DOORS in this transfer unit.
4. From the Process Symbols listed in the SA Integration Proxy pane, select Take Reservation Details. Then from the drop-down menus, click Link > Start Link from the drop-down windows to make a start link to one of the transferred artifacts, as shown in Figure 13.

Larger view of Figure 13.

5. Next, with the same process symbol selected, make a link from Start to another transferred artifact by clicking Start > Make Link from Start in the drop-down menus, as shown in Figure 14.

Larger view of Figure 14.

The yellow incoming and red outgoing arrows on the DOORS Module Window indicate links created on the System Architect artifacts (Figure 15).

Larger view of Figure 15.

Synchronize data between DOORS and System Architect

1. After the artifacts are staged, sent, and linked in DOORS, right-click on the diagram workspace, and then click DOORS > Update from DOORS on the menu, as shown in Figure 16.

Larger view of Figure 16.

2. When the Update from the DOORS menu item is clicked, you will be prompted to save module changes, so click Yes to do that.
3. Reopen the diagram after updating the data from DOORS.

Figure 17 shows the diagram workspace. The arrows indicate links for the symbols that have been staged to transfer to DOORS and linked in DOORS to System Architect. The links will be shown on two symbols as the links have been created for two symbols of System Architect in the DOORS module. The yellow arrow on the symbol indicates the Start link, and the red arrow indicates the link to the start link. Hence, links will be displayed for two symbols on the diagram that is opened. Upon reopening the diagram, the updated data from DOORS will be visible.

Larger view of Figure 17.

Resources

Learn

• For further help, read the "Integrating with DOORS" subsection under Integrating in the Rational System Architect information center (documentation).
  
  
• Browse the Rational DOORS developerWorks page for links to technical articles and many related resources, and explore the instructions in the Rational DOORS Information Center.
  
  
• Explore the developerWorks page for Rational System Architect, and watch the online demonstration or read the written transcript.
  
  
• Check the Rational System Architect Information Center for documentation for all versions, or get support from the Rational System Architect help topics
  
  
• Visit the Rational software area on developerWorks for technical resources and best practices for Rational Software Delivery Platform products.
  
  
• Stay current with developerWorks technical events and webcasts focused on a variety of IBM products and IT industry topics.
  • Attend a free developerWorks Live! briefing to get up-to-speed quickly on IBM products and tools, as well as IT industry trends.
  • Watch developerWorks on-demand demos, ranging from product installation and setup demos for beginners to advanced functionality for experienced developers.
  
  
• Improve your skills. Check the Rational training and certification catalog, which includes many types of courses on a wide range of topics. You can take some of them anywhere, any time, and many of the “Getting Started” ones are free.
  
  

Get products and technologies

• Get the free trial download for Rational DOORS Web Access.
  
  
• Download a free, fully enabled trial version of Rational System Architect.
  
  
• Evaluate IBM software in the way that suits you best: Download it for a trial, try it online, use it in a cloud environment, or spend a few hours in the SOA Sandbox learning how to implement service-oriented architecture efficiently.
  
  

Discuss

• Join the Rational DOORS forum to ask questions and participate in discussions.
  
  
• Participate in the Enterprise Architecture and Business Architecture forum, where you can share information about methods, frameworks, and tool implementations. Discussions include tool-specific technical discussions about Rational System Architect.
  
  
• Rate or review Rational software. It's quick and easy.
  
  
• Share your knowledge and help others who use Rational software by writing a developerWorks article. Find out what makes a good developerWorks article and how to proceed.
  
  
• Follow Rational software on Facebook, Twitter (@ibmrational), and YouTube, and add your comments and requests.
  
  
• Ask and answer questions and increase your expertise when you get involved in the Rational forums, cafés, and wikis.
  
  
• Get social about thought leadership. Join the Rational community to share your Rational software expertise and get connected with your peers.
  
  

About the author

Krupa Gunhalkar joined the Rational DOORS team in July 2011 after working on Rational System Architect for nearly four and half years. Her interests are requirements management, Collaborative Lifecycle Management offerings, enterprise architecture modeling, DoDAF and MoDAF frameworks, security testing of web-based applications, and licensing concepts for the applications. Her hobbies include long drives, playing volleyball, watching movies and cooking shows, and visiting art exhibitions whenever she gets a chance.

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Table of contents

• Overview
• System requirements
• Install Rational DOORS
• Install Rational System Architect
• Install the Rational System Architect for DOORS Interface
• Synchronize the two tools
• Resources
• About the author
• Comments

Next steps from IBM

• Try: Rational DOORS Web Access
• Demo: Rational DOORS Web Access
• Webcast: The value of extending requirements visibility and collaboration with Rational DOORS Web Access
• Buy: Rational DOORS Web Access

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