Creating components

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In projects that are enabled for configuration management, you can create components to represent sets of versioned artifacts within a project area. For example, instead of working with all the artifacts from the project in one stream, you can use a component to represent a smaller set of artifacts. You can use a template to add properties to the component, or import them from another component.

Before you begin

  • Configuration management must be enabled for the project.
  • You must be a configuration lead or have permission to create components.
  • Reusing types and attributes from other components: If you plan to populate the new component either by choosing a template or by importing a type system from another component, make sure that the URIs in the template or type system are defined for these items:
    • Artifact types
    • Artifact attributes
    • Attribute data types, including all enumeration type values
    • Link types
    For details, see the related tasks about templates or importing properties.
    Reusing types and attributes makes these tasks easier:
    • Cross-component linking by using the link type.
    • Reporting in Report Builder: Make sure that the URIs and names of the preceding items are set and have the same value across components. Report Builder then considers these items equivalent for reporting.
      For example, if Component1 and Component2 both use the Business Priority artifact attribute, make sure the components use the name and URI values:
      1. Click Administration Administration menu > Manage Component Properties;
      2. Click a tab that contains attribute types (Artifact Types, Artifact Attributes, Attribute Data Types, Link Types, and so on).
      3. Set the name in the Name field and the URI in the URI field. Typically, a URI looks like this: https://hostname/domain/myLabel
      4. Click Save.
      For details, see the related task about managing project properties: although the procedures are for project properties, the procedures for managing component properties are similar.

Procedure

  1. Create components in one of these ways:
    • From the All Projects view
      1. Open a project from the All Projects view: https://example.com:9443/rm/web
      2. Under a project name, click Show Components.
      3. In the Components section, click Create Component.
    • From the Home menu Home menu
      1. Click a project name.
      2. In the Components section, click Create Component.
    • While working in a project
      1. On the toolbar, click Administration Administration menu > Create Component.
    • From the component editor
      1. On the toolbar, click Administration Administration menu > Manage Components and Configurations.
      2. Click Browse Components, and click Create Component.
  2. Optional: Select a template to add properties such as artifact types, attribute data types, link types, and so on from another component. By using a template, you don't have to recreate the properties manually.
    • Remember, make sure the URIs are defined in the template, as described in the "Before you begin" section.
    • You can use a sample template provided in the product, or create or upload your own. See the related template tasks for details.
      Tip:
      • To add URIs, edit the template properties.
      • By default, most process templates do not contain URI values. You can edit process template properties after you create a project area.
    • If you don't select a template, no properties or artifacts are defined in the new component.

Results

  • The system creates the component with the name that you specify, and an initial stream named component_name Initial Development. If you selected a template, the component contains the properties that the template defines.
  • The component opens, and you can begin work in its initial stream.
    Tip: If you created the component in the component editor, click Explore Component to begin work in its initial stream.

What to do next

  • You can now create artifacts in the component, or clone or copy them from other components. To help you decide whether to clone or copy artifacts, see the table in the related task about cloning.
  • Tag artifacts in components to further categorize them.
  • View or manage the details of the new initial stream: in the component editor, click the stream name, or choose an option from the Actions menu beside the stream name.
  • To import more properties later, click Administration Administration menu > Manage Component Properties > Import Component Properties; but remember, changes that you made to the type system of this component will be overwritten.