Creating and modifying impact analysis diagrams

You can create and modify impact analysis diagrams to find artifacts that are related to a selected focus artifact. You can then analyze each of the linked artifacts.

1. In the main menu, click Analysis > Create > Impact analysis diagram.

   Alternatively, you can create a diagram by right-clicking a focus artifact and selecting Start analysis. To start the analysis in a new tab, right-click a focus artifact, then press and hold the Ctrl key, and click Start analysis.

2. In the Impact Analysis dialog box, set the focus artifact, the profile, and the project scope.
   1. Search for, and select the artifact to be the starting point for the analysis by entering a partial or full artifact name in the Focus artifact field. If you do not find the artifact that you need, click Advanced search to enter more detailed search criteria.

      If you started the analysis by right-clicking a focus artifact, you can change the artifact here, if necessary.

   2. Select a profile.

      A profile specifies the traversal direction, traversal depth, and conditions to apply during an analysis.

      If your administrator deployed the analysis content package, the Default profile and four more profiles are in the Profile list box.

   3. To select the project scope, click the pencil icon from the Focus and Profile tab. From the Select project area dialog, select the project areas that you want to include for the impact analysis.
      
3. Click Start analysis to run impact analysis on your focus artifact.

   The analysis starts and draws the focus artifact with the artifacts that have a relationship to it.

4. To specify how the analysis traverses artifacts as it builds the diagram, change the profile in the Traversal tab:
   1. To include artifacts that are upstream from the focus artifact, downstream from the focus artifact, or both, click the Traversal tab.

      To learn more about the upstream and downstream settings, hover over the word Traversal to read hover help.

   2. Set the depth that you want analyzed by entering a number in the depth field.
   3. Optional: Set a type for the analysis to find by clicking the Set depth based on type icon. In the Select type dialog, set Value to specify the artifact type. The artifact type that you set replaces the depth, and the analysis searches until it finds the type.

      After you edit the profile in the Traversal tab, save the changes.

      1. Click the Focus and Profile tab, and then click Save to the immediate right of Impact analysis profile.
      2. In the Save profile dialog box, give the new profile a name and change the description to match the changes you made.

         If you do not give the profile a new name before you save, you overwrite the existing profile with the new settings.

         If you cancel the save, you lose the changes that you made to the profile, even if you save the diagram.

5. To generate the impact analysis diagram, click Apply.
   As the following screen capture shows, when you run an impact analysis, the diagram is displayed under the edit window. Further, details about the analysis, such as added and hidden artifacts, are displayed in the accordion tabs on the right.

   
6. In the editor, click in the title field, and type a name for the new impact analysis diagram, if you want to save the diagram.
7. Optional: You can control how the diagram is displayed on the page by using the controls on the diagram toolbar.
8. To save the impact analysis diagram so that other team members can use it, click Save.
   The new diagram is automatically included in the list of available diagrams.
9. Explore the potential impact of changes by adding or removing artifacts.

   This exploration is useful when you must introduce a change to fix a defect.

   • To hide or show artifacts in the diagram, click the Active conditions tab, and then click the Add condition icon. In the Add condition dialog box, use the Condition list box to select a condition to add. If your administrator deployed the analysis content package, the Default profile and four more profiles are in the Profile list box.

     After you edit the profile in the Active conditions tab, save the changes.

     1. Click the Focus and Profile tab, and then click Save.
     2. In the Save profile dialog box, give the new profile a name and change the description to match the changes you made.

        If you do not give the profile a new name before you save, you overwrite the existing profile with the new settings.

        If you cancel the save, you lose the changes that you made to the profile, even if you save the diagram.

   • The following changes are not part of the profile. You can save the following changes when you save the diagram.
     • To add artifacts to the diagram, click the Added artifacts tab, and then click the Add icon to search for the artifact. You can add as many artifacts as you need. After you are finished adding artifacts, click Apply to run the analysis and view your changes.
     • To hide artifacts in the diagram, right-click over the artifact in the analysis diagram and choose Hide artifact. The artifact is listed automatically on the Hidden artifacts tab. Restore the artifact by clicking the Restore icon.
     • To hide types in the impact analysis diagram, right-click over the type of artifact in the analysis diagram, choose Hide type, and then choose the type. The artifact type is listed automatically on the Hidden types tab. Restore the artifact type by clicking the Restore icon.
     • To expand artifacts in the impact analysis diagram, right-click over the artifact in the analysis diagram, and select Expand. The expanded artifact, and all artifacts that have a direct relationship to it, are displayed to the right of the main artifact. Collapse the expanded artifact by right-clicking over the expanded artifact, and choosing the Collapse icon.
10. Optional: To examine the properties of an artifact in the impact analysis diagram, select the artifact and click the Preview icon.