Agile Requirements Designer

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  • 1.  How to organize TDM repository to store flowcharts?

    Posted Aug 10, 2017 06:11 AM

    Hello,

    When working on ARD with the TDM repository to store the flowcharts, what are the best practices to organize the Repository so that you could manage different (lots of) Applications and Projects?

    In other words: having only one data store in the Repository with all the flowcharts of an application in it doesn't sound relevant... (too much files / flowcharts in one place).

     

    Any suggestion based on experience?

    Thanks,

    Olivier.



  • 2.  Re: How to organize TDM repository to store flowcharts?
    Best Answer

    Broadcom Employee
    Posted Aug 10, 2017 06:01 PM

    Hi Olivier, ARD (via the repository) uses the same Project/Folder structure as TDM, and your TDM instance which is hosting your repository is also where you can create Projects, Versions, and Levels in any structure you choose, for more information on how to do that see here: Create a Project - CA Test Data Manager - 4.2 - CA Technologies Documentation 

     

    In terms of best practices, I 100% agree that having many flows under one item isn't the way to go, typically my top level divider (the project level in TDM) either corresponds to an application or a project, but if neither of those make sense I will fall back on the idea that Flows which reference each other should probably be within the same TDM/Repo project.

     

    One level down further (the Version level within TDM) is usually how I break out modules/layers of my application, or alternatively different teams/stages on a Project.  

     

    Past this point, less forethought is required since you can actually create child levels to Versions and their subsequent children from within ARD (i.e. every level past the first two can be controlled from outside of TDM - At least within ARD 2.5):

     

     

    Once you get to this level, you can keep creating subfolders to your heart's content, going as deep as necessary to classify all of your diagrams.

     

    In terms of structure at the lowest level, typically I keep flows in the same folder which contribute directly to the same tests. Going up one level from that I keep flows together which are testing the same thing or via the same execution engine.

     

    Hope this helps


    Ben



  • 3.  Re: How to organize TDM repository to store flowcharts?

    Posted Aug 16, 2017 05:14 AM

    Thanks Ben,

     

    Additional question related to versioning and flowchart organisation:

    ARD manages the versioning of flowcharts with the different versions inside one file (ie: version 1.0 and 1.2 are stored in the same file).

    In the meantime, TDM Repository holds its own versions of a project/application.

     

    What's the best practices to stay relevant between both of them?

    Should we create a version 1.2 in TDM Repository to store the 1.2 ARD files? 

     

    Thanks,

    Olivier.



  • 4.  Re: How to organize TDM repository to store flowcharts?

    Broadcom Employee
    Posted Aug 16, 2017 01:30 PM

    Typically, I treat 'versions' within TDM as folders, which can represent versions of the project/releases/or anything else.

     

    Versions of a particular flow are somewhat within a single release/version of the project.

     

    You can read more about best practices in this document here: http://grid-tools-downloads.com/BenJW/Upload/VersioningbestpracticeswithARD.docx

     

    Thanks,

     

    Ben



  • 5.  Re: How to organize TDM repository to store flowcharts?

    Posted Aug 17, 2017 12:30 PM

    Thanks Ben for the response and the best practices doc around Versioning.

    It clarifies the fact that there is no link between in-file ARD versioning and Project versioning in the TDM Repository.

     

    Regards,

    Olivier.