Projects
Document Collaboration
Rational Team Concert integration with Microsoft SharePoint and Lotus Quickr document libraries is delivered via Document Collaboration for Rational Jazz, a separately-priced, third-party add-on from Mainsoft. IBM resells the add-on*, but you can download a trial from mainsoft.com.
Connecting Rational Team Concert with either Microsoft SharePoint or Lotus Quickr software simplifies document collaboration and document management with direct links to your project, team, and personal document libraries. It also improves the transparency of the software delivery process and extends project governance by enabling business and IT stakeholders to participate.
Where do you keep your documents?
Unlike Rational ClearCase and Jazz Source Control Management, which are designed for managing source code, the Microsoft SharePoint and Lotus Quickr document management systems let you:
- Categorize and filter documents using metadata fields.
- Search the full text and metadata of your documents.
- Initiate document approval and workflow processes.
And unlike source code management systems or wikis, Microsoft SharePoint and Lotus Quickr software are designed for collaboration with business and IT stakeholders, many of whom already use Microsoft SharePoint or Lotus Quickr for document management.
Installation and set up in just 20 minutes
Installing Mainsoft Document Collaboration for Rational Jazz is easy. Simply register and download the software from the Mainsoft website.
The server installation requires a simple file copy, followed by a single command line. The client installation is an Eclipse update site.
Introducing Document Artifacts
Once your your team leader configures a project or team document site, all members can access the shared documents from the new Documents node in the Team Artifacts view. You can also add a personal document library for your own use.
Now you're ready to collaborate on documents as part of your projects. You can subscribe to document library feeds to see change notifications in Rational Team Concert's feed aggregator.
Working on documents using the Documents View
Document Collaboration for Rational Jazz gives you full access to your document libraries, including the ability to access, modify, and publish documents from within Rational Team Concert. Just expand the Document Site from the Team Artifacts view and double-click a library to view it in the new Documents view.
You can quickly navigate between sites, as well as within a site, using back/forward operations and favorites, like in a Web browser. Users of the Microsoft SharePoint software can also search for documents and see where within a document the search term is located.
Use drag-and-drop operations to easily download or upload documents from and to your document libraries, or to associate a document with a Work Item.
Items opened from the document view are not local copies, but reside on the document server. This means that you can use all document collaboration features in Microsoft Office applications. From the context menu, you can access basic library services, such as check in, check out, version history* and document metadata (*for SharePoint users only).
You can also create a new document using any of the content types defined for the current document library.
The Microsoft SharePoint Edition of Document Collaboration for Rational Jazz enforces your enterprise document management policies by prompting you to fill in required document metadata and to check in documents when you upload them.
Presence awareness and chat in context
When reviewing a document, you often need to ask the author for clarifications. Why wait? Use presence awareness in the Documents view to see if the user who created, last modified, or has a document checked out is online, and start a Lotus Sametime chat.
You can also drag a document link to the chat window.
Keeping business and IT stakeholders in the loop
Using document workflows, the team lead can define and enforce document reviews as part of Rational Team Concert's Work Item resolution process. The team lead adds a workflow-connected document to a Work Item to prevent the Work Item from being resolved until the document workflow is complete.
Here's an example:
- You introduce a third-party software component to the project source code and upload the LGPL license agreement to a document library for third-party EULAs. The documents in this library participate in a workflow, where a lawyer needs to approve or reject the EULAs for inclusion in the project. Finally, you associate the license with the current Work Item. Now, if you were to try to resolve the Work Item at this time, the operation fails. This is because the document is not yet approved.
- As the document is uploaded, your corporate lawyer is notified automatically by e-mail that a new document is waiting for his approval. From the e-mail message, he opens the link to the document management site and reviews the EULA. After reviewing the fine print, he either accepts or rejects the license agreement to decide if the software component can be a part of the project.
- Then, you receive a notification that the new license was approved or rejected. Only when the license is approved can you resolve the Work Item as fixed, enabling the new software component to be integrated with the project source code.
* IBM has a global Software Licensing and Reseller Agreement with Mainsoft, enabling IBM and IBM business partners to market and sell Mainsoft Document Collaboration for Rational Jazz software, with support provided directly from IBM.
