Using DOORS NG to help non-power-users follow processes?
Dear all,
We're looking for a software system that will help our large, distributed team work together following our various processes.
In a simplified version of our system we typically have many task artifacts. Those tasks have a status attribute - and many other attributes. Whether or not some-one can see that particular task at a particular time depends on the task's status.
The status attribute is modeled as an enumeration and as people work, they update the value of a task's status.
Nearly all our users are not power-users, so we're looking for a tool that:
1. We can configure so that a really simple user interface is presented to the end-user. All the features that they don't need are hidden.
2. Only the data that is relevant to a particular end-user is displayed to them. Control of this needs to be pretty fine-grained. Different users can potentially share the data in the same module. So, for example, a given end-user will only see tasks that have a status that's of interest to them. Whether or not some-one can edit or see other task attributes also depends on the value of the task's status.
3. User's can only set the task's status to a prescribed sub-set of other values. What these values are depends on their role and the current value of the status. (that is, following a defined State Machine)
So, we're looking for a system with which we can model collaborative multi-user workflow.
Can DOORS NG be configured to fit our requirements? If so, would it need a great deal of work (that is, would we need to start creating our own Javascript plug-ins) - or are there features in DOORS NG that let us do this out-of-the-box?
Many thanks,
Mike
One answer
Mike,
From your description, it sounds like you should look at a combination of DOORS Next Generation (DNG) and Rational Team Concert (RTC). These 2 products are both built on top of the Jazz platform, and are meant to integrate with each other. RTC handles the Change Management functionality that you are referencing about state machines, attributes, status updates, etc... while DNG handles all of the requirements management parts. DNG is slated to get some additiona features (like a state machine of its own), but it sounds like the fine grain permissions that you need would require both RTC and DNG. Fortunately, both of these can be accessed with the same DNG license, and essentially operate as 1 application to the end user.
Check out the jazz.net/products pages for more information on each one of these. If you would like any additional help, feel free to contact me directly at mballard@TechRevelations.com.
Thanks,
-Mike Ballard