Configuration management in Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) version 6 releases
The configuration management capabilities in the Rational® solution for Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) enable multi-stream development, artifact reuse, and linking to artifacts across project areas. You can use the configuration management capabilities to create versions of artifacts and link them to other team artifacts, such as requirements and designs. Use configurations (streams and baselines) in the CLM applications to manage reuse, traceability, and parallel development. Use the Global Configuration Management (GCM) application to assemble configurations into global configurations that provide a context for links between versioned artifacts across project areas.
Configuration management capabilities are available starting in CLM 6.0, and are enhanced in subsequent versions. This solution includes the following products:
- IBM® Rational DOORS® Next Generation
- IBM Rational Quality Manager
- IBM Rational Team Concert
The capabilities are also available in IBM Rational Rhapsody Design Manager.
For the Quality Management (QM) and Requirements Management (RM) applications, a Jazz™ administrator must have an activation key and activate this feature at the application level, and then enable individual project areas. After you enable the capabilities for a project area, you cannot disable them. For this reason, it is important to review the available information and consider the implications for the appropriate version of your products before you enable this function:
The following resources can help you learn more about the configuration management capabilities, including how to implement and use them. Unless otherwise indicated, the video links open in YouTube.
Technical vision and overviews of configuration management
Strategic reuse and product line engineering: This developerWorks article explains the technical vision for the configuration management capabilities.
What is Product Line Engineering? How IBM is helping you build smarter products and product lines: This video shows how configuration management can reduce complexity across a product line.
Work smarter with configuration management. Part 1: Introduction: This video introduces configuration management concepts. Also available on IBM developerWorks
Work smarter with configuration management. Part 2: Using configurations: This video explores configurations in system and software development. Also available on IBM developerWorks
Work smarter with configuration management. Part 3: Traceability in configurations: This video explains traceability between artifacts in the project lifecycle and how configurations help with strategic reuse. Also available on IBM developerWorks
Work smarter with configuration management. Part 4: Global configurations: This video provides an overview of global configurations and collaborative environments. Also available on IBM developerWorks
Welcome to the Rational Solution for Strategic Reuse: This website provides practices and workflows to support strategic reuse.
Learn more about configuration management
Unless otherwise indicated, help topics are based on the latest release. For more information on the capabilities, see the following topics:
- Configuration management concepts and capabilities, version 6.0.2
- Configuration management concepts and capabilities, version 6.0.1
- Configuration management concepts and capabilities, version 6.0
Configuration management
Configuration management FAQ: This article answers common questions about the configuration management capabilities.
Configuration management overview for CLM v6 releases: This video provides an overview of configuration management and global configuration management in CLM version 6.0.
Configuration management concepts and capabilities: This help topic explains configuration management terminology and provides an overview of how to use the capabilities.
Getting started with configuration management: This help topic provides a simplified workflow for using the capabilities in each CLM application.
Global Configuration Management
Global configurations with the IBM solution for Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) 6.0.2: This video provides an overview of the global configuration features in CLM 6.0.2.
Global Configuration Management: Overview with IBM solution for CLM 6.0: This video provides an introduction to the main features in the 6.0 IBM Global Configuration Management application, with an emphasis on variants and baselines.
Overview of Global Configuration Management: This help topic provides an overview of the Global Configuration Management application.
Managing lifecycle development through global configurations with the IBM solution for CLM: This video explains the concepts and terminology used in the Global Configuration Management application.
Effectively managing and reusing components with global configurations: This video shows how to use global configurations to manage, organize, and reuse components and artifacts.
Managing changes, baselines, and engineering streams with global configurations: This video demonstrates how global configurations help manage change across the engineering lifecycle.
Global Configuration Management and CLM tools: workflow variants and baselines: This article provides a workflow for creating variants and baselines.
Reporting on configurations
Getting started with reporting on configurations in CLM 6.0.2: This article explains how to set up your environment for using the Report Builder in the Jazz Reporting Service to create reports on versioned data in configurations. This article is also available for versions 6.0.1 and 6.0.
Reporting on data in configurations: This help topic explains how to use Report Builder and Lifecycle Query Engine (LQE) to collect and report on configuration data.
Using configuration management in Rational DOORS Next Generation
Working with baselines in IBM Rational DOORS Next Generation: This video shows how to work with baselines in Rational DOORS Next Generation 6.0.
Managing requirement changes with IBM Rational DOORS Next Generation using Global Configuration Management: This video shows how to manage changes to requirements by using the Global Configuration Management application.
Linking work items to artifacts in Rational Team Concert
Enabling linking of work items to versioned artifacts: This help topic explains how to enable work items to be linked to other versioned artifacts.
Planning and considerations for enabling configuration management
Considerations for enabling configuration management: This help topic explains the key considerations and impact to links and project areas when the capabilities are enabled.
Guidance on deployment requirements and topologies: The Deployment wiki provides topologies and other articles that list special requirements or considerations for using the configuration management capabilities.
To obtain a free activation key:
For version 6.0.2:
- For pilot environments, read the enablement considerations and generate an activation key.
- For production environments, read the enablement considerations and discuss your plans with your IBM Client Representative or contact IBM Support.
For version 6.0.1:
- For pilot environments, read the enablement considerations and generate an activation key.
- For production environments, read the enablement considerations and discuss your plans with your IBM Client Representative or contact IBM Support.
For version 6.0:
- For pilot environments, read the enablement considerations and generate an activation key.
- For production environments, read the enablement considerations and discuss your plans with your IBM Client Representative or contact IBM Support.
Activating configuration management in applications: This help topic explains how to enter your activation key to enable the capabilities.
Enabling configuration management in project areas: This help topic explains how to enable configuration management in a project area.
Follow the experts
Configuration management YouTube playlist: Additional videos on configuration management are available on this channel.
Configuration management – it’s not just for building airplanes and The benefits of requirements configurations: These blog posts highlight some of the benefits for all industries using configuration management.
Increase engineering efficiency with component reuse and global configurations: This blog post provides an overview of component reuse and global configurations.
Ask the experts
If you have a question or a comment about the configuration management tools, we welcome your comments in the Jazz.net forum, using the tag “configuration management”.
About the author
Susan Yeshin is an Information Architect for the Internet of Things Continuous Engineering solution. She can be contacted at susan.yeshin@ca.ibm.com.
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2016
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