OSEE Action Tracking System (ATS)

Contents

1. ATS Overview
2. ATS Icons
3. ATS Priorities
4. Reporting a Bug
5. ATS Workflow Editor
6. ATS Views
7. ATS Reviews
8. ATS Configuration
9. Views and Editors
10. Table Customization
11. Spell Checking
12. OSEE Branching and Differences Diagrams

1. ATS Overview

Purpose

To give a brief overview of the Action Tracking System (ATS) including terms and architecture.

Powerpoint Overview

Select to View Overview

Terms

Actionable Item (AI) - Item that can be impacted by an Action. AIs are what the user has to select from when creating an Action. Examples: Flight Box, Lab Computer, Code Subsystem.

Team Workflow Definition - Teams are created to perform that work associated with the Action. They are related to the AIs that they are responsible for and are configured with Leads and Members to route the Actions and perform the work. A workflow is configured that the team will follow to perform the work.

Workflow Configuration - State machine that shows the path the Team will follow to perform the work associated with the Action.

Action - Top level grouping object. An Action is written against any number of AIs. The Team Workflows are then created for each team configured to perform work for an AI.

Team Workflow - Instantiation of a Workflow Diagram needed to perform the work. Each team independently moves through their workflow state machine however ATS can be configured such that certain gates must be met from other Teams or outside events before a workflow can continue.

Task - Within states of a Team Workflow, smaller-light-weight Tasks can be created to further separate the work that needs to be completed for that state. Normally, the state can not continue until the Task is completed.

Versions - ATS has built in project/release planning. Versions are created to group Team Workflows (Actions) into Builds and Releases.

2. ATS Icons


ATS Objects


denotes an Action, the top level object in ATS
denotes a Team Workflow; moves team through completion of change
denotes a Task; lightweight workflow that is performed during Team Workflow states
denotes the ATS targeted for release version
denotes the ATS review

ATS Overlays

warning that something needs to be addressed; open object for more information
released version
next release version
ATS object marked as user's favorite; select "My Favorites" to load all marked
ATS object user desires to receive email upon every state transition
ATS object is obtaining estimated hours, percent complete, hours spent and remaining hours from tasks

ATS Operations


Select to create a new action
Select to create a new task
Select to refresh current view
Select to print the ATS Results
Select to email the ATS Results to an OSEE user
Select to export the ATS Results to CSV file
Select to Report a Bug.

ATS Configuration

denotes a team configured to do work in ATS
denotes an Actionable Item that a user can create an Action against

3. Priorities for classifying problems

PriorityDescriptionMIL-STD-498 Description
1 Prevents end users from performing an essential task that results in work stoppages. The impact to project cost/schedule requires an immediate resolution and a special release may be necessary. a. Prevent the accomplishment of an operational or mission essential capability
b. Jeopardize safety, security, or other requirement designated "critical"
2 Adversely affects end users from performing an essential task. Significant impact to project cost/schedule with resolution needed within 3 weeks. a. Adversely affect the accomplishment of an operational or mission essential capability and no work-around solution is known.
b. Adversely affect technical, cost, or schedule risks to the project or to life cycle support of the system, and no work-around solution is known
3 Hinders end users from performing an essential task or a capability is behind schedule. Impact to project cost/schedule with resolution needed within 6 weeks. a. Adversely affect the accomplishment of an operational or mission essential capability but a work-around solution is known.
b. Adversely affect technical, cost, or schedule risks to the project or to life cycle support of the system, but a work-around solution is known
4 Minor impact to end users or is a capability being developed per schedule. Can be resolved per normal release schedule. a. Result in user/operator inconvenience or annoyance but does not affect a required operational or mission essential capability.
b. Result in inconvenience or annoyance for development or support personnel, but does not prevent the accomplishment of those responsibilities.
5 An inconvenience or annoyance. Can be resolved as schedule and budget permits. Any other effect

4. Report a Bug

Purpose

A quick way to report a bug against a view or editor.

How to do it

Select the bug button () from the toolbar at the top of the view or editor that has the problem. A wizard will come up to provide guidance through the rest of the steps.

5.1. ATS Workflow Editor


Purpose

Show and edit the workflows configured for use in ATS including Team Workflows, Tasks and Reviews.

How to do it

Double-click open any Action or Team Workflow from ATS World, Search results or ATS Results. The editor will be opened allowing view and edit of workflow.

Workflow Tab

Shows states of workflow, alows entry in current state and provides services to perform actions, see metrics and research information about workflow.

Task Tab

Shows tasks associated with states of workflow. Allows quick editing of task information and allows a quick jump (double-click) to open task in ATS Workflow Editor.

5.2. ATS Workflow Editor - Workflow Tab


Purpose

Shows states of workflow, alows entry in current state and provides services to perform actions, see metrics and research information about workflow.

How to do it

Default tab shown when any ATS object is opened in the ATS Editor.

Current State

Shown in the top status bar and in the main window, the current state is the state of the workflow state machine that is running for this ATS object. These workflows can be configured with 3 or 30 state depending on the needs of the program/team that is using it. More

Other States

Shows states of workflow, alows entry in current state and provides services to perform actions, see metrics and research information about workflow.

Services

Shows tasks associated with states of workflow. Allows quick editing of task information and allows a quick jump (double-click) to open task in ATS Workflow Editor.

5.3. ATS Workflow Editor - Task Tab


Purpose

Shows tasks associated with states of workflow. Allows quick editing of task information and allows a quick jump (double-click) to open task in ATS Workflow Editor.

How to do it

Select task tab after ATS object is opened in the ATS Editor.

Open Task

Double-click on any task to open in ATS Editor.

Right-click edit

Selecting one or more tasks and right-click produces a menu with selections for editing multiple tasks at a single time.

Alt-Left-Click edit

A quick way to edit a single field in a task is by holding the Alt key down and selecting the cell to edit. This pops up an editor associated with the type of cell selected.

Actions

Select to only show tasks related to the current state of the workflow.
Select to create a new task.
Select to delete selected task.
Select to refresh the current task list.
Select to Customize Table.

5.4. OSEE Spell Checking


Purpose

Enable data entered in OSEE to be spell checked.

How to do it

As data is entered into OSEE spell-checked fields, a blue line will be displayed if the word is not recognized. Only lower-case words or words with only first character uppercase will be spell checked. Acronyms, words with special characters, numbers and single letter words will be ignored.

Main Dictionary

OSEE has a main dictionary included in it's release. See below for it's source, copyrights and credits.

Additional Released Dictionaries

Additionally dictionaries can be added to OSEE via extension points. These can only be modified by hand and thus included in normal release cycle.

Run-time Global Dictionary

Each OSEE user is able to add words to a Global dictionary stored in the database by right-clicking on the word underlined in blue and selecting to save global. These words are stored in the "Global Preferences" artifact and will then be shown as a valid word in all users's spell checking.

Run-time Personal Dictionary

Each OSEE user is able to add words to their Personal dictionary stored in the database by right-clicking on the word underlined in blue and selecting to save personal. These words are stored in the user's "User" artifact and will then be shown as a valid word only for that user.

6.1. ATS Navigator


Purpose

Central location to launch ATS searches, perform quick navigation and kickoff metrics.

How to do it

Double-click any navigation item to kickoff the corresponding search, action, report.

Filter

Filter out all navigation items that conains the entered text. Select the clear action () to clear out the text and restore all navigation items.

6.2. ATS Action View


Purpose

Shows a graphical representation of the currently open Action or Team Workflow.

How to do it

Double-click open any Action or Team Workflow. Action View will show parent child relationship between Action and it's children Team Workflows. Cyan outline show currently open editor.

ToolTip

Hover over any object to determine information about current state, assignees and work to be done.

Double-Click / Right-Click

Double-Click to open any object in the ATS Editor or right click for more options.

6.3. ATS World View


Purpose

Shows ATS workflow objects including Actions, Team Workflows, Tasks and Reviews that were returned from a search normally performed by the ATS Navigator.

How to do it

Double-click search item from ATS Navigator. ATS World will show that it is loading. Upon return, ATS World will contain all ATS objects from the search. In addition, a plus is shown next to any object. Upon selection, viewer will expand to show all children of the selected object.

Open ATS Action, Team Workflow, Task or Review

Double-click to open any item open in ATS Workflow Editor.

Sorting

Selecting column headers will sort that column. Holding down Ctrl and selecting successive columns will enable multi sort. Re-selecting a column will reverse sort that column. The status label at the bottom will show the columns being sorted and which direction the sort is being performed. To remove all sorting, right-click and select "Remove All Sorting".

Bottom Status Line

The bottom status line will show the total number of objects loaded into the table, the total shown and the total selected. It will also show all the sorts and filters that are enabled.

Top Status Line

The top status line will show the name of the search that populated the ATS World View. A warning icon () will show if the search returned no objects to show.

Filtering

Bottom right of the ATS World shows a filter box that is a quick way to filter by one or two words. Simply type in a string, press enter and ATS World will only show those loaded objects that where one of the visible cells contains the typed text. This is a case in-sensitive search. Select the clear action () to clear out the text and restore all loaded actions.

Actions

Select to load ATS World with all the actions that you have work to do on.
Select to create a new Action.
Select to rank actions by deadline date then by priority and annual cost avoidence.
Select to refresh the current search.
Select to Customize Table.
Select to Report a Bug.

6.4. Result View


Purpose

Show reports, errors, metrics and other data in a multi-paged view with print, email and exporting capabilities.

How to do it

This view pops up automatically when OSEE needs to report larger amounts of data to the user.

Actions

Select to print the current window.
Select to email the current results view to an OSEE user.
Select to export the current table into a comma seperated value file.

Mulit-page

Selecting the down arrow will show a list of all pages that have been displayed during the current instance of OSEE running. Selecting from this list will display the previous page.

7.1. Peer To Peer Review Workflow

Purpose

The Peer To Peer Review is a lightweight review type that enables interactive one-on-one reviews where two people sit at a single computer and review, disposition and resolve the issues as they are found. This review type does not require (but does allow) defects to be logged. This review type can be created as a stand-alone review or attached to any workflow. When attached to a workflow, it is related to a state and can be set as a "blocking" review that will keep the workflow from continuing until the review is completed.

State Machine

How to do it

Stand-Alone Peer To Peer Review - From ATS Navigator, filter on "peer" and select "New Peer To Peer Review". Enter required fields and select transition to start the review.

Workflow Related Peer To Peer Review - From any ATS workflow editor, select "Create a Peer To Peer Review" in the left column of the workflow editor. This will create the review and attach it to the current state. Enter required fields and select transition to start the review.

Prepare State

This state allows the user to create the peer to peer review. Enter the required information and transition to Review to start the review. All review participants will be automatically assigned to the review state upon transition.

FieldDescription
TitleEnter a descriptive title for this review.
Review RolesAdd roles and select the appropriate user. This review type requires at least one Author and one Reviewer.
Location of review materialsEither enter in a description of review materials or simply drag in files from workspace to be reviewed. If files are dropped in this box, the java package name (if appropriate), filename and a space to enter in the repository version will be provided.
DescriptionInformation necessary to make an informed decision.
Blocking Reviewif NOT a stand-alone review, this field will be enabled for entry. select yes if this review must be completed before the parent workflow can transition
Need ByDate the review should be completed.

Review State

This state allows the users to review the materials, log any defects and allows for the author to resolve and close any defects.

FieldDescription
Review RolesAdd or remove participants as needed. See Prepare State description for more information.
Review DefectDefects are not REQUIRED, but can be entered. Defects must be dispositioned and closed before review can be completed
ResolutionAny notes or further information can be entered here.

7.2. Decision Review Workflow

Purpose

The Decision Review is a simple review that allows one or multiple users to review something and answer a question. This review can be created, and thus attached, to any reviewable state in ATS. In addition, it can be created automatically to perform simple "validation" type reviews during a workflow.

State Machine

How to do it

From any active state, select "Create a Decision Review" in the left column of the workflow editor. This will create the review and attach it to the current state. Then, proceed to "Prepare State" to entering the necessary information required for this review.

Prepare State

This state allows the user to create the decision review. Enter the required information and transition to Decision to start the review. All transitioned to assignees will be required to perform the review.

FieldDescription
TitleEnter the question that is to be answered by the reviewers. Example: Do you think we should buy this software?
Decision Review OptionsEnter in all the options that are available for selection.
Each line is a single decision option in the format: answer;state;<userId>

Where
   answer = Yes, No, Mabye, etc...
   state = Followup or Completed - this will be the state to transition to if the answer is choosen
   <userId> = userId of the user to assign to the state to transition to.
      Note: Multiple users can be specified by <userId1><userId2>
      Note:UserIds are only valid for Followup state. Completed state has no assignees.
DescriptionInformation necessary to make an informed decision.
Blocking Reviewyes if this review must be completed before the parent workflow can transition
Need ByDate the decision must be made.

Decision State

This state allows the user to review the description or materials and choose their decision.

FieldDescription
QuestionThe question to be answered as part of this review.
DecisionThe decision made by the user.
ResolutionAny notes or information as to why the decision was made.

Followup State

This state allows for followup action to be taken based on the decision.

ResolutionAny notes or information as to why the decision was made.

8.1. Configure ATS for Change Tracking

Purpose

ATS is used to track any type of change throughout the lifecycle of a project. Below are the steps to configure ATS for tracking something new.

How to do it

8.2. Configure Team Definition

Purpose

The Team Definition artifact specifies leads and members that are assigned to work on related Actionable Items.

How to do it

8.3. Configure Actionable Items (AI)

Purpose

Actionable Items provide the end user with a selection of things impacted by the Action. They are related to the Team that is responsible for performing the work.

How to do it

8.4. Workflow Configuration

Purpose

To create a new workflow configuration that ATS uses to move an Action through it's specific workflow.

Ats Workflow Configuration artifacts.

ATS uses four main artifacts to configure a workflow for use by a Team.

How to do it

8.4.1. ATS Workflow Configuration Editor


Purpose

Give a graphical method to creating / updating ATS Workflow Configurations. This editor also gives easy access, through double-click" to edit the "Work Page Definition" artifact that represent the selected state.

How to do it

Workflow Configuration - Validation

Validation of a workflow is provided by selecting the check icon and selecting a state, transition or the entire workflow (selecting the white background). This will popup whatever error occurs or a "Validation Success" if all is ok.

Note: This same validation will occur during save and will fail if all problems are not resolved.

8.4.2. Work Flow Definition Artifact

Purpose

The Work Flow Definition artifact specifies the workflow that a team moves through to complete an Action. This artifact specifies the states, their transitions and the start state of the workflow. Creation/Editing of this artifact can either be done through the Artifact Editor or using the Workflow Configuration Editor (OSEE 0.6.0 Release and beyond).

How to do it - Configuration Editor

How to do it - Artifact Editor

On the Common branch in the Artifact Editor, Expand "Action Tracking System" and right-click on "Work Flows", select New Child -> Work Flow Definition. Enter a unique namespace name for this workflow (eg: org..code). In the Artifact Editor, add and set the attributes and relations as below.

  • Attributes
  • Relations
  • 8.4.3. Work Page Definition Artifact

    Purpose

    The Work Page Definition artifact configures a single state of the Workflow Configuration.

    How to do it - ATS Workflow Configuration Editor

    The ATS Workflow Configuration Editor will allow the editing of the three main fields of a Work Page Definition Artifact. The remaining fields, and the relations to Work Rules and Work Widgets must be done through the Artifact Editor.

    How to do it - Artifact Editor

    Work Page Definitions are either stored as children of their Work Flow Definition artifact or under the "Work Pages" folder.
    On the Common branch in the Artifact Editor, Expand "Action Tracking System" and right-click on "Work Page", select New Child -> Work Page Definition, or double-click an existing Work Page Definition artifact. Edit the following attributes and relations accordingly.

  • Attributes
  • Relations
  • 8.4.4. Work Rule Widget Artifact

    Purpose

    The Work Widget Definition artifact specifies a single widget, via xml, that will be displayed on the state page in the ATS Workflow Editor.

    How to do it - Artifact Editor

    On the Common branch in the Artifact Editor, Expand "Action Tracking System" expand "Work Widget" and double-click any existing Work Widget. Edit the following attributes and relations accordingly.

  • Attributes
  • Relations
  • 8.4.5. Work Rule Definition Artifact

    Purpose

    The Work Rule Definition artifact specifies a single rule that can be applied to workflow configurations or to Team Definition artifacts. These rules are normally backed by java code that performs certain tasks like automatically creating new reviews, assigning workflows to specific users or specifying states as allowing create/commit of branches.

    How to do it - Artifact Editor

    On the Common branch in the Artifact Editor, Expand "Action Tracking System" expand "Work Rule" and double-click any existing Work Rule. Edit the following attributes and relations accordingly.

  • Attributes
  • Relations
  • 8.5. Configure ATS for Help

    Purpose

    To configure ATS workflows to use the integrated help system. ATS help useds a combination of widget tooltip, static help pages and dynamic help content configured through extended plugins.

    How to do it

    9.1. Branch Manager View


    Purpose

    The Branch Manager View is used to display all of the branches in Skynet, as well as details for the transactions on each branch.

    Branches and transactions can be sorted by clicking on the column heading for the column to sort by. Initially, the data will be sorted in ascending order. Clicking the same column multiple times will toggle the sorting between ascending and descending.

    Locating branches can also be aided by filtering or using favorites.

    Icons

    9.1.1. Default Branch

    What it is

    The branch which is returned to any program that asks for the current default branch. For instance, the Artifact Explorer will use the default branch to determine what artifacts to show, and artifact searches are performed against the default branch.

    How to tell what the default branch is

    The Branch Manager view shows all of the branches with the icon.

    The default branch will have a at the top right of the normal branch icon.

    Most views and editors that are working with artifacts will show the branch in the status bar next to the branch icon.

    How to set it

    The default branch is set from the Branch Manager view. Use sorting or filtering in the table to find the desired branch. Right-click on the branch and then select Set Default Branch from the popup menu.

    The Set Default Branch option will be disabled if any of the following cases are true:

    9.1.2. Favorite Branch

    What it is

    A branch that the user has marked as a favorite. Any number of branches can be marked as favorite. This is used in conjunction with the Show Favorites First filter to quickly locate branches of interest.

    How to tell which branches are favorites

    The Branch Manager view shows all of the branches with the icon.

    A favorite branch will have a at the bottom left of the normal branch icon.

    How to set/unset it

    A favorite branch is set from the Branch Manager view. Use sorting or filtering in the table to find the desired branch. Right-click on the branch and then select Mark As Favorite or Unmark As Favorite from the popup menu.

    9.1.3. Branch Filtering

    What it is

    A quick way to limit which branches are displayed in the Branch Manager view.

    How to do it

    Type text in to the box labeled Filter:. As characters are typed, the Branch Manager will update to only display branches whose name contains the text, ignoring the case.

    If no text is entered then all branches will be displayed.

    9.1.4. Show Change Report

    What it is

    A view that shows all of the changes made on a branch, or between two transactions on the same branch.

    How to do it

    For a branch

    Use filtering or sorting to locate the branch of interest. Right-click the branch and select Show Change Report. The change report will show all changes made on the branch since its baseline.

    If anything is selected in addition to the one branch, then the Show Change Report menu item will be disabled.

    For a range of transactions

    Use filtering or sorting to locate the branch with the transactions. Then locate the starting and ending transactions. Select both of the transactions by ctrl-clicking each transaction, then right-click and select Show Change Report. The change report will show all changes after the earlier transaction, up to and including the later transaction.

    If anything is selected in addition to the two transactions, or the two transactions are on seperate branches, the Show Change Report menu item will be disabled.

    9.2. Change Report View


    Purpose

    The Change Report View is used to summarize the changes that have been made on a branch or series of transactions.

    Icons

    Branch Change Report

    A Change Report can be performed for a branch two ways. The first way is by selecting right-clicking a branch from the Branch Manager then choosing the "Show Change Report" menu item. The second way is to select "Show Change Report" from the Aspect view of an ATS Action that is still in work; this will do a Change Report for the working branch of the Aspect.

    This type of Change Report will display all of the artifacts on the branch that have had an attribute or relation link modified. It will also do conflict detection on these artifacts against the parent branch. All changes done on the current artifact will appear with a grey right arrow, while all changes from the parent branch will be shown with a blue left arrow. Attributes and relation links with multiple changes will provide a summarized node that shows the final effect of the changes and can be expanded to view all of the minor changes that were made. If an attribute or relation link was modified on both branches then the summary will show a red conflict mark to signify that a commit will cause an override to occur.

    9.2.1. Refresh Change Report

    Purpose

    Forces the Change Report to be recomputed. This is typically used when the Change Report snapshot has become out of date, noted by a next to the snapshot description on the first line of the Change Report.

    How to do it

    Select the refresh button () from the toolbar on the top portion of the Change Report view.

    If the Change Report view is empty then the refresh button will do nothing.

    9.3. Quick Search View

    The Quick Search view allows users to perform searches for information that is contained inside artifacts in a selected branch.

    quick search view

    To find all artifacts that contain a particular set of keywords:

    1. Select search icon Window > Show View > Other... > OSEE > Quick Search, to open the view.
    2. Type your search string in the Enter Search String combo box, or use the pull-down list to select a previously entered search expression.
      Special characters such as (' ', !, ", #, $, %, (, ), *, +, ,, -, ., /, :, ;, <, >, ?, @, [, \, ], ^, {, |, }, ~, _) are assumed to be word separators unless By Id option is selected. When By Id option is selected, (, and ' ') are treated as separators.

      For example:

      • When By Id is not selected, hello.world will be translated to hello and world. The search will match attributes with hello and world keywords.
      • When By Id is selected, (A+ABG7jFm+0BKaVZIxfqOQ,AFABG7jFm+0BKaVZIxfqOQ PX1FH) will be interpreted as 2 GUID(s) and 1 HRID. The search will match artifacts containing A+ABG7jFm+0BKaVZIxfqOQ and AFABG7jFm+0BKaVZIxfqOQ as its GUID or PX1FH as its HRID.
    3. Finish entering your search options, (for example, to scope the search to include deleted artifacts, check the include deleted option), and click Search or press Enter from the combo box to execute the search.
    4. The Search view displays the results of your search. Right-click on any item in the Search view to open a pop-up menu that allows you perform various operations on the artifacts such as copy search results to the clipboard or reveal a selected artifact in Artifact Explorer. To open one of the listed artifacts, double-click it or select Open from its pop-up menu.

    Related concepts
          Attribute Tagging

    Related reference
          Attribute Type Filter Search Option
          By Id Search Option
          Include Deleted Search Option
          Word Order Match Search Option

    9.3.2. Quick Search Include Deleted Search Option

    What it is

    An option to include artifacts that have been deleted as part of a quick search on the default branch.

    How to do it

    Type in the desired words. Make sure the Include Deleted option is selected under Options, then press the Search button.

    Shortcuts

    Pressing enter in the text entry box is equivalent to pressing the Search button.

    Related reference
          Quick Search View

    9.3.3. Attribute Tagging for Quick Search

    When an artifact is saved, each attribute contained in the artifact is analyzed to produce a list of tags that are then associated with the artifact. Quick search is a form of keyword based searching which uses tags to perform contextual artifact searches.

    For an attribute to be tagged by the system, it must meet the following criteria:

    1. The attribute's type must specify an Attribute Tagger to be used by the tagging system.
    2. The attribute must contain valid data.
    3. The attribute revision must be saved in the database before sending to tagging system.

    To produce tags, modified attributes are sent to the OSEE application server where the tagging system processes each attribute using an Attribute Tagger specified by the attribute's type. The Attribute Tagger knows how to interpret the attribute's data and how to extract words from the content. At this point, a word is defined as a sequential set of alphanumeric characters delimited by one or more spaces. As words are parsed, they are sent to the tagging system's word encoder where the following processing takes place:

    1. The characters in the original word are converted to lower case.
    2. The lower cased version of the word is encoded and stored in the tagging system.
    3. The lower cased version of the word is split using punctuation characters such as (' ', !, ", #, $, %, (, ), *, +, ,, -, ., /, :, ;, <, >, ?, @, [, \, ], ^, {, |, }, ~, _) as delimiters.
    4. Possessive words (ending in 's) are converted into regular form.
    5. Each word is converted from plural to singular form.
    6. Each word is encoded and stored in the tag system.

    When encoding words into tags, the tag encoder uses an algorithm which transforms the word's characters into a bit-packed tag that will fit in a 64-bit integer. The tag will represent up to 12 characters (all that can fit into 64-bits). Longer words will be turned into consecutive tags.

    Tag Encoding Examples

    Original Keywords Encoding
    appendeces appendix -220858502
    battery(ies) battery 529513131
    alternate/backup
    alternate
    backup
    -1420231874
    24902827

    Related reference
          Quick Search View

    9.4. Mass Artifact Editor

    Purpose

    The Mass Artifact Editor allows the easy view of multiple artifact along with their attributes. This editor can be viewed from right-click off Artifact Explorer, Search Results page, or via ATS action. Single cells can be edited via Alt-Left-Mouse-Click. After editing any number of artifacts shown, the save button persists this data.

    Note: This editor will close upon switch of default branch unless the editor is tied to the common branch.

    Actions

    Select to refresh the contents.
    Select to Customize Table.
    Select to Report a Bug.

    9.5. Merge Manager View


     

    Purpose

    The Merge Manager is used to resolve conflicts that arise when doing development on parallel branches.  The Merge Manager makes conflicts that arise easily identifiable and then provides the means for resolving the conflicts, so that the working branch can be committed.

    Icons

    Overview

    The Merge Manager is in place to find conflicts and help users resolve these conflicts.  A conflict exists if the value of an attribute/artifact has changed on both the Destination and Source Branches.  For reference the Source Branch is the users working branch.  It is the branch that the user has been making changes to and would like to then add back into the Destination Branch or Baseline Branch.  Both branches are identified by name in the header of the Merge Manager. 

    Depending upon the conflict found, the user may have several choices for resolution.  These include

    Committing of Branches is blocked until all conflicts are resolved.

    The GUI

    The GUI is organized to provide the user with an ability to quickly identify conflicts.

     

    Resolution Of Conflicts

    For Word Formatted Content conflicts see the section below.  This section addresses all other conflicts.

    Resolution Of Conflicts (Word Formatted Content)

    Resolution of conflicts is provided in two different ways.  They can either copy and paste the changes into their Merge Artifact document or they can generate a Three Way Merge and accept the changes that show up in the generated document.  Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages and are best suited for different situations.  They can also be combined where the situation warrants it, however the three way merge must always be done first if this is the case.

    Additional Features

    The Merge Wizard contains a "Clear the Merge Artifact" that is not available from the right click menu and only available for Word Formatted Content.  This will empty out the Merge artifact and allow the user to start with an empty document for editing.  It will also place a icon in the merge value column for that conflict.

     

     

    10.1. Table Customization

    Purpose

    Customize the table to show desired columns, widths with specified sorting and filters. Enables loading of both personal and global customizations and provides the ability to select a customization as the default customization to be loaded upon startup.

    Select Customization

    Lists current personal and global customizations to be selected from. Double-click to automatically load selected customizationa and close dialog.

    Select Customization - Icons / Overlays

    Select Customization - Buttons

    Configure Customization

    Allows for the selected customization to be configured, loaded and saved.

    Configure Customization - Buttons

    12.1. OSEE Branching and Differences Diagrams

    OSEE Branching Diagram
    OSEE Differeces Diagram