| RE: [alf-dev] SCM Workspace discussion |
|
All, I need to weigh in on the side of Mark. The intention of ALF
is not necessarily to enable additional p2p integrations among ALM tools, but
to enable event-triggered orchestration among these tools. The real-life use
cases I’ve seen (see previous email) don’t require files to be
streamed. Instead, ‘Synchronize Workspace’ comes much closer to the
mark, both for getting code out of a repository and for putting new versions of
files back in. Richard, while there certainly are use cases for streaming
files from a repository, I don’t believe these are *ALF* use cases. The ALF use cases are much
less finely grained. Let’s take a look at your examples and see if they
make sense as ALF scenarios. Build tool <--->
SCM [to update workspaces, ...] Already discussed. Issue-tracking tool
<--> SCM [e.g., to ask what change-set goes with a given issue...] Is this an ALF integration or a real-time query from the IDT
to the SCC tool? It sounds like a real-time query, which is not an ALF scenario
but is instead a p2p integration between IDT and SCC. Testing tool <---> SCM
[e.g., to populate a test workspace with scripts, or to checkout/checkin
individual tests or test results] Half and half on this one. Populating
a workspace with scripts, etc could be an ALF scenario, but that would be
similar to workspace synchronization we already discussed. However, checking in
and out individual files as they are being modified by the tester? That is a
real-time operation not requiring an ALF orchestration. Requirements management tool
<---> SCM [e.g., to version the requirements docs, or to associate
requirements with change-sets that implement them] Version the requirements doc sounds
like a real-time requirement. I work on the requirements. I finish work. I
click a button that immediately sends a copy of my doc to the SCC repository. I
don’t see that as an ALF integration. Requirements to change-sets might be
one. Dev tasks get associated with requirements. Change sets get associated
with Dev tasks. Therefore, by the transitive theory of Change Sets, Change Sets
get associated with Requirements. That shouldn’t require any file
streaming, just metadata association, right? However, I have not heard this
requirement from any customer. Associations don’t need to be copied; they
can be maintained through relationships, which is all customers need for things
like Sox compliance. CAD/CAM tool <---->
SCM [e.g., to checkin/checkout, or baseline, some set of design artifacts] Etc. Again, this one sounds more like a
p2p integration. I’m done with my design, so I check it in. It would be
unnecessarily complex to raise an event instead and have ALF do the check-in. IMHO based on discussions with customers about integration requirements. Regards, shaw ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. |