Importing Telelogic DOORS Requirements and
Attributes into a Rhapsody Model Using the Rhapsody
Gateway
The Rhapsody Gateway serves as the conduit to import requirements from
requirements management tools into Rhapsody. This paper shows how the
requirements may be imported requirements from DOORS using the XML import.
This paper is meant as a quick reference. For more information, see the
Rhapsody Gateway documentation (Help->Documentation) and the DOORS
documentation. In addition, Telelogic offers a class on using the Rhapsody
Gateway.
Requirements Engineering Issues:
One of the first issues that you have to solve is what attributes your requirements
will include. Often companies will want to standardize on a set of attributes.
Standardizing attributes allows you to reuse the DOORS template, the Rhapsody
Gateway type, and the Rhapsody Gateway filters from project to project.
Creating the Rhapsody Gateway Type:
The Rhapsody Gateway uses a predefined format, or Type, when interfacing with
DOORS. This type identifies to Rhapsody what data from the DOORS formal
module comprises the requirement.
The easiest way to create a new type is to duplicate an existing one. The Doors
Basic type is a good example because it uses the DOORS XML interface. Open
the Configuration Window and select Types. Select requirements tools->Doors
Basic. Right click and select Duplicate.
Rename the duplicated type. For this example, I am using Doors Experimental.
The XML Intermediate File
The Rhapsody Gateway creates an intermediate file from the DOORS archive.
The data contained in this file is determined by filters (see Creating Filters, later
in this document).
The Rhapsody Gateway only updates the intermediate file when it reads the
DOORS database – when you define the document in the project and when you
explicitly refresh the file (File->Reload or File->Reload All).
An example of the intermediate file is shown below. Notice that every attribute is
named Attribute and each Attribute has name/value tag pairs.
Identifying the Requirement
Both the Doors Basic and the Doors Experimental Types expect the DOORS
requirement to have a Boolean attribute called Requirement (If the attribute is
true, the text is a requirement). If you need to further refine your requirement
definition, you can another Attribute to the definition. In the example below, the
Rhapsody Gateway will only recognize requirements as objects in DOORS with
the attribute “Requirement” set to true and the attribute “DoorsAttribute” set to
red.
Creating the second attribute is not obvious. Therefore, we will go through it
step-by-step.
1. In the Type editor pane, select Doors Experimental->requirement>Requirement.
2. In the Analysis pane, select the <Object> attribute
3. Click on the XML symbol to make a new attribute
4. Select the Tag radio button
5. In the box that says “Tag_Name”, type “Attribute”
6. Click anywhere on the screen (I click on <Object>) to change the focus
7. Click on the Attribute you just created
8. Click on the XML symbol to make a new attribute
9. Select the Attribute radio button
10. Replace Tag_name with “name”
11. Enter the name of the attribute in the Value box. For example,
DoorsAttribute
12. Click on the Attribute you just created in step 2.
13. Click on the XML symbol to make a new attribute
14. Select the Attribute radio button
15. Replace Tag_name with “value”
16. Enter the name of the attribute in the Value box. For example, Red
17. Click anywhere on the screen (I click on <Object>) to change the focus
18. Click Apply if you are finished
Identifying Attributes
Attributes may be passed to Rhapsody along with the requirement. To identify
an attribute:
1. In the Type editor pane, select Doors Experimental->attribute
2. Click the UML indicator to add a new attribute
3. Enter the attribute’s Rhapsody name in the Name box. Note that this
name does NOT need to be the same as the DOORS attribute name.
4. Click <TagRef>. Replace TagRef with “Attribute”
5. Select Attribute (that you just created)
6. Click the UML indicator to create a new tag
7. Select the Attribute radio button
8. Replace Tag_name with “name”
9. In the Value box, enter the name of the DOORS attribute
10. Click the UML indicator to create a new tag
11. Replace Tag_name with “value”
12. Select the Identifier radio button
13. Select the Attribute radio button
14. Click anywhere off the attribute name to change the focus (otherwise the
parameter will not appear in your selection boxes)
Creating Filters
Filters affect which requirements are displayed. You can use filters to control
which requirements the Rhapsody Gateway will export to the Rhapsody model.
To create a new filter, open the filter dialog on the Configuration window. Follow
these steps to create the filter:
1. Click the filter icon to create a new filter. Enter a name in the box.
2. Create the filter conditions. Select a condition. To filter on an attribute,
select the attribute from the Condition drop down.
Filters may include more than one condition. Once you have created a filter,
click anywhere to change the focus. Changing the focus enables the filter in
other dropdown selection boxes.
From Rhapsody to DOORS
We often create derived requirements in the Rhapsody model that we want to
include in DOORS. These requirements may be any number of model artifacts
including use cases. However this paper only concerns itself with Requirements
artifacts.
To push requirements from Rhapsody to DOORS, create the requirements in the
Rhapsody model. Use tags to represent the DOORS attributes. In this example,
we have created two requirements.
Note the tags will be the attributes when these requirements are imported into
the DOORS formal module.
After saving the model, the Rhapsody Gateway will ask to be reloaded. Select
Yes. The requirements now appear in the Gateway.
The next step is to Export Elements to DOORS. All model elements MAY be
exported. Often, you will want to export the elements to a new DOORS formal
module (for example, to build the SRS). If this is the case, select the archive and
indicate the name of the new formal module.
Click Export. The Rhapsody Gateway will determine which elements need to be
added, deleted, and modified (this dialog is not shown). Before accepting the
changes, be sure to close the formal module (if it is open). The changes will be
reflected in the DOORS formal module.