Configuration Map

What it is and why it exists

In projects with configuration management, streams and baselines grow quickly: a release baseline here, a maintenance stream there, a variant for one customer, a stream for the next release. After a while nobody can say from memory which stream was created from which baseline, or where changes are still waiting to be delivered.

DOORS Next shows configurations one component at a time, in lists and trees that do not fit on a slide. Configuration Map gives configuration managers, project leads and auditors one picture of the configurations of several projects at once, with the open change sets of every stream, that can be printed or shared.

Problems it solves

• No single overview of streams and baselines across components and projects.
• Hard to explain how variants and maintenance streams were derived from release baselines.
• Streams with forgotten change sets that nobody notices.
• Configuration reviews and audits that need a picture of the current state, drawn by hand.

Benefits

• One map of many projects: pick projects from the list of projects you can open and see their components, streams and baselines side by side.
• Where every stream came from: baselines follow their stream from the oldest, and the streams created from a baseline branch off it.
• Open change sets at a glance: every stream shows how many change sets are still open in it; on request each change set is drawn with its name, date and creator.
• Ready to share: save the whole map as PNG, JPG or a PDF of several pages for reviews, audits and presentations.
• Filter without reading again: choose the projects, show or hide archived streams and baselines and each change set, keep only what was created between two dates, and open the map in its own window to use the whole screen.
• Safe: the widget only reads; nothing is changed in DOORS Next.
• Nothing hidden: what you may not read is marked on the map and listed.

How to use

1. Tick the projects to map in the list of projects you can open (filter by name). The open project is ticked for you.
2. Click Open map. The map opens in its own browser window; while the projects are read, the widget shows the progress with Stop. Allow popup windows for DOORS Next.
3. Read the map in its window: streams are yellow, baselines blue and change sets grey, each with its icon. Zoom, scroll or drag to move around and hover a box for its full name. Map type draws the same map as a tree left to right, a tree top to bottom, a compact tree (names only), an outline list, a Git graph, a timeline, a sunburst or a treemap; the choice is remembered. Hide filters and tools (top right) collapses everything above the map at any time so the map gets the room; Show filters and tools brings it back. They are open each time the window opens.
4. Filter the map in the window without reading again: the projects on it, archived streams and baselines, Created from / Created to dates and Show each open change set on the map.
5. Save the map as shown with PNG, JPG or PDF, with its title and legend or as the map only (Title and legend, which also hides them over the map).

Good to know

• Archived streams and baselines are read too and hidden until you show them in the filters; on the map they have a dashed frame.
• A large project area takes longer to read: every stream and baseline is read, a few at a time.
• Very large maps are best saved as PDF: the map is split into pages between rows of boxes, so nothing is cut in half.
• The PDF holds pictures of the map, so its text cannot be searched; names in every language print as on screen.