In this lesson, you will evaluate asset types. Asset types
describe the structure of assets, which can be simple or complex.
As you read in the introduction, an asset of the "Meeting Minutes"
type might not have as strictly defined requirements as an asset of
the "Implementation" type. Requirements can be defined by the business
problem that the asset was created to solve and can depend on the
operating system that it is created for. The information that is associated
with different asset types in the repository can vary.
Before you modify the asset types in the sample SOA model,
browse the list of asset types that were imported in this sample to
evaluate the different types that are shipped with the application.
Also, notice that the asset types are listed in alphabetical order.
Asset-based development strategists for Rational® Asset
Manager advise administrators to name their asset types carefully
so that similar asset types are listed as close to each other as possible.
One repository can have hundreds of asset types; keeping asset types
grouped closely by department or project helps users find the best
asset type quickly.
If you are concerned that the number of
asset types across your repository may become unwieldy for users or
administrators to manage, you could also create a limited number of
asset types and use lifecycles and communities to enforce restrictions
on assets. For more information, see Policies for lifecycles in Rational Asset Manager.
You can use the asset
types that are listed in the sample SOA model as a guide to creating
new asset types for your repository. In this lesson, list and modify
the asset types for the policy and process assets that will be submitted
to the Repository Configuration community and browsed by all signed-in
users in the repository.
To open and duplicate the Architecture
and Case for Change asset types in the sample SOA Model repository:
- In the Repository Administration sidebar, click Asset
Types. There are several common sample asset
types that are available for you to use as templates for the asset
types in your repository.
- Duplicate the Test Plan asset type
by clicking the Duplicate link that is next
to it.
- Type a name for the asset type: My Test Plan. The description of this asset type indicates that assets of
this type will outline a plan for testing a system.
- Click the Constraints tab.
- Do not add an artifact constraint. Artifact
constraints let you require users to attach artifacts with specific
file extensions or file names. For example, if you want to require
that users attach a document to the asset, you could create a constraint
that says they must attach exactly 1 artifact with a .txt extension.
- Configure a constraint that requires users to specify an
asset that the test plan is for:
- In the Relationship Constraints section, click New
Relationship Constraint.
- In the New Relationship Constraint window, type or select
the following:
- Exactly
- 1
- Select - - Any - - asset type.
- In the Relationship list, select Test
for.
- Add a constraint that requires users to identify a repository
user as the contact for supporting the test:
- In the Attribute Constraint section of the Constraints
tab, click Add Attributes.
- Select Support Contact and click Add.
- Then, select the is required check
box located to the far right side of the row.
Now, when users submit assets and select the My Test
Plan asset type, they will be required to select a user
to contact for support before they can submit the asset.
- Click OK to create this asset type.
You have now created an asset type using the sample asset
types for the repository.