Rational Method Composer

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Rational Method Composer is a software product from IBM and was released on the market in November 2005. Its purpose is to produce HTML documentation for software procedures. The Rational Method Composer is based on the Eclipse Process Framework and uses the same code base . The product is intended to help make the documentation of software procedures more consistent, easier to understand and easier to follow. The Rational Method Composer is supplied with ready-made process modules that allow process documentation to be created more quickly.

architecture

The Rational Method Composer saves all information in a directory structure from XML files. This directory structure is called the "library" in the tool. Since the information is stored in files and not in databases, authors cannot edit the same libraries at the same time. If such a working method is necessary, the library must first be transferred to a software configuration management system.

functionality

After opening / creating a library, the author creates so-called "method plug-ins" which contain the procedure.

There are two types of content that

  • Method content as well as the
  • Process content

Method contents are static , reusable building blocks of a procedure. Examples of this are roles, work results, tasks and instructions. Relationships between these elements are defined within the method content, such as the assignment of a role to a task or a work product as input or output of a task.

In the process part, sequences or hierarchies are defined for the tasks. Small groupings of tasks are called activities, larger groups are called process patterns or provisioning processes. When a process is finished, an associated overview page can be published. When published, HTML pages are generated with a predefined appearance. Relationships between process elements are represented by navigable hyperlinks . The web pages can then be 'hosted' on a web server. There is always a tree structure browser on the left to make it easier to navigate through the document and a central display area to view the content. Further built-in navigation aids are the functions 'Search' (full text search in the content for a term) and 'Breadcrumbs' (shows where the currently displayed content is located in the process structure).

The procedure can also be used as a basis for projects in MS Projects , Rational Team Concerts or process documentation tools as a supplement to Websphere Business Modeller.

Application area

Rational Method Composer is typically used in software organizations in which strict adherence to processes is important (e.g. security-relevant software), the procedure used is complex or a process has to be followed by many people (e.g. partner companies).

Operating systems

  • Enterprise Linux 4 WS Update 8, Enterprise Linux 4 WS Update 5,
  • Red Hat Linux Desktop 4 Update 8, Red Hat Linux Desktop 4 Update 5, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5.0 Update 1,
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 SP3, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1,
  • Windows 2000, Windows 2003 Enterprise SP1, Windows 2003 Enterprise SP2, Windows 2003 Standard SP1, Windows 2003 Standard SP2,
  • Windows XP Professional SP2, Windows XP Professional SP3, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Ultimate

Integrated configuration management systems

In order to enable the simultaneous processing of libraries, a software configuration management system is required, which automatically supports the following:

  • CVS 1.11.17;
  • TPC 3.2.2
  • Subversion Server 1.4.3;
  • Sub-Eclipse plug-in 1.2.4
  • ClearCase Server version,
  • SCM Eclipse-supported version 7.0.0 or CCRC version 7.0.1 or 7.1.0

assessment

The process documentation produced is easy to understand and easy to navigate. Above all, it is very consistent because there are no broken links. The included process content base is also very helpful and covers many types of software development. The functions for creating your own content are easy to use even without extensive knowledge.

procurement

Rational Method Composer is a commercial product. A free, open source version called 'Eclipse Process Framework' (without the ability to integrate with other IBM tools such as Rational Portfolio Manager and Rational Software Architect or migrate from Rational Process Workbench) is available through the Eclipse Foundation .

Web links