Declaring a New Master Plan
Having debugged the different life cycle steps of your objects, you can study implementation planning of your different projects by creating master plans allowing you to then create Gantt charts.
A master plan is a low detail level definition of a long-term project. A master plan coherently groups milestones and planned elements with time periods defined by milestones.
Creating a Master Plan
To create a master plan:
1. [Windows Front-End] Expand the Main Objects navigation tree.
2. [Web Front-End] Click the Repository navigation window then Main Objects.
3. Right-click the Master Plans folder and select New > Master Plan
4. In the dialog box that appears, indicate the name of the master plan.
5. Indicate the owner library if required. By default, the master plan created is connected to the default library.
Libraries enable storage of objects contained in the
HOPEX repository.
6. Select the MetaClasses of objects that enable definition of the type of master plan to be created.
7. If the objective of the master plan is to study the cumulative results of several master plans, select the Master plans aggregation check box.
8. Select the planning mode. By default the master plan is oriented by dates.
9. Click OK.
You can create a master plan from an application by right-clicking the application to open its pop-up menu, then select
New Master Plan.
Planning mode
Two planning modes are possible:
• Date oriented: planning of elements is carried out according to precise dates. In this case, creation of a new plan will not include default milestones. This type of plan is useful to describe technological constraints. In this case, availability dates are not controlled by enterprise business function milestones, but are collected from external information. Milestones are therefore unnecessary in this type of plan.
• Milestone oriented: planning of elements is according to milestones, which represent a business function timespot without a precise date imposed. In the case of an applications master plan, we can imagine that milestones constraining applications correspond to expectation of a new functionality.
Viewing and Updating Master Plan Content
On creation of a master plan, the corresponding Gantt chart is automatically created.
To view the Gantt chart of a master plan:
1. Open the master plan properties dialog box.
2. Display the Gantt Chart page.
You can also select
Open Gantt Chart from the master plan pop-up menu.
Master Plan Objectives and Requirements
Master plan creation can be motivated with the aim of achieving strategic objectives, or by the need to satisfy external requirements (from customers and from other enterprise departments). These two aspects are not exclusive. In both cases, it is useful to keep track of motivations that led to establishment of a master plan. It consists here of determining the corresponding objectives and requirements.
When a master plan has to meet a major objective or a major requirement, we should create the objective or requirement in question from the master plan.
An objective is a goal that a company or organization wants to achieve, or is the target set by a process or an operation. An objective allows you to highlight the features in a process or operation that require improvement.
A requirement is a need or expectation explicitly expressed, imposed as a constraint to be met within the context of a project. This project can be a certification project or an organizational project or an information system project.
Creating objectives
Objectives and requirements are not visible by default. To use objectives and requirements, you must select the corresponding option:
1. [Windows Front-End] In the workspace, click Tools > Options.
2. [Web Front-End] In the workspace, click Main menu > Settings > Options.
The options window appears.
3. In the options tree, click Business Process and Architecture Modeling:
4. In the right pane of the window, select the Objectives and requirements modeling check box.
5. Click OK.
To create an objective in the master plan:
1. Open the master plan properties dialog box.
2. Display the Objectives & Requirements page.
3. In the Achieved Objective space, click the New button.
Defining the contributing elements of an objective
When the objective or requirement has been specified, you can indicate the elements that will contribute to achievement.
The response to new objectives and requirements of the master plan is by adding new functionalities to the information system. At this stage, components supporting these functionalities are as yet unknown, their design is the expected result. A first step therefore consists of listing the functionalities allowing the system to support demand, and to connect these functionalities to objectives (or requirements) for tracking.
To indicate functionalities contributing to an objective or requirement:
1. Open the properties dialog box of the objective or requirement in question.
2. Select the Contributors tab.
3. Select the Functionality element type and click the New or Connect button depending on whether you wish to create a functionality or add an existing functionality.
Example: in a given scenario, one of the objectives could be to encourage exchanges between two partner financial applications. The contributing element could be integration of the Swift format exchange functionality. The functionality to be implemented should be attached to the application that executes it.
Master Plan Status
Based on analysis reports associated with master plans, a plan will be selected or rejected. Master plans have a dedicated property to specify this decision: Master Plan Status
The different values of this property are:
• In Study
• Selected
• Rejected
• Canceled
• Postponed
• Restarted
You can indicate the status of a master plan from its pop-up menu: Master Plan Status.
Master Plan Status is accessible in the plan properties dialog box in the
Characteristics tab.
In the Main Objects navigation tree, master plans are automatically classified by their status. Status of the master plan can be modified by moving it to the corresponding folder.