Rational Focal Point and Collaborative Lifecycle Management

Contents

1. Connecting to the Jazz server
2. Adding OSLC-CM integration attributes
3. Creating and viewing work items
4. Fetching information from the CLM system
5. Setting up integration attributes in Rational Focal Point to export projects to CLM
6. Integration attribute aliases for projects
7. Exporting projects from Rational Focal Point
8. Updating project and business need information
Integrating Rational Focal Point with Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM)

Rational Focal Point and Collaborative Lifecycle Management

IBM® Rational® Focal Point™ provides Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) integrations through its support of the Open Services Lifecycle Collaboration (OSLC) change management specification. You can configure Rational Focal Point to work with Open Services Lifecycle Collaboration - Change Management (OSLC-CM) providers, such as Rational Team Concert.

With this integration, you can use the Rational CLM products to plan, execute, and deliver solutions. For example, in a product management context, you can define the release contents in Rational Focal Point and use Rational Team Concert to support development.

After setting up the integration with the Jazz™ server, you can create work items, link to existing work items, and view work item information in a Jazz server.

To connect to a project area in Jazz server and create links to work items, you must configure a CALM link attribute type for a module.


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Connecting Rational Focal Point and the Jazz Team Server

1. Connecting to the Jazz server

An administrator can set up the integration with the Jazz™ server. For IBM® Rational® Focal Point™ and Jazz server to communicate and share data, OAuth keys must be established to access servers. Also, you must create friends relationships to manage the list of cooperating servers.

Before you begin

A Jazz server administrator must create a consumer key in Jazz server for Rational Focal Point.

Procedure

  1. From a Jazz server administrator, obtain the consumer key and the consumer secret that is configured for Rational Focal Point.
  2. In Rational Focal Point, click Application > Friends.
  3. Click the Add friend icon Add friend.
  4. In the Add OAuth Friend window, add the Jazz server details.
    1. Specify a name for the connection. For example, RTC 1.
    2. Specify the Jazz server root services URL. Examples:
      • If you are connecting to Rational Team Concert 2.x, the root services URL would be https://www.example.com:9443/jazz/rootservices.
      • If you are connecting to Rational Team Concert 3.x, the root services URL would be https://www.example.com:9443/ccm/rootservices
    3. In the OAuth Consumer Key field, specify the consumer key that was created for Rational Focal Point in Jazz server.
    4. In the OAuth Secret field, specify the consumer secret.
    5. Click Save.

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Adding OSLC-CM integration attributes to integrate with Jazz Team Server

2. Adding OSLC-CM integration attributes

To link to a specific project area in Jazz™ server and create work items or link to existing work items, you must configure a CALM link attribute for a module.

Before you begin

You must be an administrator to integrate Rational® Focal Point™ and a Jazz server.

Procedure

  1. Click Configure > Attributes.
  2. Select the module to link with Jazz server.
  3. Click Add Attribute.
  4. Click CALM Link.
  5. Specify a name and the description for the attribute. When you create a work item, these values are displayed in the summary and the description field of the work item.
  6. The Allowed Service Providers field lists the name of the connections that are added in the Friends list to establish the connection between the servers. Select the required connection server.
  7. All the project areas that are available in the selected server are listed. Select the required project area to which you want to link.
  8. Click OK.

What to do next

You can add attributes to retrieve more work item information, such as total estimates from Jazz Team Server. For information, see Fetching information from the CLM system.

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Creating and viewing work items by using the CLM integration

3. Creating and viewing work items

In IBM® Rational® Focal Point™, you can create work items that are added to the Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) repository. You can also search for work items in the CLM system, link to them, and view information.

Before you begin

Procedure

  1. In Rational Focal Point, open the module that contains the attribute values to edit.
  2. In the CALM link attribute row, click the Edit icon Edit icon.
  3. To link to a work item in the CLM system, click Select.
    1. Specify your CLM system user ID and password to log in to the tool.
    2. In the Work item selection window, search for the required work item by specifying the work item number or a keyword.
    3. From the search results, select the required work item.
    4. Click OK. The work item title and number are listed in the attribute row.
  4. To create a work item, click Create New.
    1. Specify your CLM system user ID and password to log in to the tool.
    2. Add the required work item details. Ensure that you specify all the mandatory attributes for the work item. By default, the summary and the description field are populated with the name and the description that you specified for the CALM attribute in Rational Focal Point.
    3. Click OK. The work item title and number are listed in the attribute row.
  5. Click Save Save icon to save the attribute value for the module.
    Tip: To view the work item details, hover the cursor over the work item that is listed as the attribute value.

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Fetching work item information from the CLM system by using the XPathValueFetcher business rule

4. Fetching information from the CLM system

You can retrieve details about work items, such as their total estimate value and time spent values, by using the XPathValueFetcher business rule. The XPathValueFetcher business rule queries work items in the Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) system.

Before you begin

Procedure

To configure an attribute to fetch work item information from the CLM system:

  1. Click Configure > Attributes.
  2. Select the module that contains the CALM link attribute and that requires an attribute to fetch more information from the CLM system.
  3. Click Add Attribute.
  4. Select the attribute type based on the type of value that you fetch from the CLM system. For example, to fetch values from the estimate field in Rational® Team Concert, you can use integer attribute type.
  5. Specify a name and description for the attribute.
  6. In the Default value field, specify the XPathValueFetcher business rule in the following format:
    =XPathValueFetcher('CALM link attribute',"URL parameters","XPath expression","Global User ID")
  7. Click OK.

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Setting up integration attributes to export projects

5. Setting up integration attributes to export projects

After a project with the required business needs is finalized in IBM® Rational® Focal Point™, you can export the project to a Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) system for project execution. When you export a project to a CLM system, a project area is created, and work items are created for each business need. You can synchronize with the CLM system at regular intervals to view the project status.

Before you begin

Set up the integration with the Jazz™ server.

Procedure

To configure the integration attributes to export projects:

  1. Connect to a server:
    1. In Rational Focal Point, click Configure > Integrations.
    2. Click Add connector.
    3. Select a view that displays projects.
  2. Configure the integration attributes and corresponding aliases for the project:
    1. Click Configure > Attributes, and select the module for the project.
    2. In the module, verify that the integration attributes for the proposed start date, proposed finish date, and project link are available. If those attributes do not exist, create them. Optionally, you can set up additional integration attributes.
    3. Click Configure > Alias, and configure the aliases for the integration attributes, as specified in integration attribute aliases.
  3. Configure integration attributes for business needs. The business needs can be in different modules. You can complete these steps for each module:
    1. Click Configure > Attributes and select a business need module.
    2. In a business need module, verify that the integration attributes that you want are available, or create those attributes.
    3. Click Configure > Alias, and configure the aliases for the integration attributes, as specified in integration attribute aliases.

What to do next

When the integration is set up, click Application > Login Page to verify that the login page settings specify the Login or Balancer URL that you use to log in. This URL is used in CLM to display links to the current Rational Focal Point installation.

You are now ready to export a project from Rational Focal Point to CLM.


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Aliases for integration attributes in CLM and Rational Focal Point

6. Integration attribute aliases for projects

When Rational® Focal Point™ and a Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) system are integrated, you can handle the same project information from a portfolio and a project perspective. As part of the integration setup, you must specify the integration attribute aliases from Rational Focal Point that are recognized by both products.

Attributes for exporting project

The attribute names can differ in the products. However, to share and update the content of the integration attributes, all integration attributes must use the specified aliases.
Table 1. Attributes in Rational Focal Point that are transferred to CLM when exporting a project
Module Attribute Attribute type Alias Name in CLM (Formal Project Management Template) Comments
Projects Title Text - Project area name The name of the project in Rational Focal Point will be the name of the project area in CLM.
Projects Target Start Date Date ProposedStart Start Date The start date is the iteration start date. In CLM, the date is visible in Project-Administration > Time-line editor.
Projects Target End Date Date ProposedFinish Finish Date The finish date is the iteration finish date. In CLM, the date is visible in Project-Administration > Time-line editor.
Projects Business Needs Incoming Links Tasks Plan Item, Task, Defect, and so on. A work item type, such as Plan item, Story, or Defect. Defined by the process template in CLM.
Projects Link to Project in CLM URL ProjectMgmtURI - A navigation web link to the project in the plan view in CLM
Projects Implementation Project URI URL ProjectMgmtSyncURI - A hidden mandatory link that is used for integration
Business Needs Title Text - Work item Summary The name of each business need in Rational Focal Point will be the summary for the work item.
Business Needs Description Text - Work item Description The description of each business need in Rational Focal Point will be the description for the work item.
When you export a project, links to the project in CLM are created:

Attributes for updating projects

Table 2. Attributes in Rational Focal Point that are updated with data from the CLM system when updating a project
Module Attribute Attribute type Alias Name in CLM (Formal Project Management Template) Comments
Projects Total Planned Effort Integer PlannedEffort Planned Effort The planned effort in CLM is shown as a progress bar in the iteration plan view in the Eclipse client. In the web client, the planned effort is in the iteration plan list view.
Projects Total Actual Effort Integer ActualWork Actual Effort The actual effort in CLM is shown as a progress bar in the iteration plan view in the Eclipse client. In the web client, the actual effort is in the iteration plan list view.
Projects Planned Start Date Date PlannedStart Planned Start The planned start date is in the iteration plan list view in CLM.
Projects Planned End Date Date PlannedFinish Planned Finish The planned end date is in the iteration plan lists view in CLM.
Projects Last Snapshot Date Date SnapshotDate Snapshot creation date Before an update can be done in Rational Focal Point, you must take a snapshot in CLM. The date of the snapshot is shown in Rational Focal Point after the update.
Projects Completeness (%) Integer PercentComplete Percent Complete The progress of all the business needs are rolled up and displayed as the project completeness in the CLM system. For example, 34% or 78%.
Business Needs Planned Effort Integer PlannedEffort Estimate / Correction The estimate in CLM is shown as the planned effort in Rational Focal Point. If a correction is entered, the estimate is overridden.
Business Needs Actual Effort Integer ActualWork Time Spent The time spent in CLM is shown as the actual effort in Rational Focal Point.
Business Needs Planned Start Date Date PlannedStart Planned Start The planned start date contains information from the work item timeline in the Gantt view (plan details) in CLM.
Business Needs Actual Start Date Date ActualStart Actual Start The actual start date contains information from the work item timeline in the Gantt view (plan details) in CLM.
Business Needs Planned End Date Date PlannedFinish Planned Finish The planned end date is populated with information from the work item timeline in the Gantt view (plan details) in CLM.
Business Needs Actual End Date Date ActualFinish Actual Finish The actual end date is populated with information from the work item timeline in the Gantt view (plan details) in CLM.
Business Needs Last Snapshot Date Date SnapshotDate Snapshot creation date The last snapshot date for a business need will be the same date as for the project that it is related to.
Business Needs Completeness (%) Integer PercentComplete Percent Complete The progress of all the children work items are rolled up and is displayed as percentage completeness in the CLM system. For example, 34% or 78%.
Business Needs Work Items CALM Link WorkItem - The work items attribute in Rational Focal Point links to the work item in CLM.

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Exporting projects from Rational Focal Point to CLM

7. Exporting projects from Rational Focal Point

You can export a project and its related business needs from IBM® Rational® Focal Point™ to a Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) system for project execution. The export creates a project area and work items for each business need. A link to the new project is created and displayed in Rational Focal Point.

Before you begin

Before you export projects, set up the integration by specifying the integration attributes. You must have the required permissions to create the project area in CLM.

Procedure

To export projects and business needs:

  1. In Rational Focal Point, click Display and select the view that contains the project to export.
  2. Click Create project in Jazz.
  3. Select the friends list server, enter your Jazz login credentials, and click Log In.
  4. Select the required process template. The project area that is created is based on the selected process template.
  5. Select the required work item type. All the business needs are created as work items of the selected type.
  6. Select an owner for the work items.
  7. Click Create. If a new business need is added to a project, you can create a work item in the CLM system from the business need element.

Results

In the CLM system, a project area, a top iteration, and a release plan that correspond to the project are created. For each business need, work items are created in the CLM system. After the export is complete, the Project URI field is updated with the URI of the new project. To open the project, click the link. For the business needs that are exported as work items, you can create related work items in the CLM system.

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Updating project and business need information from CLM

8. Updating project and business need information

You can update project information and related business needs from a Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) system for all integration attributes that are specified for the project.

Procedure

To update projects and business needs:

  1. In the CLM system, create a snapshot of the planned type for the release plan.
  2. In IBM® Rational® Focal Point™, click Display. Select the view that contains the project that is exported to CLM.
  3. Click Update project.
  4. If the session has expired, enter your Jazz login credentials. Click Log In.

Results

The selected project is updated with the information from CLM.
Note: If new work items that must be associated with business needs in Rational Focal Point are added to the project area in the CLM system, you can create a business need with the required attributes in Rational Focal Point. Then, you can link the business need to the work items in the CLM system. For more information, see Creating and viewing work items

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