Enterprise Architect

 

ENTERPRISE ARCHITECT 15.2 

A new and significant release of Enterprise Architect which vastly expands the collaborative and mathematical capabilities of the tool, while streamlining and expanding many of the core modeling features. 

 

Working Together 'In the Model'

Seamless In-Model Collaboration

Enterprise Architect's collaboration features have been significantly improved to connect team members and keep the iterative processes of modeling and design alive and healthy.

The chat / instant messaging capabilities are now expanded to allow one-on-one conversations with any other user in the model, facilitating an instant and productive "in model" dialog. Expanding on the group chat feature introduced in previous versions, the new one-on-one mode promotes highly focused discussions within the model and in real-time. 
  

Setting Up Notifications

An all new notification system for chats and monitored discussions allows you to quickly and easily see when a new chat or discussion comes in that is relevant to you. Setting the new ‘Support Collaboration’ property on diagrams enables elements to show a notification icon when new chats and discussions have occurred and you are monitoring them.

To make use of this new mode for model chats,

• Set the "Support Collaboration" property on a diagram
• Place an Actor Element onto that diagram to represent a team member 
• Specify their user logon ID in the Alias field
• Notification icons will now appear next to that Actor when you have an unread message from them
• Select an Actor with a 'New Chat' notification on a diagram to open the chat window to that conversation
• While the chat window is visible, the diagram selection and active chat are synchronized. 

 

 

New Collaborations Window

Stay in touch with your team at every moment with centralized communication via the Collaborations window

 

 

Stay in Touch and Keep Informed

The new Collaborations window collects together the running history and moment to moment changes of the four central aspects of model based collaboration. Now there is one "go to" place to discover what is happening at the team level.

• The Reviews tab provides access to recent and historical activity within either the current review you are joined to, or all reviews (filtered by time or status)
• The Discussions window provides a  (possibly filtered) view of model based discussions, giving you an instant window into team discussions around particular model elements.
• The Comments window provides a history of all elements that have Comments attached to them. Comments are a great way to informally note down requirements, concerns, delays, decisions and other material relevant to an element that does not form part of the actual model.
• The Latest Chats window is a running list of most recent messages in the chat groups and personal chats you have subscribed to.

 

Streamlined & Improved Reviews

A clearer, more intuitive interface for model based reviews

 

 

An improved UI and Filtering

Reviews now have a cleaner user interface with extra filtering configurations. This allows you to pinpoint the desired review by its status, or show all reviews created, both current and past. The user interface has also been enhanced to easily identify reviews that have been locked but not approved by all approvers.

Reviews can now also be locked by a configurable Element Status. Locking removes the capability for a Review to be edited. This provides you with unprecedented control over a Review’s life-cycle. For example, you can lock all reviews with a status of 'Complete' or 'Reviewed' to preserve the decision making process for the current element for future reference. Reviews that have been locked by Element Status are easily identified by an '!' indicator on their icon.

To access the configuration for lock status see the Ribbon: 'Start | Configure | Model | Options | Review Status Locks'

Navigation of elements in a review has also been streamlined.

• The Manage Reviews window contains all the elements in the review, along with the Elements, Approvers and Review Topics.
• Browsing the element list with the Collaborate window open, switches context selection in the Collaborate window to display the selected Review.
• You can now filter the reviews using the context menu option 'Show by Status'.
• The Review history has been moved into the Collaborations window
• Use Approval filters in the Review History to determine approval state

 

Explore and Visualize

All new tools for exploring your model, finding your work in progress and visualizing information

 

 

 

Version 15.2 introduces new windows, new behavior and improved ways of maximizing your modeling time.  New tools such as the Focus window take you back into the model and keep you in touch with recent developments. Old favorites such as the Element Browser have been given a fresh new look and location.

Highlights

• A new Focus Window empowers your modeling
• The Inspector window lets you get into the smallest details
• Dynamic charts - A huge new Chart API and built in JavaScript support
• Dashboard diagrams automatically lay out charts (and other elements) in a selectable grid
• The Google and AWS icon libraries are updated
• DMN sees some cool new features

 

Explore, Find, Trace and Revisit in Record Time

Power up model navigation and quickly find your work in progress

 

 

New 'Focus' Window

The Focus window is a new tool to help you rapidly move through the model and find the places and items you are searching for. Four tools that were previously scattered throughout EA, plus one new tool, provide a central and convenient toolset to help you achieve your goals.

Together these tools help you find your special places, recent files, and favorite items. Get back into the model in record time and stay in touch with recent developments.

What's in the 'Focus' Window

1. The Model Views window. Create searches, pin favorites and navigate to the places that are important to you.
2. A new Quick Find window. Simple search capability that lets you find elements or diagrams in record time.
3. The Trace window. View and navigate the dependencies and connections of the currently selected element.
4. The Recent window. Instant searches that let you see what has been changing in the model in recent history. Stay in touch with recent developments.
5. The Revisit window. Open up that diagram, external file, document or window that you were working with in the recent past.

 

Deep Dive into an Element's Detailed Structure

A user friendly way to navigate the project browser while inspecting elements

 

 

New 'Inspector' Window

The new Inspector window takes the Element Browser window out of the Project Browser and puts it into its own dockable window. Now it is possible to navigate the model and view element details at the same time. Selecting an element in the Project or Context browser will now automatically load the Inspector window with the detailed structure for you to browse and further edit and explore.

Integrated with External Elements

The Element Browser and External Element Browser have also been combined into the new Inspector Window. This provides a user friendly way to navigate the project browser while inspecting element features.

When you select an External Element from another system that is linked into this model, you can see selected details from that element as well. You will only see the External Element browser when you are connected to an external source element from Data Integrations.

Where to Find It

The Inspector window can be accessed from the Ribbon menu: 'Start | Desktop | Design | Explore | Inspector'

 

Huge New Library of Scriptable Dynamic Charts

Exciting new API classes and functions allow you to select chart types, set data and configure styling

Enterprise Architect now ships with an all new JavaScript chart library that can be used to describe charts, their types, data and styling. This library can be called by an element with the SSDynamicChart stereotype and provides a chart that is filled via a script. Dynamic charts are refreshed whenever the diagram they are on is opened or refreshed, so the data is automatically up to date.
The new Behavior code editor view can be used to view and edit the script (Alt+7). This script will run automatically during diagram load to display the chart.

 

 

Elegant Dashboard Views

 

 

Automatic sorting and layout of chart and graph elements

Create impressive reports or track KPIs, metrics and other key data points relevant to your business with the new Dashboard style for diagrams. Enable the option in the properties window and your charts and graphs will be automatically sorted and laid out based on your chosen layout style.

From one chart element to many, elements are automatically laid out to fill the entire viewing area.

There are multiple layouts to choose from - pick the best for your chart types.

Use a continuous style for a scrollable view showing a larger number of elements.

Chart positions can be manually dragged and dropped and will automatically snap into place with all other charts forming around it.

 

A full and updated implementation of the Google Icon Library

 

 

Leverage the Google Icon Library

The MDG Technology for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) provides all of the graphics (icons and images) necessary to model GCP architecture diagrams.

The icons and images are provided by a handy Model Wizard framework pattern.

The Google Web Images pattern contains over 250 Image Assets that can be dragged-and-dropped onto diagrams to create or expand your cloud architectures.