Smartfacts CDCM Core Data Model Documentation

Introduction

Welcome to the Smartfacts Cross Domain Configuration Management (CDCM) tool's core data model documentation. This chapter provides an in-depth overview of the fundamental concepts that constitute the core data model of Smartfacts CDCM. Understanding these concepts is essential for effectively utilizing the capabilities of the CDCM tool for managing configurations across various domains within your organization.

Core Data Model Concepts

1. Space

A Space in Smartfacts CDCM is an isolated workspace that can be allocated to a business unit or major team within your organization. Spaces serve as distinct areas where configuration management activities can be carried out independently. It's important to note that content within a space is strictly isolated, and there is no provision for copying or referencing content between different spaces.

2. Configuration Area

A Configuration Area represents a specific project or program within a Space. Each Configuration Area can encompass multiple components and serves as a container for organizing related configuration management activities. Configuration Areas provide a structured approach to managing configurations at a higher level of granularity.

3. Unit

A Unit within Smartfacts CDCM represents any configurable entity, which can include products, processes, or any other item that requires configuration. Units form the building blocks of Configurations and are managed within the context of Configuration Areas.

4. Configuration (Internal Work Product)

A Configuration, also referred to as an Internal Work Product, represents a versioned instance of a product within Smartfacts CDCM. Each product can have multiple versions, and each version is represented as a Configuration. Additionally, configurations can contain other configurations as sub-configurations, enabling the nesting of versioned components to structure complex products effectively across multiple levels.

5. Configuration Item (External Work Product)

A Configuration Item is a unit of configuration management within Smartfacts CDCM. Configuration Items are associated with configurations and can represent either Internal Work Products or External Work Products.

• Internal Work Products: These are configurations as described under the concept of "Configuration." They represent versioned instances of products managed within Smartfacts CDCM.

• External Work Products: These are references to content generated by external authoring tools, such as requirements management tools, test case management tools, systems architecture modeling tools, CAD tools, document management systems, or any other repository of versioned content.

Configuration Items provide the flexibility to manage both internally created configurations and references to externally generated content within the CDCM tool.

Conclusion

This documentation chapter has outlined the core data model concepts of Smartfacts CDCM, including Spaces, Configuration Areas, Units, Configurations, and Configuration Items. Understanding these concepts is crucial for effectively leveraging the capabilities of Smartfacts CDCM in managing configurations across diverse domains within your organization. For detailed information on utilizing these concepts within the CDCM tool, please refer to the respective sections in the user manual or contact our support team for assistance.