Automatic Generation of {Role, Business Service, Application, Location} Catalogs

This Macro script can be used to generate, update and maintain various types of catalog.

For instance, a role catalog can be developed to store different roles that exists within ARIS Repository, likewise ,similar type of catalogs are generally used for Business Services, Appliations, IT Systems, Softwares, Business Function etc.

For example, you have created a role catalog where you have placed some roles that you have modeled as shown below:

Over the time, your ARIS repository will be used and new roles will be created and so the above model will soon be out-dated. By using the attached script you can update your catalog by running and selecting the attribute that your catalog is based on.

To run the script, you need to select one of the symbols within your role catalog, (if catalog is already created or macro will made it for you if no catalog exists will explain this later) and evaluate the macro. The script will ask you enter the <attribute type> that it need to search for:

In the case of role, the <Attribute Type> Name should be "searched for" so you should select <Name> if you select two attribute types then only first one will be selected.

Now you need to provide <search string> in most the cases it would be <*> but in some catalog type if your catalog element is based upon other attribute value for example, let say you have a symbol <Software> Type which have list attribute value type <Vendor> {IBM,Microsoft,SoftwareAG} etc. and you want to generate catalog for IBM Softwares than in the previous step you should select <Vendor> type attribute and search string should be IBM. This will be explained later on.

so keep <*> for the Name attribute. After a while you will be shown the missing catalog contents. But remember, you already have some roles and you just need to populate it with new roles that does not present in your model.

Press Ok to continue, if your catalog contents are large then "OK" buttion might not be visible so just select the diaglog and press enter so the script will continue executing next phase.

Now you will see the following screen, which is very important if you want to create new catalog  model.

In our case we want to update existing catalog so select "YES", if <NO> is selected then script will ask you for the location for new catalog and it will create a new model type of initial model (the model type that is used to start the script).

Because some of the roles already exists so the script will prompt you whether you want to add newly found symbols which we actually desire. Select <YES>

You will see the added contents overlapped within the model.

Use <Indexing Macro> or Model Layout Arrangement to arrange the catalog contents.

The duplicate occurences are different objects. But if your repository have no duplicate objects then you will not view the duplicate occurrence.

The above example is only depicting one aspect on Catalog Script.

Standard Software Catalog

Let say, you have application system type symbol and you maintain an attribute <Standardization Status> for each software with values like <Phased-In, Phased-Out,Evaluation,Standard> etc. You want to maintain catalog of <Standard> Software only i.e. software with that are part of corporate standard.

Now for the above object, we have maintained <attibute type> <Standardization Status> which is of type list. The same script can be used to maintain this type of catalog. In attribute selection dialog, we need to select <Standardization Status>, click on the list and press <S> to view attribute type starting with <S>

Now because the selected attribute type is of LIST so you will see the following option:

For searching purpose, you need to type <Standard> within input dialog and even you can put NULL VALUE to search for all software which we do not want. So type in as follows:

You will see a long list, as shown below, just click anywhere on list and press <ENTER> to continue.

After indexing and arrangement you will see the following model:

Another problem, which frequently occur in dynamic enteprise, is change within standard, profile for instance, any of the application status is change from <standard> to <phased out> but it will still appear within the catalog. see below, if status is changed the catalog will still contain them:

In order to avoid this problem. When you are prompted for the last dialog as shown below:

Select <NO --->delete all the symbols occurrence within model> option in this way, your model will be refereshed and any old content will be removed from the model.

Script is attached with the post and it can be installed within any macro category.