BLUEPRINT READER 2010 INSTALLATION & USER GUIDE 09OCT09

Transcription

1 BLUEPRINT READER 2010 INSTALLATION & USER GUIDE 09OCT09

2 The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Blueprint Software Systems Inc. While all reasonable care has been taken to ensure accuracy, Blueprint assumes no responsibility for errors that may appear in this document. If you would like to order additional copies of this guide, contact support@blueprintsys.com Copyright 2009, Blueprint Software Systems Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from Blueprint Software Systems Inc. Trademarks used in this document are the property of their respective owners.

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 GETTING STARTED What is Blueprint Reader? Installing Blueprint Reader System Requirements Downloading the Installation Files Installing the Application Starting Blueprint Reader Starting Blueprint Reader and Opening a Requirements Package.. 5 Opening a Requirements Package and Launching Blueprint Reader 6 About the Blueprint Reader Window Changing the Layout of Your Window Using Predefined Layouts Adjusting Your Layout Help Options Closing a Requirements Package Exiting from Blueprint Reader CHAPTER 2 SIMULATING & REVIEWING A REQUIREMENTS PACKAGE What is Simulation? Stepping Through the Simulation Restarting and Moving Back in the Simulation Restarting from Any Step in the Simulation Clearing Simulation History Using Automatic Navigation Viewing a Workflow in Your Simulation Generating a Workflow Understanding the Workflow Use Cases and the Workflow Zooming In and Out on Your Workflow Displaying a Workflow Thumbnail Changing Connector Line Style

4 Table of Contents Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Manually Reformatting the Workflow Rearranging Workflow Objects Aligning Workflow Objects Moving a Branch Decision s Output Port Switching Vertical Connections Expanding / Shortening Step Text Showing Actors in the Workflow Showing Operations in the Workflow Displaying Hyperlinks Displaying Hyperlinked Use Case Models Interacting with UI Mockups in Simulation Using a UI Mockup to Drive Flow Decisions Viewing Impacted Data Data Changes Data Validations Data Type Conversions Viewing Use Cases in Your Simulation Entering Comments Closing the Comments View Saving Comments CHAPTER 3 CUSTOMIZING PREFERENCES Preferences You Can Customize Accessing the Preferences Dialog General Simulator Preferences Customizing the Workflow Terminology Preferences Restoring Default Preferences

5 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 1: Getting Started CHAPTER 1 GETTING STARTED What is Blueprint Reader? Blueprint Reader lets you review and simulate requirements models that have been produced using Blueprint Requirements Center. These requirements files are stored in.brf files that you can launch and review. When you review a requirements file, you will be able to simulate all user-system interaction steps. For each step in the flow, you will be able to review the hyperlinked images and documents, data changes, and associated UI mockups. You can also view and post comments on any step in the simulation, or on any UI mockup, actor or use case. Installing Blueprint Reader System Requirements The following hardware is required for running Blueprint Reader: Pentium IV processor or better (recommended) 512 MB RAM (minimum); 1024 MB RAM or better (recommended) 190 MB hard drive space (310 MB required during installation) Video Card x 768 resolution (minimum); higher resolutions are recommended for improved user experience. One of the following software platforms is required for running Blueprint Reader: Windows XP SP2 or higher Windows Server 2003 R2 For viewing hyperlinked documents, Blueprint Reader can be used with Microsoft Office 2003 or later products. To read Portable Document Format (PDF) files, Adobe Acrobat 8, 7, or 6 is required. 3

6 Chapter 1: Getting Started Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Downloading the Installation Files You can download Blueprint Reader from the Blueprint website. For access, contact your Blueprint Sales or Customer Support representative. To download the files: 1. Open a web browser and navigate to the URL provided by your Blueprint representative. - The most current setup file will be listed on the Downloads page. 2. On the Downloads page, click on the Blueprint Reader setup file, to start the download. - It will have a name similar to this: BlueprintReader2010Setup_ exe (although the date in the filename may vary). Installing the Application Once you have downloaded the setup file, install the application as follows: 1. Double-click on the Blueprint Reader 2010 setup executable that you previously downloaded. - The installation wizard checks your available disk space, copies the setup files, and opens the first step. 2. Click the Next button to move through the installation steps. - At any time, you can click Previous to move back, or Cancel to cancel the installation. 4

7 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 1: Getting Started - A Pre-Installation Summary displays the product name and install folder, for your confirmation. 3. If you want to make changes, click Previous and update your install directory. 4. When the Pre-Installation Summary is acceptable, click Install. - The Blueprint Reader files are installed. The installation wizard notifies you that Blueprint Reader was successfully installed. Starting Blueprint Reader There are two ways to launch the Blueprint Reader and open a requirements model for review: You can start Blueprint Reader and then select a requirements file to open, or... You can use Windows Explorer to open a requirements file in Blueprint Reader. Starting Blueprint Reader and Opening a Requirements File Start Blueprint Reader by double-clicking on its desktop icon, or by selecting it from your Start Programs list. This will start Blueprint Reader. Then, to open a requirements file: 1. Click on the Open Requirements File toolbar button. - Alternatively, you can select File Open Requirements File. 2. In the Open dialog, browse for and select the.brf file that you want, and click Open. - The new file is opened in Blueprint Reader. 5

8 Chapter 1: Getting Started Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Opening a Requirements File and Launching Blueprint Reader To launch Blueprint Reader and open a selected requirements file all in one step: 1. In Windows Explorer, browse to find a requirements file (.brf) that was exported from Requirements Center. 2. Double-click on the file, or right-click on it and select Open with Blueprint Reader. - This will launch Blueprint Reader and open the requirements file all in one step. - The name of the Requirements Center project from which the requirements file was exported will appear in the Blueprint Reader window title bar. 6

9 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 1: Getting Started About the Blueprint Reader Window The Blueprint Reader window consists of a menu and toolbar, and several sections or views. The layout is configurable, so you may not see all the views at first, or you may also see additional views not shown in the example below. Menu and toolbar Current Activity view Model view Workflow Screen view Hyperlinks tab (and Data tab if shown) The Model view shows the use case flow you are simulating, with the current step highlighted so you can quickly see where you are in the flow. For more details on using this view, see Viewing Use Cases in Your Simulation. The Current Activity view is where you see a visual walkthrough of the flow of steps. As you navigate through the flow, the current step's description appears here, as well as a graphic indicating whether this is a user or system action. The Screen view shows the UI mockup associated with the current step, and allows you to interact with it. The Hyperlinks tab lists all hyperlinks for the current step. It allows you to display one or more hyperlinks in a preview area, or to launch hyperlinks in an external window. 7

10 Chapter 1: Getting Started Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide The Data tab lists any data changes or data validations that occur during the current step, including new and old values. At the bottom of the Data tab, a messages area lists any messages pertinent to the current step, such as when a path has been rejected based on data validation. The Workflow view lets you generate and display a workflow chart for the requirements model. As you move through each step in your simulation, the appropriate part of the workflow is automatically highlighted. For more details, see Viewing a Workflow in Your Simulation in Chapter 2. The Comments view (which may not be visible when you first open a requirements file) lets you view and maintain comments about individual steps in the workflow, or about actors, use cases or UI mockups. The layout and the views may vary as you open different.brf files, because when the simulation was exported from Requirements Center, simulation layout may have been included in the export. You can drag the borders of each view to resize it as desired. Changing the Layout of Your Window Using Predefined Layouts In Blueprint Reader, you can select from a list of predefined layouts that are geared towards different activities, roles, simulation audiences and purposes. You ll see the default layout when you first start Blueprint Reader or when you select View Restore Default Layout. To select a predefined layout, click on the Select Layout drop-down in the toolbar, and select from the list of layouts. Alternatively, you can select View Select Layout and then choose a layout from the list. Once you have selected a layout, you can resize and rearrange views, or close views that you don t need, to meet your needs. 8

11 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 1: Getting Started Adjusting Your Layout The layout of the Blueprint Reader window can be customized in many ways, so that you can emphasize different views, view more information, or close views that you do not need. For example, you can: change the size of any view, by dragging its borders close views that you do not need, by right-clicking on the tab or title bar and selecting Close maximize a view into full screen, by double-clicking its title bar open other optional views, using the View Show menu To maximize a view to full screen, double-click on its title. Double-click again to return the view to its original size and position. To close a view, right-click on its title and select Close, or click on the X. You can make the view Floating, and then drag it around freely in your window. If it is Dockable, you can dock it in a different location. When you have a layout that you prefer to use, you can save it using View Save Current Layout. However, this layout may be overwritten if the.brf file that you are opening includes a Simulator layout that was exported from Requirements Center. If you want to undo your layout changes, select View Restore Default Layout to return to the default Blueprint Reader layout. Alternatively, you can select any of the predefined layouts under Select Layouts in the toolbar. If you have closed one or more views, and want to reopen them, use the View Show menu option, and select the view that you want to reopen. Remember: If you have altered your layout and want to return to the default Blueprint Reader layout, select View Restore Default Layout. You can also customize preferences that affect look and feel of the Blueprint Reader window and its Workflow view. For details, see General Simulator Preferences in Chapter 3. 9

12 Chapter 1: Getting Started Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Help Options The Help menu has 3 options: User Guide allows you to access the Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide in PDF format. What s New lets you read the Release Document, which describes new features in the current release. About displays a dialog box with 2 tabs. The About tab contains information on the Blueprint Reader version you are running. The Contacts tab contains details on how to contact Blueprint. Closing a Requirements File If you want to keep Blueprint Reader open, but close your requirements file before opening a different file, click on the X in the simulation session tab. Click on this X to close the requirements file. If you added or changed any comments to the file you are reviewing, you will be prompted to save them. The requirements file closes, and the Blueprint Reader window becomes empty. You can now open a different file using File Open Requirements File. Exiting from Blueprint Reader To exit from Blueprint Reader: Click the close (x) button at the top right corner of the Blueprint Reader window, or Select File Exit, or Press the Alt+F4 hotkey If you added or changed any comments to the file you are reviewing, you will be prompted to save them. 10

13 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package CHAPTER 2 SIMULATING & REVIEWING A REQUIREMENTS FILE What is Simulation? Blueprint Reader allows you to present your requirements model in a way that is meaningful to customers, developers and business analysts. 11

14 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide What better way to demonstrate the system requirements than to simulate the user s interaction scenarios and to walk your audience through the steps that must take place? Blueprint Reader lets you do just that, and lets you provide review comments along the way. Stepping Through the Simulation Once you have opened your requirements file, you can use these toolbar buttons to move through the simulation flow: Move through the flow as follows: 1. Click the Next button. - The next step s description is displayed in the Current Activity view. - If you reach a step with traceability to other elements, they will be displbiayed in the traceability area of the Current Activity view. You may expand and collapse each subsection within the traceability area to view specific traceability information. - If you reach a conditional step, in which there are multiple choices that the user can select, the bottom of the Current Activity view will display all the possible options. 12

15 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Traceability can be viewed by expanding the arrows and hovering over the entries. Choices appear here as conditional text. The option you select will determine what branch of the flow you will follow. 2. In the Choose Condition section, select the desired option and click the Next button, or double-click on the desired option. - When you reach the end of the simulation, the Current Activity view shows the Post Condition. Restarting and Moving Back in the Simulation At any time in your simulation, you can also click on the following buttons: The Start Simulation button takes you back to the very first step of your simulation. It is the same as selecting the Run Start Simulation menu option. The First button returns you to the step from which you started simulation. This acts identically to the Start Simulation button, except for in the case where you started simulation from some step other than the beginning. In this case, the First Step button will return you to the step from which you started the simulation using the Start Simulation From Here option. The Previous button moves you back to the previous step in your simulation. It lets you retrace your steps backwards. 13

16 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Restarting from Any Step in the Simulation You can also restart the simulation from any point in the Model view or Workflow. To do this: 1. Right-click on the step at which you want to start simulation, either in the Model view or on the workflow, and select Start Simulation from Here. - Your simulation is started from that step. - You will see that step in the Current Activity view. - That step is remembered, so that if you want to restart again from the same place (for example, to restart simulation in order to walk through a different branch) you can click the First button as a shortcut. Clearing Simulation History As you go through simulation, all steps that have been covered so far in the simulation are highlighted in dark blue in both the workflow and the Model view. This helps you see what paths you have covered so far in your simulation. If you want to clear this highlighting, select Run Clear Simulation History. Using Automatic Navigation Once you have started your simulation, you have the option of turning on Automatic Navigation. This causes the simulation to automatically move to the next step every few seconds. This is very handy during presentations or demos. The simulation moves through each step, stopping only when a branching decision point is reached, at which time it waits for you to select an option. The number of seconds between steps (default is 3) can be customized in Preferences, as described in General Simulator Preferences in Chapter 3. 14

17 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package To start Automatic Navigation: 1. Start your simulation (either at the beginning or at any step in the workflow). 2. Click the Start Automatic Navigation button. - You can also select Run Start Automatic Navigation. - The simulation will move from step to step automatically. - When a branching step is reached, the navigation pauses until you select an option. Once you select an option and click Next, the automatic navigation resumes. To stop or pause Automatic Navigation: 1. Click the Stop Automatic Navigation button. - You can also select Run Stop Automatic Navigation. - This stops the navigation. - If you click the Start button again, the navigation will resume. 15

18 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Viewing a Workflow in Your Simulation A workflow is a graphical representation of the requirements model or use case that you are currently viewing in Blueprint Reader, depicting inputs, outputs and units of activity. By default, the right pane of the Blueprint Reader is available for displaying a workflow. 16

19 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Generating a Workflow When you first start your simulation, the workflow is not generated (unless your preferences have been set to automatically generate a workflow upon starting simulation). You have the option of generating a workflow with full text for each step, or with shortened text for each step. To generate a workflow with Full Text: 1. Click on Generate Workflow with Full Text. - You can also select Workflow Generate Workflow Full Text from the menu, or right click in the workflow pane and select Generate Workflow Full Text. - A Workflow Generation dialog box appears, warning you that rendering the workflow can take some time. 2. Click Yes to continue. - The workflow is generated, and is displayed in the right pane of the Requirements Center Simulator. To generate a workflow with Shortened Text: 1. Click on Generate Workflow with Shortened Text. - You can also select Workflow Generate Workflow Shortened Text from the menu, or right click in the workflow pane and select Generate Workflow Shortened Text. - A Workflow Generation dialog box appears, warning you that rendering the workflow can take some time. 2. Click Yes to continue. - The workflow is generated, and is displayed in the right pane of the Requirements Center Simulator. - You have the option of expanding the text of individual steps, to see more characters, as described later in this chapter. 17

20 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Understanding the Workflow A Blueprint Reader workflow follows these conventions: An oval is used to show the pre condition (starting point for a process), and the post condition (end point of the process). A rectangular box is used to show a task or activity performed in the process. Each standard step within a non-conditional flow is represented as a box. Although multiple arrows (lines) may come into each box, usually only one output or arrow (line) leaves each box. A diamond shows those points in the process where a decision between multiple options is required. So, each branching step in your use case is represented by a diamond. Arrows (connectors) show the direction of flow. As you move through the simulation, all steps that have been covered will be highlighted in a darker blue. This helps you see what flows you have covered in your simulation so far. The current step is highlighted with a green box. 18

21 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Use Cases and the Workflow If you click on any workflow step, it will be highlighted in gray in the Model view, so that you can see which use case it belongs to. If you click on any use case in the Model view, all workflow steps that belong to that use case will be highlighted in gold in the workflow. This provides easy traceability between the use cases and workflow. When you click on a use case, the steps associated with the use case are highlighted in gold in the workflow. 19

22 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Similarly, if you click on an actor in the Model view, all workflow steps that belong to that actor will be highlighted in gold. When you click on an actor, the steps associated with the actor are highlighted in gold in the workflow. 20

23 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Zooming In and Out on Your Workflow When you have a workflow displayed, you can zoom in or out to give the appropriate view of the model. There are several different ways to zoom in and out: You can right click on the workflow, and select a zoom option: Zoom In enlarges the workflow, giving a better view of the model elements. Zoom Out shrinks the workflow, giving a better view of the full model. Zoom Normal Size option reverts to the actual size of the workflow. Zoom To Fit resizes the workflow so that it fits into the Workflow Pane. Zoom to Print Page Size resizes the workflow so that it will fit in a printed page, as per your Page Layout settings. You can use toolbar buttons: To zoom to normal (100%) size, click the Zoom Normal Size button. To zoom the workflow so that the entire workflow fits in the window, click the Zoom to Fit button. To zoom in or out by preset percentages, click on the and + magnifying glass buttons above the workflow. To select a desired zoom percentage, select it from the drop-down list beside the zoom buttons. To resize to a single page size, click the Zoom to Page button. 21

24 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Displaying a Workflow Thumbnail When you are viewing a large workflow, you may want to see how your currently viewed section of the workflow fits into the overall picture. The small arrow button in the bottom right corner of the workflow lets you display a thumbnail view of the entire workflow, with your current view indicated in a rectangle. Drag the rectangle to scroll the workflow. Click on the arrow button at bottom-right to view the entire workflow. The thumbnail appears, with your current view of the workflow indicated by a rectangle. Drag the rectangle to scroll your workflow. Click on the arrow button again to close the thumbnail. 22

25 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Changing Connector Line Style If you right-click on your workflow, the menu displays three possible choices for line style: - Orthogonal - Curved - Straight The currently selected line style is indicated with a check mark. You can select a different line style at any time, to change the look of your workflow. You can use this to increase readability of complex workflows. You can also turn on an option to Highlight Connector. When this is turned on, a connector line will be highlighted in bold when you move your mouse over it. The default connector line style can be configured in Tools Preferences Workflow. See Customizing the Workflow in Chapter 3 for more details on configuring workflow preferences. 23

26 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Manually Reformatting the Workflow Rearranging Workflow Objects You can rearrange the items in your workflow, if you want to change its look or if you are trying to make it fit within a certain amount of space. To manually rearrange the workflow, simply click and drag the elements (shapes) that you want to move. You can select multiple elements using Ctrl+click or by dragging a selection box around them. The connector flow lines will follow automatically. Aligning Workflow Objects The workflow toolbar provides alignment aids to help you when repositioning elements in the workflow. To align objects in the workflow: 1. With the mouse, drag a box around the items to be aligned. - Alternatively, you can click on the first element, and then CTRL+click on subsequent elements to be aligned. On workflow toolbar, click the Align button to display a drop-down menu of alignment options. 2. Select one of the alignment functions from the list. 24

27 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Moving a Branch Decision s Output Port You can also manually move a decision branch s output port from one part of the diamond to another, allowing more flexible rearranging of objects. Simply click and drag the green handle at the end of the highlighted connector from one part of the diamond to another. You can drag the output port to another position on the diamond, such as the bottom. Switching Vertical Connections If you manually reformat your workflow, there may be times where reversing the in / out ports of a connector line might improve its readability. For any object with connectors (such as a step, condition or decision point), you can right-click on the object in the workflow, and select Switch Vertical Connections. This will switch the connector lines, so that the top one joins the shape at the bottom, and vice versa. Expanding / Shortening Step Text If you have generated a workflow with Shortened Text, you can still display the full text of any individual step. To expand a step's text, right-click on the step in the workflow, and turn off the Shortened Text option. Similarly, if full text is displayed, you can shorten the text of any step by turning on the Shortened Text option from its right-click menu. 25

28 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Showing Actors in the Workflow Depending on how your Simulator Workflow Preferences have been defined (as described in Chapter 3), your workflow may or may not show the actor name beside each step when the workflow is first generated. To show or hide actor names in the workflow: 1. Right-click on the workflow to display a menu. 2. Turn the Show Actor Name option on or off. You can toggle the setting in the rightclick menu, or you can toggle the Show/Hide Actor Names button in the workflow toolbar. - When this is turned on, you will see System beside each system step in the workflow, and the appropriate actor name beside each actor step in the workflow. 26

29 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Showing Operations in the Workflow Depending on how your Simulator Workflow Preferences have been defined (as described in Chapter 3), your workflow may or may not list data operations beside each associated step or branching condition. To show or hide data operations in the workflow: 1. Right-click on the workflow to display a menu. 2. Turn the Show Operations option on or off. - Alternatively, you can click the Show/Hide Operations toggle button in the workflow toolbar. If the Show Operations option is turned on, operations will be displayed under the associated branching condition or step. If there are multiple operations, they are shown in a bulleted list. 27

30 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Displaying Hyperlinks If a step was modeled with hyperlinks to external files (such as graphics, video, documents, etc.), then the hyperlink names will be listed in the Hyperlinks view. For example: A list of hyperlinks for the current step appears here. Double-click on any hyperlink to display it in the internal viewer. The hyperlinked files are displayed here. You can open multiple hyperlinks, and click on the tabs to view them. If the hyperlink was given a name when it was associated with the step in Requirements Center, then that name will be listed. If it was not given a name, then the path and filename is displayed instead. This feature allows you to display any external file or URL that was linked to this step. Depending on how the step was modeled, this might be a diagram of a screen shot, a conceptual diagram, a video clip, a spreadsheet or document, a sample report layout, a web site, etc. It can be any external piece of information that might be valuable to show to your audience at this particular step in the simulation walkthrough. In the above example, you can see that a whiteboard sketch of a screen, and also an Excel spreadsheet, are associated with the current step. 28

31 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package To preview or launch a hyperlink: To preview a listed hyperlink in the internal viewer, double-click on the hyperlink in the Hyperlinks pane. You can also right-click on it and select Open with Internal Viewer. Each hyperlink is opened in a separate tab in the hyperlinks view: To launch a hyperlink in a separate window, right-click on it and select Open. If a hyperlinked file type is not recognized, then you will see a message saying that internal preview is not available for this file. However, you can still double-click on the hyperlink to launch it in a separate viewer window. Displaying Hyperlinked Use Case Models If a use case pre condition or step was modeled with a hyperlink to a separate use case model in Requirements Center, then you can launch that model in a separate Blueprint Reader. This provides a way to reference and demonstrate other models that might be related but not strongly linked to your current model. To launch a hyperlinked requirements model, right click on it and select Open in Reader (to open it in a separate Blueprint Reader instance). 29

32 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Interacting with UI Mockups in Simulation As you step through your simulation, the UI mockup that has been associated with the current step is displayed in the Screens view. You can demonstrate the use of any UI mockup, by interacting with the widgets. For example, you can enter text in a text box, or turn on a check box, or select a value from a drop-down list, or click on a button. This lets you simulate how the end user would interact with your UI mockups. If a widget was marked as hidden for a certain step, you will not be able to see it while simulating that step. If a widget was marked as shown, but disabled for a certain step, you will not be able to interact with it while simulating that step. If a widget was marked as highlighted for a particular step, it will be annotated with a red arrow to draw visual attention to it, like this: 30

33 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Using a UI Mockup to Drive Flow Decisions Many UI widgets (such as buttons, text boxes, check boxes, radio buttons, menus, etc.) have events associated with them. For example, a button has a widget event for the pressing of that button. Blueprint Reader keeps track of which widget events have occurred as you move through simulation. A branching step (and its extension conditions) may have an associated data operation to validate whether a widget event has occurred, and makes a flow decision accordingly. For example, your model might have one flow for when a Yes button is pressed, and another flow if a No button is pressed. In your simulation, you can "test-drive" the UI by having those decisions made based on what buttons you press on the screen. When a UI event drives a decision at a branching point in your flow, you will see the choice(s) that were rejected displayed in the Messages area at the bottom of the Data tab. In the example below, you could interact with the UI mockup by clicking on the Login button, or the Apply online now button. The path of simulation will vary depending on whether you press the Apply online now button or the Login button. 31

34 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide If you click the screen s Login button, moving to the next step automatically takes you down the Login path. The rejected path (Apply for Credit Card) is listed in the Messages section of the Data tab. (If you cannot see the Data tab, use View Show Data to add the Data view to your current layout). If a particular step was modeled so that no user input is expected, then the screen will show a red User Input Not Expected message in the screen title bar for that particular step. For example, you might see this on a System step in which the system displays information, and no user input is expected. For example: This indicates that user input is not expected at this step, so you cannot interact with the UI mockup. 32

35 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Viewing Impacted Data If the requirements model has data operations associated with steps in the flow, then those operations and their impacted data can be viewed during simulation. If you want to view data, you can switch to a layout that includes the Data tab, by clicking Select Layout Analyst Rich Layout from the toolbar. Alternatively, you can add the Data tab to your current layout, by select View Show Data in the menu bar. Data Changes If the current Standard or Include step has one or more operations: The operations are displayed in the Current Activity view. You can view or hide this as desired. The Data tab lists any data objects that are impacted (screen data and Data) at this step. If you click on any impacted data object in the Data tab, the details of its changes are displayed in the right side of the tab. Data operation(s) for the current step appear here. Impacted data objects are listed here. New and previous values for the impacted data object are shown here. A question mark indicates an "undetermined" value. 33

36 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Data Validations If the current Branching step has one or more operations: The operations are displayed in the Current Activity pane. You can view or hide operations for the branching step and for each of its extension conditions. The Data view will show any choices (branching conditions) that have been automatically rejected based on screen data, widget events, or other Data. For example, if the UI allows the user to either press a Sign In button or click an Apply for Credit Card link, and you click the credit card link during simulation, the rejected choice will be displayed, as shown here: Data Type Conversions If a step has one or more data operations, they are triggered when that step is reached in simulation. If an operation results in improper data conversion (for example, it tries to set an Integer type data object to a string value, or a String to a Decimal), the bottom half of the Data tab will show an error message informing you that the operation has failed. For example, if an operation attempts to set a string data object (such as City name) to a decimal value (.05), you would see a message like this: 'Set Value' operation for SINGLE: can not convert 'Toronto' to Decimal. 34

37 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Viewing Use Cases in Your Simulation By default, uses cases are shown as a flat hierarchical structure in the Model view. This view will show a single use case or all use cases. By double-clicking on a Use Case icon, you can expand it to show the Basic flow and Extension flows. By clicking on a flow, you will see the sequence of steps representing activities for that flow. When navigating your model, the current step is highlighted. For example: Steps that have been covered so far in simulation are shown in blue. The current step is highlighted. Steps that have been covered so far in simulation are shown in blue, allowing you to confirm that you have simulated all possible flows. Blue highlighting can be cleared using Run Clear Simulation History. You can start simulation from any step in any flow, by right clicking on it in the Model view or workflow, and selecting Start Simulation from Here. 35

38 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Entering Comments In Blueprint Reader, you can view and maintain comments on any step, use case, actor or UI mockup. This provides a convenient way for multiple reviewers to record comments that can be eventually sent back to the business analyst. You will be able to see any comments that were previously entered (either in Requirements Center before the file was generated, or directly in Blueprint Reader) and you can add your own comments. To open the Comments view select View Show Comments. As you move through the simulation and select various elements, any comments and threads related to them will show up in the Comments view. 36

39 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package You can click on a step in either the Model view, Current Activity view or Workflow, and comments will be displayed for that step. To comment on a UI mockup, click on the Screen view, and click the New Thread or New Comment button in the Com- The Comments view displays any existing comments, and allows you to add, remove, and reorder comments. 37

40 Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide In the Comments view, you can use toolbar buttons to: Add a new comment thread (discussion topic). Add a comment within the selected thread. Move the selected thread or comment up or down in the list. Remove the selected comment, or the selected thread and all its comments. Navigate to the associated element for these comments, in the Model view. Turn on or off comment auto-syncrhonization. If it is on, comments will be displayed for items selected in the main views. If off, they will not. Show or hide comment filters. You can filter a long list of comments and threads by author, date, or status. When a comment thread is created or edited, a time stamp is automatically recorded along wth the author s ID. Thread statuses default to open. Authors may change this status by selecting the status dropdown. In the Workflow, all steps that have comments associated with them are marked with a comment icon, like this: 38

41 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 2: Simulating & Reviewing a Requirements Package In the Model view, all actors, steps or use cases with associated comments are also marked with a small dark pink comment icon. Note that if a step has a comment, its parent flow and use case in which that step resides is also marked with a lighter pink roll-up comment icon, indicating that you can drill down to find comments within that model element. In the Screen view, if the current UI mockup has comments associated with it, the screen icon in the title bar will be decorated with a small pink comment icon. Closing the Comments View If you want to close the Comments view to allow more room to display your simulation steps and screens, click in the X in the top right corner of the Comments view, or right-click on view s title bar and select Close. Saving Comments If you have added or changed any comments in your review file, the Save button button becomes enabled in the toolbar. Click this Save button to save your comments. If you forget to save your comments, Blueprint Reader will prompt you to save or cancel your changes when you close your requirements file or exit from Blueprint Reader. Your.brf file will be updated with your comments. 39

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43 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 3: Customizing Preferences CHAPTER 3 CUSTOMIZING PREFERENCES Preferences You Can Customize The Preferences dialog lets you customize settings that control behavior and visual display of the Blueprint Reader. You can customize the following: General Simulator preferences, such as the time interval between steps when the simulator is in Automatic Navigation mode. Preferences for the visual display of the Workflow, and what information (such as actors and operations) should be displayed on the Workflow. Preferences for common terminology used throughout the simulation Accessing the Preferences Dialog You can access the Preferences dialog by clicking on the Preferences toolbar button: You can also access Preferences by selecting Tools Preferences from the menu bar. When the Preferences dialog appears, the left pane lets you select the category of preferences you want to customize, and the right pane lets you display and change those preferences. 41

44 Chapter 3: Customizing Preferences Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide General Simulator Preferences At the top level of Simulator preferences, you can define general preferences that affect Simulator behavior, such as automatic navigation time interval, Data Control Settings (for when you restart simulation), hyperlink behavior and Current Activity font size. To change these settings: 1. Click on the Preferences button or select Tools Preferences. 2. In the Preferences tree, select Simulator. 3. In the Interval preference, define the time interval between steps (in seconds) to be used when Blueprint Reader is in Automatic Navigation mode. The default is 3 seconds. - In Automatic Navigation mode, simulation advances automatically through the steps until it reaches a decision point, at which time it will wait for user input. - This allows you to set up simulation for a more hands-free automatic demo, which requires intervention only at decision points. While the demo is happening, you can still pause and restart the navigation at any time. 4. In the Data Control Settings, select the default data settings that will be used when you use the Start Simulation from Here feature from the workflow. - These settings let you reset UI input data, UI mockup data, and/or Data objects to an undetermined value before starting the simulation. 42

45 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 3: Customizing Preferences 5. Turn the checkbox on or off for Automatically open first hyperlink on an activity. - By default, this is turned on, so that the first hyperlink attached to a step will be automatically displayed when you reach that step in simulation. 6. If desired, customize the font size for the Current Activity description. The default is Click OK. Customizing the Workflow Workflow preferences let you change the way the Blueprint Reader workflow looks and behaves. To customize Workflow preferences: 1. In the Simulator, click on the Preferences button or select Tools Preferences. 2. In the Preferences tree, select Simulator Workflow. 43

46 Chapter 3: Customizing Preferences Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide 3. If desired, customize the following Appearance settings: - 3D look if this is turned on, the workflow will have a 3 dimensional appearance when drawn. - Gap between shapes and connectors if this is turned on, there will be a small gap visible between shapes and their connectors. - Connectors You can choose which style to use by default when the workflow is generated: Orthogonal connectors, Straight connectors, or Curved connectors. You can change the style at any time for any generated workflow. - Highlight Connector If this is turned on, a connector will be highlighted when you move your mouse over it in the workflow. - Show page breaks If this checkbox is turned on, page breaks will be displayed in the workflow pane, in the color you define in the Break color chooser. - Show Actor Names Turning this on will cause the workflow to show actor names for each step, by default. You can temporarily hide actor names during simulation, using a toggle button in the workflow toolbar. - Show Data Operations Turning this on will cause the workflow to always show data operations for each step, by default. You can temporarily hide data operations during simulation using a toggle button in the workflow toolbar. 4. If desired, customize the following Workflow Generation preferences: - Zoom: You can define the default zoom factor that will be used when you first generate the workflow. This can be Normal Size, or to Fit. - Automatically generate on entering the simulator: You can turn this on so that the workflow is automatically generated when you open a requirements file. - Do not show the question dialog on workflow generation: Turning this on will suppress the confirmation dialog. 5. The Show highlighting in print, image and PDF artifacts options define whether you want to include highlighting of objects when you print the workflow or export it to a PDF or JPG file. - These options apply to Requirements Center only, and are not used in Blueprint Reader. 6. Click OK. 44

47 Blueprint Reader Installation & User Guide Chapter 3: Customizing Preferences Terminology Preferences If you select Terminology in the Preferences tree, you can customize the terminology for certain elements in the requirements model. For example, you organization might use the word Role instead of Actor, or End instead of Post Condition. You can change the label terminology for these 3 elements: Actor Pre Condition Post Condition If you change the label text, the changes will take effect the next time you start Blueprint Reader. The new text will appear everywhere that the old text appeared. For example, if you change Actor to Role, the word Role will appear everywhere that Actor used to appear (such as in the Model view, Current Activity view, Workflow right-click menu, etc.). You can return to the original terminology, by clicking the Restore Defaults button and then OK. The original terminology will be used the next time you start Blueprint Reader. Restoring Default Preferences If you have made changes to your preferences, but would like to return to the default set of preferences, click the Restore Defaults button. This restores the default values for the preferences you are currently viewing in your preferences dialog box. 45

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