Capture component data

Users with the user profiles Technology Manager, Portfolio Manager, and Portfolio Admin can add and edit components in Alfabet. Click for an overview of permission concepts.

A component is a reusable block of functionality that is implemented by software. Applications are built on components that provide the technologies that enable the applications.

In Alfabet, components typically represent an interface for data exchange, a shared element that is able to deliver functionality to multiple applications, a subsystem of an application or a semi-finished application. In contrast to an application, a component typically does not deliver functionality to end users but rather provide technical functionality to support an application. Typical examples for components are databases, operating systems, and vendor products.

Components can be explicitly created and defined in the user interface, imported based on IT products in IT-Pedia®, or imported by an administrative user via an XSLX import based on data capture templates.

Users with the user profiles Technology Manager, Portfolio Manager, and Portfolio Admin can add and edit components in Alfabet. Click for an overview of permission concepts.

You can add a new component from anywhere in the product via the orange New button in the header. Or go to Technology Architecture > Components data workbench and click New > Component.

Click the Navigate  Navigate button next to a component to open its content area. Specify the component's attributes as well as the relationships that the component has to other assets in the repository.

Try to capture as much information as possible about the component because complete data considerably improves the results of business questions and other analytics.

IT-Pedia® from Eracent is a comprehensive IT product library that provides an up-to-date source of data about IT products of all types including, for example, hardware, software, and network devices. Alfabet provides an out-of-the-box integration with IT-Pedia that allows you to import components to the Alfabet repository. When an IT product is imported from IT-Pedia, it is imported to the Alfabet repository as a component. The manufacturer supplying the IT product is used to associate the respective component with an existing vendor in the Alfabet repository. If the vendor does not exist, it will be created and added to the Alfabet repository.

You can import IT-Pedia products in the IT-Pedia®Catalog - Models or products that you have added to My Product Catalog - Models. For details about Eracent's IT-Pedia®Catalog - Models or My Product Catalog - Models, access your account at: https://itpedia.eracent.com/PB/Account/Login

The following processes are supported in the context of IT-Pedia integration.

To use capabilities available for IT-Pedia integration, you must have access to an IT-Pedia account. If this is not the case, please contact and request access via Alfabet Service and Support.

Be sure to add the columns Synchronize with IT-Pedia and IT-Pedia Enrichment to the Components data workbench in order to keep the component data current in the Alfabet repository as well as in Eracent's My Products - Models.

A nightly batch job triggers the ADIF import job schedule IT-Pedia Integration. This imports the data from IT-Pedia based on the data maintained in IT-Pedia's My Products - Modules. Please note that this does not delete components in IT-Pedia that have been delete in Alfabet nor does it merge duplicate products. The ADIF import job schedule IT-Pedia Integration can also be triggered on an ad-hoc basis by an administrative user.

The following data will be imported with the component:

  • Start and end dates: The following table shows the mapping of the IT-Pedia product dates to the attributes for components in Alfabet.
    IT-Pedia Product DateAlfabet Component
    Release DateStart Date
    End of Extended SupportEnd Date
  • Lifecycle: The component lifecycle will be automatically created based on the lifecycle data in IT-Pedia. Components created based on IT-Pedia products may have the lifecycle phase Manufacturer Support or Manufacturer Extended Support. The following columns show in the IT-Pedia selector are relevant for mapping dates and lifecycle phases to Alfabet components:
    • Release Date
    • End of Support
    • End of Extended Support

    The table shows how these IT-Pedia product dates are mapped to the start and end dates of the component lifecycle phases in Alfabet.

    IT-Pedia Product DateAlfabet Component
    Release DateStart date of lifecycle phase Manufacturer Support.

    The component's Start Date is the same date as the start date of the component's lifecycle phase Manufacturer Support .

    End of Support

    End date of lifecycle phase Manufacturer Support.

    End of Support

    Start date of lifecycle phase Manufacturer Extended Support.

    End of Extended Support

    End date of lifecycle phase Manufacturer Extended Support.

    The component's End Date is the same date as the end date of the component's lifecycle phase Extended Manufacturer Support.

    Rules will apply about what shall happen when there are no dates in the relevant columns for IT-Pedia products.
  • Vendors: The vendor that supplies the component will be specified based on the Manufacturer of the imported product. If the vendor already exists in the repository, the vendor will be automatically associated with the component. If the vendor does not yet exist in the repository, it will be automatically added to the repository along with the new component based on the Manufacturer.

  1. In the navigation panel, go to Components to open the data workbench for components.
  2. Click Structure and select Synchronize with IT-Pedia and IT-Pedia Enrichment. These columns should be included in the Components data workbench in order to keep the component data current in the Alfabet repository as well as in IT-Pedia's My Products - Models.
  3. Click the ThreeDots 3-dots button > Import from IT-Pedia.
  4. Specify whether you want the data to be imported from the IT-Pedia® Model Catalog - Models or My Products - Models.
  5. Click the Submit button to fill the selector with initial data.
  6. Use the following fields to find the IT products to add to Alfabet:
    • Product: Enter the name or part of the name of the products you want to find.
    • Version: Add the version number to limit the results found based on the product name.
    • Edition: Add the edition to limit the results found based on the product name.
    • Manufacturer: Enter the name or part of the name of the manufacturer of the products.
    • Model: Enter the product model name to find the products.
  7. Select the products you want to import to the Alfabet repository and click OK. The products are added as components to the Components data workbench.
  8. Review the Synchronize with IT-Pedia column for the new components. A checkmark will be displayed for the components that you have just imported.

When IT-Pedia products are imported to the Alfabet repository as components, IT-Pedia product attributes are added to the component. You can either view the data by adding columns to the Components data workbench or navigate to the content area of a component and go to the IT-Pedia page.The following attributes describe the IT-Pedia product that the component is based on:

  • Product Name
  • Product ID
  • Manufacturer Name
  • Manufacture ID
  • Model Name
  • Model ID

Vendors that have been imported from IT-Pedia will be added to the Vendors column in the Components data workbench. They are also displayed in the Vendors data workbench.

By means of the Synchronize with IT-Pedia functionality, Alfabet component data is pushed to the related product in My Products - Modules for enrichment by IT-Pedia. If a component is deleted from the Alfabet repository, the related component will be deleted from My Products - Modules.

The synchronization capability pushes data to IT-Pedia's My Products - Modules. To understand how product data in IT-Pedia's My Products - Modules is updated to the Alfabet repository as well as how the Alfabet repository can be updated with newly added products in IT-Pedia's My Products - Modules, see Update Alfabet components with IT-Pedia data.

  1. In the navigation panel, go to Components to open the data workbench for components.
  2. Click Structure and select Synchronize with IT-Pedia.
  3. To ensure that IT-Pedia's My Products - Models is updated with the component data in Alfabet, select Yes in the Synchronize with IT-Pedia column for each component that shall be updated.
  4. Click the ThreeDots 3-dots button > Synchronize with IT-Pedia.

The update of data from IT-Pedia's My Products - Modules to the Alfabet repository occurs via a a nightly batch job that triggers the ADIF import job schedule IT-Pedia Integration. This scheduled job takes the current data in IT-Pedia's My Products - Modules and updates the Alfabet repository. The batch job can also be triggered on an ad-hoc basis by an administrative user. The following update process takes place via the batch job:

To ensure that existing data is updated in the Alfabet repository:

  1. In the navigation panel, go to Components to open the data workbench for components.
  2. Click Structure and select IT-Pedia Synchronization and IT-Pedia Enrichment.
  3. To ensure that a component is updated via the nightly batch job with information in IT-Pedia, select Yes in both the IT-Pedia Synchronization and IT-Pedia Enrichment columns. Do this for all components that should be updated via the nightly batch job.

Duplicate components can be merged to a selected master component. The master component will remain in the repository and the other components will be deleted. Any local components, platform elements, or IT capabilities assigned to the deleted components will be moved to the new master component.

  1. Click the ThreeDots 3-dots button > Merge Duplicate Components.
  2. A window opens showing a list of duplicate components based on the IT-Pedia ID. Select a component that shall be the master component and click OK.
  3. Click the ThreeDots 3-dots button > Synchronize with IT-Pedia to delete the components in IT-Pedia and update the My Products - Modules.

The component lifecycle describes the succession of stages that the component goes through over time. A robust component lifecycle management includes versioning and planning for successor components to ensure that IT continues to support critical business areas.

Not all company's document their component lifecycles and it is not mandatory in Alfabet. However, robust component lifecycle management is key to the health to the business and helps you to understand identify and manage lifecycle conflicts. By documenting the lifecycles of the components in your technology portfolio, you will be able to identify which components are approaching end-of-life but have no defined successor components. Furthermore, you can understand which applications are at risk if the relevant technologies are no longer available.

Go to the component's content area > Overview.

Capture general data about the component. Go to the Lifecycle attribute and specify the following.

  • Start Date and End Date: Captures when the component is actively running and can be used in the company. The Object State attribute should be specified set to Active during this period.
  • Object State: Describes the operational use of the component in the real world.
  • Successor: The next component that will follow this component version.

Describe the succession of stages that the component goes through. Go to the Component Lifecycle view.

  1. Click the component in the timeline and click EditSingle edit button.
  2. Activate the slider for the lifecycle phases to include and specify their start and end dates. The following lifecycle phases may be specified:
    • Manufacturer Support: Indicates that the technology is relevant to be used in a production environment.
    • Manufacturer Extended Support: Indicates that the technology is still available, but should be avoided for use in a production environment.
  3. Click Align Active Period to automatically align the start/end dates of the component's active period with the start/end dates of the lifecycle phases that are configured to begin and end the active period.

Assigning users and organizations to roles is critical to understanding responsibility for assets in the IT and is required to answer the business question Who is responsible for our assets?.

Responsibilities are based on preconfigured role types. Your company may also configure custom role types via the Portfolio Admin user profile. Depending on the role type, a specified user and/or a specified organization may fulfill the responsibility for the component. A user assigned responsibility via a role has read-only permissions to the component. To change data about the component, they must also be specified as an authorized user or member of a n authorized user group.

Roles can be assigned to a component in the Components data workbench or the component content area via Overview > Responsibilities.

Each role column represents the responsibility that a user or organization has for the component. A person can have one of the following roles or a custom role added by your company:

An organization can have one of the following roles or a custom role added by your company:

  1. Click a column cell to open a selector to define the role for the component. Depending on the role column, the selector may have a section for both Person and Organization.
  2. Expand the relevant section and select the person or organization to assign their role to the component.

An evaluation is a measurement of the performance of a component. The evaluation of components is relevant for many business questions in Alfabet and is critical to have meaningful results in these analyses.

Evaluation types are preconfigured by Software GmbH. Each evaluation type bundles a set of indicator types that are assigned values. Your company may also configure custom evaluation types via the Portfolio Admin user profile.

You can define a component's indicators directly in the Components data workbench or in the component's content area via Overview > Evaluation. The view shows evaluation types in the Evaluation column with their associated indicator types in the Indicator column.

Understand the purpose of the indicator. Click the tooltip button for an explanation about the indicator. Any indicators that are colored orange are calculated by the system and cannot be manually edited.

Specify the value of an indicator. Select a value for each indicator in the Value column. Specify relevant information about the indicator in the Comments column.

Alternatively, click the Edit button to open an editor where you can enter verbose comments, or click the  ThreeDots_Black 3-dots button > Group Edit to edit multiple indicator types at once in an editor format.

Update default values for empty indicators. Click Action > Set Undefined Values to Default. All empty indicators for which a default value has been configured will be updated. Please note that the updated values will not be reflected in the Last Update field.

Manage computed indicators. Any indicators that are colored orange are calculated by the system and cannot be manually edited. To trigger the update of computed indicators, click the  ThreeDots_Black 3-dots button > Compute Indicators. To hide the computed indicators from view, click the  ThreeDots_Black 3-dots button > Hide Computed Indicators.

Go to the components content area > Technology Context > Component Usage - Lifecycles

The visualization is a Gantt chart that shows the lifecycles of all components in the repository. Here's how to interpret the information:

  • The top row shows the Component component. The rows below show  Application the applications using the component.
  • The timeline shows a red bar visualizing the active period (start date - end date) of the component. If a component lifecycle is defined, lifecycle phases will be displayed in a multi-colored bar above the red bar.
  • The blue vertical line indicates the current date.
  • Show only applications with a specified object state by clicking the Filter local filter button and setting the Application Object State field.
  • Click the Navigate navigate button to open the content area of an application.

The application has been specified to use the component in the application's content area > Technology Context > Click for details about capturing application data.

In the data table, click the navigate Navigate button of the component you want to understand. Go to the component's content area > Investment Context > Impacting Projects to view a list of all projects that impact the component as well as the project manager of each project. The Impacting Projects Lifecycle shows the time schedule for each project as well as the project costs and potential project dependencies.

The component has been assigned to the project via the project's content area > Architecture Scope > Affected Architecture. Click for details about capturing project data.

The following business questions are relevant for the analysis of components: