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The on-boarding email that was sent to you includes a link to Alfabet and your user login credentials. The first time you log in you will automatically log in with the Portfolio Admin user profile. This user profile allows you to complete administrative and configuration tasks and provides read-write access to all data in the database.

Where to begin

FlowGS_Basics  Understand and learn the product
FlowPA_ReviewData  Review the example data
FlowPA_ClearDB  Clear the example data

Understand and learn the product

To get started, explore Alfabet in order to understand the kind of data that can be captured and the analytics that may be useful to you. When you first access Alfabet, example data is available that you can play with. At this stage, Alfabet is a playground where you can experiment. You can create, change, and delete data in order to understand the product. Later when you are ready, you will clear the database of the example data and prepare Alfabet for your user community. Click here to access the Get Started guide that provides an overview of the Alfabet FastLane to users.

Review the functionalities available to the Portfolio Admin user profile. Explore the other user profiles in order to understand how your user community will use the product. This will help you conceptualize the configuration needs for your user community.

Review the example data

As you explore the product, you will see example data for applications, devices, vendors, etc. Most objects will have samples of evaluation and reference data like indicator types , role types , and extended attributes. Some evaluation and reference data is preconfigured, but you can also add indicator types, role types, and extended attributes to address the specific needs of your company.

To see examples of these configuration details in the product, login with the Portfolio Manager user profile and enter CRM CSS in the Search Objects field in the header. Navigate to the content area of the application CRM CSS . In the Overview page, scroll to the Evaluation view to see how indicators are specified, the Responsibilities view to examine the role types available for the application, and the Generic Attributes view to explore how custom attributes can be defined for the application. As you explore the sample data, ask yourself:

  • What are the evaluation metrics we will need to analyze our application and technology portfolio?

    In the Evaluation view, indicators can be specified for many different indicator types for the application CRM CSS . The indicators are based on configured indicator types that are bundled in an evaluation type. In this view, indicators can be specified to describe the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability of the application as well as its Business Relevance and Number of Users.

  • What kinds of responsibilities for objects do you need to understand to have a complete picture of your IT?

    In the Responsibilities view, roles based on configured role types are assigned to the application. A role type defines a functional responsibility that a user or an organization has for an object. The definition of a role is for informational purposes only and does not impact access permissions. For the application CRM CSS , people are defined to have the roles Application Manager, Architect, and Stakeholder and an organization is specified with the role Business Owner.

  • What other information do you need to capture about your applications, devices, vendors, etc.?

    Extended attributes enable you to configure custom attributes that are not part of the standard Alfabet product. In the Extended Attributes view, values can be captured for the extended attributes that users can then specify in a content area. Typically, the values captured for extended attributes are for informational purposes and not used in analytics.

Clear the example data

Once you are familiar with the example data delivered with Alfabet, you can delete it from the database via the Clear Database functionality. Clearing the database clears the audit data and resets indices to start numbering of objects from zero. The following will not be deleted when the database is cleared:

  • Evaluation types and role types will not be deleted. This includes all evaluation types and role types that you have created as well as the preconfigured evaluation types and role types available with the sample data. They are integral to the product and to the analyses available in Alfabet.
  • User groups will not be deleted.
  • Predefined users and as well as users (class Person) that you have added to the repository will not be deleted.

The Clear Database functionality should be used with caution. When you clear the database, the example data as well as any data you have added will be irrevocably deleted in a one-time operation. Objects that have been deleted from the database cannot be restored.

It is recommended to hide the Clear Database button once your production data is loaded. Customers with access to Alfabet Expand can hide the button via the class settings . If you do not have access to Alfabet Expand, contact Alfabet Support to hide the button.

To clear the example data, go to Data Import > Clear Database. The dataset displays all object data in the database that will be deleted and the user and user group data that will remain after deletion. Click Clear Complete Database. An event to irrevocably delete all relevant data regardless of the release status is triggered.