Capture component category data

A component category bundles and classifies content-specific components in order to evaluate various aspects of components including cost analyses. Component categories may have a hierarchical structure with multiple subordinate component categories. Each component may be associated with only one component category.

The license package IT Transformation Server - Enterprise is required to work with component categories.

Components are structured in an component hierarchy. Before you begin, you should consider which component categories are your main categories and which are their subordinate categories.

Go to Application Architecture > Component Categories:

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

Once a component category is in the repository, you can define more details about the component category in the Component Categories data workbench.

Per default, the data workbench displays only a set of basic attributes. You can add more columns to capture other attributes directly in the data workbench via the Structure column. Click to learn about how to use data workbenches.

Or you can select an individual component category in the data workbench and navigate to its content area and specify and analyze the component category in detail. In the data workbench, click the Navigate  Navigate button to open the component category's content area. Go to the Overview page.

Define the component category's basic data.

An component can only be assigned to one component category. A component category may have multiple components assigned to it.

  1. In the Component Categories data workbench, click the Navigate  Navigate button to open the component categories's content area.
  2. Go to the Overview page.
  3. In the Asset Grouping > Components field, enter the name of the component that is assigned to the component category, or click in the field to open the selector. Select each component that you want to assign to the component category.
  4. Click outside of the selector to close it and update the Components field.

A role represents a functional responsibility that a user or organization has for the component category. 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 category. A user assigned responsibility via a role has read-only permissions to the component category. To change data about the component category, they must also be specified as an authorized user or member of an authorized user group.

Roles can be assigned to a component category in the Component Categories data workbench or the component category content area via Overview > Responsibilities. A person or organization can have one of the following roles or a custom role added by your company:

To specify responsibilities for the component category:

  1. Click in the relevant role field to open the selector.
  2. Expand the ORGANIZATION or USER sections in the selector and select the person or organization fulfilling the role.
  3. Click OK to save the role definition and close the selector.
  1. In the Component Categories data workbench, click the Navigate  Navigate button to open the component categories's content area.
  2. Go to Technology Context > Assigned Components - Lifecycles.
  3. Review the components in the chart. Click the ThreeDots_Black 3-dots button > Show Legend to understand the color coding of the lifecycle phases.
  1. In the Component Categories data workbench, click the Navigate  Navigate button to open the component categories's content area.
  2. Go to Application Context > Components and Using Applications - Lifecycles.
  3. The lifecycle chart shows the lifecycles of all components assigned to the component category as well as the lifecycles of the applications used by the components. Review the lifecycles to ensure that the end date of the components do not end before the end date of the applications using them.
  1. In the Component Categories data workbench, click the Navigate  Navigate button to open the component categories's content area.
  2. Go to Technology Context:
    • Component Category Metrics: Click a number in one of the cards to open a data workbench showing, for example, the assigned or used components.
    • Assigned Components - Portfolio: Click the  Filter local filter button and select a portfolio to display.
    • Assigned Components - VendorSupport: Displays a pie chart showing the components according to the vendor lifecycles.
    • Assigned Components - Lifecycles: Displays the lifecycles of the components assigned to the component category.
    • Assigned Components: Displays a data workbench showing the components assigned to the component category.
  1. Go to Technology Architecture > Component Categories data workbench.
  2. Click Visualize > Component Category Analysis > Component Category Landscape.

The report displays a nested matrix showing the top three levels of the component category hierarchy. Subordinate component categories are embedded in their parent component categories. The numbers on the component categories indicate how many components are assigned to the component category.