Tool Mentor: Configure Process Using RUP Builder

Purpose

RUP Builder allows project managers to select the subset of the RUP process and any available plug-ins that make sense for their project.  This eliminates process clutter, and removes confusing links from the process web-site, so that project staff and the project manager can focus on the activities and artifacts that are relevant.

The steps in this tool mentor assume that you've launched RUP Builder, selected a template or custom configuration, and have described it.  Changes you make to plug-in and component selection are automatically updated in the process views section of RUP Builder.

This section provides links to additional information related to this tool mentor.

• Tailor the Process for the Project
• Prepare Guidelines for the Project
• Prepare Templates for the Project

Overview

The following steps are performed in this tool mentor:

• Select Plug-ins
• Optional: Download Plug-ins from the RUP section of the developerWorks®: Rational® Web site
• Review Process Components
• Save Your Process Configuration
• For More Information

Select Plug-ins

A RUP Plug-in is a collection of process elements that are packaged together.  The elements extend the base RUP process by adding new elements or contributing to existing ones, or by suppressing elements that don't make sense in the context of that process.

Plug-ins are shown in a hierarchical tree in the 'Process Plug-in Choices' sub-panel of 'Select Process' panel of RUP Builder.  Plug-ins are usually dependent directly on the RUP base, but may be dependent on another plug-in.  An example of the latter are the BEA and IBM WebSphere plug-ins, which are dependent on the RUP J2EE plug-in.

Each of the template configurations that come with the RUP, or that your organization has created for you, will have a combination of plug-ins pre-selected for the type of project being undertaken.  You may not need to do anything other than select the template.

Choose plug-ins that extend the RUP in ways that directly benefit your project.  For example, if you were developing in J2EE, you would select the J2EE plug-in, as it brings additional material specific to J2EE that will benefit your project team, and puts it in context of the tasks they will be required to perform.

Similarly, if your project is co-located and informal, you would choose the Informal Resources instead of the Formal Resources plug-in.

As you select a plug-in by clicking on the check box, it will appear in the 'Selectable Process Components' sub-panel to the right of the plug-in selection panel.

Optional: Download Plug-ins from the RUP section of the developerWorks®: Rational® Web site.

There are more plug-ins than the ones delivered with the installed version of RUP.  Our internal staff, Alliance Members and other parties create new plug-ins regularly and share them on the developerWorks®: Rational® Web site.

To get more plug-ins, select the hyperlink to the RUP section of developerWorks®: Rational® Web site in the thin box below the plug-in and component panels.  This will launch developerWorks: Rational in a new browser window. 

developerWorks: Rational contains information on how to create new plug-ins, how to share plug-ins and, of course, RUP Plug-ins for your re-use.  Review the plug-ins and follow the instructions to download a plug-in to your local disk.

Once you have downloaded a plug-in to a local disk, select Repository -> Load Plug-in.  This will bring up a standard file browser window.  Locate the plug-in you downloaded, select it and select OK.  The plug-in will be loaded into your Builder repository, and will appear in the list of plug-ins in the 'Process Plug-in Choices' sub-panel.  You can then select it as usual.

Review Process Components

The RUP is divided into about 60 selectable process components, with more process components in the plug-ins.  These are tightly coupled groups of process elements that can be added or removed from the process configuration.  Process components can contain other process components as well.  

Clicking on the check box associated with a process component selects or deselects it.  Deselecting a process component that contains other process components deselects the children components as well. 

You can expand or collapse the component tree by clicking on the + or - symbols on the components.  Expanding a component allows you to see the headings of the process elements contained within that component.  Some process elements contain sub-levels of process elements as well, so you can drill down to the details of what you are working one.

The template configuration that you chose when you launched RUP Builder has already made many of the process component selections for you.  If your organization created template configurations specific to the types of project you are running, you may not need to do any further selection.

It is likely that you will need to make further refinements to the choices.  The easiest method to do this is to have the Classic RUP configuration that is installed on your workstation open.  To find out exactly what a process element is, search for it in the RUP.  This will enable you to make an informed choice about whether to select the process component or not.

Remember that you are expected to do this on a regular basis throughout the project, so don't get bogged down in making the perfect selection immediately.  You will iteratively define your project process over the life of the project.

You may also want to deselect process components that you are not going to return to in the life of the project.  For example, you will likely define your requirements management plan during Inception, and possibly update it during Elaboration, but it may be fixed and well understood by Construction.  At that point, it may be worth removing the 'Requirements Management' component from your configuration.

All of the Rational tools and possibly tools defined by your organization are selectable components, enabling you to include only the tool support for tools you will actually use in your project.  They are sub-components of the 'Tools' component.

You'll note that some process components are grayed out.  The component container itself will not appear in the published configuration, only the contents. This is done to remove unnecessary levels of hierarchy.

You'll also notice small triangles with exclamation points in them.  These indicate a problem of some sort with the selected components.  You can expand the tree and drill down until you find the explicit causes of the problems.  Most of them will not significantly impact your process choices and can be safely ignored.

Save Your Process Configuration

After making a series of changes, its a good idea to save your selections to a custom configuration for your project if you have not already done so.  That way, the next time you update your process configuration, you can start from the same place you left off, and iterate your process and its views most effectively.

For More Information  

For additional information on configuring and deploying RUP in an organization, see the Process Engineering Process (PEP). The PEP is a RUP-like process that provides guidance in the area of process engineering. It is included with the Rational Process Workbench™, available for download from the RUP section of the developerWorks®: Rational® Web site..

Rational Unified Process