Overview of Rational DOORS Next Generation
IBM® Rational DOORS Next Generation is a requirements management tool that runs on the IBM Rational Jazz® platform technology. Rational DOORS Next Generation includes a server application and a web client. Together, these components provide capabilities to define and manage requirements in systems and software engineering projects for manufactured products and systems-oriented industries.
The Requirements Management application
The capabilities that are provided by the Requirements Management (RM) application in the Rational solution for Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) are licensed as Rational DOORS Next Generation. The Rational solution for CLM also includes the Change and Configuration Management (CCM) and Quality Management (QM) applications, and Jazz Reporting Service. To support teams across the development lifecycle, these tools have common installation, architectural, user interface, administration, and integration features. CLM offers collaboration features such as review, visual editing, document generation, reporting, and audit history. As part of the Rational solution for CLM, the RM application provides requirements visibility and traceability across the lifecycle.Web client
CLM also addresses total cost of ownership with a browser-based user interface. The RM web client provides tools to define requirements in rich-text documents and visual representations in business process diagrams, use-case diagrams, storyboards, and user interface sketches. The web client also provides traceability links to development plans, work items, test plans, test cases, designs, and models. Requirement artifacts can be organized and reused in views, collections, and modules. Modules manage complexity by providing hierarchical structure for specifications in views that are like the features in IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS (DOORS). Teams can use these capabilities to evolve requirements from informal input to formal, actionable objectives. DOORS license holders are entitled to use the RM application in CLM.Jazz Team Server
Jazz Team Server provides an open integration architecture and team collaboration through dashboards, reviews, and comments. The server supports common administration of users, projects, data types, artifact types, attributes, and tags. Teams can use common services and project-wide type systems to consistently define and manage requirements. In CLM lifecycle projects, administrators can manage project areas, team members, and processes across associated applications. A commercial database is also used, which provides system and project administrators with flexible and standardized operational procedures.With dashboards and the Jazz Reporting Service, it is possible to pull information from integrated applications in real time for reports that show the status of the project and the impact of changes or issues anywhere in the system. CLM offers collaboration features such as review, visual editing, document generation, reporting, audit history and a common administration interface.
Linking by using OSLC and data exchange
Integration between artifacts in the CLM applications and other applications is supported through the implementation of Open Services for Lifecycle Collaboration (OSLC) specifications. For example, OSLC integration protocol links requirements in DOORS with artifacts in the RM application.
Requirements data can be exchanged between the two products through an implementation of ReqIF, which is an evolution of the Requirements Interchange Format, which the Object Management Group (OMG) governs. By exchanging data in ReqIF files, teams in different organizations can use different requirements management tools to work on shared specifications to construct a consistent view of a solution.
Teams can also migrate one or more modules from DOORS to Rational DOORS Next Generation. In addition to the requirements content, the migration includes project structure, attributes and types, views, tables, links, and more. This one-way migration moves requirements management into the CLM environment and includes links to records in DOORS for reference to history, baselines, and other non-migrated data. The migration process includes preparation, migration, and maintenance phases.
Comparing DOORS and Rational DOORS Next Generation
DOORS continues to excel for teams that need a mature, proven RM system and its industrial strength capabilities. Such capabilities include requirements change management that is driven by a process defined in a change management tool, and deep customizations that are based on DOORS Extension Language (DXL). Rational DOORS Next Generation is an RM system that is built for collaboration across teams, is on the web, and is part of a Jazz integration server solution. Rational DOORS Next Generation is available as part of DOORS at no extra cost to clients who have active subscription and support. For more information, see an IBM announcement letter for DOORS version 9.5 or later, which is available from the IBM Offering Information portal. From the portal, search for announcement letters about DOORS that were published in June 2013 or later.
To compare Rational DOORS Next Generation with other Rational requirements management tools, see "Overview of Rational DOORS Next Generation and the RM application" and "Comparison of DOORS and Rational DOORS Next Generation" in the CLM documentation. Also, see the article Which IBM Rational requirements management tool is best for your teams? on Jazz.net.
To configure the integration with Rational DOORS, see "Integrating the Requirements Management application and DOORS in the CLM documentation. See also the DOORS documentation about Exchanging requirements with other databases and Migrating data to Rational DOORS Next Generation.