DOORS Database
Architecture Analysis
How to organize DOORS database for
better performance and data integrity
– Performance Issues
– Links Enforcement
– Access Rights
Yaron Zelichover
February 2009
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Performance Improvement Guidelines
Purpose
 How to organize DOORS architecture to improve performance
Benefits of Performance Improvement
 Improve user experience
 Allow managing larger modules
 Most guidelines do not involve “simple” user
 Can be adopted both by new or existing projects
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Performance Improvement Guidelines
Performance Improvement Guidelines:
 Attributes guidelines
 DXL columns Vs. DXL attributes
 Default views
 Shareable edit
 History/Baseline
 Delete non-purged objects
 Open modules in Exclusive edit
 DXL code guidelines
 Link structure
 Tips to test performance
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Performance Improvement Guidelines
• Attributes guidelines:
 Reduce number of attributes in modules
 Prefer String attributes over Text attributes
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Performance Improvement Guidelines
• DXL columns Vs. DXL attributes
 DXL attribute:
calculated once, it‟s an additional attribute
 DXL column:
calculated whenever object is displayed, depended on view
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Performance Improvement Guidelines
• Default views
 Affects the module open time
 Use „light‟ view as default view:
 Reduce number of attributes in default view
(specially: DXL attributes and Text attributes)
 Prefer avoiding DXL column in default view
 Prefer hiding Explorer
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Performance Improvement Guidelines
• Shareable edit
• Pack History into Baseline
• Purge “soft-deleted” objects
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Performance Improvement Guidelines
• Open modules in Exclusive edit
• DXL code guidelines
• Link structure
 Reduce number of link modules
 Verify „Link Enforcement‟
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Performance Improvement Guidelines
• Tips to test performance
 Close DOORS session completely before each test
 When comparing performance, do it on same client
 Check how many modules are open in the background
 Tools > Manage open modules
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Link Enforcement Guidelines
Purpose
 How to plan and enforce links/tractability strategy
Benefits of Link Enforcement
 Reduce user mistakes
 Comply with company process
 Assure completeness of impact analysis
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Link Enforcement Guidelines
Link Enforcement:
 Concept:
 Link module/Linkset/Link Descriptor
 “DOORS Links” – default link module
 Plan traceability strategy:
 Define link model – link types and directions
 Enforce links according to the model
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Link Enforcement Guidelines
• Link Enforcement - Concept
 Link module/Linkset/Link Descriptor
 “DOORS Links” – default link module
Linkset
Link Descriptor
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Plan traceability strategy
• Define Link Model
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Enforce traceability strategy
Enforce links according to the model:
 Each link type is represented by a link module
 All links of a certain type should go only
through the corresponded link module
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Enforce traceability strategy
Enforce links according to the model:
 Allow only links according to model - guidelines:
 Use link descriptors on modules
 Allow only links according to link descriptors
 CustomizationsUtilities to work according
to the model
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Access Rights
• Access Rights Guidelines:
 Avoid giving Admin access to users
 Manage permissions for groups and not individual
users
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