Agile documentation with Confluence and Sparx Enterprise Architect

Agile architecture documentation using Confluence and Sparx Enterprise Architect

Per Spilling, ObjectwareJavaZone 2009

Agenda

• Why mashup of wiki & UML tool

• How

• Tips for architecture documentation in Confluence

Typical problems with traditional documentation

Doc 1.0

App 1.0 App 2.0

Foo Bar Foo Bar

Better way

UML tool

wiki

UML model Repository

Documentation Repository

UML tool

wiki

Sparx Enterprise Architect Atlassian Confluence

The chosen tools

Exporting from EA

hmm...

EARoot/EA1/EA11.png

The solution: Generate diagrams via the EA API

Running the eatools program

The names of the generated files correspond with the model

model/domain_model/domain_model.png

The result: “Live” UML diagrams in wiki

Confluence tips & tricks

Examples of useful plugins

• Reporting Plugin

• Linking Plugin

• Copy Space

• Label Tools

• Metadata Plugin 2

• Navigation Plugin

• ImageMap Plugin

• Jira Plugin

• Graphviz Plugin

• Chart plugin

Copy space plugin

Versioning

Dynamic table of contents

.. do this

Update the page layout (Confluence admin). See recipe: http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Adding+a+Navigation+Sidebar

Confluence page templates

Dictionary term template

Navigation Plugin

Dictionary term template

Metadata Plugin 2

Dictionary term template

Label Tools plugin

Dictionary term template

Using the template

Creating reports using metadata

Metadata Plugin 2: {metadata-report}

Add-page “buttons”

Linking Plugin

Specify which template to use

Use labels to specify relationships

depends_on_bird-app-003

depends_on_bird-app-003

Project reports with Chart & Metadata Plugin

{chart:type=bar|width=500|height=200|orientation=horizontal}|| || Tasks |||| Ikke påbegynt | {metadata-matches:Status|root=@parent|pages=@descendents|label=pcom_oppgave}Ikke påbegynt{metadata-matches} ||| Påbegynt | {metadata-matches:Status|root=@parent|pages=@descendents|label=pcom_oppgave}Påbegynt{metadata-matches} ||| Ferdig | {metadata-matches:Status|root=@parent|pages=@descendents|label=pcom_oppgave}Ferdig{metadata-matches} |{chart}

Graphviz plugin - ex: {spacegraph}

Thank you

Java program for generating diagrams will be made available for downloading after the conference