Understanding EPFC Organization

Plug-In Architecture

Plug-ins are inherent to EPFC and are a composition structure used to group methodology elements for purposes of organization and architecture. Because plug-ins provide the required separation of objects for object hierarchy, inheritance, and propagation, plug-ins are a structural component.

Objects (discipline and methodology elements) are inherited from top down. In other words, object hierarchy is from bottom to top. In any case, modification of domain content takes place in the domain layer. Modification of IT-wide and enterprise-wide objects takes place in the FNFGCore layer.

Objects must never be modified in the Core Out Of The Box (OOTB) layer as upgrades to EPFC will overwrite manual changes.

Each plug-in (FNFGCore, PMM, RMM, QMM, etc.) maintains only that plug-in’s content type. For example, the PMM plugin will only contain discipline and methodology content relevant to the Project Management Methodology. Segregation of domain layer plug-ins makes it possible to give ownership of the content to the appropriate area of the organization.

Content Architecture

Plug-ins contain an organized mix of method content, category information, and processes.

Content Modifications

Additions

Content is added in a plug-in using bottom-to-top, then top-to-bottom approach.

Sequence of changes first start from Guidance up the chain to Roles, and then from Content Packages to Processes. The starting point for adding content will depend on the content type.

To add content to a plug-in, follow these steps:
Step 1. Right click on the Content Element Heading and click “New”.
Step 2. On the sub menu, select the desired element type.
Step 3. A new element of the desired type is created.
Step 4. Enter values in appropriate fields for the new element. Use tabs to switch to additional fields.
Step 5. Once all mandatory and optional values have been entered, click “File/Save” or the Save icon on the toolbar.
Step 6. Close the content element: click “File/Close” or the Close “x” button on the content element tab.
Step 7. Repeat steps 1 - 6 for each element on the development path.

Modifications

To modify content of a plug-in, follow these steps:
Step 1. Right click the content element name, and select “Edit”. Alternately, double-click the content element name.
Step 2. The content element is open for editing.
Step 3. Make the necessary changes to field values. Use tabs to switch to additional fields.
Step 4. Once desired values have been modified, click “File/Save” or the Save icon on the toolbar.
Step 5. Close the content element: click “File/Close” or the Close “x” button on the content element tab.
Step 6. If the modification results in changes “upstream”, repeat steps 1 - 6 for each element on the development path.

Plug-In Modifications

The OpenUp environment at FNFG is configured for multiple authors. To accommodate simultaneous content development, authors are “assigned” plug-ins which only they alter. Any plug-ins altered outside of the assigned plug-in are ignored during the re-integration, or importing process. Importing plug-ins

Exporting Plug-Ins

To export a plug-in, follow these steps:
Step 1. Click “File/Export…”.
Step 2. In the Export Destination list, select “Method Plug-ins”. Click the “Next” button.
Step 3. In the Method Plug-Ins list, select the desired plug-ins, then click the “Next” button.
Step 4. Review the dependency list for correctness. Click the “Next” button.
Step 5. On the Confirm Export dialog box, click the “Next” button.
Step 6. On the Specify Export Directory dialog box, specify the directory location where the exported files will be stored. Use the “Browse…” button to select a suitable location. Click the “Finish” button.
Step 7. The plug-ins will be exported.

Importing Plug-Ins

To import a plug-in, follow these steps:
Step 1. Back-up the current installation of EPFC.
Step 2. In the Library tree, right-click the plug-in and select “Delete” from the sub-menu.
Step 3. Confirm deletion by clicking “OK”. If the Confirm References Removal dialog box appears, confirm the deletion of references by clicking “OK”.
Step 4. Verify the plugin has been removed by navigating the Library.
Step 5. Click “File/Import…”.
Step 6. Select “Method Plug-ins” from the list of import sources. Click the “Next” button.
Step 7. On the Specify Import Directory dialog box, specify the directory location where the imported files are located. Use the “Browse…” button to select a suitable location. Select the “Ignore and remove unresolved references” option by clicking on the corresponding radio button. Click the “Next” button.
Step 8. Click the box next to the plug-in name to check it for importing. Click the “Finish” button.
Step 9. At the Backup Library dialog box, click the “Skip” button. This step is not required since the entire library was backed up in Step 1 of this process.
Step 10. Once the import is complete, right click the plug-in name and select “Validate” from the sub-menu.
Step 11. If errors or warnings appear in the “Problems” tab at the bottom of the screen, determine which plug-in has caused the problem and validate that plug-in. Use “Quick Fix” option to fix references between plug-ins.