How To Create A Template Project

Amanda Jennewein
Amanda Jennewein
  • Updated

Author: Steve Rush

Updated: September 2024

Audience: System Engineers, Engineering Leadership, etc

Products Applicable: Jama Connect®

Use Case

Best Practices How To Create A Template Project

Best Practice

A best practice in administering Jama Connect is creating a Template Project that can be reused or duplicated.

Creating a Template Project has the following benefits:

Standardize methodology 

  • A Template Project is an excellent way to enforce standardization of the requirements management and testing ​processes using the same data templates and relationship rule configuration.
  • Each team may operate in their project in Jama, allowing flexibility and customization at the project level for things like a project tree structure, tags, release list, and workflows.

Increase speed for setting up new project teams.

  • Removing the need to recreate project configuration each time a new Jama project begins saves time and reduces redundant work.

Decrease context switching between projects.

  • Create a familiar way of working across Jama projects.
  • Teams do not need to learn new terminology or think about new configurations when switching between Jama projects.
  • The Template Project should feel familiar to teams involved in other Jama projects, leading to setup faster, training, and adoption.

Enable reuse across multiple projects.

  • Teams can use Jama's reuse and synchronization capabilities, which allow them to reuse assets and easily compare across projects for differences.
  • Leverage custom scripts (that perform functions outside of core Jama functionality) and custom exports across multiple projects. 

This article will provide a step-by-step guide to creating a Template Project. Individuals must have Org Admin rights to complete the steps outlined in this article. The steps covered will be.

  1. Determine the appropriate development methodology for your teams
  2. Tag existing Item Types that best fit your development methodology or create new item types
  3. Create a Relationship Rule to provide your team's development methodology
  4. Create the actual Template Project and associate it with the Relationship Rule
  5. Create the Project Explorer Tree (filing cabinet/organization of data) for the Template Project
  6. Create workflows, if needed. Remember the connection between workflows and picklists in Jama
  7. Duplicate the Template Project for actual Production Projects

Implementation

Step 1: Determine your methodology 

The initial step for all teams using Jama is thorough discovery. Organizations that utilize classic Systems Engineering, Agile, Hybrid, or unique models can configure Jama Connect to align with these methodologies. Your team's chosen methodology directly influences the configuration of your template project. The transition to Jama will be a significant aspect of the discovery process.

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Transitioning from a document-centric process to an item-based approach is crucial for the successful implementation of Jama. Developing a Template Project as part of this discovery process will save time in the future. Current methods, systems, and methodologies should be easily duplicated and more recognizable to the implementation teams.

Step 2: Determine your Item Types

Jama Connect® is a database-driven, item-based platform. Transitioning from a document-based approach to an item-based approach is crucial for discovering and adopting Jama Connect within an organization.
Your team's development methodology is essential here. Classic Systems Engineering processes might use item types like System Requirement, High-Level Requirement, and Low-Level Requirement. Agile teams may use Strategic Themes, Software Requirements, Epics, and User Stories. Many teams employ a mix of these methodologies.
All of these items can be uniquely described with metadata. Each item has an assigned status to a team member for testing. These fields are part of an item type, and your requirements can include custom fields based on their types. Here are some best practices to remember when creating new item types.

  • Go to Admin > Item Types and determine which out-of-the-box items your organization will utilize. Leverage the description field (click "Edit" and add your organization's name to the Item Type description), providing context and another categorization level for the item type.

. Screenshot 2024-09-11 at 9.53.28 AM.png

  • Deleting unused items is recommended to declutter the Item Types view and improve navigation.

CONFIGURE PROJECT ITEM TYPES

  • Remember to leverage recommended "Widgets" for each item type. These widgets are assigned when creating new item types, editing existing ones, and adding extra functionality. It is recommended that the following widgets be available: Activities, Relationships, Versions, and Synchronized Item widgets for the product. User Guide

Step 3: Create your Relationship Rule

  • Relationships in Jama Connect® are established between specific items, such as linking Stakeholder Requirement A with System Requirement X. When you create a project template, it's crucial to establish which relationships are permitted based on your methodology. For example, an organization might have a process stating that a stakeholder requirement can be linked to a system requirement but should not be directly related to a subsystem requirement. The Relationship Rules set by the Jama Administrator are utilized in projects to ensure that the desired decomposition model is adhered to.
  • It's essential to establish the relationship rule for your item types as it enforces the methodology your organization wants to use in Jama. Applying the relationship rule to the Template Project ensures that it will also be used for any projects created from the template.
  • Here is a link to the Jama help section on the Relationship Rule Diagram 

Step 4: Create the Template Project

  • Step 4: Create the Template Project. Now, it's time to implement your plan and create the Template Project in Jama Connect®. Please give the Template Project a Project Key and Name. It can also be placed in its own Project folder for another layer of organization. You can easily apply appropriate permissions to template projects to limit read/write access. 
  • Once the new project has been saved, visit the Admin page and Project tab. Select your Project Template and go to the Item Types tab. Configure the visible item types at the project level and remove any unwanted or unused Item Types from the Template Project.

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Here is an article on Item Configuration at the Project level. 

After applying these changes, go back to Admin > Relationships and click to add the new Template Project with the Relationship Rule created in Step 3.

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You can find more information on Project configuration.

Step 5: Create a template project structure

The Project Explorer tree structure should be created once the backend structure for the Template Project is complete.

Establishing the Project Explorer tree structure within the Template Project is crucial. This structure will be replicated from the template project into new projects as the foundation for future ventures. Using templates can reduce the time and effort required for new projects.

Think of this as a "filing cabinet" for the project, where all underlying Items will live in containers. This structure allows teams to stay organized. Containers can group items by functional areas.

Adding new items to each section in the Tree is straightforward. You can either create new items directly or import them via MS Word or MS Excel. This flexibility allows you to create new items of a specific type and level, ensuring the Tree structure is always up-to-date.

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Here is an example of what a complete project tree might look like.

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Components, Sets, and Folders in Jama Connect®

Step 6: Determine the Status Workflow for Item Type(s)

Note: This step is optional and based on your team's needs. 

 

Jama's Workflow capability allows Admins to constrain and direct item status values for alignment with a state-transitioning model typical of requirements—the Workflow constrains the "next available" state based on an item's current state. For example, a requirement in Draft may transition to Review, while an item in Review may transition to Accepted or Rejected. Workflows are defined per Item Type by the Jama Admin. Item Types included in a project template will automatically apply the Workflow if configured by the Admin. 

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Before configuring Workflow for a specific Item Type, you must create a Picklist and attach a new field to the relevant Item Type linked with this Picklist.

Refer to the help guide on how to create and edit Picklists. 

Step 7: Create your Production Project!

At this point, the Template Project is ready to be used. In Admin > Projects, select the Template Project. Under Actions, determine 'Duplicate Project.'Below are the available configuration options, each explained:

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  1. New Project Name - provide a name for the project that is easily identifiable for the teams using Jama.
  2. Project Key - Set an alphanumeric project key. This key is unique and will show up on all items as part of the individual item ID generated by Jama. 
  3. Check items to include in copy - Select all settings to copy over. This way, additional configurations will be copied over to the new project.
  4. Do Not Check "Synchronize". Synchronization may be valuable for another use case (e.g., creating a variant from an existing product), but this should not be used when creating a new Project from the Template. For more information on Synchronization functionality within Jama, see the help guide - https://help.jamasoftware.com/ah/en/manage-content/reuse-and-synchronization/synchronization.html.
  5. Do Not Check "Create Relationships." This function is more relevant if duplicating a production project with content where you want a relationship to the source.
  6. Click "Duplicate Project". The new project is created in Jama and uses all the various item types, relationship rule configurations, and project structures you've set up in the Template.

References

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