Creating your first dictionary

Creating your first dictionaries

Let's now continue by creating our first dictionaries and then by creating the terms they will contain.

To create your first dictionary, carry out the steps shown in the screenshot below.

Steps:

1. In the tab of the explorer, click on the root dictionary.

2. Click on the "Create a dictionary" icon.

3. Enter a name for your new dictionary (in our example, "Functional terms").

Continue by creating the "Technical terms" dictionary under the root dictionary and the "Environmental terms" dictionary inside the "Functional terms" dictionary.

Defining your new dictionaries

The next step is to enter a description for each of these dictionaries and to associate a property set. Both these operations are carried out in the dedicated "Dictionary edition" window below.

Defining your first dictionary

Steps:

1. In the tab of the explorer, click on the newly-created "Functional terms" dictionary. The "Dictionary edition" window then appears.

2. In this window, click on the arrow on the right-hand side of the "Type" field to display the list of available property sets, and select the property set you wish to implement. The property sets which appear in this list are those provided by default, along with any other property sets you may have defined.

3. In the "Description" field, enter a description for the dictionary (in our example, "This dictionary contains all the functional terms which will be employed by documents concerning the elevator system Scope Manager project").

4. If you wish to enter specific values for the properties automatically associated with your new dictionary, these can be directly entered in the right-hand zone of the window.

5. Click on "OK" to confirm.

Continue by carrying out the following operations:

o define the "Technical terms" dictionary with the "Dictionary Properties" property set and the following description: "This dictionary contains all the technical terms used in the context of the elevator system Scope Manager project, and provides a definition for each of them".

o define the "Environmental terms" dictionary with the "Dictionary Properties" property set and the following description: "This dictionary contains all the terms linked to the usage environment in the context of the elevator system Scope Manager project, and provides a definition for each of them".

Opening a Scope editor

To open a Scope editor, simply carry out the following steps:

1. In the tab of the explorer, right-click on the dictionary for which you want to open a Scope editor.

2. Run the "MDA Components/Scope Manager/Open a Scope editor" command. The new Scope editor then opens in the work view window.

Creating your first terms

Terms, which are created inside dictionaries, can be created either in the tab of the explorer through the "Create a term" icon (as shown below), or directly in the Scope editor through the "New term" command.

Creating your first term

Steps:

1. In the tab of the explorer, select the "Functional terms" dictionary.

2. Click on the "Create a term" icon.

3. Enter a name for your new term (in our example, "Elevator system").

Continue by creating the following terms:

· In the "Functional terms" dictionary, the "Cabin", "Button" and "Control panel" terms.

· In the "Environmental terms" dictionary, the "Building", "Floor" and "Landing" terms.

· In the "Technical terms" dictionary, the "Lift shaft" and "Engine" terms.

Note 1: A new term can also be created through the "New term" command, available by right-clicking in the Scope editor.

Defining your new terms

Terms can be further defined by adding descriptions, which will be used when generating dictionary documentation. These descriptions are added in the dedicated "Term edition" window below.

Defining your first term

Steps:

1. In the tab of the explorer, click on the newly-created "Elevator system" term. The "Term edition" window then appears.

2. In the "Description" field, enter a description for the term (in our example, "The elevator system is made up of the lift shaft and its engine, the cabin, its doors and its engine, the floors and their doors and the different associated buttons and detectors").

3. If you wish to enter specific values for the properties automatically associated with your new term, these can be directly entered in the right-hand zone of the window (values can also be assigned to requirement properties in the editors).

4. Click on "OK" to confirm.

Continue by entering the following descriptions for the terms you have just created:

· "Cabin": Mobile part of an elevator, which carries users to different floors of the building.

· "Button": Means through which the user can call the elevator, indicate his desired destination or stop the elevator.

· "Control panel": The set of buttons available to the user, both inside the cabin and on the landing.

· "Building": Construction containing several floors, which can contain an elevator system.

· "Floor": Level in a building, to which the elevator can transport users.

· "Landing": Part of a floor, from which a user has access to a cabin.

· "Lift shaft": Structure inside which the elevator system functions.

· "Engine": Engine allowing the cabin to go up or down within the lift shaft.

Note: Descriptions can also be added to terms by directly clicking on the "Definition" field in the Scope editor and entering a description.