Main screen

Add a system or part of a system

Edit a system or part of a system

For more information about DEAR, see the IEA Team's website.

Training courses on DEAR are available--contact the IEA Team:

Colleen Coggins, Chief Architect
Suzanne Acar, Data Architect
Michael McGreer, Technology Architect
Carl Huls, Indian Trust Architect

Main Screen

This window shows all the systems DEAR has listed for your organization. From here you can add or edit a system.

System information

These system information lines are grayed out because they are not editable. The Inventory ID is the identification for this system in the DEAR inventory. The Investment/Project information is used for performance measurement.

No relationship found

If there are no mappings, the mapping line ends, as shown, with "no relationship found". Clicking on this line still brings up the appropriate Edit Mapping screen, and when you add the mappings, the main screen will show those mappings instead of this line.

Grayed-out lines

The grayed-out lines are ones you are not allowed to edit.

Which did you select?

If you select the item shown, it looks like you are selecting one level down from a subsystem. But actually, you are selecting the mapping for the subsystem, and you would get the same window if you selected any of the "BRM Function/Activity" lines.

System description

This box shows the description of whatever you select in the main window. If the description is too long to fit in the box, click in the box and a scrollbar will appear so you can see the rest of it. You can also copy and paste the text from this box.

New System

This button brings up the Add screen that lets you add a new system. It actually does exactly the same thing as the Add button does if you click the Add button while "System Architecture" (at the very top of the scrollbox) is selected. The benefit of the New System button is that you can use it to add a system from anywhere; if you are down in the depths of system components, you don't have to scroll to the very top to be able to add a new system.

Add

This button brings up the Add screen. There are different versions of the Add screen, depending on whether you are adding a system, subsystem, or system component instance. (You can't add a system component except within the Add System Component Instance screen.) However, the lower level add screens are really the same as the screen for adding a system, but with less information to fill in. (Exception: the Add System Component Instance screen has a couple of extra features.)

Edit

If you select a system, subsystem, investment, subsystem component instance, or subsystem component, "Edit" brings up a screen for editing system attributes. If you select a mapping (the ones that start with PRM, BRM, DRM, SRM, or TRM), it brings up one of the Edit Mapping screens. If you selected it under an investment, you get the screen that maps to the PRM; if a subsystem, the BRM or DRM screen; if a subsystem component, the SRM screen or TRM screen.

Help

This button opens up the tutorial you are reading now, through the link on this popup window:

Exit

This button closes the wizard (if you say "Yes" on the confirmation popup window) and returns you to DEAR.

Many levels

You can add or edit at every level: systems, subsystems, system components, system component instances, investments, and mappings.

In use by another user

If more than one user tries to relate to the same reference model or look at the same system at once, only the first will get through. Others will get an error message asking them to try again in a few seconds.

Where you go next

Depending on what you select, you can go to the screens that add systems and their parts, or the screens to edit systems and their parts, PRM mappings, BRM mappings, DRM mappings, SRM mappings, or TRM mappings.

Railroad switchyard photograph from Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection