Using IPD-System Device Projects to Manage Feature Trees of a Smart Watch R&D Project

Overview

SFs are the core assets of a product and are always iterating. Full management provided by CodeArts Req includes a feature tree to better manage SFs, prevent asset loss, and enable fast cross-generation feature inheritance and development.

A company plans to launch a smart watch, which requires collaboration across departments and teams. Therefore, all the departments involved, such as marketing, product planning, and R&D, need to have a consistent understanding of the functions and features of the smart watch so that each R&D process aligns with the overall product strategy. This sector describes how to use an IPD-system device project to simulate the smart watch R&D project for feature tree management.

Procedure

The basic operation process of the simulation case is as follows.

Figure 1 Basic operation process

Preparations

Before performing a specific task, you need to complete the following preparations:

• The project owner has registered a HUAWEI ID and enabled Huawei Cloud services. For details, see My Account - Signing up for a HUAWEI ID and Enabling Huawei Cloud Services.
• The project owner has created IAM users for project members. For details, see My Account - Signing up for a HUAWEI ID and Enabling Huawei Cloud Services.
• You can purchase either CodeArts or CodeArts Req.
  • Purchasing CodeArts

    To complete all operations in this practice, you need to purchase CodeArts Pro Edition.

    1. Go to the Buy CodeArts page.
    2. Select CodeArts Pro, retain the default value for Users, set Required Duration to 1 month, agree to the statement, and click Next.
    3. Confirm the order and click Pay.
    4. Follow the prompts to complete the payment.
    5. Check the subscription record on the CodeArts page.

• Creating an IPD-System Device Project

  Before starting the BR, the product owner Sarah creates a project.

  1. Click Access Service on the CodeArts console.
  2. Click Create Project and select IPD-System Device.
  3. Enter the project name Smart Watch and click OK. The project is created.
• Adding Project Members

  Sarah creates accounts for team members and adds them to the project.

  This practice involves the following project roles, as shown in Table 2.

  Table 2 Project roles

  Member	Role	Responsibility
  Sarah	Project creator (product owner)	Creates a project and sets up a team.
  Frank	Product manager	Builds a product feature tree.
  Billy	Developer	Develops requirements and views the differences between SFs of different versions.

  1. Access the smart watch project. Choose Settings > General > Service Permissions > Member.
  2. Click Add Members above the project member list and choose Users from My Enterprise from the drop-down list.
     Figure 2 Adding members
     
  3. In the displayed dialog box, click Create User. The Users page is displayed.
  4. Click Create User and create users Frank and Billy in sequence.
  5. Return to the CodeArts page, refresh the browser, click Add Members above the member list, and choose Users from My Enterprise. Select members Frank and Billy, and click Next.
  6. Click the Role drop-down list in each row, select Project manager for Frank and Developer for Billy, and then click Save.

Step 1: Build a Feature Tree

At the beginning of the project, Frank (product manager) needs to create and maintain the product feature tree. Team members must be aware of the following aspects concerning the feature tree:

• Objectives: Position the product first, which is the basis for building the feature tree.
• Survey and analysis: Dive into customer requirements and market trends to ensure that the feature tree matches market requirements.
• Classification: Classify features based on their importance and association to form a clear tree structure.
• Optimization: Adjust the feature tree to meet evolving market and customer requirements.

After determining the product's core competitiveness, Frank starts to build the product feature tree.

1. Access the smart watch project and choose Work > Req > Feature Tree . After a project is created, a feature tree named after the project name is automatically generated.
   Figure 3 Feature tree homepage
   

2. Click Create Feature Set and enter the feature set name. Frank can use the large-granularity competitive features obtained from the preceding analysis as the level-1 feature set, that is, the trunk in the feature set catalog.
   Figure 4 Feature tree building - 01
   

3. Frank refines product features by adding subnodes at multiple levels under the level-1 feature set. A full feature tree is gradually built.
   Figure 5 Feature tree building - 02
   

Step 2: Create SFs in the Feature Tree

After building the product feature tree, Frank needs to enter the detailed work items that support the implementation of large-granularity features, that is, SFs, to enable the full lifecycle management of features.

1. Select any feature set node in the menu on the left and click + SF on the right.
2. On the SF page, enter the following information and click OK.

   Table 3 Creating an SF

   Parameter	Description	Example Value
   Title	SF title. Set it as required.	Real-Time Cycling Path Update On Smart Watches
   Description	SF description. Set it as required.	Background: The smart watch needs to support real-time path updates. Benefits: The product competitiveness is enhanced. Details: None
   Responsible Project	Project to which the SF belongs. The default value is the current project.	Smart Watch
   Owner	Current SF owner.	Frank
   Feature Set	Feature set to which the SF belongs. The default value is the selected feature set and can be changed.	Smart watch feature tree
   Priority	SF R&D priority. Set it as required. Example: Medium.	Medium

3. Repeat 1 and 2 to create SFs in the feature tree.

Step 3: Develop the SFs

After setting all product features, start R&D of competitive features, including SF breakdown and contractual SF R&D.

1. Access the smart watch project. Choose Work > Req > Feature Tree. On the Feature Tree tab page, Frank clicks the breakdown button in the Operation column of the SF list to break down a feature into multiple R&D items and assign them to the development team. Then the development team develops requirements based on the R&D items.
   Figure 6 Breaking down an SF into R&D requirements
   

2. During R&D, the smart watch team manages SF baselines by requirement baselines, change requests of controlled fields, change reviews, and change management, thereby staying on the right track.

   Frank selects the target SF, clicks Baseline, and clicks OK. The baselined fields of the baselined SF can be modified only after the change review is passed.

   Figure 7 Baselining an SF
   

Step 4: Manage and Trace Version Snapshots of the Feature Tree

The product feature tree is mainly used to focus on product value and align product R&D with customer and market requirements. The full feature list can be used as the pre-sales document of the product. Version snapshots can be used to keeping versions consistent in pre-sales and R&D teams.

In addition, the feature tree supports version snapshot comparison, helping the team better implement cross-generation development.

1. Access the smart watch project. Choose Work > Req > Feature Tree. On the Feature Tree tab page, Frank clicks , and enter the snapshot version name. The feature tree is recorded as a version.
   Figure 8 Feature tree version snapshot
   

2. Click an SF title to go to the SF details page. Click Version History after clicking the More icon. You can select any two versions and view version differences on the version comparison page.
   Figure 9 SF details page
   
   Figure 10 Comparison of historical feature tree versions