Systems Architects and Engineers specialising in the effective use of Systems Architecture, Methods and Tools since 1982

Finding the Desired Cluster Set

When you choose the Cluster Review form from the facilities page of the main menu, the form appears with the Cluster Sphere Name highlighted. If you have more than one set of clusters, recorded as different spheres, you can use the Navigation Buttons or the Page Down key to move to another cluster sphere.

Accessing the Clusters

Before displaying the form, the system first copies down the cluster and related spheres for the first cluster set. To copy down the clusters of another chosen set, move to the Cluster Sphere Name field and use the Navigation Buttons or the Page Down key. Local copies of the necessary information will be made, while the root tables in the project will be locked. To choose a cluster from the current set, go to one of the cluster identification fields and use the Navigation buttons or Page Down key to make your selection.

Reviewing the Contents

The diagram on the first page shows what information is available and how it relates to a normal cluster. On the right hand side, the representation of a clustered matrix, reduced to the information relevant for a single cluster, shows the various areas. In the centre are the relations between the row and column sphere items which have been used to identify the cluster. In the left hand, row, titles are shown for the "Included" rows, those that are part of the cluster itself, distinguished from those that use products of the cluster although they are not included in it. Above the cluster can be seen the titles for the "Included" columns, similarly distinguished from those that supply inputs to the cluster. Also identified are the groups of relations which belong to these categories and those which are fully external, neither part of the cluster nor related to any of its elements.

To review a category, you can either click the appropriate named area on the left hand side of the legend page or you can click the page tab. In either case this will take you to the head of the table of requested items. You can use normal scrolling techniques to move around the tables. For the two pages which show connections to external items, you will see that the "junior" table, that which shows how the external items are related on to other external items remains synchronised with the "senior" table as you move through it.

Printing the Cluster Contents Report

You can use the print button to print either a snapshot view of the forma s displayed or the Cluster Contents and Related Items report. The report shows the same categories of item as the form, i.e. the Included Row and Column items, the Related Row and Column items and the Column and Row Items related in turn to the latter two.

An Example

The matrix used in Clustering Method has been reduced to the view required by a single cluster as shown here.