A Request For Information from 3SL regarding Cradle
Summary
Cradle is a general-purpose requirements management and systems engineering tool. It allows users to create any number of databases, each of which can be used by one or more projects, and provides multi-user, fully tracked and access controlled, access to the contents of these databases by any number of concurrent users.
Within each database, information is managed in items. Items contain attributes that hold the data. Items are linked by cross references, also called links. Users can define any number of item types, attribute types and link types. There are no limits on the numbers of item types, items, attribute types, attributes per item, link types or links per item. The maximum size of any attribute in any item is 1 TByte.
The result is that a Cradle database can manage any volume of any number of types of information, and link this information by any pattern of cross references.
Requirements: Can the tool handle atomic requirements?
Yes. A Cradle database contains items. Each item is a discrete 'thing', such as a user requirement, need, data definition, interface or test case. You can define any number of types of item. You can define any number of items of each type. Each item type can have any number of attributes.
Requirements: Does the tool allocate unique identifiers to requirements?
Yes. Each item type has its own characteristics, including whether it is auto-numbered and the characteristics of the auto-numbers, such as an optional prefix, an optional suffix, an initial value, an increment value and whether zero padding is desired.
Requirements: Does the tool allow classification of requirements?
Yes. Cradle allows the creation of any number of classes of requirements. These can be changed at any time during the lifetime of the project.
Requirements: Does the tool provide a means to check the text in a requirement or other item for examples of bad structure?
Yes. Cradle provides a Conformance Checker which checks the text in requirements for examples of bad structure where such structures are user-definable and produces a report.
Requirements: Does the tool provide the means to define 'good phrases' for the text of requirements (and other items)?
Yes. Cradle provides a Conformance Checker which checks the text in requirements for examples of good phrases and produces a report.
Requirements: Does the tool provide the means to define 'bad phrases' for the text of requirements (and other items)?
Yes. Cradle provides a Conformance Checker which checks the text in requirements for examples of bad phrases and produces a report.
Requirements: Can a piece of information be entered manually by a user?
Yes. Information can be created manually from trees, lists, tables or from menus available within the tool.
Requirements: Can a child be created from a piece of information?
Yes. The new item can be empty or a copy of the original item, it can optionally inherit the cross references of the original item and a cross reference is automatically created between the parent and child item.
Requirements: Can a sibling be created from a piece of information?
Yes. The new item can be empty or a copy of the original item, it can optionally inherit the cross references of the original item and a cross reference is automatically created between the parent and sibling item.
Requirements: Can a hierarchy be created from a piece of information?
Yes. You can control the number of levels to be created and the number of items at each level. Cradle automatically creates all of the cross references to connect the new information into a hierarchy and creates hierarchical numbers/.
Requirements: How can pieces of information be created in the tool?
Items can be created in many ways. They can be created from a list of items shown in different view styles, e.g. trees, tables etc. They can also be created directly from forms and from various menus available within the tool.
Requirements: Can pieces of information be created by copying other pieces of information?
Yes you can copy items of the same type or items of a different type.
Requirements: Does the tool support adaptations of an item?
Yes this can assist when a project might have multiple products and projects and need to create and update these products.
Requirements: Can the tool track the history of changes
Yes. Cradle has a change history mechanism which can record up to 1 billion edits to each instance of an item in a database.
Requirements: Does the tool provide a mechanism to record all edits to each piece of information in the database??
Yes. These are called 'change histories' or 'edit histories'. You can control whether such edit histories are to be recorded for none, some or all types of information in the database.
Requirements: Does the tool allow the recording of edits to information to be triggered in a user-defined way?
Yes. There are 3 different trigger mechanisms provided which are when any change is made to the item, once an item has been baselined and when a user-defined attribute is set to a particular value (for example when a user sets a 'Status' attribute to be 'Approved', then record details of any subsequent edits to the piece of information).
Requirements: Does the tool provide a mechanism that allows multiple users to add comments to pieces of information?
Yes. This is the Cradle discussions mechanism.
Requirements: Can comments be added against each discussion?
Yes this allows any number of hierarchical structures of comments to be created for each piece of information in the database with an optional decision recorded for each hierarchy of comments.
Requirements: Does the tool produce a notification when a comment is recorded?
Yes. This is fully supported by Cradle's discussion mechanism.
Requirements: Can a user query on discussions including the status?
Yes. The existence of comments, or new comments or outstanding decisions are available in Cradle queries.
Requirements: Does the tool provide mechanisms to perform user-defined actions when events occur within it?
Yes, different external commands can be setup, for example anything that can occur to a piece of information in the database, and is configured in the project schema.
Requirements: Can the tool record who edited the piece of information and when it was edited?
Yes this is fully automatic when edit histories are switched on. It also records the reason why it was edited, which attributes were changed by the edit and the old and new values of each of these changed attributes.
Requirements: Does the tool allow the user to easily compare edits?
Yes. Cradle highlights additions, deletions and changes in coloured blocks within the edit history.
Requirements: Does the tool record all changes to the cross references to/from the piece of information?
Yes, including the creation of a cross reference to or from the piece of information, the deletion of a cross reference to or from the piece of information, or a change to an attribute inside a cross reference to or from a piece of information.
Requirements: Does the tool record more than 1,000 edits to each piece of information?
Yes. Up to 1 billion edits are recorded per instance per item of information.
Requirements: Does the tool allow the user to view the edits to a piece of information?
Yes. Can be shown in dialogs and also shown in views, either in a summary form or in a detailed form (allows 'Change Logs' to be produced easily).
Requirements: Does the tool allow the user to filter which edits to a piece of information are shown?
Yes, it filters either all edits, or all edits to a particular attribute, or all edits of a particular type.
Requirements: Does the tool allow a user to select a specific edit and reverse it, such reversal creating a further entry in the edit history for the piece of information?
Yes. Cradle provides both reverse and rewind functionality
Requirements: Does the tool allow a user to reverse multiple consecutive edits to a piece of information?
Yes, effectively restoring it to the state that it was in before the first of the selected edits occurred, such multiple reversal creating a further entry in the edit history for the piece of information.
Requirements: Can users define a separate set of attributes for each user-defined type of information?
Yes. Cradle provides the ability to define different types of attributes referred to in Cradle as frames, categories and standard attributes
Requirements: What type of attributes can be defined for items?
Categories and frames can be of type text, binary, date, time, integer, positive integer, real, single value pick list and multi value picklist.
Requirements: Does the tool allow attributes to be defined that are calculated from the values of other attributes?
Yes using project defined calculations. Cradle provides the ability to define calculations as a special attribute. These can be based upon the values of categories in individual item types or aggregated across various item types
Requirements: Does the tool allow users to define attributes that are blocks of text with a maximum size greater than 10 Mbytes?
The maximum size is 1 Tbyte.
Requirements: Does the tool allow attributes to contain formatted text including special characters, i.e. RTF?
Requirements: Does the tool allow rich text to be edited inside the tool?
Yes. You can define RTF frames which can be edited within Cradle on Windows. On Linux you can setup an EDIT command to open your RTF frame in your preferred RTF editor.
Requirements: Does the tool allow attributes to contain numbered and bullet lists, and embedded figures and tables?
Yes. These can be contained in RTF frames.
Requirements: Does the tool allow users to define attributes that can contain a user-defined type of data, e.g. Word, Excel, PDF, GIF/JPEG images, with a maximum size that is more than 100 Mbytes?
Yes. This type of attribute is stored within an item's binary frame. The maximum size is 1 TByte.
Requirements: Does the tool allow users to define attributes that reference external data?
Yes. Attributes can reference external data using reference mechanisms including external files, URLs and data referenced by a user-defined identity in an external tool.
Requirements: Does the tool allow attributes containing numeric values to be automatically coloured?
Yes. When displaying based on the attribute's numeric value and a set of colour bands, each containing a colour and an upper and lower numeric limit. Attributes containing dates can also automatically be coloured by using colour bands.
Requirements: Does the tool allow users to specify that one or more attributes are mandatory?
Yes. If setup, a piece of information cannot exist in the database unless it contains values for all of the attributes that are marked mandatory.
Requirements: Does the tool allow data to be grouped into organisational units?
Yes. These are sometimes called groups or modules or collections and are meaningful to the end user. Cradle can define multiple hierarchies of items within any item type.
Requirements: Does the tool allow information types and attributes to be defined, changed and deleted through the tool's UI?
Yes. No special configuration or scripts are required. They can also be defined, changed or deleted when a project is underway and after data has been created. This is dependent on the privileges of users in their user profiles.
Requirements: Does the tool provide a database-wide unique ID?
Yes this is called a PDUID (Project Database Unique ID). These are unique across all information types and all items of each type.
Requirements: Does the tool allow information types to have an attribute containing an automatically generated unique ID?
Yes. Cradle refers to this as the Identity attribute which can be set as manual or auto numbered. The numbering sequence is independent of the numbering sequence for all other information types.
Requirements: Does the tool allow a user to control the format of an automatically generated ID?
Yes. We provide options for user-defined prefix, user-defined suffix, an initial numeric value and an increment value to create new IDs from a previous ID. Also optional padding with zeroes to a user-defined width.
Requirements: Is the tool able to guarantee that unique IDs are not reused. ?
Yes. Auto-numbering automatically selects the next accumulative number in sequence. There are auto-number options to reset these values.
Requirements: Can the tool recover deleted information?
Yes. Cradle provides an optional item recovery feature whereby items in a Recoverable state can be restored.
Requirements: Can the tool search the database to find information based on user-defined criteria?
Yes. These are called queries. Queries are one of the most fundamental concepts in Cradle.
Requirements: Can the tool search the database based on user-defined value(s)?
Yes. Cradle provides an extensive querying mechanism with the ability to specify AND and OR and similar combinations of the to-be-found attribute values.
Requirements: Does the tool allow the user to define regular expressions to find information when defining a search?
Yes. Regular expressions can be used within queries, Find dialogs and Cradle Category Recognition Strings.
Requirements: Does the tool allow the user to search the database to find linked/not linked information?
Yes you can query for items that are linked/not linked to any other pieces of information or specific pieces of information. You can optionally allow the user to specify that the related information that is linked by a specific type of cross reference.
Requirements: Can the tool query the database for information based on a nested filter or query?
Yes. For example, requirements that are linked to use cases that are linked to a system requirement.
Requirements: Can the tool query on suspect items?
Yes. Cradle can query on items that might be considered suspect due to later changes to linked items. This can also be shown within Cradle views.
Requirements: Does the tool allow searches defined by the user to be saved and re-used?
Yes. Queries can be saved and reused. They can be saved in one of the 7 available scopes. These are personal to the user (available in all projects), specific to a user in a project, shared between all users of the same type, shared by users in a team (user group), shared by all users in a project, automatically generated and shared by all users in a project, and shared by all users in all projects.
Requirements: Does the tool allow a user to modify any attribute of a piece of information in a single item display?
Yes. These are called 'forms' and are fully customisable. They can be saved in one of the 7 available scopes. These are personal to the user (available in all projects), specific to a user in a project, shared between all users of the same type, shared by users in a team (user group), shared by all users in a project, automatically generated and shared by all users in a project, and shared by all users in all projects.
Requirements: Does the tool allow a user to modify any attribute of a piece of information in a tabular presentation style?
Yes. Attributes can be modified within 'tables'. This is achieved by selecting the table cell (attribute of an item) and editing the attributes as needed.
Requirements: Can linked information in a nested query be edited by the user?
Yes. For example verifications linked to requirements, both the verifications and linked requirements can be edited.
Requirements: When a user has finished editing a piece of information, does the tool automatically write that updated information to the database?
If you close/save the item the database is instantly updated without any separate 'commit' operation.
Requirements: Is a user's view of information in the database updated to show changes made by other users?
Queries/views can be refreshed at any time.
Requirements: Does the tool allow for the reordering of items within a hierarchical structure, e.g. moving a subtree from one part of the hierarchy to another?
Yes. This is done by drag-and-drop. Cradle modifies the key (or project defined attribute) to depict the hierarchical structure and update each affected item's change history.
Requirements: Does the tool allow the user to customise the entry of data entered by the user at runtime?
Yes. Cradle provides parametric querying functionality based upon attributes set in the item type.
Requirements: Does the tool allow all pieces of information of all types to be shown for each piece of information found by a database search?
Yes. This is achieved by using nested views. The linked items to be shown is controlled by a 'navigation' that filters the cross references to/from an item that are followed. Navigations have the same set of scopes as forms, views and queries.
Requirements: Can the tool define a customisable set of operations or phases to simplify the interface for users
Yes Cradle provides the ability to define in the project a customisable phase hierarchy that can allow users to see what they need to see with a single mouse click.
Requirements: Can the tool define a control panel that allows the user to quickly and simply launch tasks/outputs?
Yes these are called Start Pages which can be saved for use by all project users or individual user. They provide a range of selectable actions. Default Start Pages can be set.
Requirements: Can you query for items plus their descendants?
Yes this can be done as a single operation.
Capture and Documents: Can the tool capture and import items from source documents?
Yes. Cradle can capture requirements and other item types from Microsoft Office documents using the Document Loader tool or the Excel capture add-in in a way that captures all information and identifying numbers and hierarchical structure.
Capture and Documents: Can items imported from source documents be edited?
Yes, you can edit the requirements created by the import although we recommend you do not modify these requirements but that you create a further set of items, called derived requirements and perform your re-engineering of the imported requirements in these derived items.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool allow unique identifiers to be tailored to the document?
When documents are captured into Cradle, you can store the document's contents' identities as either the identity of the items in Cradle, or another attribute. When you publish documents from Cradle, the identities of sections/sub-sections and individual entries (eg paragraphs or table rows) used in the document can come from the Cradle items' identities, or any other attribute. Typically, the numbering of document sections is unique to each document and is typically generated automatically by Word, so that the identities and attributes of database items are not used to create section/subsection numbers, but they could be used to generate identities for table rows. Any of these options are possible.
Capture and Documents: Can the tool reproduce the hierarchical structure of the section(s) of the Word document being loaded?
Yes. A corresponding hierarchy is created between the pieces of information that it creates inside its database. The user can also control the type(s) of cross references that are used.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool depend on the names of paragraph styles used in the source document so must infer hierarchical structure from paragraphs' outline levels?
Yes. Document Loader only uses outline levels and supports all languages for both the document text and the names of paragraph styles.
Capture and Documents: Is the tool able to keep an internal copy of any Word document from which information has been loaded, to protect the information source from external changes?
Yes. Source documents cannot be edited once loaded, they are only shown read-only.
Capture and Documents: Can the tool allow the user to specify from which part(s) of a Word document will information be loaded?
Yes. Various facilities to select all the document, subsets of it, and/or individual paragraphs or figures or tables.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool allow different types of information to be loaded from different part(s) of a Word document in a single load operation?
Yes. User can map the data to any defined items in the project schema.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool provide links from the information loaded into the tool back to its source (such as a paragraph, table, or table cell)?
Yes. Links are automatically created so a user can follow to see the origin of a piece of information in the database in its original context in its source document. Separate sets of links for each document version.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool allow any figure, diagram or other graphic in the Word document to be loaded directly?
Yes. Figures, diagrams and graphics can be loaded with minimal pre-processing.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool allow rows in tables to be loaded into the database?
Yes. The user can define how table columns are to correspond to attributes of the pieces of information being captured. Cradle also recognises tables of similar structures so users can copy previously-defined settings.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool allow each cell in a table to be loaded into an individual piece of information in the database?
Yes. The user can define the attribute to receive the cell's contents and optionally values for other attributes that will be constant for all cells in the table. Cradle recognises tables of similar structures so users can copy previously-defined settings.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool allow a single piece of information to be loaded from a table?.
Yes. The user can define which table cell (row, column pair) will be used as the source for the attributes of the piece of information to be created in the database. Cradle recognises tables of similar structures so users can copy previously-defined settings.
Capture and Documents: Can the tool allow a document to be loaded in stages, at different times?
Yes you can perform multiple captures. You can also save a session which stores information about the state of Document Loader including which parts of the document have already been captured.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool support the capture of multiple versions?
Yes. Allows multiple versions of a source document to be captured. Creates a set of cross references for each version of a source document. Allows a version of a source document to be deleted, when it reverts to the previous version of the document and the set of cross references for that previous version.
Capture and Documents: Is the tool able to highlight differences between versions of a document?
Yes. Also highlights each change in the document in red and in the document structure in yellow.
Capture and Documents: Is the tool able to capture changes in a new document version as changes to existing information in the database or as new information (as appropriate)?
Yes as new pieces of information or updates to existing pieces of information (as appropriate). Cradle loads all changes and automatically updates the edit histories of all items that are affected.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool allow a new version of a loaded document to be deleted?
Yes it automatically reverts back to the previous version including the cross reference links that apply to the previous version of the document and automatically undo-ing the changes made to pieces of information in the database that resulted from the new document version.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool allow rules that have been defined to load a particular document's contents into the tool to be saved?
Yes. Capture settings and sessions can be saved and can be reused to load contents from other documents with the same structure and format.
Capture and Documents: Is the tool able to load information from PDF documents?
No. PDF documents can be converted to Word format with a 3rd party tool. PDF documents that contain only scanned images can be analysed with OCR software but are unlikely to produce documents that can be captured accurately. Cradle can store whole PDF documents in an item frame.
Capture and Documents: Is the tool able to load information from a selected range of cells in an Excel spreadsheet?
Yes using the Excel capture add-in. The user can define how columns are to correspond to attributes of the pieces of information being captured.
Capture and Documents: Is the tool able to load data from CSV files?
Yes. Either by CSV import or the Excel capture add-in. The user can define how fields in the CSV records are to correspond to attributes of the pieces of information being captured.
Capture and Documents: When loading information from an external source, can the user specify whether existing items of information are overwritten or merged?
Yes there are overwrite options including a Merge option. For example, a database already has user requirements in it and the user can merge the priorities of these existing requirements from an Excel spreadsheet into the information already in the database without destroying the other attributes of the requirements.
Capture and Documents: Can the tool generate graphs and reports
Yes. Cradle can generate both graphs and reports which can be displayed within the tool or in an external tool/file. You can create definitions for reports and graphs and optionally share these with other users.
Capture and Documents: Can user-defined views of information be printed?
Yes. The formats supported include RTF, HTML and CSV. This allows the user to save the print format so they can be used by default.
Capture and Documents: Can any report be displayed within the tool's UI rather than being sent to an external file?
Yes. Reports can be produced to either an external file or can be displayed in a WorkBench tab.
Capture and Documents: Can the user define a standard format containing a user defined view?
Yes, it can also contain appropriate titles and other descriptions. These formats can be saved for subsequent re-use.
Capture and Documents: Can customised formats for reports be saved into different groups?
Yes. These are called 'scopes'. There are 7 scopes, personal to the user (available in all projects), specific to a user in a project, shared between all users of the same type, shared by users in a team (user group), shared by all users in a project, automatically generated and shared by all users in a project, and shared by all users in all projects.
Capture and Documents: Can the user define the format and structure of complete documents to be generated from the tool?
Yes. The format can include cover pages, Tables of Contents, Lists of Figures and so on. They are generated from the tool without writing scripts in a special language. These are generated from the Document Publisher tool.
Capture and Documents: Can document templates contain any information in the database?
Yes. Templates can contain the contents of attributes including graphics and tables. They may also contain the output from any database search (queries) and view or matrix (if applicable) that the user can use in the tool's UI including any graphical views of relationships between pieces of information (Hierarchy Diagrams - HIDs).
Capture and Documents: Can document templates make references externally to the tool's database and include external information?
Yes. External references are fully supported, including login and HTML references into external tools.
Capture and Documents: Can documents with any format, any structure, and any information content be output?
Yes. Documents are generated using the Document Publisher tool. The documents generated can include page layouts, paragraph and table styles, sections and subsections and any information content including the ability to publish only from baselined information or non-baselined information, or both .
Capture and Documents: Can any number of document templates be defined and stored for later reuse?
Yes you can store many versions/variants of different document templates for later reuse.
Capture and Documents: Can document templates be saved into different groups
Yes. These are called 'scopes'. There are 7 scopes, personal to the user (available in all projects), specific to a user in a project, shared between all users of the same type, shared by users in a team (user group), shared by all users in a project, automatically generated and shared by all users in a project, and shared by all users in all projects.
Capture and Documents: Can the user load existing documents (corporate template styles) into the tool?
Yes. Document Publisher can use an empty corporate document with its defined styles, headers, footers etc., as the starting point for the Document Publisher template.
Capture and Documents: To define a document template does the user need to write scripts in a special language?
No. All operations are completed using a point and click UI, i.e. the Document Publisher tool.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool allow document templates to reference either baselined information or the latest instances of information?
Yes the tool can reference baselined information or the latest instances of information depending on what the user chooses.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool allow documents to be generated in a batch mode?
Yes, using the command line options, it is easy to publish multiple documents in a batch process.
Capture and Documents: Does the tool allow the user to designate that a specific instance of a document being generated from a template is one of the project's formal deliverables?
Yes. Cradle has a formal document publishing feature which records the name and/or title, issue number, issue date and reference number of the 'formal document' being generated.
Capture and Documents: When producing and storing formal documents what information does the tool record?
The tool records which revisions or instances of each piece of information that has been published in the document.
Capture and Documents: Does the publishing tool allow the user to enter data at runtime to base the published document on?
Yes. Multiple inputs can be requested by the template at runtime.
Capture and Documents: When publishing a table to CSV, can the tool choose the encoding to be used?
Yes you have the option to select the required encoding.
Capture and Documents: Is the tool able to generate reports from information that allows the user to see in which formal documents a piece of information has been reported?
Yes. All formats of these reports are user-definable. They can include which pieces of information have been reported in each formal document, and report the differences between the pieces of information that have been reported in any two formal documents and the pieces of information that have been reported in all of two or more formal documents.
Capture and Documents: Can earned-value / burn-down graphs be produced automatically?
Yes they can be produced automatically from the values of attributes in any set of pieces of information in the database, where the value being graphed is a user-defined calculation based on one or more of the attribute values and where the horizontal axis shows time.
Capture and Documents: Can earned-value / burn-down graphs be produced against a time axis that is based on the last modification dates of the pieces of information?
Yes they can also be produced based on a date in an attribute of the pieces of information being graphed, or a date recorded in the informations' change histories when a specific attribute was set to a specific value.
Capture and Documents: Can graphs be saved for subsequent re-use?
Yes. Any number of graph definitions can be saved and re-used.
Capture and Documents: Can customised formats for graphs be saved into different groups?
Yes. These are called 'scopes'. There are 7 scopes, personal to the user (available in all projects), specific to a user in a project, shared between all users of the same type, shared by users in a team (user group), shared by all users in a project, automatically generated and shared by all users in a project, and shared by all users in all projects.
Capture and Documents: Can the data from earned-value / burn-down graphs be exported in CSV for processing by another tool?
Yes you can export graph data values to CSV including earned values, cumulative values and burn down values.
Data Display: Does the tool allow information to be viewed one piece of information at a time, such as in a dialog or a user-defined layout?
Yes. These are called forms which have a scope as one of personal to a user, shared by users of a user-defined type, shared by users in a team, shared by everyone in the project, or shared by all users in all projects.
Data Display: Does the tool allow information to be viewed in a simple list display?
Yes. Lists are supported as well as multiple selections.
Data Display: Does the tool have facilities to manipulate the data shown in views?
Not fully. Cradle can sort/reorder but cannot highlight specific items to be reproduced as a report. You can, however, select items and publish them.
Data Display: Does the tool allow information to be viewed in a tabular display?
Yes. Sorting is supported, either ascending or descending and case sensitive or case insensitive. Both column and row sizes can also be adjusted.
Data Display: Can the tool allow simple calculations to be performed on information that is shown?
Yes. Using a calculation attribute. For example to total the values in a column or to display the maximum of all of the values shown in a column.
Data Display: Can the tool allow a default view style to be associated with each type of information?
Yes. Users can define a default view for each type of item.
Data Display: Can the tool allow information to be viewed in a hierarchical display?
Yes. Can control which cross references to/from items are followed to show linked items. Can reorder hierarchies of items. Can drag-and-dop to make cross references.
Data Display: Can the tool allow other attributes of pieces of information in the hierarchy to be shown in a columns beside the hierarchy?
Yes. Cradle's tree style shows the information in an expandable tree, with the other attributes specified in the view shown as columns.
Data Display: Does the tool allow the user to customise the attributes shown in single item dialogs, and to save such customised formats for subsequent re-use?
Yes. Called, these are called forms. Each is a hierarchy of rows and columns of labels, formatting and attributes.
Data Display: Can the tool customise formats for single-item views of information to be saved into different groups?
Yes. Called scopes. There are 7 scopes, personal to the user (available in all projects), specific to a user in a project, shared between all users of the same type, shared by users in a team (user group), shared by all users in a project, automatically generated and shared by all users in a project, and shared by all users in all projects.
Data Display: Does the tool allow default views to be set for item types?
Yes. Users can define a default view for each type of item.
Data Display: Does the tool allow the user to customise the attributes that are shown in tabular or hierarchical multiple item displays?
Yes. These are called views, each is a table of rows and columns whose cells contain the attributes of linked information to be shown. Views can be nested. The simplest views show one or more attributes in one row for each item found by a query.
Data Display: Does the tool allow views of information to be colour-coded based on the value(s) of one or more attribute(s) of the pieces of information that are being shown?
Yes. Can define foreground and background colours and whether they are shown.
Data Display: Does the tool allow views of information to display a specific value depending on an attribute's value. ?
Yes. This is achieved using regex replacement. For example, if an attribute value is 'Agreed' then the view shows 'YES'.
Data Display: Can the tool provide a matrix view in which pieces of information are both rows and columns?
Yes. Rows are items defined as the results of one or more queries and so are the columns. Cells show the existence and direction of a cross reference or one or more attributes from inside the cross reference. Matrix definitions have the same set of scopes as views, forms, navigations and queries.
Data Display: In a matrix, can the tool display variable substitutions within navigation attribute values to allow matrices to be produced which include three item types?
Yes, row item type, column item type and cell item type).
Data Display: Can the tool provide a matrix view in which three sets of information are shown?
Yes. Row item type, column item type and cell item type. Rows are items found by one or more queries and so are the columns. Pivot table definitions have the same set of scopes as views, forms and queries.
Data Display: Does the tool allow the user to save matrix formats for subsequent re-use?
Yes. Matrices can be saved and reused.
Data Display: Does the tool allow customised formats for matrices to be saved into different groups?
Yes. Called scopes. There are 7 scopes, personal to the user (available in all projects), specific to a user in a project, shared between all users of the same type, shared by users in a team (user group), shared by all users in a project, automatically generated and shared by all users in a project, and shared by all users in all projects.
Data Display: Can cross references be viewed, deleted, created from within a matrix?
Yes. All of these operations are available in a matrix.
Data Display: Can the tool provide a pivot table view?
Yes. In which a set of pieces of information are analysed by two of their attributes and shown in a table, where each table cell contains the number of pieces of information that have the value in the first attribute shown by that table row and the value in the second attribute shown by that table column.
Data Display: Does the tool allow the user to interact with a pivot table?
Yes. By selecting a cell in the pivot table, the tool will show all pieces of information that have the pair of attribute values corresponding to the table cell's row and column.
Data Display: Does the tool allow the user to save the pivot table formats for subsequent re-use?
Yes. Any number of pivot table definitions can be saved and re-used.
Data Display: Does the tool allow customised formats for pivot tables to be saved into different groups?
Yes. These are called scopes. There are 7 scopes, personal to the user (available in all projects), specific to a user in a project, shared between all users of the same type, shared by users in a team (user group), shared by all users in a project, automatically generated and shared by all users in a project, and shared by all users in all projects.
Data Display: Does the tool allow the user to present multiple views of information at the same time?
Yes. Items and queries are shown in tabs. The UI can be split both horizontally and vertically into any arrangement of panes. Each pane can show any number of tabs. This helps when presenting multiple queries at the same time.
Data Display: Does the tool allow a user to save a preferred layout of the UI and to re-use such layouts when the user next logs-in to the tool?
Yes. These are called sessions. They can be specified at login to initialise the tool's UI.
Data Display: Does the tool allow a user to define any number of metrics, each of which performs a user-defined calculation on the values of one or more attributes for any set of pieces of information in the database?
Yes. Metrics are made up of a set of elements. Metrics can be defined performing user-defined calculations.
Data Display: Does the tool allow the results of a metric to be shown inside the tool and to be reported?
Yes. Cradle allows metrics to be reported in CSV files, in plain text, in HTML and RTF or to be shown in a WorkBench tab.
Data Display: Is the tool able to customise formats for pivot tables to be saved into different groups?
Yes. Called scopes. There are 7 scopes, personal to the user (available in all projects), specific to a user in a project, shared between all users of the same type, shared by users in a team (user group), shared by all users in a project, automatically generated and shared by all users in a project, and shared by all users in all projects.
Data Display: Does the tool allow a user to define a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by which the project can be managed?
Yes. Cradle allows KPIs to be defined, each is based on one or more elements of one or more metrics.
Data Display: Can the tool allow any number of KPIs to be shown in a management dashboard within the tool?
Yes. There is a Dashboard sidebar available where dashboards can be shown as tables or dials.
Data Display: Does the tool allow colour bands to be defined for a KPI?
Yes. Colour bands ca be defined each with a maximum and minimum value. They can then be associated with each KPI so that the numeric value that is calculated for the KPI can be shown colour-coded when the KPI is displayed.
Data Display: Does the tool allow KPI displays to be reported externally from the tool?
Yes. Cradle allows dashbaords to be reported in CSV files, in plain text, in HTML and RTF.
Data Display: Does the tool allow a user to interact with KPIs?
Yes. When selecting a KPI from a dashboard the pieces of information that have contributed to the KPI, i.e. queries, are shown
Data Display: Does the tool allow a graphical chart of KPIs to be shown from a web UI?
Yes. Dashboards are supported in Web Access.
Data Display: Does the tool allow the user to save KPI display definitions for subsequent re-use?
Yes. Any number of dashboard definitions can be saved and re-used.
Data Display: Does the tool allow customised formats for dashboards to be saved into different groups?
Yes. Called scopes. There are 7 scopes, personal to the user (available in all projects), specific to a user in a project, shared between all users of the same type, shared by users in a team (user group), shared by all users in a project, automatically generated and shared by all users in a project, and shared by all users in all projects.
Traceability: Can traceability be shown to enable users to understand the effect of impact
Yes, Cradle provides many methods to explore and display traceability between sets of information.
Traceability: Can information be linked by cross references to allow the user to reflect dependencies between different pieces of information in the database?
Yes. Cradle provides an extensive cross referencing feature where attributes can be defined within the links and filtered as such using a feature called 'navigations'.
Traceability: Can users define different types of cross reference?
Yes. These are called link types.
Traceability: Can users define groups of cross reference types, where each group can contain one or more of the cross reference types?
Yes. Called 'link groups'.
Traceability: Can users specify a group of cross reference types to use to browse relationships between items in the database?
Yes. Defined in 'navigations', users choose a navigation when browsing the database so that when a user browses the database, only cross references whose types are part of this group will be used.
Traceability: Can users define attributes that can be defined and stored in cross references to explain or justify the existence of a cross reference?
Yes. User-defined cross reference attributes, each optionally with a pick-list of allowed values. This means you can also characterise the nature of a cross reference (for example, that a specific feature partially satisfies a requirement, where partially is stored in a cross reference attribute).
Traceability: Can users define rules that will control, and potentially restrict, which user-defined types of information can be connected by which user-defined types of cross reference?
Yes. Called 'link rules', can refer to individual item(s), link(s), user(s) and one or more cross reference operations (create, modify and delete).
Traceability: Can projects define the cardinality allowed between links?
Yes. Defined in the link rules. For example many to many, one to many, many to one and one to one.
Traceability: Can cross reference types, groups and attributes be defined, changed and deleted through the tool's normal UI?
Yes. There is no need for any special configuration or scripts to be written.
Traceability: Can cross reference types, groups and attributes be defined and changed at any time?
Yes including when a project is underway and after data has been created. Cradle also provides a cross reference integrity checker to ensure that the links between items remain valid despite changes to the schema.
Traceability: Can pieces of information of the same type be linked together?
Yes, in one-to-one relationships, one-to-many relationships and many-to-many relationships so that a piece of information can have zero or more children of the same type and can also have zero or more parents of the same type. This is fully supported including multiple parent items.
Traceability: Can pieces of information of different types be linked together?
Yes, in one-to-one relationships, one-to-many relationships and many-to-many relationships so that a piece of information can have zero or more children of the same type and can also have zero or more parents of the same type. This is fully supported including multiple parent items.
Traceability: Does the tool allow indirect linking between items of information?
Yes. For example if a piece of information of type A is linked to one or pieces of information of type B, and the Bs are linked to Cs and Cs is linked to pieces of information of type D, then the tool can show the items of type D that are indirectly linked to each item of type A, without showing the intermediate pieces of information. This is fully supported and is called transitive linking.
Traceability: Is the tool able to show all pieces information, of all types, that are linked to a given piece of information?
Yes. Cradle provides several types of views which are fully tailorable that can show these links.
Traceability: When copying existing information, does the tool allow the copied information to be linked to the original information?
Yes. The new item can be empty or a copy of the original item and can optionally inherit the cross references of the original item.
Traceability: Does the tool allow a new piece of information to be created and automatically linked to an existing piece of information that is of a different type?
Yes. The new item can be empty or a copy of the original item and can optionally inherit the cross references of the original item.
Traceability: Does the tool provide the ability to restrict users to only choosing a link attribute from the list shown when creating/modifying cross references?
Yes. An option can be set where users must choose a link attribute from a list or a link attribute can be entered as free form text.
Traceability: Does the tool provide the optional ability for users to enter link attributes as free form text?
Yes. An option can be set where users must choose a link attribute from a list or a link attribute can be entered as free form text.
Traceability: Can the tool allow only a specific user-defined type of information to be shown for each piece of information found by a database search?
Yes. Controlled by the query or the navigation being used in the view.
Traceability: Can the tool allow only a specific user-defined type of cross reference to be used to show pieces of information that are linked to each piece of information found by a database search?
Yes. Controlled by the navigation being used in the view, using a specific link type.
Traceability: Can the tool allow only a specific user-defined group of types of cross reference to be used to show pieces of information that are linked to each piece of information found by a database search?
Yes. Controlled by the navigation being used in the view, using a specific link group.
Traceability: Can the tool allow multiple levels of linked information to be shown for each piece of information found by a database search?.
Yes. Any number of blocks of information, up to 6 levels per block.
Traceability: Does the tool provide graphical views of the cross references?
Yes. These are called Hierarchy Diagrams or HIDs. HIDs can be dynamically generated from the then current contents of the database or HIDs can be statically saved.
Traceability: Does the tool allow the format of the graphical views of cross references to be controlled and for such formats to be saved and reused?
Yes. Can control all aspects of a HID. HID definitions can be saved, are called hierarchy definitions. Have the same scopes as queries, views, forms and other definitions.
Traceability: In the graphical views of cross references, does the tool allow the types of linked information and the types of cross references to be followed between pieces of information?
Yes controlled at each level in the hierarchy shown in the diagram.
Traceability: In the graphical views of cross references, does the tool allow the user to interact with the diagram?
Yes. Users can select an item and redraw as source. You can also view the pieces of information shown, view the cross references shown, re-build the diagram starting at a selected piece of information, expand a piece of information shown in the diagram to show the further pieces of information linked to it, and collapse a piece of information shown in the diagram to hide the further pieces of information that are linked to it.
Modelling: Does the tool provide modelling capabilities?
Yes, Cradle provides support for FAD, SysML and UML.
Modelling: Does the tool support SysML?
Yes, Cradle supports the following SysML diagram types (activity diagrams - act, block definition diagrams - bdd, internal block diagrams - ibd, package diagrams - pkg, parametric diagrams - par, requirement diagrams - req, sequence diagrams - sd, state machine diagrams - stm, and use case diagrams - uc).
Modelling: Does the tool support UML?
Yes Cradle supports the following UML diagram types (Use Case Diagrams - UCD, Package Diagrams - PD, Sequence Diagrams - SQD, Collaboration Diagrams - COD, Class Diagrams - CD, Statechart Diagrams - SCD, Activity Diagrams - ACD, Component Diagrams - CPD and Deployment Diagrams - DPD).
Modelling: Does the tool include diagramming for capturing system structure graphically?
Yes. Cradle provides a built-in diagramming tool to display the system structure graphically.
Import and Export: Is the tool able to export information into an ASCII (not raw binary) format?
Yes. It can then be imported into another instance of the tool (such as from a supplier to a customer) to achieve an identical copy of the database (including all historical baseline, change and edit history information).
Import and Export: Can export files created in a previous version be used in later versions of the tool?
Yes they can be imported into a later version of the tool with no data loss. Fully forward compatible from original version to current version.
Import and Export: Does the tool support CSV import/export?
Yes CSV import/export is supported.
Import and Export: For CSV import, does the tool support merging of empty fields?
Yes the tool does support merging of empty fields for CSV import.
Import and Export: Does the tool support XML import/export?
Yes Cradle XML is supported as well as other third party XML formats.
Import and Export: Does the tool provide a mechanism to support other XML notations?
Yes by import and export which transforms such XML notations into a format that it can process. Uses user-definable XSLT import and export transformations.
Import and Export: Can the tool allow an administrator to restrict imports and/or exports to specific users?
Yes the tool provides separate controls to restrict access to import and export which allows users to exercise control over the introduction of data into the database from external sources.
Import and Export: Can a log of each import and export be saved?
Yes. A Log button is provided on both the Import and Export dialogs. The logs are a record of what pieces of information have been exported by the export, or imported by the import, as appropriate.
Import and Export: Does the import/export log include who performed them, when, and the controls used to perform the import or export?
Yes. A Log button is provided on both the Import and Export dialogs. The logs are a record of what pieces of information have been exported by the export, or imported by the import, as appropriate.
Import and Export: Can last modification dates and times be updated on import to when the import occurred?
Yes modification dates and times can be updated to the date and time when the import occurred.
Import and Export: Can last modification dates and times be updated on import to reflect the information in the import file?
Yes you can choose to update modification dates and times to the date and time in the import file.
Import and Export: Does the tool support ReqIF import/export?
Yes ReqIF import/export is supported.
Access Control: Does the tool allow data to be hidden from users?
Yes. Cradle can control data access via user profile settings so users cannot see any existence of data they are not authorised to see.
Access Control: Does the tool provide access controls by project?
Yes. Cradle provides user-defined access controls for each project.
Access Control: Does the tool prevent password reuse
Yes. Cradle can optionally store password history with cycles of up to 20.
Access Control: Does the tool provide a user-defined access control mechanism that allows access to the tool to be controlled and restricted?
Yes. Access control to items set by the item's security classifications, owners, statuses, user's skills and privileges, and project 'team hierarchy' (defines the organisation structure). This single mechanism is applied identically for all tools and API-based applications. No mechanism to control the set-rights and update/delete abilities separately.
Access Control: Does the tool provide a user-defined access control mechanism to an individual piece of information?
Yes, such as a single requirement, which can be determined as either no access, read-only access or read-write access.
Access Control: Does the tool provide a user-defined access control mechanism to an attribute of an individual piece of information?
Yes, such as an attribute called Responsibility in a single system requirement, which can be determined as either no access, read-only access or read-write access. Attribute level access control implemented by skills. A user has zero or more skills. An attribute can have a skill that users need to access it.
Access Control: Can a set of items be protected from modification (e.g. baselines, archives, snapshots etc.)?
Yes. Cradle has an integrated Configuration Management System with mechanisms for baselines with version control, formal reviews and change control and a log. Therefore authorised users can control which sets of information are protected.
Access Control: Does the tool allow read, update, delete, link, view, set-rights operations to be controlled?
Yes. This is controlled by privileges in user profiles.
Access Control: Does the tool allow multiple users to interact with the tool at the same time
Yes. Up to 8,192 concurrent users can access any number of project databases which means that the tool allows > 1 concurrent user to be able to concurrently interact with (read, update, delete) >= 1 project databases.
Access Control: Does the tool prevent multiple concurrent users being able to update an individual piece of information at the same time?
Yes. Cradle locks each item. Each lock is 1 read-write access and N simultaneous read-only accesses.
Access Control: Does the tool apply locks to each individual piece of information and not to a group of items?
Yes. Locks are implemented for each item but not for groups of items.
Access Control: Does the tool restrict the number of concurrent users who can simultaneously access pieces of information of the same type read-write?
Yes. Cradle locks each item. Each lock is 1 read-write access and N simultaneous read-only accesses. For example, if there are 100 user requirements logically considered a single group, the tool does not restrict the number of users who can concurrently access these items.
Access Control: Does the tool scale to support a large number of pieces of information without any marked loss of performance?
Yes. Cradle has AVL tree indexes for minimal search times. Increasing the number of items in the database by an order of magnitude adds at most 1 extra disk access to find any single item. For example, the time to retrieve and save 1 requirement from 100,000 requirements is not significantly worse than the time to retrieve and save 1 requirement from 100.
Access Control: Does the tool allow a set of user accounts to be defined?
Yes. Separate set of user accounts can be defined for each project.
Access Control: Does the tool provide passwords to control access to user accounts?
Yes. Passwords stored using one-way hashing algorithm. All passwords are stored internally and encrypted. They are never displayed in plain text under any circumstances.
Access Control: Does the tool provide facilities to support strong passwords?
Yes. Password histories are provided to prevent password re-use (user-defined cycle length), option to prevent users changing passwords more than once per day, and option to force users to change passwords set for them by an administrator.
Access Control: Does the tool allow an Admin user to disconnect another user from the database?
Yes. This is done using Project Manager.
Access Control: Is the tool vulnerable to brute force attempts to discover passwords?
No. User accounts can be disabled after 3 consecutive login failures.
Access Control: Does the tool provide formatting controls for user passwords to enforce an organisation's rules and conventions for their form and content?
Yes. Cradle can be configured to match a regular expression and/or of a minimum length and/or must have lowercase character and/or must have uppercase character and/or must have a punctuation character.
Access Control: Does the tool provide a password history mechanism that remembers a number of previously used passwords and prevents their re-use?
Yes. Optional password histories with cycles of up to 20.
Access Control: Does the tool provide a password aging mechanism whereby user passwords are only valid for N days?
Yes. Optional mechanism provided, with controllable length of warning period. Users are warned before this period expires to change their password.
Access Control: Does the tool provide a mechanism to prevent a user changing his/her password more than once each day?
Yes.
Access Control: Does the tool provide a mechanism whereby a user is forced to change his/her password after it has been set or reset by an administrator?
Yes as soon as that user logs-in they will have to reset their password.
Access Control: Does the tool provide a preference where you can choose whether to show the Project Code dropdown list from each of the login dialogs?
Yes.
Access Control: Does the tool allow users to specify that a type of information can be hidden from one or more users?
Yes, this is controlled by skills, which are part of user's login accounts. Therefore information types in the database are not simply inaccessible to such users, but all evidence of the existence of such information types is hidden from users.
Access Control: Can several users work within the tool at the same time and all of these users access the same set of data?
Yes Cradle is fully multi user.
Access Control: Does the tool provide a mechanism for notifying a user if he/she is attempting to modify a piece of information that is already locked by another user?
Yes
Access Control: When modifying information that is locked by another user, can the tool inform the user attempting this second access of the identity of the user who has the piece of information locked?
Yes. Cradle provides the user who has the information locked and the identity of the computer that they are using.
Access Control: Does the tool provide a mechanism to control who can create, view and modify existing information?
Yes. Privileges and access rights can be used to restrict user access.
Configuration Management: Does the tool provide a configuration management facility
Yes, Cradle has a built-in, and free-of-charge, Configuration Management System (CMS) that provides 4 mechanisms; Formal review and approval with user-defined workflows, baselines and version control, formal change control and automated audit trail.
Configuration Management: Does the tool allow formal review of one or more items of information in which reviewers make individual approve/reject decisions about each piece of information?
Yes. Cradle also provides the ability to define a workflow of what should happen to items at different stages of the review process.
Configuration Management: Does the tool allow one or more baselines to be created that contain protected, approved pieces of information?
Yes. Cradle provides baseline functionality which is progressing so only one baseline can be open at any one time. A record is kept of which pieces of information are in each baseline.
Configuration Management: Does the tool allow multiple instances (revisions/versions/generations) of pieces of information to exist in the database?
Yes. When an item is baselined, it will not be changed unless a formal change request is made. At which time, a new instance of the item will be created.
Configuration Management: Does the tool allow a project to define a series of one or more reviews which will allow information to be formally approved into a baseline?
Yes, this is a workflow. Review sequence defaults to the hierarchy of teams between the author's team and project level. Teams are optional in a project.
Configuration Management: Does the tool provide the means to specify the group of reviewers to be involved in each review in a workflow?
Yes. Review groups can be set by the team structure, or by user-defined user lists, or by users possessing one or more skills.
Configuration Management: Does the tool allow the decision method for each review in a workflow to be controlled?
Yes. Review decisions can be unanimous, any, most or majority.
Configuration Management: Does the tool allow a user submitting information for review to control who will review the items?
Yes. The reviewers can be one, several or all reviewers in the group.
Configuration Management: Can attributes be automatically progressed based upon a defined workflow?
Yes. You can set stages which can be stepped.
Configuration Management: Does the tool provide an alerts mechanism that automatically sends predefined alerts to other members of the project?
Yes. Optional alerts set in project setup. This can be done via the internal alerts feature or by email.
Configuration Management: Does the tool allow a high level user to change item ownership and optionally a set of linked information?
Yes. If privileges allow the change of ownership.
Configuration Management: Does the tool allow a workflow to be defined for requests to change baselined information?
Yes.
Configuration Management: Does the tool allow a workflow to be defined for the task of making approved change(s) to baselined information?
Yes.
Configuration Management: Can the tool record the pieces of information that were in each baseline and the set of cross references to/from each item in each baseline?
Yes.
Configuration Management: Does the tool allow historic baselines to be restored?
Yes. Cradle provides restore Baseline functionality which restores the instances of the information that was in the specified baseline and the cross references to/from these instances.
Configuration Management: Can the tool record changes between baselines?
Yes, including which new pieces of information were introduced, which pieces of information were updated (new instances of these items) and which pieces of information are no longer part of the baseline.
Configuration Management: Does the tool provide a means to compare the contents of two baselines?
Yes. Cradle provides 'baseline mode' in which a user can select any previous baseline.
Configuration Management: Does the tool provide a mechanism whereby a user can revert temporarily to a previous baseline?
Yes. When in baseline mode, queries run only on the items that existed when the baseline was created so that the only pieces of information that are visible and accessible are those pieces of information that were part of that historic baseline when it was created.
Configuration Management: If the tool can present a historic baseline, can it show only that instance of each piece of information that existed at the time of the historic baseline?
Yes. The tool does not show the latest version or revision of those pieces of information that were part of the historic baseline, but shows precisely the old versions or revisions of only those items that existed when the historic baseline was created.
Configuration Management: If the tool can present a historic baseline, can it provide only those cross references that existed at the time that the historic baseline was created?
Yes. The tool does not show the cross references that currently exist for the latest baseline.
Configuration Management: If the tool can present a historic baseline, can it display in a read-only mode so that new information cannot be created or existing information deleted?
Yes. Also no cross references can be created or deleted, and no changes can be made to any pieces of information or cross references.
Configuration Management: Does the tool provide a mechanism whereby users can propose, review and approve changes to baselined information?
Yes. Using Cradle's change request functionality.
Configuration Management: Does the tool provide a mechanism whereby agreed changes can be actioned to create copies (new instances) of one or more pieces of baselined information?
Yes. Using Cradle's change task functionality.
Configuration Management: Does the tool keep all instances of all pieces of information?
Yes they are kept as they are evolved through a series of baselines and a series of approved formal changes.
Configuration Management: Does the tool provide a mechanism to remove, but not actually delete, one or more pieces of baselined information?
Yes. Retire / Reinstate functionality. Retire - they will no longer appear in subsequent baselines. Reinstate - restores such removed (retired) items into the then current baseline.
Configuration Management: Will the tool automatically discard edit histories when pieces of information are placed into a baseline?
Not by default but a project can optionally specify that edit histories are discarded when items are baselined.
Configuration Management: When a new instance of an item is created under the action of a formal change, does the new instance of the item contain the edit history of the original item?
Yes. You can then further augment by subsequent edits to that new instance of information as it is changed prior to being formally reviewed into a new baseline.
Configuration Management: Does the tool provide a mechanism to automatically log all CM events that occur?
Yes. They are stored in the Configuration Management System (CMS) log. The CM events logged are in relation to the creation, edit, formal review, baselining and copying of items, and the opening, closing and restoring of baselines and all events related to formal changes, such that this information can be reported to, amongst other things, provide a complete life history for each piece of information in the database.
Configuration Management: When information is in a baseline, can a new piece of information be created as an editable instance?
Yes and the identity of the new piece of information will be the same as the original piece of information, but the instance (such as a revision or version or draft) will be different.
Configuration Management: Does the tool allow an item to have many instances that correspond to the development and evolution of the item?
Yes. Cradle provides a CM mechanism to progress items through a baseline and to release a new instance of an item if a change is required
Database: Does the tool allow multiple sets of data to be created and managed, one set of each project?
Yes. Cradle allows system users to create multiple discrete projects.
Database: Does the tool allow users to define any number of types of information (such as system requirements, verifications, issues, test cases and so on)?
Yes. Cradle has no limits on the number of item types it can support.
Database: Can the tool handle multiple projects
Yes. Each Cradle system can contain any number of projects/databases.
Database: Does the tool support multiple web-based users?
Yes. Up to 8,192 concurrent web users. Each web user has their own web session that connects to the Cradle Database Server.
Database: Is the tool able to store user-defined project configurations and reload them?
Yes, Cradle can save schemas to use in other projects.
Database: Is the tool able to share and reuse schemas between projects (or equivalent concept as provided by the tool)?
Yes. Cradle can import schemas between projects.
Database: Does the tool allow a user to define that a schema can be a template that will be used to initialise future projects?
Yes, Cradle can save schemas to use in other projects.
Database: Does the tool allow its databases to be held on a remote filesystem, such as a network drive that has been mounted?
Yes.
Database: If the tool has a web-based component, which web server(s) are required?
Yes. Cradle has it's own web server which uses a tclhttpd web server component supporting HTTP and HTTPS.
Database: Does the tool need to be shut down for backups to be taken of the database(s) that contain users' project information?
No, backups can be taken without the tool being shutdown.
Database: Does the tool require any routine administrative operations that require manual intervention?
No routine administration is needed.
Communications: Does the tool support LDAP/Active Directory?
Yes. Cradle can query LDAP or Active Directory for user logins.
Communications: Does the tool support LDAP for user authentication?
Yes. Supports LDAP 2 and 3 (and Active Directory) with SSL if needed. Can be used for single-sign-on or for user and password validation in LDAP.
Communications: Does the tool support Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)?
Yes. Cradle supports ODBC from Cradle 7.5 onwards.
Communications: Does the tool support SSL and HTTPS?
Yes. Cradle supports SSL for LDAP and HTTPS for web connections. Both are user options.
Communications: Does the tool support IPv4?
Yes. Cradle will work on IPv4 networks in both pure IPv4 or mixed IPv4 and IPv6.
Communications: Does the tool support IPv6?
Yes. Cradle will work on IPv6 networks in both pure IPv6 or mixed IPv4 and IPv6.
Communications: Does the tool support TLS?
Yes. OpenSSL and TLS support TLS v1.3.
Communications: Does the tool support multi-user connectivity?
Yes. Cradle is fully multi-user using client-server systems and supports up to 8192 concurrent users.
Communications: Does the tool support single user operation?
Yes. Cradle can be installed as a single user standalone product.
Communications: Does the tool use TCP/IP UDP and TCP protocols for its internal communications?
Yes.
Communications: Does the tool allow internal communications to be configured to specific TCP/IP ports?
Yes.
Communications: Does the tool allow its internal communications to be run through one or more firewalls (for within a DMZ)?
Yes.
Platforms: Does the tool run on Windows?
Yes. Cradle will run on x86/x64 versions of Windows from Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 through to Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016.
Platforms: Does the tool run on Linux?
Yes, Cradle will run on x86 and x64/amd64 versions of Linux with a 2.6.32 Kernel or later.
Platforms: Does the tool run under Citrix XenApp?
Yes. Cradle is Citrix XenApp Certified.
Platforms: Does the tool run under Microsoft RemoteApp?
Yes. Cradle can run under Microsoft RemoteApp.
Platforms: Does the tool run on Cloud Hosting Platforms like AWS and Azure?
Yes, Cradle will run on Linux and Windows systems within Cloud Services. 3SL additionally offers a managed SaaS on AWS, and other cloud service providers.
Platforms: Does the tool allow its client and server software components to be run on different platforms (for example clients on Windows and server on Linux)?
Yes. Any combination of platforms is supported.
Platforms: Which web browsers does the tool support?
Yes the tool supports Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome (latest versions preferred).
Platforms: Is the tool client software capable of being run inside a Virtual PC or Virtual Server?
Yes the tool can be run inside a Virtual PC or Virtual Server.
Platforms: Does the tool's server software require a dedicated server?
Yes, this is the Cradle Database Server.
Platforms: Do of the tool's components (except for tool components that are designed for use only with Windows applications such as Word) should run on Linux?
Yes. Any Linux with a version 2.6.32 or later kernel.
Platforms: Are the tool's executables digitally signed
Yes.
Platforms: Can the client software support ASP deployment so that it can be run on a server farm using Citrix or VNC or similar UI-redirection software?
Yes.
Installation: How is the tool licensed?
Cradle licences can be floating, i.e. dynamic. This means that you use a licence when you start to use a Cradle tool. As soon as you stop using that tool, the licence is then released. This means that the licences are designed to be shared across as many people as possible, so that you need as few licences as possible. You can also purchase named user licences. These are licences that are locked to a specific username (Windows or Linux login) but allow that username to access the tool from any computer. We also provide token-based licensing whereby each module equals a number of tokens and you can purchase a number of tokens which therefore allows any modules to be used up to the total number of tokens purchased.
Installation: Is the tool modular and can they be purchased separately?
Cradle is modular and contains the following modules (REQ - requirements management, SYS - system modelling, MET - metrics, DOC - document generation, SWE - software engineering, WEBA - web access, PERF - performance modelling, WEBP - web publishing, DASH - dashboard).
Installation: Can the tool log licence usage?
Yes. We provide a utility (c_usage) which details the licence usage daily, weekly, and monthly. It shows licences used, maximum concurrent use, and unavailable licences.
Installation: Is a subscription option available?
Yes. Cradle provides 4 product subscription options along with a number of shared or private cloud hosted environment options (AWS, Azure, Shared 3SL environment).
Services: Does the vendor provide a technical support service?
Yes. When evaluating the tool or using it as a customer, you have access to unlimited technical support. You can contact us by telephone or email. Support calls can also be logged via our website.
Services: Does the vendor provide a technical support service in languages other than English?
Yes. We have distributors worldwide. Support can be provided in English, Korean, Chinese, Dutch, German and French.
Services: When is the technical support service available?
Our UK support team are available between 9am and 5pm. As we have distributors worldwide support can also be provided outside these hours.
Services: Does the vendor have a method to prioritise customer support issues?
Yes all support calls are prioritised. There is also an escalation mechanism that allocates development resources to diagnose the fault and build a fix in advance of the next scheduled release if needed.
Services: Can the vendor allow the resolution of the customer's technical queries to be tracked through the vendor's website?
Yes. Support calls can be logged and tracked from the vendor's website.
Services: Does the vendor have a mechanism to provide remote support through webinars?
Yes. Webinar facilities are available whereby customers can demonstrate problems directly to the vendor, either by the customer accessing the vendor's computers, or vice versa, or both.
Services: Does the vendor provide training courses at various levels for various roles of users?
Yes. We offer a range of training courses in all aspects of the tool from beginner to advanced level. Courses available include Requirements Management, Document Generation, Systems Modelling, Adminstration and General User Course. Customised courses can be built if requested.
Services: Is the vendor able to provide training in English and in the customer's native language?
Yes. As we have distributors worldwide training can be provided in English, Korean, Chinese, Dutch, German and French.
Services: Is the vendor able to provide project start-up and project support consultancy that will be delivered at the customer's site?
Yes. We provide a range of consultancy and data entry services. These range from pre-loading the tool with the customer's data to full process deployment.
Services: Is the vendor able to offer project review consultancy to provide IV&V to the project?
Yes. We provide a range of consultancy and data entry services. These range from pre-loading the tool with the customers data to full process deployment.
Interfaces: Does the tool provide an interface with PDF files?
Yes. The tool provides the ability to link a piece of information in its database to a specific paragraph or region in a specific page in a PDF file and be able to follow the link to open the PDF file at the correct place of the correct page in the PDF document.
Interfaces: Does the tool provide an interface with Visio?
Yes. The tool provides the ability to link to a specific symbol (or group of symbols) in a specific sheet in a Visio drawing and be able to follow this link to open the Visio file at the correct symbol/group in the correct sheet in the Visio file.
Interfaces: Does the tool provide an interface with MS Project?
Yes. The tool provides the ability to link to a specific activity in a WBS in a Project programme and be able to follow this link to open the Project file at the correct activity in the Project file. This is a fully bi-directional link.
Interfaces: Does the tool allow data to be exchanged between pieces of information in the tool's database and a Microsoft Project programme?
Yes. There is a fully bi-directional link for WBS items and progress data. For example, allowing a WBS to be loaded from a Project file and then allowing durations and names to be changed in the tool and written back into the MS Project file.
Interfaces: Does the tool provide URL-style links between database information and any information in an external environment that can identify its information by URLs?
Yes the tool can also follow these links to open the external tool in a manner that the external tool will automatically show the piece of information in it that has been linked to.
Interfaces: Does the tool provide any integration with Microsoft Office, and if it does, which versions does it support?
Yes. The tool supports Office 2007 SP3, Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 SP1 and Office 2016.
Interfaces: Does the tool allow a link between a WBS inside the tool and a project plan maintained in an external project management tool?
Yes. Any number of associations can be made between a WBS in Cradle and a plan in a Project file or on Project Server.
Interfaces: Does the tool allow the WBS to be created automatically from the hierarchy of activities in a plan?
Yes. The hierarchy of WBS items are created.
Interfaces: Does the tool allow for any changes made in the project plan to be represented by updates in the WBS inside the tool, and vice versa?
Yes. You can send and receive data between Cradle and Project.
Interfaces: Does the tool allow for each WBS item to be associated with any number of users?
Yes. Tasks can be assigned to one or more Cradle users.
Interfaces: Does the tool allow a user to see a list of all WBS items that have been associated with him or her?
Yes. These are displayed in the Tasks sidebar.
Interfaces: Does the tool allow a user to record actual progress against any WBS items that have been associated with him or her?
Yes. Actual progress can be recorded using the WBS attributes.
Interfaces: Does the tool provide an API, either based on web services technology such as REST or a more traditional technology such as C or VB or both?
Yes. API in C, C++, VB and VBA is available. Web Services Interface also available with REST and SOAP.
Vendor: Has the vendor been operating for at least 5 years or more under the same ownership?
Yes. Structured Software Systems Ltd has had the same ownership since its founding in 1987.
Vendor: Does the vendor have previous experience deploying its tool into a similar industry or project?
Yes, we have over 30 years experience deploying Cradle into a number of industries including aerospace, defence, government, manufacturing, medical, transport, etc.
Vendor: Can the vendor provide references?
Yes we can provide references subject to the willingness of the reference to talk to vendors' prospective customer, any security or company competition limitations, and pressure of the reference's current workload.
Vendor: Does the vendor hold any certifications?
Yes we have ISO9001 accreditation and Cyber Essentials/IASME certification, and have been assessed to be compliant with GDPR.
Vendor: Is there a standard price list for the tool?
Yes. Standard price lists for each region available from 3SL which include details of any volume purchase discounts and any other discount options.
