The Viewpoint Builder offers some powerful tools to help you create focused and insightful visualizations of your data. This article gives you an overview of how to use Required Paths and Collapse Paths, two optional features, that allow you to refine your views and present information with greater clarity and control.
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Required Paths
What are Required Paths?
Required Paths is a filtering feature in the Viewpoint Builder that allows you to specify components that must be present in your graph visualizations. This ensures you only see complete paths that include the components you've designated as required, eliminating partial or disconnected components.
Why Use Required Paths?
Focus on Complete Relationships: Only show data that follows specific paths through your architecture.
Filter Out Incomplete Data: Remove partial paths that don't connect to your required components.
Create More Relevant Views: Ensure stakeholders only see fully connected relationships.
Simplify Complex Graphs: Exclude isolated components that aren't connected to your required elements.
Example of Required Paths in Use
Imagine you want to show only Integration components that connect to specific Applications. Rather than showing all Integration components, including those not connected to any Applications, Required Paths lets you filter your view to include only the complete path relationships.
How to Use Required Paths
Specifying Required Paths
Navigate to the Viewpoint Builder through 'Explore data'.
Select your context component and references.
Go to the "Required paths" tab in the sidebar.
4. Select components in your graph to mark as required. As you hover over components, the path from the start context to that component will highlight.
5. Click a component to add it as a required path.
6. Each selected path will appear in the sidebar list.
7. As you add required paths, the component counts in your graph will automatically update to show you how many components will be included in your final visualization based on your current filters.
Setting Matching Logic (When Using Multiple Paths)
When you select two or more required paths, you can choose between:
"Result must match ANY required path" - Shows components that fulfill at least one of your required paths (OR logic)
"Result must match ALL required paths" - Shows only components that fulfill all of your required paths (AND logic)
Viewing and Understanding Results
In the view, you'll see only components that meet your required path criteria
Components that don't match your selected paths will be excluded
If no data fulfills your criteria, you'll be informed in the view
The required paths settings are saved with your viewpoint
Tips for Effectively Using Required Paths
Be cautious with "ALL" matching logic, as it can significantly reduce the dataset visible in your view
Remember that component counts in the Viewpoint Builder may not be exact when using required paths
Required paths settings are saved with your viewpoint and will update automatically if underlying data changes
Use this feature to create views that tell a more focused story about your architecture
Please note that Required Paths is logically complex. Applying multiple rules can sometimes lead to unexpected results. If you encounter unexpected outcomes, try simplifying your rules or removing some.
Examples of Possible Paths
Download the PDF version in Additional Resources at the end of this article for easier exploration.
Collapse Paths
What is Collapse Paths?
Collapsing Paths is a powerful feature that allows you to simplify complex graphs by creating "virtual references" between components that are connected through intermediary steps. This helps you create more focused visualizations by hiding components that aren't relevant to your specific analysis or presentation needs.
Why Use Collapse Paths?
Simplify Communication: Hide irrelevant components when presenting to stakeholders.
Focus on Key Relationships: Highlight important connections without visual clutter.
Create Streamlined Views: Generate cleaner, more focused graph visualizations.
Maintain Data Integrity: The original connections remain in the background.
Example of Collapse Paths in Use
Imagine you want to show which Business Capabilities are impacted by Risk, but the Risk is only directly connected to an Application (which is connected to the Business Capability). With Collapse Paths, you can:
Hide the Applications ("collapse them away")
Create a virtual direct connection between Risk and Business Capability
Present a cleaner visualization that focuses on the relationship that matters most
How to Use Graph Collapsing
Creating a Collapsed Path
Navigate to the Viewpoint Builder through 'Explore data'
Ensure you've already selected your context component and references
Look for the "Collapse paths" option in the sidebar menu
4. Click "Collapse a path"
5. Select the starting component (FROM) and ending component (TO)
6. Enter a display text for the collapsed path (this will be shown in the view)
7. Click "Save" to create the collapsed path
Rules and Limitations
When creating collapsed paths, remember:
Paths must have at least one intermediate component between start and end points
You cannot collapse paths that would hide the context component
You cannot create paths that would disconnect components from the context component
Paths with overlapping components cannot be combined in certain ways
Viewing and Managing Collapsed Paths
Collapsed paths are displayed in the Dataset menu on the left side
You can toggle paths on/off directly in the view
Each dataset can have different collapsed paths specified
Tips for Effectively Using Path Collapsing
Consider the direction of your paths - from Application to Department will display differently than from Department to Application although the effect is the same
Combine required components with collapsing rules for fine grained control of the view
Use clear, descriptive text for your collapsed paths to help viewers understand the relationship
Review your graph after collapsing to ensure it still communicates your intended message
With Collapse Paths, you can create more focused visualizations that highlight the relationships that matter most, making your data easier to understand and present to stakeholders.
Comparing Path Collapsing and Grouping
What's the Difference?
While both Graph Collapsing and Grouping help simplify complex visualizations, they serve different purposes and work in fundamentally different ways:
Path Collapsing
Creates virtual connections between components that aren't directly connected
Hides intermediate components in a path while maintaining the logical relationship
Focuses on path simplification by reducing the number of visible nodes in a chain
Operates on paths between components, creating shortcuts between start and end points
Grouping
Organizes related components into visual clusters
Maintains all components but arranges them in a hierarchical structure
Focuses on structural organization by showing relationships and hierarchies more clearly
Operates on properties of components (workspace, parent relationship, reference types, etc.)
When to Use Path Collapsing
Use Path Collapsing when:
You need to create a direct visual relationship between indirectly connected components
Multiple intermediate components add unnecessary complexity to your visualization
You want to focus on specific start and end points of a relationship path
Your stakeholders are interested in understanding impact relationships without seeing all the technical details
You need to simplify views without losing the logical connections between components
When to Use Grouping
Use Grouping when:
You want to organize components based on their properties or relationships
You need to visualize hierarchical structures more clearly
You want to cluster related components to show organizational patterns
You're creating high-level architecture views that need to show logical groupings
You want to maintain visibility of all components while improving their organization
Combining Both Approaches
For complex architectures, you might benefit from using both techniques together:
Use Grouping to organize your components into logical clusters based on properties
Use Graph Collapsing to simplify lengthy paths between those groups
This combination provides both structural clarity and simplified relationship paths.
Remember that both features maintain the underlying data integrity while providing different visual simplifications to make your architecture more understandable to different audiences.