What is an Entity?
A shortened definition of an entity, as described in the Lifecycle Modeling Language (LML) Specification 1.1:
An entity is something that can exist by itself and is uniquely identifiable. …
Every entity shall have a name or number or description attribute or combination of the three to identify it uniquely. The name is a word or small collection of words providing an overview of information about the entity. The number provides a numerical way to identify the entity. The description provides more detail about that entity. …
In terms of the English language, an entity is like a noun.
We applied this LML definition of an entity to the database objects that store information and files in an Innoslate project. Each entity in Innoslate includes a name, number, description, possible additional attributes and relationships with other entities. By default, Innoslate’s database schema specifies 22 different, unique types of entities called classes. Each class defines what information (which attributes and relationships) can be stored within that type of entity. These classes mirror the LML Specification 1.1 and make Innoslate a LML-compliant application.
Innoslate‘s database schema includes 14 parent classes (Action, Artifact, Asset, Characteristic, Connection, Cost, Decision, Equation, Input/Output, Location, Port, Risk, Statement, and Time) and eight child classes (Conduit (child of Connection), Logical (child of Connection), Measure (child of Characteristic), Orbital (child of Location), Physical (child of Location), Requirement (child of Statement), Resource (child of Asset), and Virtual (child of Location).
For example, if you were to import a requirements document into Innoslate which contains five statements and 15 requirements, the resultant database would consist of one Artifact entity containing an uploaded copy of the original document, five Statement entities and 15 Requirement entities.
Please Note: LML does not claim to solve everyone’s total data capture needs, therefore we have included the capability to extend the default database schema in Innoslate via Innoslate’s Schema Editor feature.
Functions Available for Existing Entities
Below is a list of available functions and a short description for existing entities. Click on the name of a function for more information.
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| Adding an Image | Innoslate allows you to add an image to an entity. |
| Creating Entities | Innoslate allows you to create new entities. |
| Deleting Entities | Innoslate allows you to permanently remove existing entities. |
| Filtering Entities | Innoslate allows you to filter similar entities by label. |
| Labeling Entities | Innoslate allows you to add a label to an entity. |
| Commenting on Entities | Adding a comment on an entity allows a team member to capture their thoughts and additional details about an entity in order to better collaborate with other team members. |
| Searching for Entities | Innoslate provides the ability to perform searches for specific entities within your project’s database via ‘Search View.’ |