1.2.2. Collaboration

Engineering Knowledge Manager

Getting Started Guide | Chapter 1: Introduction to EKM | 1.2. How Does EKM Work? |

1.2.1. Data Management |  | 1.2.3. Knowledge Capture and Reuse
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### 1.2.2. Collaboration

Simulations are often performed in a collaborative environment. Usually there is a complex web of interdependencies in simulation data, especially in multiphysics or sub-structured analysis. These analyses may be performed by different teams or individuals. EKM offers several tools for enhancing collaboration between different teams and managing the data dependencies.

- Alerts: EKM can be used to specify alert settings that send you an email whenever an object is created, deleted, modified or undergoes a lifecycle stage change. This enables you to work on a given simulation and be notified as soon as a dependent file is changed.

- Dependency management: EKM has a special container type called `Analysis Project` that can be used to manage analysis dependencies. It can be used to define the input files required for an analysis and the output files generated by an analysis. An input file may be generated by an upstream analysis and may have input files of its own. An output file may be used for further downstream analysis that may generate output files of its own. All these dependencies can be easily viewed in a graph. The graph indicates whether an input file has been modified after the previous execution of the analysis, and alerts you when the analysis and its generated results are out-of-date. You can then download the project, perform the analysis locally and upload the project back to EKM. Alternatively, EKM can execute the analysis automatically on the server without requiring any data transfer. EKM can integrate with batch submission systems (such as LSF) so that a simulation is executed efficiently in a cluster without impacting the performance of the EKM server. You can monitor the progress of an automatic execution within EKM and you can cancel the execution at any time. You will be notified by email when the execution is completed. EKM also stores all execution settings (such as application used, command line arguments, input files, and so on) so that anyone can review how an analysis was executed.

- Multi-user processes: EKM can be used to define process templates that can help coordinate activities of multiple people involved in a simulation process. EKM process templates can be defined using XML or interactively using EKM Studio. A process consists of a set of activities defined by nodes, where each node is either a manual activity assigned to a particular user or an automatic activity performed by EKM, such as execution of a simulation. The activities can be sequential, parallel or iterative. Email notification is sent whenever an activity is assigned to a user. This enables different users to collaborate and hand-off data in a timely and controlled manner. Managers can view the status and progress of a process and can easily identify bottlenecks or activities that may be slowing the process.

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