Introduction
At the heart of AIP Core and the extensions that are used during an application analysis is the Assessment Model: a set of rules, sizing/quality measures and distributions in a hierarchy of parent Technical Criteria and Business Criteria that are used to grade an Application and to provide information about any defects (code violations) in the Application's source code. The set of rules, sizing/quality measures and distributions are predefined and preconfigured according to established best practices, however using AIP Console, it is possible to modify some aspects in order to match your own environment, for example:
- The weight (i.e. "importance") of a rule in its parent Technical Criterion. This value can be changed if some contributions are thought more or less important in a given context.
- The criticality of a rule (i.e. whether the rule is considered "critical" or not in a given context). This allows you to "threshold" the grade of the aggregated rule with the lowest grade of its "critical" contribution.
- Whether a rule is enabled or disabled in the next analysis.
Other more advanced customization can be performed using the CAST Management Studio on the associated AIP Node, for example:
- sizing measures
- background facts
- quality measures
- quality distributions
- quality rule parameters and thresholds
- consolidation settings (full application, average of modules etc.)
Need for homogeneity
Modifying the Assessment Model is considered standard practice, however, these updates must be performed with care as the legitimacy of trend and comparison information greatly depends on the methodology you use for the update. If the Assessment Model is not homogeneous over time and context, assessment information cannot be compared. Even for one-shot assessments, users will tend to compare assessment results - outside of the dashboard context - from their previous experiences. Homogeneity is therefore as important in this one-shot perspective as in a multiple assessment perspective and you should proceed with care.
Assessment Model management using AIP Console
To customize or manage your application's Assessment Model, use the Application - Config - Assessment Model screen in AIP Console. As mentioned previously, customization options are limited but should suffice for most requirements:
Assessment Model management using CAST Management Studio
Advanced Assessment Model customization and management options can be performed in the CAST Management Studio on the AIP Node that is responsible for analyzing your Application. Ensure you connect to the Application's Management schema
See the following for more information:
