Find your data in the IT landscape: Objects, class model, and search

A basic understanding of the methodology and class model behind Alfabet FastLane will ensure that you know how to think about the data in your IT portfolio, where to go to capture that data, and how to find your data quickly and easily.

Understand the class model

The data captured in Alfabet FastLane is based on a class model.

Every "object" such as an application, component, vendor, etc. is an instance of an object class. Object classes are preconfigured. For example, an application is an instance of the class Application.

Every object has a set of standard attributes that can be specified. For example, an application has attributes such as Name, Start Date, and Release Status. Attributes such as Data Quality Score, Data Quality Severity, and Data Quality Calculation Date are automatically generated and are available for all object classes. Custom attributes can be created to reflect the circumstances of your IT landscape. Some of the attributes will be references to objects in other classes. For example, the class Application has a reference to the class Application Group, which indicates the application group that the application belongs to.

Search for your data

You can search for an object by entering the name or part of the name in the Search field in the header. You can reduce the results by selecting the relevant object class in the Search Category field. Matches containing the letters you entered will be displayed in the drop-down list according to class. Click the View More link to open a Search Results dataset showing all matches. You can edit any object directly in the Search Results dataset.

Save your favorites

Save the objects or views that you regularly use as favorites. Click the Favorites    button in the header to save a view that your are working. You can also save a favorite to an object by creating the favorite when you are in the object details view. Access your favorites in the Favorites menu in the navigation panel.