How to configure cross system linkages between IBM systems?

Overview

This document outlines the implementation of advanced mapping techniques to enable cross-system linkage between IBM tools (such as IBM Rational Doors and IBM Engineering Test Management). The solution supports bidirectional integration and maintains traceability across systems by leveraging advanced XSLT logic.

Use Case Description

Suppose a user wants to integrate or migrate between IBM systems to other external system with cross systems linkage. For example, there are two main integrations:

Source System

Source Artifact

Target System

Target Artifact

Integration Type

DNG

System Requirement

Jira

Epic

Unidirectional [Requirement to Epic mapping]

ETM

Test Case

Jira

Bug

Unidirectional [Test Case to Bug mapping]

For IBM Engineering Test Management

ETM as a Source

Read side of External Link [a.k.a Requirement Links] given in Test Plan and Test Case.
In ETM External Links can be given as:

Select the System

The use case involves linking a System Requirement from IBM DNG as an external link within ETM. Additionally, the goal is to link a Jira Epic to a Jira Bug using a defined link type within Jira.
For this below advance XSL is needed:

OHEntityReferences XSLT Advance Mapping

<OHEntityReferences xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" xmlns:entityRef="http://com.opshub.eai.EAIEntityRefrences" xmlns:entityInfo="http://com.opshub.dao.eai.OIMEntityInfo">
  <xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="nonDefaultLinks" as="item()*">
    <Item targetLinkType="Is-space-Tested-space-By">Requirement</Item>
  </xsl:variable>
  <xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="entityTypeMapping" as="item()*"/>
  <xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="defaultLinkWithSourceLinks" as="item()*"/>
  <xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="defaultLinkWithOH_DEFAULT" as="item()*"/>
  <xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="entityReferencecontext" select="/SourceXML/updatedFields/Property/OHEntityReferences/OHEntityReference"/>
  <xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="linksToBeCarriedFromSourceEvent" as="item()*">
    <xsl:for-each select="$nonDefaultLinks">
      <xsl:variable name="currentLinkType" select="."/>
      <xsl:if test="$entityReferencecontext/linkType[text()=$currentLinkType]">
        <xsl:if test="$entityReferencecontext[linkType[text()=$currentLinkType]]/links/EAILinkEntityItem">
          <Item targetLinkType="{@targetLinkType}">
            <xsl:value-of select="."/>
          </Item>
        </xsl:if>
      </xsl:if>
    </xsl:for-each>
  </xsl:variable>
  <xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="linksToBeAddedAsDefault" as="item()*">
    <xsl:for-each select="$defaultLinkWithOH_DEFAULT">
      <Item lookupQuery="{@lookupQuery}" entityType="{@entityType}">
        <xsl:value-of select="."/>
      </Item>
    </xsl:for-each>
    <xsl:for-each select="$defaultLinkWithSourceLinks">
      <xsl:variable name="currentLinkType" select="."/>
      <xsl:if test="not($linksToBeCarriedFromSourceEvent[text() = $currentLinkType] = $currentLinkType)">
        <Item lookupQuery="{@lookupQuery}" entityType="{@entityType}">
          <xsl:value-of select="./@targetLinkType"/>
        </Item>
      </xsl:if>
    </xsl:for-each>
  </xsl:variable>

  <xsl:for-each xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" select="$linksToBeCarriedFromSourceEvent">
    <xsl:variable name="currentLinkType" select="."/>
    <op_list>
      <xsl:element name="{@targetLinkType}">
        <xsl:for-each select="$entityReferencecontext[linkType=$currentLinkType]/links/EAILinkEntityItem">
          <xsl:choose>
            <!-- Changes from here -->
            <xsl:when test="isExternalLink = 'true'">
              <xsl:element name="{concat('_',position())}">
                <xsl:element name="GlobalId">
                  <!-- Storing the current linked entity's internal ID -->
                  <xsl:variable name="currentLinkedEntityid" select="entityInternalId"/>
                  <!-- Defining system IDs for IBM Rational Doors (source) and Jira (target) -->
                  <xsl:variable name="externalSourceSystemId" select="'333'"/>
                  <xsl:variable name="externalTargetSystemId" select="'332'"/>
                  <!-- Fetching the target entity information from other-system based on the current RTC entity ID -->
                  <xsl:variable name="entityInTarget" select="utils:getTargetEntityInfoBySourceEntityId($externalSourceSystemId, $currentLinkedEntityid, $externalTargetSystemId,'','')"/>
                  <!-- Only set Global ID if entityInTarget is being found -->
                  <xsl:if test="$entityInTarget">
                    <xsl:variable name="globalId" select="entityInfo:getGlobalId($entityInTarget)"/>
                    <xsl:value-of select="$globalId"/>
                  </xsl:if>
                </xsl:element>
                <xsl:element name="LinkAddedDate">
                  <xsl:value-of select="linkAddedDate"/>
                </xsl:element>
                <xsl:element name="LinkedID">
                  <xsl:value-of select="entityInternalId"/>
                </xsl:element>
                <xsl:if test="order!=''">
                  <xsl:element name="order">
                    <xsl:value-of select="order"/>
                  </xsl:element>
                </xsl:if>
                <xsl:if test="id!=''">
                  <xsl:element name="id">
                    <xsl:value-of select="id"/>
                  </xsl:element>
                </xsl:if>
                <xsl:for-each select="linkProps/Property">
                  <xsl:for-each select="*">
                    <xsl:element name="{name(.)}">
                      <xsl:value-of select="."/>
                    </xsl:element>
                  </xsl:for-each>
                </xsl:for-each>
              </xsl:element>
            </xsl:when>
            <xsl:otherwise>
              <xsl:element name="{concat('_',position())}">
                <xsl:element name="EntityType">
                  <xsl:variable name="sourceEntityType" select="entityType"/>
                  <xsl:value-of select="$entityTypeMapping[text()=$sourceEntityType]/@targetEntityType"/>
                </xsl:element>
                <xsl:element name="GlobalId">
                  <xsl:value-of select="linkGlobalId"/>
                </xsl:element>
                <xsl:element name="LinkAddedDate">
                  <xsl:value-of select="linkAddedDate"/>
                </xsl:element>
                <xsl:element name="LinkedID">
                  <xsl:value-of select="entityInternalId"/>
                </xsl:element>
                <xsl:element name="IsExternalLink">
                  <xsl:value-of select="isExternalLink"/>
                </xsl:element>
                <xsl:element name="ExternalLinkUrl">
                  <xsl:value-of select="externalLinkUrl"/>
                </xsl:element>
                <xsl:element name="EntityLinkComment">
                  <xsl:value-of select="linkComment"/>
                </xsl:element>
                <xsl:if test="order!=''">
                  <xsl:element name="order">
                    <xsl:value-of select="order"/>
                  </xsl:element>
                </xsl:if>
                <xsl:if test="id!=''">
                  <xsl:element name="id">
                    <xsl:value-of select="id"/>
                  </xsl:element>
                </xsl:if>
                <xsl:for-each select="linkProps/Property">
                  <xsl:for-each select="*">
                    <xsl:element name="{name(.)}">
                      <xsl:value-of select="."/>
                    </xsl:element>
                  </xsl:for-each>
                </xsl:for-each>
              </xsl:element>
            </xsl:otherwise>
          </xsl:choose>
        </xsl:for-each>
      </xsl:element>
    </op_list>
  </xsl:for-each>

  <xsl:for-each xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" select="$linksToBeAddedAsDefault">
    <op_list>
      <xsl:element name="{.}">
        <xsl:element name="_1">
          <xsl:element name="EntityType">
            <xsl:value-of select="@entityType"/>
          </xsl:element>
          <xsl:element name="LookupQuery">
            <xsl:value-of select="@lookupQuery"/>
          </xsl:element>
        </xsl:element>
      </xsl:element>
    </op_list>
  </xsl:for-each>
</OHEntityReferences>

Refer to the comments starting from  in the XSL for the custom logic implementation.
A mechanism is provided to handle scenarios where isExternalLink = 'true'. In this case:
- The linked entity ID is extracted.
- It is used to fetch the corresponding synced entity from the target system (e.g., Jira).
- The Global ID of the synced entity is retrieved and included in the output.
When isExternalLink = 'false', the default XSLT logic is applied, and the existing Global ID is used directly without cross-system lookup.

ETM as a Target

XSLT handles parsing of incoming other system's data.
Refer to the XML for writing External Links to ETM below.
The use case is to sync DNG link to ETM [If a Jira's Test entity is synced to a DOORS NG's System Requirement entity and another Jira's Test entity to an ETM's Test Script, linking the two in Jira will add the DNG item to ETM].

<OHEntityReferences xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" xmlns:entityInfo="http://com.opshub.dao.eai.OIMEntityInfo">
 	<xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="nonDefaultLinks" as="item()*">
 		<Item targetLinkType="Requirement">parent</Item>
 	</xsl:variable>
 	<xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="entityTypeMapping" as="item()*">
 		<Item targetEntityType="testcase">Epic</Item>
 	</xsl:variable>
 	<xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="externalLinks" as="item()*">
 		<Item>parent</Item>
 	</xsl:variable>
 	<xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="defaultLinkWithSourceLinks" as="item()*"/>
 	<xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="defaultLinkWithOH_DEFAULT" as="item()*"/>
 	<xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="entityReferencecontext" select="/SourceXML/updatedFields/Property/OHEntityReferences/OHEntityReference"/>
 	<xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="linksToBeCarriedFromSourceEvent" as="item()*">
 		<xsl:for-each select="$nonDefaultLinks">
 			<xsl:variable name="currentLinkType" select="."/>
 			<xsl:if test="$entityReferencecontext/linkType[text()=$currentLinkType]">
 				<xsl:if test="$entityReferencecontext[linkType[text()=$currentLinkType]]/links/EAILinkEntityItem">
 					<Item targetLinkType="{@targetLinkType}">
 						<xsl:value-of select="."/>
 					</Item>
 				</xsl:if>
 			</xsl:if>
 		</xsl:for-each>
 	</xsl:variable>
 	<xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="linksToBeAddedAsDefault" as="item()*">
 		<xsl:for-each select="$defaultLinkWithOH_DEFAULT">
 			<Item lookupQuery="{@lookupQuery}" entityType="{@entityType}">
 				<xsl:value-of select="."/>
 			</Item>
 		</xsl:for-each>
 		<xsl:for-each select="$defaultLinkWithSourceLinks">
 			<xsl:variable name="currentLinkType" select="."/>
 			<xsl:if test="not($linksToBeCarriedFromSourceEvent[text() = $currentLinkType] = $currentLinkType)">
 				<Item lookupQuery="{@lookupQuery}" entityType="{@entityType}">
 					<xsl:value-of select="./@targetLinkType"/>
 				</Item>
 			</xsl:if>
 		</xsl:for-each>
 	</xsl:variable>
 	<xsl:for-each xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" select="$linksToBeCarriedFromSourceEvent">
 		<xsl:variable name="currentLinkType" select="."/>
 		<op_list>
 			<xsl:element name="{@targetLinkType}">
 				<xsl:for-each select="$entityReferencecontext[linkType=$currentLinkType]/links/EAILinkEntityItem">
 					<xsl:element name="{concat('_',position())}">
 						<xsl:element name="EntityType">
 							<xsl:variable name="sourceEntityType" select="entityType"/>
 							<xsl:value-of select="$entityTypeMapping[text()=$sourceEntityType]/@targetEntityType"/>
 						</xsl:element>
 						<xsl:element name="GlobalId">
 							<xsl:value-of select="linkGlobalId"/>
 						</xsl:element>
 						<xsl:element name="sourceEntityType">
 							<xsl:value-of select="entityType"/>
 						</xsl:element>
 						<xsl:element name="LinkAddedDate">
 							<xsl:value-of select="linkAddedDate"/>
 						</xsl:element>
 						<xsl:element name="LinkedID">
 							<xsl:value-of select="entityInternalId"/>
 						</xsl:element>
 						<xsl:element name="IsExternalLink">
 							<xsl:choose>
 								<xsl:when test="$externalLinks[. = $currentLinkType]">
 									<xsl:value-of select="'true'"/>
 								</xsl:when>
 								<xsl:otherwise>
 									<xsl:value-of select="'false'"/>
 								</xsl:otherwise>
 							</xsl:choose>
 						</xsl:element>
 						<xsl:element name="ExternalLinkUrl">
 							<xsl:choose>
 								<!-- Check if the current link type is considered external -->
 								<xsl:when test="$externalLinks[. = $currentLinkType]">
 									<!-- Get the internal ID of the linked entity -->
 									<xsl:variable name="currentLinkedEntityid" select="entityInternalId"/>
 									<!-- Defining system IDs for DNG (source) and other-system (target) -->
 									<xsl:variable name="externalTargetSystemId" select="'50'"/>
 									<xsl:variable name="externalSourceSystemId" select="'374'"/>
 									<!-- Fetching the target entity information from other-system based on the current DNG entity ID -->
 									<xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="entityInTarget" select="utils:getTargetEntityInfoBySourceEntityId($externalSourceSystemId, $currentLinkedEntityid, $externalTargetSystemId, '', '')"/>
 									<!-- Get the internal ID of the target entity -->
 									<xsl:variable name="targetEntityId" select="entityInfo:getEntityInternalId($entityInTarget)"/>
 									<!-- Get the base DNG URL from system extensions -->
 									<xsl:variable name="BaseUrl" select="'<<endSystemUrl>>'"/>
 									<xsl:variable xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" name="baseURL" select="utils:getSystemExtensionValueFromSystem($externalTargetSystemId, $BaseUrl)"/>
 									<!-- Construct the full resource URL pointing to the DNG work item -->
 									<xsl:variable name="resourceUrl" select="concat($baseURL,'<<unique_Resource_Url>>', $targetEntityId)"/>
 									<!-- Output the final DNG resource URL -->
 									<xsl:value-of select="$resourceUrl"/>
 								</xsl:when>
 								<xsl:otherwise>
 									<xsl:value-of select="ExternalLinkUrl"/>
 								</xsl:otherwise>
 							</xsl:choose>
 						</xsl:element>
 						<xsl:element name="EntityLinkComment">
 							<xsl:value-of select="linkComment"/>
 						</xsl:element>
 						<xsl:if test="order!=''">
 							<xsl:element name="order">
 								<xsl:value-of select="order"/>
 							</xsl:element>
 						</xsl:if>
 						<xsl:if test="id!=''">
 							<xsl:element name="id">
 								<xsl:value-of select="id"/>
 							</xsl:element>
 						</xsl:if>
 						<xsl:for-each select="linkProps/Property">
 							<xsl:for-each select="*">
 								<xsl:element name="{name(.)}">
 									<xsl:value-of select="."/>
 								</xsl:element>
 							</xsl:for-each>
 						</xsl:for-each>
 					</xsl:element>
 				</xsl:for-each>
 			</xsl:element>
 		</op_list>
 	</xsl:for-each>
 	<xsl:for-each xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" select="$linksToBeAddedAsDefault">
 		<op_list>
 			<xsl:element name="{.}">
 				<xsl:element name="_1">
 					<xsl:element name="EntityType">
 						<xsl:value-of select="@entityType"/>
 					</xsl:element>
 					<xsl:element name="LookupQuery">
 						<xsl:value-of select="@lookupQuery"/>
 					</xsl:element>
 				</xsl:element>
 			</xsl:element>
 		</op_list>
 	</xsl:for-each>
 </OHEntityReferences>

Appendix

How to know System ID

Log in to OpsHub Integration Manager (<OIM URL>//OIM).
Navigate to Configure Systems Page.
Click on the System that is configured Externally for the Source and Target.
From the endpoint URL in OIM, locate the value after system-detail: in the path.
For example, in: .../endpoints/(system-detail:332/endpoints/view) the System Detail ID is 332.

PreviousHow to identify between Custom and Default Workflows and their associated integrations?NextClarity

Last updated 5 hours ago