Manage entities

This topic provides instructions on how to manage APM entities.

In this topic:

Guidelines for managing entities

Because an APM entity is a type of PPM request, managing an entity is typically the same as managing a request.

For instructions on how to view, process, and manage entities, see Demand Management. For additional information about entities, see the Application Portfolio Management User's Guide. For guidelines for using the instructions in the PPM documentation for performing APM tasks, see Guidelines for using the PPM documentation.

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Create entities

The first step in building your application portfolio is to create the entities that make up the portfolio. While it is possible to build your portfolio from just applications, designating relationships with organization units, processes, workstreams, locations, and servers provides you with the ability to conduct a more detailed and quantifiable analysis of an application or application set.

You can create a new entity from one of the following locations:

• The Application Portfolio Management > Application option from the main menu.

• The References section on an entity detail page

• The Make a Copy button on an entity detail page

You can also create entities by importing them into APM with the PPM Data Migrator for Microsoft Excel (Data Migrator). For instructions, see Using the PPM Data Migrator for Microsoft Excel.

When you create an entity, the entity is automatically assigned a unique number and tracked from start to finish. This ensures completion and accountability for all steps within the entity's workflow.

For instructions for creating an entity, see the instructions for creating a request in Demand Management.

For descriptions of the fields in the APM entities, see Entities of this guide and the online help available from each section of the entity page.

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Open entities

You can open an entity from the result of a search, from a portlet, from an email notification, or from the search box. For more information, see Demand Management.

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Search entities

There are several ways you can search for entities. You can perform a basic entity search or use the query builder to create a custom search query that uses comparison and logical operators. You can use the results of a search you perform with the Request Browser to create entity groups that you can use to display and track information.

After you have performed a search, you can save it and run it again.

For instructions on how to search for entities and sue the query builder, see Search for requests by generic request field values. For information about how to use the Request Browser search to create entity groups, see Request Browser and Demand Management.

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Edit entities

You can make changes to an entity if have the access to edit the entity.

There are several ways you can update an entity. You can perform a basic edit, perform a quick edit to edit multiple entities at the same time, or perform a mass update to make the same edit to multiple entities at the same time. For details, see Manage requests.

If two users edit the same entity at the same time and both click Save, APM attempts to save the changes made by both users. If a change cannot be saved, APM advises the user who made the change to make the change again, and then attempts to save it again. For examples that demonstrate how APM handles simultaneous users, see the Application Portfolio Management User's Guide.

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