Mentor Graphics Capital Suite Accredited to IBM Rational Program

Furthermore, Mentor Graphics was highlighted as a Rational 4.0 launch partner at IBM’s recent Innovate 2012 event.

The integration delivered is between Capital, the Mentor® solution for electrical systems design, and Rational Team Concert (RTC), IBM’s comprehensive project management environment. The integration focuses on the management of design change. Data links are created between the Work Items in Rational Team Concert that manage project tasks, and the implementation of design changes in the electrical domain via the Capital Engineering Change Order functionality. Automatic, bi-directional data propagation is supported ensuring data is properly synchronized.

Martin O’Brien, general manager of the Integrated Electrical Systems Division at Mentor Graphics, said, “Design change is a daily event in the electrical domain. Capital has very powerful design change management capabilities, and this integration allows direct linkage with the Rational project management environment. Digital continuity is created between the project manager and the engineers implementing their assigned tasks, maximizing visibility and minimizing the potential for errors.”

Complex design projects such as automobiles and aircraft require collaboration across multiple disciplines. Several approaches to tool integration are available: the Capital – RTC integration is achieved using Open Services for Lifecycle Collaboration (OSLC) technology, specifically the Jazz application collaboration platform. O’Brien added, “We recognize the power of collaboration platforms as best-in-class technology to achieve tool and data integration. This development will surely benefit many customers in the transportation industry.”

The Capital product line is a powerful software suite that provides a complete electrical engineering environment from early stage electrical architecture definition, through detailed electrical system and wire harness design, to harness manufacture and service documentation. Built to integrate with multiple adjacent domains, the Capital suite is particularly targeted at aerospace, automotive and military equipment applications. The Capital – RTC integration is fully released, available from Capital version 2011.1 onwards.