ms word editable eplan? 

Hello:

I am using IUS 9.2 (with EMGR 9.2) for one of my verification environments. The management has decided to use the eplanner for verification tracking.

On using the eplanner, I find that the only way that I can edit plans is by invoking the eplanner GUI.Is there a way to edit the eplans like the way we used to edit VPlans (I have used VPlans and vmanager in past, and it supported MS Word editable XML format files). 

I read thro the eplanner documentation and find that the eplanner supports reading the legacy formats(*.xml). However, it only saves them in the *.ep format that are not editable by other editors.

 Please let me know if there is any option or workaround to this issue. 

 thanks

Himanshu

You can still use the legacy Word-based vPlans with vManager, we have not removed support for that.

However the EPlanner tool adds so many new capabilites that just could not be done in any office tool (Word, Excel etc) that we needed to create a custom GUI for it. A lot of the conceptual stuff just cannot be stored meaningfully in a Word doc. For example:

• Spec document annotation (mark up a PDF spec to cross-link it to the vPlan)
• Logical instances of coverage items
• Auditing spec changes through the vPlan all the way to coverage details
• One-click coverage connection between coverage database and vPlan

There are things that are just much easier in a proper GUI, e.g. refactoring the plan, checking what mappings break when the coverage model changes, creating perspectives and instances of other vPlans. I could go on, but you get my drift...

Please do try EPlanner, I know it's a bit of a culture shift but the architecture's been built on top of years of experience doing vPlanning and with feedback from hundreds of customers, so we're confident that it's the right way to go.
And if you eventually decide that all the automation and GUI coolness isn't for you, well, the old Word flow is still there... :-)

One last point, please don't hesitate to ask your local Cadence AE about running a guided vPlanning session.
Our AEs are experienced at helping customers build coverage-driven vPlans, and can perhaps help you adapt the way you build your plans so that the EPlanner GUI makes more sense in your flow.

Thanks StephenH for your detailed reply.

 Yes, I understand the concepts behind eplanner.

Unfortunately we are not at a stage where we would want to use all the features (annotating specs, linking coverage, etc) since we are very early in the project lifecycle.

The idea was to capture as many functional and design features as possible from the evolving specs, discussions, etc in a short time. As I see it we can still use the VPlan initially and then migrate it to the eplan format later on when we are more prepared. 

best,

Himanshu